The role of repair in the survival of mammalian cells from heavy ion irradiation: approximation to the ideal case of target theory.

Theories of cellular radiation sensitivity that preclude a significant role for cellular repair processes in the final biological expression of cellular damage induced by ionizing radiation are unsound. Experiments are discussed here in which the cell-cycle dependency of the repair deficiency of the S/S variant, of the L5178Y murine leukemic lymphoblast was examined by treatment with the heavy ions, 20Ne, 28Si, 40Ar, 56Fe and 93Nb. Evidence from those studies, which will be described in detail elsewhere, provide support for the notion that as the linear energy transfer (LET infinity) of the incident radiation increases the ability of the S/S cell to repair radiation damage decreases until effectively it is eliminated around 500 keV/micrometer. In the region of the latter LET infinity value, the behavior of the S/S cell approximates the ideal case of target theory where post-irradiation metabolism (repair) does not influence cell survival. The expression of this phenomenon among different cell types and tissues will depend upon the actual repair systems involved and other considerations.     

Aerodynamic optimization design for high pressure turbines based on the adjoint approach

A first study on the continuous adjoint formulation for aerodynamic optimization design of high pressure turbines based on S2surface governed by the Euler equations with source terms is presented.The objective function is defined as an integral function along the boundaries,and the adjoint equations and the boundary conditions are derived by introducing the adjoint variable vectors.The gradient expression of the objective function then includes only the terms related to physical shape variations.The numerical solution of the adjoint equation is conducted by a finitedifference method with the Jameson spatial scheme employing the first and the third order dissipative fluxes.A gradient-based aerodynamic optimization system is established by integrating the blade stagger angles,the stacking lines and the passage perturbation parameterization with the quasi-Newton method of Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno(BFGS).The application of the continuous adjoint method is validated through a single stage high pressure turbine optimization case.The adiabatic efficiency increases from 0.8875 to 0.8931,whilst the mass flow rate and the pressure ratio remain almost unchanged.The optimization design is shown to reduce the passage vortex loss as well as the mixing loss due to the cooling air injection.     

Risk-taking during wayfinding is modulated by external stressors and personality traits

ABSTRACT

Two experiments examined cue reliance and risk-taking during desktop virtual wayfinding, and how they might be modulated by personality traits and external stressors. Participants navigated a series of virtual buildings and we manipulated the strength of probabilistic cues available to guide turn decisions. Navigators frequently discounted probabilistic cues and instead took risks, particularly when costs were low and potential benefits were high. Risk-taking was predicted by higher sense of direction and lower need for structure. Introducing a time stressor lowered risk-taking, with a higher relative reliance on probability-based information. This was most pronounced in females and those with a high need for structure. Results provide novel evidence that spatial cue reliance is modulated by individual differences and contextual constraints.     

CASC Imposing Space Missions in 2012

2012 was an impressive year for China’s space industry. Multiple national space programs proceeded well and as one of world’s well known rockets, the LM launch vehicles conducted 19 missions and sent 28 satellites/ spaceship into their preset orbits in 2012. All these spacecraft had been delivered to the customers for operation. CASC vice president Yuan Jie introduced the CASC space missions of 2012 when interviewed by Aerospace China.     

Space experiments aboard the Lomonosov MSU satellite

At present, the Institute of Nuclear Physics of Moscow State University, in cooperation with other organizations, is preparing space experiments onboard the Lomonosov satellite. The main goal of this mission is to study extreme astrophysical phenomena such as cosmic gamma-ray bursts and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. These phenomena are associated with the processes occurring in the early universe in very distant astrophysical objects, therefore, they can provide information on the first stages of the evolution of the universe. This paper considers the main characteristics of the scientific equipment aboard the Lomonosov satellite.     

Pilots for space tourism

This article sheds light on the key player needed for any space tourism adventure: the pilot who flies the spacecraft. The paper addresses the potential benefits of including a pilot at the controls when designing a space tourism spacecraft. It examines the basic qualifications and advanced skills required of space tourism pilots and discusses key training requirements for selected pilots and space pilots' pay and benefits. In addition, the research concludes that, just as the pioneers of passenger transport in aviation entertained and captured the interest of their passengers, the space pilot should have the skills of a tour guide.     

