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1.
Adv Space Res ; 32(8): 1541-6, 2003.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-15000125

ABSTRACT

The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) has more than 20 years of experience developing aquatic animal experiment facilities. We are now studying the next-generation aquatic animal experiment facility or the Aquatic Habitat (AQH) for both Space Shuttle and International Space Station use. A prototype breeding system was designed and tested. Medaka adult fish were able to mate and spawn in this closed circulatory breeding system, and the larvae grew to adult fish and spawned on the 45th day after hatching. The water quality-control system using nitrifying bacteria worked well throughout the medaka breeding test. For amphibians, we also conducted the African clawed toad (Xenopus laevis) breeding test with the same specimen chambers, although a part of circulation loop was opened to air. Xenopus larvae grew and completed metamorphosis successfully in the small specimen chamber. The first metamorphic climax started on the 30th day and was completed on the 38th day.


Subject(s)
Aquaculture/instrumentation , Ecological Systems, Closed , Life Support Systems/instrumentation , Space Flight/instrumentation , Spacecraft/instrumentation , Weightlessness , Animals , Breeding , Japan , Larva/growth & development , Oryzias , Xenopus laevis
2.
Biol Sci Space ; 13(4): 314-20, 1999 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11542796

ABSTRACT

National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) has been developed aquatic animal experiment facilities for space experiments using NASA Space Shuttle. Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU) has been firstly designed and developed for Spacelab-J mission (STS-47), and 8 days space experiment with carp has been performed. Following, the VFEU, Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit (AAEU) has been developed to accommodate small aquatic animals second International Microgravity Laboratory mission (IML-2, STS-65). Four kinds of space experiments with goldfish, medaka, newt, and newt eggs have been performed for 15 days mission duration. Then, VFEU has been improved to accommodate marine fish under low temperature condition for Neurolab (STS-90) and STS-95 missions. 17 days (STS-90) and 9 days (STS-95) experiments with oyster toadfish have been performed by using the VFEU. This report summarizes the outline of these aquatic animal experiment facilities.


Subject(s)
Aquaculture/instrumentation , Life Support Systems/instrumentation , Space Flight/instrumentation , Weightlessness , Animals , Carps , Environment, Controlled , Equipment Design , Goldfish , Oryzias , Salamandridae , Vestibular Function Tests/instrumentation
3.
Biol Sci Space ; 13(4): 321-6, 1999 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11542797

ABSTRACT

In STS-95 Space Shuttle mission, an aquatic animal research facility, Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU), was flown to perform neurobiological experiment with marine fish, oyster toadfish. For this purpose, we have developed a sea water purification system using highly active nitrifying bacteria at low temperature. With this system, the water quality in the VFEU was maintained in sufficient condition to keep the toadfish in healthy state for 9 days of the mission. This report summarizes the efficiency of the filter system based on the results from pre-flight bacterial preparation, water analysis of samples taken during flight, and the post-flight analysis of the bacterial filter.


Subject(s)
Aquaculture/instrumentation , Life Support Systems/instrumentation , Space Flight/instrumentation , Vestibular Function Tests/instrumentation , Water Purification/methods , Weightlessness , Ammonia/analysis , Ammonia/metabolism , Animals , Ecological Systems, Closed , Filtration/methods , Fishes/physiology , Nitrates/analysis , Nitrates/metabolism , Nitrites/analysis , Nitrites/metabolism , Nitrobacter/metabolism , Nitrosomonas/metabolism , Seawater
4.
Biol Sci Space ; 13(4): 327-32, 1999 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11542798

ABSTRACT

Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU), one of the Spacelab facility flown in Neurolab mission (STS-90) in April, 1998, was to support neurophysiological research using a marine fish, Opsanus tau (oyster toadfish). The functions of the VFEU were primarily a quality management of environmental water during the mission at 14 degrees C and for acquiring physiological signals from implanted micro-electrodes in the otolith nerves as well as the spatial acceleration of the fish. A key element of the life support system was a balanced biological filter containing two types of nitrifying bacteria, Nitrosomonas for ammonia oxidization and Nitrobacter for nitrite oxidization. Although the 16 days mission was successful, two toadfishes died in late phase of the mission. Ammonium concentration in those two life support systems elevated to remarkably high level at the end of the mission whereas the other two indicated very low. This report summarizes the results of the water quality management of the VFEU during the Neurolab mission based on analysis of water samples taken during the flight and those taken prior and just after the flight.


