Changes of vertical eye movements of goldfish for different otolith stimulation by linear acceleration.

Eye movements serves to hold the gaze steady or to shift the gaze to an object of interest. On Earth, signals from otoliths can be interpreted either as linear motion or as tilt with respect to gravity. In microgravity, static tilt will no longer give rise to changes in otolith activity. However, linear acceleration as well as angular acceleration stimulate the otolith organ. Therefore, during adaptation to microgravity, otolith-mediated response such as eye movements alter. In this study, we analyzed the eye movements of goldfish during linear acceleration. The eye movements during rectangular linear acceleration along the different body axis were video-recorded. The vertical eye rotations were analyzed frame by frame. In normal fish, leftward lateral acceleration induced downward eye rotation in the left eye and upward eye rotation in the right eye. Acceleration from caudal to rostral evoked downward eye rotation in both eyes. When the direction of acceleration was shifted 15 degrees left, the responses in the left eye disappeared. These results suggested that otolith organs in each side were stimulated differently.     

Use of MOBITEX wireless wide area networks as a solution toland-based positioning and navigation

The emergence of land-based positioning and navigation systems is the direct result of advancements in technologies relating to geographic information, wireless data communication, and navigation. The increasing demand for these systems has stimulated their rapid development. This paper identifies the wide variety of land-based positioning and navigation systems and classifies them into five groups. The basic system elements that are required in all land-based positioning and navigation systems are also discussed. A proposed system infrastructure that supports the five types of land-based positioning and navigation systems is described. The specific technologies integrated in this proposed infrastructure include the Global Positioning System (GPS), differential GPS, and the MOBITEX wireless wide area packet data networks. Real-time wireless mobile data communication is a key component of any land-based positioning and navigation system. Finally, the evaluation criteria necessary for field testing a pilot land-based positioning and navigation system are presented. This pilot system is used to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system design     

Experimental evaluation of the processes resulting from the introduction of the transgenic microorganism Escherichia coli Z905/pPHL7 (lux+) into aquatic microcosms.

The processes resulting from the introduction of the tranagenic microorganism (TM) E. coli Z905/pPHL7 into aquatic microcosms have been modeled experimentally. It has been shown that the TM E. coli is able to adapt to a long co-existence with indigenous heterotrophic microflora in variously structured microcosms. In more complex microcosms the numerical dynamics of the introduced E. coli Z905/pPHL7 population is more stable. In the TM populations staying in the microcosms for a prolonged time, changes are recorded in the phenotypic expression of plasmid genes (ampicillin resistance and the luminescence level) and chromosome genes (morphological and physiological traits). However, in our study microcosms, the recombinant plasmid persisted in the TM cells for 6 years after the introduction, and as the population adapts to the conditions of the microcosms, the efficiency of the cloned gene expression in the cells is restored. In the microcosms with high microalgal counts (10(7) cells/ml), cells with a high threshold of sensitivity to ampicillin dominate in the population of the TM E. coli Z905/pPHL7.     

Use of service history for certification credit for COTS [avionic software]

Much has been written in the last ten years about how the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components would revolutionize the aerospace industry avionics, communication, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) as well as global air traffic management (GATM). Civil aviation authorities around the world have been faced with numerous requests to certify aircraft containing increasing percentages of COTS components, much of it never designed or intended for use in the safety critical environment of an aircraft. Product service history is one method for demonstrating that such software is acceptable for use. In theory, product service history would seem to be a fairly simple concept, both to understand and to apply. However, in practice, such use has proven extremely problematic, as questions of how to measure the historic performance and the relevance of the provided data have surfaced. This paper elaborates a research effort funded by the United States Federal Aviation Administration to collect, analyze, and synthesize what is known and understood about applying product service history. The effort is limited to the topic of software product service history as applied in the certification of airborne systems and equipment.     

International HARM precision navigation upgrade - a GPS/INS missile upgrade that improves effectiveness and minimizes friendly-fire accidents

The high speed anti-radiation missile (HARM) is an air-to-surface tactical missile designed to seek and destroy enemy radar-equipped air defense systems. Unfortunately, the HARM is "no respecter of persons," and it has been known, most notably during the Gulf War, to attack "friendly" targets. The international HARM upgrade project is a tri-national missile technology project sponsored by the United States, Italian, and German governments. The HARM precision navigation upgrade (PNU) program has as its goal, the development and installation of a PNU into the HARM that will improve the weapon's effectiveness, while nearly eliminating the likelihood of fratricide. The precision navigation system consists of a modern selective availability anti-spoofing module (SAASM) based Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, and an inertial measurement unit (IMU), consisting of state-of-the-art fiber optic gyros and a modern micro-machined accelerometer triad.     

