Winter is upon us and with it flu season – the time to start thinking about avoiding the germs most likely to torture tummies and ravage respiratory systems this time of year.

There are preventive measures you can take, however. the best, according to the director of patient safety and infection control at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, is hand-washing. It also helps to be aware of surfaces that are common breeding grounds for germs. some of them might surprise you, says Jayne Lee, a registered nurse.

“Gas pump handles were a new one for me,” Lee says.

A recent major-city study conducted by the University of Arizona and the Kimberly-Clark Profes-sional’s Healthy Work Place Project identified a half-dozen commonly touched “dirtiest surfaces” that are likely to be teeming with illness-causing bacteria.

Topping the list were the previously mentioned gas pump handles, followed by mailbox handles, escalator rails, ATM buttons, parking meters and kiosks, crosswalk buttons and vending machine buttons.

To develop the list of offenders, researchers swabbed 350 of the most frequently touched surfaces in six major U.S. cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia). they then tested the swabs’ ATP levels, indicators of animal, vegetable, bacteria, yeast and mold cell contamination.

Objects that had an ATP reading of 300 or higher were determined to have an increased risk of illness transmission.

Although only public-place areas were involved in the big-city study, plenty of home surfaces also serve as breeding grounds for bacteria. “Door knobs are the worst,” Lee says.

So are telephones, computer keyboards and light switches. But there is a difference between contaminated home and outside-the-home surfaces, Lee cautions.

“The germs in the home environment are mostly your germs and your family’s germs,” she says. “Outside the home, you have to consider all the different people who could have touched and contaminated (the surfaces).”

Since public exposure to illness is common and widespread, no one is immune. Annual vaccinations help prevent the flu, but actions as simple as hand-washing and avoiding facial contact are very important, says Lee.

The general rule is to wash your hands before eating and after going to the bathroom while keeping your hands away from your face.

“Don’t touch your nose with your hands,” Lee says, “in case they have been contaminated.”

Effective hand-washing, Lee points out, involves the simple combination of soap, water and friction. the greatest of these is friction.

“Friction is by far the most important,” Lee says. “Anti-microbacterial solutions have some kill-effect, and that’s good to have at a kitchen sink, but it’s not something you have to have. A mild, warm (water) temperature is fine. Gently scrub, making sure to get under the nails and between the fingers. try not to dry out the skin so you end up with cuts or cracks that open you up to more risk.”

For public places, the disinfectant wipes now available at most grocery stores and some gas stations are good for wiping down surfaces like grocery cart and gas pump handles.

While risk of infection is especially likely during late fall and winter, when people are more likely to gather in enclosed spaces, it is also important to remember that infection – and therefore hand-washing – is a year-round business.

 nothing beats a blizzard like a five-pound chuck roast simmering in oven gravy. at least we thought. Our mothers purposely overfed us in winter to fortify her brood. we endured bowl after bowl of steamy Cream of Something every morning before our 20-mile trek to school.

All of this, including the trek, is overwrought. Eating hot cereal does not keep you warm. Overeating does add insulative fat, but the side effects are too dangerous. (We’ll gain weight in winter anyway as our lives turn sedentary.)

Amping up the protein is not a bad idea but has nothing to do with winter. The nutrient we need the most on cold days is carbohydrate.

meanwhile, as days grow shorter, we get less sunlight. That leads to a sudden drop in serotonin, and that can cause depression, says Dietitian Gloria Tsang. a symptom: insatiable food cravings.

There’s even an acronym for it — seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Something like 10 million Americans suffer it. Change your diet and you may feel a lot better.

Remember that the food gods are against us in winter. we seem to have less time to cook with less daylight (but not really, it’s just an excuse). Fresh produce prices skyrocket. Milk and cheese head up as cows produce less milk (they too are winter sedentary). The temptation is to open a can or pop something into the microwave instead of cooking for real.

there, now that I’ve spoiled your winter of manic junk food, there’s hope for us. as the seasons change, so should our cooking habits. Except this time, forget what your mother taught you. On the flip chart:

SHOP HEALTHY

Check out (literally) the winter veggies and fruits in your grocery. Root vegetables, such as onions, beets and carrots are king. Citrus fruits, grapes, cranberries and pomegranates are plentiful. You need their vitamins. Winter foods that bolster the immune system are cabbage, broccoli, sweet potato, squash and spinach. To fight viral infections, eat more fish, poultry, eggs, milk and unprocessed grains.

BE a BAKER

Baking your own bread ignites the healthy power of carbohydrates. You’ll send enticing aroma waves throughout your house, and the oven heat will be welcome. I know, you probably think bread baking is archaic, but there are simple home recipes that put commercial products to shame (see below).

RETIRE COFFEE MUGS

Green tea is the preferred drink of winter. it stimulates cell activity, and that helps ward off the many viruses floating around. Beware: The tempting coffee-shop confection drinks (lattes, hot chocolates, frappes, etc.) may be loaded with sugar and fat.

 nothing beats a blizzard like a five-pound chuck roast simmering in oven gravy. at least we thought. Our mothers purposely overfed us in winter to fortify her brood. we endured bowl after bowl of steamy Cream of Something every morning before our 20-mile trek to school. All of this, including the trek, is overwrought. Eating hot cereal does not keep you warm. Overeating does add insulative fat, but the side effects are too dangerous. (We’ll gain weight in winter anyway as our lives turn sedentary.) Amping up the protein is not a bad idea but has nothing to do with winter. The nutrient we need the most on cold days is carbohydrate. meanwhile, as days grow shorter, we get less sunlight. That leads to a sudden drop in serotonin, and that can cause depression, says Dietitian Gloria Tsang. a symptom: insatiable food cravings. There’s even an acronym for it — seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Something like 10 million Americans suffer it. Change your diet and you may feel a lot better. Remember that the food gods are against us in winter. we seem to have less time to cook with less daylight (but not really, it’s just an excuse). Fresh produce prices skyrocket. Milk and cheese head up as cows produce less milk (they too are winter sedentary). The temptation is to open a can or pop something into the microwave instead of cooking for real. there, now that I’ve spoiled your winter of manic junk food, there’s hope for us. as the seasons change, so should our cooking habits. Except this time, forget what your mother taught you. On the flip chart: SHOP HEALTHY Check out (literally) the winter veggies and fruits in your grocery. Root vegetables, such as onions, beets and carrots are king. Citrus fruits, grapes, cranberries and pomegranates are plentiful. You need their vitamins. Winter foods that bolster the immune system are cabbage, broccoli, sweet potato, squash and spinach. To fight viral infections, eat more fish, poultry, eggs, milk and unprocessed grains. BE a BAKER Baking your own bread ignites the healthy power of carbohydrates. You’ll send enticing aroma waves throughout your house, and the oven heat will be welcome. I know, you probably think bread baking is archaic, but there are simple home recipes that put commercial products to shame (see below). RETIRE COFFEE MUGS Green tea is the preferred drink of winter. it stimulates cell activity, and that helps ward off the many viruses floating around. Beware: The tempting coffee-shop confection drinks (lattes, hot chocolates, frappes, etc.) may be loaded with sugar and fat. WATCH BLOOD PRESSURE Cold weather causes blood vessels to contract, increasing blood pressure. Be especially mindful of foods high in sodium. EAT FRIENDLY FLORA your body’s level of good bacteria, the bugs that fight disease, decreases in winter. This is the source of “winter colds.” it needs to be restored with foods containing live bacteria cultures. these include yogurt and cheese, sauerkraut and other pickled vegetables, yeast breads and reasonable amounts of beer or red wine. Go easy on the alcohol. And avoid it if you plan to go outside. PARK YOUR DIET If you’re on an extremely restrictive diet (low or high calorie), note these can decrease your immune function, and that impacts rates of infection. Strive for a moderate fat intake and use healthy fats (mono- and polyunsaturated). as usual, a balanced diet saves the day. EAT REGULAR your digestion system loves regular feeding. Strive for three complete meals a day and avoid snacking in between. DON’T HERMITIZE as my mom said, “go for a walk and blow the stink off.” The more you spend outside, the less you’ll notice the cold. MYRTLE ALLEN’S BROWN BREAD James Beard discovered her bread at Ballymaloe House in Ireland. It’s a simple recipe with no kneading and only one dough rising, perfect for a Saturday-morning baking adventure. Novices take note. 3 3⁄4 cup whole-wheat flour, stone ground 11⁄2 packages (31⁄4 teaspoons) dry yeast 2 cups warm water 2 tablespoons molasses 1 tablespoon salt  place flour in oven-proof bowl and warm in an oven on low. both need to be warm to make the bread. Dissolve yeast and molasses in 1⁄2 cup warm water and proof until bubbly. Combine yeast, flour and salt to make a wet, sticky dough. Add more water if needed. place into a buttered 9-by-5-by-3 inch bread pan. Cover and set in a warm spot to rise to one third its original size.  Bake at 450 degrees for 50 minutes or until crust has browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan and turn off oven. place loaf on oven rack and for 20 minutes for a crustier finish. CREAM CHEESE SOUP This recipe is reminiscent of an occasional Panera Bread menu item, a perfect touch with your Myrtle Allen brown bread.  4 cups chicken broth  4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes  1⁄4 cup minced onion  1⁄2 teaspoon seasoned salt  1⁄4 teaspoon white pepper  1⁄4 teaspoon ground red pepper  1 (8-ounce) package Neufchâtel or cream cheese , cut into chunks  1⁄4 cup dry white wine  Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices. Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender. Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening. Reduce to low heat. Add wine and cheese, stirring frequently until the cheese melts. Garnish serving bowls with chopped green-onion tops or fresh parsley, or a dash of paprika or ground nutmeg. Serves 4. CARAMELIZED ONIONS these may be served alone as a side dish or a pizza topping, a garnish on steamed vegetables and on roast chicken or beefsteak. they are an easy luxury on hamburgers and hot-dogs. 4  onions, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons brown sugar 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar Salt and pepper to taste  Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread onions in a roasting pan or rectangular baking dish. Dot with butter; sprinkle with brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Cover tightly. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, stirring once. Serve hot or cold. makes about 2 cups.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but what about a shot of tequila? It seems to work for fruit flies: Drosophila melanogaster seek out alcohol to kill off parasitic wasps living in their blood. Alcohol exposure also discourages the wasps from laying their eggs in the fly larvae in the first place.

The research, published today (February 16) in Current Biology, is the first evidence that alcohol might be used to fight infection, the authors say.

“It’s an important paper in the field of self-medication,” said Michael Singer, who studies ecology and evolution at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. “It widens the scope of possibility when thinking about what sorts of animals might engage in self-medication.”

Several species are known to self-medicate: primates consume specific plants to purge intestinal parasites, for example, and caterpillars ingest toxic leaves when sick. the new research now adds Drosophila to the list, and is the first recorded instance of alcohol being ingested as the medicine of choice.

Drosophila are unique insects because they often subsist on the yeast growing in rotting fruits. the yeast convert the fruit’s sugar into energy through the process of fermentation, which produces ethanol as a byproduct. so fruit flies regularly spend their lives swimming in—and consuming—the alcohol, which is toxic for most organisms.

They also spend their lives fighting off a tiny parasitic wasp, Leptopilina, which infects Drosophila by laying its eggs into fruit fly larvae and maturing in the flies’ bloodstream. “With examples of organisms using plants and fungal toxins as protection, we wondered if the flies were using alcohol in the same way,” said Todd Schlenke, a biologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and senior author on the study.

Schlenke and colleagues performed three experiments to test their hypothesis. first, they questioned whether the presence of alcohol prevents flies from being infected in the first place. It did. Wasps laid significantly fewer eggs in fly larvae grown on ethanol-soaked food than those raised on control food.

Next, the team tested to see if consuming alcohol helps flies kill parasites after the flies have already been infected. Infected fly larvae were grown on either ethanol or control food, then dissected. the wasps inside the fly larvae consuming alcohol were dead or sick, while the wasps inside the control larvae were healthy and growing. “The wasp larvae just can’t handle alcohol in the blood of their host, and they die,” said Schlenke.

Finally, the researchers looked to see if the flies, once infected, would seek out alcohol as a remedy for their sickness. Once again, the conclusion was affirmative. in a divided petri dish, rich in ethanol on one side and not on the other, 80 percent of infected flies chose the ethanol food source, as compared to 30 percent of uninfected flies. “They’re self-medicating,” said Schlenke. “They’re getting drunk purposefully.”

The researchers ran the experiments using both a specialist parasite wasp that specifically infects D. melanogaster and a generalist wasp that infects a diversity of Drosophila species. in every case, the generalist wasp suffered more than the specialist wasp, suggesting the specialist has adapted to its boozing host. but there is another explanation, said Singer—the specialist wasp may actually be manipulating its host. “The specialist wasp might benefit from a certain level of ethanol intake by its host because, according to evidence presented here, this could eliminate competition from the generalist parasite,” he said.

In addition to demonstrating the innate behavior of fruit flies to self-medicate, the study suggests alcohol can be used as a therapeutic agent, said Schlenke. Anecdotally, individuals will claim that a few shots of hard liquor can cure a stomach bug. “No one has ever tested that,” said Schlenke, but it is possible that a burst of alcohol could hurt blood-borne parasites, like malaria. “Could it work for us too?” he asked. “It’s an interesting question.”

