Seasonal-to-interannual variability of chlorophyll-a bloom timing associated with physical forcing in the Gulf of Cádiz

Seasonal-to-interannual variability of the winter-spring bloom in the Gulf of Cádiz, eastern North Atlantic, has been investigated using chlorophyll-a remote sensing (CHL). These data have been obtained from the GlobColour project; the temporal coverage extends from September 1997 to December 2010. In this study we develop a generic quantitative approach for describing the temporal variability in the shape of the winter-spring bloom within a region. Variability in both the timing and magnitude of the bloom in the basin has been evaluated as a function of physical properties in the water column such as Mixed Layer Depth (MLD, GODAS model), sea surface temperature (SST, from AVHRR radiometers), photosynthetically-active radiation (PAR, from ocean color data) and euphotic depth (Z_eu, from ocean color data). The analysis indicated that the timing, size and duration of the phytoplankton bloom in this area are largely controlled by both meteorological and oceanographic conditions at different scales; this means that it is likely to vary widely from one year to another.     

多传感器遥感图像数据融合研究

重点研究了卫星遥感图像融合技术.通过在Matlab平台上实现基于颜色空间变换和基于小波变换的图像融合算法,分析了颜色空间变换的融合特点,并结合高分辨率图像、多光谱图像以及SAR图像的融合结果对相关理论进行了验证;研究了基于小波变换的融合方法在不同分解和重构级数下所获得的融合图像的特征,比较了各级融合图像的特点和相互间的差别;通过对高分辨率图像和多光谱图像的融合实例,给出了达到融合目的所应进行的最低分解重构级数与两原始图像空间分辨率指标比值间的定量关系;分析了不同小波因子对融合结果的影响,并结合颜色空间变换方法的融合结果得出了最终结论.      

Mutational effects of space flight on Zea mays seeds.

The growth and development of more than 500 Zea mays seeds flown on LDEF were studied. Somatic mutations, including white-yellow stripes on leaves, dwarfing, change of leaf sheath color or seedling color were observed in plants developed from these seeds. When the frequency of white-yellow formation was used as the endpoint and compared with data from ground based studies, the dose to which maize seeds might be exposed during the flight was estimated to be equivalent to 635 cGy of gamma rays. Seeds from one particular holder gave a high mutation frequency and a wide mutation spectrum. White-yellow stripes on leaves were also found in some of the inbred progenies from plants displayed somatic mutation. Electron microscopy studies showed that the damage of chloroplast development in the white-yellow stripe on leaves was similar between seeds flown on LDEF and that irradiated by accelerated heavy ions on ground.     

Injuries to plants from controlled environment contaminants.

The use of controlled environments is subject to problems from contaminants emitted from materials of the system and from plants. Many contaminants are difficult to identify because injurious dosages are very low, there is a lack of information on what compounds injure plants, because species and cultivars differ greatly in their sensitivity to injury and injury symptoms often are not distinctive. Plastics have been shown to emit many different volatile compounds. The compound, di-butyl phthalate, contained in certain flexible plastics, has been shown to be very toxic to plants. Other injuries have been produced by caulking compounds and bonded screening. Paints have been shown to release xylene that is toxic to plants. Steam for humidification can cause problems because of hydroxylamines and other compounds added to steam used for heating to control fungal growth in return lines. Mercury, from broken thermometers is a particular problem in growth chambers because small quantities can collect in cracks and slowly volatilize to slow growth of plants. Plants themselves release large quantities of volatile hydrocarbons, with ethylene being the commonly recognized chemical that can be damaging when allowed to accumulate. People release large quantities of carbon dioxide which can cause variations in the rate of growth of plants. Contaminant problems can be controlled through filtering of the air or ventilation with make-up air, however the potential for problems is always present and careful testing should be undertaken with the particular species and cultivars being grown insure that there are no toxic agents altering growth in each particular controlled environment being utilized.     

Plant-module for autonomous space support (P-MASS).

