Sample records for accurate selected thermophysical

  1. Workshop on the Thermophysical Properties of Molten Materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1993-01-01

    The role of accurate thermophysical property data in the process design and modeling of solidification processes was the subject of a workshop held on 22-23 Oct. 1992 in Cleveland, Ohio. The workshop was divided into three sequential sessions dealing with (1) industrial needs and priorities for thermophysical data, (2) experimental capabilities for measuring the necessary data, and (3) theoretical capabilities for predicting the necessary data. In addition, a 2-hour panel discussion of the salient issues was featured as well as a 2-hour caucus that assessed priorities and identified action plans.

  2. Utilization of Space Station for industrial thermophysical property measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Overfelt, Tony; Watkins, John

    1996-03-01

    The International Space Station represents the largest cooperative space project in history and will be industry's only reasonable access to the low-g environment for long duration R&D. Such access will provide unique and competitive capabilities to industry if private sector entities can commercially utilize the Space Station for their industrial research programs. The metal casting industry has identified the need for accurate thermophysical properties of molten alloys as a priority need. Research over the last decade has demonstrated that experimental techniques exist to containerlessly measure critical thermophysical and related properties of molten metals for improved process design. This paper describes the ``VULCAN'' concept, a proposed commercial instrument for thermophysical properties measurements on the Space Station. Finally, several issues regarding private sector utilization of the Space Station are also discussed.

  3. Thermophysical Property Measurements of Molten Semiconductors in 1-g and Reduced-g Condition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rhim, Won-Kyu

    1999-01-01

    Understanding and controlling the formation kinetics of varieties of crystal imperfections such as point defects, non uniform distribution of doping atoms, and impurity atoms in growing crystals are very important. Theoretical (numerical) modeling of the crystal growth process is an essential step to achieving these objectives. In order to obtain reliable modeling results, input parameters, i.e. various thermophysical parameters, must be accurate. The importance of accurate thermophysical properties of semiconductors in crystal growth cannot be overly emphasized. The total hemispherical emissivity, for instance, has a dramatic impact on the thermal environment. It determines the radiative emission from the surface of the melt which determines to a large extent the profile of the solidified crystal. In order to understand the convection and the turbulence in a melt, viscosity becomes an important parameter. The liquid surface tension determines the shape of the liquid-atmosphere interface near the solid-liquid-atmosphere triple point. Currently used values for these parameters are rather inaccurate, and this program intends to provide more reliable measurements of these thermophysical properties. Thus, the objective of this program is in the accurate measurements of various thermophysical properties which can be reliably used in the modeling of various crystal growth processes. In this program, thermophysical properties of molten semiconductors, such as Si, Ge, Si-Ge, and InSb will be measured as a function of temperature using the High Temperature Electrostatic Levitator at JPL. Each material will be doped by different kinds of impurities at various doping levels. Thermophysical properties which will be measured include: density, thermal expansion coefficient, surface tension, viscosity, specific heat, hemispherical total emissivity, and perhaps electrical and thermal conductivities. Many molten semiconductors are chemically reactive with crucibles. As a result

  4. An overview of the measurements of thermophysical properties and some results on molten superalloys and semiconductors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Taylor, R. E.

    1993-01-01

    This presentation consists of two parts: comments on the results of measurements on thermophysical properties based on the paper, 'Things Mother Never Taught Me (About Thermophysical Properties of Solids)' and results of thermophysical property measurements on selected solid and molten semiconductors and a proprietary superalloy. The first part may be considered as a tutorial for those involved in using or procuring thermophysical property data. The second part is presented as illustrations of what has been accomplished on molten materials at the Thermophysical Properties Research Laboratory (TPRL). The materials include Ge, PbTe, PbSnTe, HgCdTe and a superalloy.

  5. Measurements of Thermophysical Properties of Molten Silicon and Geranium

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rhim, Won-Kyu

    2001-01-01

    The objective of this ground base program is to measure thermophysical properties of molten/ undercooled silicon, germanium, and Si-Ge alloys using a high temperature electrostatic levitator and in clearly assessing the need of the microgravity environment to achieve the objective with higher degrees of accuracy. Silicon and germanium are two of the most important semiconductors for industrial applications: silicon is unsurpassed as a microelectronics material, occupying more than 95% of the electronics market. Si-Ge alloy is attracting keen interest for advanced electronic and optoelectronic applications in view of its variable band gap and lattice parameter depending upon its composition. Accurate thermophysical properties of these materials are very much needed in the semiconductor industry for the growth of large high quality crystals.

  6. SHERMAN, a shape-based thermophysical model. I. Model description and validation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Magri, Christopher; Howell, Ellen S.; Vervack, Ronald J.; Nolan, Michael C.; Fernández, Yanga R.; Marshall, Sean E.; Crowell, Jenna L.

    2018-03-01

    SHERMAN, a new thermophysical modeling package designed for analyzing near-infrared spectra of asteroids and other solid bodies, is presented. The model's features, the methods it uses to solve for surface and subsurface temperatures, and the synthetic data it outputs are described. A set of validation tests demonstrates that SHERMAN produces accurate output in a variety of special cases for which correct results can be derived from theory. These cases include a family of solutions to the heat equation for which thermal inertia can have any value and thermophysical properties can vary with depth and with temperature. An appendix describes a new approximation method for estimating surface temperatures within spherical-section craters, more suitable for modeling infrared beaming at short wavelengths than the standard method.

  7. A European Roadmap for Thermophysical Properties Metrology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Filtz, J.-R.; Wu, J.; Stacey, C.; Hollandt, J.; Monte, C.; Hay, B.; Hameury, J.; Villamañan, M. A.; Thurzo-Andras, E.; Sarge, S.

    2015-03-01

    A roadmap for thermophysical properties metrology was developed in spring 2011 by the Thermophysical Properties Working Group in the EURAMET Technical Committee in charge of Thermometry, Humidity and Moisture, and Thermophysical Properties metrology. This roadmapping process is part of the EURAMET (European Association of National Metrology Institutes) activities aiming to increase impact from national investment in European metrology R&D. The roadmap shows a shared vision of how the development of thermophysical properties metrology should be oriented over the next 15 years to meet future social and economic needs. Since thermophysical properties metrology is a very broad and varied field, the authors have limited this roadmap to the following families of properties: thermal transport properties (thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, etc.), radiative properties (emissivity, absorbance, reflectance, and transmittance), caloric quantities (specific heat, enthalpy, etc.), thermodynamic properties (PVT and phase equilibria properties), and temperature-dependent quantities (thermal expansion, compressibility, etc.). This roadmap identifies the main societal and economical triggers that drive developments in thermophysical properties metrology. The key topics considered are energy, environment, advanced manufacturing and processing, public safety, security, and health. Key targets that require improved thermophysical properties measurements are identified in order to address these triggers. Ways are also proposed for defining the necessary skills and the main useful means to be implemented. These proposals will have to be revised as needs and technologies evolve in the future.

  8. Ab Initio Values of the Thermophysical Properties of Helium as Standards

    PubMed Central

    Hurly, John J.; Moldover, Michael R.

    2000-01-01

    Recent quantum mechanical calculations of the interaction energy of pairs of helium atoms are accurate and some include reliable estimates of their uncertainty. We combined these ab initio results with earlier published results to obtain a helium-helium interatomic potential that includes relativistic retardation effects over all ranges of interaction. From this potential, we calculated the thermophysical properties of helium, i.e., the second virial coefficients, the dilute-gas viscosities, and the dilute-gas thermal conductivities of 3He, 4He, and their equimolar mixture from 1 K to 104 K. We also calculated the diffusion and thermal diffusion coefficients of mixtures of 3He and 4He. For the pure fluids, the uncertainties of the calculated values are dominated by the uncertainties of the potential; for the mixtures, the uncertainties of the transport properties also include contributions from approximations in the transport theory. In all cases, the uncertainties are smaller than the corresponding experimental uncertainties; therefore, we recommend the ab initio results be used as standards for calibrating instruments relying on these thermophysical properties. We present the calculated thermophysical properties in easy-to-use tabular form. PMID:27551630

  9. Estimate of the influence of thermophysical parameter deviations on SC thermal regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petrov, Yu. V.; Rassamakin, B. M.; Taranova, T. A.; Khoroshylov, V. S.

    The necessity of accurate information on actual values of thermophysical properties for the SC with passive thermal control system is substantiated. On the basis of the telemetry information from the temperature sensors of the AUOS-SM-KF SC, the degradation of black enamel AK-512 is analyzed using inverse-scattering method as well as effective thermal conductivity of honeycomb panel and embedded heat-pipes is evaluated.

  10. Selected Thermophysical Properties of 2,2 Dimethylcyclopentyl Methylphosphonofluoridate (GP) and 2,2 Dimethylcyclopentanol (DMCP)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-09-01

    Thermophysical properties, including vapor pressure, density, viscosity, surface tension, and flash point, are reported for 2,2-dimethylcyclopentyl...methylphosphonofluoridate (GP; Chemical Abstracts Service [CAS] no. 453574-97-5). Density data above the melting point, and vapor pressure of the liquid and solid...experimental vapor pressure data and were used to calculate the temperature-dependent enthalpy of vaporization , volatility, and entropy of

  11. An electronic system for measuring thermophysical properties of wind tunnel models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Corwin, R. R.; Kramer, J. S.

    1975-01-01

    An electronic system is described which measures the surface temperature of a small portion of the surface of the model or sample at high speeds using an infrared radiometer. This data is processed along with heating rate data from the reference heat gauge in a small computer and prints out the desired thermophysical properties, time, surface temperature, and reference heat rate. This system allows fast and accurate property measurements over thirty temperature increments. The technique, the details of the apparatus, the procedure for making these measurements, and the results of some preliminary tests are presented.

  12. Thermophysical and tribological properties of nanolubricants: A review

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kotia, Ankit; Rajkhowa, Pranami; Rao, Gogineni Satyanarayana; Ghosh, Subrata Kumar

    2018-05-01

    Recent studies in heat transfer evident that the nanofluid shows better heat transfer results as compared to base fluid. This influences the research community for the dispersion of nanoparticles in lubricants to enhance its thermophysical and tribological properties and these suspensions are termed as Nanolubricants. This review focuses on the effect of nanoparticle additives on thermophysical and tribological properties of base lubricant. Initial section briefly summarizes the variation in thermophysical properties namely viscosity, thermal conductivity, density and specific heat of nanolubricants. In later section, the coefficient of friction and anti-wear properties of nanolubricants are summarized. This review along with the replenishment of current knowledge, also discusses the fundamental mechanisms that evolve with the dispersion of nanoparticles.

  13. Influence of condensed species on thermo-physical properties of LTE and non-LTE SF6-Cu mixture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Zhexin; Wu, Yi; Yang, Fei; Sun, Hao; Rong, Mingzhe; Wang, Chunlin

    2017-10-01

    SF6-Cu mixture is frequently formed in high-voltage circuit breakers due to the electrode erosion and metal vapor diffusion. During the interruption process, the multiphase effect and deviation from local thermal equilibrium (non-LTE assumption) can both affect the thermo-physical of the arc plasma and further influence the performance of circuit breaker. In this paper, thermo-physical properties, namely composition, thermodynamic properties and transport coefficients are calculated for multiphase SF6-Cu mixture with and without LTE assumption. The composition is confirmed by combining classical two-temperature mass action law with phase equilibrium condition deduced from second law of thermodynamics. The thermodynamic properties and transport coefficients are calculated using the multiphase composition result. The influence of condensed species on thermo-physical properties is discussed at different temperature, pressure (0.1-10 atm), non-equilibrium degrees (1-10), and copper molar proportions (0-50%). It is found that the multiphase effect has significant influence on specific enthalpy, specific heat and heavy species thermal conductivity in both LTE and non-LTE SF6-Cu system. This paper provides a more accurate database for computational fluid dynamic calculation.

  14. Thermophysical property sensitivity effects in steel solidification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Overfelt, Tony

    1993-01-01

    The simulation of advanced solidification processes via digital computer techniques has gained widespread acceptance during the last decade or so. Models today can predict transient temperature fields, fluid flow fields, important microstructural parameters, and potential defects in castings. However, the lack of accurate thermophysical property data on important industrial alloys threatens to limit the ability of manufacturers to fully capitalize on the technology's benefits. A study of the sensitivity of one such numerical model of a steel plate casting to imposed variations in the data utilized for the thermal conductivity, specific heat, density, and heat of fusion is described. The sensitivity of the data's variability is characterized by its effects on the net solidification time of various points along the centerline of the plate casting. Recommendations for property measurements are given and the implications of data uncertainty for modelers are discussed.

  15. Thermophysical modeling of main-belt asteroids from WISE thermal data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hanuš, J.; Delbo', M.; Ďurech, J.; Alí-Lagoa, V.

    2018-07-01

    By means of a varied-shape thermophysical model of Hanuš et al. (2015) that takes into account asteroid shape and pole uncertainties, we analyze the thermal infrared data acquired by the NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer of about 300 asteroids with derived convex shape models. We utilize publicly available convex shape models and rotation states as input for the thermophysical modeling. For more than one hundred asteroids, the thermophysical modeling gives us an acceptable fit to the thermal infrared data allowing us to report their thermophysical properties such as size, thermal inertia, surface roughness or visible geometric albedo. This work more than doubles the number of asteroids with determined thermophysical properties, especially the thermal inertia. In the remaining cases, the shape model and pole orientation uncertainties, specific rotation or thermophysical properties, poor thermal infrared data or their coverage prevent the determination of reliable thermophysical properties. Finally, we present the main results of the statistical study of derived thermophysical parameters within the whole population of main-belt asteroids and within few asteroid families. Our sizes based on TPM are, in average, consistent with the radiometric sizes reported by Mainzer et al. (2016). The thermal inertia increases with decreasing size, but a large range of thermal inertia values is observed within the similar size ranges between D ∼ 10-100 km. We derived unexpectedly low thermal inertias ( < 20 J m-2 s- 1 / 2 K-1) for several asteroids with sizes 10 < D < 50 km, indicating a very fine and mature regolith on these small bodies. The thermal inertia values seem to be consistent within several collisional families, however, the statistical sample is in all cases rather small. The fast rotators with rotation period P ≲ 4 h tend to have slightly larger thermal inertia values, so probably do not have a fine regolith on the surface. This could be explained, for

  16. HiRISE Characterization of Thermophysical Units at Acidalia Planitia, Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martinez-Alonso, S.; Mellon, M. T.; Rafkin, S. C. R.; Zurek, R. W.; McEwen, A. S.; Putzig, N. E.; Searls, M. L.; HiRISE Team

    2008-03-01

    As part of an ongoing effort to characterize with HiRISE data the global thermophysical units in Mars, we report results regarding a region of Acidalia Planitia, which includes the largest outcrop of thermophysical unit F (rocks, bedrock, duricrust) on the planet.

  17. System and method to determine thermophysical properties of a multi-component gas

    DOEpatents

    Morrow, Thomas B.; Behring, II, Kendricks A.

    2003-08-05

    A system and method to characterize natural gas hydrocarbons using a single inferential property, such as standard sound speed, when the concentrations of the diluent gases (e.g., carbon dioxide and nitrogen) are known. The system to determine a thermophysical property of a gas having a first plurality of components comprises a sound velocity measurement device, a concentration measurement device, and a processor to determine a thermophysical property as a function of a correlation between the thermophysical property, the speed of sound, and the concentration measurements, wherein the number of concentration measurements is less than the number of components in the gas. The method includes the steps of determining the speed of sound in the gas, determining a plurality of gas component concentrations in the gas, and determining the thermophysical property as a function of a correlation between the thermophysical property, the speed of sound, and the plurality of concentrations.

  18. Thermophysical Properties of Martian Duricrust Analogs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murphy, N. W.; Jakosky, B. M.; Mellon, M. T.; Budd, D. A.

    2009-03-01

    We measured thermophysical properties of samples of terrestrial duricrust from a gypsum deposit in New Mexico and Lunar Lake Playa. Our results suggest that well-indurated materials may cover a significant portion of the Mars surface.

  19. Electrostatic levitation technology for thermophysical properties of molten materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rhim, Won-Kyu

    1993-01-01

    Measurements of thermophysical properties of undercooled liquids often require some kind of levitator which isolates samples from container walls. We introduce in this presentation a high temperature/high vacuum electrostatic levitator (HTHVESL) which promises some unique capabilities for the studies of thermophysical properties of molten materials. Although substantial progress has been made in the past several months, this technology is still in the development stage, therefore, in this presentation we only focus on the present state of the HTHVESL(1) and point out other capabilities which might be realized in the near future.

  20. Thermophysical Properties of Five Industrial Steels in the Solid and Liquid Phase

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilthan, B.; Schützenhöfer, W.; Pottlacher, G.

    2017-07-01

    The need for characterization of thermophysical properties of steel was addressed in the FFG-Bridge Project 810999 in cooperation with our partner from industry, Böhler Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG. To optimize numerical simulations of production processes such as plastic deformation or remelting, additional and more accurate thermophysical property data were necessary for the group of steels under investigation. With the fast ohmic pulse heating circuit system and a commercial high-temperature Differential Scanning Calorimeter at Graz University of Technology, we were able to measure the temperature-dependent specific electrical resistivity and specific enthalpy for a set of five high alloyed steels: E105, M314, M315, P800, and V320 from room temperature up into the liquid phase. The mechanical properties of those steels make sample preparation an additional challenge. The described experimental approach typically uses electrically conducting wire-shaped specimen with a melting point high enough for the implemented pyrometric temperature measurement. The samples investigated here are too brittle to be drawn as wires and could only be cut into rectangular specimen by Electrical Discharge Machining. Even for those samples all electrical signals and the temperature signal can be recorded with proper alignment of the pyrometer. For each material under investigation, a set of data including chemical composition, solidus and liquidus temperature, enthalpy, electrical resistivity, and thermal diffusivity as a function of temperature will be reported.

  1. Structural Fluctuations and Thermophysical Properties of Molten II-VI Compounds

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Su, Ching-Hua; Zhu, Shen; Li, Chao; Scripa, R.; Lehoczky, Sandra L.; Kim, Y. W.; Baird, J. K.; Lin, B.; Ban, Heng; Benmore, Chris

    2003-01-01

    The objectives of the project are to conduct ground-based experimental and theoretical research on the structural fluctuations and thermophysical properties of molten II-VI compounds to enhance the basic understanding of the existing flight experiments in microgravity materials science programs as well as to study the fundamental heterophase fluctuation phenomena in these melts by: 1) conducting neutron scattering analysis and measuring quantitatively the relevant thermophysical properties of the II-VI melts (such as viscosity, electrical conductivity, thermal diffusivity and density) as well as the relaxation characteristics of these properties to advance the understanding of the structural properties and the relaxation phenomena in these melts and 2) performing theoretical analyses on the melt systems to interpret the experimental results. All the facilities required for the experimental measurements have been procured, installed and tested. It has long been recognized that liquid Te presents a unique case having properties between those of metals and semiconductors. The electrical conductivity for Te melt increases rapidly at melting point, indicating a semiconductor-metal transition. Te melts comprise two features, which are usually considered to be incompatible with each other: covalently bound atoms and metallic-like behavior. Why do Te liquids show metallic behavior? is one of the long-standing issues in liquid metal physics. Since thermophysical properties are very sensitive to the structural variations of a melt, we have conducted extensive thermophysical measurements on Te melt.

  2. Thermophysical properties of U 3 Si 2 to 1773K

    DOE PAGES

    White, Joshua Taylor; Nelson, Andrew Thomas; Dunwoody, John Tyler; ...

    2015-05-08

    Use of U 3Si 2 in nuclear reactors requires accurate thermophysical property data to capture heat transfer within the core. Compilation of the limited previous research efforts focused on the most critical property, thermal conductivity, reveals extensive disagreement. Assessment of this data is challenged by the fact that the critical structural and chemical details of the material used to provide historic data is either absent or confirms the presence of significant impurity phases. This study was initiated to fabricate high purity U 3Si 2 to quantify the coefficient of thermal expansion, heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity from roommore » temperature to 1773 K. Here, the datasets provided in this manuscript will facilitate more detailed fuel performance modeling to assess both current and proposed reactor designs that incorporate U 3Si 2.« less

  3. Thermophysical properties of fluids: dynamic viscosity and thermal conductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Latini, G.

    2017-11-01

    Thermophysical properties of fluids strongly depend upon atomic and molecular structure, complex systems governed by physics laws providing the time evolution. Theoretically the knowledge of the initial position and velocity of each atom, of the interaction forces and of the boundary conditions, leads to the solution; actually this approach contains too many variables and it is generally impossible to obtain an acceptable solution. In many cases it is only possible to calculate or to measure some macroscopic properties of fluids (pressure, temperature, molar volume, heat capacities...). The ideal gas “law,” PV = nRT, was one of the first important correlations of properties and the deviations from this law for real gases were usefully proposed. Moreover the statistical mechanics leads for example to the “hard-sphere” model providing the link between the transport properties and the molecular size and speed of the molecules. Further approximations take into account the intermolecular interactions (the potential functions) which can be used to describe attractions and repulsions. In any case thermodynamics reduces experimental or theoretical efforts by relating one physical property to another: the Clausius-Clapeyron equation provides a classical example of this method and the PVT function must be known accurately. However, in spite of the useful developments in molecular theory and computers technology, often it is usual to search for physical properties when the existing theories are not reliable and experimental data are not available: the required value of the physical or thermophysical property must be estimated or predicted (very often estimation and prediction are improperly used as synonymous). In some cases empirical correlations are useful, if it is clearly defined the range of conditions on which they are based. This work is concerned with dynamic viscosity µ and thermal conductivity λ and is based on clear and important rules to be respected

  4. GASPLOT - A computer graphics program that draws a variety of thermophysical property charts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Trivisonno, R. J.; Hendricks, R. C.

    1977-01-01

    A FORTRAN V computer program, written for the UNIVAC 1100 series, is used to draw a variety of precision thermophysical property charts on the Calcomp plotter. In addition to the program (GASPLOT), which requires (15 160) sub 10 storages, a thermophysical properties routine needed to produce plots. The program is designed so that any two of the state variables, the derived variables, or the transport variables may be plotted as the ordinate - abscissa pair with as many as five parametric variables. The parameters may be temperature, pressure, density, enthalpy, and entropy. Each parameter may have as many a 49 values, and the range of the variables is limited only by the thermophysical properties routine.

  5. Thermal protection materials: Thermophysical property data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Williams, S. D.; Curry, Donald M.

    1992-01-01

    This publication presents a thermophysical property survey on materials that could potentially be used for future spacecraft thermal protection systems (TPS). This includes data that was reported in the 1960's as well as more current information reported through the 1980's. An attempt was made to cite the manufacturers as well as the data source in the bibliography. This volume represents an attempt to provide in a single source a complete set of thermophysical data on a large variety of materials used in spacecraft TPS analysis. The property data is divided into two categories: ablative and reusable. The ablative materials have been compiled into twelve categories that are descriptive of the material composition. An attempt was made to define the Arrhenius equation for each material although this data may not be available for some materials. In a similar manner, char data may not be available for some of the ablative materials. The reusable materials have been divided into three basic categories: thermal protection materials (such as insulators), adhesives, and structural materials.

  6. Thermophysical Properties of Undercooled Alloys: An Overview of the Molecular Simulation Approaches

    PubMed Central

    Lv, Yong J.; Chen, Min

    2011-01-01

    We review the studies on the thermophysical properties of undercooled metals and alloys by molecular simulations in recent years. The simulation methods of melting temperature, enthalpy, specific heat, surface tension, diffusion coefficient and viscosity are introduced and the simulated results are summarized. By comparing the experimental results and various theoretical models, the temperature and the composition dependences of the thermophysical properties in undercooled regime are discussed. PMID:21339987

  7. Thermophysical properties of gas phase uranium tetrafluoride

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Watanabe, Yoichi; Anghaie, Samim

    1993-01-01

    Thermophysical data of gaseous uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) are theoretically obtained by taking into account dissociation of molecules at high temperatures (2000-6000 K). Determined quantities include specific heat, optical opacity, diffusion coefficient, viscosity, and thermal conductivity. A computer program is developed for the calculation.

  8. Thermophysical Properties of a Possible Martian Duricrust Analog

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murphy, N. W.; Mellon, M. T.; Jakosky, B. M.; Budd, D. A.

    2008-03-01

    We examined a terrestrial deposit of gypsum duricrust located near Las Cruces, NM, and measured its thermophysical properties. We used the thermal properties to then evaluate whether this duricrust is representative of indurated surfaces on Mars.

  9. Thermophysical properties of enzyme clarified Lime (Citrus aurantifolia L) juice at different moisture contents.

    PubMed

    Manjunatha, S S; Raju, P S; Bawa, A S

    2014-11-01

    Thermophysical properties of enzyme clarified lime (Citrus aurantifolia L.) juice were evaluated at different moisture contents ranging from 30.37 % to 89.30 % (wet basis) corresponding to a water activity range of 0.835 to 0.979. The thermophysical properties evaluated were density, Newtonian viscosity, thermal conductivity, specific heat and thermal diffusivity. The investigation showed that density and Newtonian viscosity of enzyme clarified lime juice decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with increase in moisture content and water activity, whereas thermal conductivity and specific heat increased significantly (p < 0.05) with increase in moisture content and water activity and the thermal diffusivity increased marginally. Empirical mathematical models were established relating to thermophysical properties of enzyme clarified lime juice with moisture content/water activity employing regression analysis by the method of least square approximation. Results indicated the existence of strong correlation between thermophysical properties and moisture content/water activity of enzyme clarified lime juice, a significant (p < 0.0001) negative correlation between physical and thermal properties was observed.

  10. Thermophysical Properties of Lithium Alloys for Thermal Batteries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Swift, Geoffrey A.

    2011-10-01

    Thermal batteries are electrochemical systems primarily used in defense applications. The long-term storage capability afforded by the electrically inert low-temperature properties of the electrolyte-separator enables the use of this technology for military purposes. The current state-of-the art for thermal batteries relies upon the Li/FeS2 couple for power generation with the anode typically an Li-Si or Li-Al alloy. Thermal modeling of these primary battery systems is crucial to allowing the predictive capability of thermal evolution both in terms of the battery lifetime and thermal profile for the proper design of internal insulation and the surrounding environment. However, thermophysical properties for the anode alloys are not available in the literature. Thermophysical measurements of the alloys used in thermal batteries are essential for thermal modeling and simulation. The laser-flash method was used to determine the specific heat, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity for Li-Si and Li-Al alloys as a function of temperature.

  11. Thermophysical property measurements on lunar fines from Apollo missions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Birkebak, R. C.; Cremers, C. J.

    1972-01-01

    The thermophysical properties of lunar fines for a density of 1600 kg/cu m are reviewed. A list is included of publications resulting from the studies. During this period lunar samples from Apollo 11,12,14,15, and 16 were received and studied.

  12. MASS MEASUREMENTS BY AN ACCURATE AND SENSITIVE SELECTED ION RECORDING TECHNIQUE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Trace-level components of mixtures were successfully identified or confirmed by mass spectrometric accurate mass measurements, made at high resolution with selected ion recording, using GC and LC sample introduction. Measurements were made at 20 000 or 10 000 resolution, respecti...

  13. Flammability and Thermophysical Characterization of Thermoplastic Elastomer Nanocomposites

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-08-01

    montmorillonite organoclays, POSS®, carbon nanofibers to develop a flame resistant material Thermophysical and flammability properties of these...elastomer manufactured by Dow Chemical. Its typical applications include seals, gaskets, belting, and others. Montmorillonite Nanoclays – Cloisite...30B is a surface treated montmorillonite [Tallow bishydroxyethyl methyl, T(EOH)2M] manufactured by Southern Clay Products Carbon Nanofibers (CNFs

  14. Thermophysical and structural studies on some glass-ceramics and role of nano size crystallites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kothiyal, G. P.; Arvind, A.; Kumar, Rakesh; Dixit, Anupam; Sharma, Kuldeep; Goswami, Madhumita

    2009-07-01

    In this paper, we present some studies on structure and thermophysical properties of glass and glass-ceramics with possible bio-medical and sealing applications. The glass-ceramics prepared for bio-medical applications include phosphate as well as silico-phosphate compositions. In vitro bio-compatibility/activity of these materials is discussed. The glass-ceramics used for the sealing application are lithium aluminium silicate (LAS) and lithium zinc silicate (LZS). The phase formation and some aspects of thermophysical properties and sealing are discussed.

  15. Thermophysical Characteristics of OSIRIS-REx Target Asteroid (101955) Bennu

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Liangliang; Ji, Jianghui

    2016-01-01

    In this work, we investigate the thermophysical properties, including thermal inertia, roughness fraction and surface grain size of OSIRIS-REx target asteroid (101955) Bennu by using a thermophysical model with the recently updated 3D radar-derived shape model (Nolan et al., 2013) and mid-infrared observations (Müller et al. 2012, Emery et al., 2014). We find that the asteroid bears an effective diameter of 510+6 -40 m, a geometric albedo of 0.047+0.0083 -0.0011, a roughness fraction of 0.04+0.26 -0.04, and thermal inertia of 240+440 -60 Jm-2s-0.5K-1 for our best-fit solution. The best-estimate thermal inertia suggests that fine-grained regolith may cover a large portion of Bennu's surface, where a grain size may vary from 1.3 to 31 mm. Our outcome suggests that Bennu is suitable for the OSIRIS-REx mission to return samples to Earth.

  16. Thermophysical Properties of Selected Rocks.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1974-04-01

    the region below the melting point . Selected values are for Dresser basalt based on the data of Navarro and DeWitt [861 and of Marovelli and Veith [51...TO AT = T2 - T 1, q Is the rate of heat flow, A is the cross-sectional area of the specimen, and Ax is the distance between points of temperature...heater provides a constant heat, q, per unit time and length, and the temperature at a point in the spec- imen is recorded as a function of time. The

  17. Investigation of Thermophysical Parameters Properties for Enhancing Overpressure Mechanism Estimation. Case Study: Miri Area, West Baram Delta

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adha, Kurniawan; Yusoff, Wan Ismail Wan; Almanna Lubis, Luluan

    2017-10-01

    Determining the pore pressure data and overpressure zone is a compulsory part of oil and gas exploration in which the data can enhance the safety with profit and preventing the drilling hazards. Investigation of thermophysical parameters such as temperature and thermal conductivity can enhance the pore pressure estimation for overpressure mechanism determination. Since those parameters are dependent on rock properties, it may reflect the changes on the column of thermophysical parameters when there is abnormally in pore pressure. The study was conducted in “MRI 1” well offshore Sarawak, where a new approach method designed to determine the overpressure generation. The study was insisted the contribution of thermophysical parameters for supporting the velocity analysis method, petrophysical analysis were done in these studies. Four thermal facies were identified along the well. The overpressure developed below the thermal facies 4, where the pressure reached 38 Mpa and temperature was increasing significantly. The velocity and the thermal conductivity cross plots shows a linear relationship since the both parameters mainly are the function of the rock compaction. When the rock more compact, the particles were brought closer into contact and making the sound wave going faster while the thermal conductivity were increasing. In addition, the increment of temperature and high heat flow indicated the presence of fluid expansion mechanism. Since the shale sonic velocity and density analysis were the common methods in overpressure mechanism and pore pressure estimation. As the addition parameters for determining overpressure zone, the presence of thermophysical analysis was enhancing the current method, where the current method was the single function of velocity analysis. The presence of thermophysical analysis will improve the understanding in overpressure mechanism determination as the new input parameters. Thus, integrated of thermophysical technique and velocity

  18. Thermophysical Properties of the Phoenix Mars Landing Site Study Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Putzig, N. E.; Mellon, M. T.; Golombek, M. P.; Arvidson, R. E.

    2006-03-01

    Analysis of Phoenix Mars study regions places 4 of 5 in a previously-identified duricrust-dominated thermophysical unit which also contains the Viking and Spirit landing sites. Extrapolation of lander-observed properties to the study regions may be complicated by surface heterogeneity.

  19. Development of an apparatus to measure thermophysical properties of wind tunnel heat transfer models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Romanowski, R. F.; Steinberg, I. H.

    1974-01-01

    The apparatus and technique for measuring the thermophysical properties of models used with the phase-change paint method for obtaining wind tunnel heat transfer data are described. The method allows rapid measurement of the combined properties in a transient manner similar to an actual wind tunnel test. An effective value of the thermophysical properties can be determined which accounts for changes in thermal properties with temperature or with depth into the model surface. The apparatus was successfully tested at various heating rates between 19,000 and 124,000 watts per square meter.

  20. Thermophysical properties of the MER and Beagle II landing site regions on Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jakosky, Bruce M.; Hynek, Brian M.; Pelkey, Shannon M.; Mellon, Michael T.; Martínez-Alonso, Sara; Putzig, Nathaniel E.; Murphy, Nate; Christensen, Philip R.

    2006-08-01

    We analyzed remote-sensing observations of the Isidis Basin, Gusev Crater, and Meridiani Planum landing sites for Beagle II, MER-A Spirit, and MER-B Opportunity spacecraft, respectively. We emphasized the thermophysical properties using daytime and nighttime radiance measurements from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) and thermal inertias derived from nighttime data sets. THEMIS visible images, MGS Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) narrow-angle images, and MGS Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data are incorporated as well. Additionally, the remote-sensing data were compared with ground-truth at the MER sites. The Isidis Basin surface layer has been shaped by aeolian processes and erosion by slope winds coming off of the southern highlands and funneling through notches between massifs. In the Gusev region, surface materials of contrasting thermophysical properties have been interpreted as rocks or bedrock, duricrust, and dust deposits; these are consistent with a complex geological history dominated by volcanic and aeolian processes. At Meridiani Planum the many layers having different thermophysical and erosional properties suggest periodic deposition of differing sedimentological facies possibly related to clast size, grain orientation and packing, or mineralogy.

  1. Thermal Infrared Observations and Thermophysical Modeling of Phobos

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, Nathan Michael; Edwards, Christopher Scott; Mommert, Michael; Trilling, David E.; Glotch, Timothy

    2016-10-01

    Mars-observing spacecraft have the opportunity to study Phobos from Mars orbit, and have produced a sizeable record of observations using the same instruments that study the surface of the planet below. However, these observations are generally infrequent, acquired only rarely over each mission.Using observations gathered by Mars Global Surveyor's (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES), we can investigate the fine layer of regolith that blankets Phobos' surface, and characterize its thermal properties. The mapping of TES observations to footprints on the Phobos surface has not previously been undertaken, and must consider the orientation and position of both MGS and Phobos, and TES's pointing mirror angle. Approximately 300 fully resolved observations are available covering a significant subset of Phobos' surface at a variety of scales.The properties of the surface regolith, such as grain size, density, and conductivity, determine how heat is absorbed, transferred, and reradiated to space. Thermophysical modeling allows us to simulate these processes and predict, for a given set of assumed parameters, how the observed thermal infrared spectra will appear. By comparing models to observations, we can constrain the properties of the regolith, and see how these properties vary with depth, as well as regionally across the Phobos surface. These constraints are key to understanding how Phobos formed and evolved over time, which in turn will help inform the environment and processes that shaped the solar system as a whole.We have developed a thermophysical model of Phobos adapted from a model used for unresolved observations of asteroids. The model has been modified to integrate thermal infrared flux across each observed portion of Phobos. It will include the effects of surface roughness, temperature-dependent conductivity, as well as radiation scattered, reflected, and thermally emitted from the Martian surface. Combining this model with the newly-mapped TES

  2. Automated selected reaction monitoring software for accurate label-free protein quantification.

    PubMed

    Teleman, Johan; Karlsson, Christofer; Waldemarson, Sofia; Hansson, Karin; James, Peter; Malmström, Johan; Levander, Fredrik

    2012-07-06

    Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) is a mass spectrometry method with documented ability to quantify proteins accurately and reproducibly using labeled reference peptides. However, the use of labeled reference peptides becomes impractical if large numbers of peptides are targeted and when high flexibility is desired when selecting peptides. We have developed a label-free quantitative SRM workflow that relies on a new automated algorithm, Anubis, for accurate peak detection. Anubis efficiently removes interfering signals from contaminating peptides to estimate the true signal of the targeted peptides. We evaluated the algorithm on a published multisite data set and achieved results in line with manual data analysis. In complex peptide mixtures from whole proteome digests of Streptococcus pyogenes we achieved a technical variability across the entire proteome abundance range of 6.5-19.2%, which was considerably below the total variation across biological samples. Our results show that the label-free SRM workflow with automated data analysis is feasible for large-scale biological studies, opening up new possibilities for quantitative proteomics and systems biology.

  3. THEMIS high-resolution digital terrain: Topographic and thermophysical mapping of Gusev Crater, Mars

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cushing, G.E.; Titus, T.N.; Soderblom, L.A.; Kirk, R.L.

    2009-01-01

    We discuss a new technique to generate high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) and to quantitatively derive and map slope-corrected thermophysical properties such as albedo, thermal inertia, and surface temperatures. This investigation is a continuation of work started by Kirk et al. (2005), who empirically deconvolved Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) visible and thermal infrared data of this area, isolating topographic information that produced an accurate DTM. Surface temperatures change as a function of many variables such as slope, albedo, thermal inertia, time, season, and atmospheric opacity. We constrain each of these variables to construct a DTM and maps of slope-corrected albedo, slope- and albedo-corrected thermal inertia, and surface temperatures across the scene for any time of day or year and at any atmospheric opacity. DTMs greatly facilitate analyses of the Martian surface, and the MOLA global data set is not finely scaled enough (128 pixels per degree, ???0.5 km per pixel near the equator) to be combined with newer data sets (e.g., High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, Context Camera, and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars at ???0.25, ???6, and ???20 m per pixel, respectively), so new techniques to derive high-resolution DTMs are always being explored. This paper discusses our technique of combining a set of THEMIS visible and thermal infrared observations such that albedo and thermal inertia variations within the scene are eliminated and only topographic variations remain. This enables us to produce a high-resolution DTM via photoclinometry techniques that are largely free of albedo-induced errors. With this DTM, THEMIS observations, and a subsurface thermal diffusion model, we generate slope-corrected maps of albedo, thermal inertia, and surface temperatures. In addition to greater accuracy, these products allow thermophysical properties to be directly compared with topography.

  4. Modelling Behaviour of a Carbon Epoxy Composite Exposed to Fire: Part I-Characterisation of Thermophysical Properties.

    PubMed

    Tranchard, Pauline; Samyn, Fabienne; Duquesne, Sophie; Estèbe, Bruno; Bourbigot, Serge

    2017-05-04

    Thermophysical properties of a carbon-reinforced epoxy composite laminate (T700/M21 composite for aircraft structures) were evaluated using different innovative characterisation methods. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Simultaneous Thermal analysis (STA), Laser Flash analysis (LFA), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis were used for measuring the thermal decomposition, the specific heat capacity, the anisotropic thermal conductivity of the composite, the heats of decomposition and the specific heat capacity of released gases. It permits to get input data to feed a three-dimensional (3D) model given the temperature profile and the mass loss obtained during well-defined fire scenarios (model presented in Part II of this paper). The measurements were optimised to get accurate data. The data also permit to create a public database on an aeronautical carbon fibre/epoxy composite for fire safety engineering.

  5. Thermophysical properties of plasma sprayed coatings

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilkes, K. E.; Lagedrost, J. F.

    1973-01-01

    Thermophysical properties of plasma sprayed materials were determined for the following plasma sprayed materials: CaO - stabilized ZrO2, Y2O3 - stabilized ZerO2, Al2O3, HfO2 Mo, nichrome, NiAl, Mo-ZrO2, and MoAl2O3 mixtures. In all cases the thermal conductivity of the as-sprayed materials was found to be considerably lower than that of the bulk material. The flash-laser thermal diffusivity technique was used both for diffusivity determination of single-layer materials and to determine the thermal contact resistance at the interface of two-layer specimens.

  6. Modelling Behaviour of a Carbon Epoxy Composite Exposed to Fire: Part I—Characterisation of Thermophysical Properties

    PubMed Central

    Tranchard, Pauline; Samyn, Fabienne; Duquesne, Sophie; Estèbe, Bruno; Bourbigot, Serge

    2017-01-01

    Thermophysical properties of a carbon-reinforced epoxy composite laminate (T700/M21 composite for aircraft structures) were evaluated using different innovative characterisation methods. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Simultaneous Thermal analysis (STA), Laser Flash analysis (LFA), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis were used for measuring the thermal decomposition, the specific heat capacity, the anisotropic thermal conductivity of the composite, the heats of decomposition and the specific heat capacity of released gases. It permits to get input data to feed a three-dimensional (3D) model given the temperature profile and the mass loss obtained during well-defined fire scenarios (model presented in Part II of this paper). The measurements were optimised to get accurate data. The data also permit to create a public database on an aeronautical carbon fibre/epoxy composite for fire safety engineering. PMID:28772854

  7. Thermophysical properties of liquid rare earth metals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thakor, P. B.; Sonvane, Y. A.; Patel, H. P.; Jani, A. R.

    2013-06-01

    The thermodynamical properties like long wavelength limit S(0), iso-thermal compressibility (χT), thermal expansion coefficient (αV), thermal pressure coefficient (γV), specific heat at constant volume (CV) and specific heat at constant pressure (CP) are calculated for liquid rare earth metals. Our newly constructed parameter free model potential is used to describe the electron ion interaction due to Sarkar et al (S) local field correction function. Lastly, we conclude that our newly constructed model potential is capable to explain the thermophysical properties of liquid rare earth metals.

  8. Thermophysical characteristics of the large main-belt asteroid (349) Dembowska

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Liang Liang; Yang, Bin; Ji, Jianghui; Ip, Wing-Huen

    2017-12-01

    (349) Dembowska is a large, bright main-belt asteroid that has a fast rotation and an oblique spin axis. It might have experienced partial melting and differentiation. We constrain Dembowska's thermophysical properties, such as thermal inertia, roughness fraction, geometric albedo and effective diameter within 3σ uncertainty of Γ =20^{+12}_{-7} Jm-2 s-0.5 K-1, f_r=0.25^{+0.60}_{-0.25}, p_v=0.309^{+0.026}_{-0.038} and D_eff=155.8^{+7.5}_{-6.2} km, by utilizing the advanced thermophysical model to analyse four sets of thermal infrared data obtained by the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS), AKARI, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and the Subaru/Cooled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer (COMICS) at different epochs. In addition, by modelling the thermal light curve observed by WISE, we obtain the rotational phases of each data set. These rotationally resolved data do not reveal significant variations of thermal inertia and roughness across the surface, indicating that the surface of Dembowska should be covered by a dusty regolith layer with few rocks or boulders. Besides, the low thermal inertia of Dembowska shows no significant difference with other asteroids larger than 100 km, which indicates that the dynamical lives of these large asteroids are long enough to make their surfaces have sufficiently low thermal inertia. Furthermore, based on the derived surface thermophysical properties, as well as the known orbital and rotational parameters, we can simulate Dembowska's surface and subsurface temperatures throughout its orbital period. The surface temperature varies from ∼40 to ∼220 K, showing significant seasonal variation, whereas the subsurface temperature achieves equilibrium temperature about 120-160 K below a depth of 30-50 cm.

  9. Thermophysical Properties of Polymer Materials with High Thermal Conductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lebedev, S. M.; Gefle, O. S.; Dneprovskii, S. N.; Amitov, E. T.

    2015-06-01

    Results of studies on the main thermophysical properties of new thermally conductive polymer materials are presented. It is shown that modification of polymer dielectrics by micron-sized fillers allows thermally conductive materials with thermal conductivity not less than 2 W/(m K) to be produced, which makes it possible to use such materials as cooling elements of various electrical engineering and semiconductor equipment and devices.

  10. Studies of Thermophysical Properties of Metals and Semiconductors by Containerless Processing Under Microgravity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Seidel, A.; Soellner, W.; Stenzel, C.

    2012-01-01

    Electromagnetic levitation under microgravity provides unique opportunities for the investigation of liquid metals, alloys and semiconductors, both above and below their melting temperatures, with minimized disturbances of the sample under investigation. The opportunity to perform such experiments will soon be available on the ISS with the EML payload which is currently being integrated. With its high-performance diagnostics systems EML allows to measure various physical properties such as heat capacity, enthalpy of fusion, viscosity, surface tension, thermal expansion coefficient, and electrical conductivity. In studies of nucleation and solidification phenomena the nucleation kinetics, phase selection, and solidification velocity can be determined. Advanced measurement capabilities currently being studied include the measurement and control of the residual oxygen content of the process atmosphere and a complementary inductive technique to measure thermophysical properties.

  11. Comparison of Approaches for Measuring the Mass Accommodation Coefficient for the Condensation of Water and Sensitivities to Uncertainties in Thermophysical Properties

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    We compare and contrast measurements of the mass accommodation coefficient of water on a water surface made using ensemble and single particle techniques under conditions of supersaturation and subsaturation, respectively. In particular, we consider measurements made using an expansion chamber, a continuous flow streamwise thermal gradient cloud condensation nuclei chamber, the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator, aerosol optical tweezers, and electrodynamic balances. Although this assessment is not intended to be comprehensive, these five techniques are complementary in their approach and give values that span the range from near 0.1 to 1.0 for the mass accommodation coefficient. We use the same semianalytical treatment to assess the sensitivities of the measurements made by the various techniques to thermophysical quantities (diffusion constants, thermal conductivities, saturation pressure of water, latent heat, and solution density) and experimental parameters (saturation value and temperature). This represents the first effort to assess and compare measurements made by different techniques to attempt to reduce the uncertainty in the value of the mass accommodation coefficient. Broadly, we show that the measurements are consistent within the uncertainties inherent to the thermophysical and experimental parameters and that the value of the mass accommodation coefficient should be considered to be larger than 0.5. Accurate control and measurement of the saturation ratio is shown to be critical for a successful investigation of the surface transport kinetics during condensation/evaporation. This invariably requires accurate knowledge of the partial pressure of water, the system temperature, the droplet curvature and the saturation pressure of water. Further, the importance of including and quantifying the transport of heat in interpreting droplet measurements is highlighted; the particular issues associated with interpreting measurements of condensation

  12. Synthesis of multi-hierarchical structured yttria-stabilized zirconia powders and their enhanced thermophysical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cao, Fengmei; Gao, Yanfeng; Chen, Hongfei; Liu, Xinling; Tang, Xiaoping; Luo, Hongjie

    2013-06-01

    Multi-hierarchical structured yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) powders were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal-calcination process. The morphology, crystallinity, and microstructure of the products were characterized by SEM, XRD, TEM, and BET. A possible formation mechanism of the unique structure formed during hydrothermal processing was also investigated. The measured thermophysical results indicated that the prepared YSZ powders had a low thermal conductivity (0.63-1.27 W m-1 K-1), good short-term high-temperature stability up to 1300 °C. The influence of the morphology and microstructure on their thermophysical properties was briefly discussed. The unique multi-hierarchical structure makes the prepared YSZ powders candidates for use in enhanced applications involving thermal barrier coatings.

