Technical developments at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory

The NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) located at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a center for space radiation research in both the life and physical sciences. BNL is a multidisciplinary research facility operated for the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The BNL scientific research portfolio supports a large and diverse science and technology program including research in nuclear and high-energy physics, material science, chemistry, biology, medial science, and nuclear safeguards and security. NSRL, in operation since July 2003, is an accelerator-based facility which provides particle beams for radiobiology and physics studies (Lowenstein in Phys Med 17(supplement 1):26–29 2001). The program focus is to measure the risks and to ameliorate the effects of radiation encountered in space, both in low earth orbit and extended missions beyond the earth. The particle beams are produced by the Booster synchrotron, an accelerator that makes up part of the injector sequence of the DOE nuclear physics program’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Ion species from protons to gold are presently available, at energies ranging from <100 to >1,000 MeV/n. The NSRL facility has recently brought into operation the ability to rapidly switch species and beam energy to supply a varied spectrum onto a given specimen. A summary of past operation performance, plans for future operations and recent and planned hardware upgrades will be described. Work performed under the auspices of the auspices of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the US Department of Energy.     

The Plant Alkaloid Camptothecin as a Novel Antifouling Compound for Marine Paints: Laboratory Bioassays and Field Trials

The extensive use of copper and booster biocides in antifouling (AF) paints has raised environmental concerns and the need to develop new AF agents. In the present study, 18 alkaloids derived from terrestrial plants were initially evaluated for AF activity using laboratory bioassays with the bryozoan Bugula neritina and the barnacle Balanus albicostatus. The results showed that 4 of the 18 alkaloids were effective in inhibiting larval settlement of B. neritina, with an EC₅₀ range of 6.18 to 43.11 μM, and 15 of the 18 alkaloids inhibited larval settlement of B. albicostatus, with EC₅₀ values ranging from 1.18 to 67.58 μM. Field trials that incorporated five alkaloids respectively into paints with 20% w/w indicated an in situ AF efficiency of evodiamine, strychnine, camptothecin (CPT), and cepharanthine, with the most potent compound being CPT, which also exhibited stronger AF efficiency than the commercial antifoulants cuprous oxide and zinc pyrithione in the field over a period of 12 months. Further field trials with different CPT concentrations (0.1 to 20% w/w) in the paints suggested a concentration-dependent AF performance in the natural environment, and the effective concentrations to significantly inhibit settlement of biofoulers in the field were ≥?0.5% w/w (the efficiency of 0.5% w/w lasted for 2 months). Moreover, CPT toxicity against the crustacean Artemia salina, the planktonic microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Isochrysis galbana, was examined. The results showed that 24 h LC₅₀ of CPT against A. salina was 20.75 μM, and 96 h EC₅₀ (growth inhibition) values of CPT to P. tricornutum and I. galbana were 55.81 and 6.29 μM, respectively, indicating that CPT was comparatively less toxic than several commercial antifoulants previously reported. Our results suggest the novel potential application of CPT as an antifoulant.     

The Importance of Ship Hull Fouling as a Vector of Species Introductions into the North Sea

Ships have long been recognized as a major vector for the introduction of non-native and harmful organisms. From 1992 to 1996 a shipping study was undertaken in Germany, focusing on the fauna transported by ships, to assess the importance of species introductions by international shipping traffic. Ballast water, tank sediment or hull fouling of 186 vessels was sampled. A total of 257 species were identified, ranging from Foraminifera to Teleostei, and 57% of the species sampled were considered to be non-native to the North Sea region, originating from elsewhere in the world including the north eastern Atlantic (west of the English Channel). Non-native species were recorded in 38% of all ballast water samples, 57% of all sediment samples and 96% of all hull samples, indicating that hull fouling is an important vector of introduction. Four species (1.6%) of unknown origin (cryptogenic species) were identified. The potential for establishment in the North Sea region of all non-native species found was classified into three categories based on the degree of similarity of climatic conditions in the North Sea and the donor region. Based on this criterion 19 of the species found in the fouling communities on ships' hulls were deemed to have a high potential for establishment in the North Sea.     

