Afferent control mechanisms involved in the development of soleus fiber alterations in simulated hypogravity

It was recently established that support withdrawal (withdrawal of support reaction force) in microgravity provokes a sequence of functional shifts in the activity of motor units (inactivation of slow ones) and peripheral muscle apparatus which lead to the decline of postural muscle contractility and alterations in fiber characteristics. However, mechanisms involved in inactivation of the slow motor units and appropriate slow-twitch muscle fiber disuse under the supportless conditions remained unknown. We show here that artificial inactivation of muscles-antagonists (which are known to be hyperactive during unloading) counteracts some of the unloading-induced events in the rat soleus (fiber size reduction, slow-to-fast fiber-type transition and decline of titin and nebulin content). It was also demonstrated that direct activation of the muscarinic receptors of the neostriatum neurons prevented slow-to-fast fiber-type transformation in soleus of hindlimb suspended rats.     

Erratum to: New approaches to countermeasures of the negative effects of micro-gravity in long-term space flights: [Acta Astronautica 59 (2006) 13–19]

The results of studies of influence of mechanostimulation of the soles’ support zones on the effects of micro-gravity in the motor system are presented. It was shown that mechanostimulation of the soles’ support zones in the regimen of slow and fast walking, every day during 7 days of dry immersion (DI), eliminates fully or suppresses considerably the effects of micro-gravity. Decrease of the force–velocity properties or atrophic changes in the leg extensors were not developed after exposure to simulated micro-gravity in the subjects who “walked” 20 min of each hour six times a day; the transverse stiffness was only slightly lowered and the amplitude of electromyographic activity at rest stayed unchanged. The level of orthostatic deficiency in this group was also lower than in the group without stimulation. These experimental results being in full agreement with previous studies point out to the leading role of the support deafferentation in gravitational deprivation of the tonic muscle system's activity and thus that adequate mechanostimulation of the soles’ support zones can be proposed as a countermeasure against the negative effects of weightlessness.     

Decrease of contractile properties and transversal stiffness of single fibers in human soleus after 7-day “dry” immersion

The simulation model of “dry” immersion was used to evaluate the effects of plantar mechanical stimulation (PMS) and high frequency electromyostimulation (EMS) on the mechanical properties of human soleus fibers under the conditions of gravitational unloading. We examined contractile properties of single fibers by means of tensometry, transversal stiffness of sarcolemma and different areas of the contractile apparatus by means of atomic force microscopy. It was shown that there is a reduction of transversal stiffness in single muscle fibers under hypogravitational conditions. Application of different countermeasures could compensate this effect. Meanwhile pneumostimulation and electro stimulation act in quite different way. Therefore, pneumostimulation seems to be more effective. The data obtained can be considered as the evidence of the fact that such countermeasures as PMS and electromyostimulation influence on muscle fibers in quite different ways and PMS efficiency is likely to be higher. On the basis of our experimental data on transverse stiffness of mechanotransductional nodes and the contractile apparatus, we can assume that support stimulation allows prevention of destructive processes in muscle fibers. Electrostimulation seems to stimulate contractile activity only without suppression of impairment of the fiber mechanical properties.     

Pathophysiology of motor functions in prolonged manned space flights.

The influence of weightlessness on different parts of the motor system have been studied in crew members of 140 and 175 days space flights. It has been shown that weightlessness affects all parts of the motor system including (i) the leg and trunk muscles, in which severe atonia, a decrease of strength and an increase of electromyographic cost of contraction have been observed, (ii) the proprioceptive elements and the spinal reflex mechanisms in which decreased thresholds accompanied by decreases of maximal amplitude of reflexes and disturbances in cross reflex mechanisms have been found. and (iii) the central mechanisms that control characteristics of postural and locomotor activities. The intensities and durations of disturbances of different parts of the motor system did not correlate to each other, but did correlate with prophylactic activity during space flight. The data suggest a different nature of disturbances caused by weightlessness in different parts of the motor system.     

Does the centre of mass remain stable during complex human postural equilibrium tasks in weightlessness?