  13. Comparison of the effects of measured and computed thermophysical properties of nanofluids on heat transfer performance

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Duangthongsuk, Weerapun; Fluid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering and Multiphase Flow Research Laboratory; Wongwises, Somchai

    2010-07-15

    This article reports a comparison of the differences between using measured and computed thermophysical properties to describe the heat transfer performance of TiO{sub 2}-water nanofluids. In this study, TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles with average diameters of 21 nm and a particle volume fraction of 0.2-1 vol.% are used. The thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids were measured by using transient hot-wire apparatus and a Bohlin rotational rheometer, respectively. The well-known correlations for calculating the thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids were used for describing the Nusselt number of nanofluids and compared with the results from the measured data. The results showmore » that use of the models of thermophysical properties for calculating the Nusselt number of nanofluids gave similar results to use of the measured data. Where there is a lack of measured data on thermophysical properties, the most appropriate models for computing the thermal conductivity and viscosity of the nanofluids are the models of Yu and Choi and Wang et al., respectively. (author)« less

  14. Thermophysical Properties of Alloy 617 from 25°C to 1000°C

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    B. H. Rabin; R. N. Wright; W. D. Swank

    2013-09-01

    Key thermophysical properties needed for the successful design and use of Alloy 617 in steam generator and heat exchanger applications have been measured experimentally, and results are compared with literature values and results obtained from some other commercial Ni–Cr alloys and model materials. Specifically, the thermal diffusivity, thermal expansion coefficient, and specific heat capacity have been measured for Alloy 617 over a range of temperatures, allowing calculation of thermal conductivity up to 1000 degrees C. It has been found that the thermal conductivity of Alloy 617 exhibits significant deviation from monotonic behavior in the temperature range from 600 degrees Cmore » to 850 degrees C, the temperatures of interest for most heat transfer applications. The non-linear behavior appears to result primarily from short-range order/disorder phenomena known to occur in the Ni–Cr system. Similar deviation from monotonic behavior was observed in the solid solution Ni–Cr-W Alloy 230, and lesser deviations were observed in iron based Alloy 800H and an austenitic stainless steel. Measured thermophysical property data are provided for four different heats of Alloy 617, and it is shown that property variations between the four different heats are not significant. Measurements were also obtained from Alloy 617 that was aged for up to 2000 h at 750 degrees C, and it was found that this aging treatment does not significantly influence the thermophysical properties.« less

  15. Measurements of thermophysical properties of solids at the Institute VINČA

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Milošević, Nenad, E-mail: nenadm@vinca.rs; Stepanić, Nenad, E-mail: nenad.s@vinca.rs; Terzić, Marijana, E-mail: marijanab@vinca.rs

    2016-07-07

    This paper presents the Metrological Laboratory for Thermophysical Quantities (MLTV) and its actual measurement possibilities. The MLTV is located in the Department of Thermal Engineering and Energy of the Institute of Nuclear Sciences VINČA in Serbia. It was founded in 1963, accredited by the National Accreditation Body in 2007 and became the national designated laboratory for thermophysical quantities and received the status of a EURAMET Associate Member in 2015. Today, the laboratory develops, maintains and disseminates traceability of different national standards, such as those for thermal conductivity of insulations and poorly conductive solid materials from 250 K to 350 K,more » thermal diffusivity of a large variety of solid materials from 200 K to 1450 K and specific heat and specific electrical resistivity from 250 K to 2400 K of electroconductive solid materials. Total hemispherical and spectral normal emissivity from 1200 K to 2400 K of electroconductive solid materials are also measured in the MLTV. The methods and experimental setups for the realization and measurement of all of these standards and quantities are described with corresponding examples.« less

  16. Thermophysical and Optical Properties of Semiconducting Ga2Te3 Melt

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Li, Chao; Su, Ching-Hua; Lehoczky, Sandor L.; Scripa, Rosalie N.; Ban, Heng

    2005-01-01

    The majority of bulk semiconductor single crystals are presently grown from their melts. The thermophysical and optical properties of the melts provide a fundamental understanding of the melt structure and can be used to optimize the growth conditions to obtain higher quality crystals. In this paper, we report several thermophysical and optical properties for Ga2Te3 melts, such as electrical conductivity, viscosity, and optical transmission for temperatures ranging from the melting point up to approximately 990 C. The conductivity and viscosity of the melts are determined using the transient torque technique. The optical transmission of the melts is measured between the wavelengths of 300 and 2000 nm by an dual beam reversed-optics spectrophotometer. The measured properties are in good agreement with the published data. The conductivities indicate that the Ga2Te3 melt is semiconductor-like. The anomalous behavior in the measured properties are used as an indication of a structural transformation in the Ga2Te3 melt and discussed in terms of Eyring's and Bachinskii's predicted behaviors for homogeneous melts.

  17. Thermophysical Properties Measurements of Zr62Cu20Al10Ni8

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bradshaw, Richard C.; Waren, Mary; Rogers, Jan R.; Rathz, Thomas J.; Gangopadhyay, Anup K.; Kelton, Ken F.; Hyers, Robert W.

    2006-01-01

    Thermophysical property studies performed at high temperature can prove challenging because of reactivity problems brought on by the elevated temperatures. Contaminants from measuring devices and container walls can cause changes in properties. To prevent this, containerless processing techniques can be employed to isolate a sample during study. A common method used for this is levitation. Typical levitation methods used for containerless processing are, aerodynamically, electromagnetically and electrostatically based. All levitation methods reduce heterogeneous nucleation sites, 'which in turn provide access to metastable undercooled phases. In particular, electrostatic levitation is appealing because sample motion and stirring are minimized; and by combining it with optically based non-contact measuring techniques, many thermophysical properties can be measured. Applying some of these techniques, surface tension, viscosity and density have been measured for the glass forming alloy Zr62Cu20Al10Ni8 and will be presented with a brief overview of the non-contact measuring method used.

  18. Modified T-history method for measuring thermophysical properties of phase change materials at high temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Omaraa, Ehsan; Saman, Wasim; Bruno, Frank; Liu, Ming

    2017-06-01

    Latent heat storage using phase change materials (PCMs) can be used to store large amounts of energy in a narrow temperature difference during phase transition. The thermophysical properties of PCMs such as latent heat, specific heat and melting and solidification temperature need to be defined at high precision for the design and estimating the cost of latent heat storage systems. The existing laboratory standard methods, such as differential thermal analysis (DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), use a small sample size (1-10 mg) to measure thermophysical properties, which makes these methods suitable for homogeneous elements. In addition, this small amount of sample has different thermophysical properties when compared with the bulk sample and may have limitations for evaluating the properties of mixtures. To avoid the drawbacks in existing methods, the temperature - history (T-history) method can be used with bulk quantities of PCM salt mixtures to characterize PCMs. This paper presents a modified T-history setup, which was designed and built at the University of South Australia to measure the melting point, heat of fusion, specific heat, degree of supercooling and phase separation of salt mixtures for a temperature range between 200 °C and 400 °C. Sodium Nitrate (NaNO3) was used to verify the accuracy of the new setup.

  19. Thermophysical properties of lunar materials. I - Thermal radiation properties of lunar materials from the Apollo missions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Birkebak, R. C.

    1974-01-01

    The successful landings on the moon of the Apollo flights and the return of samples of lunar surface material has permitted the measurement of the thermophysical properties necessary for heat transfer calculations. The characteristics of the Apollo samples are discussed along with remote sensing results which made it possible to deduce many of the thermophysical properties of the lunar surface. Definitions considered in connection with thermal radiation measurements include the bond albedo, the geometric albedo, the normal albedo, the directional reflectance, the bidirectional reflectance, and the directional emittance. The measurement techniques make use of a directional reflectance apparatus, a bidirectional reflectance apparatus, and a spectral emittance apparatus.

  20. Thermophysical properties of liquid UO2, ZrO2 and corium by molecular dynamics and predictive models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Woong Kee; Shim, Ji Hoon; Kaviany, Massoud

    2017-08-01

    Predicting the fate of accident-melted nuclear fuel-cladding requires the understanding of the thermophysical properties which are lacking or have large scatter due to high-temperature experimental challenges. Using equilibrium classical molecular dynamics (MD), we predict the properties of melted UO2 and ZrO2 and compare them with the available experimental data and the predictive models. The existing interatomic potential models have been developed mainly for the polymorphic solid phases of these oxides, so they cannot be used to predict all the properties accurately. We compare and decipher the distinctions of those MD predictions using the specific property-related autocorrelation decays. The predicted properties are density, specific heat, heat of fusion, compressibility, viscosity, surface tension, and the molecular and electronic thermal conductivities. After the comparisons, we provide readily usable temperature-dependent correlations (including UO2-ZrO2 compounds, i.e. corium melt).

  1. Thermophysics Characterization of Kerosene Combustion

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, Ten-See

    2000-01-01

    A one-formula surrogate fuel formulation and its quasi-global combustion kinetics model are developed to support the design of injectors and thrust chambers of kerosene-fueled rocket engines. This surrogate fuel model depicts a fuel blend that properly represents the general physical and chemical properties of kerosene. The accompanying gaseous-phase thermodynamics of the surrogate fuel is anchored with the heat of formation of kerosene and verified by comparing a series of one-dimensional rocket thrust chamber calculations. The quasi-global combustion kinetics model consists of several global steps for parent fuel decomposition, soot formation, and soot oxidation, and a detailed wet-CO mechanism. The final thermophysics formulations are incorporated with a computational fluid dynamics model for prediction of the combustor efficiency of an uni-element, tri-propellant combustor and the radiation of a kerosene-fueled thruster plume. The model predictions agreed reasonably well with those of the tests.

  2. Development of the system of reactor thermophysical data on the basis of ontological modelling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chusov, I. A.; Kirillov, P. L.; Bogoslovskaya, G. P.; Yunusov, L. K.; Obysov, N. A.; Novikov, G. E.; Pronyaev, V. G.; Erkimbaev, A. O.; Zitserman, V. Yu; Kobzev, G. A.; Trachtengerts, M. S.; Fokin, L. R.

    2017-11-01

    Compilation and processing of the thermophysical data was always an important task for the nuclear industry. The difficulties of the present stage of this activity are explained by sharp increase of the data volume and the number of new materials, as well as by the increased requirements to the reliability of the data used in the nuclear industry. General trend in the fields with predominantly orientation at the work with data (material science, chemistry and others) consists in the transition to a common infrastructure with integration of separate databases, Web-portals and other resources. This infrastructure provides the interoperability, the procedures of the data exchange, storage and dissemination. Key elements of this infrastructure is a domain-specific ontology, which provides a single information model and dictionary for semantic definitions. Formalizing the subject area, the ontology adapts the definitions for the different database schemes and provides the integration of heterogeneous data. The important property to be inherent for ontologies is a possibility of permanent expanding of new definitions, e.g. list of materials and properties. The expansion of the thermophysical data ontology at the reactor materials includes the creation of taxonomic dictionaries for thermophysical properties; the models for data presentation and their uncertainties; the inclusion along with the parameters of the state, some additional factors, such as the material porosity, the burnup rate, the irradiation rate and others; axiomatics of the properties applicable to the given class of materials.

  3. Experimental investigations of thermophysical properties of some paraffin waxes industrially manufactured in Poland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zbińkowski, Piotr; Zmywaczyk, Janusz; Koniorczyk, Piotr

    2017-07-01

    atmosphere of helium as an inert gas. Thermal degradation studies of the test specimens were carried out in TG/DTG analysis, using NETZSCH STA 2500 Regulus within temperature range from 30 °C - 800 °C. The results of the heat capacity obtained by using DSC method and determined from the LFA 467 thermal diffusivity measurements due to applying Pyroceram 9606 as a reference material of known thermophysical properties were compared with each other. The thermal conductivity k of the tested paraffin waxes was evaluated using a well-known relationship k = κ . ρ . cp. In the investigated temperature range from -40 °C to 20 °C the thermal conductivity of the test paraffin waxes was changing from 0.157 W.m-1.K-1 to 0.282 W.m-1.K-1. DSC investigations revealed that the phase-change transition connected with the melting of the test paraffin waxes was a two-step, and in case of LUXOLINA ST, it was a three-step process (solid-solid and then solid-liquid) within temperature range from 30 °C to 65 °C as determined from the onset. The current studies of determining thermophysical properties of some paraffin waxes are treated as a starting point for selecting the most adequate PCM candidate for passive cooling systems of high-power LED street lamp.

  4. Thermophysics Characterization of Kerosene Combustion

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, Ten-See

    2001-01-01

    A one-formula surrogate fuel formulation and its quasi-global combustion kinetics model are developed to support the design of injectors and thrust chambers of kerosene-fueled rocket engines. This surrogate fuel model depicts a fuel blend that properly represents the general physical and chemical properties of kerosene. The accompanying gaseous-phase thermodynamics of the surrogate fuel is anchored with the heat of formation of kerosene and verified by comparing a series of one-dimensional rocket thrust chamber calculations. The quasi-global combustion kinetics model consists of several global steps for parent fuel decomposition, soot formation, and soot oxidation and a detailed wet-CO mechanism to complete the combustion process. The final thermophysics formulations are incorporated with a computational fluid dynamics model for prediction of the combustion efficiency of an unielement, tripropellant combustor and the radiation of a kerosene-fueled thruster plume. The model predictions agreed reasonably well with those of the tests.

  5. Thermophysical properties of hydrogen along the liquid-vapor coexistence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Osman, S. M.; Sulaiman, N.; Bahaa Khedr, M.

    2016-05-01

    We present Theoretical Calculations for the Liquid-Vapor Coexistence (LVC) curve of fluid Hydrogen within the first order perturbation theory with a suitable first order quantum correction to the free energy. In the present equation of state, we incorporate the dimerization of H2 molecule by treating the fluid as a hard convex body fluid. The thermophysical properties of fluid H2 along the LVC curve, including the pressure-temperature dependence, density-temperature asymmetry, volume expansivity, entropy and enthalpy, are calculated and compared with computer simulation and empirical results.

  6. Thermophysical properties of Ni-containing single-phase concentrated solid solution alloys

    DOE PAGES

    Jin, Ke; Mu, Sai; An, Ke; ...

    2016-12-27

    For this research temperature dependent thermophysical properties, including specific heat capacity, lattice thermal expansion, thermal diffusivity and conductivity, have been systematically studied in Ni and eight Ni-containing single-phase face-centered-cubic concentrated solid solution alloys, at elevated temperatures up to 1273 K. The alloys have similar specific heat values of 0.4–0.5 J·g -1·K -1 at room temperature, but their temperature dependence varies greatly due to Curie and K-state transitions. The lattice, electronic, and magnetic contributions to the specific heat have been separated based on first-principles methods in NiCo, NiFe, Ni-20Cr and NiCoFeCr. The alloys have similar thermal expansion behavior, with the exceptionmore » that NiFe and NiCoFe have much lower thermal expansion coefficient in their ferromagnetic state due to magnetostriction effects. Calculations based on the quasi-harmonic approximation accurately predict the temperature dependent lattice parameter of NiCo and NiFe with < 0.2% error, but underestimated that of Ni-20Cr by 1%, compared to the values determined from neutron diffraction. In addition, all the alloys containing Cr have very similar thermal conductivity, which is much lower than that of Ni and the alloys without Cr, due to the large magnetic disorder.« less

  7. Structural Fluctuation and Thermophysical Properties of Molten II-VI Compounds

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2003-01-01

    The objectives of the project is to conduct ground-based experimental and theoretical research on the structural fluctuations and thermophysical properties of molten II-VI compounds to enhance the basic understanding of the existing flight experiments in microgravity materials science programs and to study the fundamental heterophase fluctuations phenomena in these melts by: 1) Conducting neutron scattering analysis and measuring quantitatively the relevant thermophysical properties of the II-VI melts such as viscosity, electrical conductivity, thermal diffusivity and density as well as the relaxation characteristics of these properties to advance the understanding of the structural properties and the relaxation phenomena in these melts and 2) Performing theoretical analyses on the melt systems to interpret the experimental results. All the facilities required for the experimental measurements have been procured, installed and tested. A relaxation phenomenon, which shows a slow drift of the measured thermal conductivity toward the equilibrium value after cooling of the sample, was observed for the first time. An apparatus based on the transient torque induced by a rotating magnetic field has been developed to determine the viscosity and electrical conductivity of semiconducting liquids. Viscosity measurements on molten tellurium showed similar relaxation behavior as the measured diffusivity. Neutron scattering experiments were performed on the HgTe and HgZnTe melts and the results on pair distribution showed better resolution than previous reported.

  8. Thermophysical properties of cement based composites and their changes after artificial ageing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Šín, Peter; Pavlendová, Gabriela; Lukovičová, Jozefa; Kopčok, Michal

    2017-07-01

    The usage of recycled plastic materials in concrete mix gained increased attention. The behaviour of such environmental friendly material is studied. In this paper an investigation of the thermophysical properties of cement based composites containing plastic waste particles with different percentage is presented. Measurements were carried out using pulse transient method before and after artificial ageing in climatic chamber BINDER MKF (E3).

  9. Infrared radiometer for measuring thermophysical properties of wind tunnel models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Corwin, R. R.; Moorman, S. L.; Becker, E. C.

    1978-01-01

    An infrared radiometer is described which was developed to measure temperature rises of wind tunnel models undergoing transient heating over a temperature range of -17.8 C to 260 C. This radiometer interfaces directly with a system which measures the effective thermophysical property square root of rho ck. It has an output temperature fluctuation of 0.26 C at low temperatures and 0.07 C at high temperatures, and the output frequency response of the radiometer is from dc to 400 hertz.

  10. Accurate virial coefficients of gaseous krypton from state-of-the-art ab initio potential and polarizability of the krypton dimer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Bo; Waldrop, Jonathan M.; Wang, Xiaopo; Patkowski, Konrad

    2018-01-01

    We have developed a new krypton-krypton interaction-induced isotropic dipole polarizability curve based on high-level ab initio methods. The determination was carried out using the coupled-cluster singles and doubles plus perturbative triples method with very large basis sets up to augmented correlation-consistent sextuple zeta as well as the corrections for core-core and core-valence correlation and relativistic effects. The analytical function of polarizability and our recently constructed reference interatomic potential [J. M. Waldrop et al., J. Chem. Phys. 142, 204307 (2015)] were used to predict the thermophysical and electromagnetic properties of krypton gas. The second pressure, acoustic, and dielectric virial coefficients were computed for the temperature range of 116 K-5000 K using classical statistical mechanics supplemented with high-order quantum corrections. The virial coefficients calculated were compared with the generally less precise available experimental data as well as with values computed from other potentials in the literature {in particular, the recent highly accurate potential of Jäger et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 144, 114304 (2016)]}. The detailed examination in this work suggests that the present theoretical prediction can be applied as reference values in disciplines involving thermophysical and electromagnetic properties of krypton gas.

  11. Thermophysical Properties of Terrestrial Rock and Debris-covered Glaciers as Analogs for Martian Lobate Debris Aprons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Piatek, J. L.

    2009-03-01

    A survey of the thermophysical properties of terrestrial rock and debris-covered glaciers suggests these properties may be used to distinguish between massive debris-covered ice and intimate rock/ice mixtures in martian lobate debris aprons.

  12. Thermophysical Properties of GRCop-84

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ellis, David L.; Keller, Dennis J.; Nathal, Michael (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    The thermophysical properties and electrical resistivity of GRCop-84 (Cu - 8 at.% Cr-4 at.% Nb) were measured from cryogenic temperatures to near its melting point. The data were analyzed using weighted regression to determine the properties as a function of temperature and assign appropriate confidence intervals. The results showed that the thermal expansion of GRCop-84 was significantly lower than NARloy-Z (Cu-3 wt. % Ag-0.5 wt. % Zr), the currently used thrust cell liner material. The lower thermal expansion is expected to translate into lower thermally induced stresses and increases in thrust cell liner lives between 2X and 41X over NARloy-Z. The somewhat lower thermal conductivity of GRCop-84 can be offset by redesigning the liners to utilize its much greater mechanical properties. Optimized designs are not expected to suffer from the lower thermal conductivity. Electrical resistivity data, while not central to the primary application, show that GRCop-84 has potential for applications where a combination of good electrical conductivity and strength is required.

  13. The calculation of thermophysical properties of nickel plasma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Apfelbaum, E. M.

    2015-09-15

    The thermophysical properties of Nickel plasma have been calculated for the temperatures 10–60 kK and densities less than 1 g/cm{sup 3}. These properties are the pressure, internal energy, heat capacity, and the electronic transport coefficients (electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and thermal power). The thermodynamic values have been calculated by means of the chemical model, which also allows one to obtain the ionic composition of considered plasma. The composition has been used to calculate the electronic transport coefficients within the relaxation time approximation. The results of the present investigation have been compared with the calculations of other researchers and available data ofmore » measurements.« less

  14. Surface thermophysical properties on the potentially hazardous asteroid (99942) Apophis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Liang-Liang; Ji, Jianghui; Ip, Wing-Huen

    2017-07-01

    We investigate the surface thermophysical properties (thermal emissivity, thermal inertia, roughness fraction and geometric albedo) of asteroid (99942) Apophis, using the currently available mid-infrared observations from CanariCam on Gran Telescopio CANARIAS and far-infrared data from PACS on Herschel, based on the Advanced Thermophysical Model. We show that the thermal emissivity of Apophis should be wavelength dependent from 8.70 μm to 160 μm, and the maximum emissivity may appear around 20 μm, similar to that of Vesta. Moreover, we further derive the thermal inertia, roughness fraction, geometric albedo and effective diameter of Apophis within a possible 1σ scale of Γ ={100}-52+100{{{Jm}}}{{-}2} {{{s}}}{{-}0.{{5}}} {{{K}}}{{-}1}, {f}{{r}}=0.78˜ 1.0, {p}{{v}}={0.286}-0.026+0.030 and {D}{{eff}}={378}-25+19{{m}}, and 3σ scale of Γ ={100}-100+240 {{{Jm}}}{{-}2} {{{s}}}{{-}0.{{5}}} {{{K}}}{{-}1}, {f}{{r}}=0.2˜ 1.0, {p}{{v}}={0.286}-0.029+0.039 and {D}{{eff}}={378}-29+27{{m}}. The derived low thermal inertia but high roughness fraction may imply that Apophis could have regolith on its surface, where stronger space weathering but weaker regolith migration has happened in comparison with asteroid Itokawa. Our results show that small-size asteroids could also have fine regolith on the surface, and further infer that Apophis may have been delivered from the Main Belt by the Yarkovsky effect.

  15. Science at Home: Measuring a Thermophysical Property of Water with a Microwave Oven

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levine, Zachary H.

    2018-01-01

    An attempt to calibrate a conventional oven led to making a measurement of a thermophysical property of water using items found in the author's home. Specifically, the ratio of the energy required to heat water from the melting point to boiling to the energy required to completely boil away the water is found to be 5.7. This may be compared to the…

  16. Online Data Resources in Chemical Engineering Education: Impact of the Uncertainty Concept for Thermophysical Properties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Sun Hyung; Kang, Jeong Won; Kroenlein, Kenneth; Magee, Joseph W.; Diky, Vladimir; Muzny, Chris D.; Kazakov, Andrei F.; Chirico, Robert D.; Frenkel, Michael

    2013-01-01

    We review the concept of uncertainty for thermophysical properties and its critical impact for engineering applications in the core courses of chemical engineering education. To facilitate the translation of developments to engineering education, we employ NIST Web Thermo Tables to furnish properties data with their associated expanded…

  17. Temperature and pressure dependent structural and thermo-physical properties of quaternary CoVTiAl alloy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yousuf, Saleem; Gupta, Dinesh C.

    2017-09-01

    Investigation of band structure and thermo-physical response of new quaternary CoVTiAl Heusler alloy within the frame work of density functional theory has been analyzed. 100% spin polarization with ferromagnetic stable ground state at the optimized lattice parameter of 6.01 Å is predicted for the compound. Slater-Pauling rule for the total magnetic moment of 3 μB and an indirect semiconducting behavior is also seen for the compound. In order to perfectly analyze the thermo-physical response, the lattice thermal conductivity and thermodynamic properties have been calculated. Thermal effects on some macroscopic properties of CoVTiAl are predicted using the quasi-harmonic Debye model, in which the lattice vibrations are taken into account. The variations of the lattice constant, volume expansion coefficient, heat capacities, and Debye temperature with pressure and temperature in the ranges of 0 GPa to 15 GPa and 0 K to 800 K have been obtained.

  18. Thermophysical characteristics of EuF2.136 crystal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Popov, P. A.; Moiseev, N. V.; Karimov, D. N.; Sorokin, N. I.; Sulyanova, E. A.; Sobolev, B. P.

    2015-09-01

    Single crystals of EuF2.136 solid solution with a f luorite-type structure (sp. gr. , a = 5.82171(5) Å) have been grown by the Bridgeman method from a melt. Their thermal conductivity k( T) in the temperature range of 50-300 K and heat capacity С Р ( T) at 63-300 K have been studied experimentally for the first time. At T = 300 K the thermophysical characteristics are as follows: thermal conductivity k = 2.13 W/(m K), heat capacity С Р = 73 J/(mol K), and phonon mean free path l ≈ 11 Å. The temperature dependences of entropy S( T), enthalpy H( T), and phonon mean free path l( T) in EuF2.136 crystal are determined.

  19. On the Effect of Thermophysical Properties of Clothing on the Heat Strain Predicted by PHS Model.

    PubMed

    d'Ambrosio Alfano, Francesca Romana; Palella, Boris Igor; Riccio, Giuseppe; Malchaire, Jacques

    2016-03-01

    Procedures and equations reported in ISO 9920 for the correction of basic thermophysical clothing properties taking into account pumping effect and air movement are very different from those used by the Predicted Heat Strain (PHS) model in ISO 7933. To study the effect of these differences on the assessment of hot environments using the PHS model, an analysis focusing on the modelling of the dynamic thermal insulation and the vapour resistance of the clothing reported in ISO 9920 and ISO 7933 standards will be discussed in this paper. The results are useful evidence to start a discussion on the best practice for dealing with clothing thermophysical properties and underline the need to harmonize the entire set of standards in the field of the Ergonomics of the Thermal Environment. ISO 7933 is presently under revision. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.

  20. Thermophysical and heat transfer properties of phase change material candidate for waste heat transportation system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaizawa, Akihide; Maruoka, Nobuhiro; Kawai, Atsushi; Kamano, Hiroomi; Jozuka, Tetsuji; Senda, Takeshi; Akiyama, Tomohiro

    2008-05-01

    A waste heat transportation system trans-heat (TH) system is quite attractive that uses the latent heat of a phase change material (PCM). The purpose of this paper is to study the thermophysical properties of various sugars and sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT) as PCMs for a practical TH system and the heat transfer property between PCM selected and heat transfer oil, by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and a heat storage tube. As a result, erythritol, with a large latent heat of 344 kJ/kg at melting point of 117°C, high decomposition point of 160°C and excellent chemical stability under repeated phase change cycles was found to be the best PCM among them for the practical TH system. In the heat release experiments between liquid erythritol and flowing cold oil, we observed foaming phenomena of encapsulated oil, in which oil droplet was coated by solidification of PCM.

  1. European Conference on Thermophysical Properties: The First 50 Years (1968 to 2018)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Assael, Marc J.; Righini, Francesco; Maglić, Kosta D.

    2018-02-01

    This paper presents the story of the initial 50 years of the European Conference on Thermophysical Properties, a successful series of events that started in 1968 and is still going strong. The aim is twofold: to make the story known and to pay gratitude to all those who helped in this endeavor. It also serves as a nice memory of good times for many of us and intends to be a tribute to many colleagues no longer with us.

  2. Thermophysics of fractures on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Höfner, S.; Vincent, J.-B.; Blum, J.; Davidsson, B. J. R.; Sierks, H.; El-Maarry, M. R.; Deller, J.; Hofmann, M.; Hu, X.; Pajola, M.; Barbieri, C.; Lamy, P. L.; Rodrigo, R.; Koschny, D.; Rickman, H.; Keller, H. U.; A'Hearn, M. F.; Auger, A.-T.; Barucci, M. A.; Bertaux, J.-L.; Bertini, I.; Bodewits, D.; Cremonese, G.; Da Deppo, V.; Debei, S.; De Cecco, M.; Fornasier, S.; Fulle, M.; Gicquel, A.; Groussin, O.; Gutiérrez, P. J.; Gutiérrez-Marqués, P.; Güttler, C.; Hviid, S. F.; Ip, W.-H.; Jorda, L.; Knollenberg, J.; Kovacs, G.; Kramm, J.-R.; Kührt, E.; Küppers, M.; La Forgia, F.; Lazzarin, M.; Lopez-Moreno, J. J.; Marzari, F.; Michalik, H.; Moissl-Fraund, R.; Moreno, F.; Mottola, S.; Naletto, G.; Oklay, N.; Preusker, F.; Scholten, F.; Shi, X.; Thomas, N.; Toth, I.; Tubiana, C.; Zitzmann, S.

    2017-12-01

    Context. The camera OSIRIS on board Rosetta obtained high-resolution images of the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P). Great parts of the nucleus surface are composed of fractured terrain. Aims: Fracture formation, evolution, and their potential relationship to physical processes that drive activity are not yet fully understood. Observed temperatures and gas production rates can be explained or interpreted with the presence of fractures by applying appropriate modelling methods. Methods: We followed a transient thermophysical model approach that includes radiative, conductive, and water-ice sublimation fluxes by considering a variety of heliocentric distances, illumination conditions, and thermophysical properties for a set of characteristic fracture geometries on the nucleus of 67P. We computed diurnal temperatures, heat fluxes, and outgassing behaviour in order to derive and distinguish the influence of the mentioned parameters on fractured terrain. Results: Our analysis confirms that fractures, as already indicated by former studies about concavities, deviate from flat-terrain topographies with equivalent properties, mostly through the effect of self-heating. Compared to flat terrain, illuminated cometary fractures are generally warmer, with smaller diurnal temperature fluctuations. Maximum sublimation rates reach higher peaks, and dust mantle quenching effects on sublimation rates are weaker. Consequently, the rough structure of the fractured terrain leads to significantly higher inferred surface thermal inertia values than for flat areas with identical physical properties, which might explain the range of measured thermal inertia on 67P. Conclusions: At 3.5 AU heliocentric distance, sublimation heat sinks in fractures converge to maximum values >50 W / m2 and trigger dust activity that can be related mainly to H2O. Fractures are likely to grow through the erosive interplay of alternating sublimation and thermal fatigue.

  3. Thermophysical Property Measurements in the MSFC ESL

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hyers, R. W.; Rogers, J. R.; Robinson, M. B.; Rathz, T. J.; Curreri, Peter A. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Electrostatic Levitation (ESL) is an advanced technique for containerless processing of metals, ceramics, and semiconductors. Because no container is required, there is no contamination from reaction with a crucible, allowing processing of high temperature, highly reactive melts. The high vacuum processing environment further reduces possible contamination of the samples. Finally, there is no container to provide heterogeneous nucleation sites, so the undercooled range is also accessible for many materials. For these reasons, ESL provides a unique environment for measuring thermophysical properties of liquid materials. The properties that can be measured in ESL include density, surface tension, viscosity, electrical and thermal conductivity, specific heat, phase diagram, TTT- and CCT- curves, and other thermodynamic properties. In this paper, we present data on surface tension and viscosity, measured by the oscillating drop technique, and density, measured by an automated photographic technique, measured in the ESL at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

  4. Simultaneous Measurement of Thermophysical Properties of Tissue-Mimicking Phantoms for High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Exposures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Jing; You, Jiang; Huang, Zhihong; Cochran, Sandy; Corner, George

    2012-03-01

    Tissue-mimicking phantoms, including bovine serum albumin phantoms and egg white phantoms, have been developed for, and in laboratory use for, real-time visualization of high intensity focused ultrasound-induced thermal coagulative necrosis since 2001. However, until now, very few data are available concerning their thermophysical properties. In this article, a step-wise transient plane source method has been used to determine the values of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat capacity of egg white phantoms with elevated egg white concentrations (0 v/v% to 40 v/v%, by 10 v/v% interval) at room temperature (~20 °C). The measured thermophysical properties were close to previously reported values; the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity were linearly proportional to the egg white concentration within the investigation range, while the specific heat capacity decreased as the egg white concentration increased. Taking account of large differences between real experiment and ideal model, data variations within 20 % were accepted.

  5. Thermophysical properties of tri-n-butylphosphate-ionic liquid mixture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rout, Alok; Mishra, Satyabrata; Venkatesan, K. A.; Antony, M. P.; Pandey, N. K.

    2018-04-01

    Thermophysical properties such as viscosity, density, energy of activation and coefficient of thermal expansion were measured for the solvent phase composed of tri-n-butylphosphate (TBP), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethane-sulfonyl)imide ([C4mim][NTf2]) and 1.1 M TBP/[C4mim][NTf2]. The results were compared with that of nitric acid equilibrated [C4mim][NTf2] and 1.1M TBP/[C4mim][NTf2]. Thermal stability of the ionic liquid phase was assessed by using differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) technique. Other important physical properties such as refractive index and surface tension of the ionic liquid phase composition were evaluated before and after acid saturation.

  6. Thermophysical Properties of Nanoparticle-Enhanced Ionic Liquids (NEILs) Heat-Transfer Fluids

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fox, Elise B.; Visser, Ann E.; Bridges, Nicholas J.

    2013-06-20

    An experimental investigation was completed on nanoparticle enhanced ionic liquid heat transfer fluids as an alternative to conventional organic based heat transfer fluids (HTFs). These nanoparticle-based HTFs have the potential to deliver higher thermal conductivity than the base fluid without a significant increase in viscosity at elevated temperatures. The effect of nanoparticle morphology and chemistry on thermophysical properties was examined. Whisker shaped nanomaterials were found to have the largest thermal conductivity temperature dependence and were also less likely to agglomerate in the base fluid than spherical shaped nanomaterials.

  7. Study on stabilities, thermophysical properties and natural convective heat transfer characteristics of TiO2-water nanofluids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, Cong; Wan, Yong Liang; Wang, Gui Qing; Han, Dong Tai

    2018-04-01

    TiO2-water nanofluids with different mass fractions ( ω = 0.1 wt%, ω = 0.3 wt% and ω = 0.5 wt%) are prepared respectively, and the stabilities are studied by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, dynamic analysis method and settlement observation method. Additionally, thermophysical properties of nanofluids are discussed, and models of thermophysical properties are deduced. Then, an experimental installation and a two-phase lattice Boltzmann model for natural convection heat transfer are established in this paper and the effects of cavity ratio, heating power and nanoparticle mass fraction on heat transfer are discussed respectively. It can be obtained that the thermal conductivities of TiO2-water nanofluids can be improved by 5.23% to the utmost extent. However, the heat transfer can be enhanced by 34.2% in the maximum with the increase of nanoparticle mass fraction at the lowest heating power and the largest cavity ratio.

  8. Selective pressures for accurate altruism targeting: evidence from digital evolution for difficult-to-test aspects of inclusive fitness theory.

    PubMed

    Clune, Jeff; Goldsby, Heather J; Ofria, Charles; Pennock, Robert T

    2011-03-07

    Inclusive fitness theory predicts that natural selection will favour altruist genes that are more accurate in targeting altruism only to copies of themselves. In this paper, we provide evidence from digital evolution in support of this prediction by competing multiple altruist-targeting mechanisms that vary in their accuracy in determining whether a potential target for altruism carries a copy of the altruist gene. We compete altruism-targeting mechanisms based on (i) kinship (kin targeting), (ii) genetic similarity at a level greater than that expected of kin (similarity targeting), and (iii) perfect knowledge of the presence of an altruist gene (green beard targeting). Natural selection always favoured the most accurate targeting mechanism available. Our investigations also revealed that evolution did not increase the altruism level when all green beard altruists used the same phenotypic marker. The green beard altruism levels stably increased only when mutations that changed the altruism level also changed the marker (e.g. beard colour), such that beard colour reliably indicated the altruism level. For kin- and similarity-targeting mechanisms, we found that evolution was able to stably adjust altruism levels. Our results confirm that natural selection favours altruist genes that are increasingly accurate in targeting altruism to only their copies. Our work also emphasizes that the concept of targeting accuracy must include both the presence of an altruist gene and the level of altruism it produces.

  9. Thermo-Physical Properties of Intermediate Temperature Heat Pipe Fluids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Beach, Duane E. (Technical Monitor); Devarakonda, Angirasa; Anderson, William G.

    2005-01-01

    Heat pipes are among the most promising technologies for space radiator systems. The paper reports further evaluation of potential heat pipe fluids in the intermediate temperature range of 400 to 700 K in continuation of two recent reports. More thermo-physical property data are examined. Organic, inorganic, and elemental substances are considered. The evaluation of surface tension and other fluid properties are examined. Halides are evaluated as potential heat pipe fluids. Reliable data are not available for all fluids and further database development is necessary. Many of the fluids considered are promising candidates as heat pipe fluids. Water is promising as a heat pipe fluid up to 500 to 550 K. Life test data for thermo-chemical compatibility are almost non-existent.

  10. Thermo-Physical Properties of Intermediate Temperature Heat Pipe Fluids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Devarakonda, Angirasa; Anderson, William G.

    2004-01-01

    Heat pipes are among the most promising technologies for space radiator systems. The paper reports further evaluation of potential heat pipe fluids in the intermediate temperature range of 400 to 700 K in continuation of two recent reports. More thermo-physical property data are examined. Organic, inorganic and elemental substances are considered. The evaluation of surface tension and other fluid properties are examined. Halides are evaluated as potential heat pipe fluids. Reliable data are not available for all fluids and further database development in necessary. Many of the fluids considered are promising candidates as heat pipe fluids. Water is promising as a heat pipe fluid up to 500-550 K. Life test data for thermo-chemical compatibility are almost non-existent.

  11. Thermophysical Property Measurements of Liquid Gadolinium by Containerless Methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ishikawa, T.; Okada, J. T.; Paradis, P.-F.; Watanabe, Y.

    2010-02-01

    Thermophysical properties of liquid gadolinium were measured using non-contact diagnostic techniques with an electrostatic levitator. Over the 1585 K to 1920 K temperature range, the density can be expressed as ρ( T) = 7.41 × 103 - 0.46 ( T - T m) (kg · m-3) where T m = 1585 K, yielding a volume expansion coefficient of 6.2 × 10-5 K-1. In addition, the surface tension data can be fitted as γ( T) = 8.22 × 102 - 0.097( T - T m)(10-3 N · m-1) over the 1613 K to 1803 K span and the viscosity as η( T) = 1.7exp[1.4 × 104/( RT)](10-3 Pa · s) over the same temperature range.

  12. Experimental Study of Thermophysical Properties of Peat Fuel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mikhailov, A. S.; Piralishvili, Sh. A.; Stepanov, E. G.; Spesivtseva, N. S.

    2017-03-01

    A study has been made of thermophysical properties of peat pellets of higher-than-average reactivity due to the pretreatment of the raw material. A synchronous differential analysis of the produced pellets was performed to determine the gaseous products of their decomposition by the mass-spectroscopy method. The parameters of the mass loss rate, the heat-release function, the activation energy, the rate constant of the combustion reaction, and the volatile yield were compared to the properties of pellets compressed by the traditional method on a matrix pelletizer. It has been determined that as a result of the peat pretreatment, the yield of volatile components increases and the activation energy of the combustion reaction decreases by 17 and 30% respectively compared with the raw fuel. This determines its prospects for burning in an atomized state at coal-fired thermal electric power plants.

  13. The thermal expansion and thermophysical properties of an aluminum and Al/B4C composite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gladkovsky, S. V.; Kamantsev, I. S.; Kuteneva, S. V.; Veselova, V. E.; Ryzhkov, M. A.

    2017-12-01

    The paper presents results of experimental studies of the thermal expansion and thermophysical properties of an Al/B4C composite with a boron carbide content of 20 wt% and technically pure aluminum in the temperature range from 100 to 600°C to evaluate the possible use of this composite as a neutron-protective material in the nuclear industry.

  14. Corrigendum to “Thermophysical properties of U 3Si 2 to 1773 K”

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    White, Joshua Taylor; Nelson, Andrew Thomas; Dunwoody, John Tyler

    2016-12-01

    An error was discovered by the authors in the calculation of thermal diffusivity in “Thermophysical properties of U 3Si 2 to 1773 K”. The error was caused by operator error in entry of parameters used to fit the temperature rise versus time model necessary to calculate the thermal diffusivity. Lastly, this error propagated to the calculation of thermal conductivity, leading to values that were 18%–28% larger along with the corresponding calculated Lorenz values.

  15. Non-contact Thermophysical Property Measurements of Liquid and Supercooled Platinum

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ishikawa, Takehiko; Paradis, Paul‑François; Koike, Noriyuki

    2006-03-01

    Thermophysical properties of equilibrium and supercooled liquid platinum were measured using non-contact diagnostic techniques with an electrostatic levitator. Over the 1691 to 2216 K temperature range, the density can be expressed as ρ(T)=19.2 × 103-0.96(T-Tm) (kg \\cdot m-3) with Tm=2041 K, yielding a volume expansion coefficient of 5.0 × 10-5 K-1. In addition, the surface tension can be expressed as γ(T)=1.80 × 103-0.14(T-Tm) (10-3 N \\cdot m-1) and the viscosity as η(T)=0.25 \\exp[4.99 × 104/(RT)] (10-3 Pa \\cdot s) over the 1743 to 2313 K temperature range.

  16. Thermophysical Properties of Energetic Ionic Liquids/Nitric Acid Mixtures: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-01-01

    W L. Physical properties of concentrated nitric acid . UNT Digital Library. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc56640/.) 23 M. Engelmann... Nitric Acid Mixtures: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA9300-11-C-3012 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER...Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239.18 1     Thermophysical  Properties  of  Energetic  Ionic  Liquids/ Nitric   Acid

  17. Methodological possibilities for the solution of new tasks for “Thermophysics of Power Units” Department of SPbPU

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sapozhnikov, S. Z.; Mityakov, V. Yu; Mityakov, A. V.; Gusakov, A. A.

    2017-11-01

    Thermophysics of Power Units” Department is based on pre-existed “Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer” and “Reactors and Boilers” Departments. The main goal of the new department (in addition to training students in basic courses of Thermodynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer, Fluid Mechanics, Metrology and Thermal Measurement) has become a new master’s profile “Thermal Engineering, Energy Audit and Energy Service”. It required radical restructuring of the whole educational process, and in the first place - its material resources and equipment. Over the last two years “Heat and Mass Transfer” lab and “Wind tunnel” lab are upgraded, and “Metrology and Thermophysical Measurement” lab is newly created. Tutorials of new generation are changing significantly the structure of our main courses. The members of our scientific group (2 - 6 year students) actively engaged in the work process. Now we hope to see the best of them among our future postgraduates.

  18. Thermal energy storage material thermophysical property measurement and heat transfer impact

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tye, R. P.; Bourne, J. G.; Destarlais, A. O.

    1976-01-01

    The thermophysical properties of salts having potential for thermal energy storage to provide peaking energy in conventional electric utility power plants were investigated. The power plants studied were the pressurized water reactor, boiling water reactor, supercritical steam reactor, and high temperature gas reactor. The salts considered were LiNO3, 63LiOH/37 LiCl eutectic, LiOH, and Na2B4O7. The thermal conductivity, specific heat (including latent heat of fusion), and density of each salt were measured for a temperature range of at least + or - 100 K of the measured melting point. Measurements were made with both reagent and commercial grades of each salt.

  19. Accurate cytogenetic biodosimetry through automated dicentric chromosome curation and metaphase cell selection

    PubMed Central

    Wilkins, Ruth; Flegal, Farrah; Knoll, Joan H.M.; Rogan, Peter K.

    2017-01-01

    Accurate digital image analysis of abnormal microscopic structures relies on high quality images and on minimizing the rates of false positive (FP) and negative objects in images. Cytogenetic biodosimetry detects dicentric chromosomes (DCs) that arise from exposure to ionizing radiation, and determines radiation dose received based on DC frequency. Improvements in automated DC recognition increase the accuracy of dose estimates by reclassifying FP DCs as monocentric chromosomes or chromosome fragments. We also present image segmentation methods to rank high quality digital metaphase images and eliminate suboptimal metaphase cells. A set of chromosome morphology segmentation methods selectively filtered out FP DCs arising primarily from sister chromatid separation, chromosome fragmentation, and cellular debris. This reduced FPs by an average of 55% and was highly specific to these abnormal structures (≥97.7%) in three samples. Additional filters selectively removed images with incomplete, highly overlapped, or missing metaphase cells, or with poor overall chromosome morphologies that increased FP rates. Image selection is optimized and FP DCs are minimized by combining multiple feature based segmentation filters and a novel image sorting procedure based on the known distribution of chromosome lengths. Applying the same image segmentation filtering procedures to both calibration and test samples reduced the average dose estimation error from 0.4 Gy to <0.2 Gy, obviating the need to first manually review these images. This reliable and scalable solution enables batch processing for multiple samples of unknown dose, and meets current requirements for triage radiation biodosimetry of high quality metaphase cell preparations. PMID:29026522

  20. Willingness to revise own testimony: 3- and 4-year-olds' selective trust in unexpected testimony from accurate and inaccurate informants.

