A theory of circular organization and negative feedback: defining life in a cybernetic context

All life today incorporates a variety of systems controlled by negative feedback loops and sometimes amplified by positive feedback loops. The first forms of life necessarily also required primitive versions of feedback, yet surprisingly little emphasis has been given to the question of how feedback emerged out of primarily chemical systems. One chemical system has been established that spontaneously develops autocatalytic feedback, the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. In this essay, I discuss the BZ reaction as a possible model for similar reactions that could have occurred under prebiotic Earth conditions. The main point is that the metabolism of contemporary life evolved from primitive homeostatic networks regulated by negative feedback. Because life could not exist in their absence, feedback loops should be included in definitions of life.     

火箭发动机推力瞬变的测量

任何测力装置都能用一个质量弹簧系统来描述,最简单地说:即通过一个具有刚度 K 和质量 M 的简单弹簧来描述,其中它的阻尼为 c,位移为 x,于是有M(d~2x/dt~2) c(dx/dt) kx=T,这里 T 为外加力。而大多数系统只测量 kx 项,这对低频情况是足够的。为了精确地记录推力的变化,从而要提高装置的固有频率,使之相对于推力变化的频率来说足够高,有时这是不现实的。为克服这一困难有两种可采用的途径。第一种方法是把运动方程的所有项合并到远远超过装置的固有频率所给定外力上。第二种方法是一个质量块在沿轴向作用的轴承上被发动机自由加速,加速度计给出推力/时间曲线。通过使质量块停止所需要的力对所预定时间内的积分而得到总冲。     

论现有远地点发动机用于新航天飞行器的有关问题

为了使正进入鉴定阶段的远地点发动机(TE-M-616)用于广播试验卫星,本文介绍了该新航天飞行器对远地点发动机的各系统及分系统提出的要求。由于加拿大通讯技术卫星和广播试验卫星对远地点发动机在环境和性能要求上有所不同,为了解决此问题,必须使远地点发动机经受住最恶劣的环境。喷管设计以及远地点发动机与航天器的对接都利用现有设计结构。根据对远地点发动机分析的结果,已经表明,若保持安全系数不变,只需要对现在进行的试验计划做一些修改和补充。另一方面,对于航天器提出的技术条件必须进一步审核,以便使新航天飞行器设计有最大可能利用现有的远地点发动机。     

DS/FH混合扩频快速捕获技术的研究

在DSFFH混合扩频通信系统中,快速捕获是一个非常关键的技术。通过采用快速扫描和等待式相结合的方法用来实现跳频信号的快速捕获,利用神经网络技术实现直扩信号的快速捕获,通过这2种方式,就可实现DSFFH混合扩频的快速捕获。     

The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) experiment for NASA's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory

We present a summary of the physical principles and design of the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument onboard NASA's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. The DAN instrument will use the method of neutron-neutron activation analysis in a space application to study the abundance and depth distribution of water in the martian subsurface along the path of the MSL rover.     

Temporal changes in fluid chemistry and energy profiles in the vulcano island hydrothermal system

In June 2003, the geochemical composition of geothermal fluids was determined at 9 sites in the Vulcano hydrothermal system, including sediment seeps, geothermal wells, and submarine vents. Compositional data were combined with standard state reaction properties to determine the overall Gibbs free energy (DeltaG(r) ) for 120 potential lithotrophic and heterotrophic reactions. Lithotrophic reactions in the H-O-N-S-C-Fe system were considered, and exergonic reactions yielded up to 120 kJ per mole of electrons transferred. The potential for heterotrophy was characterized by energy yields from the complete oxidation of 6 carboxylic acids- formic, acetic, propanoic, lactic, pyruvic, and succinic-with the following redox pairs: O(2)/H(2)O, SO(4) (2)/H(2)S, NO(3) ()/NH(4) (+), S(0)/H(2)S, and Fe(3)O(4)/Fe(2+). Heterotrophic reactions yielded 6-111 kJ/mol e(). Energy yields from both lithotrophic and heterotrophic reactions were highly dependent on the terminal electron acceptor (TEA); reactions with O(2) yielded the most energy, followed by those with NO(3) (), Fe(III), SO(4) (2), and S(0). When only reactions with complete TEA reduction were included, the exergonic lithotrophic reactions followed a similar electron tower. Spatial variability in DeltaG(r) was significant for iron redox reactions, owing largely to the wide range in Fe(2+) and H(+) concentrations. Energy yields were compared to those obtained for samples collected in June 2001. The temporal variations in geochemical composition and energy yields observed in the Vulcano hydrothermal system between 2001 and 2003 were moderate. The largest differences in DeltaG(r) over the 2 years were from iron redox reactions, due to temporal changes in the Fe(2+) and H(+) concentrations. The observed variations in fluid composition across the Vulcano hydrothermal system have the potential to influence not only microbial diversity but also the metabolic strategies of the resident microbial communities.     

