Application of the Mars Organic Analyzer to nucleobase and amine biomarker detection

The Mars Organic Analyzer (MOA), a portable microfabricated capillary electrophoresis instrument being developed for planetary exploration, is used to analyze a wide variety of fluorescamine-labeled amine-containing biomarker compounds, including amino acids, mono and diaminoalkanes, amino sugars, nucleobases, and nucleobase degradation products. The nucleobases cytosine and adenine, which contain an exocyclic primary amine, were effectively labeled, separated, and detected at concentrations <500 nM. To test the general applicability of the MOA for biomarker detection, amino acids and mono- and diamines were extracted from bacterial cells using both hydrolysis and sublimation followed by analysis. The extrapolated limit of detection provided by the valine biomarker was approximately 4 x 10(3) cells per sample. Products of an NH(4)CN polymerization that simulate a prebiotic synthesis were also successfully isolated via sublimation and analyzed. Adenine and alanine/serine were detected with no additional sample cleanup at 120 +/- 13 microM and 4.1 +/- 1 microM, respectively, corresponding to a reaction yield of 0.04% and 0.0003%, respectively. This study demonstrates that the MOA provides sensitive detection and analysis of low levels of a wide variety of amine-containing organic compounds from both biological and abiotic sources.     

Modeled microgravity increases filamentation, biofilm formation, phenotypic switching, and antimicrobial resistance in Candida albicans

Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen responsible for a variety of cutaneous and systemic human infections. Virulence of C. albicans increases upon exposure to some environmental stresses; therefore, we explored phenotypic responses of C. albicans following exposure to the environmental stress of low-shear modeled microgravity. Upon long-term (12-day) exposure to low-shear modeled microgravity, C. albicans transitioned from yeast to filamentous forms at a higher rate than observed under control conditions. Consistently, genes associated with cellular morphology were differentially expressed in a time-dependent manner. Biofilm communities, credited with enhanced resistance to environmental stress, formed in the modeled microgravity bioreactor and had a more complex structure than those formed in control conditions. In addition, cells exposed to low-shear modeled microgravity displayed phenotypic switching, observed as a near complete transition from smooth to "hyper" irregular wrinkle colony morphology. Consistent with the presence of biofilm communities and increased rates of phenotypic switching, cells exposed to modeled microgravity were significantly more resistant to the antifungal agent Amphotericin B. Together, these data indicate that C. albicans adapts to the environmental stress of low-shear modeled microgravity by demonstrating virulence-associated phenotypes.     

综合射频系统的开放系统结构

宝石台计划表明通过在传感器中引入通用模块、资源共享与重构概念可以使新飞机的航空电子系统的成本与重量降低一半，且使其可靠性提高两倍。传感器包括过去的射频传感器(通信导航．识别(CND、雷达与电子战(EW))。综合传感器系统(ISS)是针对射频航空电子系统的可承受性问题提出的一个概念开发与验证倡议。ISS的目标是定义一个开放系统结构(OSA)，从而使航空电子系统具有广泛的应用范围，使其具备规模生产的经济性，还可减少单独的模块种类、提高竞争能力，并可增加基于商用货架产品(COTS)的硬件与软件的作用。通过一系列采用开放系统标准的构建与演示验证工作，对ISS概念进行了验证。本文描述了射频航空电子系统要求，ISS开放系统结构，以及为验证标准所构建的演示验证系统。本文将描述针对2001 TAD的综合射频传感器开放系统结构，如何利用1997年实现的这一结构标准，以及从中得到的经验教训。     

低角速度下改善非线性的光纤陀螺

随着不断完善性能以适应日益增长的用户需求，高性能的数字闭环光纤陀螺（FOG）在减小死区方面得了显著的进展，在惯寻级应用方面，消除低角速率下的一非线性是非常必须的。闭环光纤陀螺中存在的死区现象已被许多光纤陀螺研发机构在设计中观察到了，报道出的现象为在一段小的非零角速度输入时，陀螺输出为零，根据不同的陀螺级别，死区的大小从0.03度／小时到10度／小时，或者更大。产生死区的原因一般来说是由于光纤陀螺的相位调制的激励与信号检测电路间的交叉耦合。屏蔽关键的信号和对电源线解耦有助于减小死区，但总是不能消除，为了消除光纤陀螺在低速率情况下被“卡”住，一种电子抖动的方法得以应用，它连续施加锯齿波在反馈上。这一专利方法可以容易的加入陀螺控制回路，而不必改变现有使用的电路。死区已数百倍的减小，达60微度／小时，这一数值比陀螺的偏置稳定要低许多，有效地消除了系统中现有的死区存在。     

A Canadian high-energy neutron spectrometry system for measurements in space

Bubble Technology Industries Inc. (BTI), with the support of the Canadian Space Agency, has finished the construction of the Canadian High-Energy Neutron Spectrometry System (CHENSS). This spectrometer is intended to measure the high energy neutron spectrum (approximately 1-100 MeV) encountered in spacecraft in low earth orbit. CHENSS is designed to fly aboard a US space shuttle and its scientific results should facilitate the prediction of neutron dose to astronauts in space from readings of different types of radiation dosimeters that are being used in various missions.     

红外成象技术在现场军用飞机中的应用

本文综述了红外成象系统在军用飞机的机载导弹制导、搜索与跟踪、战术侦察及夜间辅助飞行与导航这几个方面的应用状况。     

Key science questions from the second conference on early Mars: geologic, hydrologic, and climatic evolution and the implications for life

In October 2004, more than 130 terrestrial and planetary scientists met in Jackson Hole, WY, to discuss early Mars. The first billion years of martian geologic history is of particular interest because it is a period during which the planet was most active, after which a less dynamic period ensued that extends to the present day. The early activity left a fascinating geological record, which we are only beginning to unravel through direct observation and modeling. In considering this time period, questions outnumber answers, and one of the purposes of the meeting was to gather some of the best experts in the field to consider the current state of knowledge, ascertain which questions remain to be addressed, and identify the most promising approaches to addressing those questions. The purpose of this report is to document that discussion. Throughout the planet's first billion years, planetary-scale processes-including differentiation, hydrodynamic escape, volcanism, large impacts, erosion, and sedimentation-rapidly modified the atmosphere and crust. How did these processes operate, and what were their rates and interdependencies? The early environment was also characterized by both abundant liquid water and plentiful sources of energy, two of the most important conditions considered necessary for the origin of life. Where and when did the most habitable environments occur? Did life actually occupy them, and if so, has life persisted on Mars to the present? Our understanding of early Mars is critical to understanding how the planet we see today came to be.