A wide variety of technical and science questions arise when attempting to envision the long-term support of plants, algae and bacteria in space. Currently, spaceflight data remain elusive since there are no U.S. carriers for investigating either the germane technical or scientific issues. The first flight of the Commercial Experiment Transporter (COMET) will provide a nominal 30 day orbital opportunity to evaluate such issues. The P-MASS is a small payload that is designed to meet the mass (40 lbs.), volume (1.5 cu.ft.), and power (120 W) constraints of one of several COMET payloads while enabling flight evaluations of plants, algae and bacteria. Various P-MASS subsystems have been subjected to extensive ground tests as well as KCl35 tests. Various biological sub-systems have been similarly evaluated. Through a variety of sensors coupled with color video, the P-MASS performance and the supported biological systems will be compared for terrestrial controls versus spaceflight materials. This small, low cost payload should return valuable information regarding the requirements for hardware and biological systems needed to move toward bioregenerative life support systems in space. In addition, it should be possible to accurately identify major unresolved difficulties that may arise in the long-term, spaceflight support of various biological systems. Finally, this generic spaceflight capability should enable a variety of plant research programs focused on the use of microgravity to modulate and exploit plant products for commercial applications ranging from new agricultural products to pharmacological feedstocks and new controlled agricultural strategies.     

Mutations in cauliflower and sprout broccoli grown from seeds flown in space

Cauliflower and sprout broccoli are widely planted vegetables particularly in Fujian Province, China. To study the mutation in these two types of vegetables induced from spaceflight, we flew the seeds on the 20th Chinese recoverable satellite which orbited the Earth for 18 days. After returning to the Earth, the cauliflower seeds were planted for two generations and the sprout broccoli seeds for one generation at the Xiamen Agriculture Research Institute. Of the 12 cauliflowers planted for the first generation, two showed significant phenotypical changes in both the size of the plant and the weight of the flower head. In addition, most of the space flown plants were found to be resistant to the black rot attack in the field. Cauliflowers planted for the second generation from the seeds in one of the two plants that displayed phenotypical changes in the first generation showed similar mutations. For the first generation of sprout broccoli, the rate of emergence from the flown seeds was lower than that of the control by 30%. No significant changes in the phenotype between the sprout broccolis planted from the flown seeds and the control were observed except one of the mutated sprout broccolis showed a change in the appearance in the lesser bud of the chief flower head. Results of the study demonstrated that DNA damages in some of the genes may have occurred in the seeds flown in space, and some of the changes in the genes may have inherited from the first to the second generation. The improved resistance to the black rot attack and increased size of the flower head are apparently beneficial.     

Influence of different natural physical fields on biological processes.

In space flight conditions gravity, magnetic, and electrical fields as well as ionizing radiation change both in size, and in direction. This causes disruptions in the conduct of some physical processes, chemical reactions, and metabolism in living organisms. In these conditions organisms of different phylogenetic level change their metabolic reactions undergo changes such as disturbances in ionic exchange both in lower and in higher plants, changes in cell morphology for example, gyrosity in Proteus (Proteus vulgaris), spatial disorientation in coleoptiles of Wheat (Triticum aestivum) and Pea (Pisum sativum) seedlings, mutational changes in Crepis (Crepis capillaris) and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedling. It has been found that even in the absence of gravity, gravireceptors determining spatial orientation in higher plants under terrestrial conditions are formed in the course of ontogenesis. Under weightlessness this system does not function and spatial orientation is determined by the light flux gradient or by the action of some other factors. Peculiarities of the formation of the gravireceptor apparatus in higher plants, amphibians, fish, and birds under space flight conditions have been observed. It has been found that the system in which responses were accompanied by phase transition have proven to be gravity-sensitive under microgravity conditions. Such reactions include also the process of photosynthesis which is the main energy production process in plants. In view of the established effects of microgravity and different natural physical fields on biological processes, it has been shown that these processes change due to the absence of initially rigid determination. The established biological effect of physical fields influence on biological processes in organisms is the starting point for elucidating the role of gravity and evolutionary development of various organisms on Earth.     

基于BEMD与DCT的彩色图像多重水印鲁棒算法

为解决现有彩色图像水印算法容错性低及宿主图像与水印图像在嵌入时尺寸匹配问题,并提高算法抵御各种攻击的鲁棒性,提出一种基于二维经验模态分解(BEMD)和离散余弦变换(DCT)的彩色图像多重水印鲁棒算法。使用Arnold变换对3幅二值水印图像进行置乱,分别对彩色宿主图像的三通道进行BEMD,得到各通道的内蕴模态函数(IMF)和余量信息,选择各通道的第1个IMF（记作IMF₁）作为水印嵌入层,对每个通道的IMF₁分割成不重叠子块后进行DCT;再将置乱后的二值水印图像依次重复嵌入在各通道子块经过之字形(Zigzag)扫描后的中频系数中,使用逆Zigzag扫描和逆DCT得到各通道嵌入水印信息后的IMF₁,并与每个通道其余的IMF及余量重建得到嵌入水印后的彩色图像。水印提取为嵌入过程的逆过程,算法可以实现彩色图像嵌入水印的盲提取。在水印提取过程中对重复嵌入提取到的水印图像使用投票策略,增强了算法的容错性。大量实验结果表明:嵌入水印后的图像峰值信噪比（PSNR）在34 dB以上,水印信息具有较高的不可见性;对嵌入多重水印后的宿主图像进行大尺寸剪切、椒盐噪声等攻击实验,提取到的水印图像与原始图像的归一化系数均在0.96以上,且可达到1,水印信息提取完整清晰可辨。与现有大量彩色图像水印算法相比,所提算法具有较强抵御各种攻击的能力,同时嵌入水印后图像具有较高的不可见性。      