N.F. Milan et al., “Alcohol consumption as self-medication against blood-borne parasites in the fruit fly,” Current Biology, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.01.04, 2012.

all ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday – Crew off duty. ahead: Week 10 of Increment 30 (six-person crew). after wakeup this morning, FE-1 Shkaplerov performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection. Dan Burbank, Andre Kuipers & Don Pettit each completed another post-sleep session of the Reaction self Test (Psychomotor Vigilance self Test on the ISS) protocol, the 22nd for Dan, the 15th for Andre and Don. The three crewmembers are performing their RST sleep shift session starting on 1/24 and every day through 2/2. [RST is done twice daily (after wakeup & before bedtime) for 3 days prior to the sleep shift, the day(s) of the sleep shift and 5 days following a sleep shift. The experiment consists of a 5-minute reaction time task that allows crewmembers to monitor the daily effects of fatigue on performance while on ISS. The experiment provides objective feedback on neurobehavioral changes in attention, psychomotor speed, state stability, and impulsivity while on ISS missions, particularly as they relate to changes in circadian rhythms, sleep restrictions, and extended work shifts.] CDR Burbank, FE-1 Shkaplerov, FE-2 Ivanishin, FE-4 Kononenko, FE-5 Kuipers & FE-6 Pettit joined in conducting the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough cleaning of their home, including COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) and Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module). ["Uborka", usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the SM (Service Module) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the sleep stations with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.] As part of Uborka house cleaning, Anton, Anatoly & Oleg completed regular weekly maintenance inspection & cleaning of fan screens in the FGB (TsV2) plus Group E fan grilles in the SM (VPkhO, FS5, FS6, VP) and the BMP Harmful Contaminants Removal System grille in the SM. Before the cleaning, all fan screens were photographed for ground inspection. Anton Shkaplerov conducted the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM. this included the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP-Moscow, as well as the weekly checkup on the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) air filter unit of the SM’s & FGB’s SOGS air revitalization subsystem, gathering weekly data on total operating time & “On” durations for calldown. [SOZh servicing includes checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers and replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers]. Pettit completed the regular (~weekly) inspection & maintenance, as required, of the CGBA-4 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 4) and CGBA-5 payloads in their ERs (EXPRESS Racks) at Lab O2 & O1, focusing on cleaning the muffler air intakes. Both Burbank & Kuipers completed their (currently) daily electronic logging of diet for the High Salt Diet protocol of the SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity) experiment. [SOLO is composed of two sessions of six days each. From Day 1 to 5 (included), the crewmember is ingesting one of two special diets (low salt & high salt content). SOLO Diet starts with breakfast on Day 1. Day 6 of each session is diet-free. for both diets, specially prepared meals are provided onboard. all three daily meals are logged daily on sheets stowed in the PCBA Consumable Kit in the MELFI along with control solution and cartridges for the PCBA. Body mass is measured with the SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device) on Days 4 & 6. Blood samples are taken on Day 5, centrifuged & inserted in MELFI (Minus eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS) and also measured with the PCBA. 24-hr urine collections are performed on Day 5, with sample insertion in MELFI. Background: SOLO, a NASA/ESA-German experiment from the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Cologne/Germany, investigates the mechanisms of fluid and salt retention in the body during long-duration space flight. The hypothesis of an increased urine flow as the main cause for body mass decrease has been questioned in several recently flown missions. Data from the US SLS1/2 missions as well as the European/Russian Euromir `94 & MIR 97 missions show that urine flow and total body fluid remain unchanged when isocaloric energy intake is achieved. However, in two astronauts during these missions the renin-angiotensin system was considerably activated while plasma ANP concentrations were decreased. Calculation of daily sodium balances during a 15-day experiment of the MIR 97 mission (by subtracting sodium excretion from sodium intake) showed an astonishing result: the astronaut retained on average 50 mmol sodium daily in space compared to balanced sodium in the control experiment. SOLO was also part of the experiments done on the recent Russian Mars500 long-duration flight simulation.] At ~5:45am EST, Andre turned on the MPC (Multi Protocol Converter) and started the Ku-band data flow of video recorded during the CFE VG1, Spheres zero Robotics and Nanoracks activities to the ground, with POIC (Payload Operations & Integration Center) routing the onboard HRDL (High-Rate Data Link). after about 15.5 hrs, FE-5 will turn MPC routing off again. [This is a routine operation which regularly transmits HD onboard video (live or tape playback) to the ground on a daily basis before sleeptime.] Andre also opened the protective shutters of the Lab, Node-3/Cupola & Kibo Lab windows which had been closed for last night’s reboost firing. At ~8:00am EST, the six crewmembers held the regular WPC (Weekly planning Conference) with the ground, discussing next week’s “Look-Ahead Plan” (prepared jointly by MCC-H and TsUP-Moscow timeline planners), via S-band/audio, reviewing upcoming activities and any concerns about future on-orbit events. CDR, FE-1, FE-4 & FE-5 conducted their weekly PFCs (Private Family Conferences), via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop), Dan at ~2:40am, Andre at ~3:10am, Anton at ~4:45am, Oleg at ~6:20am EST. The crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (CDR, FE-6), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (FE-1, FE-2, FE-4), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-1, FE-2, FE-5, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (FE-5), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-4). Tasks listed for Shkaplerov, Kononenko & Ivanishin on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” job for today were – A ~30-min. run of the GFI-8 “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program with the NIKON D3X digital camera with Sigma AF 300-800mm telelens, focusing on the Volcanoes Santa Maria, Fuego, San Cristobal, Arenal, Poas, Galeras, Reventador, Tanguraua, Sangay, Hudson, and the glaciers of Patagonia, A 10-min. photography session for the DZZ-13 “Seiner” ocean observation program, obtaining HDV (Z1) camcorder footage of color bloom patterns in the waters of the South-Eastern Pacific, then copying the images to the RSK-1 laptop, A ~30-min. session for Russia’s EKON Environmental Safety Agency, making observations and taking KPT-3 aerial photography of environmental conditions on Earth using the NIKON D3X camera with the RSK-1 laptop, and A video recording by the cosmonauts to be used in a joint project of Roskosmos TV Studio with Karusel (Carousel) TV Channel for children ages 8 to 12 years, the “It’s Time to go to space!” program, which has a segment where Russian cosmonauts are discussing their work &, answer viewers’ questions (currently they are working on a new Year episode). The footage was then to be downlinked to TsUP-Moscow, and No CEO (Crew Earth Observation) targets uplinked for today. DAM (Debris Avoidance Maneuver) + Reboost: The DAM/reboost burn was performed nominally last night at 6:50pm EST using the SM Main thrusters for 1m 4s. Achieved were a Delta-V of 1.11 m/s (planned: 1.0 m/s), increasing mean altitude by 1.90 km (planned: 1.75 km). after the burn, ISS was at 391.7 km mean altitude, with 404.8 km apogee height and 378.6 perigee height. The purpose of the reboost was to avoid a series of conjunctions with Object 30502 (Fengyun 1C Debris), and to set up phasing for the future trajectory events. this reboost replaced the previously planned reboost on 2/1. Software Upgrading: Today the ground temporarily deactivated the Node-2 CCAA (Common Cabin Air Assembly) in support of the N2-2 R3 software load. During this time the crew was “prime” for smoke detection in Node 2. between 9:00am and 3:00pm EST, the ground is loading software to and transitioning the N2-2 EXT & N2-1 MDMs (Multiplexer/Demultiplexer) computers. Tomorrow, the same will take place at these times for the S3-1 & P3-2 MDMs, as well as to the Backup EXT MDM. Weekly Science Update (Expedition Thirty/Thirty-One — Week 19). 2D NANO Template (JAXA): The experiment is continuing in Dewar4 of MELFI-1. The samples are proceeding by arranging peptides slowly on base plates. The samples will be returned on 28S. 3D SPACE: Complete. AgCam (Agricultural Camera): No report. ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete. ALTEA SHIELD (NASA/ASI): The Survey part of the ALTEA-SHIELD experiment is considered complete. However the teams are working to have ALTEA continue to record data. Amine Swingbed (NASA): No report. AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer): AMS Payload and Laptop operations are nominal. AMS has data on the ground for over 11.5 billion particle events. APEX (Advanced Plant Experiments on Orbit) -Cambium: No report. APEX-TAGES (Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System): No report. Asian Seed 2010 (JAXA): Returned on ULF6. BCAT-6 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 6): No report. [Colloids are particles as small as a few tens of nanometers (a thousandth of a thousandth of a millimeter) that are suspended in a medium, usually a liquid or a gas. The name "colloid" comes from the Greek word for "glue", and expresses very important properties of colloids: when small and light enough, particles can be influenced in their behavior by forces of electromagnetic origin, and make them stick together, or repel each other depending on the configuration. Colloids are widely studied in science because the forces between particles can be controlled and tuned and because particles, while being small enough to be influenced by such forces, are big and slow enough to be seen with a relatively simple and inexpensive laboratory instrument like a microscope. this is why colloids are often studied as model for molecular systems (like standard gases or liquids) where molecules, the individual constituents, are much smaller than colloids and cannot be seen with light. As mentioned, forces between colloids can be tuned giving rise to a rich variety of phenomena. one of them is aggregation, which is when particles stick together and tend to form structures. Among the many ways to induce particle aggregation, one allows to do so by controlling the temperature of the solution in which the particles are immersed, thanks to very weak forces called "critical Casimir forces" that have been predicted more than 30 years ago but just partially verified in experiments. The objective of SODI COLLOID is to measure such forces and produce a controlled aggregation of tiny plastic particles. this would allow to shed light on critical Casimir forces and to make a step towards the fabrication of new nanostructured materials with remarkable optical properties for industrial applications.] BIOLAB (ESA): No report. BIORHYTHMS (JAXA, Biological Rhythms): No report. BISE (CSA, Bodies in the Space Environment): No report. BISPHOSPHONATES: No report. BXF-Facility (Boiling eXperiment Facility, NASA): No report. BXF-MABE (Microheater Array Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report. BXF-NPBX (Pool Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report. CARD (Long Term Microgravity: Model for Investigating Mechanisms of Heart Disease, ESA): No report. CARDIOCOG-2: Complete. CB (JAXA clean Bench): No report. CBEF-2 (JAXA Cell Biology Experiment Facility)/SPACE SEED: No report. CCISS (Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS): No report. CERISE (JAXA): No report. CCF (Capillary Channel Flow, NASA): No report. CFE-2 (Capillary Flow Experiment 2, NASA): “Today was a wonderfully unique experience we are not soon to forget. With your close collaboration we believe we managed to identify 6 critical points with an accuracy of +/- 1 degree! your detailed commentary kept us on track and gave us exactly the information we were looking for. your work today not only helps with the understanding of critical wetting phenomena, but will assist in future spacecraft systems design. We look forward to working alongside you in the future!” CFS-A (Colored Fungi in Space-A, ESA): No report. CSI-5/CGBA-5 (CGBA Science Insert #5/Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5): No report. CGBA-2 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 2): Complete. CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack), MDCA/Flex: No report. Commercial (Inc 23&24, JAXA): No report. Commercial (Inc 25 & 26, JAXA): No report. CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2): No report. CsPins (JAXA): No report. CubeLab: No report. CW/CR (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) in EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Complete. DECLIC-ALI (Device for the Study of Critical Liquids & Crystallization-ALICE-like, CNES/NASA): No report. DomeGene (JAXA): Complete. DOSIS (Dose Distribution Inside ISS, ESA): No report. EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge acquired by Middle School Students): No report. EDR (European Drawer Rack, ESA): Successful software upgrade of RIC, VMU and laptop on 1/25. EKE (Endurance Capacity by Gas Exchange and Heart Rate Kinetics During Physical Training, ESA): No report. ELITE-S2 (Elaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2): Planned. EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): No report. ENose (Electronic Nose): No report. EPM (European Physiology Module): Activated on 1/26 to support the data transfer re-attempt of the first NEUROSPAT session of Andre Kuipers. Refer to NEUROSPAT entry. EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Eye in the Sky; Sleep 2): No report. EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Sesame Street): No report. EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Kids in Micro-G): No report. EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Earth/Moon/Mars Demo): No report. EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Space Sports): No report. EPO CONVECTIONS (ESA): No report. EPO LES-2 (ESA): No report. EPO GREENHOUSE (ESA): No report. EPO 3-min Video (JAXA): No report. EPO J-Astro Report (JAXA): No report. EPO Dewey’s Forest (JAXA): Closed out on 3/15. EPO Space Clothes (JAXA): Complete. EPO Hiten (Dance, JAXA): No report. EPO Lego Bricks (NASA, JAXA): No report. EPO-5 SpaceBottle (Message in a Bottle, JAXA): No report. EPO Moon Score (JAXA): No report. EPO-7 try Zero-G (JAXA): No report. EPO Kibo Kids Tour (JAXA): Complete. EPO Paper Craft (Origami, JAXA): No report. EPO Poem (JAXA): No report. EPO-6 Spiral top 2 (JAXA): No report. EPO-7 Doctor Demo (JAXA): No report. EPO-7 Green Tea Preparation (JAXA): No report. EPO-7 Ink Ball (JAXA): No report. EPO-7 Video (JAXA): ERB-2 (Erasmus Recording Binocular, ESA): [ERB-2 aims are to develop narrated video material for various PR & educational products & events, including a 3D interior station view.] “Dear Andre, many thanks for your extensive use of the ERB-2 camera. The data from the previous hard disk were all transferred from ERB-2 to the EDR VMU last week, but not all data from the VMU are downlinked yet, hence our pending feedback. We will for sure let you know what we think about your footage as soon as we see the movies. ” ETD (Eye Tracking Device): Completed. FACET-2 (JAXA): No report. FERULATE (JAXA): No report. FIR/LMM/CVB (Fluids Integrated Rack / Light Microscopy Module / Constrained Vapor Bubble): No report. Fish Scales (JAXA): Completed on FD7/ULF-4 and returned on STS-132. FOAM STABILITY EPO (ESA): No report. FOCUS: No report. FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory, ESA): FSL was activated during the entire week to support the GEOFLOW-2 experiment. one Medium-High Rotation run (#i18d) has been completed without any glitch on GMT020. after that, only scientific images and MVIS data were downlinked. FWED (Flywheel Exercise Device, ESA): No report. GENARA-A (Gravity Regulated Genes in Arabidopsis A/ESA): No report. GEOFLOW-2 (ESA): Refer to FSL input, the next foreseen science run is planned for 1/27. [Background: Everybody is familiar with liquids. in an average day we get to use, handle or drink water or other liquids. And everybody knows how fluids (that is liquids and gases) behave: when subjected to a net force, may be pressure, a temperature difference or gravity, they can move freely. Scientists have been studying how fluids move for centuries, and managed to write mathematical formulas that can describe and predict such movements. unfortunately, these equations are extremely complex and only approximate solutions are known. As a result, our quantitative understanding of fluid movement is just partial. this is especially true for natural phenomena where the forces can be enormous and unpredictable, like in oceans or in the atmosphere. or the interior of the earth, where rocks are exposed to pressures and temperatures so incredibly high that they slowly move and adapt their shape. that is, over hundreds of years rocks flow just like a very viscous liquid. Scientists try to study such flows but cannot observe them directly due to the fact that they take place deep beneath the surface of our planet. The only way is to have computers simulating those movements starting from the equations, but how to check whether computers are correct? this is what Geoflow II is trying to answer on board the International Space Station. Geoflow II is a miniature planet that has some of its essential ingredients: a fluid can freely move inside a spherical container that rotates, has temperature differences and has a simulated gravity directed towards the centre just like in a real planet. By taking pictures of the fluid movements, scientists are able to understand the essential characteristics of the flows and determine whether computer simulations are correct or whether they need to be refined and improved towards a better understanding of the elusive movements that take place inside our planet.] HAIR (JAXA): on 1/20, you completed first sample collection for Andre and Don. We appreciate your many “Ouch!”. The sample was stowed in MELFI1 Dewar1 (-95C). HDTV System (JAXA): No report. Hicari (JAXA): We are continuing trouble shooting for GHF shutdown during a vacuum process. for that, we will activate GHF and try to keep a vacuum process, again from 1/28 after 46P arrival. Holter ECG (JAXA): No report. HQPC (JAXA): Was delivered by 34P. HREP (HICO/Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean & RAIDS/Remote Atmospheric & Ionospheric Detection System/JAXA): HICO has taken 4875 images to date. The most recent HICO images taken include Bahrain, the Yellow River Estuary in China, the coast of Italy near Venice, Lake Tahoe and the Straits of Gibraltar. RAIDS is collecting secondary Science data including nighttime atmospheric disk photometry, spectra and temperatures. Extreme Ultra Violet airglow spectroscopy and optical contamination studies will also be performed. HydroTropi (Hydrotropism & Auxin-Inducible Gene Expression in Roots Grown under Microgravity Conditions/JAXA): No report. ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): Complete. ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular): “Don, thanks for going the extra mile for us in getting started with your Ambulatory Monitoring as quickly as you could. Good signal quality is well worth a few hours delay in starting the data take!” IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & after Long Term Stay at ISS): Complete. INTEGRATED IMMUNE: No report. InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2): No report. IRIS (Image Reversal in Space, CSA): No report. ISS Amateur/Ham Radio: No report. ISSAC (ISS Agricultural Camera, NASA): No report. IV Gen (Intravenous Fluids Generation): No report. JOURNALS (Behavioral Issues associated with Isolation and Confinement, NASA): No report. [Studies conducted on Earth have shown that analyzing the content of journals and diaries is an effective method for identifying the issues that are most important to a person. The method is based on the reasonable assumption that the frequency that an issue or category of issues is mentioned in a journal reflects the importance of that issue or category to the writer. The tone of each entry (positive, negative, or neutral) and phase of the expedition also are variables of interest. Study results will lead to recommendations for the design of equipment, facilities, procedures, and training to help sustain behavioral adjustment and performance during long-duration space expeditions to the ISS, asteroids, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Results from this study could help to improve the behavioral performance of people living and working under a variety of conditions here on Earth.] KID/KUBIK6: No report. KUBIK 3 (ESA): No report. LMM/PACE-2 (Light Microscopy Module / Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment): No report. LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): No report. Marangoni Exp. (JAXA): Don, on 1/24, you completed the swap from the Video Cable of Image Processing Unit (IPU) from Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF) to MSPR Video Signal Converter Unit (VSCU). MSPR VSCU will be used to downlink video imagery for Marangoni experiment instead of FPEF IPU which is in trouble shooting. We need to confirm downlink capability via MSPR Multi Media Protocol Converter (MPC) prior to the start of the next Marangoni experiment. Late breaking news from 1/27: we were finally able to perform Marangoni Special Experiment (Liquid Drop) for the first time using MSPR for downlink instead of IPU and achieved extra science success! The next Marangoni experiment run is #3-26. Marangoni DSD – Dynamic Surf (JAXA): Payload name was change from Marangoni DSD to Dynamic Surf. Marangoni UVP (JAXA): No report. MARES (Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise System, ESA/NASA): No report. Matryoshka-2 (RSA): No report. MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image, JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring. MDCA/Flex-2: on 1/19, CIR was unable to establish communication with MDCA preventing us from performing test points. We are currently working on a troubleshooting and recovery plan. MEIS (Marangoni Experiment for ISS) in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): No report. Microbe-2 (JAXA): Sample returned by ULF6. Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete. MISSE-8 (Materials ISS Experiment 8): MISSE-8 is operating nominally. The Communication Interface Board (CIB) has not reset since December 2011 but the SEUXSE II experiment experienced a few internal resets recently. SEUXSE II was power cycled and commands were sent up to put it back into the nominal configuration. PASCAL plans to perform nominal commanding again starting on 1/27. The SpaceCube experiment is running code for new radiation hardening by software. MMA (JAXA/Microgravity Measurement Apparatus): No report. MPAC/SEED (JAXA): No report. MSG-SAME (Microgravity Science Glovebox-Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment): No report. MSPR (Multi Purpose Small Payload Rack, JAXA): No report. MSL (Materials Science Laboratory, ESA): No report. MTR-2 (Russian radiation measurements): Passive dosimeters measurements in DC-1 “Pirs”. MULTIGEN-1: Completed. MYCO 3 (JAXA): on 9/22, Mike and Satoshi completed sample collection. MyoLab (JAXA): Completed on 4/20. NANOSKELETON (Production of High Performance Nanomaterials in Microgravity, JAXA): No report. NEURORAD (JAXA): No report. NEUROSPAT (ESA/Study of Spatial Cognition, Novelty Processing and Sensorimotor Integration): “Andre, thank you for your help in performing the next steps of the NEUROSPAT troubleshooting. We have very good news: the hard disk was put back in the ESA Multipurpose laptop and the data could be transferred from there to the EPM MEEMM without problem. this means that the full troubleshooting was successful and h/w is ready for the next session. The data transfer from EPM MEEMM to ground is planned for 1/27. The science team will then be able to assess the validity of your first session of 1/3.”" [During microgravity stay, the human body goes through multitude of physiological changes in order to accommodate to the new environment. As the brain is a master organ where major crucial processes take place, it is fundamental to understand how it manages adaptation for living in Space. one of the main purposes of Neurospat (NES) experiment is to focus on how microgravity environment influences cerebral activity of astronauts aboard ISS. for this, the global electrical activity of the brain of the astronaut is measured thanks to electroencephalogram (EEG) technique, while he or she is executing specific tasks through a computer as if it was a kind of videogame. in practice, the astronaut is wearing a specially equipped cap with passive, gel filled electrodes that are in contact with his/her scalp while he or she is performing the specific tasks that we have designed. these are visual-orientation perception and visuo-motor tracking tasks that may be encountered on a daily basis. The tasks allow the study of 5 cognitive processes: Perception, Attention, Memorization, decision and Action. besides there are also task-irrelevant images that are showed to the astronaut in order to assess how well he or she processes novel visual stimuli. The electrodes all over the scalp are linked to sensitive amplifiers that allow us to measure small variations of electrical potential between different regions of the scalp. these signals are in turn used to estimate activity in the cerebral cortex related to the task being performed. Also, they serve to identify the mental processes associated with these tasks and to localize in the brain the sources of the underlying neural activity. after analysis of the data we can better understand whether the novel environment of microgravity accompanied by a multitude of stressors may place an increased load on the cognitive capacity of the human brain and whether the sensory signals and motor responses of astronauts are processed and interpreted differently because a new reference frame.] NOA-1/-2 (Nitric Oxide Analyzer, ESA): Complete. NUTRITION w/REPOSITORY/ProK: No report. ODK (Onboard Diagnostic Kit, JAXA): No report. PACE-2 (Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment 2, NASA): (please see under FIR and LMM/PACE-2. PADIAC (Pathway Different Activators, ESA): No report. PADLES (JAXA, Area PADLES 6/7; Passive Area Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): No report. PASSAGES (JAXA): No report. PCDF-PU (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility – Process Unit): No report. PCG (JAXA, Protein Crystal Growth): The 5th protein crystallization experiment is planned to start over the weekend. PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): see PCG. PLSG (Plant Signaling, NASA/ESA): No report. PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete. POLCA/GRAVIGEN (ESA): Complete. Portable PFS: No report. Pro K: No report. RadGene & LOH (JAXA): Complete. RadSilk (JAXA): No report. Reaction self Test (RST/Psychomotor Vigilance self Test on the ISS): “Dan, Don and Andre, thank you for your participation in Reaction self Test! your sleep shift sequence will continue through 2/2.” ROALD-2 (Role of Apoptosis in Lymphocyte Depression 2, ESA): No report. [Background: The ROALD-2 experiment studies how the function of T-cells from the immune system are affected by microgravity and spaceflight. T-cells play an important role in controlling the immune systems response to infection. It has previously been shown that the immune response of astronauts can be reduced following spaceflight and it has also been shown that the activation of T-cells in culture is reduced in microgravity. A series of experiments on T-cells and other immune system cells have been previously performed by different scientific teams on Space Shuttle and the ISS over the last 30 years. The data from these individual experiments provides information which together can be used to understand the mechanisms by which gravity or the absence of gravity can affect T-cell function.] Robonaut (NASA): No report. RYUTAI Rack (JAXA): No report. SAIBO Rack (JAXA): Dan, on 1/21, you completed the microscope checkout for clean Bench (CB). Thank you for conducting a part of the task during the Presleep. The CB function checkout was completed yesterday. SAMS/MAMS (Space & Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems): No report. SAMPLE: Complete. SCOF (Solution Crystallization Observation Facility, JAXA): No report. SEDA-AP (Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment-Attached Payload, JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring. SHD (Space Headaches, ESA): “Andre, thanks for your continued participation in this experiment. Keep going, this is much appreciated!” ” [Background: The neurologists from Leiden University want to study the question whether the astronauts, while in space, suffer from the headaches. With the help of simple questionnaires the astronauts will register the headache episodes and the eventual accompanying symptoms. The results will hopefully help to characterize the frequency and characteristics of space headache and to develop countermeasure to prevent/minimize headache occurrence during the space flight.] SHERE II (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment II): No report. SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device): No report. SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): No report. SLICE (Structure & Liftoff in Combustion Experiment): “Don, thanks for your SLICE preparations. We look forward to working with you to lift the flames!” SMILES (JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring. SODI/IVIDIL (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Influence of Vibration on Diffusion in Liquids, ESA): No report. SODI/COLLOID (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Colloid): No report. SODI-DSC (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Diffusion & Soret Coefficient, ESA): The science team analyzed the last runs and informed us that unfortunately 4 of them suffered from mode hopping of the laser and are not useful. therefore, at the end, 37 out of 55 runs were confirmed to be valid, thanks to the post-processing algorithm which drastically improves the image quality (2 runs are pending confirmation as no data are available on-ground due to FD exchange). The near-future plans with SODI-DSC are being discussed with the science team. [Background: Fluids and gases are never at rest. this statement is in apparent contradiction with our experience: when we pour water in a glass and wait until all flows have disappeared and the temperature of the liquid is in equilibrium with that of the room, we see that water appears to be completely at rest. However, if we were able to see the individual molecules of water with a very powerful microscope, we would discover that they are incessantly moving and collide with each other following frantic, random paths even if the liquid appears to be quiescent at naked eye. Scientists are interested in observing and measuring such movements because they reveal important, practical information: how fast does heat propagates in a fluid? How fast do liquid mixtures mix? Such phenomena occur in absence of a macroscopic flow, that is when the fluid appears to be at rest, and are called heat and mass diffusion respectively. While the theoretical prediction of heat and mass diffusion is still quite challenging, its measurement is a standard laboratory practice, but may become extremely difficult or impossible when dealing with mixtures of many liquids, due to the fact that such measurement needs to be carried out when the fluid is quiescent, a condition sometimes impossible to achieve on ground. this is precisely the objective of the SODI DSC experiment carried out on board the International Space Station: the measurement of diffusion in mixtures of liquids. By using very sensitive optical techniques, it will be possible to measure mass diffusion, compare with current theories, and improve our present understanding of how molecules move in liquid mixtures. The results will be used by the large team of scientists involved in the project to try to understand which of the many existing theories for mass diffusion is correctly predicting the experimental behavior.] SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory, ESA): Sun Visibility Window #49 started on 1/22 with Sun measurements for SOLSPEC and SolACES, which enabled us to capture the big solar storm event of last days. From 1/21 until 1/25 SolACES was put in heating configuration for the 45P undocking event. SOLSPEC performed daily Sun and calibration measurements since the start of the Sun Visibility Window. SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): “Dear Dan and Andre, we appreciate the review of your big Picture words. We are much looking forward to your participation to the SOLO activities coming up soon. in a separate tab, you will find the SOLO layman’s terms (please follow the hyperlink below).” Space-DRUMS (Space Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System): No report. Space Food (JAXA): No report. SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite): “Don, you did a remarkable job executing the international SPHERES zero Robotics High School Competition for both Europe and the USA. you completed 16 different test runs, yielding the CyberAvo Alliance as the European Champion and the Rocket Alliance as the US Champion. The CyberAvo Alliance consisted of 3 schools from Turin, Italy and Berlin, Germany. The Rocket Alliance consisted of three schools from Clarksville, MD, Branchburg, NJ, and Rockledge, FL.– dear Andre and Don, we cannot thank you enough for your time during the SPHERES event which also comprised as you know several European teams. all the finalists gathered in ESTEC accompanied by their school teachers, press and in the case of Turin, the local minister of education. The day was divided into several tours of Erasmus highbay, some movie highlights of past missions and your December launch as well as a tech tour of the test facilities. The afternoon focused on the live link and the games. The atmosphere was electric in the run up to the link and the suspense during the LOS during the score read-out was a real killer! all in all, the students had a fantastic time they all want to come back again next year. I hope you both enjoyed yourselves also, it’s fantastic what you both did along with MIT and NASA for the European students! in a separate worksheet, you will find a couple of pics for your viewing pleasure.” SPHINX (SPaceflight of Huvec: an Integrated eXperiment, ESA): No report. SPICE (Smoke Point in Co-flow Experiment): No report. SPINAL (Spinal Elongation): No report. SPRINT: “Don, great job again on you Ultrasound session Thursday! your images are on the ground and the PI team will begin analysis soon. We will see you again in about 30 days. Good luck finding the red sharpie!” SS-HDTV (Super Sensitivity High Definition Camera, JAXA): No report. STP-H3 (Space Test Program – Houston 3): The STP-H3 team is reviewing the video from the survey using the SSRMS on 1/19. The video did reveal damage to VADER Variable Emissivity Device #3 and further study might provide insight into what caused this damage. VADER is no longer doing any testing of the VEDs due to the discovery of the damage. VADER will evaluate whether any further testing of other VEDs can be done for scientific gain or would it be best to cease operations of this part of the experiment entirely. VADER will continue to characterize the performance of the Aerogel blanket attached to the backside. MHTEX is currently repriming the system to prepare for a new series of tests. Canary took data from the 45P propellant purge and undocking events. Canary plans to collect data during the docking of 46P later this week. DISC has taken more imagery this week and is processing images that were taken in previous weeks. SWAB (Characterization of Microorganisms & Allergens in Spacecraft): No report. TASTE IN SPACE (ESA): No report. THERMOLAB (ESA): No report. TRAC (Test of Reaction & Adaptation Capabilities): Planned. TREADMILL KINEMATICS: No report. TRIPLELUX-B (ESA): No report. ULTRASOUND: Planned. UMS (Urine Monitoring System (NASA): No report. VASCULAR (CSA): “No report. VCAM (Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Module, NASA): No report. VESSEL ID System (ESA): Nominal data acquisition with the NorAIS receiver. The new software that was installed on 1/20 shows good improvements, in special in the high traffic zones. First results show a 1.4x improvement factor for the Mediterranean region and a factor 2.0 for the region outside China. VESSEL IMAGING (ESA): “Don, the VESSEL IMAGING team appreciated much your efforts in getting as much of the additional scans this week. It is confirmed that we have acquired the missing science data from the first session performed on 1/6.” [Background: It is known that the ability of blood vessels to vasoconstrict - the ability of the muscular vessel wall to narrow the diameter of the blood vessel - is impaired during and after a human has been in space. "Vessel Imaging" is using the Ultrasound scanner on board the ISS to take images of the five different blood vessels in the lower abdomen and in the legs to study what changes occur to cause the blood vessels to be less able to vasoconstrict. for each vessel, a 5 second scan is performed to observe the blood vessel during several heart beats, followed by a scan where the ultrasound scan-head is tilted to allow a "cut through the blood vessel wall". The same scans are also performed before flight, and these pre-flight images are used as the baseline to which the in-flight data is compared with. The images are analyzed to detect any changes in the blood vessel wall properties, such as wall thickness, elasticity or structure, changes in the size of the blood vessel or blood flow (volume) while the crewmember is in orbit.] VIABLE (eValuatIon And monitoring of microBiofiLms insidE the ISS Payload Touch, NASA): No report. VO2max (NASA): No report. VLE (Video Lessons ESA): No report. WAICO #1/#2 (Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels; ESA): No report. YEAST B (ESA): No report. YOUTUBE SpaceLab: “Andre, thank you very much for completing the YouTube Space Lab video! We appreciate your time and creativity. We are sure the kids participating in the contest will be inspired by you!” CEO (Crew Earth Observation): Through 1/22 the ground has received 34,953 of ISS CEO frames for review and cataloguing, over 7,000 frames in the past week alone! “We are pleased to report your acquisition of imagery with times corresponding to those of our CEO Daily Target Lists for the following targets: Mt. Etna, Sicily – 5 frames – target not acquired – high obliques from automated session; Porto-Novo, Benin – 31 frames – target not acquired – high obliques from automated session; Niamey, Niger – 64 frames – target acquired in a couple of frames – views were oblique and hazy – we will continue to request this site; Mississippi River Delta – 45 frames – under review for content; and Ganges River Delta – 55 frames – under review for content. We will try to provide positive feedback only on the results of our review of these sessions next time. We can report from last week’s acquisitions that good imagery was acquired for the Capital Cities Collection Site: Port au Prince, Haiti – requirements are met for that site and we can remove it from our list. To continue reporting the publication and application of your increment’s imagery: your awesome context view of Emi Koussi Volcano and Aorounga Impact Crater, Chad was posted on NASA/GSFC’s Earth Observatory website on January 8, 2012 (see link below). your photo beautifully illustrates the setting and erosional processes on these two landmark features of the Sahara Desert – nice shot! another of your photos, a visually striking image Agricultural Patterns, Quebec, Canada, was published Earth Observatory on January 17th (see link below). your shot documents an unusual, regional agricultural pattern, enhanced by snow cover that has the appearance of a woven tapestry. this is a very nice find in the otherwise dreary winter landscape of southeastern Canada. Good eye!” No CEO targets uplinked for today. Significant Events ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change): ————–Six-crew operations—————- 02/16/12 — Russian EVA-30 03/09/12 — ATV3 launch — (target date) 03/16/12– Soyuz TMA-22/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30) xx/xx/12 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon launch xx/xx/12 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon berthing xx/xx/12 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon unberth ————–Three-crew operations————- 03/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S launch – G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/K.Volkov — (Target Date) 04/01/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S docking (MRM2) — (Target Date) ————–Six-crew operations—————- TBD — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – launch on Proton (under review) 04/24/12 — Progress M-14M/46P undock 04/25/12 — Progress M-15M/47P launch 04/27/12 — Progress M-15M/47P docking TBD — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) – docking (under review) 05/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-03M/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31) ————–Three-crew operations————- 05/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S launch – S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide 06/01/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S docking ————–Six-crew operations—————- 09/12/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32) ————–Three-crew operations————- 09/26/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin 09/28/12 – Soyuz TMA-06M/32S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 11/12/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33) ————–Three-crew operations————- 11/26/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko 11/28/12 – Soyuz TMA-07M/33S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 03/19/13 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34) ————–Three-crew operations————- 04/02/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin 04/04/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 05/16/13 – Soyuz TMA-07M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35) ————–Three-crew operations————- 05/29/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano 05/31/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/35S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36) ————–Three-crew operations————- 09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/36S launch – M.Hopkins/TBD (CDR-38)/TBD 09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/36S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37) ————–Three-crew operations————- 11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/37S launch – K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/TBD 11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/37S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 03/xx/14 – Soyuz TMA-10M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38) ————–Three-crew operations————-

