Experiment K-6-04. Trace element balance in rats during spaceflight

Exposure to microgravity causes alterations in the skeletal and mineral homeostatic systems. Little is known about the effects of flight in an older skeleton; limited data suggest that bone resorption is increased after 5 days but no data are available about other metabolic effects. The response of a more slowly-growing skeleton to microgravity may be different than that of a younger animal, similar to the different responses seen in adolescents and adult humans to immobilization. This experiment was designed to investigate changes occurring in skeletal and mineral homeostatis in these older rats flown for two weeks in space. We may expect that the two portions of the rat vertebra, the vertebral body and the posterior elements, will show different responses to spaceflight. The results of the analyses from this study confirm major differences between portions of the vertebra. The posterior bone is more highly mineralized, evidenced by increased concentration (per unit weight of bone) of calcium (5 percent), phosphorus (6 percent) and osteocalcin (37 percent), similar to the differences seen between proximal and mid humerus in previous studies. The major increase in osteocalcin content indicates the presence of mature, low-turnover bone. The difference between flight and control animals were minimal in these older, slower-growing rats. Mass of whole vertebrae increased 6.2 percent in synchronous rats compared to less than 2 percent in flight rats over the 16 days when compared to basal controls, suggesting a decreased rate of bone growth in flight. Compared to young rats in which vertebral mass increased over 40 percent in 10 days in controls and 20 percent in flight rats, this may be a clear indication that even in the older skeleton bone growth will slow in microgravity

Fractionation of human immune γ-globulin

Equine and bovine serum proteins have recently been fractionated by means of a physical method utilizing an electrophoretic adaptation of the principles of the Clusius column (l-4), first described and tested by Kirkwood (5) and Nielsen (6). The method of electrophoresis-convection has now been applied to the fractionation of human γ-globulin. The γ-globulin was prepared by ethanol fractionation (7) from the plasma of individuals hyperimmunized to Hemophilus pertussis organisms. The resulting fractions of γ-globulin have been characterized electrophoretically, and the protective antibody activity and agglutinin titer have been measured

Cementitious grouts for intermediate level nuclear waste (ILW) encapsulation - effect of compositional changes upon hydration

Grouts containing high levels of replacement by BFS are the preferred route to disposal for a large majority of ILW in the UK. A number of techniques, SEM image analysis, chemical shrinkage, ICC, TGA and XRD, have been applied to assess the rate and degree of hydration of such cementitious grouts. This study forms a base for quantifying the effects of modifications to the physical and chemical composition of both the OPC and the BFS components of the matrix in order to identify the sensitivity or otherwise of the technique to ensure that a continuity of supply is maintained

Method for improved prediction of bone fracture risk using bone mineral density in structural analysis

A non-invasive in-vivo method of analyzing a bone for fracture risk includes obtaining data from the bone such as by computed tomography or projection imaging which data represents a measure of bone material characteristics such as bone mineral density. The distribution of the bone material characteristics is used to generate a finite element method (FEM) mesh from which load capability of the bone can be determined. In determining load capability, the bone is mathematically compressed, and stress, strain force, force/area versus bone material characteristics are determined

Hall current accelerator Final report, 10 Jun. 1964 - 10 Sep. 1965

Axisymmetric Hall current accelerator as electric spacecraft propulsion syste

Mitochondrial Dna Replacement Versus Nuclear Dna Persistence

In this paper we consider two populations whose generations are not overlapping and whose size is large. The number of males and females in both populations is constant. Any generation is replaced by a new one and any individual has two parents for what concerns nuclear DNA and a single one (the mother) for what concerns mtDNA. Moreover, at any generation some individuals migrate from the first population to the second. In a finite random time $T$, the mtDNA of the second population is completely replaced by the mtDNA of the first. In the same time, the nuclear DNA is not completely replaced and a fraction $F$ of the ancient nuclear DNA persists. We compute both $T$ and $F$. Since this study shows that complete replacement of mtDNA in a population is compatible with the persistence of a large fraction of nuclear DNA, it may have some relevance for the Out of Africa/Multiregional debate in Paleoanthropology

