Computer Simulation of the Light Absorption band of the Jumping Spider Isorhodopsin

In order to simulate the photoisomerization of the 9-cis Jumping Spider Isorhodopsin (JSiR-1) it is necessary to first simulate its light-absorption band. Here we report on the absorption band simulated using protein models constructed using the advanced Automatic Rhodopsin Modeling (a-ARM) program. A population of S0 models was created and the corresponding S0 to S1 transitions were determined for each member of the resulting population. The calculation resulted in a Gaussian plot showing that the wavelength of the absorption maximum of 560 nm (a violet color) that is consistent, but red-shifted, with respect the experimentally observed value

Design of a research engine for homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion.

The design and development of a research engine for Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion was performed. The objectives were; to design and build an experimental apparatus for investigation of parameters affecting control of HCCI burn in engines, to commission the HCCI burn apparatus, to establish HCCI burn of lean fuel/air mixture, and to enable data acquisition of in-cylinder pressure measurements. A simple design methodology was followed. Three different concepts were presented along with the advantages and disadvantages of each. Concept three was chosen as the best alternative based on functional objective and cost. Several parameters were identified to affect control of HCCI burn in the literature review. Systems were designed to enable variability of these parameters and study of HCCI burn in a variable compression ratio engine. The criteria and constraints of all the systems of the apparatus were identified. Detailed design drawings and calculations of each system were performed to enable component selection. Testing was performed to verify the functional objectives of each system. Based on methodology, detailed design, fabrication, testing and verification, the project has met all the objectives. Recommendations for future work were made based on testing.Dept. of Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .Z65. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, page: 1427. Thesis (M.A.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005

Intravenous Fluid Generation System

The ability to stabilize and treat patients on exploration missions will depend on access to needed consumables. Intravenous (IV) fluids have been identified as required consumables. A review of the Space Medicine Exploration Medical Condition List (SMEMCL) lists over 400 medical conditions that could present and require treatment during ISS missions. The Intravenous Fluid Generation System (IVGEN) technology provides the scalable capability to generate IV fluids from indigenous water supplies. It meets USP (U.S. Pharmacopeia) standards. This capability was performed using potable water from the ISS; water from more extreme environments would need preconditioning. The key advantage is the ability to filter mass and volume, providing the equivalent amount of IV fluid: this is critical for remote operations or resource- poor environments. The IVGEN technology purifies drinking water, mixes it with salt, and transfers it to a suitable bag to deliver a sterile normal saline solution. Operational constraints such as mass limitations and lack of refrigeration may limit the type and volume of such fluids that can be carried onboard the spacecraft. In addition, most medical fluids have a shelf life that is shorter than some mission durations. Consequently, the objective of the IVGEN experiment was to develop, design, and validate the necessary methodology to purify spacecraft potable water into a normal saline solution, thus reducing the amount of IV fluids that are included in the launch manifest. As currently conceived, an IVGEN system for a space exploration mission would consist of an accumulator, a purifier, a mixing assembly, a salt bag, and a sterile bag. The accumulator is used to transfer a measured amount of drinking water from the spacecraft to the purifier. The purifier uses filters to separate any air bubbles that may have gotten trapped during the drinking water transfer from flowing through a high-quality deionizing cartridge that removes the impurities in the water before entering the salt bag and mixing with the salt to create a normal saline solution

Final Report for Intravenous Fluid Generation (IVGEN) Spaceflight Experiment

NASA designed and operated the Intravenous Fluid Generation (IVGEN) experiment onboard the International Space Station (ISS), Increment 23/24, during May 2010. This hardware was a demonstration experiment to generate intravenous (IV) fluid from ISS Water Processing Assembly (WPA) potable water using a water purification technique and pharmaceutical mixing system. The IVGEN experiment utilizes a deionizing resin bed to remove contaminants from feedstock water to a purity level that meets the standards of the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), the governing body for pharmaceuticals in the United States. The water was then introduced into an IV bag where the fluid was mixed with USP-grade crystalline salt to produce USP normal saline (NS). Inline conductivity sensors quantified the feedstock water quality, output water purity, and NS mixing uniformity. Six 1.5-L bags of purified water were produced. Two of these bags were mixed with sodium chloride to make 0.9 percent NS solution. These two bags were returned to Earth to test for compliance with USP requirements. On-orbit results indicated that all of the experimental success criteria were met with the exception of the salt concentration. Problems with a large air bubble in the first bag of purified water resulted in a slightly concentrated saline solution of 117 percent of the target value of 0.9 g/L. The second bag had an inadequate amount of salt premeasured into the mixing bag resulting in a slightly deficient salt concentration of 93.8 percent of the target value. The USP permits a range from 95 to 105 percent of the target value. The testing plans for improvements for an operational system are also presented

Design of a Medical Injection System for use During Contingency Space Operations

No abstract availabl

Solar cycle variability of Mars dayside exospheric temperatures: Model evaluation of underlying thermal balances

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95086/1/grl25450.pd

Thermal inactivation and conformational lock studies on glucose oxidase

In this study, the dissociative thermal inactivation and conformational lock theories are applied for the homodimeric enzyme glucose oxidase (GOD) in order to analyze its structure. For this purpose, the rate of activity reduction of glucose oxidase is studied at various temperatures using b-D-glucose as the substrate by incubation of enzyme at various temperatures in the wide range between 40 and 70 �C using UV–Vis spectrophotometry. It was observed that in the two ranges of temperatures, the enzyme has two different forms. In relatively low temperatures, the enzyme is in its dimeric state and has normal activity. In high temperatures, the activity almost disappears and it aggregates. The above achievements are confirmed by dynamic light scattering. The experimental parameter ‘‘n’’ as the obvious number of conformational locks at the dimer interface of glucose oxidase is obtained by kinetic data, and the value is near to two. To confirm the above results, the X-ray crystallography structure of the enzyme, GOD (pdb, 1gal), was also studied. The secondary and tertiary structures of the enzyme to track the thermal inactivation were studied by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy, respectively. We proposed a mechanism model for thermal inactivation of GOD based on the absence of the monomeric form of the enzyme by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy

Intravenous Fluid Generation (IVGEN) for Exploration Missions

No abstract availabl

Flexible Ultrasound System (FUS) for Exploration and Human Research

No abstract availabl

Adaptive optical interconnects: The ADDAPT project

Existing optical networks are driven by dynamic user and application demands but operate statically at their maximum performance. Thus, optical links do not offer much adaptability and are not very energy-effcient. In this paper a novel approach of implementing performance and power adaptivity from system down to optical device, electrical circuit and transistor level is proposed. Depending on the actual data load, the number of activated link paths and individual device parameters like bandwidth, clock rate, modulation format and gain are adapted to enable lowering the components supply power. This enables exible energy-efficient optical transmission links which pave the way for massive reductions of CO2 emission and operating costs in data center and high performance computing applications. Within the FP7 research project Adaptive Data and Power Aware Transceivers for Optical Communications (ADDAPT) dynamic high-speed energy-efficent transceiver subsystems are developed for short-range optical interconnects taking up new adaptive technologies and methods. The research of eight partners from industry, research and education spanning seven European countries includes the investigation of several adaptive control types and algorithms, the development of a full transceiver system, the design and fabrication of optical components and integrated circuits as well as the development of high-speed, low-loss packaging solutions. This paper describes and discusses the idea of ADDAPT and provides an overview about the latest research results in this field