    PubMed

    Li, Xiaoqian; Yow, W Quin

    2018-09-01

    Prior work has shown that young children trust single accurate and inaccurate individuals to a similar extent in their endorsement of novel information. However, it remains unknown to what extent children trust a credible or noncredible individual when given information that is pitted against their own beliefs. The current study examined whether children, when given unexpected testimony that contradicted their initial beliefs but was not completely unbelievable, would selectively revise their beliefs depending on the informant's past history of accuracy. The participants (3- and 4-year-olds; N = 100) were familiarized with an informant who labeled a series of common objects either accurately or inaccurately. Following that, all children saw a picture of an ambiguous hybrid artifact that consisted of features of two typical common artifacts and were asked to identify the hybrid object with their own label. Subsequently, children watched the previously accurate or inaccurate informant give the same hybrid object a different but plausible label. Children expressed a greater tendency to override their initial judgments and endorse the unexpected testimony from a previously accurate informant than from someone who had consistently made naming errors. The findings provide novel understandings of the circumstances under which 3- and 4-year-old preschoolers may or may not rely on the informant's prior reliability in their selective learning. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Photothermal method using a pyroelectric sensor for thermophysical characterization of agricultural and biological samples

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frandas, A.; Dadarlat, Dorin; Chirtoc, Mihai; Jalink, Henk; Bicanic, Dane D.; Paris, D.; Antoniow, Jean S.; Egee, Michel; Ungureanu, Costica

    1998-07-01

    The photopyroelectric method in different experimental configurations was used for thermophysical characterization of agricultural and biological samples. The study appears important due to the relation of thermal parameters to the quality of foodstuffs (connected to their preservation, storage and adulteration), migration profiles in biodegradable packages, and the mechanism of desiccation tolerance of seeds. Results are presented on the thermal parameters measurement and their dependence on temperature and water content for samples such as: honey, starch, seeds.

  2. Parallel particle impactor - novel size-selective particle sampler for accurate fractioning of inhalable particles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trakumas, S.; Salter, E.

    2009-02-01

    Adverse health effects due to exposure to airborne particles are associated with particle deposition within the human respiratory tract. Particle size, shape, chemical composition, and the individual physiological characteristics of each person determine to what depth inhaled particles may penetrate and deposit within the respiratory tract. Various particle inertial classification devices are available to fractionate airborne particles according to their aerodynamic size to approximate particle penetration through the human respiratory tract. Cyclones are most often used to sample thoracic or respirable fractions of inhaled particles. Extensive studies of different cyclonic samplers have shown, however, that the sampling characteristics of cyclones do not follow the entire selected convention accurately. In the search for a more accurate way to assess worker exposure to different fractions of inhaled dust, a novel sampler comprising several inertial impactors arranged in parallel was designed and tested. The new design includes a number of separated impactors arranged in parallel. Prototypes of respirable and thoracic samplers each comprising four impactors arranged in parallel were manufactured and tested. Results indicated that the prototype samplers followed closely the penetration characteristics for which they were designed. The new samplers were found to perform similarly for liquid and solid test particles; penetration characteristics remained unchanged even after prolonged exposure to coal mine dust at high concentration. The new parallel impactor design can be applied to approximate any monotonically decreasing penetration curve at a selected flow rate. Personal-size samplers that operate at a few L/min as well as area samplers that operate at higher flow rates can be made based on the suggested design. Performance of such samplers can be predicted with high accuracy employing well-established impaction theory.

  3. Thermophysical properties of low cost lithium nitrate salts produced in northern Chile for thermal energy storage

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fernández, Ángel G.; Gomez-Vidal, Judith C.

    In recent years, lithium containing salts have been studied for thermal energy storage (TES) applications because of their excellent thermophysical properties. In solar power plants, lithium is seen as a way to improve the properties of state-of-the art molten salts used today. Lithium nitrate is a good candidate for sensible heat storage, because of its ability to increase the salt mixture's working temperature range. In the present research, thermophysical properties characterization of lithium nitrate containing salts, produced in Chile, have been carried out. Corrosion evaluations at 390° and 565 °C for 1000 h were performed for low chromium steel T22more » and stainless steels (AISI 430 and AISI 316), respectively. Chemical composition of the salts including identification of corrosion products and impurities was determined and an estimation of the Chilean production costs is reported. The study shows a loss of thermal properties after the corrosion tests. The heat capacity was reduced, possibly caused by the formation of oxides at high temperatures. As a result, the partial thermal decomposition of the salt was probably produced by the incorporation of corrosion products from the steel.« less

  4. Thermophysical properties of low cost lithium nitrate salts produced in northern Chile for thermal energy storage

    DOE PAGES

    Fernández, Ángel G.; Gomez-Vidal, Judith C.

    2016-09-01

    In recent years, lithium containing salts have been studied for thermal energy storage (TES) applications because of their excellent thermophysical properties. In solar power plants, lithium is seen as a way to improve the properties of state-of-the art molten salts used today. Lithium nitrate is a good candidate for sensible heat storage, because of its ability to increase the salt mixture's working temperature range. In the present research, thermophysical properties characterization of lithium nitrate containing salts, produced in Chile, have been carried out. Corrosion evaluations at 390° and 565 °C for 1000 h were performed for low chromium steel T22more » and stainless steels (AISI 430 and AISI 316), respectively. Chemical composition of the salts including identification of corrosion products and impurities was determined and an estimation of the Chilean production costs is reported. The study shows a loss of thermal properties after the corrosion tests. The heat capacity was reduced, possibly caused by the formation of oxides at high temperatures. As a result, the partial thermal decomposition of the salt was probably produced by the incorporation of corrosion products from the steel.« less

  5. Thermophysical properties study of micro/nanoscale materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Feng, Xuhui

    Thermal transport in low-dimensional structure has attracted tremendous attentions because micro/nanoscale materials play crucial roles in advancing micro/nanoelectronics industry. The thermal properties are essential for understanding of the energy conversion and thermal management. To better investigate micro/nanoscale materials and characterize the thermal transport, pulse laser-assisted thermal relaxation 2 (PLTR2) and transient electrothermal (TET) are both employed to determine thermal property of various forms of materials, including thin films and nanowires. As conducting polymer, Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) thin film is studied to understand its thermal properties variation with P3HT weight percentage. 4 P3HT solutions of different weight percentages are compounded to fabricate thin films using spin-coating technique. Experimental results indicate that weight percentage exhibits impact on thermophysical properties. When percentage changes from 2% to 7%, thermal conductivity varies from 1.29 to 1.67 W/m·K and thermal diffusivity decreases from 10-6 to 5×10-7 m2/s. Moreover, PLTR2 technique is applied to characterize the three-dimensional anisotropic thermal properties in spin-coated P3HT thin films. Raman spectra verify that the thin films embrace partially orientated P3HT molecular chains, leading to anisotropic thermal transport. Among all three directions, lowest thermal property is observed along out-of-plane direction. For in-plane characterization, anisotropic ratio is around 2 to 3, indicating that the orientation of the molecular chains has strong impact on the thermal transport along different directions. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin film is synthesized by electrospinning features porous structure composed by TiO2 nanowires with random orientations. The porous structure caused significant degradation of thermal properties. Effective thermal diffusivity, conductivity, and density of the films are 1.35˜3.52 × 10-6 m2/s, 0.06˜0.36 W/m·K, and

  6. Thermophysics modeling of an infrared detector cryochamber for transient operational scenario

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singhal, Mayank; Singhal, Gaurav; Verma, Avinash C.; Kumar, Sushil; Singh, Manmohan

    2016-05-01

    An infrared detector (IR) is essentially a transducer capable of converting radiant energy in the infrared regime into a measurable form. The benefit of infrared radiation is that it facilitates viewing objects in dark or through obscured conditions by detecting the infrared energy emitted by them. One of the most significant applications of IR detector systems is for target acquisition and tracking of projectile systems. IR detectors also find widespread applications in the industry and commercial market. The performance of infrared detector is sensitive to temperatures and performs best when cooled to cryogenic temperatures in the range of nearly 120 K. However, the necessity to operate in such cryogenic regimes increases the complexity in the application of IR detectors. This entails a need for detailed thermophysics analysis to be able to determine the actual cooling load specific to the application and also due to its interaction with the environment. This will enable design of most appropriate cooling methodologies suitable for specific scenarios. The focus of the present work is to develop a robust thermo-physical numerical methodology for predicting IR cryochamber behavior under transient conditions, which is the most critical scenario, taking into account all relevant heat loads including radiation in its original form. The advantage of the developed code against existing commercial software (COMSOL, ANSYS, etc.), is that it is capable of handling gas conduction together with radiation terms effectively, employing a ubiquitous software such as MATLAB. Also, it requires much smaller computational resources and is significantly less time intensive. It provides physically correct results enabling thermal characterization of cryochamber geometry in conjunction with appropriate cooling methodology. The code has been subsequently validated experimentally as the observed cooling characteristics are found to be in close agreement with the results predicted using

  7. Thermophysical Model of S-complex NEAs: 1627 Ivar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crowell, Jenna; Howell, Ellen S.; Magri, Christopher; Fernandez, Yanga R.; Marshall, Sean E.; Warner, Brian D.; Vervack, Ronald J., Jr.

    2016-01-01

    We present an updated thermophysical model of 1627 Ivar, an Amor class near Earth asteroid (NEA) with a taxonomic type of Sqw [1]. Ivar's large size and close approach to Earth in 2013 (minimum distance 0.32 AU) provided an opportunity to observe the asteroid over many different viewing angles for an extended period of time, which we have utilized to generate a shape and thermophysical model of Ivar, allowing us to discuss the implications that these results have on the regolith of this asteroid. Using the software SHAPE [2,3], we updated the nonconvex shape model of Ivar, which was constructed by Kaasalainen et al. [4] using photometry. We incorporated 2013 radar data and CCD lightcurves using the Arecibo Observatory's 2380Mz radar and the 0.35m telescope at the Palmer Divide Station respectively, to create a shape model with higher surface detail. We found Ivar to be elongated with maximum extended lengths along principal axes of 12 x 5 x 6 km and a rotation rate of 4.795162 ± 5.4 * 10-6 hrs [5]. In addition to these radar data and lightcurves, we also observed Ivar in the near IR using the SpeX instrument at the NASA IRTF. These data cover a wide range of Ivar's rotational longitudes and viewing geometries. We have used SHERMAN [6,7] with input parameters such as the asteroid's IR emissivity, optical scattering law, and thermal inertia, in order to complete thermal computations based on our shape model and known spin state. Using this procedure, we find which reflective, thermal, and surface properties best reproduce the observed spectra. This allows us to characterize properties of the asteroid's regolith and study heterogeneity of the surface. We will compare these results with those of other S-complex asteroids to better understand this asteroid type and the uniqueness of 1627 Ivar.[1] DeMeo et al. 2009, Icarus 202, 160-180 [2] Magri, C. et al. 2011, Icarus 214, 210-227. [3] Crowell, J. et al. 2014, AAS/DPS 46 [4] Kaasalainen, M. et al. 2004, Icarus 167, 178

  8. Fuel Thermo-physical Characterization Project. Fiscal Year 2014 Final Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Burkes, Douglas; Casella, Andrew M.; Buck, Edgar C.

    2015-03-15

    The Office of Material Management and Minimization (M3) Reactor Conversion Fuel Thermo-Physical Characterization Project at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was tasked with using PNNL facilities and processes to receive irradiated low enriched uranium–molybdenum (LEU-Mo) fuel plate samples and perform analysis in support of the M3 Reactor Conversion Program. This work is in support of the M3 Reactor Conversion Fuel Development Pillar that is managed by Idaho National Laboratory. The primary research scope was to determine the thermo-physical properties as a function of temperature and burnup. Work conducted in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 complemented measurements performed in FY 2013 onmore » four additional irradiated LEU-Mo fuel plate samples. Specifically, the work in FY 2014 investigated the influence of different processing methods on thermal property behavior, the absence of aluminum alloy cladding on thermal property behavior for additional model validation, and the influence of higher operating surface heat flux / more aggressive irradiation conditions on thermal property behavior. The model developed in FY 2013 and refined in FY 2014 to extract thermal properties of the U-Mo alloy from the measurements conducted on an integral fuel plate sample (i.e., U-Mo alloy with a thin Zr coating and clad in AA6061) continues to perform very well. Measurements conducted in FY 2014 on samples irradiated under similar conditions compare well to measurements performed in FY 2013. In general, there is no gross influence of fabrication method on thermal property behavior, although the difference in LEU-Mo foil microstructure does have a noticeable influence on recrystallization of grains during irradiation. Samples irradiated under more aggressive irradiation conditions, e.g., higher surface heat flux, revealed lower thermal conductivity when compared to samples irradiated at moderate surface heat fluxes, with the exception of one sample. This report documents

  9. Structural Fluctuations and Thermophysical Properties of Molten II-VI Compounds

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Su, Ching-Hua; Zhu, S.; Li, C.; Scripa, R.; Lehoczky, S. L.; Kim, Y. M.; Baird, J. K.; Lin, B.; Ban, H.; Benmore, Chris; hide

    2002-01-01

    The objectives of the project are to conduct ground-based experimental and theoretical research on the structural fluctuations and thermophysical properties of molten II-VI compounds to enhance the basic understanding of the existing flight experiments in microgravity materials science programs as well as to study the fundamental heterophase fluctuation phenomena in these melts by: 1) conducting neutron scattering analysis and measuring quantitatively the relevant thermophysical properties of the II-VI melts (such as viscosity, electrical conductivity, thermal diffusivity and density) as well as the relaxation characteristics of these properties to advance the understanding of the structural properties and the relaxation phenomena in these melts and 2) performing theoretical analyses on the melt systems to interpret the experimental results. All the facilities required for the experimental measurements have been procured, installed and tested. Thermal diffusivity of molten tellurium has been measured by a laser flash method in the temperature range of 500 C to 900 C. The measured diffusivity as a function of temperature agrees fairly well with published data. However, a relaxation phenomenon, which shows a slow drift of the measured thermal conductivity toward the equilibrium value after cooling of the melt, was observed for the first time. An apparatus based on the transient torque induced by a rotating magnetic field has been developed to determine the viscosity and electrical conductivity of semiconducting liquids. Viscosity measurements on molten tellurium showed a similar relaxation behavior to the measured diffusivity. The density and volume expansion coefficients for pure Te and HgTe melts were measured as a function of temperature using a pycnometric method. A density maximum was found for both melts but no relaxation behavior was observed. Neutron scattering experiments were performed on the HgTe and HgZnTe melts and the results on pair distribution showed

  10. The Imperial College Thermophysical Properties Data Centre

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Angus, S.; Cole, W. A.; Craven, R.; de Reuck, K. M.; Trengove, R. D.; Wakeham, W. A.

    1986-07-01

    The IUPAC Thermodynamic Tables Project Centre in London has at its disposal considerable expertise on the production and utilization of high-accuracy equations of state which represent the thermodynamic properties of substances. For some years they have been content to propagate this information by the traditional method of book production, but the increasing use of the computer in industry for process design has shown that an additional method was needed. The setting up of the IUPAC Transport Properties Project Centre, also at Imperial College, whose products would also be in demand by industry, afforded the occasion for a new look at the problem. The solution has been to set up the Imperial College Thermophysical Properties Data Centre, which embraces the two IUPAC Project Centres, and for it to establish a link with the existing Physical Properties Data Service of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, thus providing for the dissemination of the available information without involving the Centres in problems such as those of marketing and advertising. This paper outlines the activities of the Centres and discusses the problems in bringing their products to the attention of industry in suitable form.

  11. Thermophysical properties of lunar media. II - Heat transfer within the lunar surface layer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cremers, C. J.

    1974-01-01

    Heat transfer within the lunar surface layer depends on several thermophysical properties of the lunar regolith, including the thermal conductivity, the specific heat, the thermal diffusivity, and the thermal parameter. Results of property measurements on simulated lunar materials are presented where appropriate as well as measurements made on the actual samples themselves. The variation of temperature on the moon with depth is considered, taking into account various times of the lunar day. The daily variation in temperature drops to about 1 deg at a depth of only 0.172 meters. The steady temperature on the moon below this depth is 225 K.

  12. Science at Home: Measuring a Thermophysical Property of Water with a Microwave Oven

    PubMed Central

    Levine, Zachary H.

    2018-01-01

    A measurement of a thermophysical property of water is made using items found in the author’s home. Specifically, the ratio of the energy required to heat water from the melting point to boiling to the energy required to completely boil away the water is found to be 5.7. This may be compared to the standard value of 5.5. The close agreement is not representative of the actual uncertainties in this simple experiment. Heating water in a microwave oven can let a student apply the techniques of quantitative science based on questions generated by his or her scientific curiosity. PMID:29542737

  13. Ultrasonication effect on thermophysical properties of Al2O3 nanofluids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shah, Janki; Ranjan, Mukesh; Gupta, Sanjeev K.; Sonvane, Yogesh

    2018-04-01

    In this work, we studied the thermal conductivity and viscosity of alumina nanofluids for their excellent thermophysical properties. Here we considered the bath sonication time effects on thermal conductivity, viscosity and zeta potential of alumina nanofluid with different concentration (0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 Vol.%). We observed that the thermal conductivity of the nanofluids increased nonlinearly with an increased sonication time/energy as well as viscosity decreased. An enhancement of the thermal conductivity and viscosity at higher particle concentration is also observed. The results indicate that thermal properties of Al2O3 nanofluid enhances as the sonication time increases and prove Al2O3 nanofluid is one of the best thermostable heat transfer fluids compared to conventional cooling fluids.

  14. Prediction of Mass Evaporation of During Measurements of Thermophysical Properties Using an Electrostatic Levitator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, J.; Matson, D. M.

    2014-10-01

    This paper describes the prediction of mass evaporation of at% alloys during thermophysical property measurements using the electrostatic levitator at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The final mass, final composition, and activity of individual component are considered in the calculation of mass evaporation. The predicted reduction in mass and variation in composition are validated with six ESL samples which underwent different thermal cycles. The predicted mass evaporation and composition shift show good agreement with experiments with the maximum relative errors of 4.8 % and 1.7 %, respectively.

  15. Thermophysical properties of substantially undercooled liquid Ti-Al-Nb ternary alloy measured by electromagnetic levitation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, K.; Wang, H. P.; Wei, B.

    2013-03-01

    The thermophysical properties of undercooled liquid alloys at high temperature are usually difficult to measure by experiment. Here, we report the specific heat of liquid Ti45Al45Nb10 ternary alloy in the undercooled state. By using electromagnetic levitation technique, a maximum undercooling of 287 K (0.15 T L) is achieved for this alloy. Its specific heat is determined to be 32.72 ± 2.51 J mol-1 K-1 over a broad temperature range of 1578-2010 K.

  16. Thermophysical properties of a highly superheated and undercooled Ni-Si alloy melt

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, H. P.; Cao, C. D.; Wei, B.

    2004-05-01

    The surface tension of superheated and undercooled liquid Ni-5 wt % Si alloy was measured by an electromagnetic oscillating drop method over a wide temperature range from 1417 to 1994 K. The maximum undercooling of 206 K (0.13TL) was achieved. The surface tension of liquid Ni-5 wt % Si alloy is 1.697 N m-1 at the liquidus temperature 1623 K, and its temperature coefficient is -3.97×10-4 N m-1 K-1. On the basis of the experimental data of surface tension, the other thermophysical properties such as the viscosity, the solute diffusion coefficient, and the density of liquid Ni-5 wt % Si alloy were also derived.

  17. Evaluation of automated threshold selection methods for accurately sizing microscopic fluorescent cells by image analysis.

    PubMed Central

    Sieracki, M E; Reichenbach, S E; Webb, K L

    1989-01-01

    The accurate measurement of bacterial and protistan cell biomass is necessary for understanding their population and trophic dynamics in nature. Direct measurement of fluorescently stained cells is often the method of choice. The tedium of making such measurements visually on the large numbers of cells required has prompted the use of automatic image analysis for this purpose. Accurate measurements by image analysis require an accurate, reliable method of segmenting the image, that is, distinguishing the brightly fluorescing cells from a dark background. This is commonly done by visually choosing a threshold intensity value which most closely coincides with the outline of the cells as perceived by the operator. Ideally, an automated method based on the cell image characteristics should be used. Since the optical nature of edges in images of light-emitting, microscopic fluorescent objects is different from that of images generated by transmitted or reflected light, it seemed that automatic segmentation of such images may require special considerations. We tested nine automated threshold selection methods using standard fluorescent microspheres ranging in size and fluorescence intensity and fluorochrome-stained samples of cells from cultures of cyanobacteria, flagellates, and ciliates. The methods included several variations based on the maximum intensity gradient of the sphere profile (first derivative), the minimum in the second derivative of the sphere profile, the minimum of the image histogram, and the midpoint intensity. Our results indicated that thresholds determined visually and by first-derivative methods tended to overestimate the threshold, causing an underestimation of microsphere size. The method based on the minimum of the second derivative of the profile yielded the most accurate area estimates for spheres of different sizes and brightnesses and for four of the five cell types tested. A simple model of the optical properties of fluorescing objects and

  18. Thermophysical properties of lunar impact ejecta and their evolution through time

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghent, R. R.; Bandfield, J.; Hayne, P. O.; Tai Udovicic, C.; Carter, L. M.; Paige, D. A.

    2016-12-01

    On the Moon, impact cratering has occurred continuously over the past 4 billion years, and has a profound effect on all aspects of lunar geology. Large impacts excavate large blocks from beneath the regolith, and impacts of sub-cm sized objects rupture and sandblast large ejected fragments and turn them into regolith. The regolith, in turn, is space weathered and aged by the impact of micrometeorites, together with exposure to solar wind. The state of impact-related materials at any given site can thus be interpreted in the context of relative or absolute age, and can provide information about the rates of geological processes. Here, we report on observations of the thermophysical properties of lunar impact ejecta from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner thermal radiometer. Nighttime thermal IR data are sensitive to the abundance of meter-scale rocks at the surface, and to variations in the density structure of the upper meter of the regolith. Comparison of these thermal observations with those from radar instruments allows us to distinguish between large ejecta at the surface and those buried or suspended in the upper 10 m of regolith, and thus to examine the evolution of these two ejecta populations ejecta through time. We have previously found that the surface ejecta rocks associated with large craters break down at a quantifiable rate, and that rocky surface ejecta disappear completely in 1.5 Gyr. Here, we show that rocks buried within the upper m of regolith, detected by radar, can remain undisturbed by surface processes for >3 Gyr. We also investigate the thermophysical properties of radar-dark haloes, comprised of fine-grained distal ejecta, and find that they also persist for long periods (> 3 Gyr). Thus, the surface rockiness of a given ejecta deposit can be used to determine its age. Current work is focusing on exploiting the state of preservation of buried ejecta to constrain the rate of regolith overturn.

  19. Science at Home: Measuring a Thermophysical Property of Water with a Microwave Oven

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levine, Zachary H.

    2018-02-01

    An attempt to calibrate a conventional oven led to making a measurement of a thermophysical property of water using items found in the author's home. Specifically, the ratio of the energy required to heat water from the melting point to boiling to the energy required to completely boil away the water is found to be 5.7. This may be compared to the standard value of 5.5. The close agreement is not representative of the actual uncertainties in this simple experiment (Fig. 1). Heating water in a microwave oven can let a student apply the techniques of quantitative science based on questions generated by his or her scientific curiosity.

  20. European Conference on Thermophysical Properties (11th) Held on 13-16 June 1988, University of Umea, Sweden. Abstracts

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-06-16

    University of Urnea 901 87 UMEA SWEDEN E Karawacki Dept of Physics 48 Chalmers Tekniska Hogskola 412 96 GOTEBORG SWEDEN S Klarsfeld Glass Properties...Saunders, Electrical Conductivity and Dielectric Constant of Samarium Phosphate Glasses © 0 Andersson, P Andersson, R G Ross & G Backstrcm. Thermophysical...delivers extinction coefficients of about 50 m-/kg for pure (conventional) glass fiber insulations. We have thoroughly studied the potentials for a

  1. Thermophysical behavior of the uppermost lunar surface from Diviner high time-resolution, post-sunset observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Russell, P.; Greenhagen, B. T.; Paige, D. A.; Hayne, P. O.; Williams, J. P.

    2016-12-01

    Lunar "Cold Spots" are areas around small fresh craters that are colder than their surroundings in nighttime regolith temperature (e.g., Bandfield et al., 2014, Williams et al., 2016), implying that the thermophysical properties of the surface here, exterior to the visible ejecta, have somehow been altered by the impact process. Intriguingly, this cold anomaly does not appear in Diviner observations during eclipses, when the sun has been blocked for only a short period of time (Hayne et al., 2011). Here, we extend the investigation of the immediate reaction of Cold Spots and other areas of interest to the cessation of solar heating by specifically targeting and analyzing observations in the post-sunset, or twilight, period (i.e., 16:00-17:00 local time). Analysis of this time period focuses specifically on variability in the thermophysical structure of the upper 1 cm of lunar surface, whereas previous analyses of nighttime temperatures typically speak to the upper 10s of cm. Initial results suggest that twilight temperatures mimic the behavior of eclipse temperatures, in that the Cold Spot does not become colder until 30-45 min. after sunset. In fact, it is warmer than surroundings in the first 30 min. This suggests that the thermal inertia of the upper 1 cm is higher than surroundings, while the thermal inertia of the upper 10s of cm may be lower. A current impediment to such a study is that, the finer the Diviner data is resolved temporally, the fewer areas exist that have data at all time resolutions. As part of a goal of the LRO extended mission to better constrain the thermophysical properties of the upper regolith, we plan to take advantage of the 5 twilight crossings between 10/2016 - 10/2018 to make targeted observations of a variety of types of geological features up to 5 times, spaced 4 lunar min. apart, during the post-sunset hour. A trial campaign 4-5/2015 observed 22 targets a total of 94 times. At one of the 2 targeted large Cold Spots, 4 co

  2. Novel 18650 lithium-ion battery surrogate cell design with anisotropic thermophysical properties for studying failure events

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spinner, Neil S.; Hinnant, Katherine M.; Mazurick, Ryan; Brandon, Andrew; Rose-Pehrsson, Susan L.; Tuttle, Steven G.

    2016-04-01

    Cylindrical 18650-type surrogate cells were designed and fabricated to mimic the thermophysical properties and behavior of active lithium-ion batteries. An internal jelly roll geometry consisting of alternating stainless steel and mica layers was created, and numerous techniques were used to estimate thermophysical properties. Surrogate cell density was measured to be 1593 ± 30 kg/m3, and heat capacity was found to be 727 ± 18 J/kg-K. Axial thermal conductivity was determined to be 5.1 ± 0.6 W/m-K, which was over an order of magnitude higher than radial thermal conductivity due to jelly roll anisotropy. Radial heating experiments were combined with numerical and analytical solutions to the time-dependent, radial heat conduction equation, and from the numerical method an additional estimate for heat capacity of 805 ± 23 J/kg-K was found. Using both heat capacities and analysis techniques, values for radial thermal conductivity were between 0.120 and 0.197 W/m-K. Under normal operating conditions, relatively low radial temperature distributions were observed; however, during extreme battery failure with a hexagonal cell package, instantaneous radial temperature distributions as high as 43-71 °C were seen. For a vertical cell package, even during adjacent cell failure, similar homogeneity in internal temperatures were observed, demonstrating thermal anisotropy.

  3. Effective and Accurate Colormap Selection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thyng, K. M.; Greene, C. A.; Hetland, R. D.; Zimmerle, H.; DiMarco, S. F.

    2016-12-01

    Science is often communicated through plots, and design choices can elucidate or obscure the presented data. The colormap used can honestly and clearly display data in a visually-appealing way, or can falsely exaggerate data gradients and confuse viewers. Fortunately, there is a large resource of literature in color science on how color is perceived which we can use to inform our own choices. Following this literature, colormaps can be designed to be perceptually uniform; that is, so an equally-sized jump in the colormap at any location is perceived by the viewer as the same size. This ensures that gradients in the data are accurately percieved. The same colormap is often used to represent many different fields in the same paper or presentation. However, this can cause difficulty in quick interpretation of multiple plots. For example, in one plot the viewer may have trained their eye to recognize that red represents high salinity, and therefore higher density, while in the subsequent temperature plot they need to adjust their interpretation so that red represents high temperature and therefore lower density. In the same way that a single Greek letter is typically chosen to represent a field for a paper, we propose to choose a single colormap to represent a field in a paper, and use multiple colormaps for multiple fields. We have created a set of colormaps that are perceptually uniform, and follow several other design guidelines. There are 18 colormaps to give options to choose from for intuitive representation. For example, a colormap of greens may be used to represent chlorophyll concentration, or browns for turbidity. With careful consideration of human perception and design principles, colormaps may be chosen which faithfully represent the data while also engaging viewers.

  4. Thermophysical Properties and Corrosion Characterization of Low Cost Lithium Containing Nitrate Salts Produced in Northern Chile for Thermal Energy Storage

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fernandez, Angel G.; Gomez, Judith C.; Galleguillos, Hector

    In recent years, lithium containing salts have been studied for thermal energy storage (TES) systems applications, because of their optimal thermophysical properties. In solar power plants, lithium is seen as a way to improve the properties of molten salts used today. Lithium nitrate is a good candidate for sensible heat storage, due to its ability to increase the salt mixture's working temperature range. In the present research, thermophysical properties characterization of lithium nitrate containing salts, produced in Chile, have been carried out. Corrosion evaluations of carbon and low chromium steels were performed at 390 degrees C for 1000 hours. Thermophysicalmore » properties of the salt mixtures, such as thermal stability and heat capacity, were measured before and after corrosion tests. Chemical composition of the salts was also determined and an estimation of Chilean production costs is reported. Results showed that purity, thermal stability and heat capacity of the salts were reduced, caused by partial thermal decomposition and incorporation of corrosion products from the steel.« less

  5. Modification of wheat starch with succinic acid/acetic anhydride and azelaic acid/acetic anhydride mixtures I. Thermophysical and pasting properties.

    PubMed

    Subarić, Drago; Ačkar, Durđica; Babić, Jurislav; Sakač, Nikola; Jozinović, Antun

    2014-10-01

    The aim of this research was to investigate the influence of modification with succinic acid/acetic anhydride and azelaic acid/acetic anhydride mixtures on thermophysical and pasting properties of wheat starch. Starch was isolated from two wheat varieties and modified with mixtures of succinic acid and acetic anhydride, and azelaic acid and acetic anhydride in 4, 6 and 8 % (w/w). Thermophysical, pasting properties, swelling power, solubility and amylose content of modified starches were determined. The results showed that modifications with mixtures of afore mentioned dicarboxylic acids with acetic anhydride decreased gelatinisation and pasting temperatures. Gelatinisation enthalpy of Golubica starch increased, while of Srpanjka starch decreased by modifications. Retrogradation after 7 and 14 day-storage at 4 °C decreased after modifications of both starches. Maximum, hot and cold paste viscosity of both starches increased, while stability during shearing at high temperatures decreased. % setback of starches modified with azelaic acid/acetic anhydride mixture decreased. Swelling power and solubility of both starches increased by both modifications.

  6. Extrapolation of thermophysical properties data for oxygen to high pressures (5000 to 10,000 psia) at low temperatures (100-600 R)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Weber, L. A.

    1971-01-01

    Thermophysical properties data for oxygen at pressures below 5000 psia have been extrapolated to higher pressures (5,000-10,000 psia) in the temperature range 100-600 R. The tables include density, entropy, enthalpy, internal energy, speed of sound, specific heat, thermal conductivity, viscosity, thermal diffusivity, Prandtl number, and dielectric constant.

  7. CombiROC: an interactive web tool for selecting accurate marker combinations of omics data.

    PubMed

    Mazzara, Saveria; Rossi, Riccardo L; Grifantini, Renata; Donizetti, Simone; Abrignani, Sergio; Bombaci, Mauro

    2017-03-30

    Diagnostic accuracy can be improved considerably by combining multiple markers, whose performance in identifying diseased subjects is usually assessed via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The selection of multimarker signatures is a complicated process that requires integration of data signatures with sophisticated statistical methods. We developed a user-friendly tool, called CombiROC, to help researchers accurately determine optimal markers combinations from diverse omics methods. With CombiROC data from different domains, such as proteomics and transcriptomics, can be analyzed using sensitivity/specificity filters: the number of candidate marker panels rising from combinatorial analysis is easily optimized bypassing limitations imposed by the nature of different experimental approaches. Leaving to the user full control on initial selection stringency, CombiROC computes sensitivity and specificity for all markers combinations, performances of best combinations and ROC curves for automatic comparisons, all visualized in a graphic interface. CombiROC was designed without hard-coded thresholds, allowing a custom fit to each specific data: this dramatically reduces the computational burden and lowers the false negative rates given by fixed thresholds. The application was validated with published data, confirming the marker combination already originally described or even finding new ones. CombiROC is a novel tool for the scientific community freely available at http://CombiROC.eu.

  8. Thermophysical and Thermomechanical Properties of Thermal Barrier Coating Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zhu, Dongming; Miller, Robert A.

    2000-01-01

    Thermal barrier coatings have been developed for advanced gas turbine and diesel engine applications to improve engine reliability and fuel efficiency. However, the issue of coating durability under high temperature cyclic conditions is still of major concern. The coating failure is closely related to thermal stresses and oxidation in the coating systems. Coating shrinkage cracking resulting from ceramic sintering and creep at high temperatures can further accelerate the coating failure process. The purpose of this paper is to address critical issues such as ceramic sintering and creep, thermal fatigue and their relevance to coating life prediction. Novel test approaches have been established to obtain critical thermophysical and thermomechanical properties of the coating systems under near-realistic temperature and stress gradients encountered in advanced engine systems. Emphasis is placed on the dynamic changes of the coating thermal conductivity and elastic modulus, fatigue and creep interactions, and resulting failure mechanisms during the simulated engine tests. Detailed experimental and modeling results describing processes occurring in the thermal barrier coating systems provide a framework for developing strategies to manage ceramic coating architecture, microstructure and properties.

  9. The stratigraphy and evolution of lower Mount Sharp from spectral, morphological, and thermophysical orbital data sets.

    PubMed

    Fraeman, A A; Ehlmann, B L; Arvidson, R E; Edwards, C S; Grotzinger, J P; Milliken, R E; Quinn, D P; Rice, M S

    2016-09-01

    We have developed a refined geologic map and stratigraphy for lower Mount Sharp using coordinated analyses of new spectral, thermophysical, and morphologic orbital data products. The Mount Sharp group consists of seven relatively planar units delineated by differences in texture, mineralogy, and thermophysical properties. These units are (1-3) three spatially adjacent units in the Murray formation which contain a variety of secondary phases and are distinguishable by thermal inertia and albedo differences, (4) a phyllosilicate-bearing unit, (5) a hematite-capped ridge unit, (6) a unit associated with material having a strongly sloped spectral signature at visible near-infrared wavelengths, and (7) a layered sulfate unit. The Siccar Point group consists of the Stimson formation and two additional units that unconformably overlie the Mount Sharp group. All Siccar Point group units are distinguished by higher thermal inertia values and record a period of substantial deposition and exhumation that followed the deposition and exhumation of the Mount Sharp group. Several spatially extensive silica deposits associated with veins and fractures show that late-stage silica enrichment within lower Mount Sharp was pervasive. At least two laterally extensive hematitic deposits are present at different stratigraphic intervals, and both are geometrically conformable with lower Mount Sharp strata. The occurrence of hematite at multiple stratigraphic horizons suggests redox interfaces were widespread in space and/or in time, and future measurements by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover will provide further insights into the depositional settings of these and other mineral phases.

  10. Establishment of computerized numerical databases on thermophysical and other properties of molten as well as solid materials and data evaluation and validation for generating recommended reliable reference data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ho, C. Y.

    1993-01-01

    The Center for Information and Numerical Data Analysis and Synthesis, (CINDAS), measures and maintains databases on thermophysical, thermoradiative, mechanical, optical, electronic, ablation, and physical properties of materials. Emphasis is on aerospace structural materials especially composites and on infrared detector/sensor materials. Within CINDAS, the Department of Defense sponsors at Purdue several centers: the High Temperature Material Information Analysis Center (HTMIAC), the Ceramics Information Analysis Center (CIAC) and the Metals Information Analysis Center (MIAC). The responsibilities of CINDAS are extremely broad encompassing basic and applied research, measurement of the properties of thin wires and thin foils as well as bulk materials, acquisition and search of world-wide literature, critical evaluation of data, generation of estimated values to fill data voids, investigation of constitutive, structural, processing, environmental, and rapid heating and loading effects, and dissemination of data. Liquids, gases, molten materials and solids are all considered. The responsibility of maintaining widely used databases includes data evaluation, analysis, correlation, and synthesis. Material property data recorded on the literature are often conflicting, diverging, and subject to large uncertainties. It is admittedly difficult to accurately measure materials properties. Systematic and random errors both enter. Some errors result from lack of characterization of the material itself (impurity effects). In some cases assumed boundary conditions corresponding to a theoretical model are not obtained in the experiments. Stray heat flows and losses must be accounted for. Some experimental methods are inappropriate and in other cases appropriate methods are carried out with poor technique. Conflicts in data may be resolved by curve fitting of the data to theoretical or empirical models or correlation in terms of various affecting parameters. Reasons (e.g. phase

  11. Thermophysical properties of Helium-4 from 0.8 to 1500 K with pressures to 2000 MPa

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arp, Vincent D.; Mccarty, Robert D.

    1989-01-01

    Tabular summary data of the thermophysical properties of fluid helium are given for temperatures from 0.8 to 1500 K, with pressures to 2000 MPa between 75 and 300 K, or to 100 MPa outside of this temperature band. Properties include density, specific heats, enthalpy, entropy, internal energy, sound velocity, expansivity, compressibility, thermal conductivity, and viscosity. The data are calculated from a computer program which is available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The computer program is based on carefully fitted state equations for both normal and superfluid helium.

  12. Noncontact thermophysical property measurement by levitation of a thin liquid disk.

    PubMed

    Lee, Sungho; Ohsaka, Kenichi; Rednikov, Alexei; Sadhal, Satwindar Singh

    2006-09-01

    The purpose of the current research program is to develop techniques for noncontact measurement of thermophysical properties of highly viscous liquids. The application would be for undercooled liquids that remain liquid even below the freezing point when suspended without a container. The approach being used here consists of carrying out thermocapillary flow and temperature measurements in a horizontally levitated, laser-heated thin glycerin disk. In a levitated state, the disk is flattened by an intense acoustic field. Such a disk has the advantage of a relatively low gravitational potential over the thickness, thus mitigating the buoyancy effects, and helping isolate the thermocapillary-driven flows. For the purpose of predicting the thermal properties from these measurements, it is necessary to develop a theoretical model of the thermal processes. Such a model has been developed, and, on the basis of the observed shape, the thickness is taken to be a minimum at the center with a gentle parabolic profile at both the top and the bottom surfaces. This minimum thickness is much smaller than the radius of disk drop and the ratio of thickness to radius becomes much less than unity. It is heated by laser beam in normal direction to the edge. A general three-dimensional momentum equation is transformed into a two-variable vorticity equation. For the highly viscous liquid, a few millimeters in size, Stokes equations adequately describe the flow. Additional approximations are made by considering average flow properties over the disk thickness in a manner similar to lubrication theory. In the same way, the three-dimensional energy equation is averaged over the disk thickness. With convection boundary condition at the surfaces, we integrate a general three-dimensional energy equation to get an averaged two-dimensional energy equation that has convection terms, conduction terms, and additional source terms corresponding to a Biot number. A finite-difference numerical

  13. Modelling of the Thermo-Physical and Physical Properties for Solidification of Al-Alloys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saunders, N.; Li, X.; Miodownik, A. P.; Schillé, J.-P.

    The thermo-physical and physical properties of the liquid and solid phases are critical components in casting simulations. Such properties include the fraction solid transformed, enthalpy release, thermal conductivity, volume and density, all as a function of temperature. Due to the difficulty in experimentally determining such properties at solidification temperatures, little information exists for multi-component alloys. As part of the development of a new computer program for modelling of materials properties (JMatPro) extensive work has been carried out on the development of sound, physically based models for these properties. Wide ranging results will presented for Al-based alloys, which will include more detailed information concerning the density change of the liquid that intrinsically occurs during solidification due to its change in composition.

  14. The stratigraphy and evolution of lower Mount Sharp from spectral, morphological, and thermophysical orbital data sets

    PubMed Central

    Ehlmann, B. L.; Arvidson, R. E.; Edwards, C. S.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Milliken, R. E.; Quinn, D. P.; Rice, M. S.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract We have developed a refined geologic map and stratigraphy for lower Mount Sharp using coordinated analyses of new spectral, thermophysical, and morphologic orbital data products. The Mount Sharp group consists of seven relatively planar units delineated by differences in texture, mineralogy, and thermophysical properties. These units are (1–3) three spatially adjacent units in the Murray formation which contain a variety of secondary phases and are distinguishable by thermal inertia and albedo differences, (4) a phyllosilicate‐bearing unit, (5) a hematite‐capped ridge unit, (6) a unit associated with material having a strongly sloped spectral signature at visible near‐infrared wavelengths, and (7) a layered sulfate unit. The Siccar Point group consists of the Stimson formation and two additional units that unconformably overlie the Mount Sharp group. All Siccar Point group units are distinguished by higher thermal inertia values and record a period of substantial deposition and exhumation that followed the deposition and exhumation of the Mount Sharp group. Several spatially extensive silica deposits associated with veins and fractures show that late‐stage silica enrichment within lower Mount Sharp was pervasive. At least two laterally extensive hematitic deposits are present at different stratigraphic intervals, and both are geometrically conformable with lower Mount Sharp strata. The occurrence of hematite at multiple stratigraphic horizons suggests redox interfaces were widespread in space and/or in time, and future measurements by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover will provide further insights into the depositional settings of these and other mineral phases. PMID:27867788

  15. Thermophysical properties along Curiosity's traverse in Gale crater, Mars, derived from the REMS Ground Temperature Sensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vasavada, A. R.; Piqueux, S.

    2016-12-01

    The REMS instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, has measured ground temperature nearly continuously at hourly intervals for two Mars years. Coverage of the entire diurnal cycle at 1 Hz is achieved every few martian days. We compare these measurements with predictions of surface-atmosphere thermal models to derive the apparent thermal inertia and thermally derived albedo along the rover's traverse, after accounting for the radiative effects of dust as well as atmospheric water ice during fall and winter, as is necessary to match the measured seasonal trend. The REMS measurements can distinguish between active sand, other loose materials, mudstone, and sandstone based on their thermophysical properties. However, the thermal inertias of bedrock-dominated surfaces ( 350-550 J m-2 K-1 s-½) are lower than expected. We use the detailed shape of the diurnal ground temperature curve to infer the effects of lateral mixing of different materials within the sensor footprint, as well as vertical heterogeneity. While results of this forward modeling approach are non-unique, we find surface configurations capable of creating the observed thermal responses that also are consistent with rover imagery. Bedrock thermal inertias isolated by this modeling are 1000-1900 J m-2 K-1 s-½ for mudstone and 700 J m-2 K-1 s-½ for sandstone. This methodology provides a better basis for inferring properties such as rock porosity, cement composition, and degree of cementation from the thermal inertia. These results highlight the advantages of deriving thermophysical properties from ground temperature records well-sampled in local time.

  16. Thermophysical Properties Along Curiosity's Traverse in Gale Crater, Mars, Derived from the REMS Ground Temperature Sensor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Vasavada, Ashwin R.; Piqueux, Sylvain; Lewis, Kevin W.; Lemmon, Mark T.; Smith, Michael Doyle

    2016-01-01

    The REMS instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, has measured ground temperature nearly continuously at hourly intervals for two Mars years. Coverage of the entire diurnal cycle at 1 Hz is available every few martian days. We compare these measurements with predictions of surface atmosphere thermal models to derive the apparent thermal inertia and thermally derived albedo along the rovers traverse after accounting for the radiative effects of atmospheric water ice during fall and winter, as is necessary to match the measured seasonal trend. The REMS measurements can distinguish between active sand, other loose materials, mudstone, and sandstone based on their thermophysical properties. However, the apparent thermal inertias of bedrock dominated surfaces [approx. 350-550 J m(exp. -2) K(exp. -1 s(exp. -1/2 )] are lower than expected. We use rover imagery and the detailed shape of the diurnal ground temperature curve to explore whether lateral or vertical heterogeneity in the surface materials within the sensor footprint might explain the low inertias. We find that the bedrock component of the surface can have a thermal inertia as high as 650-1700 J m(exp. -2) K(exp. -1) s(exp. -1/2) for mudstone sites and approx. 700 J m(exp. -2) K(exp. -1) s(exp. - 1/2) for sandstone sites in models runs that include lateral and vertical mixing. Although the results of our forward modeling approach may be non-unique, they demonstrate the potential to extract information about lateral and vertical variations in thermophysical properties from temporally resolved measurements of ground temperature.

  17. Thermophysical properties of hydrophobised lime plasters - The influence of ageing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pavlíková, Milena; Zemanová, Lucie; Pavlík, Zbyšek

    2017-07-01

    The building envelope is a principal responsible for buildings energy loses. Lime plasters as the most popular finishing materials of historical buildings and culture monuments influence the thermal behaviour as well as construction material of masonry. On this account, the effect of ageing on the thermophysical properties of a newly designed lime plasters containing hydrophobic admixture is analysed in the paper. For the comparative purposes, the reference lime plaster is tested. The ageing is accelerated with controlled carbonation process to simulate the final plasters properties. Basic characterization of the tested materials is done using bulk density, matrix density, and porosity measurements. Thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity are experimentally assessed using a transient impulse method. The obtained data revealed the significant changes of the both studied thermal parameters in the dependence on plasters composition and age. The assessed material parameters will be stored in a material database, where will find use as an input data for computational modelling of heat transport in this type of porous building materials and evaluation of energy-savings and sustainability issues.

  18. Thermophysical Properties of Liquid Te: Density, Electrical Conductivity, and Viscosity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Li, C.; Su, C.; Lehoczky, S. L.; Scripa, R. N.; Ban, H.; Lin, B.

    2004-01-01

    The thermophysical properties of liquid Te, namely, density, electrical conductivity, and viscosity, were determined using the pycnometric and transient torque methods from the melting point of Te (723 K) to approximately 1150 K. A maximum was observed in the density of liquid Te as the temperature was increased. The electrical conductivity of liquid Te increased to a constant value of 2.89 x 10(exp 5 OMEGA-1m-1) as the temperature was raised above 1000 K. The viscosity decreased rapidly upon heating the liquid to elevated temperatures. The anomalous behaviors of the measured properties are explained as caused by the structural transitions in the liquid and discussed in terms of Eyring's and Bachiskii's predicted behaviors for homogeneous liquids. The Properties were also measured as a function of time after the liquid was coded from approximately 1173 or 1123 to 823 K. No relaxation phenomena were observed in the properties after the temperature of liquid Te was decreased to 823 K, in contrast to the relaxation behavior observed for some of the Te compounds.