A Non-Functional Carbon Dioxide-Mediated Post-Translational Modification on Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase of Arabidopsis thaliana

The carbamate post-translational modification (PTM), formed by the nucleophilic attack of carbon dioxide by a dissociated lysine epsilon-amino group, is proposed as a widespread mechanism for sensing this biologically important bioactive gas. Here, we demonstrate the discovery and in vitro characterization of a carbamate PTM on K9 of Arabidopsis nucleoside diphosphate kinase (AtNDK1). We demonstrate that altered side chain reactivity at K9 is deleterious for AtNDK1 structure and catalytic function, but that CO2 does not impact catalysis. We show that nucleotide substrate removes CO2 from AtNDK1, and the carbamate PTM is functionless within the detection limits of our experiments. The AtNDK1 K9 PTM is the first demonstration of a functionless carbamate. In light of this finding, we speculate that non-functionality is a possible feature of the many newly identified carbamate PTMs

Experimental exploration of cryogenic CO2 capture utilising a moving bed

It is widely accepted that climate change is a result of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The continued combustion of fossil fuels and subsequent emission of CO2 is leading to an increase in global temperatures, which has led to interest in decarbonising the energy sector. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a method of reducing carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants by capturing CO2 from exhaust gases and storing it in underground gas stores. Carbon capture using chemical solvents is the most matured technology for capturing emissions from the energy sector, however as the energy sector continues to decarbonise with the arrival of renewable sources focus is shifting to other industries to reduce their carbon footprint. Solvent carbon capture has disadvantages including requiring large equipment and large amounts of heat to regenerate solvent for capture, meaning it would be difficult to scale the technology down and apply it to other industrial applications. Cryogenic carbon capture (CCC) is one proposed method of CCS at smaller scale, which captures CO2 by freezing CO2 out of the exhaust gases as CO2 forms a frost on a heat transfer surface. One disadvantage of CCC is the accumulation of CO2 frost reduces the efficiency of the capture process. The process must be periodically shut down to regenerate the heat transfer surface and collect CO2 that has been frozen out of exhaust gases. This thesis proposes to overcome the frost accumulation through the use of a moving packed bed of small spherical metal beads as the heat transfer surface. As CO2 is fed into a capture column and freezes onto the metal beads, the metal beads are removed from the column, regenerated to recover the CO2, then cooled and recirculated back into the capture column. This prevents the accumulation of frost and allows continuous CO2 capture. There are many difficulties identified in this project, primarily a lack of knowledge on CO2 frost formation and how heat transfer in a moving bed affects frost formation. The research done on a purpose built experimental rig is critical in improving the future design work of a next generation moving bed CCC system. The frost accumulation in a capture column is known as a frost front, which advanced through the capture column at a fixed velocity until the column is saturated with frost. Experimental results had shown that the frost front velocity is predictable for varying CO2 concentrations and gas flow rates, with frost front velocities between 0.46-0.78 mm/s for CO2 concentrations between 4-18% v/v and 0.36-0.98 mm/s for gas flow rates between 50-120 LPM. These frost front velocity experiments in a fixed packed bed allowed the design of a moving packed bed column to set the bed flow rate to match the frost front velocity. The moving bed experiments show that the excessive accumulation of CO2 frost within the capture column can be prevented by utilising the moving bed. The successful development of a moving bed CCC system would result in a cost effective solution to the requirements of certain smaller applications that need to capture CO2, which make up a significant portion of emissions. In particular this technology is very economical for biogas upgrading, where the CO2 content of biogas must be removed before the gas can be introduced to the UK’s larger gas network. There is also a growing interest for use in shipping and other maritime applications, capturing CO2 from ship exhaust emissions during transit