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Purpose of the investigation was to compare physiological reactions of primates (Macaca mulatta) to microgravity simulated by immersion and head-down tilt (HDT). In immersion experiments, primates in waterproof suits were put into motion-restraining chairs and immersed into water (t=35.4 degrees C) breast-deep for 9 days. In 9-d HDT experiments, prone primates were motor restrained in dedicated tilt beds at -5 degrees. It was found that the CNS functioning was significantly affected, the plasma volume reduced and the marrow erythropoietic function declined. Atrophy developed in leg muscles on a backdrop of iliopectineal spongy osteopenia. Loss in hydration, inhibition of erythropoietic hemopoiesis and iliopectineal spongy osteopenia were more pronounced following immersion than HDT.

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In six rhesus monkeys flown on Bion 9, 10, and 11, peripheral blood and bone marrow were examined. After the Bion 11 flight, two ground control experiments were performed at R+17 and R+45. The real flight caused changes that were not seen after the control experiments: decreases in hemoglobin, hematocrit, and reticulocytes. During the readaptation period, those parameters returned to normal due to stimulated erythropoiesis and myelopoiesis.

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Concentration of 13 elements in bone tissue of mice held in tightly spaced cages for 3 wk, which caused an acute stress reaction, was determined by means of neutron activation analysis. Functionally different bone tissues of mice skeletons--the femur, accomplishing both supporting and dynamic functions; the parietal bone, being practically immovable; and the ectopic bone, newly formed under kidney capsule in the place of syngeneic bone marrow implantation--were analyzed. Similar dynamics of the elemental composition of investigated bones was found: the progressive demineralization owing to the loss of Ca, P, Mg, and Fe is accompanied by the compensatory inclusion of Sr in the bone tissues. In the ectopic bone, it was not as high. During evolution under hypokinetic stress, the microelement concentrations (Zn, Cr, Rb, Ru, Br, Co, Sb) change significantly. Results obtained form the evidence for some system character of osteoporosis at limited mobility.

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The proteolytic enzyme, chymase, was used to identify mast cells in rat gastrocnemius muscles which were crush-injured or incised in order to determine if mast cells exhibited proliferation and degranulation. Some of the crush-injured rats were subjected to 0 g for 14 days after injury on the Cosmos 2044 satellite to study the effects of weightlessness on the mast cell response. A variety of ground-based injured models were used, including a group of hindlimb-unloaded animals acting as controls and testing the suitability of the hindlimb-unloaded animal as a model for muscle healing during weightlessness. In most cases, the numbers of mast cells and their apparent size increased after injury. When mast cell degranulation was evident, the granules containing chymase often were free in the loose connective tissue and along the edge of myofibers. The mast cell response was most exaggerated in animals subjected to 0 g and least visible in the hindlimb-unloaded ones. Thus, gravitational stress may influence mast cell physiology and the hindlimb-unloaded animal may not be a good model for investigating muscle healing.

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The organization and composition of the extracellular matrix were studied in the crush-injured gastrocnemius muscle of rats subjected to 0 G. After 14 days of flight on COSMOS 2044, the gastrocnemius muscle was removed and evaluated by histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques from the five injured flight rodents and various Earth-based treatment groups. In general, the repair process was similar in all injured muscle samples with regard to the organization of the extracellular matrix and myofibers. Small and large myofibers were present within an expanded extracellular matrix, indicative of myogenesis and muscle regeneration. In the tail-suspended animals, a more complete repair was observed with no enlarged area of nonmuscle cells or matrix material visible. In contrast, the muscle samples from the flight animals were less well organized and contained more macrophages and blood vessels in the repair region, indicative of a delayed repair process, but did not demonstrate any chronic inflammation. Myofiber repair did vary in muscles from the different groups, being slowest in the flight animals and most complete in the tail-suspended ones.

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The information available for assessing radiation hazard involved in prolonged space missions is so far insufficient. Therefore, a three-year experiment was carried out in which 180 dogs were exposed to irradiation, simulating the dose value and rate of exposure that may occur in a real space flight of long duration. The exposure included a chronic irradiation (with dose rates of 21, 62 and 125 rads/year) and a combined irradiation during which the animals were exposed to chronic and acute irradiations with a dose of 8 or 42 rads applied three times every year, the annual total dose being 120 or 188 rads, respectively. Insignificant hematopoietic changes, e.g. the ratio of red to white blood cells, their decrease in the peripheral blood, were found. Distinct changes in the reproductive function were noted. The general condition of the animals was satisfactory. Most animals endured well an additional physical load and retained conditioned reflexes developed before irradiation. The experimental findings suggest that the effects are early symptoms of the first stage of chronic radiation damage.

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