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.     

Large-size space laboratory for biological orbit experiments.

The study of space factors on living systems has great interest and long-term experiments during orbital flight will be important tool for increasing our knowledge. Realization of such experiments is limited by constraints of modern space stations. A new technology of large-size space laboratory for biological experiments has been developed on the basis of polymerization techniques. Using this technique there are no limits of form and size of laboratory for a space station that will permit long term experiments on Earth orbit with plants and animals in sufficient volume for creation of closed self-regulating ecological systems. The technology is based on experiments of the behavior of polymer materials in simulated free space conditions during the reaction of polymerization. The influences of space vacuum, sharp temperature changes and space plasma generated by galactic rays and Sun irradiation on chemical reaction were evaluated in their impact on liquid organic materials in laboratory conditions. The results of our study shows, that the chemical reaction is sensitive to such space factors. But we believe that the technology of polymerization could be used for the creation of space biological laboratories in Earth orbit in the near future.     

Use of combined light flash and plasma measurements to study hypervelocity impact processes

We present new measurements concerning generation of light flash during hypervelocity impacts. We use iron particles (10⁻¹³ to 10⁻¹⁷ kg) with velocities over the range 1 to 42 km/s impacting semi-infinite targets (aluminium and molybdenum). The main results of previous work in the field are found to be reproduced with some slight deviations. For iron projectiles with given mass and velocity the energy of the flash (normalized to mass) is proportional to velocity to the power of 3.5 for aluminium targets and 3.9 for molybdenum targets. The duration of the flash is of order 1 microsecond. Simultaneous measurements of the generation of impact plasma do not change this. The onset of plasma generation of the bulk target material does not affect the total light flash energy. We discuss the duration of the flash compared to a simple calculation of temperature in the target and plasma vs time.     

Nanotechnology-based molecular test equipment (MTE)

This paper describes original research efforts in the design, simulation, and development of nanotechnology-based molecular test equipment (MTE). This is a research effort for testing printed circuit boards independent of traditional automatic test equipment (ATE) through the fabrication of MTE within integrated circuits (ICs). The MTE is embedded within the IC substrate and encapsulated within nanoprobes that connect between the surface and the substrate of the IC at various functional areas. A process is followed whereby IC device simulation is performed to assess the electrical, chemical, and structural properties of integrated and adjacent substrate devices. Through this approach the nominal and failed device performance parameters of interest to substrate-based MTE are found. Discussion of the development and application of MTE within IC architectures is provided, including such topics as the effect of substrate composition on the design and realization of MTE, interfaces between MTE and IC devices, and reporting of MTE results to the IC surface and technician. Potential application areas within different device functions will also be identified. A chemical structure diagram is also provided to illustrate the implementation of MTE using discrete device configurations with MTE-augmented logic     

Molecular alterations in tumorigenic human bronchial and breast epithelial cells induced by high LET radiation.

Carcinogenesis is a multi-stage process with sequence of genetic events governing the phenotypic expression of a series of transformation steps leading to the development of metastatic cancer. In the present study, immortalized human bronchial (BEP2D) and breast (MCF-10F) cells were irradiated with graded doses of either 150 keV/micrometer alpha particles or 1 GeV/nucleon 56Fe ions. Transformed cells developed through a series of successive steps before becoming tumorigenic in nude mice. Cell fusion studies indicated that radiation-induced tumorigenic phenotype in BEP2D cells could be completely suppressed by fusion with non-tumorigenic BEP2D cells. The differential expressions of known genes between tumorigenic bronchial and breast cells induced by alpha particles and their respective control cultures were compared using cDNA expression array. Among the 11 genes identified to be differentially expressed in BEP2D cells, three (DCC, DNA-PK and p21(CIP1)) were shown to be consistently down-regulated by 2 to 4 fold in all the 5 tumor cell lines examined. In contrast, their expressions in the fusion cell lines were comparable to control BEP2D cells. Similarly, expression levels of a series of genes were found to be altered in a step-wise manner among tumorigenic MCF-10F cells. The results are highly suggestive that functional alterations of these genes may be causally related to the carcinogenic process.     

Aeolian Processes and their Effects on Understanding the Chronology of Mars

Aeolian (wind) processes can transport particles over large distances on Mars, leading to the modification or removal of surface features, formation of new landforms, and mantling or burial of surfaces. Erosion of mantling deposits by wind deflation can exhume older surfaces. These processes and their effects on the surface must be taken into account in using impact crater statistics to derive chronologies on Mars. In addition, mapping the locations, relative ages, and orientations of aeolian features can provide insight into Martian weather, climate, and climate history.     

Scanning, Tracking, and Mapping State Variable Estimation Algorithms

Recursive state equation estimation algorithms are derived to determine optimal estimation error covariance and state estimate for a linear dynamic system, driven by time-varying and positionverying (or angle-varying) functions whose a priori covariance are described. Retracing the same trajectory with the system measuring device causes the position varying function to repeat and can significantly reduce estimation errors. Applications for these algorithms include improving accuracy of a position dependent quantity to be mapped, or recursively processing radar or sonar data from repeating scans over the same area. Three types of return path patterns are considered: 1) multiple independent returns, 2) reverse returns, and 3) cyclical returns.