Temporal impact of sugar metabolism on the liver

ABSTRACTPurpose: Increased sugar consumption is associated with metabolic conditions that can result in poor health outcomes. To investigate the impact of sugars such as glucose and fructose in the body, this study aims to determine the timing of effects and assess the impact of these effects. This study aims to demonstrate acute effects in metabolism as a result of sugar metabolism.Methods: Six male participants were imaged on a 3T MRI scanner at a fasted state then subsequently every hour for up to eight measurements. Between scanning sessions, they consume a 13C labeled glucose or fructose shake, have breath collected, and have blood drawn; this is repeated on a separate day to satisfy the other experimental condition. The MRI exam consists of Proton Density Fat Fraction (PDFF), proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H MRS), and 13C MRS. The images are processed to analyze liver volume and the spectra from the MR Spectroscopy are normalized and the peaks are quantified.Results: Liver volume is significantly different from baseline measurements at 2-, 3-, and 4-hours post-feeding with p=0.032, p=0.003, and p=0.009 respectively. Fat content is significantly different from baseline measurements at 3- and 4-hours post-feeding with p=0.026 and p=0.048 respectively. Different MR measures of fat fraction in the body produce a significant positive correlation (p=0.003). The median change of lipids (CH2) positively correlates with the median change in glycerol (p=0.011). Fat fraction does not significantly correlate with the blood measures taken, but when high choline and low choline groups are separated, new formed lipids in the blood and long-term storage of fat differ significantly, p=0.021 and p=0.03 respectively.Conclusions: Choline classification of participants resulted in a difference in new lipids in the blood and long-term storage in the liver. Low choline individuals tended to export less lipids in the blood and store more in the liver. High choline individuals exported more lipids and retained less in the liver. MR exams of the liver evaluate the health of the liver and burden to abdominal organs, whereas blood collection provided a glimpse into cardiovascular burden

Airship Industry Study

In April, 2015 NASA Ames Research Center conducted a study of the airship industry. The project called for a report that would describe airship concepts proposed or projects initiated, airship performance or capability targets, and the missions these activities were addressing. It would detail the principal technical features of these airships; the proposed value/advantages of the features, notional concepts of operation, and challenges associated with the vehicles. Also investigated would be the current status and near-term prospects of these airship development activities, whether they are active or, if curtailed the circumstances and possible reasons for that conclusion including technical, business, or other mitigating factors. For the most active programs an assessment would be conducted to identify the resources or activities required for airships to advance to series construction and operational deployment. The study would also identify impediments to these developments and deployments, with recommendations provided to address existing issues in the airship industry today

An Integrated Gate Turnaround Management Concept Leveraging Big Data/Analytics for NAS Performance Improvements

The Integrated Gate Turnaround Management (IGTM) concept was developed to improve the gate turnaround performance at the airport by leveraging relevant historical data to support optimization of airport gate operations, which include: taxi to the gate, gate services, push back, taxi to the runway, and takeoff, based on available resources, constraints, and uncertainties. By analyzing events of gate operations, primary performance dependent attributes of these events were identified for the historical data analysis such that performance models can be developed based on uncertainties to support descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive functions. A system architecture was developed to examine system requirements in support of such a concept. An IGTM prototype was developed to demonstrate the concept using a distributed network and collaborative decision tools for stakeholders to meet on time pushback performance under uncertainties

An Integrated Gate Turnaround Management Concept Leveraging Big Data Analytics for NAS Performance Improvements

"Gate Turnaround" plays a key role in the National Air Space (NAS) gate-to-gate performance by receiving aircraft when they reach their destination airport, and delivering aircraft into the NAS upon departing from the gate and subsequent takeoff. The time spent at the gate in meeting the planned departure time is influenced by many factors and often with considerable uncertainties. Uncertainties such as weather, early or late arrivals, disembarking and boarding passengers, unloading/reloading cargo, aircraft logistics/maintenance services and ground handling, traffic in ramp and movement areas for taxi-in and taxi-out, and departure queue management for takeoff are likely encountered on the daily basis. The Integrated Gate Turnaround Management (IGTM) concept is leveraging relevant historical data to support optimization of the gate operations, which include arrival, at the gate, departure based on constraints (e.g., available gates at the arrival, ground crew and equipment for the gate turnaround, and over capacity demand upon departure), and collaborative decision-making. The IGTM concept provides effective information services and decision tools to the stakeholders, such as airline dispatchers, gate agents, airport operators, ramp controllers, and air traffic control (ATC) traffic managers and ground controllers to mitigate uncertainties arising from both nominal and off-nominal airport gate operations. IGTM will provide NAS stakeholders customized decision making tools through a User Interface (UI) by leveraging historical data (Big Data), net-enabled Air Traffic Management (ATM) live data, and analytics according to dependencies among NAS parameters for the stakeholders to manage and optimize the NAS performance in the gate turnaround domain. The application will give stakeholders predictable results based on the past and current NAS performance according to selected decision trees through the UI. The predictable results are generated based on analysis of the unique airport attributes (e.g., runway, taxiway, terminal, and gate configurations and tenants), and combined statistics from past data and live data based on a specific set of ATM concept-of-operations (ConOps) and operational parameters via systems analysis using an analytic network learning model. The IGTM tool will then bound the uncertainties that arise from nominal and off-nominal operational conditions with direct assessment of the gate turnaround status and the impact of a certain operational decision on the NAS performance, and provide a set of recommended actions to optimize the NAS performance by allowing stakeholders to take mitigation actions to reduce uncertainty and time deviation of planned operational events. An IGTM prototype was developed at NASA Ames Simulation Laboratories (SimLabs) to demonstrate the benefits and applicability of the concept. A data network, using the System Wide Information Management (SWIM)-like messaging application using the ActiveMQ message service, was connected to the simulated data warehouse, scheduled flight plans, a fast-time airport simulator, and a graphic UI. A fast-time simulation was integrated with the data warehouse or Big Data/Analytics (BAI), scheduled flight plans from Aeronautical Operational Control AOC, IGTM Controller, and a UI via a SWIM-like data messaging network using the ActiveMQ message service, illustrated in Figure 1, to demonstrate selected use-cases showing the benefits of the IGTM concept on the NAS performance