  19. State-of-the-art ab initio potential energy curve for the krypton atom pair and thermophysical properties of dilute krypton gas.

    PubMed

    Jäger, Benjamin; Hellmann, Robert; Bich, Eckard; Vogel, Eckhard

    2016-03-21

    A new reference krypton-krypton interatomic potential energy curve was developed by means of quantum-chemical ab initio calculations for 36 interatomic separations. Highly accurate values for the interaction energies at the complete basis set limit were obtained using the coupled-cluster method with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations as well as t-aug-cc-pV5Z and t-aug-cc-pV6Z basis sets including mid-bond functions, with the 6Z basis set being newly constructed for this study. Higher orders of coupled-cluster terms were considered in a successive scheme up to full quadruple excitations. Core-core and core-valence correlation effects were included. Furthermore, relativistic effects were studied not only at a scalar relativistic level using second-order direct perturbation theory, but also utilizing full four-component and Gaunt-effect computations. An analytical pair potential function was fitted to the interaction energies, which is characterized by a depth of 200.88 K with an estimated standard uncertainty of 0.51 K. Thermophysical properties of low-density krypton were calculated for temperatures up to 5000 K. Second and third virial coefficients were obtained from statistical thermodynamics. Viscosity and thermal conductivity as well as the self-diffusion coefficient were computed using the kinetic theory of gases. The theoretical results are compared with experimental data and with results for other pair potential functions from the literature, especially with those calculated from the recently developed ab initio potential of Waldrop et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 142, 204307 (2015)]. Highly accurate experimental viscosity data indicate that both the present ab initio pair potential and the one of Waldrop et al. can be regarded as reference potentials, even though the quantum-chemical methods and basis sets differ. However, the uncertainties of the present potential and of the derived properties are estimated to be considerably lower.

  20. Accurate determination of selected pesticides in soya beans by liquid chromatography coupled to isotope dilution mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Huertas Pérez, J F; Sejerøe-Olsen, B; Fernández Alba, A R; Schimmel, H; Dabrio, M

    2015-05-01

    A sensitive, accurate and simple liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry method for the determination of 10 selected pesticides in soya beans has been developed and validated. The method is intended for use during the characterization of selected pesticides in a reference material. In this process, high accuracy and appropriate uncertainty levels associated to the analytical measurements are of utmost importance. The analytical procedure is based on sample extraction by the use of a modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, safe) extraction and subsequent clean-up of the extract with C18, PSA and Florisil. Analytes were separated on a C18 column using gradient elution with water-methanol/2.5 mM ammonium acetate mobile phase, and finally identified and quantified by triple quadrupole mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring mode (MRM). Reliable and accurate quantification of the analytes was achieved by means of stable isotope-labelled analogues employed as internal standards (IS) and calibration with pure substance solutions containing both, the isotopically labelled and native compounds. Exceptions were made for thiodicarb and malaoxon where the isotopically labelled congeners were not commercially available at the time of analysis. For the quantification of those compounds methomyl-(13)C2(15)N and malathion-D10 were used respectively. The method was validated according to the general principles covered by DG SANCO guidelines. However, validation criteria were set more stringently. Mean recoveries were in the range of 86-103% with RSDs lower than 8.1%. Repeatability and intermediate precision were in the range of 3.9-7.6% and 1.9-8.7% respectively. LODs were theoretically estimated and experimentally confirmed to be in the range 0.001-0.005 mg kg(-1) in the matrix, while LOQs established as the lowest spiking mass fractionation level were in the range 0.01-0.05 mg kg(-1). The method reliably identifies and quantifies the

  1. Developing a New Thermophysical Model for Lunar Regolith Soil at Low Temperatures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Woods-Robinson, R.; Siegler, M. A.; Paige, D. A.

    2016-12-01

    The thermophysical properties of the lunar regolith soil have been thoroughly investigated within the temperature range of 100 - 400 K. Extensive laboratory measurements of temperature-dependent thermal conductivity and specific heat have been performed on lunar samples collected from the Apollo and Luna missions. However, recent thermal emission measurements from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment have revealed temperatures near the poles as low 20 K, far below where existing thermophysical models begin to break down. In the absence of comprehensive laboratory measurements of lunar soil thermal properties at these low temperatures (20 - 100 K), we investigate solid state theory and lunar simulant materials to derive a physically-based theoretical model of specific heat and thermal conductivity in lunar soils in the full range 20 - 400 K. The primary distinctions between this model and its predecessors are: The focus on soil bulk density as a master variable The temperature dependence of the solid conduction component of thermal conductivity at low temperatures, and The concept that the composition and modal petrology of grains - both amorphous and crystalline components - could significantly influence thermal properties of the bulk soil. The simplest version of this model, which assumes that the soil behaves predominantly as a homogeneous particulate material composed of amorphous grains, shows that at low temperatures (20 - 100 K), specific heat is likely higher than expected from current models ( 0.027 J/gK at 20 K) and that thermal conductivity is almost an order of magnitude lower than has generally been assumed in the literature.Any higher-order approximation is difficult at this stage; the thermal conductivity at low temperature could vary drastically depending on the constituent grain materials, their degree of crystallinity, and contributions from phonon scattering modes, among other factors. We use a one

  2. Thermophysical modelling for high-resolution digital terrain models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pelivan, I.

    2018-07-01

    A method is presented for efficiently calculating surface temperatures for highly resolved celestial body shapes. A thorough investigation of the necessary conditions leading to reach model convergence shows that the speed of surface temperature convergence depends on factors such as the quality of initial boundary conditions, thermal inertia, illumination conditions, and resolution of the numerical depth grid. The optimization process to shorten the simulation time while increasing or maintaining the accuracy of model results includes the introduction of facet-specific boundary conditions such as pre-computed temperature estimates and pre-evaluated simulation times. The individual facet treatment also allows for assigning other facet-specific properties such as local thermal inertia. The approach outlined in this paper is particularly useful for very detailed digital terrain models in combination with unfavourable illumination conditions such as little-to-no sunlight at all for a period of time as experienced locally on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Possible science applications include thermal analysis of highly resolved local (landing) sites experiencing seasonal, environment, and lander shadowing. In combination with an appropriate roughness model, the method is very suitable for application to disc-integrated and disc-resolved data. Further applications are seen where the complexity of the task has led to severe shape or thermophysical model simplifications such as in studying surface activity or thermal cracking.

  3. Thermophysical modeling for high-resolution digital terrain models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pelivan, I.

    2018-04-01

    A method is presented for efficiently calculating surface temperatures for highly resolved celestial body shapes. A thorough investigation of the necessary conditions leading to reach model convergence shows that the speed of surface temperature convergence depends on factors such as the quality of initial boundary conditions, thermal inertia, illumination conditions, and resolution of the numerical depth grid. The optimization process to shorten the simulation time while increasing or maintaining the accuracy of model results includes the introduction of facet-specific boundary conditions such as pre-computed temperature estimates and pre-evaluated simulation times. The individual facet treatment also allows for assigning other facet-specific properties such as local thermal inertia. The approach outlined in this paper is particularly useful for very detailed digital terrain models in combination with unfavorable illumination conditions such as little to no sunlight at all for a period of time as experienced locally on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Possible science applications include thermal analysis of highly resolved local (landing) sites experiencing seasonal, environment and lander shadowing. In combination with an appropriate roughness model, the method is very suitable for application to disk-integrated and disk-resolved data. Further applications are seen where the complexity of the task has led to severe shape or thermophysical model simplifications such as in studying surface activity or thermal cracking.

  4. Prediction of the thermophysical properties of molten salt fast reactor fuel from first-principles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gheribi, A. E.; Corradini, D.; Dewan, L.; Chartrand, P.; Simon, C.; Madden, P. A.; Salanne, M.

    2014-05-01

    Molten fluorides are known to show favourable thermophysical properties which make them good candidate coolants for nuclear fission reactors. Here we investigate the special case of mixtures of lithium fluoride and thorium fluoride, which act both as coolant and as fuel in the molten salt fast reactor concept. By using ab initio parameterised polarisable force fields, we show that it is possible to calculate the whole set of properties (density, thermal expansion, heat capacity, viscosity and thermal conductivity) which are necessary for assessing the heat transfer performance of the melt over the whole range of compositions and temperatures. We then deduce from our calculations several figures of merit which are important in helping the optimisation of the design of molten salt fast reactors.

  5. Investigation of Some Potent Medicinal Plants of N.E.INDIA with Respect to Thermophysical, Chromatographic and Crystallographic Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bora, M. N.; Kalita, Mahendra

    2010-06-01

    North East India is readily available of various kinds of medicinal plants. A lot of studies on thermophysical properties of plant leaves, fluids, stems and roots had already been made[3,4,8]. In the present studies of thermophysical properties, chromatographic and crystallographic properties of specific medicinal plant leaves (Azadirechta indica)A, (Vinca rosea)B, (Clerodrendrum colebrookianum)C, (Osimum sanctum)D and fruits (Chisocheton paniculatus) E, and (Cudrania javanensis) F have been made plant based drugs for curing for different chronic diseases. The thermophysical properties of these leaves and fruits have been studies with XRD, XRF, TG, DTG, DTA, and DSC thermograms. From weight loss(%), time and temperature variations, the Activation Energies of these medicinal plant samples have been computed. The thermal stability is found more for the fruits samples than that of the leave samples. Thermal behaviours of all six samples have shown hygroscopic behaviour. The results TG, DTG and DTA thermograms confirmed that all samples show similar dehydration and decomposition reactions and hydrophilic nature. Both chromatographic techniques thin layer (TLC) and Column chromatography have been used for separation of components of the mixtures of samples. From these methods of the fruit sample E a pure crystalline white solids have been identified and confirm them as (MK 01) α-isomer. Our interest to study the molecular and crystal structure of the sample E. The single crystal of (MK 01) is found to be orthorhombic cell with lattice parameters a = 10ṡ699(3)Å b = 15ṡ5100(4)Å c = 16ṡ626(4)Å α = 90° β = 90° γ = 90° with space group P212121 Again from fruit sample F a light yellow solid is isolated and on crystallization give crystalline solid MN-01 and MN-02 and it is confirmed that these two compounds are unsaturated isoflavonoids. The single crystal of MN-01 has been found monoclinic with lattice parameters a = 6.2374(11)Å, b = 8.4243(11)Å, c = 21

  6. Cold spraying SiC/Al metal matrix composites: effects of SiC contents and heat treatment on microstructure, thermophysical and flexural properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gyansah, L.; Tariq, N. H.; Tang, J. R.; Qiu, X.; Feng, B.; Huang, J.; Du, H.; Wang, J. Q.; Xiong, T. Y.

    2018-02-01

    In this paper, cold spray was used as an additive manufacturing method to fabricate 5 mm thick SiC/Al metal matrix composites with various SiC contents. The effects of SiC contents and heat treatment on the microstructure, thermophysical and flexural properties were investigated. Additionally, the composites were characterized for retention of SiC particulates, splat size, surface roughness and the progressive understanding of strengthening, toughening and cracking mechanisms. Mechanical properties were investigated via three-point bending test, thermophysical analysis, and hardness test. In the as-sprayed state, flexural strength increased from 95.3 MPa to 133.5 MPa, an appreciation of 40% as the SiC contents increased, and the main toughening and strengthening mechanisms were zigzag crack propagation and high retention of SiC particulates respectively. In the heat treatment conditions, flexural strength appreciated significantly compared to the as-sprayed condition and this was as a result of coarsening of pure Al splat. Crack branching, crack deflection and interface delamination were considered as the main toughening mechanisms at the heat treatment conditions. Experimental results were consistent with the measured CTE, hardness, porosity and flexural modulus.

  7. Thermophysical Properties of Fluid Latent Heat Storage Material using Urea-Water Mixture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hokamura, Taku; Ohkubo, Hidetoshi; Ashizawa, Kiyonori

    This study is concerned with the measurement of thermophysical properties of a urea-water mixture with the aim of adopting the mixture as a latent heat storage material for air-conditioning systems. The urea-water mixture is made of natural substances and has a good fluidity. The urea concentration in the mixture was controlled by measuring the refractive index of the mixture. Being a multi-component substance, a urea-water solution has a liquid-solid co-existent phase on a phase-diagram. Therefore, the liquidus temperature was measured to establish a relationship between the fraction of the solid-phase and temperature. Furthermore, apparent values of specific heat and coefficient of viscosity were measured in the two-phase region where the solid phase is ice. The apparent specific heat and coefficient of viscosity were measure by using an adiabatic calorimeter and a stirring torque meter respectively. The results revealed that the urea-water mixture can probably be used as a latent heat storage material of good fluidity.

  8. Thermophysical Property Measurements of Molten Slag and Welding Flux by Aerodynamic Levitator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Onodera, Kenta; Nakamura, Airi; Hakamada, Shinya; Watanabe, Masahito; Kargl, Florian

    Molten slag and welding flux are important materials for steel processing. Due to lack of durable refractory materials, there is limited publication data on the thermophysical properties of these slags. Therefore, in this study, we measured density and viscosity of CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 slag and welding flux using Aerodynamic Levitation (ADL) with CO2-laser heating in which can be achieve containerless and non-contacting conditions for measurements. For density measurements, in order to obtain correct shape of the droplet we used high-speed camera with the extended He-Ne laser to project the shadow image without the influence of the selfluminescence at the high temperature. For viscosity measurement, we also have a unique vibration method; it caused oscillation in a sample by letting gas for levitation vibrate by an acoustic speaker. Using these techniques, we succeeded to measure systematically density and viscosity of molten oxides system.

  9. Thermophysical properties of heat-treated U-7Mo/Al dispersion fuel

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cho, Tae Won; Kim, Yeon Soo; Park, Jong Man

    In this study, the effects of interaction layer (IL) on thermophysical properties of U-7Mo/Al dispersion fuel were examined. Microstructural analyses revealed that ILs were formed uniformly on U-Mo particles during heating of U-7Mo/Al samples. The IL volume fraction was measured by applying image analysis methods. The uranium loadings of the samples were calculated based on the measured meat densities at 298 K. The density of the IL was estimated by using the measured density and IL volume fraction. Thermal diffusivity and heat capacity of the samples after the heat treatment were measured as a function of temperature and volume fractionsmore » of U-Mo and IL. The thermal conductivity of IL-formed U-7Mo/Al was derived by using the measured thermal diffusivity, heat capacity, and density. The thermal conductivity obtained in the present study was lower than that predicted by the modified Hashin–Shtrikman model due to the theoretical model’s inability to consider the thermal resistance at interfaces between the meat constituents.« less

  10. Thermophysical properties of heat-treated U-7Mo/Al dispersion fuel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cho, Tae Won; Kim, Yeon Soo; Park, Jong Man; Lee, Kyu Hong; Kim, Sunghwan; Lee, Chong Tak; Yang, Jae Ho; Oh, Jang Soo; Sohn, Dong-Seong

    2018-04-01

    In this study, the effects of interaction layer (IL) on thermophysical properties of U-7Mo/Al dispersion fuel were examined. Microstructural analyses revealed that ILs were formed uniformly on U-Mo particles during heating of U-7Mo/Al samples. The IL volume fraction was measured by applying image analysis methods. The uranium loadings of the samples were calculated based on the measured meat densities at 298 K. The density of the IL was estimated by using the measured density and IL volume fraction. Thermal diffusivity and heat capacity of the samples after the heat treatment were measured as a function of temperature and volume fractions of U-Mo and IL. The thermal conductivity of IL-formed U-7Mo/Al was derived by using the measured thermal diffusivity, heat capacity, and density. The thermal conductivity obtained in the present study was lower than that predicted by the modified Hashin-Shtrikman model due to the theoretical model's inability to consider the thermal resistance at interfaces between the meat constituents.

  11. Intelligent sensor in control systems for objects with changing thermophysical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Belousov, O. A.; Muromtsev, D. Yu; Belyaev, M. P.

    2018-04-01

    The control of heat devices in a wide temperature range given thermophysical properties of an object is a topical issue. Optimal control systems of electric furnaces have to meet strict requirements in terms of accuracy of production procedures and efficiency of energy consumption. The fulfillment of these requirements is possible only if the dynamics model describing adequately the processes occurring in the furnaces is used to calculate the optimal control actions. One of the types of electric furnaces is the electric chamber furnace intended for heat treatment of various materials at temperatures from thousands of degrees Celsius and above. To solve the above-mentioned problem and to determine its place in the system of energy-efficient control of dynamic modes in the electric furnace, we propose the concept of an intelligent sensor and a method of synthesizing variables on sets of functioning states. The use of synthesis algorithms for optimal control in real time ensures the required accuracy when operating under different conditions and operating modes of the electric chamber furnace.

  12. Thermophysical properties of undercooled liquid Co-Mo alloys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, X. J.; Wei, B.

    2003-05-01

    Using electromagnetic levitation in combination with the oscillating drop technique and drop calorimeter method, the surface tensions and specific heats of undercooled liquid Co-10 wt% Mo, Co-26.3 wt% Mo, and Co-37.6 wt% Mo alloys were measured. The containerless state during levitation produces substantial undercoolings up to 223 K (0.13TL), 213 K (0.13TL) and 110 K (0.07TL) respectively for these three alloys. In their respective undercooling ranges, the surface tensions were determined to be 1895 m 0.31(T m 1744), 1932 m 0.33(T m 1682), and 1989 m 0.34(T m 1607) mN mу. According to the Butler equation, the surface tensions of these three Co-Mo alloys were also calculated, and the results agree well with the experimental data. The specific heats of these three alloys are determined to be 41.85, 43.75 and 44.92 J molу Kу. Based on the determined surface tensions and specific heats, the changes in thermodynamics functions such as enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs free energy are predicted. Furthermore, the crystal nucleation, dendrite growth and Marangoni convection of undercooled Co-Mo alloys are investigated in the light of these measured thermophysical properties.

  13. Thermophysical properties of liquid Ni around the melting temperature from molecular dynamics simulation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rozas, R. E.; Department of Physics, University of Bío-Bío, Av. Collao 1202, P.O. Box 5C, Concepción; Demiraǧ, A. D.

    Thermophysical properties of liquid nickel (Ni) around the melting temperature are investigated by means of classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, using three different embedded atom method potentials to model the interactions between the Ni atoms. Melting temperature, enthalpy, static structure factor, self-diffusion coefficient, shear viscosity, and thermal diffusivity are compared to recent experimental results. Using ab initio MD simulation, we also determine the static structure factor and the mean-squared displacement at the experimental melting point. For most of the properties, excellent agreement is found between experiment and simulation, provided the comparison relative to the corresponding melting temperature. We discuss themore » validity of the Hansen-Verlet criterion for the static structure factor as well as the Stokes-Einstein relation between self-diffusion coefficient and shear viscosity. The thermal diffusivity is extracted from the autocorrelation function of a wavenumber-dependent temperature fluctuation variable.« less

  14. Morphologic and thermophysical characteristics of lava flows southwest of Arsia Mons, Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crown, David A.; Ramsey, Michael S.

    2017-08-01

    The morphologic and thermophysical characteristics of part of the extensive lava flow fields southwest of Arsia Mons (22.5-27.5°S, 120-130°W) have been examined using a combination of orbital VNIR and TIR datasets. THEMIS images provide context for the regional geology and record diurnal temperature variability that is diverse and unusual for flow surfaces in such close proximity. CTX images were used to distinguish dominant flow types and assess local age relationships between individual lava flows. CTX and HiRISE images provide detailed information on flow surface textures and document aeolian effects as they reveal fine-grained deposits in many low-lying areas of the flow surfaces as well as small patches of transverse aeolian ridges. Although this region is generally dust-covered and has a lower overall thermal inertia, the THEMIS data indicate subtle spectral variations within the population of lava flows studied. These variations could be due to compositional differences among the flows or related to mixing of flow and aeolian materials. Specific results regarding flow morphology include: a) Two main lava flow types (bright, rugged and dark, smooth as observed in CTX images) dominate the southwest Arsia Mons/NE Daedalia Planum region; b) the bright, rugged flows have knobby, ridged, and/or platy surface textures, commonly have medial channel/levee systems, and may have broad distal lobes; c) the dark, smooth flows extend from distributary systems that consist of combinations of lava channels, lava tubes, and/or sinuous ridges and plateaus; and d) steep-sided, terraced margins, digitate breakout lobes, and smooth-surfaced plateaus along lava channel/tube systems are interpreted as signatures of flow inflation within the dark, smooth flow type. These flows exhibit smoother upper surfaces, are thinner, and have more numerous, smaller lobes, which, along with their the channel-/tube-fed nature, indicate a lower viscosity lava than for the bright, rugged flows

  15. (1173) Anchises - thermophysical and dynamical studies of a dynamically unstable Jovian Trojan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Horner, J.; Müller, T. G.; Lykawka, P. S.

    2012-07-01

    We have performed detailed thermophysical and dynamical modelling of the Jovian Trojan (1173) Anchises. Our results show that this is the most unusual object. By examining observational data of Anchises taken by IRAS, Akari and WISE at wavelengths between 11.5 and 60 μm, together with the variations in its optical light curve, we find that Anchises is most likely an elongated body, with an axis ratio, a/b, of around 1.4. This results in calculated best-fitting dimensions for Anchises of 170 × 121 × 121 km (or an equivalent diameter of 136 +18/-11 km). We find that the observations of Anchises are best fitted by the object having a retrograde sense of rotation, and an unusually high thermal inertia in the range 25-100 J m-2 s-0.5 K-1 (3σ confidence level). The geometric albedo of Anchises is found to be 0.027 (+0.006/-0.007). Anchises therefore has one of the highest published thermal inertias of any object larger than 100 km in diameter, at such large heliocentric distances, as well as being one of the lowest albedo objects ever observed. More observations (visual and thermal) are needed to see whether there is a link between the very shallow phase curve, with almost no opposition effect, and the derived thermal properties for this large Trojan asteroid. Our dynamical investigation of Anchises' orbit has revealed it to be dynamically unstable on time-scales of hundreds of millions of years, similar to the unstable Neptunian Trojans 2001 QR322 and 2008 LC18. Unlike those objects, however, we find that the dynamical stability of Anchises is not a function of its initial orbital elements, the result of the exceptional precision with which its orbit is known. Our results are the first to show that a Jovian Trojan is dynamically unstable, and add further weight to the idea that the planetary Trojans likely represent a significant ongoing contribution to the dynamically unstable Centaur population, the parents of the short-period comets. The observed instability

  16. Journal of Engineering Thermophysics (Selected Articles),

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-05-13

    compressor, prediction of unsteady vibration , and prevention of unsteady vibration . This test was undergone on a turbojet engine. The paper stresses the...induce unsteady engine vibration . While studying the effect of inlet anomaly and variation of the first stage nozzle area of the turbine, the engine...constant revolution speed curve until unsteady vibration or stall appeared. In studying the influence of the starting sequence, starting was

  17. Journal of Engineering Thermophysics (Selected Articles),

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-05-20

    A SURGE TEST OF A TWIN-SHAFT TURBOJET ENGINE ON GROUND TEST BED* Chiang Feng (Shengyang Aeroengine Company) ABSTRACT Instrument technique for...oscillogram for the static pressure behind the two compressors. This noise was analyzed and believed to have arisen from the vibrations of the rotating blades...booms are heard. The vibrational energy of the surge is enormous, especially in the range of 85-90% of rotational speed. One can feel the vibrations

  18. Journal of Engineering Thermophysics (Selected Articles),

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-06-24

    References ŕ 3ao Yaolin, "The phenomenon of high temperature gasp vibration ir a compressor", progress report of Shenyang Aeroengine Company, iJZ1281, 1980...could be included objectively in the design. I. Introduction For the aeroengine design of this date, the part span shroud usually is added on the...Shenyang Aeroenging Resesarch Institute, 1978. 17 er ,. nz , .Mu .! ,;- A : ., - .. .. 3 . . -.. Shenvan Aer .engine a.. Li Keming Shenyang Aeroengine

  19. Journal of Engineering Thermophysics (Selected Articles).

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-11-04

    ii * Application of Non-OrthogonalCurvilinear Coordinates to Calculate the Flow in Turbomachines, by Chen Nai-xing...from the best quality copy available. APPLICATION OF NON-ORTHOGONAL CURVILINEAR COORDINATES TO CALCULATE THE FLOW IN TURBOMACHINES* Chen Nai-xing...February, 1980. [5] Chen Jingyi, Liu Diankui: The General Form of the Equation of Motion of a Turbomachine along a Curve and its Application February

  20. Effects of copper vapour on thermophysical properties of CO2-N2 plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhong, Linlin; Wang, Xiaohua; Rong, Mingzhe; Cressault, Yann

    2016-10-01

    CO2-N2 mixtures are often used as arc quenching medium (to replace SF6) in circuit breakers and shielding gas in arc welding. In such applications, copper vapour resulting from electrode surfaces can modify characteristics of plasmas. This paper therefore presents an investigation of the effects of copper on thermophysical properties of CO2-N2 plasma. The equilibrium compositions, thermodynamic properties (including mass density, specific enthalpy, and specific heat), transport coefficients (including electrical conductivity, viscosity, and thermal conductivity), and four kinds of combined diffusion coefficients due to composition gradients, applied electric fields, temperature gradients, and pressure gradients respectively, were calculated and discussed for CO2-N2 (mixing ratio 7:3) plasma contaminated by different proportions of copper vapour. The significant influences of copper were observed on all the properties of CO2-N2-Cu mixtures. The better ionization ability and larger molar mass of copper and larger collision integrals related to copper, should be responsible for such influences.

  1. State-of-the-art ab initio potential energy curve for the krypton atom pair and thermophysical properties of dilute krypton gas

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jäger, Benjamin, E-mail: benjamin.jaeger@uni-rostock.de; Hellmann, Robert, E-mail: robert.hellmann@uni-rostock.de; Bich, Eckard

    2016-03-21

    A new reference krypton-krypton interatomic potential energy curve was developed by means of quantum-chemical ab initio calculations for 36 interatomic separations. Highly accurate values for the interaction energies at the complete basis set limit were obtained using the coupled-cluster method with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations as well as t-aug-cc-pV5Z and t-aug-cc-pV6Z basis sets including mid-bond functions, with the 6Z basis set being newly constructed for this study. Higher orders of coupled-cluster terms were considered in a successive scheme up to full quadruple excitations. Core-core and core-valence correlation effects were included. Furthermore, relativistic effects were studied not only atmore » a scalar relativistic level using second-order direct perturbation theory, but also utilizing full four-component and Gaunt-effect computations. An analytical pair potential function was fitted to the interaction energies, which is characterized by a depth of 200.88 K with an estimated standard uncertainty of 0.51 K. Thermophysical properties of low-density krypton were calculated for temperatures up to 5000 K. Second and third virial coefficients were obtained from statistical thermodynamics. Viscosity and thermal conductivity as well as the self-diffusion coefficient were computed using the kinetic theory of gases. The theoretical results are compared with experimental data and with results for other pair potential functions from the literature, especially with those calculated from the recently developed ab initio potential of Waldrop et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 142, 204307 (2015)]. Highly accurate experimental viscosity data indicate that both the present ab initio pair potential and the one of Waldrop et al. can be regarded as reference potentials, even though the quantum-chemical methods and basis sets differ. However, the uncertainties of the present potential and of the derived properties are estimated to be considerably lower.« less

  2. Thermophysical properties of 22 pure metals in the solid and liquid state - The pulse-heating data collection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hüpf, T.; Cagran, C.; Pottlacher, G.

    2011-05-01

    The workgroup of subsecond thermophysics in Graz has a long tradition in performing fast pulseheating experiments on metals and alloys. Thereby, wire-shaped specimens are rapidly heated (108 K/s) by a large current-pulse (104 A). This method provides thermophysical properties like volume-expansion, enthalpy and electrical resistivity up to the end of the liquid phase. Today, no more experiments on pure metals are to be expected, because almost all elements, which are suitable for pulse-heating so far, have been investigated. The requirements for pulse-heating are: a melting point which is high enough to enable pyrometric temperature measurements and the availability of wire-shaped specimens. These elements are: Co, Cu, Au, Hf, In, Ir, Fe, Pb, Mo, Ni, Nb, Pd, Pt, Re, Rh, Ag, Ta, Ti, W, V, Zn, and Zr. Hence, it is the correct time to present the results in a collected form. We provide data for the above mentioned quantities together with basic information on each material. The uniqueness of this compilation is the high temperature range covered and the homogeneity of the measurement conditions (the same method, the same laboratory, etc.). The latter makes it a good starting point for comparative analyses (e.g. a comparison of all 22 enthalpy traces is in first approximation conform with the rule of Dulong-Petit which states heat capacity - the slope of enthalpy traces - as a function of the number of atoms). The data is useful for input parameters in numerical simulations and it is a major purpose of our ongoing research to provide data for simulations of casting processes for the metal working industry. This work demonstrates some examples of how a data compilation like this can be utilized. Additionally, the latest completive measurement results on Ag, Ni, Ti, and Zr are described.

  3. Thermophysical properties and rheological behavior of electro-rheological fluids at different temperatures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Korobko, Evguenia V.; Korobko, Yulia O.

    2000-04-01

    Fluid disperse systems, sensitive to the external electric field-electrorheological fluids, are finding increasing use in various areas of industry and technology. Their physicomechanical, electrophysical characteristics determine the valuable specific properties of the materials with assigned structure, obtainable with everwide use of electric fields, which makes it possible to substantially enhance efficiency and productiveness of technological processes and to improve the control of operational regimes of the equipment which employ fluid disperse media. The present investigations has been undertaken with the aim of studying thermophysical properties and rheophysical behavior of low-concentration ER- fluid (diatomite in transformer oil) at different temperatures. It was shown that the electric field, which changes considerably the structure of electrorheological fluid, influences effective thermal conductivity and diffusivity coefficients. Their increase with electric field intensity and the increase of the effective viscosity with temperature are connected with the increase of the conductive component of the overall heat transfer through the contact spots between the solid particles, and with intensification of electric convection in the spaces between the dispersed particles.

  4. Specific heat and related thermophysical properties of liquid Fe-Cu-Mo alloy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Haipeng; Luo, Bingchi; Chang, Jian; Wei, Bingbo

    2007-08-01

    The specific heat and related thermophysical properties of liquid Fe77.5Cu13Mo9.5 monotectic alloy were investigated by an electromagnetic levitation drop calorimeter over a wide temperature range from 1482 to 1818 K. A maximum undercooling of 221 K (0.13 T m) was achieved and the specific heat was determined as 44.71 J·mol-1·K-1. The excess specific heat, enthalpy change, entropy change and Gibbs free energy difference of this alloy were calculated on the basis of experimental results. It was found that the calculated results by traditional estimating methods can only describe the solidification process under low undercooling conditions. Only the experimental results can reflect the reality under high undercooling conditions. Meanwhile, the thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and sound speed were derived from the present experimental results. Furthermore, the solidified microstructural morphology was examined, which consists of (Fe) and (Cu) phases. The calculated interface energy was applied to exploring the correlation between competitive nucleation and solidification microstructure within monotectic alloy.

  5. On thermophysical effects on the surface of functional nanostructured materials obtained with the application of femtosecond laser pulses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Babenko, D. D.; Dmitriev, A. S.; Makarov, P. G.; Mikhailova, I. A.

    2017-11-01

    In recent years, a great scientific and practical interest is caused by functional energy surfaces, modified for certain technological problems. The urgency of the work is to develop promising technologies for thermal and nuclear power engineering, methods for converting solar energy, cooling low-current and high-current electronics devices, energy storage and transport systems on the basis of studying and developing new ways of creating and modifying the functional surfaces of heat exchange and other devices. Modified functional surfaces must have a number of new mechanical and thermophysical properties, including mechanical strength, a new surface morphology for controlling the processes of wetting and spreading working fluids on them, and have high efficiency from the viewpoint of thermohydrodynamic processes of flow and heat and mass transfer of working fluids to them. Among the various ways of modifying surfaces, recently, the method of surface exposure to femtosecond laser pulses (FLI) has become widespread. The technology of femtosecond laser surface treatment (FLPO) of solid materials has shown high efficiency, reliability, high productivity and a huge variety of modification methods. The paper presents new results on the study of thermophysical phenomena - the wetting and spreading of drops of various liquids, the study of the hysteresis of the contact angle, the study of evaporation and boiling processes on functional energy surfaces modified by femtosecond laser pulses. It is shown that in the majority of cases the presence of regular or stochastic nanostructures on the surface leads to a very strong change in the basic properties of the surface, which makes it possible to use such a technology to quickly and efficiently modify and obtain functional energy surfaces for certain predetermined purposes.

  6. Predicting critical temperatures of ionic and non-ionic fluids from thermophysical data obtained near the melting point.

    PubMed

    Weiss, Volker C

    2015-10-14

    In the correlation and prediction of thermophysical data of fluids based on a corresponding-states approach, the critical temperature Tc plays a central role. For some fluids, in particular ionic ones, however, the critical region is difficult or even impossible to access experimentally. For molten salts, Tc is on the order of 3000 K, which makes accurate measurements a challenging task. Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) decompose thermally between 400 K and 600 K due to their organic constituents; this range of temperatures is hundreds of degrees below recent estimates of their Tc. In both cases, reliable methods to deduce Tc based on extrapolations of experimental data recorded at much lower temperatures near the triple or melting points are needed and useful because the critical point influences the fluid's behavior in the entire liquid region. Here, we propose to employ the scaling approach leading to universal fluid behavior [Román et al., J. Chem. Phys. 123, 124512 (2005)] to derive a very simple expression that allows one to estimate Tc from the density of the liquid, the surface tension, or the enthalpy of vaporization measured in a very narrow range of low temperatures. We demonstrate the validity of the approach for simple and polar neutral fluids, for which Tc is known, and then use the methodology to obtain estimates of Tc for ionic fluids. When comparing these estimates to those reported in the literature, good agreement is found for RTILs, whereas the ones for the molten salts NaCl and KCl are lower than previous estimates by 10%. The coexistence curve for ionic fluids is found to be more adequately described by an effective exponent of βeff = 0.5 than by βeff = 0.33.

  7. Assessment of the Flammability of Aircraft Hydraulic Fluids

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-07-01

    and C. Y. Ito, Editors, " Thermophysical Properties of Selected Aerospace Materials," Part 1, Thermal Radiation Properties , Purdue University., 1976...34 Thermophysical Properties of Selected Aerospace Materials," Part 1, Thermal Radiation Properties , Purdue University, 1976. 9. J. M. Kuchta, "Summary of...propagation properties , and heats of combustion of a number of aircraft fluids. These included currently used (cont’d) FtORM DD I JAN 7 1473 EDITION

  8. An algorithm for selecting the most accurate protocol for contact angle measurement by drop shape analysis.

    PubMed

    Xu, Z N

    2014-12-01

    In this study, an error analysis is performed to study real water drop images and the corresponding numerically generated water drop profiles for three widely used static contact angle algorithms: the circle- and ellipse-fitting algorithms and the axisymmetric drop shape analysis-profile (ADSA-P) algorithm. The results demonstrate the accuracy of the numerically generated drop profiles based on the Laplace equation. A significant number of water drop profiles with different volumes, contact angles, and noise levels are generated, and the influences of the three factors on the accuracies of the three algorithms are systematically investigated. The results reveal that the above-mentioned three algorithms are complementary. In fact, the circle- and ellipse-fitting algorithms show low errors and are highly resistant to noise for water drops with small/medium volumes and contact angles, while for water drop with large volumes and contact angles just the ADSA-P algorithm can meet accuracy requirement. However, this algorithm introduces significant errors in the case of small volumes and contact angles because of its high sensitivity to noise. The critical water drop volumes of the circle- and ellipse-fitting algorithms corresponding to a certain contact angle error are obtained through a significant amount of computation. To improve the precision of the static contact angle measurement, a more accurate algorithm based on a combination of the three algorithms is proposed. Following a systematic investigation, the algorithm selection rule is described in detail, while maintaining the advantages of the three algorithms and overcoming their deficiencies. In general, static contact angles over the entire hydrophobicity range can be accurately evaluated using the proposed algorithm. The ease of erroneous judgment in static contact angle measurements is avoided. The proposed algorithm is validated by a static contact angle evaluation of real and numerically generated water drop

  9. Lamb mode selection for accurate wall loss estimation via guided wave tomography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huthwaite, P.; Ribichini, R.; Lowe, M. J. S.; Cawley, P.

    2014-02-01

    Guided wave tomography offers a method to accurately quantify wall thickness losses in pipes and vessels caused by corrosion. This is achieved using ultrasonic waves transmitted over distances of approximately 1-2m, which are measured by an array of transducers and then used to reconstruct a map of wall thickness throughout the inspected region. To achieve accurate estimations of remnant wall thickness, it is vital that a suitable Lamb mode is chosen. This paper presents a detailed evaluation of the fundamental modes, S0 and A0, which are of primary interest in guided wave tomography thickness estimates since the higher order modes do not exist at all thicknesses, to compare their performance using both numerical and experimental data while considering a range of challenging phenomena. The sensitivity of A0 to thickness variations was shown to be superior to S0, however, the attenuation from A0 when a liquid loading was present was much higher than S0. A0 was less sensitive to the presence of coatings on the surface of than S0.

  10. Variation of thermophysical parameters of PCM CaCl2.6H2O with dopant from T-history data analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sutjahja, I. M.; Silalahi, Alfriska O.; Sukmawati, Nissa; Kurnia, D.; Wonorahardjo, S.

    2018-03-01

    T-history is a powerful method for deriving the thermophysical parameters of a phase change material (PCM), which consists of solid and liquid specific heats as well as latent heat enthalpy. The performance of a PCM for thermal energy storage could be altered by chemical dopants added directly to the PCM in order to form a stable suspension. We described in this paper the role of chemical dopants in the variation of thermophysical parameters for CaCl2 · 6H2O inorganic PCM with 1 wt% and 2 wt% dopant concentration and BaSO4 (1 wt%) as a nucleator using the T-history method. The dopant consists graphite and CuO nanoparticles. The data analysis follows the original method proposed by (Zhang et al 1999 Meas. Sci. Technol. 10 201–205) and its modification by (Hong et al 2004 Int. J. Refrig. 27 360–366). In addition, the enthalpy-temperature curve is obtained by adopting a method proposed by (Marín et al 2003 Meas. Sci. Technol. 14 184–189). We found that the solid specific heat tends to increase non-linearly with increased dopant concentration for all dopants. The increased liquid specific heat, however, indicates the optimum value for 1 wt% graphite dopant. In contrast, the CuO dopant shows a smaller increase in dopant concentration. The specific heat data are analyzed based on the interacting mesolayer model for a nanofluid. The heat of fusion show strong variation with dopant type, in agreement with other experimental data for various PCMs and dopant particles.

  11. Treating knee pain: history taking and accurate diagnoses.

    PubMed

    Barratt, Julian

    2010-07-01

    Prompt and effective diagnosis and treatment for common knee problems depend on practitioners' ability to distinguish between traumatic and inflammatory knee conditions. This article aims to enable practitioners to make accurate assessments, carry out knee examinations and undertake selected special tests as necessary before discharging or referring patients.

  12. Rotating flow over a stretching sheet in nanofluid using Buongiorno model and thermophysical properties of nanoliquids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bakar, Nor Ashikin Abu; Bachok, Norfifah; Arifin, Norihan Md.

    2017-08-01

    The boundary layer flow and heat transfer in rotating nanofluid over a stretching sheet using Buongiorno model and thermophysical properties of nanoliquids is studied. Four types of nanoparticles, namely silver (Ag), copper (Cu), alumina (Al2O3) and titania (TiO2) are used in our analysis with water as the base fluid (Prandtl number, Pr = 6.2). The nonlinear partial differential equations are transformed into ordinary differential equations by using the similarity transformation. The numerical solutions of these equation is obtained using shooting method in Maple software. The numerical results is concentrated on the effects of nanoparticle volume fraction φ, Brownian motion Nb, thermophoresis Nt, rotation Ω and suction S parameters on the skin friction coefficient and heat transfer rate. Dual solutions are observed in a certain range of the rotating parameter.

  13. An "intelligent" approach based on side-by-side cascade-correlation neural networks for estimating thermophysical properties from photothermal responses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grieu, Stéphane; Faugeroux, Olivier; Traoré, Adama; Claudet, Bernard; Bodnar, Jean-Luc

    2015-01-01

    In the present paper, an artificial-intelligence-based approach dealing with the estimation of thermophysical properties is designed and evaluated. This new and "intelligent" approach makes use of photothermal responses obtained when subjecting materials to a light flux. So, the main objective of the present work was to estimate simultaneously both the thermal diffusivity and conductivity of materials, from front-face or rear-face photothermal responses to pseudo random binary signals. To this end, we used side-by-side feedforward neural networks trained with the cascade-correlation algorithm. In addition, computation time was a key point to consider. That is why the developed algorithms are computationally tractable.

  14. A System And Method To Determine Thermophysical Properties Of A Multi-Component Gas At Arbitrary Temperature And Pressure

    DOEpatents

    Morrow, Thomas E.; Behring, II, Kendricks A.

    2004-03-09

    A method to determine thermodynamic properties of a natural gas hydrocarbon, when the speed of sound in the gas is known at an arbitrary temperature and pressure. Thus, the known parameters are the sound speed, temperature, pressure, and concentrations of any dilute components of the gas. The method uses a set of reference gases and their calculated density and speed of sound values to estimate the density of the subject gas. Additional calculations can be made to estimate the molecular weight of the subject gas, which can then be used as the basis for mass flow calculations, to determine the speed of sound at standard pressure and temperature, and to determine various thermophysical characteristics of the gas.

  15. AC Calorimetry and Thermophysical Properties of Bulk Glass-Forming Metallic Liquids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnson, William L.

    2000-01-01

    Thermo-physical properties of two bulk metallic glass forming alloys, Ti34Zr11Cu47Ni8 (VIT 101) and Zr57Nb5Ni12.6Al10CU15.4 (VIT 106), were investigated in the stable and undercooled melt. Our investigation focused on measurements of the specific heat in the stable and undercooled liquid using the method of AC modulation calorimetry. The VIT 106 exhibited a maximum undercooling of 140 K in free radiative cooling. Specific heat measurements could be performed in stable melt down to an undercooling of 80 K. Analysis of the specific heat data indicate an anomaly near the equilibrium liquidus temperature. This anomaly is also observed in y the temperature dependencies of the external relaxation time, the specific volume, and the surface tension; it is tentatively attributed to a phase separation in the liquid state. The VIT 101 specimen exhibited a small undercooling of about 50 K. Specific heat measurements were performed in the stable and undercooled melt. These various results will be combined with ground based work such as the measurement of T-T-T curves in the electrostatic levitator and low temperature viscosity and specific heat measurements for modeling the nucleation kinetics of these alloys.

  16. Thermophysical properties and oxygen transport in (Th x,Pu 1-x)O 2

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Galvin, C. O. T.; Cooper, M. W. D.; Rushton, M. J. D.

    Using Molecular Dynamics, this paper investigates the thermophysical properties and oxygen transport of (Th x,Pu 1–x)O 2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) between 300–3500 K. Specifically, the superionic transition is investigated and viewed via the thermal dependence of lattice parameter, linear thermal expansion coefficient, enthalpy and specific heat at constant pressure. Oxygen diffusivity and activation enthalpy are also investigated. Below the superionic temperature an increase of oxygen diffusivity for certain compositions of (Th x,Pu 1–x)O 2 compared to the pure end members is predicted. Oxygen defect formation enthalpies are also examined, as they underpin the superionic transition temperature and themore » increase in oxygen diffusivity. The increase in oxygen diffusivity for (Th x,Pu 1–x)O 2 is explained in terms of lower oxygen defect formation enthalpies for (Th x,Pu 1–x)O 2 than PuO 2 and ThO 2, while links are drawn between the superionic transition temperature and oxygen Frenkel disorder.« less

  17. Thermophysical properties and oxygen transport in (Th x,Pu 1-x)O 2

    DOE PAGES

    Galvin, C. O. T.; Cooper, M. W. D.; Rushton, M. J. D.; ...

    2016-10-31

    Using Molecular Dynamics, this paper investigates the thermophysical properties and oxygen transport of (Th x,Pu 1–x)O 2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) between 300–3500 K. Specifically, the superionic transition is investigated and viewed via the thermal dependence of lattice parameter, linear thermal expansion coefficient, enthalpy and specific heat at constant pressure. Oxygen diffusivity and activation enthalpy are also investigated. Below the superionic temperature an increase of oxygen diffusivity for certain compositions of (Th x,Pu 1–x)O 2 compared to the pure end members is predicted. Oxygen defect formation enthalpies are also examined, as they underpin the superionic transition temperature and themore » increase in oxygen diffusivity. The increase in oxygen diffusivity for (Th x,Pu 1–x)O 2 is explained in terms of lower oxygen defect formation enthalpies for (Th x,Pu 1–x)O 2 than PuO 2 and ThO 2, while links are drawn between the superionic transition temperature and oxygen Frenkel disorder.« less

  18. Stability and thermophysical studies on deep eutectic solvent based carbon nanotube nanofluid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Yan Yao; Walvekar, Rashmi; Khalid, Mohammad; Shahbaz, Kaveh; Gupta, T. C. S. M.

    2017-07-01

    Commercial coolants such as water, ethylene glycol and triethylene glycol possess very low thermal conductivity, high vapor pressure, corrosion issues and low thermal stability thus limiting the thermal enhancement of the nanofluids. Thus, a new type of base fluid known as deep eutectic solvents (DESs) is proposed in this work as a potential substitute for the conventional base fluid due to their unique solvent properties such as low vapor pressure, high thermal stability, biodegradability and non-flammability. In this work, 33 different DESs derived from phosphonium halide salt and ammonium halide salts were synthesised. Carbon nantubes (CNTs) with different concentrations (0.01 wt%-0.08 wt%) were dispersed into DESs with the help of sonication. Stability of the nanofluids were determined using both qualitative (visual observation) and quantitative (UV spectroscopy) approach. In addition, thermo-physical properties such as thermal conductivity, specific heat, viscosity and density were investigated. The stability results indicated that phosphonium based DESs have higher stability (up to 4 d) as compared to ammonium-based DESs (up to 3 d). Thermal enhancement of 30% was observed for ammonium based DES-CNT nanofluid whereas negative thermal enhancement was observed in phosphonium based DES-CNT nanofluid.

  19. Short communication: Genetic lag represents commercial herd genetic merit more accurately than the 4-path selection model.