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What makes Linda Allen’s Yeast Infection no More one of the hottest-selling treatment guides for yeast infections? One reason is that it probably does not leave you in the dark as to what the signs and symptoms of typical infections are. Another is that it gets you in-the-know on how to treat infections to the extent that you know you will really get cured.

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The treatment technique is explained point by point in an outline form. The guide is easy to understand and follow even for online beginners and those without any medical background. In not so many words, this guide tells you that it is possible for yeast infections to be cured without the need to use harsh ingredients. instead of creams, drugs, and other medications, it uses natural solutions which have been clinically proven over time. these solutions zero in on the Candida albicans problem and eliminate it in a step-by-step process.

The guide discusses in detail what kind of food would aggravate your fungal problem. different kinds of foods are listed as to which ones can help to get rid of the infection and which ones cannot prevent the problem.

In a way, Yeast no More is more of a guide that incites a lifestyle change. There are changes to be made in your diet and health practices in order to prevent infections from both happening and recurring. it does take a little discipline and work to get the job done, but it can happen for you.

When you say yes to Yeast no More, you’re practically saying no to a life ridden with chronic yeast infections. You’re freeing up your skin of these unwholesome microorganisms, and you’re declining them access to the most intimate regions of your body. with just a few insider secrets from Linda Allen, your insides will be a whole lot healthier and safer.

Cells live longer than their internal components. To keep their cytoplasm clear of excess or damaged organelles, as well as invading pathogens, or to feed themselves in time of nutrient deprivation, cells degrade these unwanted or potentially harmful structures, and produce needed food and fuel, using a process they have honed over millions of years. Known as autophagy, this catabolic process involves the selection and the sequestration of the targeted structures into unique transport vesicles called autophagosomes, which then deliver the contents to lysosomes where they are degraded by lytic enzymes. This conserved eukaryotic pathway plays a central role in a multitude of physiological processes, including programmed cell death, development, and differentiation. In addition, it plays a protective role against aging, tumorigenesis, neurodegeneration, and infection. given all this, it is not surprising that an impairment of autophagy is correlated with various severe pathologies, including cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, neuro- and myodegenerative disorders, and malignancies.

Despite significant advances over the last 20 years in the understanding of how this process works and what purposes it serves, there is a lingering question—how are autophagosomes formed? more specifically, where do their not one, but two lipid bilayers come from? Autophagosomes are not pre-built organelles that become active upon the induction of autophagy; they are made from scratch each time a cell needs to degrade one or more of its contents. And they are giant vesicles, with an average diameter of approximately 700–800 nanometers, which can further expand to accommodate large structures such as cellular organelles and bacteria, and which are made in large quantities under autophagy-inducing conditions. As a result, progression of autophagy requires a ready supply of lipids. This aspect of the process has intrigued researchers since the discovery of autophagy in the 1950s and ’60s. Understanding the biogenesis of autophagosomes will provide information about how cells generate new compartments in response to internal and external cues, and will thus lead to a clearer conception of cell homeostasis.

Intrinsic to the question of the autophagosome’s origin is the source of the lipids required to build the double-membrane vesicle and the way this supply is delivered. one major difficulty in addressing this question has been that autophagosomes contain no marker proteins that definitively link them to any known subcellular organelle, making it difficult to unveil their origins. Indeed, autophagosomes are distinct from all other organelles in the cell, both in structure and in protein composition. recent advances in microscopic techniques and biochemical approaches have stimulated a series of studies investigating this issue, but the results are contradictory, at least at first glance, with different groups identifying evidence for contributions from the cell’s plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and Golgi complex. From which of these organelles is the autophagosome derived, or could it be all of the above? The answer to this question is a prerequisite for understanding and manipulating the mechanism of autophagy. In turn, this knowledge is essential to the development of therapies or drugs that target this pathway to treat or even cure diseases in which autophagy is blocked or impaired.

How autophagy works

Autophagosome biogenesis and consumption can be divided into five discrete steps: induction, expansion, vesicle completion, fusion, and cargo degradation. The initial event upon induction is the formation of a membranous cistern called the phagophore, or isolation membrane. This compartment appears to be generated from what has been defined in yeast as the phagophore assembly site (PAS) or pre-autophagosomal structure, a putative early autophagosome precursor that is formed by the sequential association of at least a subset of Atg proteins, which are known to be specifically involved in autophagy. The subsequent expansion of the phagophore through the acquisition of additional lipids permits the engulfment of the intracellular material targeted for destruction. The double-membrane vesicle is completed when the inner and outer bilayers fuse to form two distinct membranes, one inside the other. Completed autophagosomes first fuse with endosomal structures to form amphisomes (an event that appears not to occur in yeast), and then with the mammalian lysosome or the yeast and plant vacuole, allowing the degradation of the inner vesicle and its cargo by acid hydrolases residing in these lytic compartments. Lastly, the basic metabolites generated from this catabolic processing of biological macromolecules are transported into the cytoplasm, where they are reused as either a source of energy or as building blocks for new proteins and lipids.

Mixed membrane messages

THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM

Endoplasmic reticulum <span>Maria and Peter HOey</span>

The first organelle proposed as the source of autophagosomal membranes was the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the compartment responsible for the production of the proteins and lipids that compose the cell. Morphological studies performed in the 1970s already indicated a possible functional link between autophagosomes and the ER, because these two organelles were often seen in close proximity. These observations were subsequently supported by immuno-ultrastructural analyses made by bill Dunn of the University of Florida in 1990, in which integral membrane proteins of the rough ER were detected in both the inner and outer membranes of the autophagosomes.

More recently, using electron microscope tomography to study the three-dimensional organization of these organelles, two groups have confirmed and emphasized these pioneering observations by revealing the existence of a physical connection between the ER and the forming autophagosomes. In 2009, Mitsuko Hayashi-Nishino and colleagues at Osaka University in Japan performed 3-D reconstruction of cells expressing a mutant gene that causes defects in autophagosome formation, effectively pausing the process at the early stages of autophagosomal membrane formation (i.e., the phagophore stage). This analysis revealed that the ER and the growing phagophore are intimately associated, suggesting that the nascent autophagosome branches off from the ER. In fact, the rough ER was connected through a single point of contact to both the outer and inner membranes of the phagophore, supporting the notion that lipids could be supplied via direct transfer at the sites of membrane contact. It is unclear, however, whether phagophore membrane formation starts at the ER, or whether the membrane simply grows there after the process is initiated elsewhere. Päivi Ylä-Anttila of the University of Helsinki and co-workers obtained similar findings in a different cell type, but they have reported the existence of several points of contact between these two organelles.

Further support for the involvement of the ER in autophagosome formation comes from studying phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate [PI(3)P], a lipid crucial for autophagosome formation. In 2008, researchers found that PI(3)P is enriched in specific regions of the ER where the autophagosomes have been observed breaking off under autophagy-inducing conditions. The same group also showed that cup-shaped structures they called omegasomes, which may be an autophagosome precursor (probably a phagophore expansion intermediate), emerge from these PI(3)P-rich subdomains. These findings have been corroborated by a new report revealing that Atg14L, a subunit of the complex involved in the synthesis of PI(3)P, is associated with the ER surface. Similarly, DFCP1, a protein mainly localizing to the ER, was found to be associated with both omegasomes2 and autophagosomal membranes connected to the ER.1

Taken together, these data suggest that autophagosomes emerge from the ER. However, 30 percent of the autophagosome precursors observed in the 3-D tomography studies were not associated with the ER, raising the possibility that another membrane source for autophagosomes could exist.1

THE MITOCHONDRION

Mitochondrion <span>Maria and Peter HOey</span>

In 2010, Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz’s group at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda proposed the outer membrane of the mitochondria as the main source of the autophagosomal lipid bilayers. their findings were obtained from extensive light-microscopy analyses of cells expressing fluorescently tagged marker proteins for autophagosomes and proteins localizing to the mitochondrial outer membrane. Under amino acid starvation conditions that initiate autophagy, these two sets of marker proteins were found to co-localize on nascent autophagosomes, suggesting a functional link between mitochondria and autophagosomes. The researchers also observed a potential direct physical connection between these two organelles, with autophagosomes growing in close proximity to mitochondria, leading the authors to propose that the mitochondria supply the forming autophagosomes with newly synthesized phospholipids.,, more recently, however, another group found that Salmonella-containing autophagosomal structures were negative for the same mitochondrial marker protein, indicating that mitochondrial lipids may not be involved in the biogenesis of all autophagosomes.