Estimates of Daily Energy Expenditure in Birds: The Time-Energy Budget as an Integrator of Laboratory and Field Studies

SYNOPSIS. Measures of energy expenditure by free-living birdscan provide quantitative testsof a number of ecological theories,regarding such diverse phenomena as foraging strategies, resourcecompetition, or parental investment. Our confidence in thesetests rests heavily on the confidence we have in the estimatedrates of energy expenditure. The most common approach to obtainingsuch estimates is the construction of time-energy budgets, inwhich the durations of ananimal's daily activities are multipliedby the respective energy costs of the activities, and thesecosts are summed. Our knowledge of the energy costs of activities,particularly locomotion, has greatly advanced in recent years,as has the ability to adequately assess thermoregulatory costs.Comparisons between timeenergy budgets and direct measures ofenergy expenditure obtained using doubly labeled water indicatethat time-energy budgets can yield accurate estimates of energyexpenditure. However, this is likely to be achieved only underfairly rigorous conditions in which resting costs, activitycosts, and thermoregulatory costs are all well described.Evidenceis accumulating to suggest that, under some conditions, energyexpenditure by birds reaches a maximum sustainable level, atwhich point it is limited by the physiological capacitiestoingest and assimilate energy. Under these conditions, behavioralresponses to changing physical environments and resource availabilitymay be critical to the maintenance of energy balance.     

When Pasteurian Science Went to Sea: The Birth of Marine Microbiology

In the late nineteenth century, French naturalists were global leaders in microbial research. Louis Pasteur advanced sterilization techniques and demonstrated that dust particles in the air could contaminate a putrefiable liquid. Pasteur’s discoveries prompted a new research program for the naturalists of the Talisman and Travailleur expeditions: to recover uncontaminated water and mud samples from the deep sea. French naturalists Adrien Certes and Paul Regnard both independently conducted experiments to address the question of whether microorganisms inhabited the oceans and whether organic material in the deep sea was subject to decomposition. The experiments of Certes and Regnard have largely been omitted from histories of microbiology and marine science. However, an examination of their work is crucial for understanding the context in which marine microbiology first developed. At the end of the nineteenth century, marine microbiology emerged from the disciplinary melding of terrestrial microbial ecology, experimental physiology, and the then-nascent field of deep-sea biology.     

The 53rd annual meeting of the Japanese Association for Laboratory Animal Science

The53rd annual meeting of the Japanese Associationfor Laboratory Animal Science will be held on May11-13,2006atInternational Conference Center Kobe.It is a pleasurefor all members of the Organizing Committeeto be able nowto an-nounce the conference tofellowmembers of Asian Federation of Laboratory Animal Science as well as our society.Animal experiments have madeimmense contributionstoresearchforthe progressin human welfare andscience.Howev-er,many mattersthat cannot be solved without a…     

IPI Science: A Teaching Revolution in the Making

Solid waste on beaches not only creates unsightly recreation areas but also has more far reaching environmental impacts. In this marine education activity, students construct a web of changes that show the potential problems caused by such debris. Then they determine whether each change is an increase or a decrease from previous conditions.     

Making Science Accessible: A Semiotics of Scientific Communication

This article serves as a demonstration of how certain models of literary analysis, used to theorize and analyze fiction and narrative, can also be applied to scientific communication in such a manner as to promote the accessibility of science to the general public and a greater awareness of the methodology used in making scientific discovery. The approach of this article is based on the assumption that the principles of structuralism and semiotics can provide plausible explanations for the divide between the reception of science and literature. We provide a semiotic analysis of a scientific article that has had significant impact in the field of molecular biology with profound medical implications. Furthermore, we show how the structural and semiotic characteristics of literary texts are also evident in the scientific papers, and we address how these characteristics can be applied to scientific prose in order to propose a model of scientific communication that reaches the public. By applying this theoretical framework to the analysis of both scientific and literary communication, we establish parallels between primary scientific texts and literary prose.     

Environmental Enrichment for Laboratory Rodents: Animal Welfare and the Methods of Science

Because of the difficulty of' establishing objective measures of laboratory rodents' psychological well-being, developing environmental enrichment programs that are actually beneficial to rodents destined to participate in laboratory research is particularly challenging. Many studies of effects of environmental complexity, social housing, and increases in cage size suggest that professional judgments as to the impact of diverse types of environmental enrichment on rodent welfare are not a reliable basis for evaluating the outcomes of enrichment programs for laboratory rodents. Successful enrichment programs will vary from one rodent species to another, between sexes, as well as between age classes. There is a need for objective, measurable goals for proposed environmental enrichment programs for rodents, as well a s for empirical investigations of the beneficial and detrimental consequences of proposed environmental manipulations.     

