Population dynamics of an algal-bacterial cenosis in closed ecological system.

The paper deals with microalgae-bacteria interrelationships in the "autotroph-heterotroph" aquatic biotic cycle. Explanations of why and how algal-bacterial ecosystems are formed still remain controversial. The paper presents results of experimental and theoretical investigations of the functioning of the algal-bacterial cenosis (the microalga Chlorella vulgaris and concomitant microflora). The Chlorella microbial community is dominated by representatives of the genus Pseudomonas. Experiments with non-sterile batch cultures of Chlorella on Tamiya medium showed that the biomass of microorganisms increases simultaneously with the increase in microalgal biomass. The microflora of Chlorella can grow on organic substances released by photosynthesizing Chlorella. Microorganisms can also use dying Chlorella cells, i.e. form a "producer-reducer" biocycle. To get a better insight into the cenosis-forming role of microalgae, a mathematical model of the "autotroph-heterotroph" aquatic biotic cycle has been constructed, taking into account the utilization of Chlorella photosynthates and dead cells by microorganisms and the contribution of the components to the nitrogen cycle. A theoretical study showed that the biomass of concomitant bacteria grown on glucose and detritus is larger than the biomass of bacteria utilizing only microalgal photosynthates, which agrees well with the experimental data.     

Wide-angle polarimetry of the night sky: Measurements of atmospheric glow and zodiacal light

This paper is devoted to the analysis of the results of wide-angle polarimetric observations of the night sky, which has been carried out in December 2002 in the Southern Laboratory of Shternberg State Astronomical Institute (Crimea, Ukraine) in a color band close to the V band (the effective wavelength is 5250 ). We propose a method with the help of which the sky light was separated into basic components: the atmospheric glow, emission of weak stars, and the zodiacal light. The polarization map of extra-atmospheric emission of five sky zones close to the ecliptic is constructed, and it is shown that polarization of the sky background far from the antisolar point is determined, in the main, by the zodiacal light. For each observational period, the time dependence of the atmospheric luminosity and absorption is obtained.Translated from Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 43, No. 1, 2005, pp. 19–26.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Ougolnikov, Maslov.     

Application of GFP technique for cytoskeleton visualization onboard the International Space Station

Cytoskeleton recently attracted wide attention of cell and molecular biologists due to its crucial role in gravity sensing and trunsduction. Most of cytoskeletal research is conducted by the means of immunohistochemical reactions, different modifications of which are beneficial for the ground-based experiments. But for the performance onboard the space vehicles, they represent quite complicated technique which requires time and special skills for astronauts. In addition, immunocytochemistry provides only static images of the cytoskeleton arrangement in fixed cells while its localization in living cells is needed for the better understanding of cytoskeletal function. In this connection, we propose a new approach for cytoskeletal visualization onboard the ISS, namely, application of green fluorescent protein (GFP) from Aequorea victoria, which has the unique properties as a marker for protein localization in vivo. The creation of chimerical protein-GFP gene constructs, obtaining the transformed plant cells possessed protein-GFP in their cytoskeletal composition will allow receiving a simple and efficient model for screening of the cytoskeleton functional status in microgravity.     

Coronal mass ejection (CME) activity of low mass M stars as an important factor for the habitability of terrestrial exoplanets. II. CME-induced ion pick up of Earth-like exoplanets in close-in habitable zones

Atmospheric erosion of CO2-rich Earth-size exoplanets due to coronal mass ejection (CME)-induced ion pick up within close-in habitable zones of active M-type dwarf stars is investigated. Since M stars are active at the X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation (XUV) wave-lengths over long periods of time, we have applied a thermal balance model at various XUV flux input values for simulating the thermospheric heating by photodissociation and ionization processes due to exothermic chemical reactions and cooling by the CO2 infrared radiation in the 15 microm band. Our study shows that intense XUV radiation of active M stars results in atmospheric expansion and extended exospheres. Using thermospheric neutral and ion densities calculated for various XUV fluxes, we applied a numerical test particle model for simulation of atmospheric ion pick up loss from an extended exosphere arising from its interaction with expected minimum and maximum CME plasma flows. Our results indicate that the Earth-like exoplanets that have no, or weak, magnetic moments may lose tens to hundreds of bars of atmospheric pressure, or even their whole atmospheres due to the CME-induced O ion pick up at orbital distances 相似文献   

Reduced-rank STAP performance analysis

The space-time radar problem is well suited to the application of techniques that take advantage of the low-rank property of the space-time covariance matrix. It is shown that reduced-rank (RR) methods outperform full-rank space-time adaptive processing (STAP) when the space-time covariance matrix is estimated from a data set with limited support. The utility of RR methods is demonstrated by theoretical analysis, simulations and analysis of real data. It is shown that RR processing has two opposite effects on the performance: increased statistical stability which tends to improve performance, and introduction of a bias which lowers the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A method for evaluating the theoretical conditioned SNR for fixed RR transforms is also presented. It Is shown that while best performance is obtained using data-dependent transforms, the loss incurred by the application of fixed transforms (such as the discrete cosine transform) may be relatively small. The main advantage of fixed transforms is the availability of efficient computational procedures for their implementation. These findings suggest that RR methods could facilitate the development of practical, real-time STAP technology     

Evaluation of optimal configuration of hybrid Life Support System for Space.

Any comprehensive evaluation of Life Support Systems (LSS) for space applications has to be conducted taking into account not only mass of LSS components but also all relevant equipment and storage: spare parts, additional mass of space ship walls, power supply and heat rejection systems. In this paper different combinations of hybrid LSS (HLSS) components were evaluated. Three variants of power supply were under consideration--solar arrays, direct solar light transmission to plants, and nuclear power. The software based on simplex approach was used for optimizing LSS configuration with respect to its mass. It was shown that there are several LSS configuration, which are optimal for different time intervals. Optimal configurations of physical-chemical (P/C), biological and hybrid LSS for three types of power supply are presented.     

A Mechanism of Solar Variability Effect on Radiative Balance of the Earth Atmosphere

Possible mechanisms of solar-climatic connections, which may be of importance as over short and long time intervals, are discussed. The variations of energetic balance of Earth's climatic system for the last fifty years are estimated. It is ascertained that the disbalance between the flux of solar energy that comes to the Earth and radiates to space is of 0.1% for the last ten years. The suggested mechanism makes it possible to explain not only the observed variation of the enthalpy of the Earth's climatic system for the period 1910-1980, but also the climate anomalies during last thousand years: the climate optimum in 12 century, and"small glacial period" in 16-17 centuries.