A preliminary survey of non-lichenized fungi cultured from the hyperarid Atacama Desert of Chile

The Atacama Desert is one of the driest environments on Earth, and has been so for over 200,000 years. Previous reports have suggested that surprisingly low numbers of culturable bacteria, counted as biomass or species diversity, are present in Atacama sands collected from the most hyperarid regions. In previous studies, the presence of eukaryotic organisms was not discussed. In this report, we describe a method of direct plating onto rich media that resulted in culturing a range of fungi from Atacama samples. All fungi identified in this preliminary survey are spore-forming saprobes that are readily dispersed by wind, a likely mechanism that accounts for their presence in the central Atacama Desert.     

Microorganisms metabolizing on clay grains in 3-km-deep Greenland basal ice

We have discovered > 10(8) microbial cells/cm3 attached to clay grains in the bottom 13 m of the GISP2 (Greenland Ice Sheet Project) ice core. Their concentration correlates with huge excesses of CO2 and CH4. We show that Fe-reducing bacteria produce most of the excess CO2 and methanogenic archaea produce the excess CH4. The number of attached cells per clay grain is proportional to grain perimeter rather than to area, which implies that nutrients are accessed at grain edges. We conclude that Fe-reducing microbes immobilized on clay surfaces metabolize via "shuttle" molecules that transport electrons to grain edges, where they reduce Fe(III) ions at edges to Fe(II) while organic acid ions are oxidized to CO2. Driven by the concentration gradient, electrons on Fe(II) ions at grain edges "hop" to Fe(III) ions inward in the same edges and oxidize them. The original Fe(III) ions can then attach new electrons from shuttle molecules at the edges. Our mechanism explains how Fe-reducers can reduce essentially all Fe(III) in clay minerals. We estimate that the Fe(III) in clay grains in the GISP2 silty ice can sustain Fe-reducing bacteria at the ambient temperature of -9 degrees C for approximately 10(6) years. F420 autofluorescence imaging shows that > 2.4% of the cells are methanogens, which account for the excess methane.     

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.      

A numerical optimization of high altitude testing facility for wind tunnel experiments

High altitude test facilities are required to test the high area ratio nozzles operating at the upper stages of rocket in the nozzle full flow conditions.It is typically achieved by creating the ambient pressure equal or less than the nozzle exit pressure.On average,air/GN2is used as active gas for ejector system that is stored in the high pressure cylinders.The wind tunnel facilities are used for conducting aerodynamic simulation experiments at/under various flow velocities and operating conditions.However,constructing both of these facilities require more laboratory space and expensive instruments.Because of this demerit,a novel scheme is implemented for conducting wind tunnel experiments by using the existing infrastructure available in the high altitude testing(HAT)facility.This article presents the details about the methods implemented for suitably modifying the sub-scale HAT facility to conduct wind tunnel experiments.Hence,the design of nozzle for required area ratio A/A*,realization of test section and the optimized configuration are focused in the present analysis.Specific insights into various rocket models including high thrust cryogenic engines and their holding mechanisms to conduct wind tunnel experiments in the HAT facility are analyzed.A detailed CFD analysis is done to propose this conversion without affecting the existing functional requirements of the HAT facility.     

Formation of nucleobases from formamide in the presence of iron oxides: implication in chemical evolution and origin of life

Simple compounds like HCN, which have one C and one N, are proposed as the probable precursors for biomonomers. Formamide, a hydrolysis product of HCN, is known as the precursor of various biologically important compounds, for example, nucleobases (purines and pyrimidines). In this paper, we report our results on the synthesis of nucleobases, adenine, cytosine, purine, 9-(hydroxyacetyl) purine, and 4(3H)-pyrimidinone from formamide, using iron oxide (hematite) and oxide hydroxides (goethite and akaganeite) as a catalyst. Goethite and hematite produced purine in higher yield. The products formed were characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry techniques. Results of our study reveal that iron oxides might have worked as efficient prebiotic catalysts.     

SOLID3: a multiplex antibody microarray-based optical sensor instrument for in situ life detection in planetary exploration

The search for unequivocal signs of life on other planetary bodies is one of the major challenges for astrobiology. The failure to detect organic molecules on the surface of Mars by measuring volatile compounds after sample heating, together with the new knowledge of martian soil chemistry, has prompted the astrobiological community to develop new methods and technologies. Based on protein microarray technology, we have designed and built a series of instruments called SOLID (for "Signs Of LIfe Detector") for automatic in situ detection and identification of substances or analytes from liquid and solid samples (soil, sediments, or powder). Here, we present the SOLID3 instrument, which is able to perform both sandwich and competitive immunoassays and consists of two separate functional units: a Sample Preparation Unit (SPU) for 10 different extractions by ultrasonication and a Sample Analysis Unit (SAU) for fluorescent immunoassays. The SAU consists of five different flow cells, with an antibody microarray in each one (2000 spots). It is also equipped with an exclusive optical package and a charge-coupled device (CCD) for fluorescent detection. We demonstrated the performance of SOLID3 in the detection of a broad range of molecular-sized compounds, which range from peptides and proteins to whole cells and spores, with sensitivities at 1-2?ppb (ng?mL?1) for biomolecules and 10? to 103 spores per milliliter. We report its application in the detection of acidophilic microorganisms in the Río Tinto Mars analogue and report the absence of substantial negative effects on the immunoassay in the presence of 50?mM perchlorate (20 times higher than that found at the Phoenix landing site). Our SOLID instrument concept is an excellent option with which to detect biomolecules because it avoids the high-temperature treatments that may destroy organic matter in the presence of martian oxidants.     

A two-tiered approach to assessing the habitability of exoplanets

In the next few years, the number of catalogued exoplanets will be counted in the thousands. This will vastly expand the number of potentially habitable worlds and lead to a systematic assessment of their astrobiological potential. Here, we suggest a two-tiered classification scheme of exoplanet habitability. The first tier consists of an Earth Similarity Index (ESI), which allows worlds to be screened with regard to their similarity to Earth, the only known inhabited planet at this time. The ESI is based on data available or potentially available for most exoplanets such as mass, radius, and temperature. For the second tier of the classification scheme we propose a Planetary Habitability Index (PHI) based on the presence of a stable substrate, available energy, appropriate chemistry, and the potential for holding a liquid solvent. The PHI has been designed to minimize the biased search for life as we know it and to take into account life that might exist under more exotic conditions. As such, the PHI requires more detailed knowledge than is available for any exoplanet at this time. However, future missions such as the Terrestrial Planet Finder will collect this information and advance the PHI. Both indices are formulated in a way that enables their values to be updated as technology and our knowledge about habitable planets, moons, and life advances. Applying the proposed metrics to bodies within our Solar System for comparison reveals two planets in the Gliese 581 system, GJ 581 c and d, with an ESI comparable to that of Mars and a PHI between that of Europa and Enceladus.     

包络检波GO—CFAR处理器的虚警分析

在存在杂波边界的情况下，最大选择恒虚警处理器（ＧＯ ＣＦＡＲ）是自动设置雷达检测门限的一种有用处理器。ＧＯ ＣＦＡＲ的输入通常是经包络检波的基带信号的同相（Ⅰ）和正交（Ｑ）信道。采用ｘ＝ａ ｍａｘ｛｜Ⅰ｜，｜Ｑ｜｝＋ｂ ｍｉｎ｛｜Ｉ｜，│Ｑ｜｝也可近似该包络检波，这只需要简单的硬件（ａ和ｂ为简单相乘系数）。本文就包络ＧＯ ＣＦＡＲ处理器和几种包络近似ＧＯ ＣＦＡＲ处理器的虚警概率（ＰＦＡ）性能进行