    PubMed

    Dechow, C D; Rogers, G W

    2018-05-01

    Expectation of genetic merit in commercial dairy herds is routinely estimated using a 4-path genetic selection model that was derived for a closed population, but commercial herds using artificial insemination sires are not closed. The 4-path model also predicts a higher rate of genetic progress in elite herds that provide artificial insemination sires than in commercial herds that use such sires, which counters other theoretical assumptions and observations of realized genetic responses. The aim of this work is to clarify whether genetic merit in commercial herds is more accurately reflected under the assumptions of the 4-path genetic response formula or by a genetic lag formula. We demonstrate by tracing the transmission of genetic merit from parents to offspring that the rate of genetic progress in commercial dairy farms is expected to be the same as that in the genetic nucleus. The lag in genetic merit between the nucleus and commercial farms is a function of sire and dam generation interval, the rate of genetic progress in elite artificial insemination herds, and genetic merit of sires and dams. To predict how strategies such as the use of young versus daughter-proven sires, culling heifers following genomic testing, or selective use of sexed semen will alter genetic merit in commercial herds, genetic merit expectations for commercial herds should be modeled using genetic lag expectations. Copyright © 2018 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Effect of a controlled burn on the thermophysical properties of a dry soil using a new model of soil heat flow and a new high temperature heat flux sensor

    Treesearch

    W. J. Massman; J. M. Frank

    2004-01-01

    Some fires can be beneficial to soils but, if a fire is sufficiently intense, soil can be irreversible altered. We measured soil temperatures and heat fluxes at several soil depths before, during, and after a controlled surface burn at Manitou Experimental Forest (southern Colorado, USA) to evaluate its effects on the soil's thermophysical properties (thermal...

  1. Thermo-Physical Properties of B2O3-Containing Mold Flux for High Carbon Steels in Thin Slab Continuous Casters: Structure, Viscosity, Crystallization, and Wettability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Jun-Yong; Kim, Gi Hyun; Kim, Jong Bae; Park, Sewoong; Sohn, Il

    2016-08-01

    The effect of B2O3 on the thermo-physical properties of commercial mold fluxes, including the viscosity, crystallization behavior, and wettability, was investigated. Viscosity was measured using the rotating spindle method, and CCT (continuous cooling transformation) diagrams were obtained to investigate the crystallization behavior at various cooling rates using CLSM (confocal laser scanning microscope). The wettability of the fluxes was determined by measuring the contact angles at 1573 K (1300 °C) using the digital images generated by the sessile drop method and were used to calculate the surface tension, interfacial tension, and work of adhesion for Flux A (existing flux) and B (modified flux). These thermo-physical properties were correlated with the structural analysis obtained using FT-IR (Fourier transform-infrared), Raman and MAS-NMR (magic angle spin-nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy. In addition, DTA (differential thermal analysis) was performed on the samples to measure the liquidus temperatures. Higher B2O3 concentrations resulted in lower liquidus temperatures, consequently decreasing the viscosity, the break temperature, and the crystallization temperature. However, B2O3 addition accelerated crystal growth owing to the higher diffusion kinetics of the cations, which also reduced the size of the liquid/solid co-existing region.

  2. Heat exchanger selection and design analyses for metal hydride heat pump systems

    DOE PAGES

    Mazzucco, Andrea; Voskuilen, Tyler G.; Waters, Essene L.; ...

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a design analysis for the development of highly efficient heat exchangers within stationary metal hydride heat pumps. The design constraints and selected performance criteria are applied to three representative heat exchangers. The proposed thermal model can be applied to select the most efficient heat exchanger design and provides outcomes generally valid in a pre-design stage. Heat transfer effectiveness is the principal performance parameter guiding the selection analysis, the results of which appear to be mildly (up to 13%) affected by the specific Nusselt correlation used. The thermo-physical properties of the heat transfer medium and geometrical parameters aremore » varied in the sensitivity analysis, suggesting that the length of independent tubes is the physical parameter that influences the performance of the heat exchangers the most. The practical operative regions for each heat exchanger are identified by finding the conditions over which the heat removal from the solid bed enables a complete and continuous hydriding reaction. The most efficient solution is a design example that achieves the target effectiveness of 95%.« less

  3. Thermophysical Properties and Structural Transition of Hg(0.8)Cd(0.2)Te Melt

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Li, C.; Scripa, R. N.; Ban, H.; Lin, B.; Su, C.; Lehoczky, S. L.

    2004-01-01

    Thermophysical properties, namely, density, viscosity, and electrical conductivity of Hg(sub o.8)Cd(sub 0.2)Te melt were measured as a function of temperature. A pycnometric method was used to measure the melt density in the temperature range of 1072 to 1122 K. The viscosity and electrical conductivity were simultaneously determined using a transient torque method from 1068 to 1132 K. The density result from this study is within 0.3% of the published data. However, the current viscosity result is approximately 30% lower than the existing data. The electrical conductivity of Hg(sub o.8)Cd(sub 0.2)Te melt as a function of temperature, which is not available in the literature, is also determined. The analysis of the temperature dependent electrical conductivity and the relationship between the kinematic viscosity and density indicated that the structure of the melt appeared to be homogeneous when the temperature was above 1090 K. A structural transition occurred in the Hg(sub 0.8)Cd(0.2)Te melt as the temperature was decreased from 1090 K to the liquidus temperature.

  4. Synthesis and thermo-physical properties of deep eutectic solvent-based graphene nanofluids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fang, Y. K.; Osama, M.; Rashmi, W.; Shahbaz, K.; Khalid, M.; Mjalli, F. S.; Farid, M. M.

    2016-02-01

    This study introduces a new class of heat transfer fluids by dispersing functionalised graphene oxide nanoparticles (GNPs) in ammonium and phosphonium-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) without the aid of a surfactant. Different molar ratios of salts and hydrogen bond donors (HBD) were used to synthesise DESs for the preparation of different concentrations of graphene nanofluids (GNFs). The concentrations of GNPs were 0.01 wt%, 0.02 wt% and 0.05 wt %. Homogeneous and stable suspensions of nanofluids were obtained by high speed homogenisation and an ultrasonication process. The stability of the GNFs was determined through visual observation for 4 weeks followed by a centrifugal process (5000-20 000 rpm) for 30 min in addition to zeta potential studies. Dispersion of the GNPs in DES was observed using an optical microscope. The synthesised DES-based GNFs showed no particle agglomeration and formation of sediments in the nanofluids. Thermo-physical properties such as thermal conductivity and specific heat of the nanofluids were also investigated in this research. The highest thermal conductivity enhancement of 177% was observed. The findings of this research provide a new class of engineered fluid for heat transfer applications as a function of temperature, type and composition DESs as well as the GNPs concentration.

  5. Investigating the effect of suspensions nanostructure on the thermophysical properties of nanofluids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tesfai, Waka; Singh, Pawan K.; Masharqa, Salim J. S.; Souier, Tewfik; Chiesa, Matteo; Shatilla, Youssef

    2012-12-01

    The effect of fractal dimensions and Feret diameter of aggregated nanoparticle on predicting the thermophysical properties of nanofluids is demonstrated. The fractal dimensions and Feret diameter distributions of particle agglomerates are quantified from scanning electron and probe microscope imaging of yttria nanofluids. The results are compared with the fractal dimensions calculated by fitting the rheological properties of yttria nanofluids against the modified Krieger-Dougherty model. Nanofluids of less than 1 vol. % particle loading are found to have fractal dimensions of below 1.8, which is typical for diffusion controlled cluster formation. By contrast, an increase in the particle loading increases the fractal dimension to 2.0-2.2. The fractal dimensions obtained from both methods are employed to predict the thermal conductivity of the nanofluids using the modified Maxwell-Garnet (M-G) model. The prediction from rheology is found inadequate and might lead up to 8% error in thermal conductivity for an improper choice of aspect ratio. Nevertheless, the prediction of the modified M-G model from the imaging is found to agree well with the experimentally observed effective thermal conductivity of the nanofluids. In addition, this study opens a new window on the study of aggregate kinetics, which is critical in tuning the properties of multiphase systems.

  6. Synthesis and thermo-physical properties of deep eutectic solvent-based graphene nanofluids.

    PubMed

    Fang, Y K; Osama, M; Rashmi, W; Shahbaz, K; Khalid, M; Mjalli, F S; Farid, M M

    2016-02-19

    This study introduces a new class of heat transfer fluids by dispersing functionalised graphene oxide nanoparticles (GNPs) in ammonium and phosphonium-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) without the aid of a surfactant. Different molar ratios of salts and hydrogen bond donors (HBD) were used to synthesise DESs for the preparation of different concentrations of graphene nanofluids (GNFs). The concentrations of GNPs were 0.01 wt%, 0.02 wt% and 0.05 wt %. Homogeneous and stable suspensions of nanofluids were obtained by high speed homogenisation and an ultrasonication process. The stability of the GNFs was determined through visual observation for 4 weeks followed by a centrifugal process (5000-20,000 rpm) for 30 min in addition to zeta potential studies. Dispersion of the GNPs in DES was observed using an optical microscope. The synthesised DES-based GNFs showed no particle agglomeration and formation of sediments in the nanofluids. Thermo-physical properties such as thermal conductivity and specific heat of the nanofluids were also investigated in this research. The highest thermal conductivity enhancement of 177% was observed. The findings of this research provide a new class of engineered fluid for heat transfer applications as a function of temperature, type and composition DESs as well as the GNPs concentration.

  7. Side-by-side ANFIS as a useful tool for estimating correlated thermophysical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grieu, Stéphane; Faugeroux, Olivier; Traoré, Adama; Claudet, Bernard; Bodnar, Jean-Luc

    2015-12-01

    In the present paper, an artificial intelligence-based approach dealing with the estimation of correlated thermophysical properties is designed and evaluated. This new and "intelligent" approach makes use of photothermal responses obtained when homogeneous materials are subjected to a light flux. Commonly, gradient-based algorithms are used as parameter estimation techniques. Unfortunately, such algorithms show instabilities leading to non-convergence in case of correlated properties to be estimated from a rebuilt impulse response. So, the main objective of the present work was to simultaneously estimate both the thermal diffusivity and conductivity of homogeneous materials, from front-face or rear-face photothermal responses to pseudo random binary signals. To this end, we used side-by-side neuro-fuzzy systems (adaptive network-based fuzzy inference systems) trained with a hybrid algorithm. We focused on the impact on generalization of both the examples used during training and the fuzzification process. In addition, computation time was a key point to consider. That is why the developed algorithm is computationally tractable and allows both the thermal diffusivity and conductivity of homogeneous materials to be simultaneously estimated with very good accuracy (the generalization error ranges between 4.6% and 6.2%).

  8. Extensively Parameterized Mutation-Selection Models Reliably Capture Site-Specific Selective Constraint.

    PubMed

    Spielman, Stephanie J; Wilke, Claus O

    2016-11-01

    The mutation-selection model of coding sequence evolution has received renewed attention for its use in estimating site-specific amino acid propensities and selection coefficient distributions. Two computationally tractable mutation-selection inference frameworks have been introduced: One framework employs a fixed-effects, highly parameterized maximum likelihood approach, whereas the other employs a random-effects Bayesian Dirichlet Process approach. While both implementations follow the same model, they appear to make distinct predictions about the distribution of selection coefficients. The fixed-effects framework estimates a large proportion of highly deleterious substitutions, whereas the random-effects framework estimates that all substitutions are either nearly neutral or weakly deleterious. It remains unknown, however, how accurately each method infers evolutionary constraints at individual sites. Indeed, selection coefficient distributions pool all site-specific inferences, thereby obscuring a precise assessment of site-specific estimates. Therefore, in this study, we use a simulation-based strategy to determine how accurately each approach recapitulates the selective constraint at individual sites. We find that the fixed-effects approach, despite its extensive parameterization, consistently and accurately estimates site-specific evolutionary constraint. By contrast, the random-effects Bayesian approach systematically underestimates the strength of natural selection, particularly for slowly evolving sites. We also find that, despite the strong differences between their inferred selection coefficient distributions, the fixed- and random-effects approaches yield surprisingly similar inferences of site-specific selective constraint. We conclude that the fixed-effects mutation-selection framework provides the more reliable software platform for model application and future development. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the

  9. Study of coherent structures of turbulence with large wall-normal gradients in thermophysical properties using direct numerical simulation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Reinink, Shawn K.; Yaras, Metin I., E-mail: Metin.Yaras@carleton.ca

    2015-06-15

    Forced-convection heat transfer in a heated working fluid at a thermodynamic state near its pseudocritical point is poorly predicted by correlations calibrated with data at subcritical temperatures and pressures. This is suggested to be primarily due to the influence of large wall-normal thermophysical property gradients that develop in proximity of the pseudocritical point on the concentration of coherent turbulence structures near the wall. The physical mechanisms dominating this influence remain poorly understood. In the present study, direct numerical simulation is used to study the development of coherent vortical structures within a turbulent spot under the influence of large wall-normal propertymore » gradients. A turbulent spot rather than a fully turbulent boundary layer is used for the study, for the coherent structures of turbulence in a spot tend to be in a more organized state which may allow for more effective identification of cause-and-effect relationships. Large wall-normal gradients in thermophysical properties are created by heating the working fluid which is near the pseudocritical thermodynamic state. It is found that during improved heat transfer, wall-normal gradients in density accelerate the growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability mechanism in the shear layer enveloping low-speed streaks, causing it to roll up into hairpin vortices at a faster rate. It is suggested that this occurs by the baroclinic vorticity generation mechanism which accelerates the streamwise grouping of vorticity during shear layer roll-up. The increased roll-up frequency leads to reduced streamwise spacing between hairpin vortices in wave packets. The density gradients also promote the sinuous instability mode in low-speed streaks. The resulting oscillations in the streaks in the streamwise-spanwise plane lead to locally reduced spanwise spacing between hairpin vortices forming over adjacent low-speed streaks. The reduction in streamwise and spanwise spacing

  10. Study of coherent structures of turbulence with large wall-normal gradients in thermophysical properties using direct numerical simulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reinink, Shawn K.; Yaras, Metin I.

    2015-06-01

    Forced-convection heat transfer in a heated working fluid at a thermodynamic state near its pseudocritical point is poorly predicted by correlations calibrated with data at subcritical temperatures and pressures. This is suggested to be primarily due to the influence of large wall-normal thermophysical property gradients that develop in proximity of the pseudocritical point on the concentration of coherent turbulence structures near the wall. The physical mechanisms dominating this influence remain poorly understood. In the present study, direct numerical simulation is used to study the development of coherent vortical structures within a turbulent spot under the influence of large wall-normal property gradients. A turbulent spot rather than a fully turbulent boundary layer is used for the study, for the coherent structures of turbulence in a spot tend to be in a more organized state which may allow for more effective identification of cause-and-effect relationships. Large wall-normal gradients in thermophysical properties are created by heating the working fluid which is near the pseudocritical thermodynamic state. It is found that during improved heat transfer, wall-normal gradients in density accelerate the growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability mechanism in the shear layer enveloping low-speed streaks, causing it to roll up into hairpin vortices at a faster rate. It is suggested that this occurs by the baroclinic vorticity generation mechanism which accelerates the streamwise grouping of vorticity during shear layer roll-up. The increased roll-up frequency leads to reduced streamwise spacing between hairpin vortices in wave packets. The density gradients also promote the sinuous instability mode in low-speed streaks. The resulting oscillations in the streaks in the streamwise-spanwise plane lead to locally reduced spanwise spacing between hairpin vortices forming over adjacent low-speed streaks. The reduction in streamwise and spanwise spacing between

  11. Accurate Quantification of Cardiovascular Biomarkers in Serum Using Protein Standard Absolute Quantification (PSAQ™) and Selected Reaction Monitoring*

    PubMed Central

    Huillet, Céline; Adrait, Annie; Lebert, Dorothée; Picard, Guillaume; Trauchessec, Mathieu; Louwagie, Mathilde; Dupuis, Alain; Hittinger, Luc; Ghaleh, Bijan; Le Corvoisier, Philippe; Jaquinod, Michel; Garin, Jérôme; Bruley, Christophe; Brun, Virginie

    2012-01-01

    Development of new biomarkers needs to be significantly accelerated to improve diagnostic, prognostic, and toxicity monitoring as well as therapeutic follow-up. Biomarker evaluation is the main bottleneck in this development process. Selected Reaction Monitoring (SRM) combined with stable isotope dilution has emerged as a promising option to speed this step, particularly because of its multiplexing capacities. However, analytical variabilities because of upstream sample handling or incomplete trypsin digestion still need to be resolved. In 2007, we developed the PSAQ™ method (Protein Standard Absolute Quantification), which uses full-length isotope-labeled protein standards to quantify target proteins. In the present study we used clinically validated cardiovascular biomarkers (LDH-B, CKMB, myoglobin, and troponin I) to demonstrate that the combination of PSAQ and SRM (PSAQ-SRM) allows highly accurate biomarker quantification in serum samples. A multiplex PSAQ-SRM assay was used to quantify these biomarkers in clinical samples from myocardial infarction patients. Good correlation between PSAQ-SRM and ELISA assay results was found and demonstrated the consistency between these analytical approaches. Thus, PSAQ-SRM has the capacity to improve both accuracy and reproducibility in protein analysis. This will be a major contribution to efficient biomarker development strategies. PMID:22080464

  12. Temperature Dependence of Density, Viscosity and Electrical Conductivity for Hg-Based II-VI Semiconductor Melts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Li, C.; Ban, H.; Lin, B.; Scripa, R. N.; Su, C.-H.; Lehoczky, S. L.

    2004-01-01

    The relaxation phenomenon of semiconductor melts, or the change of melt structure with time, impacts the crystal growth process and the eventual quality of the crystal. The thermophysical properties of the melt are good indicators of such changes in melt structure. Also, thermophysical properties are essential to the accurate predication of the crystal growth process by computational modeling. Currently, the temperature dependent thermophysical property data for the Hg-based II-VI semiconductor melts are scarce. This paper reports the results on the temperature dependence of melt density, viscosity and electrical conductivity of Hg-based II-VI compounds. The melt density was measured using a pycnometric method, and the viscosity and electrical conductivity were measured by a transient torque method. Results were compared with available published data and showed good agreement. The implication of the structural changes at different temperature ranges was also studied and discussed.

  13. Selected physical properties of various diesel blends

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hlaváčová, Zuzana; Božiková, Monika; Hlaváč, Peter; Regrut, Tomáš; Ardonová, Veronika

    2018-01-01

    The quality determination of biofuels requires identifying the chemical and physical parameters. The key physical parameters are rheological, thermal and electrical properties. In our study, we investigated samples of diesel blends with rape-seed methyl esters content in the range from 3 to 100%. In these, we measured basic thermophysical properties, including thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity, using two different transient methods - the hot-wire method and the dynamic plane source. Every thermophysical parameter was measured 100 times using both methods for all samples. Dynamic viscosity was measured during the heating process under the temperature range 20-80°C. A digital rotational viscometer (Brookfield DV 2T) was used for dynamic viscosity detection. Electrical conductivity was measured using digital conductivity meter (Model 1152) in a temperature range from -5 to 30°C. The highest values of thermal parameters were reached in the diesel sample with the highest biofuel content. The dynamic viscosity of samples increased with higher concentration of bio-component rapeseed methyl esters. The electrical conductivity of blends also increased with rapeseed methyl esters content.

  14. Young Lunar Volcanic Features: Thermophysical Properties and Formation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elder, C. M.; Hayne, P. O.; Donaldson Hanna, K. L.; Bandfield, J.; Ghent, R. R.; Williams, J. P.; Paige, D. A.

    2016-12-01

    Irregular Mare Patches (IMPs) are small features (100 - 5000 m) on the lunar nearside characterized by uneven terrain interspersed with topographically higher smooth terrain. Crater counting suggests that they are less than 100 Myr old [1, 2]. Several formation hypotheses have been proposed for IMPs, including: caldera collapse [3], explosive outgassing [2], lava flow inflation [4], pyroclastic eruption [5], and regolith drainage [6]. In this study, we use thermal infrared data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Diviner radiometer to investigate the thermophysical properties of the IMPs. We find that their average rock abundance is approximately a factor of two higher than the surrounding terrain. Comparison of Diviner data with thermal models rules out extensive competent rocks within 5-10 cm of the surface at the IMPs. We also derive the regolith thermal inertia [7] of the four largest IMPs. Sosigenes, Maskelyne, and Cauchy-5 have thermal inertias slightly higher than their surrounding terrain, likely due to the presence of small rocks surrounding nearby craters. Ina has an average thermal inertia lower than the surrounding terrain, and the only resolved smooth mound in Ina has an even lower thermal inertia which implies material that is less consolidated than typical regolith and/or contains fewer small rocks. Formation by lava flows or regolith drainage is not expected to result in material with a lower thermal inertia than pre-existing regolith, so in the case of at least Ina, some other process such as explosive outgassing or pyroclastic eruptions must have occurred. [1] Braden, S. et al. (2014) Nature Geo 7, 787-791. [2] Schultz, P. H. et al. (2006) Nature 444, 184-186. [3] El-Baz, F. (1973) Apollo 17: Preliminary Science Report 330, 30-13. [4] Garry, W. B. et al. (2012) JGR 117, E00H31. [5] Carter, L. B. et al. (2013) LPSC 44, 2146. [6] Qiao, L. et al. (2002) LPSC 47, 2002. [7] Vasavada, A. R. et al. (2012) JGR 117, E00H18.

  15. Investigating the thermophysical properties of indurated materials on Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murphy, Nathaniel William

    Indurated materials have been observed on the surface of Mars at every landing site and inferred from orbital remote-sensing data by the Viking, Mars Global Surveyor, and Mars Odyssey spacecraft. However, indurated materials on Mars are poorly understood because there is no ground truth for the indurated surfaces inferred from thermal remote-sensing data. I adopted two approaches to investigate indurated materials on Mars: (1) remote-sensing analysis of the Isidis basin, which shows some of the highest thermal inertia values derived from TES 1 observations, and (2) laboratory analyses of terrestrial indurated materials. To characterize the surface of the Isidis basin, I combined a variety of remote-sensing datasets, including thermal inertia data derived from TES and MO-THEMIS, TES albedo, THEMIS thermal and visible imaging, and Earth-based radar observations. From these observations I concluded that the thermal inertia values in the Isidis basin are likely the result of variations in the degree of cementation of indurated materials. To examine the thermophysical properties of indurated materials I collected four examples of terrestrial indurated materials. These included two types of gypcrete collected from a gypcrete deposit near Upham Hills, NM, clay-materials from Lunar Lake Playa, NV, and a pyroclastic material from the Bandelier Tuff near Los Alamos, NM. Despite significant differences in their physical properties and origins, all of these materials have thermal inertia values consistent with inferred indurated surfaces on Mars. There are no strong correlations between the thermal and physical properties of the collected samples due to thermal effects of the fabrics of the indurated materials. 1 Thermal Emission Spectrometer onboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. 2 Thermal Emission Imaging System onboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft

  16. Thermophysical properties of hydrophobised lime plaster - Experimental analysis of moisture effect

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pavlíková, Milena; Pernicová, Radka; Pavlík, Zbyšek

    2016-07-01

    Lime plasters are the most popular finishing materials in renewal of historical buildings and culture monuments. Because of their limited durability, new materials and design solutions are investigated in order to improve plasters performance in harmful environmental conditions. For the practical use, the plasters mechanical resistivity and the compatibility with substrate are the most decisive material parameters. However, also plasters hygric and thermal parameters affecting the overall hygrothermal function of the renovated structures are of the particular importance. On this account, the effect of moisture content on the thermophysical properties of a newly designed lime plasters containing hydrophobic admixture is analysed in the paper. For the comparative purposes, the reference lime and cement-lime plasters are tested as well. Basic characterization of the tested materials is done using bulk density, matrix density, and porosity measurements. Thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity in the broad range of moisture content are experimentally accessed using a transient impulse method. The obtained data reveals the significant increase of the both studied thermal parameters with increasing moisture content and gives information on plasters behaviour in a highly humid environment and/or in the case of their possible direct contact with liquid water. The accessed material parameters will be stored in a material database, where can find use as an input data for computational modelling of coupled heat and moisture transport in this type of porous building materials.

  17. Unprecedently Large-Scale Kinase Inhibitor Set Enabling the Accurate Prediction of Compound–Kinase Activities: A Way toward Selective Promiscuity by Design?

    PubMed Central

    2016-01-01

    Drug discovery programs frequently target members of the human kinome and try to identify small molecule protein kinase inhibitors, primarily for cancer treatment, additional indications being increasingly investigated. One of the challenges is controlling the inhibitors degree of selectivity, assessed by in vitro profiling against panels of protein kinases. We manually extracted, compiled, and standardized such profiles published in the literature: we collected 356 908 data points corresponding to 482 protein kinases, 2106 inhibitors, and 661 patents. We then analyzed this data set in terms of kinome coverage, results reproducibility, popularity, and degree of selectivity of both kinases and inhibitors. We used the data set to create robust proteochemometric models capable of predicting kinase activity (the ligand–target space was modeled with an externally validated RMSE of 0.41 ± 0.02 log units and R02 0.74 ± 0.03), in order to account for missing or unreliable measurements. The influence on the prediction quality of parameters such as number of measurements, Murcko scaffold frequency or inhibitor type was assessed. Interpretation of the models enabled to highlight inhibitors and kinases properties correlated with higher affinities, and an analysis in the context of kinases crystal structures was performed. Overall, the models quality allows the accurate prediction of kinase-inhibitor activities and their structural interpretation, thus paving the way for the rational design of compounds with a targeted selectivity profile. PMID:27482722

  18. Thermophysical Properties of Solid and Liquid Ti-6Al-4V (TA6V) Alloy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boivineau, M.; Cagran, C.; Doytier, D.; Eyraud, V.; Nadal, M.-H.; Wilthan, B.; Pottlacher, G.

    2006-03-01

    Ti-6Al-4V (TA6V) titanium alloy is widely used in industrial applications such as aeronautic and aerospace due to its good mechanical properties at high temperatures. Experiments on two different resistive pulse heating devices (CEA Valduc and TU-Graz) have been carried out in order to study thermophysical properties (such as electrical resistivity, volume expansion, heat of fusion, heat capacity, normal spectral emissivity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity) of both solid and liquid Ti-6Al-4V. Fast time-resolved measurements of current, voltage, and surface radiation and shadowgraphs of the volume have been undertaken. At TU-Graz, a fast laser polarimeter has been used for determining the emissivity of liquid Ti-6Al-4V at 684.5 nm and a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) for measuring the heat capacity of solid Ti-6Al-4V. This study deals with the specific behavior of the different solid phase transitions (effect of heating rate) and the melting region, and emphasizes the liquid state ( T > 2000 K).

  19. Seeing and Being Seen: Predictors of Accurate Perceptions about Classmates’ Relationships

    PubMed Central

    Neal, Jennifer Watling; Neal, Zachary P.; Cappella, Elise

    2015-01-01

    This study examines predictors of observer accuracy (i.e. seeing) and target accuracy (i.e. being seen) in perceptions of classmates’ relationships in a predominantly African American sample of 420 second through fourth graders (ages 7 – 11). Girls, children in higher grades, and children in smaller classrooms were more accurate observers. Targets (i.e. pairs of children) were more accurately observed when they occurred in smaller classrooms of higher grades and involved same-sex, high-popularity, and similar-popularity children. Moreover, relationships between pairs of girls were more accurately observed than relationships between pairs of boys. As a set, these findings suggest the importance of both observer and target characteristics for children’s accurate perceptions of classroom relationships. Moreover, the substantial variation in observer accuracy and target accuracy has methodological implications for both peer-reported assessments of classroom relationships and the use of stochastic actor-based models to understand peer selection and socialization processes. PMID:26347582

  20. Estimating Surface and Subsurface Ice Abundance on Mercury Using a Thermophysical Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rubanenko, L.; Mazarico, E.; Neumann, G. A.; Paige, D. A.

    2016-12-01

    The small obliquity of the Moon and Mercury causes some topographic features near their poles to cast permanent shadows for geologic time periods. In the past, these permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) were found to have low enough temperatures to trap surface and subsurface water ice. On Mercury, high normal albedo is correlated with maximum temperatures <100 m and high radar backscatter, possibly indicating the presence of surface ice. Areas with slightly higher maximum temperatures were measured to have a decreased albedo, postulated to contain of organic materials overlaying buried ice. We evaluate this theory by employing a thermophysical model that considers insolation, scattering, thermal emissions and subsurface conduction. We model the area fraction of surface and subsurface cold-traps on realistic topography at scales of ˜500 m , recorded by the Mercury Laster Altimeter (MLA) on board the MErcury Surface, Space ENviroment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft. At smaller scales, below the instrument threshold, we consider a statistical description of the surface assuming a Gaussian slope distribution. Using the modeled cold-trap area fraction we calculate the expected surface albedo and compare it to MESSENGER's near-infrared surface reflectance data. Last, we apply our model to other airless small-obliquity planetary bodies such as the Moon and Ceres in order to explain other correlations between the maximum temperature and normal albedo.

  1. Measurement of mechanical and thermophysical properties of dimensionally stable materials for space applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rawal, Suraj P.; Misra, Mohan S.

    1992-01-01

    Mechanical, thermal, and physical property test data was generated for as-fabricated advanced composite materials at room temperature (RT), -150 and 250 F. The results are documented of mechanical and thermophysical property tests of IM7/PEEK and discontinuous SiC/Al (particulate (p) and whisker (w) reinforced) composites which were tested at three different temperatures to determine the effect of temperature on material properties. The specific material systems tested were IM7/PEEK (0)8, (0, + or - 45, 90)s, (+ or - 30, 04)s, 25 vol. pct. (v/o) SiCp/Al, and 25 v/o SiCw/Al. RT material property results of IM7/PEEK were in good agreement with the predicted values, providing a measure of consolidation integrity attained during fabrication. Results of mechanical property tests indicated that modulus values at each test temperature were identical, whereas the strength (e.g., tensile, compressive, flexural, and shear) values were the same at -150 F, and RT, and gradually decreased as the test temperature was increased to 250 F. Similar trends in the strength values was also observed in discontinuous SiC/Al composites. These results indicate that the effect of temperature was more pronounced on the strength values than modulus values.

  2. Thermophysical property of undercooled liquid binary alloy composed of metallic and semiconductor elements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, H. P.; Wei, B.

    2009-02-01

    The thermophysical properties of the liquid Ni-Si binary alloy system were investigated by the molecular dynamics method. The properties investigated include density, excessive volume, enthalpy, mixing enthalpy and specific heat at both superheated and undercooled states. It is found that the density decreases with an increase in the Si content, and so do the temperature coefficients. If the Si content is smaller than 30%, the density changes linearly with the temperature. If it is larger than 30%, the density is a quadratic function of the temperature. The simulated enthalpies of different composition alloys increase linearly with a rise in temperature. This indicates that the specific heats of Ni-Si alloys change little with temperature. The specific heat versus composition first decreases to a minimum value at 50% Si, then experiences a rise to a maximum value at 90% Si and finally falls again. According to the excessive volume and mixing enthalpy, it can be deduced that the Ni-Si alloy system seriously deviates from the ideal solution. Moreover, a comparison was also performed between the present results and the approximated values by the Neumann-Kopp rule. It reveals that this work provides reasonable data in a broad temperature range, especially for the metastable undercooled liquid state.

  3. Theory of mind selectively predicts preschoolers’ knowledge-based selective word learning

    PubMed Central

    Brosseau-Liard, Patricia; Penney, Danielle; Poulin-Dubois, Diane

    2015-01-01

    Children can selectively attend to various attributes of a model, such as past accuracy or physical strength, to guide their social learning. There is a debate regarding whether a relation exists between theory-of-mind skills and selective learning. We hypothesized that high performance on theory-of-mind tasks would predict preference for learning new words from accurate informants (an epistemic attribute), but not from physically strong informants (a non-epistemic attribute). Three- and 4-year-olds (N = 65) completed two selective learning tasks, and their theory of mind abilities were assessed. As expected, performance on a theory-of-mind battery predicted children’s preference to learn from more accurate informants but not from physically stronger informants. Results thus suggest that preschoolers with more advanced theory of mind have a better understanding of knowledge and apply that understanding to guide their selection of informants. This work has important implications for research on children’s developing social cognition and early learning. PMID:26211504

  4. Theory of mind selectively predicts preschoolers' knowledge-based selective word learning.

    PubMed

    Brosseau-Liard, Patricia; Penney, Danielle; Poulin-Dubois, Diane

    2015-11-01

    Children can selectively attend to various attributes of a model, such as past accuracy or physical strength, to guide their social learning. There is a debate regarding whether a relation exists between theory-of-mind skills and selective learning. We hypothesized that high performance on theory-of-mind tasks would predict preference for learning new words from accurate informants (an epistemic attribute), but not from physically strong informants (a non-epistemic attribute). Three- and 4-year-olds (N = 65) completed two selective learning tasks, and their theory-of-mind abilities were assessed. As expected, performance on a theory-of-mind battery predicted children's preference to learn from more accurate informants but not from physically stronger informants. Results thus suggest that preschoolers with more advanced theory of mind have a better understanding of knowledge and apply that understanding to guide their selection of informants. This work has important implications for research on children's developing social cognition and early learning. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  5. SnowyOwl: accurate prediction of fungal genes by using RNA-Seq and homology information to select among ab initio models

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Locating the protein-coding genes in novel genomes is essential to understanding and exploiting the genomic information but it is still difficult to accurately predict all the genes. The recent availability of detailed information about transcript structure from high-throughput sequencing of messenger RNA (RNA-Seq) delineates many expressed genes and promises increased accuracy in gene prediction. Computational gene predictors have been intensively developed for and tested in well-studied animal genomes. Hundreds of fungal genomes are now or will soon be sequenced. The differences of fungal genomes from animal genomes and the phylogenetic sparsity of well-studied fungi call for gene-prediction tools tailored to them. Results SnowyOwl is a new gene prediction pipeline that uses RNA-Seq data to train and provide hints for the generation of Hidden Markov Model (HMM)-based gene predictions and to evaluate the resulting models. The pipeline has been developed and streamlined by comparing its predictions to manually curated gene models in three fungal genomes and validated against the high-quality gene annotation of Neurospora crassa; SnowyOwl predicted N. crassa genes with 83% sensitivity and 65% specificity. SnowyOwl gains sensitivity by repeatedly running the HMM gene predictor Augustus with varied input parameters and selectivity by choosing the models with best homology to known proteins and best agreement with the RNA-Seq data. Conclusions SnowyOwl efficiently uses RNA-Seq data to produce accurate gene models in both well-studied and novel fungal genomes. The source code for the SnowyOwl pipeline (in Python) and a web interface (in PHP) is freely available from http://sourceforge.net/projects/snowyowl/. PMID:24980894

  6. Eclipse cooling of selected lunar features

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shorthill, R. W.; Saari, J. M.; Baird, F. E.; Lecompte, J. R.

    1970-01-01

    Thermal measurements were made in the 10 to 12 micron band of the lunar surface during the total eclipse of December19, 1964. A normalized differential thermal contour map is included, showing the location of the thermal anomalies or hot spots on the disk and the eclipse cooling curves of 400 sites, of which more than 300 were hot spots. The eclipse cooling data is compared to a particulate thermophysical model of the soil.

  7. The concentration parameter thermal microstresses as the thermophysical characteristics of two-phase materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuanishev, V. T.; Sachkov, I. N.; Sorogin, I. G.; Sorogina, T. I.

    2017-11-01

    Thermal strength is one of the main thermophysical characteristics of structural materials. For homogeneous systems it is determined by the strength characteristics of the material. While for inhomogeneous systems, in particular, multiphase ones, it is necessary to consider the nature of the microstructure. Heat resistant real materials such as steels are known to be multi-phase systems. One of the mechanisms of their destruction is associated with the presence of propagating heat fluxes that generate thermal stresses. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the patterns of the formation of spatial distributions of thermal stresses in matrix systems of round inclusions characterized by different mutual disposition. The spatial distributions of thermal stresses in a two-phase material characterized by a matrix structure with round inclusions are investigated. For the numerical solution of the problem of stationary thermal conductivity the finite element method with discretization of the medium by triangular elements is used. It was found that at certain points in the medium the values of thermal stresses are ten times higher than the average for the material. It is shown that the spatial distribution and the local magnitude of the temperature gradient depend on the shape of the particles of the phase components and the values of their thermal conductivities. It is considered that the elastic moduli of inclusion and matrix differ little from each other.

  8. Thermal infrared observations and thermophysical characterization of the OSIRIS-REx target asteroid (101955) Bennu

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Emery, J.; Fernandez, Y.; Kelley, M.; Warden, K.; Hergenrother, C.; Lauretta, D.; Drake, M.; Campins, H.; Ziffer, J.

    2014-07-01

    Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) have garnered ever-increasing attention over the past few years due to the insights they offer into Solar System formation and evolution, the potential hazard they pose, and their accessibility for both robotic and human spaceflight missions. Among the NEAs, carbonaceous asteroids hold particular interest, because they may contain clues to how the Earth got its supplies of water and organic materials, and because none has yet been studied in detail by spacecraft. (101955) Bennu is special among the NEAs in that it will not only be visited by a spacecraft, but the OSIRIS-REx mission will also return a sample of Bennu's regolith to the Earth for detailed laboratory study. We present analysis of thermal infrared photometry and spectroscopy to test the hypotheses that Bennu is carbonaceous and that its surface is covered in fine-grained (sub-cm) regolith. The Spitzer Space Telescope observed Bennu in 2007, using the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) to obtain spectra over the wavelength range of 5.2-38 μ m and images at 16 and 22 μ m at 10 different longitudes, as well as the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) to image Bennu at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μ m, also at 10 different longitudes. Thermophysical analysis, assuming a spherical body with the known rotation period and spin-pole orientation, returns an effective diameter of 484±10 m, in agreement with the effective diameter calculated from the radar shape model at the orientation of the Spitzer observations (492±20 m, Nolan et al. 2013) and a visible geometric albedo of 0.046±0.005 (using H_{V}=20.51, Hergenrother et al. 2013). Including the radar shape model in the thermal analysis, and taking surface roughness into account, yields a disk-averaged thermal inertia of 310±70 J m^{-2}K^{-1}s^{-1/2}, which is significantly lower than that for several other NEAs of comparable size. There may be a small variation of thermal inertia with rotational phase (±60 J m^{-2}K^{-1}s^{-1/2}). The spectral

  9. A parametric study of Io’s thermophysical surface properties and subsequent numerical atmospheric simulations based on the best fit parameters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Walker, Andrew C.; Moore, Chris H.; Goldstein, David B.; Varghese, Philip L.; Trafton, Laurence M.

    2012-07-01

    Io’s sublimation atmosphere is inextricably linked to the SO2 surface frost temperature distribution which is poorly constrained by observations. We constrain Io’s surface thermal distribution by a parametric study of its thermophysical properties in an attempt to better model the morphology of Io’s sublimation atmosphere. Io’s surface thermal distribution is represented by three thermal units: sulfur dioxide (SO2) frosts/ices, non-frosts (probably sulfur allotropes and/or pyroclastic dusts), and hot spots. The hot spots included in our thermal model are static high temperature surfaces with areas and temperatures based on Keck infrared observations. Elsewhere, over frosts and non-frosts, our thermal model solves the one-dimensional heat conduction equation in depth into Io’s surface and includes the effects of eclipse by Jupiter, radiation from Jupiter, and latent heat of sublimation and condensation. The best fit parameters for the SO2 frost and non-frost units are found by using a least-squares method and fitting to observations of the Hubble Space Telescope’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST STIS) mid- to near-UV reflectance spectra and Galileo PPR brightness temperature. The thermophysical parameters are the frost Bond albedo, αF, and thermal inertia, ΓF, as well as the non-frost surface Bond albedo, αNF, and thermal inertia, ΓNF. The best fit parameters are found to be αF ≈ 0.55 ± 0.02 and ΓF ≈ 200 ± 50 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2 for the SO2 frost surface and αNF ≈ 0.49 ± 0.02 and ΓNF ≈ 20 ± 10 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2 for the non-frost surface. These surface thermophysical parameters are then used as boundary conditions in global atmospheric simulations of Io’s sublimation-driven atmosphere using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. These simulations are unsteady, three-dimensional, parallelized across 360 processors, and include the following physical effects: inhomogeneous surface frosts, plasma heating, and a temperature

  10. Thermophysical parameters of coconut oil and its potential application as the thermal energy storage system in Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Putri, Widya A.; Fahmi, Zulfikar; Sutjahja, I. M.; Kurnia, D.; Wonorahardjo, S.

    2016-08-01

    The high consumption of electric energy for room air conditioning (AC) system in Indonesia has driven the research of potential thermal energy storage system as a passive temperature controller. The application of coconut oil (CO) as the potential candidate for this purpose has been motivated since its working temperature just around the human thermal comfort zone in the tropical area as Indonesia. In this research we report the time-dependent temperature data of CO, which is adopting the T-history method. The analysis of the data revealed a set of thermophysical parameters, consist of the mean specific heats of the solid and liquid, as well as the latent heat of fusion for the phase change transition. The performance of CO to decrease the air temperature was measured in the thermal chamber. From the results it is shown that the latent phase of CO related to the solid-liquid phase transition show the highest capability in heat absorption, directly showing the potential application of CO as thermal energy storage system in Indonesia.

  11. Studies on thermophysical properties at New Jersey Shallow Shelf (IODP Expedition 313)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fehr, A.; Pechnig, R.; Inwood, J.; LOFI, J.; Bosch, F. P.; Clauser, C.

    2011-12-01

    The IODP drilling expedition 313 New Jersey Shallow Shelf was proposed for obtaining deep sub-seafloor samples and downhole logging measurements in the crucial inner shelf region.The inner to central shelf off-shore New Jersey is an ideal location for studying the history of sea-level changes and its relationship to sequence stratigraphy and onshore/offshore groundwater flows. The region features rapid depositional rates, tectonic stability, and well-preserved, cosmopolitan age control fossils suitable for characterizing the sediments of this margin throughout the time interval of interest. Past sea-level rise and fall is documented in sedimentary layers deposited during Earth's history. In addition, the inner shelf is characterised by relatively fresh pore water intervals alternating vertically with saltier intervals (Mountain et al., 2010). Therefore, three boreholes were drilled in the so-called New Jersey/Mid-Atlantic transect during IODP Expedition 313 New Jersey Shallow Shelf. Numerous questions have arisen concerning the age and origin of the brackish waters recovered offshore at depth. Here we present an analysis of thermophysical properties to be used as input parameters in constructing numerical models for future groundwater flow simulations. Our study is based mainly on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements for inferring porosity and permeability, and thermal conductivity. We performed NMR measurements on samples from boreholes M0027A, M0028A and M0029A and thermal conductivity measurements on the whole round cores prior to the Onshore Party. These results are compared with data from alternative laboratory measurements and with petrophysical properties inferred from downhole logging data.

  12. Dynamic measurements of thermophysical properties of metals and alloys at high temperatures by subsecond pulse heating techniques

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cezairliyan, Ared

    1993-01-01

    Rapid (subsecond) heating techniques developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the measurements of selected thermophysical and related properties of metals and alloys at high temperatures (above 1000 C) are described. The techniques are based on rapid resistive self-heating of the specimen from room temperature to the desired high temperature in short times and measuring the relevant experimental quantities, such as electrical current through the specimen, voltage across the specimen, specimen temperature, length, etc., with appropriate time resolution. The first technique, referred to as the millisecond-resolution technique, is for measurements on solid metals and alloys in the temperature range 1000 C to the melting temperature of the specimen. It utilizes a heavy battery bank for the energy source, and the total heating time of the specimen is typically in the range of 100-1000 ms. Data are recorded digitally every 0.5 ms with a full-scale resolution of about one part in 8000. The properties that can be measured with this system are as follows: specific heat, enthalpy, thermal expansion, electrical resistivity, normal spectral emissivity, hemispherical total emissivity, temperature and energy of solid-solid phase transformations, and melting temperature (solidus). The second technique, referred to as the microsecond-resolution technique, is for measurements on liquid metals and alloys in the temperature range 1200 to 6000 C. It utilizes a capacitor bank for the energy source, and the total heating time of the specimen is typically in the range 50-500 micro-s. Data are recorded digitally every 0.5 micro-s with a full-scale resolution of about one part in 4000. The properties that can be measured with this system are: melting temperature (solidus and liquidus), heat of fusion, specific heat, enthalpy, and electrical resistivity. The third technique is for measurements of the surface tension of liquid metals and alloys at their melting

  13. Accurate, low-cost 3D-models of gullies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Onnen, Nils; Gronz, Oliver; Ries, Johannes B.; Brings, Christine

    2015-04-01

    Soil erosion is a widespread problem in arid and semi-arid areas. The most severe form is the gully erosion. They often cut into agricultural farmland and can make a certain area completely unproductive. To understand the development and processes inside and around gullies, we calculated detailed 3D-models of gullies in the Souss Valley in South Morocco. Near Taroudant, we had four study areas with five gullies different in size, volume and activity. By using a Canon HF G30 Camcorder, we made varying series of Full HD videos with 25fps. Afterwards, we used the method Structure from Motion (SfM) to create the models. To generate accurate models maintaining feasible runtimes, it is necessary to select around 1500-1700 images from the video, while the overlap of neighboring images should be at least 80%. In addition, it is very important to avoid selecting photos that are blurry or out of focus. Nearby pixels of a blurry image tend to have similar color values. That is why we used a MATLAB script to compare the derivatives of the images. The higher the sum of the derivative, the sharper an image of similar objects. MATLAB subdivides the video into image intervals. From each interval, the image with the highest sum is selected. E.g.: 20min. video at 25fps equals 30.000 single images. The program now inspects the first 20 images, saves the sharpest and moves on to the next 20 images etc. Using this algorithm, we selected 1500 images for our modeling. With VisualSFM, we calculated features and the matches between all images and produced a point cloud. Then, MeshLab has been used to build a surface out of it using the Poisson surface reconstruction approach. Afterwards we are able to calculate the size and the volume of the gullies. It is also possible to determine soil erosion rates, if we compare the data with old recordings. The final step would be the combination of the terrestrial data with the data from our aerial photography. So far, the method works well and we

  14. Densities, Viscosities and Derived Thermophysical Properties of Water-Saturated Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids.

