Comments on ?M-Ary Cpsk Detection with Noisy Reference and Interiverers?

The effect of cycle slips of the carrier recovery phase-locked loop (PLL) on the performance of coherent M-ary phase-shift keyed (MPSK) systems is dealt with. It is shown that each cycle slip causes a 1 bit error in a differentially encoded and Gray encoded signal stream. Different situations are investigated and compared with regard to the effect of these errors.     

Clinical effects of thigh cuffs during a 7-day 6 degrees head-down bed rest.

Thigh cuffs are used by Russian cosmonauts to limit the fluid shift induced by space flight. A ground simulation using the head-down bed rest (HDBR) model was performed to assess the effects of thigh cuffs on clinical tolerance and orthostatic adaptation. 8 male healthy volunteers (32.4 +/- 1.9 years) participated twice in a 7-day HDBR--one time with thigh cuffs (worn daily from 9 am to 7 pm) (TC) and one time without (WTC). Orthostatic tolerance was assessed by a 10 minute stand test and by a LBNP test (5 min at -15, -30, -45 mmHg) before (BDC-1) and at the end of the HDBR period (R+1). Plasma volume was measured before and at the end of HDBR by the Evans blue dye dilution technique. Thigh cuffs limits headache due to fluid shift, as well as the loss in plasma volume (TC: -5.85 +/- 0.95%; WTC: -9.09 +/- 0.82%, p<0.05). The mean duration of the stand test (R+1) did not differ in the two group (TC 7.1 +/- 1.3 min; WTC 7.0 +/- 1.0 min). The increase in HR and decrease in diastolic blood pressure were slightly but significantly larger without thigh cuffs. Duration of the LBNP tests did not differ with thigh cuffs. Thigh cuffs limit the symptoms due to fluid shift and the loss in plasma volume. They partly reduced the increase in HR during orthostatic stress but had no effect on duration of orthostatic stress tests.     

Magnetic resonance image enhancement using V-filter

A method for enhancing the boundaries of magnetic resonance images (MRIs) using a V-filter (a spatial nonlinear filter) is presented. By iterated V-filtering the signal-to-noise ratio of the MRI can be increased while preserving edge sharpness. A simulation experiment was carried out to evaluate the filter, using clinical brain images. The boundaries of the brain tumor and edematous region were precisely extracted by the region segmentation techniques     

Out-of-ecliptic distribution of interplanetary dust derived from near earth flux

The out-of-ecliptic distribution of interplanetary dust, i.e. its number density, mainly has been subject to optical or infrared remote sensing techniques. As the population in interplanetary space is made up of orbiting particles which will cross the ecliptic plane, determination of their orbital properties there gives a possibility also to derive their out-of-ecliptic distribution. Determination of orbital elements is provided by advanced detectors capable of measuring the vector of impact velocity. In a simple model, which applies for advanced detectors in near earth orbit, the feasibility of the method to determine the out-of-ecliptic spatial distribution of dust has been tested.     

Passive Magnetic Attitude Control System for the Munin Nanosatellite

The instrumental and applied problems related to the design of a passive magnetic attitude control system for the Munin nanosatellite are considered. The system is constructed from a strong permanent magnet and a set of hysteresis rods. These rods are made of magnetically soft material using a special technology, and they allow us to support the satellite orientation with respect to the local magnetic field vector with a given accuracy and time response. By using asymptotic and numerical methods, we investigate the satellite dynamics for different models of hysteresis. The issues concerning the arrangement of the rods and their interaction with the fields of permanent magnets mounted onboard the satellite are discussed.     

Multicolor Polarimetry of the Twilight Sky: The Role of Multiple Light Scattering as a Function of Wavelength

This paper is devoted to the investigation of the role of multiply scattered light of different wavelengths in clear twilight, as well as to the influence of multiple scattering and scattering by atmospheric aerosol particles on the polarization of the twilight sky background during this period. The work is based on wide-angle polarimetric CCD-observations of the twilight sky near zenith in the U, B, V, and R bands, which were carried out in summer 2000 at the South Laboratory of the Moscow Shternberg Astronomical Institute. Based on the data obtained, we have determined the fraction of single-scattered light in clear twilight in the zenith for the U, B, and V bands and have estimated the lower limit of this value for the R band. The analysis of color and polarimetric evolution of the sky background was made taking into account single and multiple scattering properties. The characteristic height of the upper boundary of the tropospheric aerosol layer in the Earth's atmosphere was also obtained.     

