Biochemical constraints for survival under Martian conditions.

A wide variety of terrestrial organisms, the so-called "anhydrobiotes," has learned to survive in a state of extreme dehydration in dry environments. Strategies for survival include the accumulation of certain polyols and nonreducing saccharides, which help to prevent damage to membranes and proteins, but at low water partial pressure DNA is also progressively damaged by various lesions, including strand breaks and cross-linking to proteins. These lesions, if they are not too numerous, can be repaired before the first replication step after rehydration, but long-term exposure to dry conditions finally diminishes the chances of survival as these lesions accumulate. If an organism has no chance to repair the accumulated DNA damage during intermittent periods of active life, survival will not exceed a few decades. The restriction of survival by dryness-induced DNA lesions is corroborated by new data on conidia of Aspergillus and the free plasmid pBR 322. Our results will be discussed with respect to the chance of finding dormant life or biochemical fossils on the surface of Mars.     

Spatial orientation during locomotion [correction of locomation] following space flight

To investigate changes in spatial orientation ability and walking performance following space flight, 7 astronaut subjects were asked pre- and post-flight to perform a goal directed locomotion paradigm which consisted of walking a triangular path with and without vision. This new paradigm, involving inputs from different sensory systems, allows quantification of several critical parameters, like orientation performance, walking velocities and postural stability, in a natural walking task. The paper presented here mainly focusses on spatial orientation performance quantified by the errors in walking the previously seen path without vision. Errors in length and reaching the corners did not change significantly from pre- to post-flight, while absolute angular errors slightly increased post-flight. The significant decrease in walking velocity and a change in head-trunk coordination while walking around the corners of the path observed post-flight may suggest that during re-adaptation to gravity the mechanisms which are necessary to perform the task have to be re-accomplished.     

The effect of head-down tilt on brain potentials related to visual attention

To study the possible effect of simulated weightlessness on brain function state, the brain event-related potentials (ERPs) in a simple visual selective response task were compared between HDT and HUT in 9 normal subjects. The results were: The Target(T) and non-Target(NT) flash signals both induced significant slow positive potentials which were supposed to related to the attention state; the amplitude of the positive potentials in frontal regions decreased significantly especially for NT-ERPs during HDT comprared with that during HUT. The data reported provide new evidence indicating that more attention should be paid on the brain function study during space flight.     

Highly mobile space suit material optimization

This paper discusses the factors that control the flexibility of fabric space suit elements by examining a bending model of a pressurized fabric tube. Results from the model are used to evaluate the current direction in highly mobile EVA glove research and suggest that changes are necessary in the suit and glove fabric selection methodology.     

Life in space may help life on Earth

Teams of chronobiologists from the U.S., Russia, and Japan are working toward a remote computerized health care system which, once tested in space, may change how doctors diagnose and treat cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension and conditions predisposing stroke. The system is based on ongoing research indicating that swings in blood pressure charted over a span of 24 hr or longer, rather than a single systolic and diastolic reading, can reveal a new major risk factor for heart disease.     

搅拌铸造金属基复合材料铸锭的气孔率

阐述了降低气孔率是搅拌铸造工艺制备颗粒增强型金属基复合材料的关键技术。     

原状黄土和重塑黄土的湿陷性

在不同含水量下对原状黄土和重塑黄土进行了湿陷性试验，得到了原状黄土、重塑黄土随含水量的变化曲线分别为下凹型和上凸型；小压力下重塑黄土的湿陷系数大于原状黄土的湿陷系数。     

篦齿封严装置减振方法研究及减振装置设计

本文研究了用于篦齿封严装置的干摩擦式阻尼减振器的减振原理,采用篦齿封严装置气弹稳定性分析方法,分别研究了用于篦齿封严装置的阻尼环和阻尼套筒的减振效果,并在此基础上提出了阻尼减振器的工程设计方法。研究表明,干摩擦式阻尼减振器可以有效地提高篦齿封严装置的气动弹性稳定性。     

国内外民用航空发动机-飞机数据图形库系统的开发

 1.引言 国内外民用航空发动-飞机数据图形库系统的开发是应用计算机数据库技术、图形技术对航空科学与工程数据进行计算机辅助管理的一次尝试。该系统是在“微机汉字dBASEⅢ+微机汉字C编译”支持下设计与实现的具有图形功能的关系型汉字数据库应用系统。该系