Subject(s)
Aquaculture , Life Support Systems/instrumentation , Space Flight/instrumentation , Temperature , Water Purification/methods , Weightlessness , Animals , Body Weight , Filtration/methods , Fishes/physiology , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Nitrites/metabolism , Nitrobacter/metabolism , Nitrosomonas/metabolism , Quaternary Ammonium Compounds/analysis , Quaternary Ammonium Compounds/metabolism , Seawater
5.
Biol Sci Space ; 13(4): 348-50, 1999 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11542801

ABSTRACT

We have developed the long-term life support system that enables the experiment of aquatic animals breeding for 90 days or more for the future experiments in orbit. In order to enable long-term breeding of wide aquatic animals, it is necessary to remove nitrate produced by biological nitrification. Then, we examined a denitrification method to use an electrochemical reaction of biofilm-electrode reactor. In this research, we have not kept the aquatic animals actually but imitated breeding of five goldfish. The ammonia of about 250 ppm was added in breeding water through 90 days. As a result, neither ammonia nor nitrite accumulated 0.1 ppm and nitrate could be suppressed to about 10 ppm.


Subject(s)
Aquaculture/instrumentation , Biofilms , Bioreactors , Life Support Systems/instrumentation , Nitrates/metabolism , Water Purification/methods , Ammonia/analysis , Ammonia/metabolism , Electrochemistry , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Nitrates/analysis , Nitrites/analysis , Nitrites/metabolism , Nitrobacter/metabolism , Nitrosomonas/metabolism , Space Flight/instrumentation
8.
Biochim Biophys Acta ; 1356(1): 43-52, 1997 Mar 27.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-9099990

ABSTRACT

Exposure to various combinations of cytokines and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been reported to increase NO production in vascular endothelial cells. The molecular entity of the newly expressed nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in endothelial cells, however, has not yet been examined in detail. In this report, we carried out biochemical characterizations and molecular identification of NOS isoform(s) expressed in cytokine/LPS-treated bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC). The increased NOS activity in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)/LPS-treated BAEC was localized mainly in the cytosolic fraction and Ca2+-independent, whereas that in interferon-alpha,beta(IFN-alpha,beta)/LPS-treated BAEC was preferentially in the membrane fraction and Ca2+-dependent, suggesting that TNF-alpha/LPS increased an inducible NOS (iNOS)-like activity, and IFN-alpha,beta/LPS increased an endothelial constitutive NOS (ecNOS)-like activity. Correspondingly, the different responses to the cytokine/LPS pretreatment were demonstrated in semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using primers specific for iNOS or ecNOS, that is, TNF-alpha/LPS elicited the expression of iNOS mRNA whereas IFN-alpha,beta/LPS increased that of ecNOS mRNA. A nuclear run-on transcription assay and an inhibition experiment by actinomycin D indicated that the apparent increase of ecNOS in the IFN-alpha,beta/LPS-treated BAEC was at least in part ascribed to the transcriptional activation. The nucleotide sequences of the amplified PCR products in TNF-alpha/LPS- and IFN-alpha,beta/LPS-treated BAEC were 93% and 99% identical to the corresponding regions of human hepatocyte iNOS and bovine ecNOS, respectively. These findings indicated that, in cytokine/LPS-treated BAEC, two NOS isoforms whose molecular natures were closely homologous to the conventional isoforms of iNOS and ecNOS were differently induced in response to distinct inflammatory stimuli.


Subject(s)
Endothelium, Vascular/enzymology , Isoenzymes/biosynthesis , Nitric Oxide Synthase/biosynthesis , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Calcium/metabolism , Cattle , Cells, Cultured , Cytokines/pharmacology , Endothelium, Vascular/drug effects , Enzyme Induction , Isoenzymes/genetics , Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology , Molecular Sequence Data , Nitric Oxide Synthase/genetics , Polymerase Chain Reaction , RNA, Messenger/analysis , Sequence Alignment , Subcellular Fractions/enzymology , Transcription, Genetic
9.
J UOEH ; 11(3): 299-303, 1989 Sep 01.
Article in Japanese | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-2814064

ABSTRACT

The effect of ethylene oxide on rat hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 was studied in vitro. Cytochrome P-450, but not b5, was decreased by ethanol. When hepatic microsome was bubbled with ethylene oxide gas, cytochrome P-450 content remained unchanged when compared with CO2 bubbling. The addition of NADPH 1 mM also did not change cytochrome P-450 significantly. The excessive high exposure to 500 mM ethylene oxide also did not affect microsomal cytochrome P-450. These results indicate that ethylene oxide does not destroy directly the hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 under these conditions.


Subject(s)
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System/metabolism , Ethylene Oxide/pharmacology , Microsomes, Liver/enzymology , Animals , In Vitro Techniques , Male , Microsomes, Liver/drug effects , Rats , Rats, Inbred Strains
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