In normal gravity conditions the execution of voluntary movement involves the displacement of body segments as well as the maintenance of a stable reference value for equilibrium control. It has been suggested that centre of mass (CM) projection within the supporting base (BS) is the stabilised reference for voluntary action, and is conserved in weightlessness. The purpose of this study was to determine if the CM is stabilised during whole body reaching movements executed in weightlessness. The reaching task was conducted by two cosmonauts aboard the Russian orbital station MIR, during the Franco-Russian mission ALTAIR, 1993. Movements of reflective markers were recorded using a videocamera, successive images being reconstructed by computer every 40ms. The position of the CM, ankle joint torques and shank and thigh angles were computed for each subject pre- in- and post-flight using a 7-link mathematical model. Results showed that both cosmonauts adopted a backward leaning posture prior to reaching movements. Inflight, the CM was displaced throughout values in the horizontal axis three times those of pre-flight measures. In addition, ankle dorsi flexor torques inflight increased to values double those of pre- and post-flight tests. This study concluded that CM displacements do not remain stable during complex postural equilibrium tasks executed in weightlessness. Furthermore, in the absence of gravity, subjects changed their strategy for producing ankle torque during spaceflight from a forward to a backward leaning posture.     

The control of posture and movements during REM sleep: neurophysiological and neurochemical mechanisms

Mammalian sleep is characterized by synchronized sleep, in which high-amplitude, low-frequency waves appear in the electroencephalogram, and desynchronized sleep, characterized by small-amplitude, high-frequency waves, absence of tonic muscle activity, and rapid eye movements (REM), which are associated in humans with dreams. The postural atonia typical of desynchronized sleep is due to postsynaptic inhibition of spinal motoneurons resulting from tonic activation of a bulbospinal inhibitory system. Superimposed on this background of postural atonia, a motor pattern appears, characterized by rapid contractions of the limb musculature synchronous with the REM bursts. Simultaneously one observes phasic inhibition of transmission of somatic afferent volleys to motoneurons and ascending spinal pathways. The bursts of REM depend upon rhythmic discharges of vestibulo-oculomotor neurons, due to extralabyrinthine volleys originating from the brainstem. Ascending and descending vestibular volleys are also able to excite corticospinal and other supraspinal descending neurons responsible for the motor events synchronous with the bursts of REM. Activation of cholinergic neurons located in the brainstem reticular formation reproduces the postural atonia typical of desynchronized sleep, as well as the phasic events characterized by the REM bursts and the related changes in spinal cord activities. Even in this instance the bursts of REM and the related spinal effects depend upon rhythmic changes in the discharge of vestibular nuclear neurons. Experimental evidence indicates that the cholinergic reticular neurons fire asynchronously, thus being able to trigger the bulbospinal inhibitory system responsible for postural atonia. Even the vestibulo-oculomotor neurons are activated by these cholinergic reticular neurons; however, the continuous stream of these extralabyrinthine impulses is transformed into rhythmic changes of discharge of the vestibular nuclear neurons due to the presence of inhibitory neurons interposed with the vestibulo-oculomotor system. Waxing and waning in the activity of these cholinergic reticular neurons accounts for the regular occurrence of the cholinergically induced bursts of REM.     

Motor coordination in weightless conditions revealed by long-term microgravity adaptation.

The functional approach to studying human motor systems attempts to give a better understanding of the processes behind planning movements and their coordinated performance by relying on weightlessness as a particularly enlightening experimental condition. Indeed, quantitative monitoring of sensorimotor adaptation of subjects exposed to weightlessness outlines the functional role of gravity in motor and postural organization. The recent accessibility of the MIR Space Station has allowed for the first time experimental quantitative kinematic analysis of long-term sensorimotor and postural adaptation to the weightless environment though opto-electronic techniques. In the frame of the EUROMIR'95 Mission, two protocols of voluntary posture perturbation (erect posture, EP; forward trunk bending, FTB) were carried out during four months of microgravity exposure. Results show that postural strategies for quasistatic body orientation in weightlessness are based on the alignment of geometrical body axes (head and trunk) along external references. A proper whole body positioning appears to be recovered only after months of microgravity exposure. By contrast, typically, terrestrial strategies of co-ordination between movement and posture are promptly restored and used when performing motor activities in the weightless environment. This result is explained under the assumption that there may be different sensorimotor integration processes for static and dynamic postural function and that the organisation of coordinated movement might rely stably on egocentric references and kinematics synergies for motor control.     

