Long-term manipulations of intact microbial mat communities in a greenhouse collaboratory: simulating earth's present and past field environments

Photosynthetic microbial mat communities were obtained from marine hypersaline saltern ponds, maintained in a greenhouse facility, and examined for the effects of salinity variations. Because these microbial mats are considered to be useful analogs of ancient marine communities, they offer insights about evolutionary events during the >3 billion year time interval wherein mats co-evolved with Earth's lithosphere and atmosphere. Although photosynthetic mats can be highly dynamic and exhibit extremely high activity, the mats in the present study have been maintained for >1 year with relatively minor changes. The major groups of microorganisms, as assayed using microscopic, genetic, and biomarker methodologies, are essentially the same as those in the original field samples. Field and greenhouse mats were similar with respect to rates of exchange of oxygen and dissolved inorganic carbon across the mat-water interface, both during the day and at night. Field and greenhouse mats exhibited similar rates of efflux of methane and hydrogen. Manipulations of salinity in the water overlying the mats produced changes in the community that strongly resemble those observed in the field. A collaboratory testbed and an array of automated features are being developed to support remote scientific experimentation with the assistance of intelligent software agents. This facility will permit teams of investigators the opportunity to explore ancient environmental conditions that are rare or absent today but that might have influenced the early evolution of these photosynthetic ecosystems.     

The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap

The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap provides guidance for research and technology development across the NASA enterprises that encompass the space, Earth, and biological sciences. The ongoing development of astrobiology roadmaps embodies the contributions of diverse scientists and technologists from government, universities, and private institutions. The Roadmap addresses three basic questions: how does life begin and evolve, does life exist elsewhere in the universe, and what is the future of life on Earth and beyond? Seven Science Goals outline the following key domains of investigation: understanding the nature and distribution of habitable environments in the universe, exploring for habitable environments and life in our own Solar System, understanding the emergence of life, determining how early life on Earth interacted and evolved with its changing environment, understanding the evolutionary mechanisms and environmental limits of life, determining the principles that will shape life in the future, and recognizing signatures of life on other worlds and on early Earth. For each of these goals, Science Objectives outline more specific high priority efforts for the next three to five years. These eighteen objectives are being integrated with NASA strategic planning.     

网络计算环境下任务调度问题研究

利用网上空闲处理机组成机群并行计算环境是快速增长的研究领域,任务调度是其中最关键性的问题之一.在基于消息传递机制的网络并行计算环境下,针对一类大粒度计算任务并行时协同同步工作问题,发展了一种新的静态调度模型,提出了调度算法,它映射一类特殊的并行程序任务到由网络上若干空闲处理机组成的机群中.研究表明该算法能减少此类并行程序的完成时间.      

集群卫星网络信息拓扑控制技术探讨

集群卫星网络所具有的高动态拓扑、信息异构及灵活组网的特性,使其对信息层面的拓扑控制提出了新的挑战,需要在现有的卫星网络拓扑控制技术的基础上进一步研究。在深入解析集群卫星网络信息拓扑控制内涵的基础上,根据集群卫星网络特点,提出通用的集群卫星网络信息拓扑模型及星地拓扑控制策略,并对现有的卫星拓扑控制算法进行分类说明,根据拓扑的分类方法,分析不同卫星拓扑控制技术在运用于集群卫星网络中的限制条件,最后针对应用需求及技术特点,指出集群卫星网络拓扑控制技术的发展趋势及研究方向。     

基于改进稀疏A~*算法的无人机航路规划

为使无人机具有在复杂环境下快速有效规划的能力,针对无人机航路规划中的稀疏A*算法进行改进,提出基于预生成点的变步长稀疏A*算法。算法在存在可行航路的紧密威胁障碍之间预先生成备选航路点,然后通过带有约束条件的稀疏A*算法进行航路规划,且在航路规划过程中结合变步长思想,更好地规避威胁,并加快搜索,最后对生成的航路实现二次优化。仿真结果表明,相比稀疏A*算法,改进的稀疏A*算法收敛速度快,具有更强的鲁棒性、可行性,且生成航迹具有更好的飞行品质。     

涵道风扇无人机增稳控制律设计与仿真

针对小型涵道风扇无人机本体不稳定特性,设计增稳控制律并通过仿真进行了验证。利用软件CATIA建立三维模型,并制作出实体模型。对模型进行受力分析,建立涵道风扇无人机六自由度动力学模型。在所建模型基础上,设计增稳控制律,包括姿态控制律及轨迹控制律。建立非线性仿真模型,通过Matlab／Simulink仿真对所设计的控制律有效性进行了验证。仿真结果表明,所设计的控制律达到了增加涵道风扇无人机稳定性的目的。     

基于串口通信的虚拟仪器平台的设计与测试

设计了一套基于串口通信的虚拟仪器平台。系统硬件采用DSP平台和PC平台协同工作的模式,其中DSP芯片为协处理器,负责信号采集和预处理。PC平台负责信号分析与工作状态控制,用户可以通过开发好的PC平台软件完成对系统的控制,PC机与DSP的通信采用串口实现。分析了串口通信质量对信号测量的影响,实验结果显示串口通信稳定可靠,通信误码对信号分析影响不大,能够满足串口通信虚拟仪器平台的需求。     

Geochemical constraints on sources of metabolic energy for chemolithoautotrophy in ultramafic-hosted deep-sea hydrothermal systems

Numerical models are employed to investigate sources of chemical energy for autotrophic microbial metabolism that develop during mixing of oxidized seawater with strongly reduced fluids discharged from ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal systems on the seafloor. Hydrothermal fluids in these systems are highly enriched in H(2) and CH(4) as a result of alteration of ultramafic rocks (serpentinization) in the subsurface. Based on the availability of chemical energy sources, inferences are made about the likely metabolic diversity, relative abundance, and spatial distribution of microorganisms within ultramafic-hosted systems. Metabolic reactions involving H(2) and CH(4), particularly hydrogen oxidation, methanotrophy, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis, represent the predominant sources of chemical energy during fluid mixing. Owing to chemical gradients that develop from fluid mixing, aerobic metabolisms are likely to predominate in low-temperature environments (<20-30 degrees C), while anaerobes will dominate higher-temperature environments. Overall, aerobic metabolic reactions can supply up to approximately 7 kJ of energy per kilogram of hydrothermal fluid, while anaerobic metabolic reactions can supply about 1 kJ, which is sufficient to support a maximum of approximately 120 mg (dry weight) of primary biomass production by aerobic organisms and approximately 20-30 mg biomass by anaerobes. The results indicate that ultramafic-hosted systems are capable of supplying about twice as much chemical energy as analogous deep-sea hydrothermal systems hosted in basaltic rocks.     

一种星上MSM型Clos交换结构的调度算法（英文）

针对MSM型Clos交换网络提出一种MMFD调度算法,该算法在输入级交换单元及中间级交换单元输出端口设置了状态指针,在每个时隙开始时刻,调度器根据指针值确定中间级交换单元的配置,然后根据配置状态确定所交换的信元。分析和仿真表明该算法在均匀业务和突发业务下吞吐率都达到了100%,排队时延优于CRRD和SRRD等典型算法。     

卫星融合交换系统负载均衡异构路径算法

卫星交换系统中的光与分组两种异构业务需要进行融合交换,为了合理利用卫星异构交换系统中的异构路径资源,需要对异构交换路径采用一体化生成方法.基于卫星异构融合交换结构模型,定义了异构路径影响因子,用以定量衡量异构路径对整体交换性能的影响,并针对卫星交换结构特点,采用交换系统子路径个数以及路径转换参数作为约束条件,通过构建异...