Lippincott-Schwartz’s team also showed that the connection between the mitochondria and the ER is crucial for autophagosome formation. Mitochondria are normally associated with the ER through discrete points of contact that are known as the mitochondrial-associated membranes (MAMs). In the absence of MAMs, phospholipid biosynthesis is impaired, indicating their important role in the lipid exchange between ER and mitochondria. when MAMs are disrupted by knocking down one of the genes involved in their maintenance, starvation-induced autophagosomes are not formed.5 This observation has led to the hypothesis that the ER contribution as a membrane provider for autophagy could be as important as the mitochondrial one. Another possible interpretation, however, is that loss of the connection between the two organelles could lead to an impairment of several functions of the ER, which in turn could affect its contribution to phagophore or autophagosome biogenesis and/or expansion.

THE PLASMA MEMBRANEYet another possible contributor to the autophagosomal double membrane is the cell’s plasma membrane. In 2010, the laboratory of David Rubinsztein at the University of Cambridge reported that some vesicles forming from the plasma membrane are positive for the autophagosome marker Atg16L1, and fuse with like vesicles to create an early autophagosomal precursor, possibly a phagophore or an omegasome. Additional investigations from the same group have revealed that the maturation of Atg16L1-positive pre-autophagosomal vesicles requires their fusion via the action of a plasma membrane SNARE protein and its interacting partners. The involvement of plasma membrane SNAREs, which mediate vesicle fusion and exocytosis, in the early steps of autophagy has also been highlighted by studies in yeast. Additional support for a plasma membrane role in autophagosome biogenesis comes from the discovery that components of the exocyst—a tethering complex that acts in concert with SNAREs to mediate fusion of Golgi-derived vesicles with the plasma membrane—associate with nascent autophagosomes, and that they are essential for starvation-induced autophagy.

THE GOLGI APPARATUS

The potential involvement of the exocyst in autophagosome formation also raises the possibility of the Golgi apparatus being a potential source for autophagosomal membranes, as the exocyst complex is present in the Golgi as well as in vesicles derived from them. The Golgi is an organelle dedicated to posttranslational protein modifications and sorting. The work on yeast plasma membrane SNAREs has revealed that these proteins regulate the organization of organelles containing Atg9, a transmembrane protein essential for autophagy. In yeast, these organelles, which have been named Atg9 reservoirs, appear to be derived from the Golgi and play a central role in providing the initial membranes necessary to generate the phagophore. Even as early as the 1990s, the Golgi was implicated in autophagosome biogenesis in mammalian cells, as the growing phagophore, as well as complete autophagosomes, could be decorated with proteins that bind to sugar chains exclusively present on post-Golgi membranes. This concept has been recently reinforced by work in yeast, where it has also been shown that two complexes involved in membrane trafficking through the Golgi are essential for autophagy.

A single model?

While researchers have accumulated undoubtedly confusing evidence for the involvement of multiple organelles in the formation of autophagosomes, the resulting hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. Further research is required to sort out which organelles contribute to autophagosome biogenesis in which species under which conditions.

The apparent discrepancy between the conclusions reached by different laboratories on the origin of the autophagosomal membrane could be, in part, due to varying experimental approaches and techniques. more importantly, the different contributions could vary depending on the cell and tissue type and the conditions used to trigger autophagy, with cells deriving the membranes from the most suitable or expendable source. Thus, in a tissue with a defined function, in response to a specific stress stimulus, the growing autophagosome would be supplied with membranes from the most optimal reservoir: an organelle that could guarantee the delivery of a large amount of lipids, but whose depletion ideally would not adversely affect the function of the tissue. From a cursory look at the current available data, one might conclude that fasting animals utilize ER while nitrogen-starved yeast use Golgi, for example. However, accurate comparative studies are needed to determine whether such trends hold true for a wider variety of cell types and stress conditions.

Another possibility that should not be discarded a priori is that autophagosomes could be a mosaic of membranes derived from more than one organelle. For example, the phagophore could originate from one organelle, while additional lipid bilayers required for its expansion are acquired from another source. Having a spectrum of membrane sources to choose from could help ensure the availability of a large supply of lipids to sustain the progression of autophagy. one could imagine that a single intracellular organelle could not provide enough lipids to produce the multitude of autophagosomes generated during prolonged periods of starvation or stress.

Finally, it still remains to be determined whether the different organelles implicated so far in autophagosome biogenesis contribute to nonselective bulk autophagy or to selective forms of autophagy, such as mitophagy (selective degradation of mitochondria), pexophagy (selective degradation of peroxisomes), or reticulophagy (selective degradation of the ER). In this regard, the observation of ER or mitochondria connected to membranes of the phagophore, for example, could suggest that rather than contributing to autophagosome formation, these organelles are actually the object of the degradation process.

Autophagosomal membranes and drug therapies

Experimental evidence indicates that autophagosome biogenesis is probably a very complex process on several levels, including its regulation in response to different cellular and environmental cues, and the factors governing the choice of membrane sources.

Is there any therapeutic value in determining the origin of the autophagosomal membranes? we think that elucidating this process could ultimately provide new drug targets for the treatment of diseases that can be alleviated or cured by the activation of autophagy, including specific muscular dystrophies, persistent infections, and neurodegenerative disorders (ataxias, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s diseases). Understanding the sources and processes by which the autophagosome’s lipid bilayers are delivered will undoubtedly reveal critical new proteins and articulate their functions, allowing researchers to pinpoint specific parts of the pathway.

Importantly, autophagy has also been associated with cancer. For example, loss of one of the two copies of Beclin1/Atg6, a gene involved in autophagy, is often found in human breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. Similarly, alterations of factors regulating the trafficking of the transmembrane protein Atg9 have been found to be a direct cause of tumorigenesis. These observations support the possibility that specific illnesses could be the phenomenological manifestation of a misregulation of lipid bilayer flux during autophagy. As a result, the factors modulating these pathways would be optimal targets for drugs aimed at restoring normal membrane supply and consequently proper progression of autophagy.

Conclusions and future directions

Since the discovery of autophagy, the membrane origin of the autophagosomes has been the subject of intense debate. recent studies employing advanced technologies have confirmed and extended the pioneering ultrastructural observations and have provided some insights on the membrane origin of these unique vesicles. The diverse conclusions of the recent work, however, have not yet provided an unequivocal answer, but rather have raised new questions that now need to be addressed. The work on this topic has only just begun.

Muriel Mari and Fulvio Reggiori are researchers in the Department of Cell Biology at the Utrecht University Medical Center, the Netherlands. Sharon a. Tooze is an investigator at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute.

This article is adapted from a review in F1000 Biology Reports, DOI:10.3410/B3-25.