Force and power characteristics of a resistive exercise device for use in space

We have developed a non-gravity dependent mechanical device, which provides resistance during coupled concentric and eccentric muscle actions, through the inertia of a spinning fly-wheel (Fly-Wheel Ergometry; FWE). Our research shows that lower-limb FWE exercise can produce forces and thus muscular stress comparable to what is typical of advanced resistance training using free weights. FWE also offers greater training stimuli during eccentric relative to concentric muscle actions, as evidenced by force and electromyographic (EMG) measurements. Muscle use of specific muscle groups, as assessed by the exercise-induced contrast shift of magnetic resonance images, is similar during lower-limb FWE and the barbell squat. Unlike free-weight exercise, FWE allows for maximal voluntary effort in each repetition of an exercise bout. Likewise, FWE exercise, not unassisted free-weight exercise, produces eccentric "overload". Collectively, the inherent features of this resistive exercise device and the results of the physiological evaluations we have performed, suggest that resistance exercise using FWE could be used as an effective exercise counter-measure in space. The flywheel principle can be employed to any exercise configuration and designed into a compact device allowing for exercises stressing those muscles and bone structures, which are thought to be most affected by long-duration spaceflight.     

某型号离心机吊篮拓扑优化设计

在某型号离心机吊篮设计中,采用了拓扑优化设计。根据离心机吊篮的最大外形尺寸、连接边界、承载质量、离心机最大加速度值等参数,确定了拓扑优化的设计区域、载荷条件、边界条件,并用ANSYS建立了其有限元模型。以整体刚度最大为目标,根据吊篮质量要求施加拓扑优化约束条件,建立了吊篮拓扑优化的数学模型。采用TOSCA软件进行优化求解。拓扑优化后结构质量满足约束条件,刚度显著提高。     

运载火箭动力系统试验承力环的静力试验

建立了某型号运载火箭动力系统试验用承力环的非破坏性静力试验方案,以评估该承力环的强度和刚度。为模拟发动机关机时的载荷冲击,将静力试验最大载荷设定为发动机额定总推力的2倍,包含水平和垂直两个分量,均分为8个载荷步加载。在承力环上设置了27个三向应变测点和12个轴向位移测点,以监测一些关键点的应力和位移。测量结果显示,在最大载荷下,当量应力达到303 MPa,低于材料屈服强度;轴向变形达到3.16 mm,低于设计许用变形;应力最大点位于支腿销孔处。对销孔孔距的变化进行了测量,并对附近的钢板表面进行了MT探伤。数据结果表明,该承力环在两倍的动力系统试验额定载荷下有足够的强度和刚度,可用于该试验。     

卫星电子设备振动试验用超高基频夹具设计

卫星电子设备振动试验用夹具作为固定试件和传递激励信号的重要部件,应具备高刚度和高基频的特性。文章提出卫星电子设备振动试验夹具的设计指标,包括对基频和横向振动响应的要求。通过结构优化,设计了一种轻质平板型夹具。振动试验验证结果表明,该夹具基频在2000 Hz以上,横向振动响应小于10%,达到了卫星电子设备振动试验夹具的设计要求。     

Static torsional otolith–cervical–ocular reflex after prolonged exposure to weightlessness and a 7-day immersion

To determine the role of the support-proprioceptive factor in the functioning of the vestibular system, in particular the static torsional otolith–cervical–ocular reflex (OCOR), comparative OCOR studies with videooculography recording were performed after a 7-day “dry” horizontal immersion (16 subjects) and after a prolonged (126–195 days) exposure to weightlessness (13 cosmonauts). For the first time, it was demonstrated that minimization of the support and proprioceptive afferentation may result in an inversion or absence of the static torsional OCOR and the development of a positional nystagmus with an inverted reflex. A comparative OCOR data analysis of cosmonauts and immersion subjects has revealed similarity of responses. However, changes in OCOR after immersion were noted in only 60% of the subjects, while after space flight, 90% of cosmonauts showed them. Post-flight changes were more frequent, marked and long-lasting. Statistical analysis has shown that there were significant differences between pre- and post-flight data according to both parametric and non-parametric methods of multiple comparisons, whereas only parametric methods have found significant differences within immersion data.     

