Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination (ISPE)

In January 2006 the Stardust sample return capsule returned to Earth bearing the first solid samples from a primitive solar system body, C omet 81P/Wild2, and a collector dedicated to the capture and return o f contemporary interstellar dust. Both collectors were approximately 0.1m(exp 2) in area and were composed of aerogel tiles (85% of the co llecting area) and aluminum foils. The Stardust Interstellar Dust Col lector (SIDC) was exposed to the interstellar dust stream for a total exposure factor of 20 m(exp 2-) day during two periods before the co metary encounter. The Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination ( ISPE) is a three-year effort to characterize the collection using no ndestructive techniques. The ISPE consists of six interdependent proj ects: (1) Candidate identification through automated digital microsco py and a massively distributed, calibrated search (2) Candidate extr action and photodocumentation (3) Characterization of candidates thro ugh synchrotronbased FourierTranform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), S canning XRay Fluoresence Microscopy (SXRF), and Scanning Transmission Xray Microscopy (STXM) (4) Search for and analysis of craters in f oils through FESEM scanning, Auger Spectroscopy and synchrotronbased Photoemission Electron Microscopy (PEEM) (5) Modeling of interstell ar dust transport in the solar system (6) Laboratory simulations of h ypervelocity dust impacts into the collecting medi

Analysis of "Midnight" Tracks in the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector: Possible Discovery of a Contemporary Interstellar Dust Grain

In January 2006, the Stardust sample return capsule returned to Earth bearing the first solid samples from a primitive solar system body, Comet 81P/Wild2, and a collector dedicated to the capture and return of contemporary interstellar dust. Both collectors were approximately 0.1m(exp 2) in area and were composed of aerogel tiles (85% of the collecting area) and aluminum foils. The Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector (SIDC) was exposed to the interstellar dust stream for a total exposure factor of 20 m(exp 2) day. The Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination (ISPE) is a three-year effort to characterize the collection using nondestructive techniques

Зависимость эффективности биологической обратной связи по параметрам ритма сердца от вариаций геомагнитного поля

Протягом багатоденного моніторингу біологічного зворотного зв’язку (БЗЗ) за параметрами варіабельності серцевого ритму встановлено залежність ефективності БЗЗ від геліогеофізичної обстановки. У випробуваних з переважанням симпатичної активності є тенденція до більш ефективного біоуправління в умовах геомагнітної збуреності а також стабільного напряму міжпланетного магнітного поля. Навпаки, у випробуваних з переважанням вагусної активності БЗЗ є ефективнішім за умов відсутності геомагнітних збурювань а також при змінах полярності міжпланетного магнітного поля. Таким чином, геліогеофізичну обстановку слід ураховувати при аналізі ефективності біоуправління.Through days-long monitoring of biofeedback parameters of heart rate variability the dependence of biofeedback effectiveness on the geocosmic factors was established. In subjects whose nervous system is dominated by sympathetic type of reactivity, the biofeedback effectiveness tends to a better biocontrol under conditions of changes in interplanetary magnetic field or conditions of stable orientation of the interplanetary geomagnetic field. Individuals with prevalence of vagal activity usually are more effective in the biofeedback session if there are no geomagnetic disturbances as well as under conditions of changes in the interplanetary magnetic field polarity. Thus, the geocosmic factors should be taken into account when biofeedback effectiveness is analyzed

Fast X-Ray Fluorescence Microtomography of Hydrated Biological Samples

Metals and metalloids play a key role in plant and other biological systems as some of them are essential to living organisms and all can be toxic at high concentrations. It is therefore important to understand how they are accumulated, complexed and transported within plants. In situ imaging of metal distribution at physiological relevant concentrations in highly hydrated biological systems is technically challenging. In the case of roots, this is mainly due to the possibility of artifacts arising during sample preparation such as cross sectioning. Synchrotron x-ray fluorescence microtomography has been used to obtain virtual cross sections of elemental distributions. However, traditionally this technique requires long data acquisition times. This has prohibited its application to highly hydrated biological samples which suffer both radiation damage and dehydration during extended analysis. However, recent advances in fast detectors coupled with powerful data acquisition approaches and suitable sample preparation methods can circumvent this problem. We demonstrate the heightened potential of this technique by imaging the distribution of nickel and zinc in hydrated plant roots. Although 3D tomography was still impeded by radiation damage, we successfully collected 2D tomograms of hydrated plant roots exposed to environmentally relevant metal concentrations for short periods of time. To our knowledge, this is the first published example of the possibilities offered by a new generation of fast fluorescence detectors to investigate metal and metalloid distribution in radiation-sensitive, biological samples

A three-dimensional view of structural changes caused by deactivation of fluid catalytic cracking catalysts

Since its commercial introduction three-quarters of a century ago, fluid catalytic cracking has been one of the most important conversion processes in the petroleum industry. In this process, porous composites composed of zeolite and clay crack the heavy fractions in crude oil into transportation fuel and petrochemical feedstocks. Yet, over time the catalytic activity of these composite particles decreases. Here, we report on ptychographic tomography, diffraction, and fluorescence tomography, as well as electron microscopy measurements, which elucidate the structural changes that lead to catalyst deactivation. In combination, these measurements reveal zeolite amorphization and distinct structural changes on the particle exterior as the driving forces behind catalyst deactivation. Amorphization of zeolites, in particular, close to the particle exterior, results in a reduction of catalytic capacity. A concretion of the outermost particle layer into a dense amorphous silica–alumina shell further reduces the mass transport to the active sites within the composite