Plants--rhizospheric organisms interaction in a manmade system with and without biogenous element limitation.

The effect has been studied of inoculation of seeds of wheat with two species of rhizospheric microorganisms--Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas putida--on young plant growth with complete and with nitrogen deficit mineral nutrition. With complete mineral medium, plants grown from seeds inoculated with bacteria of Pseudomonas genus (experiment plants) have been found to have better growth over plants not inoculated with these bacteria (control plants). The experiment plants had increased transpiration and their biomass had higher organic nitrogen content. With nitrogen deficit medium, the plants inoculated with bacteria and those without them, have not revealed changes in growth. Neither case demonstrated competition of microorganisms with plants for nitrogen sources.     

The effects of extended clinorotation on potato minituber formation and structure.

Formation and structure of potato minitubers grown aseptically for 30 days on a horizontal clinostat and in stationary control have been studied by light and electron microscopy. It was demonstrated that the number of plants that formed minitubers, their size and fresh weight, was higher when clino-rotated than in the stationary control. It was revealed that the amount of amyloplasts in parenchyma cell sections was doubled in minitubers formed under clino-rotation. Other factors (shape of minitubers and size of reserve parenchyma cells) did not differ from the stationary control. The changes in amyloplast ultrastructure suggest accelerated cell maturity of potato reserve parenchyma in extended clino-rotation.     

基于认知特性的目标辨认研究

为了优化飞机人机界面的设计,结合人的认知特性对目标(文字或标识)的形状、大小、辨认反应时间等进行设定,并通过二维目标的识别实验进行分析与验证.实验结果表明对目标大小和反应时间的定量处理比较合理,目标形状对目标辨认的影响与以往的研究结果相近,在偏离中心视10°范围内,目标出现的位置和颜色对目标辨认的影响不明显.      

The importance of restoration of the atmospheric electrical environment in closed Bioregenerative Life Supporting Systems.

Earth based Bioregenerative Life Supporting Systems (BLSS) are subject to 4 main physical factors: gravity, light, temperature and electrical environment. The first 3 are obvious to everyone, the Electrical Environment (EE) is not under the majority of prevailing conditions perceived directly by our senses. The EE is one of the important physical factors directly influencing some plants and in a less obvious way also the majority of plants. There are only two long range forces in nature: the electromagnetic and the gravitational forces. Gravity is very much weaker than the electromagnetic forces FG/FEL=10(-38), where FG is the gravitational Force and FEL are the electromagnetic Forces. The atmospheric electric field prevails all the time over the entire Earth with a mean intensity of 130 V/m. It is therefore a potent factor which may be used by some plants exposed throughout their entire life time to the atmospheric electric field. What effect should the normal atmospheric electric field have on plants? All living plants are good electrical conductors for electrostatic fields. The plants distort the normally vertical field lines, which have to be perpendicular to the plant tissue everywhere in order to avoid the extraction of energy from the field. The meristems concentrate the field lines, thus the electrically charged nutrients are supplied to the growing parts of the plant exposed to the field. This results in electrotropism in some plants. It is very well known that plants do have adaptive capabilities as compared to animals, it is important for their survival, because they cannot run away from trouble. It is found by careful observations of the behaviour of different plants that some plants do respond to the presence of the atmospheric electric field while other plants exposed to the same environment are indifferent to the atmospheric electric field. The plants growing in the Biosphere II were shielded by the metal structure of the Biosphere II. Because these plants which do make use of the atmospheric electric field are also to be found in the Biosphere II and must be deprived of this natural atmospheric electric field and in consequence of some of their natural nutrients. I have experimental evidence that at least some plants do respond to the atmospheric electric field. This effect is the most likely cause of the oxygen depletion and of the carbon dioxide accumulation in Biosphere II. Under the micro gravity encountered in space habitats the restoration of electric fields is even more important for plant growth than it is on the Earth.     