Benefits and challenges of voluntary contribution to GEOSS

The vision of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is the achievement of societal benefits through voluntary contribution and sharing of data, metadata and products at no or minimum cost. Such undertakings, where contribution provides positive externalities, benefiting contributors and non-contributors alike, are often described as ‘social dilemmas’, usually resulting in small levels of voluntary contribution. We investigate the benefits and challenges of voluntary contribution to GEOSS, surveying economic and game theoretic literature and examining how the concepts of social dilemmas apply to the provision of GEOSS. We conduct an exploratory survey among individuals involved in the Group on Earth Observation (GEO) to understand their perception of voluntarily contribution. Even though contribution to GEOSS was perceived as rather low, e.g. because of a perceived lack of funds, commitment or organization, survey respondents also perceived many (exclusive) benefits of contribution, e.g. networking, visibility for their work or collaborating with motivated individuals. To increase participation, respondents suggested increasing financial support and raising awareness of GEOSS. We conclude that communicating the efficacy of individuals' contributions, the personal benefits of contribution and strengthening of group identity and knowledge about fellow participants' work can constitute incentives for future voluntary contribution. This could be facilitated by an externally established institution providing a framework for cooperation, or by institutions, agreements or frameworks agreed upon by contributors themselves.     

防空导弹翼面弹性支承边界参数识别

利用系统可测自由度上获得的不完全模态来识别尾翼的边界支承参数。直接由特征方程出发求解边界的未知位移和内力，借此计算边界动刚度，同时对带有一定误差的已知试验模态进行叠代修正，然后通过最小二乘法求解边界的支承刚度和附加质量。本文方法简捷。精度和效率都较高。在防空导弹及其他相关领域都有一定的应用价值。     

固体发动机复合材料裙轴压屈曲载荷计算

利用线性屈曲控制方程及非线性有限元方法，对固体发动机复合材料裙在轴压作用下的屈曲进行计算。     

The ankle ergometer: a new tool for quantifying changes in mechanical properties of human muscle as a result of spaceflight

A mechanical device for studying changes in mechanical properties of human muscle as a result of spaceflight is presented. Its main capacities are to allow during a given experiment investigation of both contractile and visco-elastic properties of a musculo-articular complex using respectively isometric contractions, isokinetic movements, quick-release tests and sinusoidal perturbations. This device is a motor driven ergometer associated to an experimental protocol designed for pre- and post-flight experiments. As microgravity preferentially affects postural muscles, the apparatus was designed to test muscle groups crossing the ankle joint. Three subjects were tested during the Euromir '94 mission. Preliminary results obtained on the european astronaut are briefly reported. During the next two years the experiments will be performed during six missions.     

复合材料层合板的可靠性分析方法

基于复合材料层合板的一阶横向剪切变形理论,提出了同时考虑层合板面内和分层破坏的可靠性分析方法。该方法考虑了层间应力对层合板分层的影响,结合Tsai-Hill理论和层合板分层判据,给出了安全余量的表达形式,并考虑了各失效模式之间的相关性。在失效分析过程中,采用蔡氏所提出的刚度退化规律进行刚阵的减缩;利用随机有限元方法对安全余量进行敏度分析,结合改进的一次二阶矩法求解可靠性指标;用改进的分枝限界法寻找主要失效路径;用PNET法计算系统失效概率。计算表明,当考虑分层失效时结构系统失效概率有所增加,这是符合工程实际情况的。因此,设计过程中考虑分层失效是必要的。     

弹性边界试验获取自由状态频响方法研究

大型柔性航天结构的一阶频率可能低至0.1 Hz,采用自由悬吊方法进行结构自由状态频响测试难以满足要求,因为它要求悬吊频率远低于待测结构的一阶频率。为解决这一问题,文章研究了弹性边界试验方法:对待测结构施加弹性支撑,在分别获得整体与支撑结构频响后,通过频域子结构解耦方法,去除支撑结构对待测结构的影响,以得到待测结构自由状态的频响。试验结果表明,这一方法是可行的,可以考虑进一步应用于实际工程结构。     

嫦娥一号卫星定向天线动力学仿真分析

采用大型有限元软件MSC.NASTRAN,对嫦娥一号卫星定向天线压紧与展开两种工作状态下的模态与压紧状态下的加速度动力学响应,进行数值计算分析.针对双轴定向天线结构特点,结合双轴电机试验参数,引入扭簧单元对双轴电机结构进行模拟,并将天线压紧状态下的固有频率和关键点的加速度响应计算结果与试验结果进行了对比分析,两者具有较...