Mercury’s Weather-Beaten Surface: Understanding Mercury in the Context of Lunar and Asteroidal Space Weathering Studies

Mercury’s regolith, derived from the crustal bedrock, has been altered by a set of space weathering processes. Before we can interpret crustal composition, it is necessary to understand the nature of these surface alterations. The processes that space weather the surface are the same as those that form Mercury’s exosphere (micrometeoroid flux and solar wind interactions) and are moderated by the local space environment and the presence of a global magnetic field. To comprehend how space weathering acts on Mercury’s regolith, an understanding is needed of how contributing processes act as an interactive system. As no direct information (e.g., from returned samples) is available about how the system of space weathering affects Mercury’s regolith, we use as a basis for comparison the current understanding of these same processes on lunar and asteroidal regoliths as well as laboratory simulations. These comparisons suggest that Mercury’s regolith is overturned more frequently (though the characteristic surface time for a grain is unknown even relative to the lunar case), more than an order of magnitude more melt and vapor per unit time and unit area is produced by impact processes than on the Moon (creating a higher glass content via grain coatings and agglutinates), the degree of surface irradiation is comparable to or greater than that on the Moon, and photon irradiation is up to an order of magnitude greater (creating amorphous grain rims, chemically reducing the upper layers of grains to produce nanometer-scale particles of metallic iron, and depleting surface grains in volatile elements and alkali metals). The processes that chemically reduce the surface and produce nanometer-scale particles on Mercury are suggested to be more effective than similar processes on the Moon. Estimated abundances of nanometer-scale particles can account for Mercury’s dark surface relative to that of the Moon without requiring macroscopic grains of opaque minerals. The presence of nanometer-scale particles may also account for Mercury’s relatively featureless visible–near-infrared reflectance spectra. Characteristics of material returned from asteroid 25143 Itokawa demonstrate that this nanometer-scale material need not be pure iron, raising the possibility that the nanometer-scale material on Mercury may have a composition different from iron metal [such as (Fe,Mg)S]. The expected depletion of volatiles and particularly alkali metals from solar-wind interaction processes are inconsistent with the detection of sodium, potassium, and sulfur within the regolith. One plausible explanation invokes a larger fine fraction (grain size <45 μm) and more radiation-damaged grains than in the lunar surface material to create a regolith that is a more efficient reservoir for these volatiles. By this view the volatile elements detected are present not only within the grain structures, but also as adsorbates within the regolith and deposits on the surfaces of the regolith grains. The comparisons with findings from the Moon and asteroids provide a basis for predicting how compositional modifications induced by space weathering have affected Mercury’s surface composition.     

吊挂系统对波瓣混合排气系统气动热力性能影响

为了明确短舱中吊挂系统的堵塞效应对波瓣混合排气系统气动热力性能的影响,采用数值模拟的方法对包含吊挂的混合排气系统进行了定量研究。研究结果表明,受吊挂系统的影响,在波瓣混合排气系统混合段内,存在着一大尺度的回流区,其作用范围随吊挂长度的增加而增加。在性能参数方面,与未考虑吊挂系统时相比,考虑吊挂之后,虽然混合排气系统出口处热混合效率以及推力系数下降很小,最大降幅仅分别为0.017和0.01,但总压恢复系数却显著下降,最大降幅达到了0.03。此外,随着吊挂系统长度的变化,排气系统出口处的热混合效率、总压恢复系数以及推力系数变化幅度小于0.01,变化很小。     

A theoretical model of semi-elliptic surface crack growth

A theoretical model of semi-elliptic surface crack growth based on the low cycle strain damage accumulation near the crack tip along the cracking direction and the Newman–Raju formula is developed. The crack is regarded as a sharp notch with a small curvature radius and the process zone is assumed to be the size of cyclic plastic zone. The modified Hutchinson, Rice and Rosengren(HRR) formulations are used in the presented study. Assuming that the shape of surface crack front is controlled by two critical points: the deepest point and the surface point.The theoretical model is applied to semi-elliptic surface cracked Al 7075-T6 alloy plate under cyclic loading, and five different initial crack shapes are discussed in present study. Good agreement between experimental and theoretical results is obtained.