Environmental degradation analysis using NOAA/AVHRR data

This paper proposes a particular approach to assess information about soil degradation, based on a methodology to calculate soil color from NOAA/AVHRR data. As erosive processes change physical and chemical properties of the soil, altering, consequently, the superficial color, monitoring the change in color over time can help to identify and analyze those processes. A relationship among the soil color (described in the Munsell Color System, i.e., in terms of Hue, Value and Chroma), vegetation indices, surface temperature and emissivity has been established, which is based on the theoretical model. The methodology has three main phases: determination of the regression models among soil color and vegetation indices, emissivity and surface temperature; generation of digital soil color models; and statistical evaluation of the estimated color. The tests showed that the methodology is efficient in determining soil color using the various vegetation indices (i.e., Normalized vegetation index NDVI, Modified soil adjusted vegetation index MSAVI). One vegetation index, i.e., Purified adjusted vegetation index (PAVI) is proposed to subsidies the effect of vegetation over the soil. Best results were obtained for the Hue color component. To further test the methodology, the estimated digital color models were compared with the characteristic color of soil classes in the test area. The results of this application confirmed the methodology’s capacity to determine the soil color from NOAA/AVHRR data. This type of study is quite helpful to know the erosion of soil as well as some abrupt change in soil due to natural hazards by space borne or air-borne sensors.     

Spectral characterization of arid rangelands in the high atlas mountains,Morocco

Considering an arid area in the High Atlas mountains of Morocco, the assessment of vegetation cover is carried out from ground spectral measurements and analysis of satellite imagery. Ground measurements have been made with SPOT simulation radiometer; results are related to reflectance-vegetation coverage relationships and to spectral responses obtained at a local level (120m transects). Analysis of Thematic Mapper and SPOT data includes visual interpretation of color composite imagery for geomorphological units delineation, principal component analysis and examination of bispectral scatter plots.     

Mortality and morphological anomalies related to the passage of cosmic heavy ions through the smallest flowering aquatic plant Wolffia arrhiza

Radiobiological effects of single cosmic heavy ions on individual, actively metabolizing test organisms, plants of Wolffia arrhiza, have been explored in an experiment flown aboard the Russian Biosatellite 10. Mortality induced during space flight, population dynamics during subsequent cultivation, and morphological anomalies occurring in the plants of these cultures were investigated. Correlation of these effects with the passage of a heavy ion was achieved by inserting monolayers of plants in a stack of surrounding plastic nuclear track detectors (BIO-STACK). Enhanced initial mortality and delayed decline of induced anomalies have been significantly associated with the passage of single heavy ions, in particular if ions penetrated the budding region of the plants. The prolonged persistence of anomalies in filial generations as an indication of delayed genetic damage has been detected for the first time as the consequence of the hit by a single heavy ion. Regarding radiation protection of space crew during prolonged missions, especially outside the magnetosphere, this appears to be a significant finding.     

BLSS: A contribution to future life support

For extended duration missions in space the supply of basic life-supporting ingredients represents a formidable logistics problem. Storage volume and launch weight of water, oxygen and food in a conventional non-regenerable life support system are directly proportional to the crew size and the length of the mission. In view of spacecraft payload limitations this will require that the carbon, or food, recycling loop, the third and final part in the life support system, be closed to further reduce logistics cost. This will be practical only if advanced life support systems can be developed in which metabolic waste products are regenerated and food is produced.

Biological Life Support Systems (BLSS) satisfy the space station environmental control functions and close the food cycle. A Biological Life Support System has to be a balanced ecological system, biotechnical in nature and consisting of some combination of human beings, animals, plants and microorganisms integrated with mechanical and physico-chemical hardware.

Numerous scientific space experiments have been delineated in recent years, the results of which are applicable to the support of BLSS concepts. Furthermore ecological life support systems have become subject to intensified studies and experiments both in the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. The Japanese have also conducted detailed preliminary studies.

Dornier System has in recent years undertaken an effort to define requirements and concepts and to analyse the feasibility of BLSS for space applications. Analyses of the BLSS energy-mass relation have been performed, and the possibilities to influence it to achieve advantages for the BLSS (compared with physico-chemical systems) have been determined. The major problem areas which need immediate attention have been defined, and a programme for the development of BLSS has been proposed.     

Ontogeny of plants under various gravity condition.

The results of experiments performed under conditions of microgravity (MG) or under its simulation on the horizontal clinostat (HC) with the callus, seedlings of various species and embryogenic structures have revealed a definite role of gravity as an ecological factor in the processes of cytomorphogenesis, growth, and development. The transformation of differentiated somatic cells of arabidopsis seed into undifferentiated callus was not inhibited under MG, though modifications of the whole callus morphology and of mean cell and nucleus size were observed. The morphogenesis of polar structures such as root-hair bearing cells of Lactuca primary root has been shown to be modified in the course of differentiation under mass acceleration diminished below 0.1 g. Seed germination and seedling morphogenesis under MG follow their normal course, but a significant stimulation of shoot growth with no effect on primary root growth has been determined. A successful in vitro regeneration of Nicotiana tabacum plantlets from leaf cells and subsequent formation of shoots and roots on a continuously rotating HC as well as the formation of viable seeds during seed-to-seed growth of Arabidopsis plants under MG have indicated that gravity plays but a limited role in the processes of embryogenesis and organogenesis.     

Plants + soil/wetland microbes: Food crop systems that also clean air and water

The limitations that will govern bioregenerative life support applications in space, especially volume and weight, make multi-purpose systems advantageous. This paper outlines two systems which utilize plants and associated microbial communities of root or growth medium to both produce food crops and clean air and water. Underlying these approaches are the large numbers and metabolic diversity of microbes associated with roots and found in either soil or other suitable growth media. Biogeochemical cycles have microbial links and the ability of microbes to metabolize virtually all trace gases, whether of technogenic or biogenic origin, has long been established. Wetland plants and the rootzone microbes of wetland soils/media also been extensively researched for their ability to purify wastewaters of a great number of potential water pollutants, from nutrients like N and P, to heavy metals and a range of complex industrial pollutants. There is a growing body of research on the ability of higher plants to purify air and water. Associated benefits of these approaches is that by utilizing natural ecological processes, the cleansing of air and water can be done with little or no energy inputs. Soil and rootzone microorganisms respond to changing pollutant types by an increase of the types of organisms with the capacity to use these compounds. Thus living systems have an adaptive capacity as long as the starting populations are sufficiently diverse. Tightly sealed environments, from office buildings to spacecraft, can have hundreds or even thousands of potential air pollutants, depending on the materials and equipment enclosed. Human waste products carry a plethora of microbes which are readily used in the process of converting its organic load to forms that can be utilized by green plants. Having endogenous means of responding to changing air and water quality conditions represents safety factors as these systems operate without the need for human intervention. We review this research and the ability of systems using these mechanisms to also produce food or other useful crops. Concerns about possible pathogens in soils and wastewater are discussed along with some methods to prevent contact, disease transmission and to pre-screen and decrease risks. The psychological benefits of having systems utilizing green plants are becoming more widely recognized. Some recent applications extending the benefits of plants and microbes to solve new environmental problems are presented. For space applications, we discuss the use of in situ space resources and ways of making these systems compact and light-weight.     

基于条件生成对抗网络的HDR图像生成方法

高动态范围（HDR）图像相比低动态范围（LDR）图像有更宽的色域和更高的亮度范围,更符合人眼视觉效果,但由于目前的图像采集设备大都是LDR设备,导致HDR图像资源匮乏,解决该问题的一种有效途径是通过逆色调映射将LDR图像映射为HDR图像。提出了一种基于条件生成对抗网络（CGAN）的逆色调映射算法,以重建HDR图像。为此,设计了基于多分支的生成对抗网络与基于鉴别块的鉴别网络,并利用CGAN的数据生成能力和特征提取能力,将单张LDR图像从BT.709色域映射到对应的BT.2020色域。实验结果表明:与现有方法相比,所提出的网络能够获得更高的客观与主观质量,特别是针对低色域中的模糊区域,所提方法能够重建出更清晰的纹理与细节。      

Effect of bacterial population density on germination wheat seeds and dynamics of simple artificial ecosystems.

Effect of the size of rhizospheric bacterial populations on germination of seeds and development of simple terrestrial "wheat plants--rhizospheric microorganisms--artificial soil" and "wheat plants-artificial soil" systems has been studied. Experiments demonstrated that within specify ranges in the inoculate, the rhizospheric bacteria are capable of increasing the yield of germinated seeds and stimulate the growth of plantlets. Germination of seeds inoculated with bacteria was either stimulated, or inhibited or remained at control levels depending on the amount of bacteria. Plant biomass growth and total photoassimilation has been found to depend on the amount of bacteria on the plant roots: the higher the amount of bacteria on plant roots, the smaller is the biomass of plants but the total photoassimilation is, higher. Thus, depending on the amount of bacteria on the roots of plants the system either increases the biomass of plants or increases the total photoassimilation, i.e. "pumps" carbon through itself involving bacteria. Grant numbers: N99-04-96017, N15.