Mineralogy and petrology of comet 81P/wild 2 nucleus samples

The bulk of the comet 81P/Wild 2 (hereafter Wild 2) samples returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft appear to be weakly constructed mixtures of nanometer-scale grains, with occasional much larger (over 1 micrometer) ferromagnesian silicates, Fe-Ni sulfides, Fe-Ni metal, and accessory phases. The very wide range of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene compositions in comet Wild 2 requires a wide range of formation conditions, probably reflecting very different formation locations in the protoplanetary disk. The restricted compositional ranges of Fe-Ni sulfides, the wide range for silicates, and the absence of hydrous phases indicate that comet Wild 2 experienced little or no aqueous alteration. Less abundant Wild 2 materials include a refractory particle, whose presence appears to require radial transport in the early protoplanetary disk

Mineralogy and Petrology of Comet Wild 2 Nucleus Samples

The bulk of the Wild 2 samples appear to be weakly-constructed mixtures of nanometerscale grains with occasional much larger (>1{micro}m) ferromagnesian silicates, Fe-Ni sulfides, Fe-Ni metal and accessory phases. The very wide range of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene compositions in Wild 2 require a wide range of formation conditions, probably reflecting different formation locations in the protoplanetary disk. The restricted compositional ranges of Fe-Ni sulfides, the wide range for silicates, and absence of hydrous phases indicate that Wild 2 experienced little or no aqueous alteration. Less abundant Wild 2 materials include a refractory particle, whose presence appears to require large-scale radial transport in the early protoplanetary disk. The nature of cometary solids is of fundamental importance to our understanding of the early solar nebula and protoplanetary history. Until now we have had to study comets from afar using spectroscopy, or settle for analyses of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) of uncertain provenance. We report here mineralogical and petrographic analyses of particles derived directly from Comet Wild 2. All of the Wild 2 particles we have thus far examined have been modified in various ways by the capture process. All particles that may have been loose aggregates, ''traveling sand piles'', disaggregated into individual components with the larger, denser components penetrating more deeply into the aerogel. Individual grains experienced a wide range of heating effects that range from excellent preservation to melting (Fig. 1); such behavior was expected (1, 2 ,3). What is remarkable is the extreme variability of these modifications and the fact that severely modified and unmodified materials can be found within a micrometer of each other, requiring tremendous local temperature gradients. Fortunately, we have an internal gauge of impact collection heating. Fe-Ni sulfides are ubiquitous in the Wild 2 samples, are very sensitive indicators of heating, and accurate chemical analyses can reveal which have lost S, and which have not (and are therefore stoichiometric) (Fig. 2). Our surveys show that crystalline grains are found along the entire lengths of tracks, not just at track termini

Reconstruction 3d par tomosynthèse généralisée. Application à l\u27imagerie médicale par rayons x.

Ce travail concerne la reconstruction en tomosynthèse numérique médicale. Cette technique permet, à partir d\u27un faible nombre de projections (typiquement une vingtaine) acquises sur un détecteur numérique plan, d\u27obtenir des informations tridimensionnelles sur la structure de l\u27objet étudié. L\u27avantage majeur de cette technique est la possibilité d\u27obtenir ces informations à partir d\u27une table de radiologie standard équipée d\u27un capteur numérique et de fonctions de translation/rotation, pour une dose de rayonnement équivalente à celle d\u27une radiographie classique. Par ailleurs, on accède en tomosynthèse à différents plans de profondeur parallèles au détecteur (des plans frontaux), ce qui diffère de la tomographie classique à partir de peu de points de vue où l\u27on cherche plutôt à reconstruire un plan transverse. Un problème important en tomosynthèse est le manque important de données, et plus particulièrement l\u27angle limité de prises de vues qui restreint considérablement la résolution spatiale verticale dans les reconstructions. D\u27un point de vue mathématique, ce problème de reconstruction est un problème inverse mal posé au sens où le débattement angulaire est limité, le nombre de projections réduit, ces projections étant potentiellement bruitées. Pour inverser ce problème, nous avons opté pour les méthodes algébriques et plus particulièrement les algorithmes ART (Algebraic Reconstruction Technique). Ce type de méthode permet d\u27améliorer la résolution par rapport à l\u27approche classique de reconstruction en tomosynthèse (une simple rétroprojection) mais ne traite pas le problème du bruit. Afin de stabiliser l\u27inversion du problème, nous adoptons un algorithme de minimisation semi-quadratique existant, dans le contexte de la tomosynthèse. Afin de limiter les temps de calcul propres à la reconstruction algébrique, nous avons développé un schéma de reconstruction et de régularisation original permettant de décomposer le volume d\u27intérêt en une série de plans indépendants dans le cas particulier de la tomosynthèse linéaire. Nous proposons par ailleurs des traitements visant à réduire les artefacts de troncature des projections liés à l\u27angle de projection où les artefacts métalliques dus à la présence éventuelle de prothèses chirurgicales dans le corps humain. Afin de tester et valider nos approches, nous avons également développé un banc de test nous procurant une certaine souplesse dans la géométrie d\u27acquisition. Nous montrons qu\u27il est possible de reconstruire des coupes grand champ pour l\u27imagerie thoracique avec une résolution verticale de l\u27ordre du centimètre et une résolution dans le plan égale à celle du détecteur (100 $mu m$ au maximum). Pour d\u27autres applications osseuses telles que la radiographie de la cheville ou le vissage pédiculaire, les résultats sont très satisfaisants en terme de qualité image et d\u27artefacts de reconstruction