Chromosome instability of HPRT-mutant subclones induced by ionising radiation of various LET.

The induction of HPRT-mutations and survival of Chinese hamster cells (line B11ii-FAF28, clone 431) were studied after irradiation by 4He and 12C-ions of various LET (20-360 keV/micrometers), produced by the U-200 heavy ion accelerator. The RBE increases with LET up to the maximum at 100-200 keV/micrometers and then decreases. Cytogenetic analysis was performed on the HPRT-mutant subclones selected from unirradiated Chinese hamster V-79 cells and from HPRT-mutant subclones that arose after exposure to gamma-rays, 1 GeV protons and 14N-ions (LET-77 keV/micrometers), produced by the synchrophasotron and the U-400M heavy ion accelerator. Slow growing mutant subclones were observed. The cytogenetic properties of individual clones were highly heterogeneous and chromosome instability was observed in both spontaneous and radiation-induced mutants. Chromosome instability was highest among spontaneous mutants and decreased with increasing LET.     

Operation algorithm synthesis for the information-control system of inspection and diagnostics of aircraft equipment state

The problem is formulated and a technique is revealed for synthesizing the optimal strategy of troubleshooting and constructing an operation algorithm for the information-control system of inspection and diagnostics of the aircraft equipment state.     

Microgravity effects on water supply and substrate properties in porous matrix root support systems.

The control of water content and water movement in granular substrate-based plant root systems in microgravity is a complex problem. Improper water and oxygen delivery to plant roots has delayed studies of the effects of microgravity on plant development and the use of plants in physical and mental life support systems. Our international effort (USA, Russia and Bulgaria) has upgraded the plant growth facilities on the Mir Orbital Station (OS) and used them to study the full life cycle of plants. The Bulgarian-Russian-developed Svet Space Greenhouse (SG) system was upgraded on the Mir OS in 1996. The US developed Gas Exchange Measurement System (GEMS) greatly extends the range of environmental parameters monitored. The Svet-GEMS complex was used to grow a fully developed wheat crop during 1996. The growth rate and development of these plants compared well with earth grown plants indicating that the root zone water and oxygen stresses that have limited plant development in previous long-duration experiments have been overcome. However, management of the root environment during this experiment involved several significant changes in control settings as the relationship between the water delivery system, water status sensors, and the substrate changed during the growth cycles.     

Metabolic changes in rats subjected to space flight for 18.5 days in the biosatellite Cosmos 936

From an investigation of the activity of six glucocorticoid dependent liver enzymes, the existence of chronic, transient, stress-induced hypercorticosteronaemia during flight is probable. This hypercorticosteronaemia arises from weightlessness and induces gluconeogenesis. Weightlessness also caused substantial increases in liver glycogen level. The increased lipolytic activity and that of lipoprotein lipase in several groups of animals could be interpreted as enhancement of fat mobilization and utilization under the influence of stress. As this latter enhancement was also found in ground-based controls, it may have been due to the stress of handling rather than to space flight per se.     

Optical Simulation of Radar Ambiguities

Coherent optical systems, because of their basic similarity to coherent radar systems, can be used to simulate many of the characteristics of the latter. This paper discusses the use of a coherent optical system for the simulation of the range and azimuth ambiguities that sometimes occur in radar systems. The optical configurations for implementing these simulations are described in detail, and extensive experimental results are presented.     

Filtering of discontinuous processes arising in marine integratednavigation systems

A refined stochastic model for the errors of the Loran-C radio navigation aid is described, and it is shown how this model can be used to improve the performance of integrated navigation systems. In addition to the usual propagation errors, Loran-C time of arrival measurements are occasionally plagued with sudden intermittent errors of a particular magnitude and caused by receiver cycle selection errors. These result in sudden large jumps in the calculated position solution. The Loran-C error has been modeled as the sum of a diffusion process, representing the normal propagating errors, and a pure jump process of Poisson type, representing the cycle selection errors. A simple integrated navigation system is then described, based on the Loran-C model and the standard dead reckoning (heading and speed) system model. Assuming that the observed process is governed by a linear stochastic difference equation, a recursive linear unbiased minimum variance filter is developed, from which the Loran-C and dead reckoning errors, and hence position and velocity, can be estimated     

Optimal motion planning for dual-spacecraft interferometry

We address the question of design and optimal control of a class of dual-spacecraft interferometric imaging formations. The first main contribution is that we combine two ideas introduced separately in the literature and propose a maneuver that offers improved imaging performance. We then formulate an optimal control problem to minimize fuel consumption and maximize image quality by minimizing the relative speed, which is proportional to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the reconstructed image. We show that the necessary conditions are also sufficient and that the resulting optimal control is unique. Finally, we apply a continuation method to solve for the unique optimal trajectory.     

Approximate analytical solutions of stability problems for skew plates under combined loading

The known analytical solutions of the linearized stability problems for rectangular hinged plates under the combined loading are generalized to the similar problems for skew plates, the deformation mechanics of which is described by the equations of the classical theory formed in the oblique Cartesian coordinates.     

Experimental study of radial temperature gradient-reducing devices in GTE rotor disks

In this paper, we examine experimentally some devices the principle of action of which is based on using the dynamic pressure of air extracted to engine cooling and which are meant for reducing the radial temperature gradient in GTE rotor disks. We established that the devices equipped with the ejector channels make it possible to accelerate the process of the disk hub heating by hot air suction from the cavity periphery towards the rotor axis of rotation. Using the data of visualization studies, we show the possibility for efficient operation of ejector devices in the conditions of real GTE rotor circumferential velocities.     

A lower bound estimate of the critical load for helicopter main rotor composite blade according to the limit equilibrium theory. The basic steps of an algorithm

The basic steps of an algorithm are given for calculating the parameters of the limiting state of a helicopter main rotor blade. To estimate the static strength, a technique of elastic constants variation is used; it is based on the limit equilibrium theory and enables us to obtain the upper and lower bounds for the critical load simultaneously. An iterative technique is proposed to determine the lower bound of the allowable load on the root section of the composite blade depending on the azimuthal angle of its turn in the helicopter hovering mode.