Translational Research and Medicine at NASA: From Earth to Space and Back Again

The Space Environment provides many challenges to the human physiology and therefore to extended habitation and exploration. Translational research and medical strategies are meeting these challenges by combining Earth based medical solutions with innovative and developmental engineering approaches. Translational methodologies are current applied to spaceflight related dysregulations in the areas of: (1) cardiovascular fluid shifts, intracranial hypertension and neuro-ocular impairment 2) immune insufficiency and suppression/viral re-expression, 3) bone loss and fragility (osteopenia/osteoporosis) and muscle wasting, and finally 4) radiation sensitivity and advanced ageing. Over 40 years of research into these areas have met with limited success due to lack of tools and basic understanding of central issues that cause physiologic maladaptaion and distrupt homeostatis. I will discuss the effects of living in space (reduced gravity, increased radiation and varying atmospheric conditions [EVA]) during long-duration, exploration-class missions and how translational research has benefited not only space exploration but also Earth based medicine. Modern tools such as telemedicine advances in genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics (Omicssciences) has helped address syndromes, at the systemic level by enlisting a global approach to assessing spaceflight physiology and to develop countermeasures thereby permitting our experience in space to be translated to the Earth's medical community

Loss of Npn1 from motor neurons causes postnatal deficits independent from Sema3A signaling

AbstractThe correct wiring of neuronal circuits is of crucial importance for the function of the vertebrate nervous system. Guidance cues like the neuropilin receptors (Npn) and their ligands, the semaphorins (Sema) provide a tight spatiotemporal control of sensory and motor axon growth and guidance. Among this family of guidance partners the Sema3A-Npn1 interaction has been shown to be of great importance, since defective signaling leads to wiring deficits and defasciculation. For the embryonic stage these defects have been well described, however, also after birth the organism can adapt to new challenges by compensational mechanisms. Therefore, we used the mouse lines Olig2-Cre;Npn1cond and Npn1Sema− to investigate how postnatal organisms cope with the loss of Npn1 selectively from motor neurons or a systemic dysfunctional Sema3A-Npn1 signaling in the entire organism, respectively. While in Olig2-Cre+;Npn1cond−/− mice clear anatomical deficits in paw posturing, bone structure, as well as muscle and nerve composition became evident, Npn1Sema− mutants appeared anatomically normal. Furthermore, Olig2-Cre+;Npn1cond mutants revealed a dysfunctional extensor muscle innervation after single-train stimulation of the N.radial. Interestingly, these mice did not show obvious deficits in voluntary locomotion, however, skilled motor function was affected. In contrast, Npn1Sema− mutants were less affected in all behavioral tests and able to improve their performance over time. Our data suggest that loss of Sema3A-Npn1 signaling is not the only cause for the observed deficits in Olig2-Cre+;Npn1cond−/− mice and that additional, yet unknown binding partners for Npn1 may be involved that allow Npn1Sema− mutants to compensate for their developmental deficits

Modeling plasticity and dysplasia of pancreatic ductal organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells

Personalized in vitro models for dysplasia and carcinogenesis in the pancreas have been constrained by insufficient differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into the exocrine pancreatic lineage. Here, we differentiate hPSCs into pancreatic duct-like organoids (PDLOs) with morphological, transcriptional, proteomic, and functional characteristics of human pancreatic ducts, further maturing upon transplantation into mice. PDLOs are generated from hPSCs inducibly expressing oncogenic GNAS, KRAS, or KRAS with genetic covariance of lost CDKN2A and from induced hPSCs derived from a McCune-Albright patient. Each oncogene causes a specific growth, structural, and molecular phenotype in vitro. While transplanted PDLOs with oncogenic KRAS alone form heterogenous dysplastic lesions or cancer, KRAS with CDKN2A loss develop dedifferentiated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. In contrast, transplanted PDLOs with mutant GNAS lead to intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasia-like structures. Conclusively, PDLOs enable in vitro and in vivo studies of pancreatic plasticity, dysplasia, and cancer formation from a genetically defined background

Do All Lives Have the Same Value? Support for International Military Interventions as a Function of Political System and Public Opinion of the Target States

This research examined the support for international military interventions as a function of the political system and the public opinion of the target country. In two experiments, we informed participants about a possible military intervention by the international community towards a sovereign country whose government planned to use military force against a secessionist region. They were then asked whether they would support this intervention whilst being reminded that it would cause civilian deaths. The democratic or nondemocratic political system of the target country was experimentally manipulated, and the population support for its belligerent government policy was either assessed (Experiment 1) or manipulated (Experiment 2). Results showed greater support for the intervention when the target country was nondemocratic, as compared to the democratic and the control conditions, but only when its population supported the belligerent government policy. Support for the external intervention was low when the target country was democratic, irrespective of national public opinion. These findings provide support for the democracy-as-value hypothesis applied to international military interventions, and suggest that civilian deaths (collateral damage) are more acceptable when nondemocratic populations support their government's belligerent policy

Extensão universitária como espaço de vivência do cuidado integral em oncologia

O programa de extensão universitária “Acolhe-Onco: interdisciplinaridade no cuidado integral ao paciente com câncer” destina-se não somente à promoção da saúde do paciente com câncer e de apoio à sua família, como também à formação interdisciplinar de estudantes da área da saúde. O presente relato de experiência descreve as bases ideativas e operacionais desse programa na Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) e os resultados obtidos no período entre agosto de 2008 a abril de 2013. A atividade de extensão universitária promove, para os estudantes, o aprendizado de princípios necessários para a humanização, integralidade e interdisciplinaridade das ações em saúde. Para os usuários, a extensão universitária tem proporcionado a consolidação de vínculos afetivos, a detecção e prevenção de situações de risco e a adoção de medidas que favoreçam a construção de habilidades para o autogerenciamento da doença.</p

100 years after: What is the relation between pacifist attitudes and social representations of the Great War?

In this article we use a social representational perspective on a large sample of European students to consider the interplay between pacifist attitudes and representations of World War I (WWI). WWI gave rise to pacifist movements across the globe. Across 10 European countries (NSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Unternehmensbefragungen in der industriegeographischen Forschung: ein praxisorientierter methodischer Leitfaden

Available from Bibliothek des Instituts fuer Weltwirtschaft, ZBW, D-21400 Kiel C 204000 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman