Relative efficacy of the proposed Space Shuttle antimotion sickness medications

Space motion sickness has been estimated as affecting between 1/3 and 1/2 of all space flight participants. NASA has at the moment proposed a combination of promethazine and ephedrine (P/E) and one of scopolamine and dextroamphetamine (S/D), both given orally, as well as a transdermally applied scopolamine (TAS), as preventive and ameliorative measures. The reported double-blind study, tests the early phase actions and efficacy of the transdermal scopolamine (Transderm (TM)-V of ALZA Corporation) and compares these in detail to the oral medications. Motion sickness resistance was tested by standardized head movements while accelerating at 0.2 degree/sec2 to a maximum rotation of 240 degrees/sec, with an intermediate plateau of 10 min at 180 degrees/sec. To permit weighting motion sickness protection against other system influences, cardiovascular, psychological (subjective and objective), and visual parameter changes were documented for the three therapeutic modes. The relative impact of the various modalities on operational and experimental components of space missions is discussed. A comparison to intramuscularly administered promethazine (a backup therapeutic mode suggested for Space Shuttle use) is also included.     

US, Russian suits serve diverse EVA goals

U.S. astronauts and Russian cosmonauts both use space suits when performing extravehicular activity (EVA), but these have been developed independently due to the diverse goals of each country's space program. The current versions of the U.S. and Russian space suits were compared when the author tested both suits on the same day. The similarities and differences are noted, as well as the strengths and limitations of each. Determination of the compatibility of these suits is important as increased cooperation between the U.S. and Russia has occurred (for example, astronauts and cosmonauts are flying together on Shuttle/Mir missions) and as the international space station becomes reality.     

Tonic vibration reflexes and background force level

On Earth, the functional stretch reflex is an important component in the maintenance of posture and muscle tone. In parabolic flight experiments, we evaluated whether the functional stretch reflex, as reflected in the tonic vibration reflex, adjusts appropriately for changes in background gravitoinertial force level. Virtually immediate alterations of appropriate sign occurred.     

Oxidant enhancement in martian dust devils and storms: implications for life and habitability

We investigate a new mechanism for producing oxidants, especially hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), on Mars. Large-scale electrostatic fields generated by charged sand and dust in the martian dust devils and storms, as well as during normal saltation, can induce chemical changes near and above the surface of Mars. The most dramatic effect is found in the production of H2O2 whose atmospheric abundance in the "vapor" phase can exceed 200 times that produced by photochemistry alone. With large electric fields, H2O2 abundance gets large enough for condensation to occur, followed by precipitation out of the atmosphere. Large quantities of H2O2 would then be adsorbed into the regolith, either as solid H2O2 "dust" or as re-evaporated vapor if the solid does not survive as it diffuses from its production region close to the surface. We suggest that this H2O2, or another superoxide processed from it in the surface, may be responsible for scavenging organic material from Mars. The presence of H2O2 in the surface could also accelerate the loss of methane from the atmosphere, thus requiring a larger source for maintaining a steady-state abundance of methane on Mars. The surface oxidants, together with storm electric fields and the harmful ultraviolet radiation that readily passes through the thin martian atmosphere, are likely to render the surface of Mars inhospitable to life as we know it.     

雷达系统抑制干扰的性能界

探讨了机载雷达系统的干扰抑制问题，同时考虑了由于干扰源（干扰机等）引起的热杂波（地形散射干扰）和雷达发射机反射而产生的冷杂皮，提出了计算在特定地形状况下观测到的空时协方差矩阵的一种新方法。这种方法考虑了与雷达位置有关的现象学数据以及系统效应，如阵列几何、接收机滤波和系统带宽。这种方法与用采有样数据分析来估计协方差矩阵的普通方法有很大的区别。这种新方法允许对特定的非均匀地形环境直接计算干扰抑制的程度。根据这些结果，我们可以推导出较为严格的性能界，这比热本底限更具意义。     

Searching for biosignatures using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis of manganese oxides

Manganese oxide (Mn oxide) minerals from bacterial sources produce electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectral signatures that are mostly distinct from those of synthetic simulants and abiogenic mineral Mn oxides. Biogenic Mn oxides exhibit only narrow EPR spectral linewidths (～500 G), whereas abiogenic Mn oxides produce spectral linewidths that are 2-6 times broader and range from 1200 to 3000 G. This distinction is consistent with X-ray structural observations that biogenic Mn oxides have abundant layer site vacancies and edge terminations and are mostly of single ionic species [i.e., Mn(IV)], all of which favor narrow EPR linewidths. In contrast, abiogenic Mn oxides have fewer lattice vacancies, larger particle sizes, and mixed ionic species [Mn(III) and Mn(IV)], which lead to the broader linewidths. These properties could be utilized in the search for extraterrestrial physicochemical biosignatures, for example, on Mars missions that include a miniature version of an EPR spectrometer.