The Laboratory Rat as an Animal Model for Osteoporosis Research

Osteoporosis is an important systemic disorder, affecting mainly Caucasian women, with a diverse and multifactorial etiology. A large variety of animal species, including rodents, rabbits, dogs, and primates, have been used as animal models in osteoporosis research. Among these, the laboratory rat is the preferred animal for most researchers. Its skeleton has been studied extensively, and although there are several limitations to its similarity to the human condition, these can be overcome through detailed knowledge of its specific traits or with certain techniques. The rat has been used in many experimental protocols leading to bone loss, including hormonal interventions (ovariectomy, orchidectomy, hypophysectomy, parathyroidectomy), immobilization, and dietary manipulations. The aim of the current review is not only to present the ovariectomized rat and its advantages as an appropriate model for the research of osteoporosis, but also to provide information about the most relevant age and bone site selection according to the goals of each experimental protocol. In addition, several methods of bone mass evaluation are assessed, such as biochemical markers, densitometry, histomorphometry, and bone mechanical testing, that are used for monitoring and evaluation of this animal model in preventive or therapeutic strategies for osteoporosis.Abbreviations: BMD, bone mineral density; DEXA, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; μCT, microcomputerized tomography; pQCT, peripheral quantitative computerized tomographyOsteoporosis is a multifactorial skeletal disease, characterized by reduction in bone mass and disruption of the microarchitectural structure of bone tissue, resulting in loss of mechanical strength and increased risk of fracture.² The disorder can be localized or involve the entire skeleton. Generalized osteoporosis can be primary (postmenopausal and senile) or secondary. In the European Union, osteoporosis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the elderly and a key factor in the high cost of medical care.³⁴Although osteoporosis usually makes its appearance late in life, and age is a major risk factor, its roots can be tracked back into adolescence. Particularly during periods of rapid bone growth, dietary calcium levels are of high importance.³⁴ Other factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of osteoporosis are lifestyle and genetic and hormonal attributes.^13,71 Reduced physical activity increases the rate of bone loss, and muscle contraction is the prevailing source of skeletal loading. Regarding hormonal factors, women, especially in the decade after menopause, can show a severe reduction of bone mass, thus explaining the high incidence of osteoporotic fractures in women compared with men.³⁴The multiple factors implicated in osteoporosis, its obscure pathogenesis, the dramatic decline in quality of life, high incidence of the disorder (especially in postmenopausal women), financial cost, and high mortality, make the need for further experimentation in animal models imperative. Experimental research can improve our understanding of pathogenesis and of the activity of pharmaceutical agents in the prevention or treatment of the disease. Although many aspects of the disorder have been revealed, others remain unclear, including the mechanisms involved in calcium homeostasis in the extracellular space and its effect on bone physiology and disease⁶⁵ and the cell and molecular pathways triggered after mechanical loading to orchestrate bone renewal.⁵³ Current research is focused on new therapeutic possibilities targeting the osteolytic enzymes of the osteoclast and the mechanisms activating bone progenitor cells and those controlling apoptosis as new potential treatments.^63,64Many therapeutic advances in the management of osteoporosis were studied first in diverse animal models and then entered clinical practice.^31,67,69 All of these models should fulfill similar basic criteria: they must comply with national and local ethical and legislative considerations, be accessible to experimental centers, be easy and safe to handle, have a low cost of acquisition, require little maintenance, reliably reproduce the disease and the biological material to be examined should be readily available. Laboratory rats meet most of these criteria. In addition, the availability of detailed knowledge of the rat skeleton and protocols for rapid induction of osteopenia, have increased this model''s popularity. Here we review the advantages and limitations of the use of the laboratory rat in osteoporosis research.     

Laboratory Happiness or Human Flourishing: The Empirical Science of Wellbeing in Phenomenological Perspective

Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry - In this paper I analyze philosophically the dominant conception of happiness operative in the increasingly popular global movement to empirically define,...     

Sea snake diversity at the Entrecasteaux atolls,Coral Sea,as revealed by video observations at unbaited stations

Coral Reefs - The first survey of sea snakes (Elapidae, Hydrophiinae) at the remote Entrecasteaux atolls, Coral Sea, was conducted using remote unbaited 360° video cameras (RUV360), in 2021....