Searching for life on Mars: selection of molecular targets for ESA's aurora ExoMars mission

The European Space Agency's ExoMars mission will seek evidence of organic compounds of biological and non-biological origin at the martian surface. One of the instruments in the Pasteur payload may be a Life Marker Chip that utilizes an immunoassay approach to detect specific organic molecules or classes of molecules. Therefore, it is necessary to define and prioritize specific molecular targets for antibody development. Target compounds have been selected to represent meteoritic input, fossil organic matter, extant (living, recently dead) organic matter, and contamination. Once organic molecules are detected on Mars, further information is likely to derive from the detailed distribution of compounds rather than from single molecular identification. This will include concentration gradients beneath the surface and gradients from generic to specific compounds. The choice of biomarkers is informed by terrestrial biology but is wide ranging, and nonterrestrial biology may be evident from unexpected molecular distributions. One of the most important requirements is to sample where irradiation and oxidation are minimized, either by drilling or by using naturally excavated exposures. Analyzing regolith samples will allow for the search of both extant and fossil biomarkers, but sequential extraction would be required to optimize the analysis of each of these in turn.     

Biomarker and stable isotope characterization of coastal pond-derived organic matter, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Small coastal ponds that contain photosynthetic microbial mat communities represent an extreme environment where a potentially significant source of labile organic carbon can be found within the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. To distinguish coastal pond-derived organic matter from other sources of organic matter in the Dry Valleys, bulk organic carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope signatures and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles of benthic microbial mats located at two sites--Hjorth Hill coast and Garwood Valley--were investigated. The average isotope values at Hjorth Hill coast and Garwood Valley are, respectively, -10.9 per thousand and -10.2 per thousand for delta(13) C, 3.7 per thousand and -1.3 per thousand for delta(15)N, and 8.1 per thousand and 16.7 per thousand for delta(34)S. Microbial mats from all ponds are dominated by monounsaturated PLFAs (indicative of Gram-negative bacteria) and polyunsaturated PLFAs (indicative of microeukaryotes). Biomarkers specific to aerobic prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and photoautotrophic microeukaryotes, as well as sulfur-reducing bacteria, are present in all samples. Benthic mats at Garwood Valley are thicker and more laminated, have a higher biomass, and have a greater carbon and nitrogen content, which suggests greater productivity than mats at Hjorth Hill coast. Greater productivity is supported, as well, by higher dissolved oxygen contents likely derived from heightened photosynthetic productivity. More productivity at Garwood Valley likely results from a larger influx of terrestrial surface waters together with a concomitant nutrient loading.     

Study of the Enhancement Events of Relativistic Electron at the Geosynchronous Orbit

The high flux of energetic electron on geostationary orbit can induce many kinds of malfunction of the satellite there, within which the bulk-charging is the most significant that several broadcast satellite failures were confirmed to be due to this effect. The electron flux on geostationary orbit varies in a large range even up to three orders accompanied the passage of interplanetary magnetic cloud and the following geomagnetic disturbances. Upon the investigation of electron flux enhancement events, two types of events were partitioned as recurrent events and random ones. Both of the two kinds of events relate to the interplanetary conditions such as solar wind parameters, IMF etc and their evolution characters as well. As for the recurrent events, we found that, (1) all of the events exhibits periodic recurrence about 27 days, (2) significant increase of electron flux relates to interplanetary index and characters of their distribution, (3) the electron flux also has relation to solar activity index. An artificial neural network was constructed to estimate the flux I day ahead. The random electron flux enhancement events are rare and present different distribution figures to the recurrent ones. The figure of the random events and the conditions of their occurrence is also discussed in this paper.      

应用于航天的专家系统外壳

从地面对航天器上复杂的、紧密耦合的系统进行控制是一项非常复杂的任务。在起飞期间,操作员不停地监视着输入的系统数据,并作出各种判断以保证发射成功。在大多数系统中,操作员从嵌入地面控制计算机的软件中获取这些原始数据。如果数据超过了某一固定门限,则软件触发一个警告。然而,紧密耦合的子系统经常会引发几个警告并同时发声,信息大量涌向操作员,延误操作员的反应时间,导致慌乱、疏忽和系统失败。