References

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday – Crew off duty. Sleep Cycle Shift: Wake – 6:00am; Sleep – 4:30pm EST. Tomorrow: Return to nominal. After wakeup, FE-2 Ivanishin performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection. FE-5 Andre Kuipers started his workday with Day 3 of his 2nd (FD30) suite of sessions with the medical protocol Pro K (Dietary Intake can Predict and Protect against changes in Bone Metabolism during Spaceflight and Recovery), with diet logging after the urine pH spot test, for a 5-day period. After recording his diet input today, Andre will begin the urine collections for pH value tomorrow (1/22) and blood sampling on Monday (1/23). [For Pro K, there will be five in-flight sessions (FD15, FD30, FD60, FD120, FD180) of samplings, to be shared with the NUTRITION w/Repository protocol, each one with five days of diet & urine pH logging and photography on the last day (science sessions are often referred to by Flight Day 15, 30, 60, etc. However, there are plus-minus windows associated with these time points so a "Flight Day 15" science session may not actually fall on the crewmember's 15th day on-orbit). the crewmember prepares a diet log and then annotates quantities of food packets consumed and supplements taken. Urine collections are spread over 24 hrs; samples go into the MELFI (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS) within 30 min after collection. Blood samples, on the last day, are centrifuged in the RC (Refrigerated Centrifuge) and placed in MELFI at -80 degC. There is an 8-hr fasting requirement prior to the blood draw (i.e., no food or drink, but water ingestion is encouraged). MELFI constraints: Maximum MELFI Dewar open time: 60 sec; at least 45 min between MELFI Dewar door openings.] Kuipers also worked on today’s choice of the VolSci (Voluntary Weekend Science) program, with the ERB2 (European Recording Binocular 2) payload, first disconnecting ERB2 from the ESA EDR (European Drawer Rack), equipping it with new batteries, checking White Balance and Focus setting and then shooting video of onboard activities in all ISS locations, without script (but crew was invited to apply creativity for filming). ERB2 was then turned off, reconnected to EDR and the camera mounted on its EDR multi-use bracket. [ERB uses a three-dimensional (3-D) video camera, the Sony DSR PD150P camcorder and a Nikon SSM-3DC-101 D photo camera for taking imagery of the environment onboard the ISS for an accurate map of the station's interior and crew activities. the images are transferred by a computer application into a 3D model to be viewed in the Virtual Reality Theater of ESA's Erasmus Center.] FE-6 Don Pettit filled out his 4th weekly FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer). [On the FFQs, USOS astronauts keep a personalized log of their nutritional intake over time on special MEC software. Recorded are the amounts consumed during the past week of such food items as beverages, cereals, grains, eggs, breads, snacks, sweets, fruit, beans, soup, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, chicken, sauces & spreads, and vitamins. the FFQ is performed once a week to estimate nutrient intake from the previous week and to give recommendations to ground specialists that help maintain optimal crew health. Weekly estimation has been verified to be reliable enough that nutrients do not need to be tracked daily.] afterwards, Don performed his first session with the MedOps psychological evaluation experiment WinSCAT (Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows), logging in on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) laptop and going through the psychological evaluation exercise on the PC-based WinSCAT application. [WinSCAT is a monthly time-constrained questionnaire test of cognitive abilities, routinely performed by astronauts aboard the ISS every 30 days before or after the PHS (periodic health status) test or on special CDR's, crewmembers or flight surgeons request. the test uses cognitive subtests that measure sustained concentration, verbal working memory, attention, short-term memory, spatial processing, and math skills. the five cognitive subtests are Coding Memory - Learning, Continuous Processing Task (CPT), Match to Sample, Mathematics, and Coding Delayed Recall. these WinSCAT subtests are the same as those used during NASA's long-duration bed rest studies.] Anton Shkaplerov performed the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support system, ECLSS) in the SM. [Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists, among else, of checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers, replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers and filling EDV-SV, KOV (for Elektron), EDV-ZV & EDV on RP flow regulator.] At ~7:30am EST, the six crewmembers held the regular WPC (Weekly planning Conference) with the ground, discussing next week’s “Look-Ahead Plan” (prepared jointly by MCC-H and TsUP-Moscow timeline planners), via S-band/audio, reviewing upcoming activities and any concerns about future on-orbit events. the crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (CDR, FE-5), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (FE-1, FE-2, FE-4, FE-5), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (FE-6), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-1, FE-2, FE-4). Tasks listed for Shkaplerov, Kononenko & Ivanishin on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” job for today were – a ~30-min. run of the GFI-8 “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program with the NIKON D3X digital camera with Sigma AF 300-800mm telelens, focusing on the Volcano Etna, a 10-min. photography session for the DZZ-13 “Seiner” ocean observation program, obtaining HDV (Z1) camcorder footage of color bloom patterns in the waters of the South-Eastern Atlantic, then copying the images to the RSK-1 laptop, a ~30-min. session for Russia’s EKON Environmental Safety Agency, making observations and taking KPT-3 aerial photography of environmental conditions on Earth using the NIKON D3X camera with the RSK-1 laptop, and More preparation & downlinking of reportages (written text, photos, videos) for the Roskosmos website to promote Russia’s manned space program (max. file size 500 Mb). WRM Update: a new WRM (Water Recovery Management) “cue card” was uplinked to the crew for their reference, updated with their latest CWC (Contingency Water Container) water audit. [The new card (29-0008G) lists 60 CWCs (1466.6 L total) for the five types of water identified on board: 1. Silver technical water (25 CWCs with 1044.6 L, for Elektron electrolysis, all containing Wautersia bacteria, plus 3 with 129 L contingency water; 2. Condensate water (2 CWCs with 9.8 L), 9 empty bags; 3. Iodinated water (22 CWCs with 385.6 L; also 8 expired bags with 140.5L); 4. Waste water (1 bag with 6.4 L EMU waste water); and 5. Special fluid (1 CWC with 20.2 L, hose/pump flush). Other CWCs are stowed behind racks and are currently not being tracked due to unchanging contents. Wautersia bacteria are typical water-borne microorganisms that have been seen previously in ISS water sources. these isolates pose no threat to human health.] Weekly Science Update (Expedition Thirty/Thirty-One — Week 18). 2D NANO Template (JAXA): the experiment is continuing in Dewar4 of MELFI-1. the samples should proceed by arranging peptides slowly on base plates. the samples will be returned on 28S. 3D SPACE: Complete. AgCam (Agricultural Camera): No report. ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete. ALTEA SHIELD (NASA/ASI): the Survey part of the ALTEA-SHIELD experiment is considered complete. However the teams are working to have ALTEA continue to record data. Amine Swingbed (NASA): No report. AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer): AMS Payload and Laptop operations are nominal. AMS has data on the ground for over 11 billion particle events. APEX (Advanced Plant Experiments on Orbit) -Cambium: No report. APEX-TAGES (Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System): No report. Asian Seed 2010 (JAXA): Returned on ULF6. BCAT-6 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 6): No report. [Colloids are particles as small as a few tens of nanometers (a thousandth of a thousandth of a millimeter) that are suspended in a medium, usually a liquid or a gas. the name "colloid" comes from the Greek word for "glue", and expresses very important properties of colloids: when small and light enough, particles can be influenced in their behavior by forces of electromagnetic origin, and make them stick together, or repel each other depending on the configuration. Colloids are widely studied in science because the forces between particles can be controlled and tuned and because particles, while being small enough to be influenced by such forces, are big and slow enough to be seen with a relatively simple and inexpensive laboratory instrument like a microscope. this is why colloids are often studied as model for molecular systems (like standard gases or liquids) where molecules, the individual constituents, are much smaller than colloids and cannot be seen with light. As mentioned, forces between colloids can be tuned giving rise to a rich variety of phenomena. One of them is aggregation, which is when particles stick together and tend to form structures. Among the many ways to induce particle aggregation, one allows to do so by controlling the temperature of the solution in which the particles are immersed, thanks to very weak forces called "critical Casimir forces" that have been predicted more than 30 years ago but just partially verified in experiments. the objective of SODI COLLOID is to measure such forces and produce a controlled aggregation of tiny plastic particles. this would allow to shed light on critical Casimir forces and to make a step towards the fabrication of new nanostructured materials with remarkable optical properties for industrial applications.] BIOLAB (ESA): No report. BIORHYTHMS (JAXA, Biological Rhythms): No report. BISE (CSA, Bodies in the Space Environment): No report. BISPHOSPHONATES: No report. BXF-Facility (Boiling eXperiment Facility, NASA): No report. BXF-MABE (Microheater Array Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report. BXF-NPBX (Pool Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report. CARD (Long Term Microgravity: Model for Investigating Mechanisms of Heart Disease, ESA): No report. CARDIOCOG-2: Complete. CB (JAXA clean Bench): No report. CBEF-2 (JAXA Cell Biology Experiment Facility)/SPACE SEED: No report. CCISS (Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS): No report. CERISE (JAXA): No report. CCF (Capillary Channel Flow, NASA): No report. CFE-2 (Capillary Flow Experiment 2, NASA): “Don, on Monday, 1/16, you completed the Clockwise (CW) wetted surface test for the VG2 unit. you made measurements on the critical wetting angles for 8 different conditions (wetting and de-wetting) by adjusting vane angles based primarily on your own realtime observations. Despite the Ku band outage, such that the CFE ground team could not observe real-time video, you quickly adapted to the experiment and we are very confident in results you collected even during these LOS periods. No bulk shift was observed for today’s unfilled perforation study, but we aren’t expecting this effect until the later VG2 tests where the crew member will purposely fill the vane perforations with fluid. We were also grateful for the opportunity to talk directly to you during these operations, which added to the already surreal experience of conducting experiments on ISS. thank you!” CFS-A (Colored Fungi in Space-A, ESA): No report. CSI-5/CGBA-5 (CGBA Science Insert #5/Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5): No report. CGBA-2 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 2): Complete. CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack), MDCA/Flex: No report. Commercial (Inc 23&24, JAXA): No report. Commercial (Inc 25 & 26, JAXA): No report. CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2): No report. CsPins (JAXA): No report. CubeLab: No report. CW/CR (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) in EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Complete. DECLIC-ALI (Device for the Study of Critical Liquids & Crystallization-ALICE-like, CNES/NASA): No report. DomeGene (JAXA): Complete. DOSIS (Dose Distribution inside ISS, ESA): No report. EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge acquired by Middle School Students): No report. EDR (European Drawer Rack, ESA): Activated in support of the ERB-2 data transfer. EKE (Endurance Capacity by Gas Exchange and Heart Rate Kinetics during Physical Training, ESA): No report. ELITE-S2 (Elaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2): planned. EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): No report. ENose (Electronic Nose): No report. EPM (European Physiology Module): Activated in support of the NEUROSPAT troubleshooting steps. EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Eye in the Sky; Sleep 2): No report. EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Sesame Street): No report. EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Kids in Micro-G): No report. EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Earth/Moon/Mars Demo): No report. EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Space Sports): No report. EPO CONVECTIONS (ESA): “Andre, kudos for a smooth execution of the EPO CONVECTION experiment! ESA got the files on ground but these are not available at ESTEC yet. Meanwhile, we have positive feedback for you. several ground activities have been triggered since the beginning of Expedition 30 (i.e. PromISSe mission). Spaceship Earth webpages within PromISSe mission pages were launched with the first three lessons on the first theme of Life. these lessons cover Immunology in Space, Balance in Space and Radiation. the age range of the lessons is from 12-18 with immunology and radiation being the upper level lessons. Great EPO FOAM-S activities during week 17, ESA is planning the MPC downlink for next week. EPO CONVECTION operations were also deemed highly successful with Press and Payload Developers watching VCA live from Erasmus USOC. Finally, the EPO Education kits are complete and soon ready to be shipped out (see picture in a separate tabsheet). Schools are signing up to receive the kits ready for an upcoming in-flight call!” EPO LES-2 (ESA): No report. EPO GREENHOUSE (ESA): No report. EPO 3-min Video (JAXA): No report. EPO J-Astro Report (JAXA): No report. EPO Dewey’s Forest (JAXA): Closed out on 3/15. EPO Space Clothes (JAXA): Complete. EPO Hiten (Dance, JAXA): No report. EPO Lego Bricks (NASA, JAXA): No report. EPO-5 SpaceBottle (Message in a Bottle, JAXA): No report. EPO Moon Score (JAXA): No report. EPO-7 Try Zero-G (JAXA): No report. EPO Kibo Kids Tour (JAXA): Complete. EPO Paper Craft (Origami, JAXA): No report. EPO Poem (JAXA): No report. EPO-6 Spiral top 2 (JAXA): No report. EPO-7 Doctor Demo (JAXA): No report. EPO-7 Green Tea Preparation (JAXA): No report. EPO-7 Ink Ball (JAXA): No report. EPO-7 Video (JAXA): ERB-2 (Erasmus Recording Binocular, ESA): [ERB-2 aims are to develop narrated video material for various PR & educational products & events, including a 3D interior station view.] No report. ETD (Eye Tracking Device): Completed. FACET-2 (JAXA): No report. FERULATE (JAXA): No report. FIR/LMM/CVB (Fluids Integrated Rack / Light Microscopy Module / Constrained Vapor Bubble): No report. Fish Scales (JAXA): Completed on FD7/ULF-4 and returned on STS-132. FOAM STABILITY EPO (ESA): No report. FOCUS: No report. FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory, ESA): No report. FWED (Flywheel Exercise Device, ESA): No report. GENARA-A (Gravity Regulated Genes in Arabidopsis A/ESA): No report. GEOFLOW-2 (ESA): FSL was activated during the whole week to support the GEOFLOW-2 experiment. We had a good start with the completion of all the skipped temperature set-points for the No-Rotation runs for the experiment High Working Environment (T_cold = 30.5 degC). the experimental program was continued with several Low/Medium/High Rotation Runs: one could be completed in two steps (run #i17d), while the next three (runs #i17e, #i18c, #i18d and #i18e) had to be aborted due to FSL ground segment problems. Those pending runs were replanned on 1/19-1/20, taking into account the Columbus power limitations with the current high beta angle conditions. [Background: everybody is familiar with liquids. In an average day we get to use, handle or drink water or other liquids. And everybody knows how fluids (that is liquids and gases) behave: when subjected to a net force, may be pressure, a temperature difference or gravity, they can move freely. Scientists have been studying how fluids move for centuries, and managed to write mathematical formulas that can describe and predict such movements. Unfortunately, these equations are extremely complex and only approximate solutions are known. As a result, our quantitative understanding of fluid movement is just partial. this is especially true for natural phenomena where the forces can be enormous and unpredictable, like in oceans or in the atmosphere. or the interior of the earth, where rocks are exposed to pressures and temperatures so incredibly high that they slowly move and adapt their shape. That is, over hundreds of years rocks flow just like a very viscous liquid. Scientists try to study such flows but cannot observe them directly due to the fact that they take place deep beneath the surface of our planet. the only way is to have computers simulating those movements starting from the equations, but how to check whether computers are correct? this is what Geoflow II is trying to answer on board the International Space Station. Geoflow II is a miniature planet that has some of its essential ingredients: a fluid can freely move inside a spherical container that rotates, has temperature differences and has a simulated gravity directed towards the centre just like in a real planet. By taking pictures of the fluid movements, scientists are able to understand the essential characteristics of the flows and determine whether computer simulations are correct or whether they need to be refined and improved towards a better understanding of the elusive movements that take place inside our planet.] HAIR (JAXA): the 1st hair sampling from Don was completed on 1/20. HDTV system (JAXA): No report. Hicari (JAXA): No report. Holter ECG (JAXA): No report. HQPC (JAXA): Was delivered by 34P. HREP (HICO/Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean & RAIDS/Remote Atmospheric & Ionospheric Detection System/JAXA): HICO has taken 4875 images to date. the most recent HICO images taken include Bahrain, the Yellow River Estuary in China, the coast of Italy near Venice, Lake Tahoe and the Straits of Gibraltar. RAIDS is collecting secondary Science data including nighttime atmospheric disk photometry, spectra and temperatures. Extreme Ultra Violet airglow spectroscopy and optical contamination studies will also be performed. HydroTropi (Hydrotropism & Auxin-Inducible Gene Expression in Roots Grown under Microgravity Conditions/JAXA): No report. ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): Complete. ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular): “All: Thanks so much for your efforts on ICV this week! Don and Andre, you may notice that we have updated the number of anticipated inflight sessions. because of the delay in your launch, FD135 and R-15 are essentially the same date so you will be performing four instead of the typical five sessions. this means that Andre is at the halfway point for ICV and Don isn’t far behind!” IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans during & After Long Term Stay at ISS): Complete. INTEGRATED IMMUNE: No report. InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2): No report. IRIS (Image Reversal in Space, CSA): No report. ISS Amateur/Ham Radio: No report. ISSAC (ISS Agricultural Camera, NASA): No report. IV Gen (Intravenous Fluids Generation): No report. JOURNALS (Behavioral Issues associated with Isolation and Confinement, NASA): No report. [Studies conducted on Earth have shown that analyzing the content of journals and diaries is an effective method for identifying the issues that are most important to a person. the method is based on the reasonable assumption that the frequency that an issue or category of issues is mentioned in a journal reflects the importance of that issue or category to the writer. the tone of each entry (positive, negative, or neutral) and phase of the expedition also are variables of interest. Study results will lead to recommendations for the design of equipment, facilities, procedures, and training to help sustain behavioral adjustment and performance during long-duration space expeditions to the ISS, asteroids, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Results from this study could help to improve the behavioral performance of people living and working under a variety of conditions here on Earth.] KID/KUBIK6: No report. KUBIK 3 (ESA): No report. LMM/PACE-2 (Light Microscopy Module / Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment): No report. LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): No report. Marangoni Exp. (JAXA): Ground Team performed run #24 on 1/14 and run #25 on 1/15. but on 1/16, before the start of #26, the Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF) and Image Processing Unit (IPU) were suddenly shutdown. on 1/17, during the trouble shooting of these facilities, when Ground Team sent an activation command to the Image Processing Unit (IPU) it was not able to close the switch for the IPU, and instead the PPDB RPC 1 switch was open. Trouble shooting is continuing in order to restart the remaining four runs of Marangoni Experiment. Marangoni DSD – Dynamic Surf (JAXA): Payload name was change from Marangoni DSD to Dynamic Surf. Marangoni UVP (JAXA): No report. MARES (Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise system, ESA/NASA): No report. Matryoshka-2 (RSA): No report. MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image, JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring. MDCA/Flex-2: this week we ran our first MDCA/FLEX-2 test points. MDCA/FLEX-2 encompasses five distinct investigation classes using pure and bi-component mixed fuels. the first investigation class is Fuel Surrogates. these test points will continue throughout the rest of this Increment. Surrogate fuels are mixtures of pure fuels that simulate the behavior of real fuels, such as gasoline and jet fuels. Surrogate fuels are chosen for investigation because they allow insight into the burning characteristics of real fuels, which are very difficult to study because they are multi-component. the results from these test points will lead to greater fuel efficiency of liquid-fuel engines and will minimize pollutant emissions. Results will also allow for the quantitative evaluation of future fuels. on 1/17, we performed four freely deployed test points with fuel droplet diameters of approximately 2 mm. Freely deployed means that the fuel droplet was not tethered on the fiber inside the MDCA CIA. these test points were performed in a “standard” air mixture of 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen at 1 atm. All Fuel Surrogate test points will be performed in this same chamber environment. Five test point days are dedicated to iso-octane, which is a pure fuel, to gather baseline data prior to investigating a bi-component mixture of iso-octane and heptane. Three of the four test points were only partially successful because the fuel droplet drifted outside the field of view of our cameras before it extinguished. One test was successful because the entire burn was captured on our cameras. on 1/19, we repeated more of these same test points (droplet diameter of ~2 mm) to achieve a total of three successful test points to establish repeatability of our results. MEIS (Marangoni Experiment for ISS) in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): No report. Microbe-2 (JAXA): Sample returned by ULF6. Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete. MISSE-8 (Materials ISS Experiment 8): MISSE-8 is operating nominally. the Communication Interface Board (CIB) has not reset since December 2011. PASCAL has performed nominal commanding that produced IV curves of the solar cells. IV curves are plots of the current versus voltage for solar cells and tell a lot about how these are performing. the SpaceCube experiment is running code for new radiation hardening by software. MMA (JAXA/Microgravity Measurement Apparatus): No report. MPAC/SEED (JAXA): No report. MSG-SAME (Microgravity Science Glovebox-Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment): No report. MSPR (Multi Purpose Small Payload Rack, JAXA): on 1/18, Don activated Payload Laptop 2 (PLT2) to update software to control MSPR. He completed the upload and partially confirmed a new function to control the AAA Fan Speed Level. After that, PLT2 was deactivated. MSL (Materials Science Laboratory, ESA): No report. MTR-2 (Russian radiation measurements): Passive dosimeters measurements in DC-1 “Pirs”. MULTIGEN-1: Completed. MYCO 3 (JAXA): on 9/22, Mike and Satoshi completed sample collection. MyoLab (JAXA): Completed on 4/20. NANOSKELETON (Production of High Performance Nanomaterials in Microgravity, JAXA): No report. NEURORAD (JAXA): No report. NEUROSPAT (ESA/Study of Spatial Cognition, Novelty Processing and Sensorimotor Integration): “Dear Andre, thanks for your help supporting the troubleshooting of NEUROSPAT. Ground teams were able to access the crippled hard disk, and downlink a subset of the data. While the outcome of this week’s activities looks positive, the downlinked data does not allow for a full science assessment of the session performed on 1/3. We are awaiting the next troubleshooting steps.” [During microgravity stay, human body goes through multitude of physiological changes in order to accommodate to the new environment. As the brain is a master organ where major crucial processes take place, it is fundamental to understand how it manages adaptation for living in Space. One of the main purposes of Neurospat (NES) experiment is to focus on how microgravity environment influences cerebral activity of astronauts aboard ISS. For this, the global electrical activity of the brain of the astronaut is measured thanks to electroencephalogram (EEG) technique, while he or she is executing specific tasks through a computer as if it was a kind of videogame. In practice, the astronaut is wearing a specially equipped cap with passive, gel filled electrodes that are in contact with his/her scalp while he or she is performing the specific tasks that we have designed. these are visual-orientation perception and visuo-motor tracking tasks that may be encountered on a daily basis. the tasks allow the study of 5 cognitive processes: Perception, Attention, Memorization, Decision and Action. Besides there are also task-irrelevant images that are showed to the astronaut in order to assess how well he or she processes novel visual stimuli. the electrodes all over the scalp are linked to sensitive amplifiers that allow us to measure small variations of electrical potential between different regions of the scalp. these signals are in turn used to estimate activity in the cerebral cortex related to the task being performed. also, they serve to identify the mental processes associated with these tasks and to localize in the brain the sources of the underlying neural activity. After analysis of the data we can better understand whether the novel environment of microgravity accompanied by a multitude of stressors may place an increased load on the cognitive capacity of the human brain and whether the sensory signals and motor responses of astronauts are processed and interpreted differently because a new reference frame.] NOA-1/-2 (Nitric Oxide Analyzer, ESA): Complete. NUTRITION w/REPOSITORY/ProK: No report. ODK (Onboard Diagnostic Kit, JAXA): No report. PACE-2 (Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment 2, NASA): (please see under FIR and LMM/PACE-2. PADIAC (Pathway different Activators, ESA): No report. PADLES (JAXA, Area PADLES 6/7; Passive Area Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): No report. PASSAGES (JAXA): No report. PCDF-PU (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility – Process Unit): No report. PCG (JAXA, Protein Crystal Growth): on 1/17, Ryutai Rack was activated and Ground Team confirmed functional readiness of Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) for upcoming PCG experiment. PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): see PCG. PLSG (Plant Signaling, NASA/ESA): No report. PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete. POLCA/GRAVIGEN (ESA): Complete. Portable PFS: No report. Pro K: No report. RadGene & LOH (JAXA): Complete. RadSilk (JAXA): No report. Reaction self Test (RST/Psychomotor Vigilance self Test on the ISS): “”Dan, Don and Andre: thank you for your participation in Reaction self Test! also, thank you Dan for your crew note about the Reaction self Test software anomaly. We are looking into the cause.” ROALD-2 (Role of Apoptosis in Lymphocyte Depression 2, ESA): No report. [Background: the ROALD-2 experiment studies how the function of T-cells from the immune system are affected by microgravity and spaceflight. T-cells play an important role in controlling the immune systems response to infection. it has previously been shown that the immune response of astronauts can be reduced following spaceflight and it has also been shown that the activation of T-cells in culture is reduced in microgravity. a series of experiments on T-cells and other immune system cells have been previously performed by different scientific teams on Space Shuttle and the ISS over the last 30 years. the data from these individual experiments provides information which together can be used to understand the mechanisms by which gravity or the absence of gravity can affect T-cell function.] Robonaut (NASA): No report. RYUTAI Rack (JAXA): No report. SAIBO Rack (JAXA): on 1/16, Don completed the clean up and valve checkout of the clean Bench (CB). thank you for your comments to improve the procedure. SAMS/MAMS (Space & Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems): “Dan, Don and Andre: Thanks for your support this week with MAMS/SAMS ER-1 recovery efforts (again). As part of our last report from the SAMS-SODI mission team, we include the analysis of measurements made the day of the debris avoidance maneuver on 1/13. the comparison plot illustrates acceleration measured as a function of frequency. the blue curve shows acceleration during a crew sleep period with the MSG on, while the red curve shows acceleration during the DAM and crew wake. Between 0.01 and 0.1 Hz, acceleration levels are shown to differ by at least two orders of magnitude! Between 0.1 and ~10 Hz, they are shown to differ by one order of magnitude. Note that in most frequencies below 7 Hz, the acceleration levels measured during the DAM exceed the ISS vibration requirements (bold black step-curve). the measurements in general are also of great interest to the international scientific community conducting operations onboard the ISS, including those experiments conducted within the MSG facility. Thanks to the data collected, we, you, and the ISS research operations team now have multiple recent examples to answer typical questions like: “What is the local acceleration level on the MSG?” and “What happens to the gravity level during an ISS thruster firing with my experiment running?” To the three of you, thank you for contributing to the success of these missions. it was a pleasure working with you during your respective Increments. have a restful weekend and we’ll see y’all back on the ground.” SAMPLE: Complete. SCOF (Solution Crystallization Observation Facility, JAXA): No report. SEDA-AP (Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment-Attached Payload, JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring. SHD (Space Headaches, ESA): “Andre, thanks for your continued participation in this experiment. Keep going, this is much appreciated!” [Background: the neurologists from Leiden University want to study the question whether the astronauts, while in space, suffer from the headaches. With the help of simple questionnaires the astronauts will register the headache episodes and the eventual accompanying symptoms. the results will hopefully help to characterize the frequency and characteristics of space headache and to develop countermeasure to prevent/minimize headache occurrence during the space flight.] SHERE II (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment II): No report. SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device): No report. SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): No report. SLICE (Structure & Liftoff In Combustion Experiment): “Don, thanks for your SLICE preparations. We look forward to working with you to lift the flames!” SMILES (JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring. SODI/IVIDIL (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Influence of Vibration on Diffusion in Liquids, ESA): No report. SODI/COLLOID (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Colloid): No report. SODI-DSC (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Diffusion & Soret Coefficient, ESA): making use of any operational time available before SODI hardware stow, several science runs were executed during the last weekend. In total, the DSC science program has been largely fulfilled, with only 3 science runs that could not be performed due to lack of time. due to the bubble problem with Experimental Cell#1, 3 additional runs could not be performed. the science team is now analyzing the last runs from an image quality stand-point, and we should come with a final status by next week. many thanks for the good job in removing SODI hardware from the MSG!” [Background: Fluids and gases are never at rest. this statement is in apparent contradiction with our experience: when we pour water in a glass and wait until all flows have disappeared and the temperature of the liquid is in equilibrium with that of the room, we see that water appears to be completely at rest. However, if we were able to see the individual molecules of water with a very powerful microscope, we would discover that they are incessantly moving and collide with each other following frantic, random paths even if the liquid appears to be quiescent at naked eye. Scientists are interested in observing and measuring such movements because they reveal important, practical information: how fast does heat propagates in a fluid? How fast do liquid mixtures mix? Such phenomena occur in absence of a macroscopic flow, that is when the fluid appear to be at rest, and are called heat and mass diffusion respectively. While the theoretical prediction of heat and mass diffusion is still quite challenging, its measurement is a standard laboratory practice, but may become extremely difficult or impossible when dealing with mixtures of many liquids, due to the fact that such measurement needs to be carried out when the fluid is quiescent, a condition sometimes impossible to achieve on ground. this is precisely the objective of the SODI DSC experiment carried out on board the International Space Station: the measurement of diffusion in mixtures of liquids. By using very sensitive optical techniques, it will be possible to measure mass diffusion, compare with current theories, and improve our present understanding of how molecules move in liquid mixtures. the results will be used by the large team of scientists involved in the project to try to understand which of the many existing theories for mass diffusion is correctly predicting the experimental behavior.] SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory, ESA): Currently out of Sun Visibility Window. on 1/13, SOLACES was heated up at short notice for the Debris Avoidance Maneuver (DAM). the instrument will remain in this condition until a date to be coordinated with the science team. There are indeed several ISS dynamic events with 45P undock and 46P dock that are impacting the instrument (with respect to a potential contamination problem). SOLSPEC regular calibration measurements were performed on 1/16. SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): “Dan, thanks for your feedback about the SOLO Food Menu. We hope that after the JSC Food Lab email, everything is clear to start the experiment. Andre, thanks a lot for your feedback about your Food Menu too!” Space-DRUMS (Space Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System): No report. Space Food (JAXA): No report. SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite): “Don, you successfully completed all objectives of the SPHERES-ZR Dry-Run. thank you!”. SPHINX (SPaceflight of Huvec: an Integrated eXperiment, ESA): No report. SPICE (Smoke Point In Co-flow Experiment): No report. SPINAL (Spinal Elongation): No report. SPRINT: “Don, great job again on you Ultrasound session Thursday! Your images are on the ground and the PI team will begin analysis soon. We will see you again in about 30 days. good luck finding the red sharpie!” SS-HDTV (Super Sensitivity High Definition Camera, JAXA): No report. STP-H3 (Space Test Program – Houston 3): the STP-H3 video survey using the SSRMS/SPDM was performed on 1/19. the survey revealed that the VADER VED3 has been damaged. a picture of the damaged VED is included on the STP-H3 tab, linked below. the VADER PD will analyze the video to determine the probable cause(s) of the damage. also the STP-H3 thermal and voltage telemetry from the Serial Interface Unit (SIU) are currently off nominal and the SIU reset has not been performed since other temperature telemetry is in the Science data downlink. An investigation is in progress on the conditions that might cause this SIU condition and the SIU may be reset in the next few weeks. MHTEX is repriming in preparation for further testing. Canary plans to collect data during the 45P propellant purge. VADER is continuing lifetime testing of the VEDs at a reduced cycle rate. DISC has taken more imagery this week and is processing images that were taken in previous weeks. SWAB (Characterization of Microorganisms & Allergens in Spacecraft): No report. TASTE IN SPACE (ESA): No report. THERMOLAB (ESA): No report. TRAC (Test of Reaction & Adaptation Capabilities): planned. TREADMILL KINEMATICS: No report. TRIPLELUX-B (ESA): No report. ULTRASOUND: planned. UMS (Urine Monitoring system (NASA): No report. VASCULAR (CSA): “No report. VCAM (Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Module, NASA): No report. VESSEL ID system (ESA): Nominal data acquisition on-going with the Norwegian NORAIS receiver. VESSEL IMAGING (ESA): “Don, the VESSEL IMAGING team appreciated much your efforts in getting as much of the additional scans this week. it is confirmed that we have acquired the missing science data from the first session performed on 1/6.” [Background: it is known that the ability of blood vessels to vasoconstrict - the ability of the muscular vessel wall to narrow the diameter of the blood vessel - is impaired during and after a human has been in space. "Vessel Imaging" is using the Ultrasound scanner on board the ISS to take images of the five different blood vessels in the lower abdomen and in the legs to study what changes occur to cause the blood vessels to be less able to vasoconstrict. For each vessel, a 5 second scan is performed to observe the blood vessel during several heart beats, followed by a scan where the ultrasound scan-head is tilted to allow a "cut through the blood vessel wall". the same scans are also performed before flight, and these pre-flight images are used as the baseline to which the in-flight data is compared with. the images are analyzed to detect any changes in the blood vessel wall properties, such as wall thickness, elasticity or structure, changes in the size of the blood vessel or blood flow (volume) while the crewmember is in orbit.] VIABLE (eValuatIon And monitoring of microBiofiLms insidE the ISS Payload Touch, NASA): No report. VO2max (NASA): No report. VLE (Video Lessons ESA): No report. WAICO #1/#2 (Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at different g-levels; ESA): No report. YEAST B (ESA): No report. YOUTUBE SpaceLab: “Andre, thank you very much for completing the YouTube Space Lab video! We appreciate your time and creativity. We are sure the kids participating in the contest will be inspired by you!” CEO (Crew Earth Observation): through 1/14 the ground has received 30,084 of ISS CEO frames for review and cataloguing, over 7,000 frames in the past week alone! “We are pleased to report your acquisition of imagery with times corresponding to those of our CEO Daily Target Lists for the following targets (most of these within the past 24 hours): Etosha dry lake, N. Namibia – 25 frames – several potentially useful frames of the lakebed – under evaluation; Mississippi Delta Region – 16 frames – several context views – under evaluation; Lake Nasser, Toshka Lakes, Egypt – 32 frames – in 2 sessions – under review; Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania – 92 frames – in 2 sessions – under review; Port au Prince, Haiti – 22 frames – under review; Porto-Novo-Benin – 7 frames – under evaluation; B.P. Structure, Impact Crater, Libya – 17 frames – under evaluation; and Southeastern Australian Cities at Night – 14 frames – under evaluation. We will try to provide positive feedback only on the results of our review of these sessions next time. We are also happy to report that we have been able to visually confirm your time correction on the IR-modified camera system. Thanks for your prompt response to this issue. To continue reporting the publication and application of your increment’s imagery: Your beautiful shot of the Iberian Peninsula at Night was posted on NASA/GSFC’s Earth Observatory website on December 25, 2011. this panoramic view with few clouds nicely outlines the coastlines of Portugal and Spain and locates the major metropolitan areas – nice catch! Another one of your photos, a colorful view of Menindee Lakes, new South Wales, Australia, was published on Earth Observatory on January 1st. Your shot documents the complex inland delta systems of the Darling River as well as the applications of large lakes in flood control, both manmade and natural. thank you for this great view of this seldom-photographed area!” CEO (Crew Earth Observation) targets uplinked for today were Tropical Cyclone Funso (DYNAMIC EVENT: this tropical weather system has been slowly developing off the coast of Mozambique for the past several days. it then rapidly reached Category 1 strength yesterday and is forecasted to be near Category 3 at the time of the ISS pass today. it is also forecasted to meander slowly southward over the Mozambique Channel and be near nadir as you track southeastward towards the coast in early afternoon light. trying a variety of oblique and nadir views for both context and cloud structure of this relatively small tropical cyclone), Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat (IR PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION SITE: ISS pass was at midday in partly cloudy weather over this target area that includes the island of Montserrat in the northwestern part of the Lesser Antilles. the Soufriere Hills Volcano is located on the southwestern end of the island, and its ongoing activity has rendered more than half of it uninhabitable. Try for IR photography of Montserrat and the surrounding islands for vegetation comparisons using the #99 filter), Bridgetown, Barbados (CAPITAL CITIES COLLECTION SITE: Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of the island country of Barbados with the population of the metropolitan area at 96,578 (2006). ISS had a partly cloudy pass at midday. As it approached the island from the NW at this time, the crew was to look for this target just right of track. Barbados is the easternmost of the Lesser Antilles Archipelago. the city is located on the southwestern coast of the island along Carlisle Bay), Sian Kaan Bay Mangroves, Yucatan, MX (IR PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION SITE: ISS had a mid-day pass in fair weather for this target area located on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. this large World Heritage Site of ~1.3 million acres was established as a biosphere area in 1986, and preserves fauna, flora and archeological sites. As ISS tracked southeastward over the northeastern Yucatan, look nadir for this area with its visual cues of two major bays on the Caribbean Sea. At this time, trying for mapping views of the darker vegetated areas using the IR filter #99), and Panama City, Panama (CAPITAL CITIES COLLECTION SITE: this capital city of nearly 900,000 is located on the Pacific side of the Isthmus of Panama and just east of the Panama Canal. ISS had a nadir pass at midday with partly cloudy skies expected at the time. trying to capture the entire urban area of the city within a single frame). ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 6:43am EST [= epoch]) . Mean altitude – 390.9 km . Apogee height – 405.5 km . Perigee height – 376.2 km . Period — 92.37 min. . Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg . Eccentricity — 0.0021633 . Solar Beta Angle — -28.8 deg (magnitude decreasing) . Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.59 . Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 71 m . Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 75,498 . Time in orbit (station) — 4810 days . Time in orbit (crews, cum.) — 4097 days Significant Events ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change): ————–Six-crew operations—————- 01/23/12 — Progress M-13M/45P undock (5:10pm EST) 01/24/12 — Chibis-M deploy (6:19pm) 01/24/12 — Progress 45P deorbit (burn start: 9:25pm) 01/25/12 — Progress M-14M/46P launch (6:06 pm) 01/27/12 — Progress M-14M/46P docking (DC-1) (~7:09 pm) 02/16/12 — Russian EVA-30 xx/xx/12 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon launch xx/xx/12 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon berthing xx/xx/12 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon unberth 03/09/12 — ATV3 launch — (target date) 03/16/12– Soyuz TMA-22/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30) ————–Three-crew operations————- 03/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S launch – G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/K.Volkov — (Target Date) 04/01/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S docking (MRM2) — (Target Date) ————–Six-crew operations—————- TBD — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – launch on Proton (under review) 04/24/12 — Progress M-14M/46P undock 04/25/12 — Progress M-15M/47P launch 04/27/12 — Progress M-15M/47P docking TBD — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) – docking (under review) 05/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-03M/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31) ————–Three-crew operations————- 05/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S launch – S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide 06/01/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S docking ————–Six-crew operations—————- 06/26/12 — HTV-3 launch (target date) 09/12/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32) ————–Three-crew operations————- 09/26/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin 09/28/12 – Soyuz TMA-06M/32S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 11/12/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33) ————–Three-crew operations————- 11/26/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko 11/28/12 – Soyuz TMA-07M/33S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 03/19/13 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34) ————–Three-crew operations————- 04/02/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin 04/04/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 05/16/13 – Soyuz TMA-07M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35) ————–Three-crew operations————- 05/29/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano 05/31/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/35S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36) ————–Three-crew operations————- 09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/36S launch – M.Hopkins/TBD (CDR-38)/TBD 09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/36S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37) ————–Three-crew operations————- 11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/37S launch – K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/TBD 11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/37S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 03/xx/14 – Soyuz TMA-10M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38) ————–Three-crew operations————-