    PubMed

    Martins, Mónia A R; Neves, Catarina M S S; Kurnia, Kiki A; Carvalho, Pedro J; Rocha, Marisa A A; Santos, Luís M N B F; Pinho, Simão P; Freire, Mara G

    2016-01-15

    In order to evaluate the impact of the alkyl side chain length and symmetry of the cation on the thermophysical properties of water-saturated ionic liquids (ILs), densities and viscosities as a function of temperature were measured at atmospheric pressure and in the (298.15 to 363.15) K temperature range, for systems containing two series of bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide-based compounds: the symmetric [C n C n im][NTf 2 ] (with n = 1-8 and 10) and asymmetric [C n C 1 im][NTf 2 ] (with n = 2-5, 7, 9 and 11) ILs. For water-saturated ILs, the density decreases with the increase of the alkyl side chain length while the viscosity increases with the size of the aliphatic tails. The saturation water solubility in each IL was further estimated with a reasonable agreement based on the densities of water-saturated ILs, further confirming that for the ILs investigated the volumetric mixing properties of ILs and water follow a near ideal behaviour. The water-saturated symmetric ILs generally present lower densities and viscosities than their asymmetric counterparts. From the experimental data, the isobaric thermal expansion coefficient and energy barrier were also estimated. A close correlation between the difference in the energy barrier values between the water-saturated and pure ILs and the water content in each IL was found, supporting that the decrease in the viscosity of ILs in presence of water is directly related with the decrease of the energy barrier.

  15. Thermophysical Properties of High-Frequency Induction Heat Sintered Graphene Nanoplatelets/Alumina Ceramic Functional Nanocomposites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahmad, Iftikhar; Subhani, Tayyab; Wang, Nannan; Zhu, Yanqiu

    2018-05-01

    This paper concerns the thermophysical properties of high-frequency induction heat (HFIH) sintered alumina ceramic nanocomposites containing various graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) concentrations. The GNP/alumina nanocomposites demonstrated high densities, fine-grained microstructures, highest fracture toughness and hardness values of 5.7 MPa m1/2 and 18.4 GPa, which found 72 and 8%, superior to the benchmarked monolithic alumina, respectively. We determine the role of GNP in tuning the microstructure and inducing toughening mechanisms in the nanocomposites. The sintered monolithic alumina exhibited thermal conductivity value of 24.8 W/mK; however, steady drops of 2, 15 and 19% were recorded after adding respective GNP contents of 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 wt.% in the nanocomposites. In addition, a dwindling trend in thermal conductions with increasing temperatures was recorded for all sintered samples. Simulation of experimental results with proven theoretical thermal models showed the dominant role of GNP dispersions, microstructural porosity, elastic modulus and grain size in controlling the thermal transport properties of the GNP/alumina nanocomposites. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the nanocomposite with up to 0.5 mass% of GNP is thermally stable at the temperatures greater than 875 °C. The GNP/alumina nanocomposites owning a distinctive combination of mechanical and thermal properties are promising contenders for the specific components of the aerospace engine and electronic devices having contact with elevated temperatures.

  16. Review of thermo-physical properties, wetting and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids and their applicability in industrial quench heat treatment

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    The success of quenching process during industrial heat treatment mainly depends on the heat transfer characteristics of the quenching medium. In the case of quenching, the scope for redesigning the system or operational parameters for enhancing the heat transfer is very much limited and the emphasis should be on designing quench media with enhanced heat transfer characteristics. Recent studies on nanofluids have shown that these fluids offer improved wetting and heat transfer characteristics. Further water-based nanofluids are environment friendly as compared to mineral oil quench media. These potential advantages have led to the development of nanofluid-based quench media for heat treatment practices. In this article, thermo-physical properties, wetting and boiling heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids are reviewed and discussed. The unique thermal and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids would be extremely useful for exploiting them as quench media for industrial heat treatment. PMID:21711877

  17. Review of thermo-physical properties, wetting and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids and their applicability in industrial quench heat treatment.

    PubMed

    Ramesh, Gopalan; Prabhu, Narayan Kotekar

    2011-04-14

    The success of quenching process during industrial heat treatment mainly depends on the heat transfer characteristics of the quenching medium. In the case of quenching, the scope for redesigning the system or operational parameters for enhancing the heat transfer is very much limited and the emphasis should be on designing quench media with enhanced heat transfer characteristics. Recent studies on nanofluids have shown that these fluids offer improved wetting and heat transfer characteristics. Further water-based nanofluids are environment friendly as compared to mineral oil quench media. These potential advantages have led to the development of nanofluid-based quench media for heat treatment practices. In this article, thermo-physical properties, wetting and boiling heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids are reviewed and discussed. The unique thermal and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids would be extremely useful for exploiting them as quench media for industrial heat treatment.

  18. Thermal infrared observations and thermophysical characterization of OSIRIS-REx target asteroid (101955) Bennu

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Emery, J. P.; Fernández, Y. R.; Kelley, M. S. P.; Warden, K. T.; Hergenrother, C.; Lauretta, D. S.; Drake, M. J.; Campins, H.; Ziffer, J.

    2014-05-01

    Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) have garnered ever increasing attention over the past few years due to the insights they offer into Solar System formation and evolution, the potential hazard they pose, and their accessibility for both robotic and human spaceflight missions. Among the NEAs, carbonaceous asteroids hold particular interest because they may contain clues to how the Earth got its supplies of water and organic materials, and because none has yet been studied in detail by spacecraft. (101955) Bennu is special among NEAs in that it will not only be visited by a spacecraft, but the OSIRIS-REx mission will also return a sample of Bennu’s regolith to Earth for detailed laboratory study. This paper presents analysis of thermal infrared photometry and spectroscopy that test the hypotheses that Bennu is carbonaceous and that its surface is covered in fine-grained (sub-cm) regolith. The Spitzer Space Telescope observed Bennu in 2007, using the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) to obtain spectra over the wavelength range 5.2-38 μm and images at 16 and 22 μm at 10 different longitudes, as well as the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) to image Bennu at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm, also at 10 different longitudes. Thermophysical analysis, assuming a spherical body with the known rotation period and spin-pole orientation, returns an effective diameter of 484 ± 10 m, in agreement with the effective diameter calculated from the radar shape model at the orientation of the Spitzer observations (492 ± 20 m, Nolan, M.C., Magri, C., Howell, E.S., Benner, L.A.M., Giorgini, J.D., Hergenrother, C.W., Hudson, R.S., Lauretta, D.S., Margo, J.-L., Ostro, S.J., Scheeres, D.J. [2013]. Icarus 226, 629-640) and a visible geometric albedo of 0.046 ± 0.005 (using Hv = 20.51, Hergenrother, C.W. et al. [2013]. Icarus 226, 663-670). Including the radar shape model in the thermal analysis, and taking surface roughness into account, yields a disk-averaged thermal inertia of 310 ± 70 J m-2 K-1 s-1

  19. Student Selection for Selective Educational Programs Using Multiple Criteria.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jenkins, Jerry A.

    This paper shows that multiple sources of data reflecting educational progress may be used with relative ease to systematically, objectively, and accurately place students in selective educational programs, such as those funded under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act, using readily available commercial microcomputer…

  20. An Experimental Study of Dropwise Condensation on Vertical Discs.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-12-01

    Tested--------------------- 45 Table II. Summary of Heat Transfer Results ---------------- 46 Table III. Thermophysical Properties of Pertinent Materials...flow for selected speci- ments. The values obtained for heat flux agreed within 22 per- cent. Using the values for heat flux, surface temperature and...4 n.* V- 4 n- C\\) *.- --t ~C m, z, C E-1 E-4 E-0 E4 46 N 4) ) Cd 4~ ~ C)4 S ) 0) 4- C) 4 0 4)0 .4E-4 UU I~ U 47 Thermophysical Properties 1. Thermal

  1. Achieving perceptually-accurate aural telepresence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Henderson, Paul D.

    degrees for speech and less than 4 degrees with a pink noise burst. The results allow for the density of WFS systems to be selected from the required localization accuracy. Also, by exploiting the ventriloquist effect, the angular resolution of an audio rendering may be reduced when combined with spatially-accurate video.

  2. Evaluation of structural and thermophysical effects on the measurement accuracy of deep body thermometers based on dual-heat-flux method.

    PubMed

    Huang, Ming; Tamura, Toshiyo; Chen, Wenxi; Kanaya, Shigehiko

    2015-01-01

    To help pave a path toward the practical use of continuous unconstrained noninvasive deep body temperature measurement, this study aims to evaluate the structural and thermophysical effects on measurement accuracy for the dual-heat-flux method (DHFM). By considering the thermometer's height, radius, conductivity, density and specific heat as variables affecting the accuracy of DHFM measurement, we investigated the relationship between those variables and accuracy using 3-D models based on finite element method. The results of our simulation study show that accuracy is proportional to the radius but inversely proportional to the thickness of the thermometer when the radius is less than 30.0mm, and is also inversely proportional to the heat conductivity of the heat insulator inside the thermometer. The insights from this study would help to build a guideline for design, fabrication and optimization of DHFM-based thermometers, as well as their practical use. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Accurate Construction of Photoactivated Localization Microscopy (PALM) Images for Quantitative Measurements

    PubMed Central

    Coltharp, Carla; Kessler, Rene P.; Xiao, Jie

    2012-01-01

    Localization-based superresolution microscopy techniques such as Photoactivated Localization Microscopy (PALM) and Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM) have allowed investigations of cellular structures with unprecedented optical resolutions. One major obstacle to interpreting superresolution images, however, is the overcounting of molecule numbers caused by fluorophore photoblinking. Using both experimental and simulated images, we determined the effects of photoblinking on the accurate reconstruction of superresolution images and on quantitative measurements of structural dimension and molecule density made from those images. We found that structural dimension and relative density measurements can be made reliably from images that contain photoblinking-related overcounting, but accurate absolute density measurements, and consequently faithful representations of molecule counts and positions in cellular structures, require the application of a clustering algorithm to group localizations that originate from the same molecule. We analyzed how applying a simple algorithm with different clustering thresholds (tThresh and dThresh) affects the accuracy of reconstructed images, and developed an easy method to select optimal thresholds. We also identified an empirical criterion to evaluate whether an imaging condition is appropriate for accurate superresolution image reconstruction with the clustering algorithm. Both the threshold selection method and imaging condition criterion are easy to implement within existing PALM clustering algorithms and experimental conditions. The main advantage of our method is that it generates a superresolution image and molecule position list that faithfully represents molecule counts and positions within a cellular structure, rather than only summarizing structural properties into ensemble parameters. This feature makes it particularly useful for cellular structures of heterogeneous densities and irregular geometries, and

  4. Morph-X-Select: Morphology-based tissue aptamer selection for ovarian cancer biomarker discovery

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Hongyu; Li, Xin; Volk, David E.; Lokesh, Ganesh L.-R.; Elizondo-Riojas, Miguel-Angel; Li, Li; Nick, Alpa M.; Sood, Anil K.; Rosenblatt, Kevin P.; Gorenstein, David G.

    2016-01-01

    High affinity aptamer-based biomarker discovery has the advantage of simultaneously discovering an aptamer affinity reagent and its target biomarker protein. Here, we demonstrate a morphology-based tissue aptamer selection method that enables us to use tissue sections from individual patients and identify high-affinity aptamers and their associated target proteins in a systematic and accurate way. We created a combinatorial DNA aptamer library that has been modified with thiophosphate substitutions of the phosphate ester backbone at selected 5′dA positions for enhanced nuclease resistance and targeting. Based on morphological assessment, we used image-directed laser microdissection (LMD) to dissect regions of interest bound with the thioaptamer (TA) library and further identified target proteins for the selected TAs. We have successfully identified and characterized the lead candidate TA, V5, as a vimentin-specific sequence that has shown specific binding to tumor vasculature of human ovarian tissue and human microvascular endothelial cells. This new Morph-X-Select method allows us to select high-affinity aptamers and their associated target proteins in a specific and accurate way, and could be used for personalized biomarker discovery to improve medical decision-making and to facilitate the development of targeted therapies to achieve more favorable outcomes. PMID:27839510

  5. Thermophysical properties of LiCoO₂-LiMn₂O₄ blended electrode materials for Li-ion batteries.

    PubMed

    Gotcu, Petronela; Seifert, Hans J

    2016-04-21

    Thermophysical properties of two cathode types for lithium-ion batteries were measured by dependence on temperature. The cathode materials are commercial composite thick films containing LiCoO2 and LiMn2O4 blended active materials, mixed with additives (binder and carbon black) deposited on aluminium current collector foils. The thermal diffusivities of the cathode samples were measured by laser flash analysis up to 673 K. The specific heat data was determined based on measured composite specific heat, aluminium specific heat data and their corresponding measured mass fractions. The composite specific heat data was measured using two differential scanning calorimeters over the temperature range from 298 to 573 K. For a comprehensive understanding of the blended composite thermal behaviour, measurements of the heat capacity of an additional LiMn2O4 sample were performed, and are the first experimental data up to 700 K. Thermal conductivity of each cathode type and their corresponding blended composite layers were estimated from the measured thermal diffusivity, the specific heat capacity and the estimated density based on metallographic methods and structural investigations. Such data are highly relevant for simulation studies of thermal management and thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries, in which the bulk properties are assumed, as a common approach, to be temperature independent.

  6. Protic ammonium carboxylate ionic liquids: insight into structure, dynamics and thermophysical properties by alkyl group functionalization.

    PubMed

    Reddy, Th Dhileep N; Mallik, Bhabani S

    2017-04-19

    This study is aimed at characterising the structure, dynamics and thermophysical properties of five alkylammonium carboxylate ionic liquids (ILs) from classical molecular dynamics simulations. The structural features of these ILs were characterised by calculating the site-site radial distribution functions, g(r), spatial distribution functions and structure factors. The structural properties demonstrate that ILs show greater interaction between cations and anions when alkyl chain length increases on the cation or anion. In all ILs, spatial distribution functions show that the anion is close to the acidic hydrogen atoms of the ammonium cation. We determined the role of alkyl group functionalization of the charged entities, cations and anions, in the dynamical behavior and the transport coefficients of this family of ionic liquids. The dynamics of ILs are described by studying the mean square displacement (MSD) of the centres of mass of the ions, diffusion coefficients, ionic conductivities and hydrogen bonds as well as residence dynamics. The diffusion coefficients and ionic conductivity decrease with an increase in the size of the cation or anion. The effect of alkyl chain length on ionic conductivity calculated in this article is consistent with the findings of other experimental studies. Hydrogen bond lifetimes and residence times along with structure factors were also calculated, and are related to alkyl chain length.

  7. Dual-view inverted selective plane illumination microscopy (diSPIM) with improved background rejection for accurate 3D digital pathology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Bihe; Bolus, Daniel; Brown, J. Quincy

    2018-02-01

    Current gold-standard histopathology for cancerous biopsies is destructive, time consuming, and limited to 2D slices, which do not faithfully represent true 3D tumor micro-morphology. Light sheet microscopy has emerged as a powerful tool for 3D imaging of cancer biospecimens. Here, we utilize the versatile dual-view inverted selective plane illumination microscopy (diSPIM) to render digital histological images of cancer biopsies. Dual-view architecture enabled more isotropic resolution in X, Y, and Z; and different imaging modes, such as adding electronic confocal slit detection (eCSD) or structured illumination (SI), can be used to improve degraded image quality caused by background signal of large, scattering samples. To obtain traditional H&E-like images, we used DRAQ5 and eosin (D&E) staining, with 488nm and 647nm laser illumination, and multi-band filter sets. Here, phantom beads and a D&E stained buccal cell sample have been used to verify our dual-view method. We also show that via dual view imaging and deconvolution, more isotropic resolution has been achieved for optical cleared human prostate sample, providing more accurate quantitation of 3D tumor architecture than was possible with single-view SPIM methods. We demonstrate that the optimized diSPIM delivers more precise analysis of 3D cancer microarchitecture in human prostate biopsy than simpler light sheet microscopy arrangements.

  8. Thermodynamic and Thermophysical Properties of Combustion Products (Selected Pages)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-11-26

    z01- -- m -" - 0000 -101 12 - o 0, - evp- -F - mt ::: -LA - 10 10 44 1 0 4 . 10 -20 20~ FUEL - OXYGEN + AMMONIA (02 + NH3 ) 103 Boi -0,6--%0 Po-.,2...BeAit H. B., MeA- para ALoKJajtos. Liepioronoulca, AH CCCI’, UeAes S. A., ryca porn A. B., Ha3.a. Mit-sO xNmm npom-CTN CCCI’, 1971, 325 peaaco H. M

  9. Extension of thermophysical and thermodynamic property measurements by laser pulse heating up to 10,000 K. I. Under pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ohse, R. W.

    1990-07-01

    The necessity for increased high-temperature data reliability and extension of thermophysical property measurements up to 5000 K and above are discussed. A new transient-type laser-autoclave technique (LAT) has been developed to extend density and heat capacity measurements of high-temperature multicomponent systems far beyond their melting and boiling points. Pulsed multibeam laser heating is performed in an autoclave under high inert gas pressure to eliminate evaporation. The spherical samples are positioned by containment-free acoustic levitation regardless of their conductive or magnetic properties. Temperature, spectral and total emittances are determined by a new microsecond six-wavelength pyrometer coupled to a fast digital data acquisition system. The density is determined by high resolution microfocus X-ray shadow technique. The heat capacity is obtained from the cooling rate. Further applications are a combination of the laser-autoclave with splat cooling techniques for metastable structure synthesis and amorphous metals research and an extension of the LAT for the study of critical phenomena and the measurement of critical-point temperatures.

  10. Structural, vibrational and thermophysical properties of pyrophyllite by semi-empirical density functional modelling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ulian, Gianfranco; Valdrè, Giovanni

    2015-07-01

    Pyrophyllite has a significant role in both geophysics as a hydrous phase, which can recycle water into the Earth's mantle, and many industrial applications, such as petroleum and civil engineering. However, very few works have been proposed to fully characterize the thermodynamic properties of this mineral, especially at atomic scale. In the present work, we report structural, vibrational, thermochemical and thermophysical properties of pyrophyllite, calculated at the density functional theory level with the hybrid B3LYP functional, all-electron Gaussian-type orbitals and taking into account a correction to include dispersive forces. V( P, T) data at 300 K fit with isothermal third-order Birch-Murnaghan equations of state and yield K T 0 = 46.57 GPa, K' = 10.51 and V 0 = 213.67 Å3, where K T 0 is the thermal bulk modulus at 0 GPa, K' is the first derivative and V 0 is the volume at zero pressure, in very good agreement with recent experimental results obtained by in situ single-crystal synchrotron XRD. The compressional behaviour is highly anisotropic, with axial compressibility in ratio β( a):β( b):β( c) = 1.218:1.000:4.188. Pyrophyllite bulk modulus, thermal expansion coefficients and heat capacity at different P- T conditions are provided. The results of this kind of analysis can be useful in both geophysical and technological applications of the mineral and expand the high-temperature and high-pressure knowledge of this phase at physical conditions that are still difficult to obtain by experimental means. The simulated vibrational spectrum can also be used as a guideline by other authors in their experimental investigation of pyrophyllite.

  11. SHERMAN - A shape-based thermophysical model II. Application to 8567 (1996 HW1)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Howell, E. S.; Magri, C.; Vervack, R. J.; Nolan, M. C.; Taylor, P. A.; Fernández, Y. R.; Hicks, M. D.; Somers, J. M.; Lawrence, K. J.; Rivkin, A. S.; Marshall, S. E.; Crowell, J. L.

    2018-03-01

    We apply a new shape-based thermophysical model, SHERMAN, to the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 8567 (1996 HW1) to derive surface properties. We use the detailed shape model of Magri et al. (2011) for this contact binary NEA to analyze spectral observations (2-4.1 microns) obtained at the NASA IRTF on several different dates to find thermal parameters that match all the data. Visible and near-infrared (0.8-2.5 microns) spectral observations are also utilized in a self-consistent way. We find that an average visible albedo of 0.33, thermal inertia of 70 (SI units) and surface roughness of 50% closely match the observations. The shape and orientation of the asteroid is very important to constrain the thermal parameters to be consistent with all the observations. Multiple viewing geometries are equally important to achieve a robust solution for small, non-spherical NEAs. We separate the infrared beaming effects of shape, viewing geometry and surface roughness for this asteroid and show how their effects combine. We compare the diameter and albedo that would be derived from the thermal observations assuming a spherical shape with those from the shape-based model. We also discuss how observations from limited viewing geometries compare to the solution from multiple observations. The size that would be derived from the individual observation dates varies by 20% from the best-fit solution, and can be either larger or smaller. If the surface properties are not homogeneous, many solutions are possible, but the average properties derived here are very tightly constrained by the multiple observations, and give important insights into the nature of small NEAs.

  12. Accurate Semilocal Density Functional for Condensed-Matter Physics and Quantum Chemistry.

    PubMed

    Tao, Jianmin; Mo, Yuxiang

    2016-08-12

    Most density functionals have been developed by imposing the known exact constraints on the exchange-correlation energy, or by a fit to a set of properties of selected systems, or by both. However, accurate modeling of the conventional exchange hole presents a great challenge, due to the delocalization of the hole. Making use of the property that the hole can be made localized under a general coordinate transformation, here we derive an exchange hole from the density matrix expansion, while the correlation part is obtained by imposing the low-density limit constraint. From the hole, a semilocal exchange-correlation functional is calculated. Our comprehensive test shows that this functional can achieve remarkable accuracy for diverse properties of molecules, solids, and solid surfaces, substantially improving upon the nonempirical functionals proposed in recent years. Accurate semilocal functionals based on their associated holes are physically appealing and practically useful for developing nonlocal functionals.

  13. Hydrogen atoms can be located accurately and precisely by x-ray crystallography.

    PubMed

    Woińska, Magdalena; Grabowsky, Simon; Dominiak, Paulina M; Woźniak, Krzysztof; Jayatilaka, Dylan

    2016-05-01

    Precise and accurate structural information on hydrogen atoms is crucial to the study of energies of interactions important for crystal engineering, materials science, medicine, and pharmacy, and to the estimation of physical and chemical properties in solids. However, hydrogen atoms only scatter x-radiation weakly, so x-rays have not been used routinely to locate them accurately. Textbooks and teaching classes still emphasize that hydrogen atoms cannot be located with x-rays close to heavy elements; instead, neutron diffraction is needed. We show that, contrary to widespread expectation, hydrogen atoms can be located very accurately using x-ray diffraction, yielding bond lengths involving hydrogen atoms (A-H) that are in agreement with results from neutron diffraction mostly within a single standard deviation. The precision of the determination is also comparable between x-ray and neutron diffraction results. This has been achieved at resolutions as low as 0.8 Å using Hirshfeld atom refinement (HAR). We have applied HAR to 81 crystal structures of organic molecules and compared the A-H bond lengths with those from neutron measurements for A-H bonds sorted into bonds of the same class. We further show in a selection of inorganic compounds that hydrogen atoms can be located in bridging positions and close to heavy transition metals accurately and precisely. We anticipate that, in the future, conventional x-radiation sources at in-house diffractometers can be used routinely for locating hydrogen atoms in small molecules accurately instead of large-scale facilities such as spallation sources or nuclear reactors.

  14. Hydrogen atoms can be located accurately and precisely by x-ray crystallography

    PubMed Central

    Woińska, Magdalena; Grabowsky, Simon; Dominiak, Paulina M.; Woźniak, Krzysztof; Jayatilaka, Dylan

    2016-01-01

    Precise and accurate structural information on hydrogen atoms is crucial to the study of energies of interactions important for crystal engineering, materials science, medicine, and pharmacy, and to the estimation of physical and chemical properties in solids. However, hydrogen atoms only scatter x-radiation weakly, so x-rays have not been used routinely to locate them accurately. Textbooks and teaching classes still emphasize that hydrogen atoms cannot be located with x-rays close to heavy elements; instead, neutron diffraction is needed. We show that, contrary to widespread expectation, hydrogen atoms can be located very accurately using x-ray diffraction, yielding bond lengths involving hydrogen atoms (A–H) that are in agreement with results from neutron diffraction mostly within a single standard deviation. The precision of the determination is also comparable between x-ray and neutron diffraction results. This has been achieved at resolutions as low as 0.8 Å using Hirshfeld atom refinement (HAR). We have applied HAR to 81 crystal structures of organic molecules and compared the A–H bond lengths with those from neutron measurements for A–H bonds sorted into bonds of the same class. We further show in a selection of inorganic compounds that hydrogen atoms can be located in bridging positions and close to heavy transition metals accurately and precisely. We anticipate that, in the future, conventional x-radiation sources at in-house diffractometers can be used routinely for locating hydrogen atoms in small molecules accurately instead of large-scale facilities such as spallation sources or nuclear reactors. PMID:27386545

  15. NNLOPS accurate associated HW production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Astill, William; Bizon, Wojciech; Re, Emanuele; Zanderighi, Giulia

    2016-06-01

    We present a next-to-next-to-leading order accurate description of associated HW production consistently matched to a parton shower. The method is based on reweighting events obtained with the HW plus one jet NLO accurate calculation implemented in POWHEG, extended with the MiNLO procedure, to reproduce NNLO accurate Born distributions. Since the Born kinematics is more complex than the cases treated before, we use a parametrization of the Collins-Soper angles to reduce the number of variables required for the reweighting. We present phenomenological results at 13 TeV, with cuts suggested by the Higgs Cross section Working Group.

  16. Velocity selection in coupled-map lattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parekh, Nita; Puri, Sanjay

    1993-02-01

    We investigate the phenomenon of velocity selection for traveling wave fronts in a class of coupled-map lattices, derived by discretizations of the Fisher equation [Ann. Eugenics 7, 355 (1937)]. We find that the velocity selection can be understood in terms of a discrete analog of the marginal-stability hypothesis. A perturbative approach also enables us to estimate the selected velocity accurately for small values of the discretization mesh sizes.

  17. Accurate Arabic Script Language/Dialect Classification

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-01-01

    Army Research Laboratory Accurate Arabic Script Language/Dialect Classification by Stephen C. Tratz ARL-TR-6761 January 2014 Approved for public...1197 ARL-TR-6761 January 2014 Accurate Arabic Script Language/Dialect Classification Stephen C. Tratz Computational and Information Sciences...Include area code) Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8/98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18 January 2014 Final Accurate Arabic Script Language/Dialect Classification

  18. Breaking Snake Camouflage: Humans Detect Snakes More Accurately than Other Animals under Less Discernible Visual Conditions.

    PubMed

    Kawai, Nobuyuki; He, Hongshen

    2016-01-01

    Humans and non-human primates are extremely sensitive to snakes as exemplified by their ability to detect pictures of snakes more quickly than those of other animals. These findings are consistent with the Snake Detection Theory, which hypothesizes that as predators, snakes were a major source of evolutionary selection that favored expansion of the visual system of primates for rapid snake detection. Many snakes use camouflage to conceal themselves from both prey and their own predators, making it very challenging to detect them. If snakes have acted as a selective pressure on primate visual systems, they should be more easily detected than other animals under difficult visual conditions. Here we tested whether humans discerned images of snakes more accurately than those of non-threatening animals (e.g., birds, cats, or fish) under conditions of less perceptual information by presenting a series of degraded images with the Random Image Structure Evolution technique (interpolation of random noise). We find that participants recognize mosaic images of snakes, which were regarded as functionally equivalent to camouflage, more accurately than those of other animals under dissolved conditions. The present study supports the Snake Detection Theory by showing that humans have a visual system that accurately recognizes snakes under less discernible visual conditions.

  19. Breaking Snake Camouflage: Humans Detect Snakes More Accurately than Other Animals under Less Discernible Visual Conditions

    PubMed Central

    He, Hongshen

    2016-01-01

    Humans and non-human primates are extremely sensitive to snakes as exemplified by their ability to detect pictures of snakes more quickly than those of other animals. These findings are consistent with the Snake Detection Theory, which hypothesizes that as predators, snakes were a major source of evolutionary selection that favored expansion of the visual system of primates for rapid snake detection. Many snakes use camouflage to conceal themselves from both prey and their own predators, making it very challenging to detect them. If snakes have acted as a selective pressure on primate visual systems, they should be more easily detected than other animals under difficult visual conditions. Here we tested whether humans discerned images of snakes more accurately than those of non-threatening animals (e.g., birds, cats, or fish) under conditions of less perceptual information by presenting a series of degraded images with the Random Image Structure Evolution technique (interpolation of random noise). We find that participants recognize mosaic images of snakes, which were regarded as functionally equivalent to camouflage, more accurately than those of other animals under dissolved conditions. The present study supports the Snake Detection Theory by showing that humans have a visual system that accurately recognizes snakes under less discernible visual conditions. PMID:27783686

  20. Accurate object tracking system by integrating texture and depth cues

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Ju-Chin; Lin, Yu-Hang

    2016-03-01

    A robust object tracking system that is invariant to object appearance variations and background clutter is proposed. Multiple instance learning with a boosting algorithm is applied to select discriminant texture information between the object and background data. Additionally, depth information, which is important to distinguish the object from a complicated background, is integrated. We propose two depth-based models that can compensate texture information to cope with both appearance variants and background clutter. Moreover, in order to reduce the risk of drifting problem increased for the textureless depth templates, an update mechanism is proposed to select more precise tracking results to avoid incorrect model updates. In the experiments, the robustness of the proposed system is evaluated and quantitative results are provided for performance analysis. Experimental results show that the proposed system can provide the best success rate and has more accurate tracking results than other well-known algorithms.

  1. In situ droplet surface tension and viscosity measurements in gas metal arc welding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bachmann, B.; Siewert, E.; Schein, J.

    2012-05-01

    In this paper, we present an adaptation of a drop oscillation technique that enables in situ measurements of thermophysical properties of an industrial pulsed gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process. Surface tension, viscosity, density and temperature were derived expanding the portfolio of existing methods and previously published measurements of surface tension in pulsed GMAW. Natural oscillations of pure liquid iron droplets are recorded during the material transfer with a high-speed camera. Frame rates up to 30 000 fps were utilized to visualize iron droplet oscillations which were in the low kHz range. Image processing algorithms were employed for edge contour extraction of the droplets and to derive parameters such as oscillation frequencies and damping rates along different dimensions of the droplet. Accurate surface tension measurements were achieved incorporating the effect of temperature on density. These are compared with a second method that has been developed to accurately determine the mass of droplets produced during the GMAW process which enables precise surface tension measurements with accuracies up to 1% and permits the study of thermophysical properties also for metals whose density highly depends on temperature. Thermophysical properties of pure liquid iron droplets formed by a wire with 1.2 mm diameter were investigated in a pulsed GMAW process with a base current of 100 A and a pulse current of 600 A. Surface tension and viscosity of a sample droplet were 1.83 ± 0.02 N m-1 and 2.9 ± 0.3 mPa s, respectively. The corresponding droplet temperature and density are 2040 ± 50 K and 6830 ± 50 kg m-3, respectively.

  2. Selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension and mutational profiling (SHAPE-MaP) for direct, versatile and accurate RNA structure analysis.

    PubMed

    Smola, Matthew J; Rice, Greggory M; Busan, Steven; Siegfried, Nathan A; Weeks, Kevin M

    2015-11-01

    Selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension (SHAPE) chemistries exploit small electrophilic reagents that react with 2'-hydroxyl groups to interrogate RNA structure at single-nucleotide resolution. Mutational profiling (MaP) identifies modified residues by using reverse transcriptase to misread a SHAPE-modified nucleotide and then counting the resulting mutations by massively parallel sequencing. The SHAPE-MaP approach measures the structure of large and transcriptome-wide systems as accurately as can be done for simple model RNAs. This protocol describes the experimental steps, implemented over 3 d, that are required to perform SHAPE probing and to construct multiplexed SHAPE-MaP libraries suitable for deep sequencing. Automated processing of MaP sequencing data is accomplished using two software packages. ShapeMapper converts raw sequencing files into mutational profiles, creates SHAPE reactivity plots and provides useful troubleshooting information. SuperFold uses these data to model RNA secondary structures, identify regions with well-defined structures and visualize probable and alternative helices, often in under 1 d. SHAPE-MaP can be used to make nucleotide-resolution biophysical measurements of individual RNA motifs, rare components of complex RNA ensembles and entire transcriptomes.

  3. 38 CFR 4.46 - Accurate measurement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... RATING DISABILITIES Disability Ratings The Musculoskeletal System § 4.46 Accurate measurement. Accurate... indispensable in examinations conducted within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Muscle atrophy must also be...

  4. 38 CFR 4.46 - Accurate measurement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... RATING DISABILITIES Disability Ratings The Musculoskeletal System § 4.46 Accurate measurement. Accurate... indispensable in examinations conducted within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Muscle atrophy must also be...

  5. 38 CFR 4.46 - Accurate measurement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... RATING DISABILITIES Disability Ratings The Musculoskeletal System § 4.46 Accurate measurement. Accurate... indispensable in examinations conducted within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Muscle atrophy must also be...

  6. 38 CFR 4.46 - Accurate measurement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... RATING DISABILITIES Disability Ratings The Musculoskeletal System § 4.46 Accurate measurement. Accurate... indispensable in examinations conducted within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Muscle atrophy must also be...

  7. 38 CFR 4.46 - Accurate measurement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... RATING DISABILITIES Disability Ratings The Musculoskeletal System § 4.46 Accurate measurement. Accurate... indispensable in examinations conducted within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Muscle atrophy must also be...

  8. Feedback about More Accurate versus Less Accurate Trials: Differential Effects on Self-Confidence and Activation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Badami, Rokhsareh; VaezMousavi, Mohammad; Wulf, Gabriele; Namazizadeh, Mahdi

    2012-01-01

    One purpose of the present study was to examine whether self-confidence or anxiety would be differentially affected by feedback from more accurate rather than less accurate trials. The second purpose was to determine whether arousal variations (activation) would predict performance. On Day 1, participants performed a golf putting task under one of…

  9. Global Regolith Thermophysical Properties of the Moon From the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hayne, Paul O.; Bandfield, Joshua L.; Siegler, Matthew A.; Vasavada, Ashwin R.; Ghent, Rebecca R.; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Greenhagen, Benjamin T.; Aharonson, Oded; Elder, Catherine M.; Lucey, Paul G.; Paige, David A.

    2017-12-01

    We used infrared data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment to globally map thermophysical properties of the Moon's regolith fines layer. Thermal conductivity varies from 7.4 × 10-4 W m-1 K-1 at the surface to 3.4 × 10-3 W m-1 K-1 at depths of 1 m, given density values of 1,100 kg m-3 at the surface to 1,800 kg m-3 at 1 m depth. On average, the scale height of these profiles is 7 cm, corresponding to a thermal inertia of 55 ± 2 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2 at 273 K, relevant to the diurnally active near-surface layer, 4-7 cm. The temperature dependence of thermal conductivity and heat capacity leads to an 2 times diurnal variation in thermal inertia at the equator. On global scales, the regolith fines are remarkably uniform, implying rapid homogenization by impact gardening of this layer on timescales <1 Gyr. Regional- and local-scale variations show prominent impact features <1 Gyr old, including higher thermal inertia (> 100 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2) in the interiors and ejecta of Copernican-aged impact craters and lower thermal inertia (< 50 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2) within the lunar cold spots identified by Bandfield et al. (2014). Observed trends in ejecta thermal inertia provide a potential tool for age dating craters of previously unknown age, complementary to the approach suggested by Ghent et al. (2014). Several anomalous regions are identified in the global 128 pixels per degree maps presented here, including a high-thermal inertia deposit near the antipode of Tycho crater.

  10. A Selected Psycholinguistic Bibliography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fraser, Bruce; Klatt, Mary M.

    This document "attempts to provide a representative, undogmatic, and fairly thorough coverage of selected areas of the psycholinguistic literature which are not accurately covered in existing bibliographies." Because the authors feel that psycholinguistics consists of the study of the acquisition, production, and understanding of a natural…

  11. Fluid Therapy: Options and Rational Selection.

    PubMed

    Byers, Christopher G

    2017-03-01

    Administration of appropriate types and volumes of parenteral fluids is of paramount importance when treating sick and debilitated patients, especially those fighting critical illness. Fluid selection and accurate calculations must be performed logically and accurately to maximize positive outcomes. Knowledge of fluid types, as well as the complex relationship of the body's fluid compartments, helps clinicians develop rational fluid therapy plans for their patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. The selection of air traffic control specialists : two studies demonstrating methods to insure an accurate validity coefficient for selection devices.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1979-03-01

    There are several conditions that can influence the calculation of the statistical validity of a test battery such as that used to selected Air Traffic Control Specialists. Two conditions of prime importance to statistical validity are recruitment pr...

  13. A Unified Methodology for Computing Accurate Quaternion Color Moments and Moment Invariants.

    PubMed

    Karakasis, Evangelos G; Papakostas, George A; Koulouriotis, Dimitrios E; Tourassis, Vassilios D

    2014-02-01

    In this paper, a general framework for computing accurate quaternion color moments and their corresponding invariants is proposed. The proposed unified scheme arose by studying the characteristics of different orthogonal polynomials. These polynomials are used as kernels in order to form moments, the invariants of which can easily be derived. The resulted scheme permits the usage of any polynomial-like kernel in a unified and consistent way. The resulted moments and moment invariants demonstrate robustness to noisy conditions and high discriminative power. Additionally, in the case of continuous moments, accurate computations take place to avoid approximation errors. Based on this general methodology, the quaternion Tchebichef, Krawtchouk, Dual Hahn, Legendre, orthogonal Fourier-Mellin, pseudo Zernike and Zernike color moments, and their corresponding invariants are introduced. A selected paradigm presents the reconstruction capability of each moment family, whereas proper classification scenarios evaluate the performance of color moment invariants.

  14. Thermophysical characterization of the seeds of invasive Chinese tallow tree: importance for biofuel production.

    PubMed

    Picou, Laura; Boldor, Doran

    2012-10-16

    The limited supply of traditional fossil based fuels, and increased concern about their environmental impact has driven the interest in the utilization of biomass based energy sources, including those that are underutilized or otherwise nuisance species such as Chinese tallow trees (Triadica sebifera [L.]). This species is a prolific seeds producer, and this paper shows that they contain more than 50% lipids by mass that are suitable for conversion into biodiesel. We present here, for the first time, the seeds' thermophysical properties important for biofuel production. The seeds were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and ultimate analysis; their thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat were determined. The characterization results were correlated to fatty acid composition and lipid content for whole seeds and individual layers, as well as to the protein, hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin content. The TGA analysis indicated the presence, in addition to lipids, of hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, and proteins, depending on the layer analyzed. Thermal conductivity and specific heat were, respectively 0.14 ± 0.007 W/mK and 3843.5 ± 171.16 J/kgK for wax, 0.20 ± 0.002 W/mK and 2018.7 ± 5.18 J/kgK for shells, 0.13 ± 0.0 W/mK and 1237 ± 3.15 J/kgK for internal kernel, and 0.13 ± 0.000 W/mK and 2833.9 ± 104.11 J/kgK for whole seeds. These properties and characterization method can be further used in engineering analysis used to determine the most optimum processing method for production of biofuels from this feedstock.

  15. Thermophysical Variation within Dune Fields in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Courville, S. W.; Putzig, N. E.; Hoover, R.; Fenton, L. K.

    2016-12-01

    The activity and composition of Martian sand dunes, which are relatively young features, provide insight into the current and recent climate state of Mars. This study investigates small-scale variations of thermophysical properties within dune fields across the southern hemisphere of Mars to better understand near-surface composition. Previous morphological studies of southern hemisphere dune fields on Mars indicate a trend of decreasing activity with increasing latitude. We observe a corresponding trend in thermal properties. To investigate the thermal behavior of the dunes, we use apparent thermal inertia (ATI) derived from the Mars Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), which has a resolution of 100 meters per pixel. Overlaying THEMIS ATI values on images and digital terrain models from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) allows us to compare ATI with small-scale dune morphology and slopes. In general, we observe three types of ATI behavior: (1) fields with exposed ground between dunes display lower ATI on the dunes themselves, consistent with dunes of relatively low thermal inertia resting upon a wind-resistant consolidated bed with higher thermal inertia; (2) fields with little or no inter-dune exposures exhibit ATI in dune troughs that is 100 tiu or more lower than along crests, counterintuitively suggesting that dune trough material is finer than that along dune crests; and (3) fields with highly degraded dunes typically display uniform ATI values, indicating that their properties do not vary laterally at the resolution of THEMIS images or vertically within a seasonal skin depth. These ATI behaviors correspond to the activity state of the dune field with type 1 being the most active and occurring toward the equator, while type 3 is the least active and found mostly at high southern latitudes. To consider alternative explanations for the ATI variation observed in Type 2 fields, we created thermal models of slopes, lateral

  16. Preschoolers Continue to Trust a More Accurate Informant 1 Week after Exposure to Accuracy Information

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corriveau, Kathleen; Harris, Paul L.

    2009-01-01

    To determine whether children retain a preference for a previously accurate informant only in the short term or for long-term use, 3- and 4-year-old children were tested in two experiments. In both experiments, children were given accuracy information about two informants and were subsequently tested for their selective trust in the two informants…

  17. Characterization of Thermo-Physical Properties of EVA/ATH: Application to Gasification Experiments and Pyrolysis Modeling.

    PubMed

    Girardin, Bertrand; Fontaine, Gaëlle; Duquesne, Sophie; Försth, Michael; Bourbigot, Serge

    2015-11-20

    The pyrolysis of solid polymeric materials is a complex process that involves both chemical and physical phenomena such as phase transitions, chemical reactions, heat transfer, and mass transport of gaseous components. For modeling purposes, it is important to characterize and to quantify the properties driving those phenomena, especially in the case of flame-retarded materials. In this study, protocols have been developed to characterize the thermal conductivity and the heat capacity of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) flame retarded with aluminum tri-hydroxide (ATH). These properties were measured for the various species identified across the decomposition of the material. Namely, the thermal conductivity was found to decrease as a function of temperature before decomposition whereas the ceramic residue obtained after the decomposition at the steady state exhibits a thermal conductivity as low as 0.2 W/m/K. The heat capacity of the material was also investigated using both isothermal modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and the standard method (ASTM E1269). It was shown that the final residue exhibits a similar behavior to alumina, which is consistent with the decomposition pathway of EVA/ATH. Besides, the two experimental approaches give similar results over the whole range of temperatures. Moreover, the optical properties before decomposition and the heat capacity of the decomposition gases were also analyzed. Those properties were then used as input data for a pyrolysis model in order to predict gasification experiments. Mass losses of gasification experiments were well predicted, thus validating the characterization of the thermo-physical properties of the material.

  18. Thermophysical Properties of Mars' North Polar Layered Deposits and Related Materials from Mars Odyssey THEMIS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Vasavada, A. R.; Richardson, M. I.; Byrne, S.; Ivanov, A. B.; Christensen, P. R.

    2003-01-01

    The presence of a thick sequence of horizontal layers of ice-rich material at Mars north pole, dissected by troughs and eroding at its margins, is undoubtedly telling us something about the evolution of Mars climate [1,2] we just don t know what yet. The North Polar Layered Deposits (NPLD) most likely formed as astronomically driven climate variations led to the deposition of conformable, areally extensive layers of ice and dust over the polar region. More recently, the balance seems to have fundamentally shifted to net erosion, as evidenced by the many troughs within the NPLD and the steep, arcuate scarps present near its margins, both of which expose layering. We defined a number of Regions of Interest ROI) for THEMIS to target as part of the Mars Odyssey Participating Scientist program. We use these THEMIS data in order to understand the morphology and color/thermal properties of the NPLD and related materials over relevant (i.e., m to km) spatial scales. We have assembled color mosaics of our ROIs in order to map the distribution of ices, the different layered units, dark material, and underlying basement. The color information from THEMIS is crucial for distinguishing these different units which are less distinct on Mars Orbiter Camera images. We wish to understand the nature of the marginal scarps and their relationship to the dark material. Our next, more ambitious goal is to derive the thermophysical properties of the different geologic materials using THEMIS and Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer TES) data.

  19. Characterization of Thermo-Physical Properties of EVA/ATH: Application to Gasification Experiments and Pyrolysis Modeling

    PubMed Central

    Girardin, Bertrand; Fontaine, Gaëlle; Duquesne, Sophie; Försth, Michael; Bourbigot, Serge

    2015-01-01

    The pyrolysis of solid polymeric materials is a complex process that involves both chemical and physical phenomena such as phase transitions, chemical reactions, heat transfer, and mass transport of gaseous components. For modeling purposes, it is important to characterize and to quantify the properties driving those phenomena, especially in the case of flame-retarded materials. In this study, protocols have been developed to characterize the thermal conductivity and the heat capacity of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) flame retarded with aluminum tri-hydroxide (ATH). These properties were measured for the various species identified across the decomposition of the material. Namely, the thermal conductivity was found to decrease as a function of temperature before decomposition whereas the ceramic residue obtained after the decomposition at the steady state exhibits a thermal conductivity as low as 0.2 W/m/K. The heat capacity of the material was also investigated using both isothermal modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and the standard method (ASTM E1269). It was shown that the final residue exhibits a similar behavior to alumina, which is consistent with the decomposition pathway of EVA/ATH. Besides, the two experimental approaches give similar results over the whole range of temperatures. Moreover, the optical properties before decomposition and the heat capacity of the decomposition gases were also analyzed. Those properties were then used as input data for a pyrolysis model in order to predict gasification experiments. Mass losses of gasification experiments were well predicted, thus validating the characterization of the thermo-physical properties of the material. PMID:28793682

  20. Biomarker Surrogates Do Not Accurately Predict Sputum Eosinophils and Neutrophils in Asthma

    PubMed Central

    Hastie, Annette T.; Moore, Wendy C.; Li, Huashi; Rector, Brian M.; Ortega, Victor E.; Pascual, Rodolfo M.; Peters, Stephen P.; Meyers, Deborah A.; Bleecker, Eugene R.