Analysis of a PWM-resonant converter

When a parallel resonant tank is excited by a bipolar current pulse train a sinusoidal voltage develops across the tank whose amplitude depends on the duty cycle of the pulse train. An isolated secondary can be derived by applying the tank voltage to an isolation transformer whose magnetizing inductance acts as the resonant inductor of the tank circuit. A dc output voltage is obtained after rectification and filtering of the sinusoidal secondary voltage and regulation is achieved by controlling the duty cycle of the pulse train. The sinusoidal nature of the voltage across the isolation transformer alleviates some of the noise problem associated with parasitic capacitances of an isolation transformer when operated with square voltage waveform. In this work the dc and small-signal analysis of the converter is given and an equivalent small-signal circuit model is derived. Experimental results which confirm the validity of the model are presented.     

Growth and development in higher plants under simulated microgravity conditions on a 3-dimensional clinostat.

Growth and development of etiolated pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Alaska) and maize (Zea mays L. cv. Golden Cross Bantam) seedlings grown under simulated microgravity conditions were intensively studied using a 3-dimensional clinostat as a simulator of weightlessness. Epicotyls of etiolated pea seedlings grown on the clinostat were the most oriented toward the direction far from cotyledons. Mesocotyls of etiolated maize seedlings grew at random and coleoptiles curved slightly during clinostat rotation. Clinostat rotation promoted the emergence of the 3rd internodes in etiolated pea seedlings, while it significantly inhibited the growth of the 1st internodes. In maize seedlings, the growth of coleoptiles was little affected by clinostat rotation, but that of mesocotyls was suppressed, and therefore, the emergence of the leaf out of coleoptile was promoted. Clinostat rotation reduced the osmotic concentration in the 1st internodes of pea seedlings, although it has little effect on the 2nd and the 3rd internodes. Clinostat rotation also reduced the osmotic concentrations in both coleoptiles and mesocotyls of maize seedlings. Cell-wall extensibilities of the 1st and the 3rd internodes of pea seedlings grown on the clinostat were significantly lower and higher as compared with those on 1 g conditions, respectively. Cell-wall extensibility of mesocotyls in seedlings grown on the clinostat also decreased. Changes in cell wall properties seem to be well correlated to the growth of each organ in pea and maize seedlings. These results suggest that the growth and development of plants is controlled under gravity on earth, and that the growth responses of higher plants to microgravity conditions are regulated by both cell-wall mechanical properties and osmotic properties of stem cells.     

Organic solids produced from simple C/H/O/N ices by charged particles: applications to the outer solar system.

CH4, CO, and CO2 are all potential one-carbon molecular repositories in primitive icy objects. These molecules are all found in the Comet Halley coma, and are probable but, (except for CH4 detected on Triton and Pluto) undetected subsurface constituents in icy outer solar system objects. We have investigated the effects of charged particle irradiation by cold plasma discharge upon surfaces of H2O:CH4 clathrate having a 200:1 ratio, as well as upon ices composed of H2O plus C2H6 or C2H2 (sometimes plus NH3) which are also plausible constituents. These materials color and darken noticeably after a dose 10(9) - 10(10) erg cm-2, which is deposited rapidly (< or = 10(4) yr.) in solar system environments. The chromophore is a yellowish to tan organic material (a tholin) which we have studied by UV-VIS reflection and transmission, and IR transmission spectroscopy. Its yield, -1 C keV-1, implies substantial production of organic solids by the action of cosmic rays and radionuclides in cometary crusts and interiors, as well as rapid production in satellite surfaces. This material shows alkane bands which Chyba and Sagan have shown to well match the Halley infrared emission spectrum near 3.4 microns, and also bands due to aldehyde, alcohol and perhaps alkene/aromatic functional groups. We compare the IR spectral properties of these tholins with the spectra of others produced by irradiation of gases and ices containing simple hydrocarbons.     

Analytic example of a Schweppe likelihood-ratio detector

A low-dimensional test problem with a known solution is used to verify various computer implementations of F.C. Schweppe's likelihood detector (1965). In this case a closed-form solution is provided for a Schweppe likelihood detector in terms of an intermediate Kalman filter, as utilized in its implementation, for detecting the presence of a two-state signal model in Gaussian white noise. The associated error probabilities are also evaluated following a procedure that utilizes optimized Chernoff-like bounds for a tight approximation. A methodology is demonstrated for appropriately setting the decision threshold for this example as a tradeoff against allowable observation time. By using this or similar examples, certain qualitative and quantitative aspects of the software implementation can be checked for conformance to anticipated behavior as an intermediate benchmark, prior to modular replacement of the various high-order matrices appropriate to the particular application     

Sources and processing of CELSS wastes.

The production rate and solid content of waste streams found in a life support system for a space habitat (in which plants are grown for food) are discussed. Two recycling scenarios, derived from qualitative considerations as opposed to quantitative mass and energy balances, tradeoff studies, etc., are presented; they reflect differing emphases on and responses to the waste stream formation rates and their composition, as well as indicate the required products from waste treatment that are needed in a life support system. The data presented demonstrate the magnitude of the challenge to developing a life support system for a space habitat requiring a high degree of closure.