Modeling and Simulation Tools for Heavy Lift Airships

For conventional fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft a variety of modeling and simulation tools have been developed to provide designers the means to thoroughly investigate proposed designs and operational concepts. However, lighter-than-air (LTA) airships, hybrid air vehicles, and aerostats have some important aspects that are different from heavier-than-air (HTA) vehicles. In order to account for these differences, modifications are required to the standard design tools to fully characterize the LTA vehicle design and performance parameters.. To address these LTA design and operational factors, LTA development organizations have created unique proprietary modeling tools, often at their own expense. An expansion of this limited LTA tool set could be accomplished by leveraging existing modeling and simulation capabilities available in the National laboratories and public research centers. Development of an expanded set of publicly available LTA modeling and simulation tools for LTA developers would mitigate the reliance on proprietary LTA design tools in use today. A set of well researched, open source, high fidelity LTA design modeling and simulation tools would advance LTA vehicle development and also provide the analytical basis for accurate LTA operational cost assessments. This paper will present the modeling and analysis tool capabilities required for LTA vehicle design, analysis of operations, and full life-cycle support. A survey of the tools currently available will be assessed to identify the gaps between their capabilities and the LTA industry's needs. Options for development of new modeling and analysis capabilities to supplement contemporary tools will also be presented

Airship Industry Study

There is an ongoing Government interest in the potential of airships for cargo transport; Conducting vertical or near-vertical airlift of heavy, outsized freight with little or no ground infrastructure is an attractive cargo transport option. USTRANSCOM wanted to understand the principal issues that are holding back commercial development of airship transports. NASA Ames Research Center was commissioned by USTRANSCOM to study the airship industrys ability to design, develop, and operate cargo airships. Principal study objectives were to identify: (1) Current and near term state of the cargo airship industry; (2) Roadblocks hindering cargo airship development; (3) Steps needed to remove impediments to cargo airship deployment

Modeling and Simulation of an Integrated Gate Turnaround Management Concept

An Integrated Gate Turnaround Management (IGTM) prototype was developed at NASA Ames Simulation Laboratories (SimLabs) using Dallas Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW) to demonstrate the IGTM concepts feasibility and benefits. The simulation architecture includes: the IGTM controller, an Airline Operations Control (AOC) application, Big DataAnalytics Input (BAI) application, a terminal traffic simulation or known as NASA-developed Surface Operation Simulator and Scheduler (SOSS), and a Database Server. ActiveMQ, a Java messaging service, was used to emulate the System Wide Information Management (SWIM) data network messaging. This paper describes the modeling and simulation of the IGTM concept, and illustrates selected use cases to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of the IGTM concept for optimizing gate turnaround operations

Temporal impact of sugar metabolism on the liver

ABSTRACTPurpose: Increased sugar consumption is associated with metabolic conditions that can result in poor health outcomes. To investigate the impact of sugars such as glucose and fructose in the body, this study aims to determine the timing of effects and assess the impact of these effects. This study aims to demonstrate acute effects in metabolism as a result of sugar metabolism.Methods: Six male participants were imaged on a 3T MRI scanner at a fasted state then subsequently every hour for up to eight measurements. Between scanning sessions, they consume a 13C labeled glucose or fructose shake, have breath collected, and have blood drawn; this is repeated on a separate day to satisfy the other experimental condition. The MRI exam consists of Proton Density Fat Fraction (PDFF), proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H MRS), and 13C MRS. The images are processed to analyze liver volume and the spectra from the MR Spectroscopy are normalized and the peaks are quantified.Results: Liver volume is significantly different from baseline measurements at 2-, 3-, and 4-hours post-feeding with p=0.032, p=0.003, and p=0.009 respectively. Fat content is significantly different from baseline measurements at 3- and 4-hours post-feeding with p=0.026 and p=0.048 respectively. Different MR measures of fat fraction in the body produce a significant positive correlation (p=0.003). The median change of lipids (CH2) positively correlates with the median change in glycerol (p=0.011). Fat fraction does not significantly correlate with the blood measures taken, but when high choline and low choline groups are separated, new formed lipids in the blood and long-term storage of fat differ significantly, p=0.021 and p=0.03 respectively.Conclusions: Choline classification of participants resulted in a difference in new lipids in the blood and long-term storage in the liver. Low choline individuals tended to export less lipids in the blood and store more in the liver. High choline individuals exported more lipids and retained less in the liver. MR exams of the liver evaluate the health of the liver and burden to abdominal organs, whereas blood collection provided a glimpse into cardiovascular burden