    2013-01-01

    Background Sputum eosinophils (Eos) are a strong predictor of airway inflammation, exacerbations, and aid asthma management, whereas sputum neutrophils (Neu) indicate a different severe asthma phenotype, potentially less responsive to TH2-targeted therapy. Variables such as blood Eos, total IgE, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) or FEV1% predicted, may predict airway Eos, while age, FEV1%predicted, or blood Neu may predict sputum Neu. Availability and ease of measurement are useful characteristics, but accuracy in predicting airway Eos and Neu, individually or combined, is not established. Objectives To determine whether blood Eos, FeNO, and IgE accurately predict sputum eosinophils, and age, FEV1% predicted, and blood Neu accurately predict sputum neutrophils (Neu). Methods Subjects in the Wake Forest Severe Asthma Research Program (N=328) were characterized by blood and sputum cells, healthcare utilization, lung function, FeNO, and IgE. Multiple analytical techniques were utilized. Results Despite significant association with sputum Eos, blood Eos, FeNO and total IgE did not accurately predict sputum Eos, and combinations of these variables failed to improve prediction. Age, FEV1%predicted and blood Neu were similarly unsatisfactory for prediction of sputum Neu. Factor analysis and stepwise selection found FeNO, IgE and FEV1% predicted, but not blood Eos, correctly predicted 69% of sputum Eosaccurately assigned only 41% of samples. Conclusion Despite statistically significant associations FeNO, IgE, blood Eos and Neu, FEV1%predicted, and age are poor surrogates, separately and combined, for accurately predicting sputum eosinophils and neutrophils. PMID:23706399

  1. Method for determining thermo-physical properties of specimens. [photographic recording of changes in thin film phase-change temperature indicating material in wind tunnel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, R. A. (Inventor)

    1974-01-01

    The square root of the product of thermophysical properties q, c and k, where p is density, c is specific heat and k is thermal conductivity, is determined directly on a test specimen such as a wind tunnel model. The test specimen and a reference specimen of known specific heat are positioned at a given distance from a heat source. The specimens are provided with a coating, such as a phase change coating, to visually indicate that a given temperature was reached. A shutter interposed between the heat source and the specimens is opened and a motion picture camera is actuated to provide a time record of the heating step. The temperature of the reference specimen is recorded as a function of time. The heat rate to which both the test and reference specimens were subjected is determined from the temperature time response of the reference specimen by the conventional thin-skin calorimeter equation.

  2. Selecting and Using Materials for College Disabled Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raygor, Betty Ruth; Gotz, Mary

    High school graduates too frequently find the routes to their career goals blocked by inadequate reading skills. College instructors can help these academically disabled students by accurately diagnosing students' reading deficiencies and by selecting appropriate materials to strengthen specific skill areas. In selecting materials for learning…

  3. Evaluation of biomass quality of selected woody species depending on the soil enrichment practice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stolarski, Mariusz J.; Krzyżaniak, Michał; Załuski, Dariusz; Niksa, Dariusz

    2018-01-01

    Perennial energy crops are a source of the bio-mass used to generate energy. The aim of this study was to determine the chemical and thermophysical parameters of short rotation woody crops (black locust, poplar and willow), depending on soil enrichment practice (mineral fertilisation, lignin and mycorrhiza), in three- and four-year harvest cycles. In the study, the thermophysical properties and elemental composition of the biomass were determined. All analyses were performed in trip-licate according to the standards. The fresh black locust biomass had the lowest moisture content, which resulted in the best lower heating value (10.16 MJ kg-1, on average) in the four-year harvest cycle. The poplar biomass had the greatest higher heating value, fixed carbon, carbon and ash content, the highest concentrations of which were found in the biomass in which lignin was applied (2.00% d.m.). On the other hand, the willow biomass contained the lowest concentrations of ash and fixed carbon. Soil enrichment significantly differentiated the quality parameters of black locust, poplar and willow. This effect is of particular importance to those who grow and use biomass as a fuel.

  4. Experimental laboratory measurement of thermophysical properties of selected coal types

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lloyd, W. G.

    1979-01-01

    A number of bituminous coals of moderate to high plasticity were examined, along with portions of their extrudates from the JPL 1.5-inch 850 F screw extruder. Portions of the condensed pyrolysis liquids released during extrusion, and of the gaseous products formed during extrusion were also analyzed. In addition to the traditional determinations, the coals and extrudates were examined in terms of microstructure (especially extractable fractions), thermal analysis (especially that associated with the plastic state), and reactivity towards thermal and catalyzed hydroliquefaction. The process of extrusion increases the fixed carbon content of coals by about 5% and tends to increase the surface area. Coals contaning 25% or more DMF-extractable material show an increase in extractables as a result of extrusion; those initially containing less than 20% extractables show a decrease as a result of extrusion. Both the raw and extruded samples of Kentucky #9 coal are highly reactive towards hydroliquefaction, undergoing conversions of 75 to 80% in 15 min and 85-94% in 60 min in a stirred clave.

  5. Thermophysical properties derived from lab measurements and downhole logging at New Jersey Shallow Shelf (IODP Expedition 313)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fehr, A.; Pechnig, R.; Inwood, J.; Lofi, J.; Bosch, F. P.; Clauser, C.

    2012-04-01

    The IODP drilling expedition 313 New Jersey Shallow Shelf was proposed for obtaining deep sub-seafloor samples and downhole logging measurements in the crucial inner shelf region. The inner to central shelf off-shore New Jersey is an ideal location for studying the history of sea-level changes and its relationship to sequence stratigraphy and onshore/offshore groundwater flows. The region features rapid depositional rates, tectonic stability, and well-preserved, cosmopolitan age control fossils suitable for characterizing the sediments of this margin throughout the time interval of interest. Past sea-level rise and fall is documented in sedimentary layers deposited during Earth's history. In addition, the inner shelf is characterised by relatively fresh pore water intervals alternating vertically with saltier intervals (Mountain et al., 2010). Therefore, three boreholes were drilled in the so-called New Jersey/Mid-Atlantic transect during IODP Expedition 313 New Jersey Shallow Shelf. Numerous questions have arisen concerning the age and origin of the brackish waters recovered offshore at depth. Here we present an analysis of thermophysical properties to be used as input parameters in constructing numerical models for future groundwater flow simulations. Our study is based mainly on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements for inferring porosity and permeability, and thermal conductivity. We performed NMR measurements on samples from boreholes M0027A, M0028A and M0029A and thermal conductivity measurements on the whole round cores prior to the Onshore Party. These results are compared with data from alternative laboratory measurements and with petrophysical properties inferred from downhole logging data. We deduced petrophysical properties from downhole logging data and compared them with results obtained with laboratory measurements. In water saturated samples, the number of spins in the fluid is proportional to sample porosity. NMR porosities were calculated

  6. Accurate predictions of iron redox state in silicate glasses: A multivariate approach using X-ray absorption spectroscopy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dyar, M. Darby; McCanta, Molly; Breves, Elly

    2016-03-01

    Pre-edge features in the K absorption edge of X-ray absorption spectra are commonly used to predict Fe3+ valence state in silicate glasses. However, this study shows that using the entire spectral region from the pre-edge into the extended X-ray absorption fine-structure region provides more accurate results when combined with multivariate analysis techniques. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) regression technique yields %Fe3+ values that are accurate to ±3.6% absolute when the full spectral region is employed. This method can be used across a broad range of glass compositions, is easily automated, and is demonstrated to yield accurate resultsmore » from different synchrotrons. It will enable future studies involving X-ray mapping of redox gradients on standard thin sections at 1 × 1 μm pixel sizes.« less

  7. Accurate predictions of iron redox state in silicate glasses: A multivariate approach using X-ray absorption spectroscopy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dyar, M. Darby; McCanta, Molly; Breves, Elly

    2016-03-01

    Pre-edge features in the K absorption edge of X-ray absorption spectra are commonly used to predict Fe 3+ valence state in silicate glasses. However, this study shows that using the entire spectral region from the pre-edge into the extended X-ray absorption fine-structure region provides more accurate results when combined with multivariate analysis techniques. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) regression technique yields %Fe 3+ values that are accurate to ±3.6% absolute when the full spectral region is employed. This method can be used across a broad range of glass compositions, is easily automated, and is demonstrated to yieldmore » accurate results from different synchrotrons. It will enable future studies involving X-ray mapping of redox gradients on standard thin sections at 1 × 1 μm pixel sizes.« less

  8. Genetic selection for lifetime reproductive performance.

    PubMed

    Clutter, A C

    2009-01-01

    Genetic improvement of sow lifetime reproductive performance has value from both the economic perspectives of pork producers and the pork industry, but also from the perspective of ethical and animal welfare concerns by the general public. Genetic potential for piglets produced from individual litters is a primary determinant of lifetime prolificacy, but females must be able to sustain productivity without injury or death beyond the achievement of positive net present value. Evidence exists for between- and within-line genetic variation in sow lifetime performance, suggesting that improvements may be made by both line choices and genetic selection within lines. However, some of the same barriers to accurate within-line selection that apply to individual litter traits also present challenges to genetic selection for sow lifetime prolificacy: generally low heritabilites, sex-limited expression, expression after the age that animals are typically selected, and unfavorable genetic correlations with other traits in the profit function. In addition, there is an inherent conflict within the genetic nucleus herds where selections take place between the goal of shortened generation interval to accelerate genetic progress and the expression of sow lifetime traits. A proliferation in the industry of commercial multipliers with direct genetic ties and routine record flows to genetic nucleus herds provides a framework for accurate estimates of relevant genetic variances and covariances, and estimation of breeding values for sow lifetime traits that can be used in genetic selection.

  9. Many participants in inpatient rehabilitation can quantify their exercise dosage accurately: an observational study.

    PubMed

    Scrivener, Katharine; Sherrington, Catherine; Schurr, Karl; Treacy, Daniel

    2011-01-01

    Are inpatients undergoing rehabilitation who appear able to count exercises able to quantify accurately the amount of exercise they undertake? Observational study. Inpatients in an aged care rehabilitation unit and a neurological rehabilitation unit, who appeared able to count their exercises during a 1-2 min observation by their treating physiotherapist. Participants were observed for 30 min by an external observer while they exercised in the physiotherapy gymnasium. Both the participants and the observer counted exercise repetitions with a hand-held tally counter and the two tallies were compared. Of the 60 people admitted for aged care rehabilitation during the study period, 49 (82%) were judged by their treating therapist to be able to count their own exercise repetitions accurately. Of the 30 people admitted for neurological rehabilitation during the study period, 20 (67%) were judged by their treating therapist to be able to count their repetitions accurately. Of the 69 people judged to be accurate, 40 underwent observation while exercising. There was excellent agreement between these participants' counts of their exercise repetitions and the observers' counts, ICC (3,1) of 0.99 (95% CI 0.98 to 0.99). Eleven participants (28%) were in complete agreement with the observer. A further 19 participants (48%) varied from the observer by less than 10%. Therapists were able to identify a group of rehabilitation participants who were accurate in counting their exercise repetitions. Counting of exercise repetitions by therapist-selected patients is a valid means of quantifying exercise dosage during inpatient rehabilitation. Copyright © 2011 Australian Physiotherapy Association. Published by .. All rights reserved.

  10. Thermophysical Properties Measurement of High-Temperature Liquids Under Microgravity Conditions in Controlled Atmospheric Conditions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Watanabe, Masahito; Ozawa, Shumpei; Mizuno, Akotoshi; Hibiya, Taketoshi; Kawauchi, Hiroya; Murai, Kentaro; Takahashi, Suguru

    2012-01-01

    Microgravity conditions have advantages of measurement of surface tension and viscosity of metallic liquids by the oscillating drop method with an electromagnetic levitation (EML) device. Thus, we are preparing the experiments of thermophysical properties measurements using the Materials-Science Laboratories ElectroMagnetic-Levitator (MSL-EML) facilities in the international Space station (ISS). Recently, it has been identified that dependence of surface tension on oxygen partial pressure (Po2) must be considered for industrial application of surface tension values. Effect of Po2 on surface tension would apparently change viscosity from the damping oscillation model. Therefore, surface tension and viscosity must be measured simultaneously in the same atmospheric conditions. Moreover, effect of the electromagnetic force (EMF) on the surface oscillations must be clarified to obtain the ideal surface oscillation because the EMF works as the external force on the oscillating liquid droplets, so extensive EMF makes apparently the viscosity values large. In our group, using the parabolic flight levitation experimental facilities (PFLEX) the effect of Po2 and external EMF on surface oscillation of levitated liquid droplets was systematically investigated for the precise measurements of surface tension and viscosity of high temperature liquids for future ISS experiments. We performed the observation of surface oscillations of levitated liquid alloys using PFLEX on board flight experiments by Gulfstream II (G-II) airplane operated by DAS. These observations were performed under the controlled Po2 and also under the suitable EMF conditions. In these experiments, we obtained the density, the viscosity and the surface tension values of liquid Cu. From these results, we discuss about as same as reported data, and also obtained the difference of surface oscillations with the change of the EMF conditions.

  11. Obtaining Accurate Probabilities Using Classifier Calibration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pakdaman Naeini, Mahdi

    2016-01-01

    Learning probabilistic classification and prediction models that generate accurate probabilities is essential in many prediction and decision-making tasks in machine learning and data mining. One way to achieve this goal is to post-process the output of classification models to obtain more accurate probabilities. These post-processing methods are…

  12. Approaching system equilibrium with accurate or not accurate feedback information in a two-route system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Xiao-mei; Xie, Dong-fan; Li, Qi

    2015-02-01

    With the development of intelligent transport system, advanced information feedback strategies have been developed to reduce traffic congestion and enhance the capacity. However, previous strategies provide accurate information to travelers and our simulation results show that accurate information brings negative effects, especially in delay case. Because travelers prefer to the best condition route with accurate information, and delayed information cannot reflect current traffic condition but past. Then travelers make wrong routing decisions, causing the decrease of the capacity and the increase of oscillations and the system deviating from the equilibrium. To avoid the negative effect, bounded rationality is taken into account by introducing a boundedly rational threshold BR. When difference between two routes is less than the BR, routes have equal probability to be chosen. The bounded rationality is helpful to improve the efficiency in terms of capacity, oscillation and the gap deviating from the system equilibrium.

  13. Guidelines for Effective Selective Listening.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schendel, Joel D.; Shields, Joyce L.

    Defining selective listening as an intelligence gathering technique that depends on an individual's ability to access, monitor, and report oral messages accurately and to give processing priority to messages of possible intelligence value, this report describes one important application of the technique: overhearing the conversations of others…

  14. Facile hydrothermal method for synthesizing nitrogen-doped graphene nanoplatelets using aqueous ammonia: dispersion, stability in solvents and thermophysical performances

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shafiah Shazali, Siti; Amiri, Ahmad; Zubir, Mohd. Nashrul Mohd; Rozali, Shaifulazuar; Zakuan Zabri, Mohd; Sabri, Mohd Faizul Mohd

    2018-03-01

    A simple and green approach has been developed to synthesize nitrogen-doped graphene nanoplatelets (N-doped GNPs) for mass production with a very high stability in different solvents e.g. water, ethylene glycol, methanol, ethanol, and 1-hexanol. The strategy is based on mild oxidation of GNPs using hydrogen peroxide and doping with nitrogen using hydrothermal process. The modification of N-doped GNPs was demonstrated by FTIR, TGA, XPS, Raman spectroscopy and high resolution-transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). Further study was carried out by using N-doped GNPs as an additive to prepare different colloidal dispersions. Water-based N-doped GNPs, methanol-based N-doped GNPs, ethanol-based N-doped GNPs, ethylene-glycol based N-doped GNPs and 1-hexanol-based N-doped GNPs dispersions at 0.01 wt.% shown great colloidal stabilities, indicating 17%, 29%, 33%, 18%, and 43% sedimentations after a 15-days period, respectively. The thermophysical properties e.g., viscosity and thermal conductivity of water-based N-doped GNP nanofluids were also evaluated for different weight concentrations of 0.100, 0.075, 0.050, and 0.025 wt.%. Through this, it is found that the obtained dispersions have great potential to be used as working fluids for industrial thermal systems.

  15. Novel serologic biomarkers provide accurate estimates of recent Plasmodium falciparum exposure for individuals and communities

    PubMed Central

    Helb, Danica A.; Tetteh, Kevin K. A.; Felgner, Philip L.; Skinner, Jeff; Hubbard, Alan; Arinaitwe, Emmanuel; Mayanja-Kizza, Harriet; Ssewanyana, Isaac; Kamya, Moses R.; Beeson, James G.; Tappero, Jordan; Smith, David L.; Crompton, Peter D.; Rosenthal, Philip J.; Dorsey, Grant; Drakeley, Christopher J.; Greenhouse, Bryan

    2015-01-01

    Tools to reliably measure Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) exposure in individuals and communities are needed to guide and evaluate malaria control interventions. Serologic assays can potentially produce precise exposure estimates at low cost; however, current approaches based on responses to a few characterized antigens are not designed to estimate exposure in individuals. Pf-specific antibody responses differ by antigen, suggesting that selection of antigens with defined kinetic profiles will improve estimates of Pf exposure. To identify novel serologic biomarkers of malaria exposure, we evaluated responses to 856 Pf antigens by protein microarray in 186 Ugandan children, for whom detailed Pf exposure data were available. Using data-adaptive statistical methods, we identified combinations of antibody responses that maximized information on an individual’s recent exposure. Responses to three novel Pf antigens accurately classified whether an individual had been infected within the last 30, 90, or 365 d (cross-validated area under the curve = 0.86–0.93), whereas responses to six antigens accurately estimated an individual’s malaria incidence in the prior year. Cross-validated incidence predictions for individuals in different communities provided accurate stratification of exposure between populations and suggest that precise estimates of community exposure can be obtained from sampling a small subset of that community. In addition, serologic incidence predictions from cross-sectional samples characterized heterogeneity within a community similarly to 1 y of continuous passive surveillance. Development of simple ELISA-based assays derived from the successful selection strategy outlined here offers the potential to generate rich epidemiologic surveillance data that will be widely accessible to malaria control programs. PMID:26216993

  16. Novel serologic biomarkers provide accurate estimates of recent Plasmodium falciparum exposure for individuals and communities.

    PubMed

    Helb, Danica A; Tetteh, Kevin K A; Felgner, Philip L; Skinner, Jeff; Hubbard, Alan; Arinaitwe, Emmanuel; Mayanja-Kizza, Harriet; Ssewanyana, Isaac; Kamya, Moses R; Beeson, James G; Tappero, Jordan; Smith, David L; Crompton, Peter D; Rosenthal, Philip J; Dorsey, Grant; Drakeley, Christopher J; Greenhouse, Bryan

    2015-08-11

    Tools to reliably measure Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) exposure in individuals and communities are needed to guide and evaluate malaria control interventions. Serologic assays can potentially produce precise exposure estimates at low cost; however, current approaches based on responses to a few characterized antigens are not designed to estimate exposure in individuals. Pf-specific antibody responses differ by antigen, suggesting that selection of antigens with defined kinetic profiles will improve estimates of Pf exposure. To identify novel serologic biomarkers of malaria exposure, we evaluated responses to 856 Pf antigens by protein microarray in 186 Ugandan children, for whom detailed Pf exposure data were available. Using data-adaptive statistical methods, we identified combinations of antibody responses that maximized information on an individual's recent exposure. Responses to three novel Pf antigens accurately classified whether an individual had been infected within the last 30, 90, or 365 d (cross-validated area under the curve = 0.86-0.93), whereas responses to six antigens accurately estimated an individual's malaria incidence in the prior year. Cross-validated incidence predictions for individuals in different communities provided accurate stratification of exposure between populations and suggest that precise estimates of community exposure can be obtained from sampling a small subset of that community. In addition, serologic incidence predictions from cross-sectional samples characterized heterogeneity within a community similarly to 1 y of continuous passive surveillance. Development of simple ELISA-based assays derived from the successful selection strategy outlined here offers the potential to generate rich epidemiologic surveillance data that will be widely accessible to malaria control programs.

  17. Data Mining for Efficient and Accurate Large Scale Retrieval of Geophysical Parameters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Obradovic, Z.; Vucetic, S.; Peng, K.; Han, B.

    2004-12-01

    Our effort is devoted to developing data mining technology for improving efficiency and accuracy of the geophysical parameter retrievals by learning a mapping from observation attributes to the corresponding parameters within the framework of classification and regression. We will describe a method for efficient learning of neural network-based classification and regression models from high-volume data streams. The proposed procedure automatically learns a series of neural networks of different complexities on smaller data stream chunks and then properly combines them into an ensemble predictor through averaging. Based on the idea of progressive sampling the proposed approach starts with a very simple network trained on a very small chunk and then gradually increases the model complexity and the chunk size until the learning performance no longer improves. Our empirical study on aerosol retrievals from data obtained with the MISR instrument mounted at Terra satellite suggests that the proposed method is successful in learning complex concepts from large data streams with near-optimal computational effort. We will also report on a method that complements deterministic retrievals by constructing accurate predictive algorithms and applying them on appropriately selected subsets of observed data. The method is based on developing more accurate predictors aimed to catch global and local properties synthesized in a region. The procedure starts by learning the global properties of data sampled over the entire space, and continues by constructing specialized models on selected localized regions. The global and local models are integrated through an automated procedure that determines the optimal trade-off between the two components with the objective of minimizing the overall mean square errors over a specific region. Our experimental results on MISR data showed that the combined model can increase the retrieval accuracy significantly. The preliminary results on various

  18. Accurate paleointensities - the multi-method approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Groot, Lennart

    2016-04-01

    The accuracy of models describing rapid changes in the geomagnetic field over the past millennia critically depends on the availability of reliable paleointensity estimates. Over the past decade methods to derive paleointensities from lavas (the only recorder of the geomagnetic field that is available all over the globe and through geologic times) have seen significant improvements and various alternative techniques were proposed. The 'classical' Thellier-style approach was optimized and selection criteria were defined in the 'Standard Paleointensity Definitions' (Paterson et al, 2014). The Multispecimen approach was validated and the importance of additional tests and criteria to assess Multispecimen results must be emphasized. Recently, a non-heating, relative paleointensity technique was proposed -the pseudo-Thellier protocol- which shows great potential in both accuracy and efficiency, but currently lacks a solid theoretical underpinning. Here I present work using all three of the aforementioned paleointensity methods on suites of young lavas taken from the volcanic islands of Hawaii, La Palma, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and Terceira. Many of the sampled cooling units are <100 years old, the actual field strength at the time of cooling is therefore reasonably well known. Rather intuitively, flows that produce coherent results from two or more different paleointensity methods yield the most accurate estimates of the paleofield. Furthermore, the results for some flows pass the selection criteria for one method, but fail in other techniques. Scrutinizing and combing all acceptable results yielded reliable paleointensity estimates for 60-70% of all sampled cooling units - an exceptionally high success rate. This 'multi-method paleointensity approach' therefore has high potential to provide the much-needed paleointensities to improve geomagnetic field models for the Holocene.

  19. Ultra-accurate collaborative information filtering via directed user similarity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Q.; Song, W.-J.; Liu, J.-G.

    2014-07-01

    A key challenge of the collaborative filtering (CF) information filtering is how to obtain the reliable and accurate results with the help of peers' recommendation. Since the similarities from small-degree users to large-degree users would be larger than the ones in opposite direction, the large-degree users' selections are recommended extensively by the traditional second-order CF algorithms. By considering the users' similarity direction and the second-order correlations to depress the influence of mainstream preferences, we present the directed second-order CF (HDCF) algorithm specifically to address the challenge of accuracy and diversity of the CF algorithm. The numerical results for two benchmark data sets, MovieLens and Netflix, show that the accuracy of the new algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art CF algorithms. Comparing with the CF algorithm based on random walks proposed by Liu et al. (Int. J. Mod. Phys. C, 20 (2009) 285) the average ranking score could reach 0.0767 and 0.0402, which is enhanced by 27.3% and 19.1% for MovieLens and Netflix, respectively. In addition, the diversity, precision and recall are also enhanced greatly. Without relying on any context-specific information, tuning the similarity direction of CF algorithms could obtain accurate and diverse recommendations. This work suggests that the user similarity direction is an important factor to improve the personalized recommendation performance.

  20. The use of computational thermodynamics for the determination of surface tension and Gibbs-Thomson coefficient of multicomponent alloys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferreira, D. J. S.; Bezerra, B. N.; Collyer, M. N.; Garcia, A.; Ferreira, I. L.

    2018-04-01

    The simulation of casting processes demands accurate information on the thermophysical properties of the alloy; however, such information is scarce in the literature for multicomponent alloys. Generally, metallic alloys applied in industry have more than three solute components. In the present study, a general solution of Butler's formulation for surface tension is presented for multicomponent alloys and is applied in quaternary Al-Cu-Si-Fe alloys, thus permitting the Gibbs-Thomson coefficient to be determined. Such coefficient is a determining factor to the reliability of predictions furnished by microstructure growth models and by numerical computations of solidification thermal parameters, which will depend on the thermophysical properties assumed in the calculations. The Gibbs-Thomson coefficient for ternary and quaternary alloys is seldom reported in the literature. A numerical model based on Powell's hybrid algorithm and a finite difference Jacobian approximation has been coupled to a Thermo-Calc TCAPI interface to assess the excess Gibbs energy of the liquid phase, permitting liquidus temperature, latent heat, alloy density, surface tension and Gibbs-Thomson coefficient for Al-Cu-Si-Fe hypoeutectic alloys to be calculated, as an example of calculation capabilities for multicomponent alloys of the proposed method. The computed results are compared with thermophysical properties of binary Al-Cu and ternary Al-Cu-Si alloys found in the literature and presented as a function of the Cu solute composition.

  1. Spectral collocation method with a flexible angular discretization scheme for radiative transfer in multi-layer graded index medium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Linyang; Qi, Hong; Sun, Jianping; Ren, Yatao; Ruan, Liming

    2017-05-01

    The spectral collocation method (SCM) is employed to solve the radiative transfer in multi-layer semitransparent medium with graded index. A new flexible angular discretization scheme is employed to discretize the solid angle domain freely to overcome the limit of the number of discrete radiative direction when adopting traditional SN discrete ordinate scheme. Three radial basis function interpolation approaches, named as multi-quadric (MQ), inverse multi-quadric (IMQ) and inverse quadratic (IQ) interpolation, are employed to couple the radiative intensity at the interface between two adjacent layers and numerical experiments show that MQ interpolation has the highest accuracy and best stability. Variable radiative transfer problems in double-layer semitransparent media with different thermophysical properties are investigated and the influence of these thermophysical properties on the radiative transfer procedure in double-layer semitransparent media is also analyzed. All the simulated results show that the present SCM with the new angular discretization scheme can predict the radiative transfer in multi-layer semitransparent medium with graded index efficiently and accurately.

  2. Bayesian inference of selection in a heterogeneous environment from genetic time-series data.

    PubMed

    Gompert, Zachariah

    2016-01-01

    Evolutionary geneticists have sought to characterize the causes and molecular targets of selection in natural populations for many years. Although this research programme has been somewhat successful, most statistical methods employed were designed to detect consistent, weak to moderate selection. In contrast, phenotypic studies in nature show that selection varies in time and that individual bouts of selection can be strong. Measurements of the genomic consequences of such fluctuating selection could help test and refine hypotheses concerning the causes of ecological specialization and the maintenance of genetic variation in populations. Herein, I proposed a Bayesian nonhomogeneous hidden Markov model to estimate effective population sizes and quantify variable selection in heterogeneous environments from genetic time-series data. The model is described and then evaluated using a series of simulated data, including cases where selection occurs on a trait with a simple or polygenic molecular basis. The proposed method accurately distinguished neutral loci from non-neutral loci under strong selection, but not from those under weak selection. Selection coefficients were accurately estimated when selection was constant or when the fitness values of genotypes varied linearly with the environment, but these estimates were less accurate when fitness was polygenic or the relationship between the environment and the fitness of genotypes was nonlinear. Past studies of temporal evolutionary dynamics in laboratory populations have been remarkably successful. The proposed method makes similar analyses of genetic time-series data from natural populations more feasible and thereby could help answer fundamental questions about the causes and consequences of evolution in the wild. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Searching for an Accurate Marker-Based Prediction of an Individual Quantitative Trait in Molecular Plant Breeding

    PubMed Central

    Fu, Yong-Bi; Yang, Mo-Hua; Zeng, Fangqin; Biligetu, Bill

    2017-01-01

    Molecular plant breeding with the aid of molecular markers has played an important role in modern plant breeding over the last two decades. Many marker-based predictions for quantitative traits have been made to enhance parental selection, but the trait prediction accuracy remains generally low, even with the aid of dense, genome-wide SNP markers. To search for more accurate trait-specific prediction with informative SNP markers, we conducted a literature review on the prediction issues in molecular plant breeding and on the applicability of an RNA-Seq technique for developing function-associated specific trait (FAST) SNP markers. To understand whether and how FAST SNP markers could enhance trait prediction, we also performed a theoretical reasoning on the effectiveness of these markers in a trait-specific prediction, and verified the reasoning through computer simulation. To the end, the search yielded an alternative to regular genomic selection with FAST SNP markers that could be explored to achieve more accurate trait-specific prediction. Continuous search for better alternatives is encouraged to enhance marker-based predictions for an individual quantitative trait in molecular plant breeding. PMID:28729875

  4. The Effects of Thermophysical Properties and Environmental Conditions on Fire Performance of Intumescent Coatings on Glass Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites

    PubMed Central

    Kandola, Baljinder K.; Luangtriratana, Piyanuch; Duquesne, Sophie; Bourbigot, Serge

    2015-01-01

    Intumescent coatings are commonly used as passive fire protection systems for steel structures. The purpose of this work is to explore whether these can also be used effectively on glass fibre-reinforced epoxy (GRE) composites, considering the flammability of the composites compared to non-flammable steel substrate. The thermal barrier and reaction-to-fire properties of three commercial intumescent coatings on GRE composites have been studied using a cone calorimeter. Their thermophysical properties in terms of heating rate and/or temperature dependent char expansion ratios and thermal conductivities have been measured and correlated. It has been suggested that these two parameters can be used to design coatings to protect composite laminates of defined thicknesses for specified periods of time. The durability of the coatings to water absorption, peeling, impact, and flexural loading were also studied. A strong adhesion between all types of coatings and the substrate was observed. Water soaking had a little effect on the fire performance of epoxy based coatings. All types of 1 mm thick coatings on GRE helped in retaining ~90% of the flexural property after 2 min exposure to 50 kW/m2 heat flux whereas the uncoated laminate underwent severe delamination and loss in structural integrity after 1 min. PMID:28793500

  5. Spin-state and thermophysical analysis of the near-Earth asteroid (8567) 1996 HW_1

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rożek, A.; Lowry, S.; Rozitis, B.; Wolters, S.; Hicks, M.; Duddy, S.; Fitzsimmons, A.; Green, S.; Snodgrass, C.; Weissman, P.

    2014-07-01

    The asteroid (8567) 1996 HW_1 is a near-Earth Amor-class asteroid. It has been a target of visual lightcurve observations during the two apparitions in 2005 [1,2] and 2008 [3]. The lightcurve datasets were complemented by the radar data obtained at Arecibo during the close approach in September 2008 [4]. The data was combined to constrain the shape and spin state of the asteroid. The sidereal spin rate was measured to be P = 8.76243 hours, and pole position expressed in ecliptic coordinates as λ=281°, β = -31°, with a complex rotation state not being ruled out. The shape of the asteroid resembles a contact binary with two components connected by a narrow neck. It was predicted that the asteroid's rotation rate is decreasing due to the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect. We aimed to verify the predicted YORP-induced period change [4]. The asteroid (8567) 1996 HW_1 has been selected as one of the targets of an ESO Large Programme led by Dr. S. Lowry. The programme includes photometric monitoring, infrared thermal observations, and visual near-infrared spectroscopy of selected near-Earth asteroids. Within the ESO LP, the asteroid has been observed on six runs between April 2010 and April 2013 with ESO's 3.6-m NTT telescope (Chile) to acquire optical lightcurves, and in September and December 2011 the infrared observations were performed with the VISIR instrument at the ESO's 8.2-m VLT telescope (Chile). The data set is completed by the visual lightcurve observations gathered from supporting programmes at JPL's Table Mountain Observatory (USA), Palomar 200-in telescope (USA), and the 2-m Liverpool Telescope (Spain). The visual lightcurves from our 2010-2013 observing campaign were combined with the previously published lightcurves from 2005-2009, doubling the time span of the observations for the purpose of the potential YORP detection. The shape model developed from radar and lightcurve data [4] has been used in the spin-state analysis. The

  6. A dental vision system for accurate 3D tooth modeling.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Li; Alemzadeh, K

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes an active vision system based reverse engineering approach to extract the three-dimensional (3D) geometric information from dental teeth and transfer this information into Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacture (CAD/CAM) systems to improve the accuracy of 3D teeth models and at the same time improve the quality of the construction units to help patient care. The vision system involves the development of a dental vision rig, edge detection, boundary tracing and fast & accurate 3D modeling from a sequence of sliced silhouettes of physical models. The rig is designed using engineering design methods such as a concept selection matrix and weighted objectives evaluation chart. Reconstruction results and accuracy evaluation are presented on digitizing different teeth models.

  7. Accurate HLA type inference using a weighted similarity graph.

    PubMed

    Xie, Minzhu; Li, Jing; Jiang, Tao

    2010-12-14

    The human leukocyte antigen system (HLA) contains many highly variable genes. HLA genes play an important role in the human immune system, and HLA gene matching is crucial for the success of human organ transplantations. Numerous studies have demonstrated that variation in HLA genes is associated with many autoimmune, inflammatory and infectious diseases. However, typing HLA genes by serology or PCR is time consuming and expensive, which limits large-scale studies involving HLA genes. Since it is much easier and cheaper to obtain single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype data, accurate computational algorithms to infer HLA gene types from SNP genotype data are in need. To infer HLA types from SNP genotypes, the first step is to infer SNP haplotypes from genotypes. However, for the same SNP genotype data set, the haplotype configurations inferred by different methods are usually inconsistent, and it is often difficult to decide which one is true. In this paper, we design an accurate HLA gene type inference algorithm by utilizing SNP genotype data from pedigrees, known HLA gene types of some individuals and the relationship between inferred SNP haplotypes and HLA gene types. Given a set of haplotypes inferred from the genotypes of a population consisting of many pedigrees, the algorithm first constructs a weighted similarity graph based on a new haplotype similarity measure and derives constraint edges from known HLA gene types. Based on the principle that different HLA gene alleles should have different background haplotypes, the algorithm searches for an optimal labeling of all the haplotypes with unknown HLA gene types such that the total weight among the same HLA gene types is maximized. To deal with ambiguous haplotype solutions, we use a genetic algorithm to select haplotype configurations that tend to maximize the same optimization criterion. Our experiments on a previously typed subset of the HapMap data show that the algorithm is highly accurate

  8. Microgravity

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1997-06-27

    This is a computer generated model of a ground based casting. The objective of the therophysical properties program is to measure thermal physical properties of commercial casting alloys for use in computer programs that predict soldification behavior. This could reduce trial and error in casting design and promote less scrap, sounder castings, and less weight. In order for the computer models to reliably simulate the details of industrial alloy solidification, the input thermophysical property data must be absolutely reliable. Recently Auburn University and TPRL Inc. formed a teaming relationship to establish reliable measurement techniques for the most critical properties of commercially important alloys: transformation temperatures, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, specific heat, latent heat, density, solid fraction evolution, surface tension, and viscosity. A new initiative with the American Foundrymens Society has been started to measure the thermophysical properties of commercial ferrous and non-ferrous casting alloys and make the thermophysical property data widely available. Development of casting processes for the new gamma titanium aluminide alloys as well as existing titanium alloys will remain a trial-and-error procedure until accurate thermophysical properties can be obtained. These molten alloys react with their containers on earth and change their composition - invalidating the measurements even while the data are being acquired in terrestrial laboratories. However, measurements on the molten alloys can be accomplished in space using freely floating droplets which are completely untouched by any container. These data are expected to be exceptionally precise because of the absence of impurity contamination and buoyancy convection effects. Although long duration orbital experiments will be required for the large scale industrial alloy measurement program that results from this research, short duration experiments on NASA's KC-135 low

  9. Development of a Star Tracker-Based Reference System for Accurate Attitude Determination of a Simulated Spacecraft

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-03-01

    the mathematical pretext for quaternions, which summarizes as: In three- dimensional space , any displacement of a rigid body such that a ...for the patch board was selected, with a uniform 8 mm spacing between LED centers. Figure 33 is schematic of the patch board layout, and Fig. 34 shows...attitude determination since the dawn of the space age. Without accurate attitude determination, a “Lost- in-

  10. 2-DE combined with two-layer feature selection accurately establishes the origin of oolong tea.

    PubMed

    Chien, Han-Ju; Chu, Yen-Wei; Chen, Chi-Wei; Juang, Yu-Min; Chien, Min-Wei; Liu, Chih-Wei; Wu, Chia-Chang; Tzen, Jason T C; Lai, Chien-Chen

    2016-11-15

    Taiwan is known for its high quality oolong tea. Because of high consumer demand, some tea manufactures mix lower quality leaves with genuine Taiwan oolong tea in order to increase profits. Robust scientific methods are, therefore, needed to verify the origin and quality of tea leaves. In this study, we investigated whether two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and nanoscale liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectroscopy (nano-LC/MS/MS) coupled with a two-layer feature selection mechanism comprising information gain attribute evaluation (IGAE) and support vector machine feature selection (SVM-FS) are useful in identifying characteristic proteins that can be used as markers of the original source of oolong tea. Samples in this study included oolong tea leaves from 23 different sources. We found that our method had an accuracy of 95.5% in correctly identifying the origin of the leaves. Overall, our method is a novel approach for determining the origin of oolong tea leaves. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Profitable capitation requires accurate costing.

    PubMed

    West, D A; Hicks, L L; Balas, E A; West, T D

    1996-01-01

    In the name of costing accuracy, nurses are asked to track inventory use on per treatment basis when more significant costs, such as general overhead and nursing salaries, are usually allocated to patients or treatments on an average cost basis. Accurate treatment costing and financial viability require analysis of all resources actually consumed in treatment delivery, including nursing services and inventory. More precise costing information enables more profitable decisions as is demonstrated by comparing the ratio-of-cost-to-treatment method (aggregate costing) with alternative activity-based costing methods (ABC). Nurses must participate in this costing process to assure that capitation bids are based upon accurate costs rather than simple averages.

  12. Selection of site specific vibration equation by using analytic hierarchy process in a quarry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kalayci, Ulku, E-mail: ukalayci@istanbul.edu.tr; Ozer, Umit, E-mail: uozer@istanbul.edu.tr

    This paper presents a new approach for the selection of the most accurate SSVA (Site Specific Vibration Attenuation) equation for blasting processes in a quarry located near settlements in Istanbul, Turkey. In this context, the SSVA equations obtained from the same study area in the literature were considered in terms of distance between the shot points and buildings and the amount of explosive charge. In this purpose, 11 different SSVA equations obtained from the study area in the past 12 years, forecasting capabilities according to designated new conditions, using 102 vibration records as test data obtained from the study areamore » was investigated. In this study, AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) was selected as an analysis method in order to determine the most accurate equation among 11 SSAV equations, and the parameters such as year, distance, charge, and r{sup 2} of the equations were used as criteria for AHP. Finally, the most appropriate equation was selected among the existing ones, and the process of selecting according to different target criteria was presented. Furthermore, it was noted that the forecasting results of the selected equation is more accurate than that formed using the test results. - Highlights: • The optimum Site Specific Vibration Attenuation equation for blasting in a quarry located near settlements was determined. • It is indicated that SSVA equations changing over the years don’t give always accurate estimates at changing conditions. • Selection of the blast induced SSVA equation was made using AHP. • Equation selection method was highlighted based on parameters such as charge, distance, and quarry geometry changes (year).« less

  13. A novel method for the accurate evaluation of Poisson's ratio of soft polymer materials.

    PubMed

    Lee, Jae-Hoon; Lee, Sang-Soo; Chang, Jun-Dong; Thompson, Mark S; Kang, Dong-Joong; Park, Sungchan; Park, Seonghun

    2013-01-01

    A new method with a simple algorithm was developed to accurately measure Poisson's ratio of soft materials such as polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel (PVA-H) with a custom experimental apparatus consisting of a tension device, a micro X-Y stage, an optical microscope, and a charge-coupled device camera. In the proposed method, the initial positions of the four vertices of an arbitrarily selected quadrilateral from the sample surface were first measured to generate a 2D 1st-order 4-node quadrilateral element for finite element numerical analysis. Next, minimum and maximum principal strains were calculated from differences between the initial and deformed shapes of the quadrilateral under tension. Finally, Poisson's ratio of PVA-H was determined by the ratio of minimum principal strain to maximum principal strain. This novel method has an advantage in the accurate evaluation of Poisson's ratio despite misalignment between specimens and experimental devices. In this study, Poisson's ratio of PVA-H was 0.44 ± 0.025 (n = 6) for 2.6-47.0% elongations with a tendency to decrease with increasing elongation. The current evaluation method of Poisson's ratio with a simple measurement system can be employed to a real-time automated vision-tracking system which is used to accurately evaluate the material properties of various soft materials.

  14. Effect of Si content on microstructure and thermo-physical properties of the joint of Sip/6063Al composite by laser melting deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lei, Zhenglong; Tian, Ze; Li, Peng; Chen, Yanbin; Zhang, Hengquan; Gu, Jingyan; Su, Xuan

    2017-12-01

    Laser melting deposition (LMD), an additive manufacturing-based technology, was utilized to join Sip/6063Al composite creatively with different Si weight contents (Al-Si 5%, 12%, 20% and 30%). Influence of the Si content on the constitutional phases, microstructural characteristics, and thermo-physical properties of the layer by layer built-up weld beads was investigated. Experimental results showed that the increasing of deposited Si content could lead to a marked increment of both size and volume of precipitated Si phase, and the circled α-Al phase decreased as a whole. The Si/Al interface began to decrease for the sample Al-Si30 wt.% due to the connection of Si phases. The α-Al phase within the (Al, Si) eutectic were observed to exhibit two sub-micron solidification morphologies, columnar grains and equiaxed grains, respectively. In general, by increasing the content of the deposited Si, the thermal conductivity decreased owing to the decreasing of α-Al phase with high conductivity, and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) had the same varying trend which was attributed to the increasing volume fraction of stiff precipitated Si phase and Si-Si contiguity.

  15. A picture's worth a thousand words: a food-selection observational method.

    PubMed

    Carins, Julia E; Rundle-Thiele, Sharyn R; Parkinson, Joy E

    2016-05-04

    Issue addressed: Methods are needed to accurately measure and describe behaviour so that social marketers and other behaviour change researchers can gain consumer insights before designing behaviour change strategies and so, in time, they can measure the impact of strategies or interventions when implemented. This paper describes a photographic method developed to meet these needs. Methods: Direct observation and photographic methods were developed and used to capture food-selection behaviour and examine those selections according to their healthfulness. Four meals (two lunches and two dinners) were observed at a workplace buffet-style cafeteria over a 1-week period. The healthfulness of individual meals was assessed using a classification scheme developed for the present study and based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Results: Approximately 27% of meals (n = 168) were photographed. Agreement was high between raters classifying dishes using the scheme, as well as between researchers when coding photographs. The subset of photographs was representative of patterns observed in the entire dining room. Diners chose main dishes in line with the proportions presented, but in opposition to the proportions presented for side dishes. Conclusions: The present study developed a rigorous observational method to investigate food choice behaviour. The comprehensive food classification scheme produced consistent classifications of foods. The photographic data collection method was found to be robust and accurate. Combining the two observation methods allows researchers and/or practitioners to accurately measure and interpret food selections. Consumer insights gained suggest that, in this setting, increasing the availability of green (healthful) offerings for main dishes would assist in improving healthfulness, whereas other strategies (e.g. promotion) may be needed for side dishes. So what?: Visual observation methods that accurately measure and interpret food-selection

  16. Finding Direction in the Search for Selection.

    PubMed

    Thiltgen, Grant; Dos Reis, Mario; Goldstein, Richard A

    2017-01-01

    Tests for positive selection have mostly been developed to look for diversifying selection where change away from the current amino acid is often favorable. However, in many cases we are interested in directional selection where there is a shift toward specific amino acids, resulting in increased fitness in the species. Recently, a few methods have been developed to detect and characterize directional selection on a molecular level. Using the results of evolutionary simulations as well as HIV drug resistance data as models of directional selection, we compare two such methods with each other, as well as against a standard method for detecting diversifying selection. We find that the method to detect diversifying selection also detects directional selection under certain conditions. One method developed for detecting directional selection is powerful and accurate for a wide range of conditions, while the other can generate an excessive number of false positives.

