High resolution time profile of decimetric type-III bursts

Type-III bursts are signatures of the electron beams accelerated during the solar flares, their observation and investigation provide information of the acceleration processes, the characteristics of the exciting agent and the acceleration site. The Brazilian Solar Spectroscope (BSS), in operation at INPE, Brazil, have recorded type-III radio bursts in decimetric range (2050–2250 MHz) with high time resolution of 20 ms. Decimetric reverse drift bursts are possibly generated in a dense loop by electron beams travelling towards the photosphere. Hence their time profiles should carry signatures of the density inhomogenities in the loop. Here the temporal and spectral characteristics of decimetric type-III bursts are presented.     

Development and research program for a soil-based bioregenerative agriculture system to feed a four person crew at a Mars base.

For humans to survive during long-term missions on the Martian surface, bioregenerative life support systems including food production will decrease requirements for launch of Earth supplies, and increase mission safety. It is proposed that the development of "modular biospheres"--closed system units that can be air-locked together and which contain soil-based bioregenerative agriculture, horticulture, with a wetland wastewater treatment system is an approach for Mars habitation scenarios. Based on previous work done in long-term life support at Biosphere 2 and other closed ecological systems, this consortium proposes a research and development program called Mars On Earth(TM) which will simulate a life support system designed for a four person crew. The structure will consist of 6 x 110 square meter modular agricultural units designed to produce a nutritionally adequate diet for 4 people, recycling all air, water and waste, while utilizing a soil created by the organic enrichment and modification of Mars simulant soils. Further research needs are discussed, such as determining optimal light levels for growth of the necessary range of crops, energy trade-offs for agriculture (e.g. light intensity vs. required area), capabilities of Martian soils and their need for enrichment and elimination of oxides, strategies for use of human waste products, and maintaining atmospheric balance between people, plants and soils.     

Induced abnormality in Mir- and Earth grown Super Dwarf wheat.

Super-dwarf wheat grown on the Mir space station using the Svet "Greenhouse" exhibited morphological, metabolic and reproductive abnormalities compared with Earth-grown wheat. Of prominent importance were the abnormalities associated with reproductive ontogeny and the total absence of seed formation on Mir. Changes in the apical meristem associated with transition from the vegetative phase to floral initiation and development of the reproductive spike were all typical of 'Super-Dwarf' wheat up to the point of anthesis. Observation of ruptured anthers from the Mir-grown plants revealed what appeared to be normally developed pollen. These pollen gains, however, contained only one nuclei, while normal viable pollen is tri-nucleate. A potentially important difference in the flight experiment, compared with ground reference studies, was the presence of a high level of atmospheric ethylene (1,200 ppb). Ground studies conducted by exposing 'Super-Dwarf' wheat to ethylene just prior to anthesis resulted in manifestation of the same abnormalities observed in the space flight samples.     

High temperature effect on microflora of radish root-inhabited zone and nutrient solutions for radish growth.

The effect of high temperatures (35 and 45 degrees C) on microflora of the root zone of radish plants grown in phytotron was evaluated by the response of microorganisms from 9 indicator groups. Phytotron air temperature elevated to 35 degrees C for 20 hours caused no significant changes in qualitative and quantitative composition of the root microflora in experimental plants. By the end of the experiment, the species diversity of microflora had changed. The amount of phytopathogenic microorganisms decreased which can be interpreted as more stable co-existence of microflora with plants. The numbers of microbes from other indicator groups was in dynamic equilibrium. The plants' condition did not deteriorate either. Exposure to the temperature of 45 degrees C for 7 hours have been found to change the numbers and species diversity in the radish root zone microflora. The microorganisms were observed to increase their total numbers at the expense of certain indicator groups. Bacteria increased spore forms at the stage of spores. Colon bacillus bacteria of increased their numbers by the end of experiment by an order. By the end of experiment the roots of experiment plants had microscopic fungi from Mucor, Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Cladosporium genera. The observed changes in the microbial complex seem to be associated with the changes of root emissions and general deterioration of the plants' condition. It is suggested that the response of the microorganisms can be indicative of the condition of plants under investigation.     

Induction and repair of DNA strand breaks in bovine lens epithelial cells after high LET irradiation.