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Yeast Infection no more is a therapy plan produced by Linda Allen. who is Linda Allen? We must know initial who the author is to see if we can believe in her and her book.

Linda Allen is a medical researcher, health advisor, and licensed nutritionist in the alternative health business. Now, do you know why she wrote the ebook? Linda Allen, herself, has endured from yeast infection for quite a few many years. She understands how it feels like to anticipate and be frustrated from the identical unsuccessful final results of those remedies offered, and spending and losing also much dollars whilst performing it. Shes tired of hearing the identical promises of those cures and publications that it will remedy her infection, but it actually doesnt. Her existence with the infection has been like that, repeating about and about once again. She made a decision that it has to quit. Since shes a medical researcher, why not research about the genuine remedy of yeast infection, appropriate? So, thats what she did. She started off her extremely lengthy journey of in depth trial-and-error experimentation. via this, she has produced a holistic system to remedy yeast infection permanently devoid of the use of medication and other traditional remedies. She even utilized this system to deal with her infection, and shes even now employing it now.

The plan makes use of one hundred% normal and holistic tactic to curing yeast infection. its system is multidimensional, which means it treats the underlying causes of the infection by focusing on all the factors that lead to the infection. this is also what they call holistic. this is what can make it diverse from other remedies, such as antibiotics, creams, and other medication or drugs. Why? Simply because these kinds of therapy is only 1-dimensional. they only concentrate on 1 factor of the infection, exactly where in reality, there are a great deal of factors connecting with yeast infection. That is also the cause why these remedies fail and the infection often arrives back

Soon after reading through the book, you will be a yeast infection expert. That is for sure. Simply because Linda Allen has also offered in this ebook all the info you want to know about the illness. She provides you a thorough and comprehensive facts about the whats, whys, and hows of yeast infection.Â

All the guidelines in this plan are in depth, in a layman language, and in action-by-action format. you wouldnt have to be concerned about not getting in a position to comply with accurately the guidelines or not getting in a position to realize. you will be guided by way of every single action of the plan with much ease and comprehension.

For a modest sum of dollars compared to the other expensive remedies out there, I can say that this book is really worth it. I wouldnt have to use medication with this plan, plus I get to preserve dollars and not waste it on ineffective remedies, and the greatest aspect is, I also get to remedy my infection Completely.

Yeast Infection no More

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The Natural Cure for Yeast InfectionYeast infections are irritating, debilitating as well as frequent distress can leave you stressed, but Natural Cure for Yeast Infection is undoubtedly an progressive, safe and sound and effective method to permanently get rid of yeast infections.

Physicians will inform you that yeast infections cannot be cured and give you treatment. The treatment will remedy it for a while till one day its back again having a vengeance. All yeast infections can lie dormant for years and flair up any time you least count on it and at the most inconvenient moments, this is the reason Natural Cure for Male Yeast Infection is a must have e-book for anyone who suffers using this irritating ailment.

Not simply ladies get yeast infections. Men, young children and also infants can experience at some time inside their lives as well as worst of it’s the man can have it with out understanding and without signs or symptoms and pass it for the female, that can experience continually for years.The key benefits of Natural Cure for Yeast Infection

Natural Cure for Yeast Infection will train you systems and approaches to fix the basis bring about of your yeast infection. Yeast infections are usually not only the burning, itching and distress, these are brought on by a thing else and so that you can get rid of oneself permanently, you might want to repair the basis bring about.

Do you need to get rid of your yeast infection? in order for you to understand why you keep receiving them, how to halt the burning and kitchen so you need to sense healthful once more, then Natural Cure for Yeast Infection has all of the information you will ever need.

Natural Cure for Yeast Infection will train you the standard signs or symptoms of yeast infections incorporate vaginal odor, persistent rashes, irritability and vaginal discharge. There is certainly also premature aging, exhaustion, arthritis and reduced immune technique, only to title a couple of. At times your yeast infection is flaring up so you really don’t comprehend it because you really don’t know what other signs or symptoms to appear for, all you already know will be the unbearable itching and burning that could drive you insane.

I wager you didnt are aware that 75% on the worlds population will experience having a yeast infection at some stage of their lives. Natural Cure for Yeast Infection can train you how to get rid of yeast, Candida and thrush permanently from property.

Any time you follow the easy to realize and detail by detail systems affreux out in Natural Cure for Yeast Infection Review your signs or symptoms will vanish inside hrs, you will get rid of the underlying bring about; you will rest far better, sense fantastic and also have a lot more power.

Natural Cure for Yeast Infection will train you the two varieties of yeast and why your body has no means of killing the spores. you will discover the way it can keep dormant for years and that diaper rash is mostly a symptom of yeast infection. you will discover why the olive leaf, even though it kills yeast infections is toxic to the liver.

Learn the basis triggers and problems and what the techniques are to get rid of them any time you read through Natural Cure for Yeast Infection. you won’t be necessary to consider any over the counter medicines and can get quick relief.about the Creator of Natural Cure for Yeast Infection Sarah Summer time

Sarah Summer time is a wellness researcher as well as Editor of the medical publication. she is also a former yeast infection sufferer and after possessing a yeast infection for years, with each other along with her husband Robert, they uncovered a 100% organic option to get rid of yeast infections permanently. The Natural Cure for Yeast Infection is available for obtain for anyone who wishes to benefit from her straightforward to stick to method.whatever you get with Natural Cure for Yeast Infection

On the list of important factors that Sarah Summer time made a decision to incorporate along with her Natural Cure for Yeast Infection guide is unrestricted a single on a single assist. this provides you the ability to email directly to Sarah Summer time and she’ll test and make it easier to with all of your yeast infection problems.

Purely natural Remedy for Yeast Infections is undoubtedly an moment obtain in PDF format, this means you can begin utilizing the technique straight away. you also get yourself a swift lead that will help you begin straight away as well as Natural Cure for Yeast Infection straightforward detail by detail lead.

Learn how to treat any yeast infection and know all of the signs and signs or symptoms, this means you is often well prepared.Natural Cure for Yeast Infection bonus presents

Natural Cure for Yeast Infection PDF obtain incorporates two incredible bonus presents, the initial will be the Lessons in the Miracle Physicians as well as second is Quick Stress Relief. These will obtain together with your Natural Cure for Yeast Infection guide and can make it easier to accomplish permanent relief from yeast infections.What else you might want to know about Natural Cure for Yeast Infection

Natural Cure for Yeast Infection won’t call for you purchase any over the counter treatment, it’s a detail by detail cure inside of a straightforward to stick to lead. you will discover the basis triggers and problems as well as techniques regarding how to get rid of them.

Purely natural Remedy for Yeast InfectionGo right here To Obtain Natural Cure for Yeast Infection With the Official Internet site

Consider staying absolutely yeast infection free of charge. it seems superior does not it? Yeast infection victims can discover it very challenging to stay ordinary lives as they experience day in and out with full distress.Natural Cure for Yeast Infection may help you permanently rid oneself of this distress and make it easier to turn into happier, healthier, and more energetic, I counsel you have a duplicate nowadays and see for oneself.Filed Beneath: Natural Cure for Yeast InfectionNatural Cure for Yeast Infection29.97Natural Cure for Yeast Infection is undoubtedly an progressive, safe and sound and effective method to permanently get rid of yeast infections. Natural Cure for Yeast Infection is a must have e-book for anyone who suffers using this irritating ailment.

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If you watch TV, there’s no doubt that you’ve heard probiotics and prebiotics in yogurt can aid digestion. but, what exactly are probiotics and prebiotics? and, do you need to add them to you diet?

Probiotics are really bacteria. We have more than 500 different bacterial species in o

ur digestive system. Bacteria keep the intestinal lining healthy and help breakdown our food. Although we usually think of bacteria in our body as a bad thing, we need some good bacteria in our bodies to help keep them functioning properly. Probiotics is one of the good guys.

when the balance of friendly bacteria is disturbed by use of antibiotics, an infection, inflammation or illness, digestive disorder may occur. Probiotics can help restore balance to the bacteria pool. Probiotics boost the immune system to help fight off diseases by crowding out harmful bacteria.

They can help counteract the effect of antibiotics. Antibiotics help get rid of infections by killing off the harmful bacteria. but, they also kill off the beneficial bacteria, which is why you might develop a yeast infection or diarrhea from taking antibiotics. taking probiotics can help reduce this risk. Probiotics also can help alleviate the symptoms of lactose intolerance.

This is why some people who are lactose intolerant can eat cheese or yogurt but not tolerate milk. Probiotics also may help reduce the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, help prevent urinary tract infections and be useful in the treatment of ulcers. Probiotics are found in yogurts, kefir (a fermented beverage), acidophilus milk, buttermilk, sour cream and aged cheeses. One way to tell if a food contains probiotics is to look for the phrase “live and active cultures” on the package.

Prebiotics are indigestible nutrients that serve as food for the probiotics. Prebiotics enhance the absorption of minerals, like calcium and iron. They help inhibit the growth of cancerous lesions in the digestive tract, improve the function of the immune system and help to lower cholesterol. good sources of prebiotics include asparagus, bananas, onions, garlic, leeks, wheat bran, oatmeal, flax and barley.

Prebiotics may be added to foods like cottage cheese, yogurt, granola bars and pastas. Food ingredients, like inulin (a type of fiber), maltodextrin and resistant starches, also can act as prebiotics.

Probiotics and prebiotics are available as supplements, but it’s probably best to get them from natural food sources when possible.

however if you suddenly increase your intake of prebiotics, you may experience gas, bloating and cramps.