Evidence for a shock wave in visible light and radio observations of the 1980 June 29 event

Shock waves, as evidenced by type II radio bursts, often accompany flares and coronal mass ejection transients. At present, the density enhancements observed by coronagraphs are believed by some to be ejected matter from the low corona, and by others to be the compressed material behind a shock front. If the former is correct, one would expect in some cases to see a density enhancement, associated with the compression region of the shock, some distance ahead of the transient ejecta. Such a density enhancement has not been previously reported.The coronal transient of 1980 June 29 (0233 UT) was observed with the High Altitude Observatory's Coronagraph/Polarimeter aboard SMM. This flare-associated coronal transient event was well observed with the Culgoora Radioheliograph, including a well-developed type II burst. Visible on the coronagraph images is a faint circular arc moving out well ahead of the transient loops. This arc is moving at more than 900 km s^?1 while the transient itself is moving at a speed of about 600 km s^?1. Both the arc and transient appear to have originated either prior to the X-ray flare or at some height above the flare at the time of the flare. The type II burst observed at Culgoora is associated with the transient loops, and no type II emission is identified with the faint arc.Due to its great speed, we interpret the faint arc as a manifestation of a shock wave, but also envision a separate shock wave associated with the transient loops as evidenced by the type II emission. Preliminary density measurements are consistent with this interpretation, and show the outer shock wave associated with the faint arc to have a Mach number M_A ≤ 1.7. At present we have no convincing explanation for the lack of a type II burst in association with the arc.This work was supported in part by NASA through grants NSG-7287 and NAGW-91 to the University of Colorado, Boulder, and S-55989 to the High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research. The National Center for Atmospheric Research, NCAR, is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Hydrodynamic Approach to Modeling the Thermal Plasma Distribution around a Moving Charged Satellite

The electric field distribution around a charged satellite in a rarefied magnetospheric plasma influences greatly the densities and trajectories of particles measured by onboard instruments. The simulation of macroparameters of thermal plasma near the moving charged satellite, which is necessary for correction of experimental measurements, encounters considerable computational difficulties. In this work, two three-dimensional models of the electric field distribution around the satellite are considered under the conditions when the Debye length is comparable to the geometrical size of the spacecraft. In the first model a system of hydrodynamic equations of continuity and motion was used, which was solved jointly with the Poisson equation. In the second model the hydrodynamic equation of motion was used for analyzing the motion of large particles by means of the method of particles in a cell. The numerical algorithms and the results of calculations of the potential near the satellite, as well as the distributions of densities of electrons and ions and of volume charge, are considered. The results of test calculations for some situations in the ambient plasma are presented, and the influence of the spatial electric field distribution on the thermal plasma measurements is considered.     

Arthropod model systems for studying complex biological processes in the space environment.

Three arthropod systems are discussed in relation to their complementary and potential use in Space Biology. In a next biosatellite flight, Drosophila melanogaster pre-adapted during several months to different g levels will be flown in an automatic device that separates parental from first and second generations. In the same flight, flies will be exposed to microgravity conditions in an automatic unit in which fly motility can be recorded. In the International Microgravity Laboratory-2, several groups of Drosophila embryos will be grown in Space and the motility of a male fly population will be video-recorded. In the Biopan, an ESA exobiology facility that can be flown attached to the exterior of a Russian biosatellite, Artemia dormant gastrulae will be exposed to the space environment in the exterior of the satellite under a normal atmosphere or in the void. Gastrulae will be separated in hit and non-hit populations. The developmental and aging response of these animals will be studied upon recovery. With these experiments we will be able to establish whether exposure to the space environment influences arthropod development and aging, and elaborate on some of the cellular mechanisms involved which should be tested in future experiments.     

The x-ray experiment on-board the “astron”

This paper describes the X-ray instrumentation, its capabilities and preliminary results which have been obtained for first two months operation.