The lens epithelium is the initiation site for the development of radiation induced cataracts. Radiation in the cortex and nucleus interacts with proteins, while in the epithelium, experimental results reveal mutagenic and cytotoxic effects. It is suggested that incorrectly repaired DNA damage may be lethal in terms of cellular reproduction and also may initiate the development of mutations or transformations in surviving cells. The occurrence of such genetically modified cells may lead to lens opacification. For a quantitative risk estimation for astronauts and space travelers it is necessary to know the relative biological effectiveness (RBE), because the spacial and temporal distribution of initial physical damage induced by cosmic radiation differ significantly from that of X-rays. RBEs for the induction of DNA strand breaks and the efficiency of repair of these breaks were measured in cultured diploid bovine lens epithelial cells exposed to different LET irradiation to either 300 kV X-rays or to heavy ions at the UNILAC accelerator at GSI. Accelerated ions from Z=8 (O) to Z=92 (U) were used. Strand breaks were measured by hydroxyapatite chromatography of alkaline unwound DNA (overall strand breaks). Results showed that DNA damage occurs as a function of dose, of kinetic energy and of LET. For particles having the same LET the severity of the DNA damage increases with dose. For a given particle dose, as the LET rises, the numbers of DNA strand breaks increase to a maximum and then reach a plateau or decrease. Repair kinetics depend on the fluence (irradiation dose). At any LET value, repair is much slower after heavy ion exposure than after X-irradiation. For ions with an LET of less than 10,000 keV micrometers-1 more than 90 percent of the strand breaks induced are repaired within 24 hours. At higher particle fluences, especially for low energetic particles with a very high local density of energy deposition within the particle track, a higher proportion of non-rejoined breaks is found, even after prolonged periods of incubation. At the highest LET value (16,300 keV micrometers-1) no significant repair is observed. These LET-dependencies are consistent with the current mechanistic model for radiation induced cataractogenesis which postulates that genomic damage to the surviving fraction of epithelial cells is responsible for lens opacification.     

The model of turbulent plasma sheet during IMF Bz > 0

Theory of the plasma sheet with medium-scale developed turbulence gives the possibility to explain the main processes of plasma sheet bifurcation and theta-aurora formation during IMF B_z > 0. The model suggests that during IMF B_z > 0 small bulge structure in the plasma sheet center is formed. The polarization of the bulge due to dawnward electron motion and duskward ion motion decreases the large-scale electric field in the bulge region. The decrease of the large-scale field in the conditions of constant coefficient of diffusion leads to the bulge growth. The results of plasma sheet bifurcation and theta-aurora formation modelling are presented.     

Association of optical tracklets from a geosynchronous belt survey via the direct Bayesian admissible region approach

The direct Bayesian admissible region approach is an a priori state free measurement association and initial orbit determination technique for optical tracks. In this paper, we test a hybrid approach that appends a least squares estimator to the direct Bayesian method on measurements taken at the Zimmerwald Observatory of the Astronomical Institute at the University of Bern. Over half of the association pairs agreed with conventional geometric track correlation and least squares techniques. The remaining pairs cast light on the fundamental limits of conducting tracklet association based solely on dynamical and geometrical information.     

Stochastic processes for line shapes and intensities

Stochastic processes provide flexible and fast calculations for modeling dynamical interactions between an atom and charged particles. We use a stochastic renewal process for the plasma microfield being the cause of Stark broadening. The accuracy and improvement possibilities of Lyman profiles calculations with a renewal process are analyzed by comparing to ab initio simulations for ion broadening only. Stochastic processes may also be applied to out of equilibrium plasmas. We present our first results for the effect of Langmuir waves on a line broadened by electrons only, and for the changes of atomic populations submitted to strong temperature fluctuations.     

Method for the prediction of the effective dose equivalent to the crew of the International Space Station

This paper describes a methodology for assessing the pre-mission exposure of space crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in terms of an effective dose equivalent. In this approach, the PHITS Monte Carlo code was used to assess the particle transport of galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) and trapped radiation for solar maximum and minimum conditions through an aluminum shield thickness. From these predicted spectra, and using fluence-to-dose conversion factors, a scaling ratio of the effective dose equivalent rate to the ICRU ambient dose equivalent rate at a 10 mm depth was determined. Only contributions from secondary neutrons, protons, and alpha particles were considered in this analysis.     

Signatures of strong geomagnetic storms in the equatorial latitude

Ionosonde data from two equatorial stations in the African sector have been used to study the signatures of four strong geomagnetic storms on the height – electron density profiles of the equatorial ionosphere with the objective of investigating the effects and extent of the effects on the three layers of the equatorial ionosphere. The results showed that strong geomagnetic storms produced effects of varying degrees on the three layers of the ionosphere. Effect of strong geomagnetic storms on the lower layers of the equatorial ionosphere can be significant when compared with effect at the F2-layer. Fluctuations in the height of ionization within the E-layer were as much as 0% to +20.7% compared to −12.5% to +8.3% for the F2-layer. The 2007 version of the International Reference Ionosphere, IRI-07 storm-time model reproduced responses at the E-layer but overestimated the observed storm profiles for the F1- and F2-layers.