Dynamic change of ERPs related to selective attention to signals from left and right visual field during head-down tilt

To study further the effect of head-down tilt (HDT) on slow positive potential in the event-related potentials (ERPs), the temporal and spatial features of visual ERPs changes during 2 hour HDT (-10 degrees) were compared with that during HUT (+20 degrees) in 15 normal subjects. The stimuli were consisted of two color LED flashes appeared randomly in left or right visual field (LVF or RVF) with same probability. The subjects were asked to make switch response to target signals (T) differentially: switching to left for T in LVF and to right for T in RVF, ignoring non-target signals(N). Five sets of tests were made during HUT and HDT. ERPs were obtained from 9 locations on scalp. The mean value of the ERPs in the period from 0.32-0.55 s was taken as the amplitude of slow positive potential(P400). The main results were as follows. 1) The mean amplitude of P400 decreased during HDT which was more significant at the 2nd, 3rd and 5th set of tests; 2) spatially, the reduction of mean P400 amplitude during HDT was more significant for signals from RVF and was more significant at posterior and central brain regions than that on frontal locations. As that the positive potential probably reflects the active inhibition activity in the brain during attention process, these data provide further evidence showing that the higher brain function was affected by the simulated weightlessness and that this effect was not only transient but also with interesting spatial characteristics.     

A sample collector for robotic sample return missions II: Radiation tests

Sample return from small solar system objects is playing an increasingly important part in solar system exploration. Critical to such missions is a robust, simple, and economic sample collector. We have developed a collector such as this for near-Earth asteroid sample return missions that we have termed the Touch-and-Go Impregnable Pad (TGIP). The collector utilizes a silicone substrate that is pushed into the dust and gravel surface layer of the asteroid. As part of a systematic evaluation of the TGIP, we have investigated the resilience of this substrate to ionizing radiations. Several miniature versions of the collector, containing typically ∼3 g of the collection substrate, were exposed to 0.564 MeV beta particles from a ⁹⁰Sr source and a 6 MeV electron beam in a linear accelerator to simulate the wide range of energies of solar and galactic ionizing radiation. Various radiation levels up to eight times greater than expected on a six-year asteroid mission (in the case of beta radiation) and 50 times greater than expected (in the case of the 6 MeV electron radiation) were administered to the substrate. After irradiation, the efficiency of the substrate in collecting samples of mock regolith was compared with that of collectors that had not been irradiated. No difference beyond experimental uncertainty was observed and we suggest that the operational TGIP will not be affected adversely by radiation doses expected during a typical six-year inner solar system mission.     

Evolution of Icy Satellites

Evolutionary scenarios for the major satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto-Charon are discussed. In the Jovian system the challenge is to understand how the present Laplace resonance of Io, Europa, and Ganymede was established and to determine whether the heat being radiated by Io is in balance with the present tidal dissipation in the moon. In the Saturnian system, Enceladus and Titan are the centers of attention. Tidal heating is the likely source of activity at the south pole of Enceladus, although the details of how the heating occurs are not understood. An evolutionary scenario based on accretion and internal differentiation is presented for Titan, whose present substantial orbital eccentricity is not associated with any dynamical resonance. The source and maintenance of methane in Titan’s present atmosphere remain uncertain. Though most attention on the Saturnian moons focuses on Titan and Enceladus, the mid-size satellites Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys, and the irregular satellite Phoebe also draw our interest. An evolutionary scenario for Iapetus is presented in which spin down from an early rapidly rotating state is called upon to explain the satellite’s present oblate shape. The prominent equatorial ridge on Iapetus is unexplained by the spin down scenario. A buckling instability provides another possible explanation for the oblateness and equatorial ridge of Iapetus. Rhea is the only medium-size Saturnian satellite for which there are gravity data at present. The interpretation of these data are uncertain, however, since it is not known if Rhea is in hydrostatic equilibrium. Pluto and Charon are representative of the icy dwarf planets of the Kuiper belt. Did they differentiate as they evolved, and do either of them have a subsurface liquid water ocean? New Horizons might provide some answers when it arrives at these bodies.     

EB-PVD热障涂层对激光打孔孔径及热循环后孔径变化影响的研究

 在试样上用激光打了不同孔径、不同方向的冷却孔,采用电子束物理气相沉积( EB-PVD) 的方法在已打孔的试样上涂覆MCrAlY粘接层和ZrO₂陶瓷层,观察和计算其孔径大小变化;然后对试样进行了热循环处理,以比较热循环前后的孔径变化。初步实验结果表明:激光打孔的入射角,对孔径变化影响不大;原始孔径增大,施以涂层后其相对变化就较小,采用EB-PVD 的方法在已打孔的试样上涂覆ZrO₂陶瓷层后其孔径比原始孔径至少减少了15 %;在热循环试验前后,绝大部分孔径变化较小,而其总趋势是由大变小,孔径减少约5 %左右。     

基于功率谱密度法飞机地面变速滑跑动力学分析

提出了飞机地面变速滑跑的非稳态响应分析的新方法,该方法基于频域的功率谱密度法.建立了飞机地面滑跑的起落架分析模型;引入了概率平均意义上的当量线性化方法,用该方法处理了起落架缓冲器空气弹簧、油液阻尼和库仑摩擦力以及轮胎刚度和阻尼等非线性参数.利用变量代换和傅里叶变换导出了非稳态激励下的跑道不平度的功率谱密度函数.导出并分析了具有代表性的飞机重心过载的频率响应函数.工程算例表明,在达到相同的滑跑速度条件下,飞机加速滑跑引起的飞机重心过载响应比飞机地面匀速滑跑引起的飞机重心过载响应小;并且加速度越大,在达到相同的滑跑速度条件下所产生的飞机重心过载响应越小.     

The Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph Investigation

The Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) is part of the remote sensing payload of the Cassini orbiter spacecraft. UVIS has two spectrographic channels that provide images and spectra covering the ranges from 56 to 118 nm and 110 to 190 nm. A third optical path with a solar blind CsI photocathode is used for high signal-to-noise-ratio stellar occultations by rings and atmospheres. A separate Hydrogen Deuterium Absorption Cell measures the relative abundance of deuterium and hydrogen from their Lyman-α emission. The UVIS science objectives include investigation of the chemistry, aerosols, clouds, and energy balance of the Titan and Saturn atmospheres; neutrals in the Saturn magnetosphere; the deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H) ratio for Titan and Saturn; icy satellite surface properties; and the structure and evolution of Saturn’s rings.This revised version was published online in July 2005 with a corrected cover date.