Development and Testing of the CRYOTSU Flight Experiment

This paper describes the development and ground testing of the CRYOTSU thermal management flight experiment. CRYOTSU incorporates three cryogenic temperature experiments and one ambient temperature experiment into a Hitchhiker (HH) Get Away Special (GAS) Canister that is currently scheduled to fly on STS-95 in October 1998. The cryogenic experiments consist of a nitrogen triple-point cryogenic thermal storage unit (CTSU), a nitrogen cryogenic capillary pumped loop (CCPL), and a hydrogen gas-gap cryogenic thermal switch (CTSW). The ambient experiment is a carbon-fiber core, paraffin-filled thermal storage unit. Test results of integrated flight canister testing are provided herein for the CTSU and CCPL experiments. Pre-integration laboratory test results are provided for the CTSW. Design information and test results for the ambient experiment are not included

The human body at cellular resolution: the NIH Human Biomolecular Atlas Program

Abstract: Transformative technologies are enabling the construction of three-dimensional maps of tissues with unprecedented spatial and molecular resolution. Over the next seven years, the NIH Common Fund Human Biomolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP) intends to develop a widely accessible framework for comprehensively mapping the human body at single-cell resolution by supporting technology development, data acquisition, and detailed spatial mapping. HuBMAP will integrate its efforts with other funding agencies, programs, consortia, and the biomedical research community at large towards the shared vision of a comprehensive, accessible three-dimensional molecular and cellular atlas of the human body, in health and under various disease conditions

Cenozoic Stratigraphy of the Owyhee Region, Southeastern Oregon

54 pagesLate Cenozoic terrestrial sedimentation and volcanism produced more than 6000 ft of complexly interstratified rocks in the Owyhee region, southeastern Oregon. Deposition upon a basement of peripherally exposed Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks began in Miocene time and continued intermittently through the Pleistocene. High-angle block faulting related to the adjacent Basin and Range Province created hundreds to thousands of feet of structural relief. Faulting and concomitant erosion formed north-trending basins that received Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene deposits. The rocks described range from late Miocene to sub-historic. They are dated through mammalian chronology, stratigraphic relations, and potassium· argon chronology. About 30 stratigraphic units are discussed, of which 12 are named and defined. Extrusive rocks are olivine-poor clinopyroxene basalts, porphyritic andesine rhyolites, and rhyolitic welded ash-flow tuffs. Clastic rocks are arkoses, granite-cobble conglomerates, air-fall tuffs, and fluviatile and lacustrine bentonitic volcaniclastic rocks variously adulterated with plutonic detritus.This study was sponsored by the Museum of Natural History, University of Oregon, principally through grants and programs of the National Science Foundation

Basic fibroblast growth factor-enhanced neurogenesis contributes to cognitive recovery in rats following traumatic brain injury

Stem/progenitor cells reside throughout the adult CNS and are actively dividing in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. This neurogenic capacity of the SVZ and DG is enhanced following traumatic brain injury (TBI) suggesting that the adult brain has the inherent potential to restore populations lost to injury. This raises the possibility of developing strategies aimed at harnessing the neurogenic capacity of these regions to repair the damaged brain. One strategy is to enhance neurogenesis with mitogenic factors. As basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a potent stem cell mitogen, we set out to determine if an intraventricular administration of bFGF following TBI could affect the levels of injury-induced neurogenesis in the SVZ and DG, and the degree to which this is associated with cognitive recovery. Specifically, adult rats received a bFGF intraventricular infusion for 7 days immediately following TBI. BrdU was administered to animals daily at 2–7 days post-injury to label cell proliferation. At 1 or 4 weeks post-injury, brain sections were immunostained for BrdU and neuronal or astrocytic markers. We found that injured animals infused with bFGF exhibited significantly enhanced cell proliferation in the SVZ and the DG at 1 week post-TBI as compared to vehicle-infused animals. Moreover, following bFGF infusion, a greater number of the newly generated cells survived to 4 weeks post-injury, with the majority being neurons. Additionally, animals infused with bFGF showed significant cognitive improvement. Collectively, the current findings suggest that bFGF-enhanced neurogenesis contributes to cognitive recovery following TBI

The Effect of Epidermal Growth Factor in the Injured Brain after Trauma in Rats

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a known mitogen for neural stem and progenitor cells (NS/NPCs) in the central nervous system (CNS). In vitro, EGF maintains NS/NPCs in the proliferative state, whereas in the normal rodent brain it promotes their proliferation and migration in the subventricular zone (SVZ). Additionally, EGF administration can augment neuronal replacement in the ischemic-injured adult striatum. Recently we found that the SVZ and the hippocampus display an injury-induced proliferative response following traumatic brain injury (TBI) that is linked to increased EGF expression. As adult neurogenesis is associated with cognitive function, we hypothesized that post-TBI administration of EGF could affect neurogenesis and cognitive recovery. Adult rats were intraventricularly infused with EGF or vehicle for 7 days following TBI. 5-Bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was administered to label proliferating cells and the animals were sacrificed at 1 or 4 weeks post-injury. Using immunohistochemistry and stereology, we found that at 1 week post-injury, compared to vehicle-infused animals EGF-infused animals had significantly more BrdU-positive cells in the SVZ and hippocampus concomitant with enhanced EGF receptor expression. At 4 weeks post-injury, the number of BrdU-positive cells in the hippocampus was similar in both groups, suggesting that EGF does not support long-term survival of newly generated cells. Furthermore, we found that the EGF-induced proliferative population differentiated preferentially toward astroglial phenotype. Nevertheless, animals treated with EGF showed significant improvement in cognitive function, which was accompanied by reduced hippocampal neuronal cell loss. Collectively, the data from this study demonstrate that EGF exerts a neuroprotective rather than neurogenic effect in protecting the brain from injury