Bion 11 mission hardware.

The mission hardware provided for Bion 11 shared primate experiments included the launch vehicle, biosatellite, spaceflight operational systems, spacecraft recovery systems, life support systems, bioinstrumentation, and data collection systems. Under the unique Russia/US bilateral contract, the sides worked together to ensure the reliability and quality of hardware supporting the primate experiments. Parameters recorded inflight covered biophysical, biochemical, biopotential, environmental, and system operational status.

Bion 11 mission: primate experiments.

A summary is provided of the major operations required to conduct the wide range of primate experiments on the Bion 11 mission, which flew for 14 days beginning December 24, 1996. Information is given on preflight preparations, including flight candidate selection and training; attachment and implantation of bioinstrumentation; flight and ground experiment designs; onboard life support and test systems; ground and flight health monitoring; flight monkey selection and transport to the launch site; inflight procedures and data collection; postflight examinations and experiments; and assessment of results.

The effect of head-down tilt and water immersion on intracranial pressure in nonhuman primates.

A headward fluid shift occurs in humans exposed to space-flight. This shift is thought to be the stimulus for the observed reduction in plasma volume, and may produce a sustained rise in intracranial pressure (ICP). In order to determine the effect of head-down tilt (HDT) and water immersion on intracranial pressure (ICP), five anesthetized rhesus monkeys were fitted with intracranial pressure-monitoring transducers and subjected to -6 degrees HDT followed by head-out thermoneutral (34.7 degrees) water immersion. ICP was elevated from 3.8 +/- 1.1 mm Hg in the horizontal control period to 5.3 +/- 1.3 mm Hg (p less than 0.05) during the 15 min pre-immersion HDT. When seated in the empty immersion tank, ICP stabilized at -6.3 +/- 1.3 mm Hg for the control period and increased to -2.2 +/- 1.9 mm Hg (p less than 0.05) when the water level was maintained for 30 min at the sternal notch. The ICP returned toward pre-immersion levels (-5.5 +/- 1.4 mm Hg) as the tank was drained. Mean blood pressure (MBP) remained constant during the pre-immersion tilt test. In the pre-immersion control period, MBP was 91 +/- 3 mm Hg compared to 90 +/- 4 mm Hg (p greater than 0.05) during immersion and 82 +/- 1 mm Hg (p less than 0.05) in the post-immersion recovery period. In summary, exposure of rhesus monkeys to either head-down tilt or water immersion produced a prompt rise in ICP during the stimulus period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Intrapericardial denervation: radial artery blood flow and heart rate responses to LBNP.

Eight rhesus monkeys were used to study responses of radial artery blood flow velocity (RABFV) and heart rate (HR) to low (0 to -20 mmHg) and high (0 to -60 mmHg) ramp exposures during supine lower body negative pressure (LBNP). These levels were chosen to separate peripheral vascular responses associated with stimulation of low- and high-pressure baroreceptors. Four monkeys had efferent and afferent cardiac denervation by use of the Randall procedure with pharmacological (phenylephrine and atropine) verification. Animals were studied 3 wk after surgery to avoid reinnervation. Findings were compared with those of four identically treated intact animals. Denervated animals showed no change in RABFV or HR during low-level LBNP; however, HR increased significantly (P less than 0.05) when LBNP reached -50 mmHg and blood flow velocity also fell (P less than 0.05) starting at -30 mmHg pressure. In contrast, intact animals showed steady decreases in RABFV during both high- and low-pressure protocols, with HR showing a 6-beat/min increase (P less than 0.05) starting at -20 mmHg pressure. As with denervated animals, intact animals showed a more pronounced increase in HR after reaching a level of -60 mmHg suction. Cardiac output (electromagnetic flowmeter, ascending aorta) fell significantly in both groups starting at -30 mmHg pressure. Left ventricular pressure (Konigsberg pressure cell) in three intact animals showed a progressive fall in systolic pressure starting at -10 mmHg suction, which became significant at -55 mmHg pressure. These results demonstrate that cardiac denervation by use of the Randall technique significantly affects RABFV and HR responses to LBNP in rhesus monkeys. The lack of RABFV change during LBNP in denervated animals suggests that these changes coupled with HR response can be used as an effective method to verify the completeness of denervation of low-pressure baroreceptors in animals that have undergone intrapericardial denervation.