  17. Evaluation of New Reference Genes in Papaya for Accurate Transcript Normalization under Different Experimental Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Weixin; Chen, Jianye; Lu, Wangjin; Chen, Lei; Fu, Danwen

    2012-01-01

    Real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) is a preferred method for rapid and accurate quantification of gene expression studies. Appropriate application of RT-qPCR requires accurate normalization though the use of reference genes. As no single reference gene is universally suitable for all experiments, thus reference gene(s) validation under different experimental conditions is crucial for RT-qPCR analysis. To date, only a few studies on reference genes have been done in other plants but none in papaya. In the present work, we selected 21 candidate reference genes, and evaluated their expression stability in 246 papaya fruit samples using three algorithms, geNorm, NormFinder and RefFinder. The samples consisted of 13 sets collected under different experimental conditions, including various tissues, different storage temperatures, different cultivars, developmental stages, postharvest ripening, modified atmosphere packaging, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatment, hot water treatment, biotic stress and hormone treatment. Our results demonstrated that expression stability varied greatly between reference genes and that different suitable reference gene(s) or combination of reference genes for normalization should be validated according to the experimental conditions. In general, the internal reference genes EIF (Eukaryotic initiation factor 4A), TBP1 (TATA binding protein 1) and TBP2 (TATA binding protein 2) genes had a good performance under most experimental conditions, whereas the most widely present used reference genes, ACTIN (Actin 2), 18S rRNA (18S ribosomal RNA) and GAPDH (Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) were not suitable in many experimental conditions. In addition, two commonly used programs, geNorm and Normfinder, were proved sufficient for the validation. This work provides the first systematic analysis for the selection of superior reference genes for accurate transcript normalization in papaya under different experimental conditions. PMID

  18. Thermophysical properties of simple liquid metals: A brief review of theory

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stroud, David

    1993-01-01

    In this paper, we review the current theory of the thermophysical properties of simple liquid metals. The emphasis is on thermodynamic properties, but we also briefly discuss the nonequilibrium properties of liquid metals. We begin by defining a 'simple liquid metal' as one in which the valence electrons interact only weakly with the ionic cores, so that the interaction can be treated by perturbation theory. We then write down the equilibrium Hamiltonian of a liquid metal as a sum of five terms: the bare ion-ion interaction, the electron-electron interaction, the bare electron-ion interaction, and the kinetic energies of electrons and ions. Since the electron-ion interaction can be treated by perturbation, the electronic part contributes in two ways to the Helmholtz free energy: it gives a density-dependent term which is independent of the arrangement of ions, and it acts to screen the ion-ion interaction, giving rise to effective ion-ion pair potentials which are density-dependent, in general. After sketching the form of a typical pair potential, we briefly enumerate some methods for calculating the ionic distribution function and hence the Helmholtz free energy of the liquid: monte Carlo simulations, molecular dynamics simulations, and thermodynamic perturbation theory. The final result is a general expression for the Helmholtz free energy of the liquid metal. It can be used to calculate a wide range of thermodynamic properties of simple metal liquids, which we enumerate. They include not only a range of thermodynamic coefficients of both metals and alloys, but also many aspects of the phase diagram, including freezing curves of pure elements and phase diagrams of liquid alloys (including liquidus and solidus curves). We briefly mention some key discoveries resulting from previous applications of this method, and point out that the same methods work for other materials not normally considered to be liquid metals (such as colloidal suspensions, in which the

  19. MICCA: a complete and accurate software for taxonomic profiling of metagenomic data.

    PubMed

    Albanese, Davide; Fontana, Paolo; De Filippo, Carlotta; Cavalieri, Duccio; Donati, Claudio

    2015-05-19

    The introduction of high throughput sequencing technologies has triggered an increase of the number of studies in which the microbiota of environmental and human samples is characterized through the sequencing of selected marker genes. While experimental protocols have undergone a process of standardization that makes them accessible to a large community of scientist, standard and robust data analysis pipelines are still lacking. Here we introduce MICCA, a software pipeline for the processing of amplicon metagenomic datasets that efficiently combines quality filtering, clustering of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs), taxonomy assignment and phylogenetic tree inference. MICCA provides accurate results reaching a good compromise among modularity and usability. Moreover, we introduce a de-novo clustering algorithm specifically designed for the inference of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). Tests on real and synthetic datasets shows that thanks to the optimized reads filtering process and to the new clustering algorithm, MICCA provides estimates of the number of OTUs and of other common ecological indices that are more accurate and robust than currently available pipelines. Analysis of public metagenomic datasets shows that the higher consistency of results improves our understanding of the structure of environmental and human associated microbial communities. MICCA is an open source project.

  20. Economic indicators selection for crime rates forecasting using cooperative feature selection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alwee, Razana; Shamsuddin, Siti Mariyam Hj; Salleh Sallehuddin, Roselina

    2013-04-01

    Features selection in multivariate forecasting model is very important to ensure that the model is accurate. The purpose of this study is to apply the Cooperative Feature Selection method for features selection. The features are economic indicators that will be used in crime rate forecasting model. The Cooperative Feature Selection combines grey relational analysis and artificial neural network to establish a cooperative model that can rank and select the significant economic indicators. Grey relational analysis is used to select the best data series to represent each economic indicator and is also used to rank the economic indicators according to its importance to the crime rate. After that, the artificial neural network is used to select the significant economic indicators for forecasting the crime rates. In this study, we used economic indicators of unemployment rate, consumer price index, gross domestic product and consumer sentiment index, as well as data rates of property crime and violent crime for the United States. Levenberg-Marquardt neural network is used in this study. From our experiments, we found that consumer price index is an important economic indicator that has a significant influence on the violent crime rate. While for property crime rate, the gross domestic product, unemployment rate and consumer price index are the influential economic indicators. The Cooperative Feature Selection is also found to produce smaller errors as compared to Multiple Linear Regression in forecasting property and violent crime rates.

  1. Developing Electronic Health Record Algorithms That Accurately Identify Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

    PubMed

    Barnado, April; Casey, Carolyn; Carroll, Robert J; Wheless, Lee; Denny, Joshua C; Crofford, Leslie J

    2017-05-01

    To study systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the electronic health record (EHR), we must accurately identify patients with SLE. Our objective was to develop and validate novel EHR algorithms that use International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9), Clinical Modification codes, laboratory testing, and medications to identify SLE patients. We used Vanderbilt's Synthetic Derivative, a de-identified version of the EHR, with 2.5 million subjects. We selected all individuals with at least 1 SLE ICD-9 code (710.0), yielding 5,959 individuals. To create a training set, 200 subjects were randomly selected for chart review. A subject was defined as a case if diagnosed with SLE by a rheumatologist, nephrologist, or dermatologist. Positive predictive values (PPVs) and sensitivity were calculated for combinations of code counts of the SLE ICD-9 code, a positive antinuclear antibody (ANA), ever use of medications, and a keyword of "lupus" in the problem list. The algorithms with the highest PPV were each internally validated using a random set of 100 individuals from the remaining 5,759 subjects. The algorithm with the highest PPV at 95% in the training set and 91% in the validation set was 3 or more counts of the SLE ICD-9 code, ANA positive (≥1:40), and ever use of both disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and steroids, while excluding individuals with systemic sclerosis and dermatomyositis ICD-9 codes. We developed and validated the first EHR algorithm that incorporates laboratory values and medications with the SLE ICD-9 code to identify patients with SLE accurately. © 2016, American College of Rheumatology.

  2. Nonexposure Accurate Location K-Anonymity Algorithm in LBS

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    This paper tackles location privacy protection in current location-based services (LBS) where mobile users have to report their exact location information to an LBS provider in order to obtain their desired services. Location cloaking has been proposed and well studied to protect user privacy. It blurs the user's accurate coordinate and replaces it with a well-shaped cloaked region. However, to obtain such an anonymous spatial region (ASR), nearly all existent cloaking algorithms require knowing the accurate locations of all users. Therefore, location cloaking without exposing the user's accurate location to any party is urgently needed. In this paper, we present such two nonexposure accurate location cloaking algorithms. They are designed for K-anonymity, and cloaking is performed based on the identifications (IDs) of the grid areas which were reported by all the users, instead of directly on their accurate coordinates. Experimental results show that our algorithms are more secure than the existent cloaking algorithms, need not have all the users reporting their locations all the time, and can generate smaller ASR. PMID:24605060

  3. 77 FR 3800 - Accurate NDE & Inspection, LLC; Confirmatory Order

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-25

    ... In the Matter of Accurate NDE & Docket: 150-00017, General Inspection, LLC Broussard, Louisiana... an attempt to resolve issues associated with this matter. In response, on August 9, 2011, Accurate NDE requested ADR to resolve this matter with the NRC. On September 28, 2011, the NRC and Accurate NDE...

  4. Thermophysical Properties of Selected Aerospace Materials. Part 1. Thermal Radiative Properties

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1976-01-01

    discusses the available data and information, the theoretical guidelines and other factors on which the critical evaluation, analysis, and synthesis of...text and a specification table. The former reviews and discusses the available data and information, the theoretical guidelines and other factors on...conditions 6’ Zenith angle for viewing conditions A6 Half angle of acceptance of optical system K Loss value factor X Wavelength p Reflectance p

  5. Thermophysical Parameters of Organic PCM Coconut Oil from T-History Method and Its Potential as Thermal Energy Storage in Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Silalahi, Alfriska O.; Sukmawati, Nissa; Sutjahja, I. M.; Kurnia, D.; Wonorahardjo, S.

    2017-07-01

    The thermophysical parameters of organic phase change material (PCM) of coconut oil (co_oil) have been studied by analyzing the temperature vs time data during liquid-solid phase transition (solidification process) based on T-history method, adopting the original version and its modified form to extract the values of mean specific heats of the solid and liquid co_oil and the heat of fusion related to phase transition of co_oil. We found that the liquid-solid phase transition occurs rather gradually, which might be due to the fact that co_oil consists of many kinds of fatty acids with the largest amount of lauric acid (about 50%), with relatively small supercooling degree. For this reason, the end of phase transition region become smeared out, although the inflection point in the temperature derivative is clearly observed signifying the drastic temperature variation between the phase transition and solid phase periods. The data have led to the values of mean specific heat of the solid and liquid co_oil that are comparable to the pure lauric acid, while the value for heat of fusion is resemble to those of the DSC result, both from references data. The advantage of co_oil as the potential sensible and latent TES for room-temperature conditioning application in Indonesia is discussed in terms of its rather broad working temperature range due to its mixture composition characteristic.

  6. An Exploratory Study of Selected Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes of Indiana Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Christina A.; Baldwin, Kathleen L.; Tanner, Amanda E.

    2007-01-01

    Although there are numerous ways to obtain accurate information about sexuality, research suggests that many American adults do not have accurate sexuality and sexual health knowledge. This research investigated selected sexual knowledge and attitudes of adults in Indiana. A representative sample of men (n = 158) and women (n = 340) aged 18 to 89…

  7. Learning to select useful landmarks.

    PubMed

    Greiner, R; Isukapalli, R

    1996-01-01

    To navigate effectively, an autonomous agent must be able to quickly and accurately determine its current location. Given an initial estimate of its position (perhaps based on dead-reckoning) and an image taken of a known environment, our agent first attempts to locate a set of landmarks (real-world objects at known locations), then uses their angular separation to obtain an improved estimate of its current position. Unfortunately, some landmarks may not be visible, or worse, may be confused with other landmarks, resulting in both time wasted in searching for the undetected landmarks, and in further errors in the agent's estimate of its position. To address these problems, we propose a method that uses previous experiences to learn a selection function that, given the set of landmarks that might be visible, returns the subset that can be used to reliably provide an accurate registration of the agent's position. We use statistical techniques to prove that the learned selection function is, with high probability, effectively at a local optimum in the space of such functions. This paper also presents empirical evidence, using real-world data, that demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

  8. Identification of a Spectrally and Thermophysically Unique Region in Northern Amazonis Planitia, Mars: Surface Analysis using TES and THEMIS Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rogers, D.; Christensen, P. R.

    2002-12-01

    An intermediate-albedo (0.23-0.24) region located in northeastern Amazonis Planitia (approximately 900 km2 in area, centered at 40§N, 150§W) has been discovered to have a unique combination of certain spectral and thermophysical properties. The range of thermal inertia values for this region is 40-150 J/m2Ks1/2. On Mars, these values are usually indicative of a thick deposit of very fine-grained material (<63 microns) [1]. However, unlike typical dust deposits on Mars, this region exhibits moderate spectral contrast, with surface emissivity values ranging from 0.94-0.97 near 1030 cm-1. These emissivity values are uncharacteristic of fine-grained material [e.g., 2]. The modal mineralogy obtained by linear deconvolution of selected emissivity spectra from at least four different orbits over this region is not different than that reported for the Acidalia Planitia andesitic surface [3], within the mineral abundance detection limit estimated for TES [4]. However, the atmospherically-corrected surface spectral shape is distinct from the surface spectra common to Acidalia Planitia [3], Syrtis Major [3, 4], Sinus Meridiani [5] and Nili Fossae [6]. A spectral index was developed that describes the shape of a concave-down portion of the surface spectrum near 900 cm-1. A global 4 pixel-per-degree map of this index shows that the spectral character is unique to this region on Mars. MOC and THEMIS visible images available for this area show a uniform geomorphology consisting of parallel sinuous features trending NW-SE. Finally, THEMIS IR images show a sharp temperature contact that corresponds with the boundary of this area in the spectral index map. There are likely to be other explanations for reconciling the low thermal inertia with high spectral feature depth, however a favored hypothesis for this anomalous surface is that it is composed of a consolidated but highly porous material. This and other interpretations for this region will be discussed. References: [1] Kieffer

  9. Register of specialized sources for information on selected fuels and oxidizers. [rocket propellants, bibliographies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ludtke, P. R.

    1975-01-01

    Thirty-eight (38) organizations are listed and described that catalog and file information in their data systems on fuel and oxidizers. The fuels include hydrogen, methane and hydrazine-type fuels; the oxidizers include oxygen, fluorine, flox, nitrogen tetroxide and ozone. The type of available information covers thermophysical properties, propellant systems, propellant fires-control-extinguishment, propellant explosions, propellant combustion, propellant safety, and fluorine chemistry. These organizations have assembled and collated their information so that it will be useful in the solution of engineering problems.

  10. An Approximate Approach to Automatic Kernel Selection.

    PubMed

    Ding, Lizhong; Liao, Shizhong

    2016-02-02

    Kernel selection is a fundamental problem of kernel-based learning algorithms. In this paper, we propose an approximate approach to automatic kernel selection for regression from the perspective of kernel matrix approximation. We first introduce multilevel circulant matrices into automatic kernel selection, and develop two approximate kernel selection algorithms by exploiting the computational virtues of multilevel circulant matrices. The complexity of the proposed algorithms is quasi-linear in the number of data points. Then, we prove an approximation error bound to measure the effect of the approximation in kernel matrices by multilevel circulant matrices on the hypothesis and further show that the approximate hypothesis produced with multilevel circulant matrices converges to the accurate hypothesis produced with kernel matrices. Experimental evaluations on benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of approximate kernel selection.

  11. Ensemble MD simulations restrained via crystallographic data: Accurate structure leads to accurate dynamics

    PubMed Central

    Xue, Yi; Skrynnikov, Nikolai R

    2014-01-01

    Currently, the best existing molecular dynamics (MD) force fields cannot accurately reproduce the global free-energy minimum which realizes the experimental protein structure. As a result, long MD trajectories tend to drift away from the starting coordinates (e.g., crystallographic structures). To address this problem, we have devised a new simulation strategy aimed at protein crystals. An MD simulation of protein crystal is essentially an ensemble simulation involving multiple protein molecules in a crystal unit cell (or a block of unit cells). To ensure that average protein coordinates remain correct during the simulation, we introduced crystallography-based restraints into the MD protocol. Because these restraints are aimed at the ensemble-average structure, they have only minimal impact on conformational dynamics of the individual protein molecules. So long as the average structure remains reasonable, the proteins move in a native-like fashion as dictated by the original force field. To validate this approach, we have used the data from solid-state NMR spectroscopy, which is the orthogonal experimental technique uniquely sensitive to protein local dynamics. The new method has been tested on the well-established model protein, ubiquitin. The ensemble-restrained MD simulations produced lower crystallographic R factors than conventional simulations; they also led to more accurate predictions for crystallographic temperature factors, solid-state chemical shifts, and backbone order parameters. The predictions for 15N R1 relaxation rates are at least as accurate as those obtained from conventional simulations. Taken together, these results suggest that the presented trajectories may be among the most realistic protein MD simulations ever reported. In this context, the ensemble restraints based on high-resolution crystallographic data can be viewed as protein-specific empirical corrections to the standard force fields. PMID:24452989

  12. The Empirical Selection of Anchor Items Using a Multistage Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Craig, Brandon

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine if using a multistage approach for the empirical selection of anchor items would lead to more accurate DIF detection rates than the anchor selection methods proposed by Kopf, Zeileis, & Strobl (2015b). A simulation study was conducted in which the sample size, percentage of DIF, and balance of DIF…

  13. The influence of mixing water on the thermophysical properties of nanofluids based on solar salt and silica nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muñoz-Sánchez, B.; Nieto-Maestre, J.; Iparraguirre-Torres, I.; Sánchez-García, J. A.; Julia, J. E.; García-Romero, A.

    2016-05-01

    The use of nanofluids (NFs) based on Solar Salt (SS) and nanoparticles (NPs), either as Thermal Energy Storage (TES) material or as Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF), is attracting great interest in recent years. Many authors [1,3] have reported important improvements on the thermophysical properties (specific heat capacity cp,thermal conductivity k) of NFs based on SS and ceramic NPs. These improvements would lead to important savings and better performance of TES facilities on new Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants due to lower quantities of material required and smaller storage tanks. To achieve these advantageous features in the final NFs, it is essential to avoid NP agglomeration during their preparation. Different synthesis procedures have been reported: mixing of solid NPs within a SS solution by means of ultrasounds [1-3], direct mixing of solid NPs and molten salt [4]. In this work, NFs based on SS and 1% by wt. of silica NPs were synthetized from a SS-water solution and a commercial water-silica NF called Ludox HS 30% (Sigma-Aldrich). The influence of the mixing water volume (MW) on the cp of NFs was evaluated. With this aim, the cp of these samples was measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) both in the solid and the liquid state. In addition, the distribution of sizes was measured during the whole preparation process by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). Further information about sizes and uniformity of the final NFs was obtained from Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns of the SS and final NF were performed.

  14. Thermal dynamic behavior during selective laser melting of K418 superalloy: numerical simulation and experimental verification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Zhen; Xiang, Yu; Wei, Zhengying; Wei, Pei; Lu, Bingheng; Zhang, Lijuan; Du, Jun

    2018-04-01

    During selective laser melting (SLM) of K418 powder, the influence of the process parameters, such as laser power P and scanning speed v, on the dynamic thermal behavior and morphology of the melted tracks was investigated numerically. A 3D finite difference method was established to predict the dynamic thermal behavior and flow mechanism of K418 powder irradiated by a Gaussian laser beam. A three-dimensional randomly packed powder bed composed of spherical particles was established by discrete element method. The powder particle information including particle size distribution and packing density were taken into account. The volume shrinkage and temperature-dependent thermophysical parameters such as thermal conductivity, specific heat, and other physical properties were also considered. The volume of fluid method was applied to reconstruct the free surface of the molten pool during SLM. The geometrical features, continuity boundaries, and irregularities of the molten pool were proved to be largely determined by the laser energy density. The numerical results are in good agreement with the experiments, which prove to be reasonable and effective. The results provide us some in-depth insight into the complex physical behavior during SLM and guide the optimization of process parameters.

  15. The Missing Response to Selection in the Wild.

    PubMed

    Pujol, Benoit; Blanchet, Simon; Charmantier, Anne; Danchin, Etienne; Facon, Benoit; Marrot, Pascal; Roux, Fabrice; Scotti, Ivan; Teplitsky, Céline; Thomson, Caroline E; Winney, Isabel

    2018-05-01

    Although there are many examples of contemporary directional selection, evidence for responses to selection that match predictions are often missing in quantitative genetic studies of wild populations. This is despite the presence of genetic variation and selection pressures - theoretical prerequisites for the response to selection. This conundrum can be explained by statistical issues with accurate parameter estimation, and by biological mechanisms that interfere with the response to selection. These biological mechanisms can accelerate or constrain this response. These mechanisms are generally studied independently but might act simultaneously. We therefore integrated these mechanisms to explore their potential combined effect. This has implications for explaining the apparent evolutionary stasis of wild populations and the conservation of wildlife. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  16. Highly accurate surface maps from profilometer measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Medicus, Kate M.; Nelson, Jessica D.; Mandina, Mike P.

    2013-04-01

    Many aspheres and free-form optical surfaces are measured using a single line trace profilometer which is limiting because accurate 3D corrections are not possible with the single trace. We show a method to produce an accurate fully 2.5D surface height map when measuring a surface with a profilometer using only 6 traces and without expensive hardware. The 6 traces are taken at varying angular positions of the lens, rotating the part between each trace. The output height map contains low form error only, the first 36 Zernikes. The accuracy of the height map is ±10% of the actual Zernike values and within ±3% of the actual peak to valley number. The calculated Zernike values are affected by errors in the angular positioning, by the centering of the lens, and to a small effect, choices made in the processing algorithm. We have found that the angular positioning of the part should be better than 1?, which is achievable with typical hardware. The centering of the lens is essential to achieving accurate measurements. The part must be centered to within 0.5% of the diameter to achieve accurate results. This value is achievable with care, with an indicator, but the part must be edged to a clean diameter.

  17. Using Deep Learning for Compound Selectivity Prediction.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Ruisheng; Li, Juan; Lu, Jingjing; Hu, Rongjing; Yuan, Yongna; Zhao, Zhili

    2016-01-01

    Compound selectivity prediction plays an important role in identifying potential compounds that bind to the target of interest with high affinity. However, there is still short of efficient and accurate computational approaches to analyze and predict compound selectivity. In this paper, we propose two methods to improve the compound selectivity prediction. We employ an improved multitask learning method in Neural Networks (NNs), which not only incorporates both activity and selectivity for other targets, but also uses a probabilistic classifier with a logistic regression. We further improve the compound selectivity prediction by using the multitask learning method in Deep Belief Networks (DBNs) which can build a distributed representation model and improve the generalization of the shared tasks. In addition, we assign different weights to the auxiliary tasks that are related to the primary selectivity prediction task. In contrast to other related work, our methods greatly improve the accuracy of the compound selectivity prediction, in particular, using the multitask learning in DBNs with modified weights obtains the best performance.

  18. Capturing Accurate and Useful Information on Medication-Related Telenursing Triage Calls.

    PubMed

    Lake, R; Li, L; Baysari, M; Byrne, M; Robinson, M; Westbrook, J I

    2016-01-01

    Registered nurses providing telenursing triage and advice services record information on the medication related calls they handle. However the quality and consistency of these data were rarely examined. Our aim was to examine medication related calls made to the healthdirect advice service in November 2014, to assess their basic characteristics and how the data entry format influenced information collected and data consistency. Registered nurses selected the patient question type from a range of categories, and entered the medications involved in a free text field. Medication names were manually extracted from the free text fields. We also compared the selected patient question type with the free text description of the call, in order to gauge data consistency. Results showed that nurses provided patients with advice on medication-related queries in a timely matter (the median call duration of 9 minutes). From 1835 calls, we were able to identify and classify 2156 medications into 384 generic names. However, in 204 cases (11.2% of calls) no medication name was entered. A further 308 (15.0%) of the medication names entered were not identifiable. When we compared the selected patient question with the free text description of calls, we found that these were consistent in 63.27% of cases. Telenursing and triage advice services provide a valuable resource to the public with quick and easily accessible advice. To support nurses provide quality services and record accurate information about the queries, appropriate data entry format and design would be beneficial.

  19. A Critical Evaluation of the Thermophysical Properties of Mercury

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holman, G. J. F.; ten Seldam, C. A.

    1994-09-01

    For the use of a mercury column for precise pressure measurements—such as the pressurized 30 meter mercury-in-steel column used at the Van der Waals-Zeeman Laboratory for the calibration of piston gauges up to nearly 300 MPa—it is highly important to have accurate knowledge of such properties of mercury as density, isobaric secant and tangent volume thermal expansion coefficients, and isothermal secant and tangent compressibilities as functions of temperature and pressure. In this paper we present a critical assessment of the available information on these properties. Recommended values are given for the properties mentioned and, in addition, for properties derived from theses such as entropy, enthalpy, internal energy, and the specific heat capacities.

  20. Cryogenic Information Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mohling, Robert A.; Marquardt, Eric D.; Fusilier, Fred C.; Fesmire, James E.

    2003-01-01

    The Cryogenic Information Center (CIC) is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to preserving and distributing cryogenic information to government, industry, and academia. The heart of the CIC is a uniform source of cryogenic data including analyses, design, materials and processes, and test information traceable back to the Cryogenic Data Center of the former National Bureau of Standards. The electronic database is a national treasure containing over 146,000 specific bibliographic citations of cryogenic literature and thermophysical property data dating back to 1829. A new technical/bibliographic inquiry service can perform searches and technical analyses. The Cryogenic Material Properties (CMP) Program consists of computer codes using empirical equations to determine thermophysical material properties with emphasis on the 4-300K range. CMP's objective is to develop a user-friendly standard material property database using the best available data so government and industry can conduct more accurate analyses. The CIC serves to benefit researchers, engineers, and technologists in cryogenics and cryogenic engineering, whether they are new or experienced in the field.

  1. Optimal Design for Placements of Tsunami Observing Systems to Accurately Characterize the Inducing Earthquake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mulia, Iyan E.; Gusman, Aditya Riadi; Satake, Kenji

    2017-12-01

    Recently, there are numerous tsunami observation networks deployed in several major tsunamigenic regions. However, guidance on where to optimally place the measurement devices is limited. This study presents a methodological approach to select strategic observation locations for the purpose of tsunami source characterizations, particularly in terms of the fault slip distribution. Initially, we identify favorable locations and determine the initial number of observations. These locations are selected based on extrema of empirical orthogonal function (EOF) spatial modes. To further improve the accuracy, we apply an optimization algorithm called a mesh adaptive direct search to remove redundant measurement locations from the EOF-generated points. We test the proposed approach using multiple hypothetical tsunami sources around the Nankai Trough, Japan. The results suggest that the optimized observation points can produce more accurate fault slip estimates with considerably less number of observations compared to the existing tsunami observation networks.

  2. MICCA: a complete and accurate software for taxonomic profiling of metagenomic data

    PubMed Central

    Albanese, Davide; Fontana, Paolo; De Filippo, Carlotta; Cavalieri, Duccio; Donati, Claudio

    2015-01-01

    The introduction of high throughput sequencing technologies has triggered an increase of the number of studies in which the microbiota of environmental and human samples is characterized through the sequencing of selected marker genes. While experimental protocols have undergone a process of standardization that makes them accessible to a large community of scientist, standard and robust data analysis pipelines are still lacking. Here we introduce MICCA, a software pipeline for the processing of amplicon metagenomic datasets that efficiently combines quality filtering, clustering of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs), taxonomy assignment and phylogenetic tree inference. MICCA provides accurate results reaching a good compromise among modularity and usability. Moreover, we introduce a de-novo clustering algorithm specifically designed for the inference of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). Tests on real and synthetic datasets shows that thanks to the optimized reads filtering process and to the new clustering algorithm, MICCA provides estimates of the number of OTUs and of other common ecological indices that are more accurate and robust than currently available pipelines. Analysis of public metagenomic datasets shows that the higher consistency of results improves our understanding of the structure of environmental and human associated microbial communities. MICCA is an open source project. PMID:25988396

  3. Accurate Adaptive Level Set Method and Sharpening Technique for Three Dimensional Deforming Interfaces

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kim, Hyoungin; Liou, Meng-Sing

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we demonstrate improved accuracy of the level set method for resolving deforming interfaces by proposing two key elements: (1) accurate level set solutions on adapted Cartesian grids by judiciously choosing interpolation polynomials in regions of different grid levels and (2) enhanced reinitialization by an interface sharpening procedure. The level set equation is solved using a fifth order WENO scheme or a second order central differencing scheme depending on availability of uniform stencils at each grid point. Grid adaptation criteria are determined so that the Hamiltonian functions at nodes adjacent to interfaces are always calculated by the fifth order WENO scheme. This selective usage between the fifth order WENO and second order central differencing schemes is confirmed to give more accurate results compared to those in literature for standard test problems. In order to further improve accuracy especially near thin filaments, we suggest an artificial sharpening method, which is in a similar form with the conventional re-initialization method but utilizes sign of curvature instead of sign of the level set function. Consequently, volume loss due to numerical dissipation on thin filaments is remarkably reduced for the test problems

  4. Fantasy-Testing-Assessment: A Proposed Model for the Investigation of Mate Selection.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nofz, Michael P.

    1984-01-01

    Proposes a model for mate selection which outlines three modes of interpersonal relating--fantasy, testing, and assessment (FTA). The model is viewed as a more accurate representation of mate selection processes than suggested by earlier theories, and can be used to clarify couples' understandings of their own relationships. (JAC)

  5. Development of sodium acetate trihydrate-ethylene glycol composite phase change materials with enhanced thermophysical properties for thermal comfort and therapeutic applications.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Rohitash; Vyas, Sumita; Kumar, Ravindra; Dixit, Ambesh

    2017-07-12

    The heat packs using phase change materials (PCMs) are designed for possible applications such as body comfort and medical applications under adverse situations. The development and performance of such heat packs rely on thermophysical properties of PCMs such as latent heat, suitable heat releasing temperature, degree of supercooling, effective heat releasing time, crystallite size, stability against spontaneous nucleation in metastable supercooled liquid state and thermal stability during heating and cooling cycles. Such PCMs are rare and the available PCMs do not exhibit such properties simultaneously to meet the desired requirements. The present work reports a facile approach for the design and development of ethylene glycol (EG) and aqueous sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT) based composite phase change materials, showing these properties simultaneously. The addition of 2-3 wt% EG in aqueous SAT enhances the softness of SAT crystallites, its degree of supercooling and most importantly the effective heat releasing time by ~10% with respect to aqueous SAT material. In addition, the maximum heat releasing temperature of aqueous SAT has been tailored from 56.5 °C to 55 °C, 54.9 °C, 53.5 °C, 51.8 °C and 43.2 °C using 2%, 3%, 5%, 7% and 10 wt% EG respectively, making the aqueous SAT-EG composite PCMs suitable for desired thermal applications.

  6. Fostering accurate HIV/AIDS knowledge among unmarried youths in Cameroon: do family environment and peers matter?

    PubMed

    Tsala Dimbuene, Zacharie; Kuate Defo, Barthelemy

    2011-05-19

    The last three decades have seen a series of HIV interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. However, youths still have a mixture of correct and incorrect HIV/AIDS knowledge of transmission routes and prevention strategies. Previous studies have identified parents and peers as the most important socializing agents for youths. This paper assesses the relationships between family structure, family/peer communication about sexuality and accurate knowledge of transmission routes and prevention strategies. Data were drawn from the Cameroon Family Life and Health Survey (CFHS) conducted in 2002. The CFHS collected information on a representative sample of 4950 people aged 10 years and over nested within 1765 selected households from the 75 localities forming the administrative prefecture of Bandjoun, using detailed questionnaires about family, HIV/AIDS/STDs knowledge, sexual behaviors, contraception, health, media exposure, household assets and neighborhood characteristics. The survey cooperation rates were high (97%). For the purpose of this study, a sub-sample of 2028 unmarried youths aged 12-29 years was utilized. Overall, 42% of respondents reported accurate knowledge of documented HIV transmission routes whereas 21% of them had inaccurate knowledge such as AIDS can be transmitted through mosquito bites or casual contact with an infected person. Only 9% of respondents were knowledgeable about all HIV prevention strategies. Multivariate analyses showed that family structure, communication with parents/guardians and peers about sexual topics were significantly associated with accurate HIV knowledge. Additionally, age, education, sexual experience and migration had significant effects on accurate knowledge. Finally, living in poor households and disadvantaged neighborhoods significantly increased inaccurate knowledge of HIV transmission modes and prevention strategies. This paper evidenced the limited effects of HIV interventions/programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed, few

  7. Substrate-Induced Formation of Ribosomal Decoding Center for Accurate and Rapid Genetic Code Translation.

    PubMed

    Pavlov, Michael Y; Ehrenberg, Måns

    2018-05-20

    Accurate translation of genetic information is crucial for synthesis of functional proteins in all organisms. We use recent experimental data to discuss how induced fit affects accuracy of initial codon selection on the ribosome by aminoacyl transfer RNA in ternary complex ( T 3 ) with elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and guanosine-5'-triphosphate (GTP). We define actual accuracy ([Formula: see text]) of a particular protein synthesis system as its current accuracy and the effective selectivity ([Formula: see text]) as [Formula: see text] in the limit of zero ribosomal binding affinity for T 3 . Intrinsic selectivity ([Formula: see text]), defined as the upper thermodynamic limit of [Formula: see text], is determined by the free energy difference between near-cognate and cognate T 3 in the pre-GTP hydrolysis state on the ribosome. [Formula: see text] is much larger than [Formula: see text], suggesting the possibility of a considerable increase in [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] at negligible kinetic cost. Induced fit increases [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] without affecting [Formula: see text], and aminoglycoside antibiotics reduce [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] at unaltered [Formula: see text].

  8. Automated frame selection process for high-resolution microendoscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ishijima, Ayumu; Schwarz, Richard A.; Shin, Dongsuk; Mondrik, Sharon; Vigneswaran, Nadarajah; Gillenwater, Ann M.; Anandasabapathy, Sharmila; Richards-Kortum, Rebecca

    2015-04-01

    We developed an automated frame selection algorithm for high-resolution microendoscopy video sequences. The algorithm rapidly selects a representative frame with minimal motion artifact from a short video sequence, enabling fully automated image analysis at the point-of-care. The algorithm was evaluated by quantitative comparison of diagnostically relevant image features and diagnostic classification results obtained using automated frame selection versus manual frame selection. A data set consisting of video sequences collected in vivo from 100 oral sites and 167 esophageal sites was used in the analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.78 (automated selection) versus 0.82 (manual selection) for oral sites, and 0.93 (automated selection) versus 0.92 (manual selection) for esophageal sites. The implementation of fully automated high-resolution microendoscopy at the point-of-care has the potential to reduce the number of biopsies needed for accurate diagnosis of precancer and cancer in low-resource settings where there may be limited infrastructure and personnel for standard histologic analysis.

  9. PconsD: ultra rapid, accurate model quality assessment for protein structure prediction.

    PubMed

    Skwark, Marcin J; Elofsson, Arne

    2013-07-15

    Clustering methods are often needed for accurately assessing the quality of modeled protein structures. Recent blind evaluation of quality assessment methods in CASP10 showed that there is little difference between many different methods as far as ranking models and selecting best model are concerned. When comparing many models, the computational cost of the model comparison can become significant. Here, we present PconsD, a fast, stream-computing method for distance-driven model quality assessment that runs on consumer hardware. PconsD is at least one order of magnitude faster than other methods of comparable accuracy. The source code for PconsD is freely available at http://d.pcons.net/. Supplementary benchmarking data are also available there. arne@bioinfo.se Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  10. Tehran Air Pollutants Prediction Based on Random Forest Feature Selection Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shamsoddini, A.; Aboodi, M. R.; Karami, J.

    2017-09-01

    Air pollution as one of the most serious forms of environmental pollutions poses huge threat to human life. Air pollution leads to environmental instability, and has harmful and undesirable effects on the environment. Modern prediction methods of the pollutant concentration are able to improve decision making and provide appropriate solutions. This study examines the performance of the Random Forest feature selection in combination with multiple-linear regression and Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Networks methods, in order to achieve an efficient model to estimate carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and PM2.5 contents in the air. The results indicated that Artificial Neural Networks fed by the attributes selected by Random Forest feature selection method performed more accurate than other models for the modeling of all pollutants. The estimation accuracy of sulfur dioxide emissions was lower than the other air contaminants whereas the nitrogen dioxide was predicted more accurate than the other pollutants.

  11. Why publishing everything is more effective than selective publishing of statistically significant results.

    PubMed

    van Assen, Marcel A L M; van Aert, Robbie C M; Nuijten, Michèle B; Wicherts, Jelte M

    2014-01-01

    De Winter and Happee examined whether science based on selective publishing of significant results may be effective in accurate estimation of population effects, and whether this is even more effective than a science in which all results are published (i.e., a science without publication bias). Based on their simulation study they concluded that "selective publishing yields a more accurate meta-analytic estimation of the true effect than publishing everything, (and that) publishing nonreplicable results while placing null results in the file drawer can be beneficial for the scientific collective" (p.4). Using their scenario with a small to medium population effect size, we show that publishing everything is more effective for the scientific collective than selective publishing of significant results. Additionally, we examined a scenario with a null effect, which provides a more dramatic illustration of the superiority of publishing everything over selective publishing. Publishing everything is more effective than only reporting significant outcomes.

  12. Why Publishing Everything Is More Effective than Selective Publishing of Statistically Significant Results

    PubMed Central

    van Assen, Marcel A. L. M.; van Aert, Robbie C. M.; Nuijten, Michèle B.; Wicherts, Jelte M.

    2014-01-01

    Background De Winter and Happee [1] examined whether science based on selective publishing of significant results may be effective in accurate estimation of population effects, and whether this is even more effective than a science in which all results are published (i.e., a science without publication bias). Based on their simulation study they concluded that “selective publishing yields a more accurate meta-analytic estimation of the true effect than publishing everything, (and that) publishing nonreplicable results while placing null results in the file drawer can be beneficial for the scientific collective” (p.4). Methods and Findings Using their scenario with a small to medium population effect size, we show that publishing everything is more effective for the scientific collective than selective publishing of significant results. Additionally, we examined a scenario with a null effect, which provides a more dramatic illustration of the superiority of publishing everything over selective publishing. Conclusion Publishing everything is more effective than only reporting significant outcomes. PMID:24465448

  13. Accurate mass measurement: terminology and treatment of data.

    PubMed

    Brenton, A Gareth; Godfrey, A Ruth

    2010-11-01

    High-resolution mass spectrometry has become ever more accessible with improvements in instrumentation, such as modern FT-ICR and Orbitrap mass spectrometers. This has resulted in an increase in the number of articles submitted for publication quoting accurate mass data. There is a plethora of terms related to accurate mass analysis that are in current usage, many employed incorrectly or inconsistently. This article is based on a set of notes prepared by the authors for research students and staff in our laboratories as a guide to the correct terminology and basic statistical procedures to apply in relation to mass measurement, particularly for accurate mass measurement. It elaborates on the editorial by Gross in 1994 regarding the use of accurate masses for structure confirmation. We have presented and defined the main terms in use with reference to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recommendations for nomenclature and symbolism for mass spectrometry. The correct use of statistics and treatment of data is illustrated as a guide to new and existing mass spectrometry users with a series of examples as well as statistical methods to compare different experimental methods and datasets. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  14. No galaxy left behind: accurate measurements with the faintest objects in the Dark Energy Survey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suchyta, E.; Huff, E. M.; Aleksić, J.; Melchior, P.; Jouvel, S.; MacCrann, N.; Ross, A. J.; Crocce, M.; Gaztanaga, E.; Honscheid, K.; Leistedt, B.; Peiris, H. V.; Rykoff, E. S.; Sheldon, E.; Abbott, T.; Abdalla, F. B.; Allam, S.; Banerji, M.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Bertin, E.; Brooks, D.; Burke, D. L.; Carnero Rosell, A.; Carrasco Kind, M.; Carretero, J.; Cunha, C. E.; D'Andrea, C. B.; da Costa, L. N.; DePoy, D. L.; Desai, S.; Diehl, H. T.; Dietrich, J. P.; Doel, P.; Eifler, T. F.; Estrada, J.; Evrard, A. E.; Flaugher, B.; Fosalba, P.; Frieman, J.; Gerdes, D. W.; Gruen, D.; Gruendl, R. A.; James, D. J.; Jarvis, M.; Kuehn, K.; Kuropatkin, N.; Lahav, O.; Lima, M.; Maia, M. A. G.; March, M.; Marshall, J. L.; Miller, C. J.; Miquel, R.; Neilsen, E.; Nichol, R. C.; Nord, B.; Ogando, R.; Percival, W. J.; Reil, K.; Roodman, A.; Sako, M.; Sanchez, E.; Scarpine, V.; Sevilla-Noarbe, I.; Smith, R. C.; Soares-Santos, M.; Sobreira, F.; Swanson, M. E. C.; Tarle, G.; Thaler, J.; Thomas, D.; Vikram, V.; Walker, A. R.; Wechsler, R. H.; Zhang, Y.; DES Collaboration

    2016-03-01

    Accurate statistical measurement with large imaging surveys has traditionally required throwing away a sizable fraction of the data. This is because most measurements have relied on selecting nearly complete samples, where variations in the composition of the galaxy population with seeing, depth, or other survey characteristics are small. We introduce a new measurement method that aims to minimize this wastage, allowing precision measurement for any class of detectable stars or galaxies. We have implemented our proposal in BALROG, software which embeds fake objects in real imaging to accurately characterize measurement biases. We demonstrate this technique with an angular clustering measurement using Dark Energy Survey (DES) data. We first show that recovery of our injected galaxies depends on a variety of survey characteristics in the same way as the real data. We then construct a flux-limited sample of the faintest galaxies in DES, chosen specifically for their sensitivity to depth and seeing variations. Using the synthetic galaxies as randoms in the Landy-Szalay estimator suppresses the effects of variable survey selection by at least two orders of magnitude. With this correction, our measured angular clustering is found to be in excellent agreement with that of a matched sample from much deeper, higher resolution space-based Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) imaging; over angular scales of 0.004° < θ < 0.2°, we find a best-fitting scaling amplitude between the DES and COSMOS measurements of 1.00 ± 0.09. We expect this methodology to be broadly useful for extending measurements' statistical reach in a variety of upcoming imaging surveys.

  15. Accurate visible speech synthesis based on concatenating variable length motion capture data.

    PubMed

    Ma, Jiyong; Cole, Ron; Pellom, Bryan; Ward, Wayne; Wise, Barbara

    2006-01-01

    We present a novel approach to synthesizing accurate visible speech based on searching and concatenating optimal variable-length units in a large corpus of motion capture data. Based on a set of visual prototypes selected on a source face and a corresponding set designated for a target face, we propose a machine learning technique to automatically map the facial motions observed on the source face to the target face. In order to model the long distance coarticulation effects in visible speech, a large-scale corpus that covers the most common syllables in English was collected, annotated and analyzed. For any input text, a search algorithm to locate the optimal sequences of concatenated units for synthesis is desrcribed. A new algorithm to adapt lip motions from a generic 3D face model to a specific 3D face model is also proposed. A complete, end-to-end visible speech animation system is implemented based on the approach. This system is currently used in more than 60 kindergarten through third grade classrooms to teach students to read using a lifelike conversational animated agent. To evaluate the quality of the visible speech produced by the animation system, both subjective evaluation and objective evaluation are conducted. The evaluation results show that the proposed approach is accurate and powerful for visible speech synthesis.

  16. Space - A unique environment for process modeling R&D

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Overfelt, Tony

    1991-01-01

    Process modeling, the application of advanced computational techniques to simulate real processes as they occur in regular use, e.g., welding, casting and semiconductor crystal growth, is discussed. Using the low-gravity environment of space will accelerate the technical validation of the procedures and enable extremely accurate determinations of the many necessary thermophysical properties. Attention is given to NASA's centers for the commercial development of space; joint ventures of universities, industries, and goverment agencies to study the unique attributes of space that offer potential for applied R&D and eventual commercial exploitation.

  17. Instances selection algorithm by ensemble margin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saidi, Meryem; Bechar, Mohammed El Amine; Settouti, Nesma; Chikh, Mohamed Amine

    2018-05-01

    The main limit of data mining algorithms is their inability to deal with the huge amount of available data in a reasonable processing time. A solution of producing fast and accurate results is instances and features selection. This process eliminates noisy or redundant data in order to reduce the storage and computational cost without performances degradation. In this paper, a new instance selection approach called Ensemble Margin Instance Selection (EMIS) algorithm is proposed. This approach is based on the ensemble margin. To evaluate our approach, we have conducted several experiments on different real-world classification problems from UCI Machine learning repository. The pixel-based image segmentation is a field where the storage requirement and computational cost of applied model become higher. To solve these limitations we conduct a study based on the application of EMIS and other instance selection techniques for the segmentation and automatic recognition of white blood cells WBC (nucleus and cytoplasm) in cytological images.

  18. Double Cluster Heads Model for Secure and Accurate Data Fusion in Wireless Sensor Networks

    PubMed Central

    Fu, Jun-Song; Liu, Yun

    2015-01-01

    Secure and accurate data fusion is an important issue in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and has been extensively researched in the literature. In this paper, by combining clustering techniques, reputation and trust systems, and data fusion algorithms, we propose a novel cluster-based data fusion model called Double Cluster Heads Model (DCHM) for secure and accurate data fusion in WSNs. Different from traditional clustering models in WSNs, two cluster heads are selected after clustering for each cluster based on the reputation and trust system and they perform data fusion independently of each other. Then, the results are sent to the base station where the dissimilarity coefficient is computed. If the dissimilarity coefficient of the two data fusion results exceeds the threshold preset by the users, the cluster heads will be added to blacklist, and the cluster heads must be reelected by the sensor nodes in a cluster. Meanwhile, feedback is sent from the base station to the reputation and trust system, which can help us to identify and delete the compromised sensor nodes in time. Through a series of extensive simulations, we found that the DCHM performed very well in data fusion security and accuracy. PMID:25608211

  19. Damage characteristics and thermo-physical properties changes of limestone and sandstone during thermal treatment from -30 °C to 1000 °C

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Yanjun; Yang, Yang; Yang, Gengshe; Hou, Xin; Ye, Wanjun; You, Zhemin; Xi, Jiami

    2018-05-01

    A series of experiments were carried out to measure the damage characteristics of two common sedimentary rocks of limestone and sandstone at temperatures ranging from -30 °C to 1000 °C The apparent thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat capacity were investigated respectively. Then, several discrepancy reasons for the damage characteristics and thermo-physical properties of limestone and sandstone were probed. The results show that water migration and phase transition are two core factors for the frost damage and thermal behaviors improvement during the cooling process(20 °C → -30 °C).The heating process (20 °C → 1000 °C) was divided into three stages of 20 °C → 200 °C, 200 °C → 600 °Cand 600 °C → 1000 °C. The first stage was closely related to pore-water evaporation, and the next two stages were attributed to the thermal reactions of mineral partials. The mineral decomposition tended to be intensified and resulted in the interior damage or even the accelerated degradation of thermal properties until at a threshold temperature of 600 °C. In essential, the structural features and the sensitivity of mineral composition to temperature were two mainly influential factors on the damage effects and heat conduct of the sedimentary rocks during variations in environmental temperature.

  20. CUFID-query: accurate network querying through random walk based network flow estimation.

    PubMed

    Jeong, Hyundoo; Qian, Xiaoning; Yoon, Byung-Jun

    2017-12-28

    Functional modules in biological networks consist of numerous biomolecules and their complicated interactions. Recent studies have shown that biomolecules in a functional module tend to have similar interaction patterns and that such modules are often conserved across biological networks of different species. As a result, such conserved functional modules can be identified through comparative analysis of biological networks. In this work, we propose a novel network querying algorithm based on the CUFID (Comparative network analysis Using the steady-state network Flow to IDentify orthologous proteins) framework combined with an efficient seed-and-extension approach. The proposed algorithm, CUFID-query, can accurately detect conserved functional modules as small subnetworks in the target network that are expected to perform similar functions to the given query functional module. The CUFID framework was recently developed for probabilistic pairwise global comparison of biological networks, and it has been applied to pairwise global network alignment, where the framework was shown to yield accurate network alignment results. In the proposed CUFID-query algorithm, we adopt the CUFID framework and extend it for local network alignment, specifically to solve network querying problems. First, in the seed selection phase, the proposed method utilizes the CUFID framework to compare the query and the target networks and to predict the probabilistic node-to-node correspondence between the networks. Next, the algorithm selects and greedily extends the seed in the target network by iteratively adding nodes that have frequent interactions with other nodes in the seed network, in a way that the conductance of the extended network is maximally reduced. Finally, CUFID-query removes irrelevant nodes from the querying results based on the personalized PageRank vector for the induced network that includes the fully extended network and its neighboring nodes. Through extensive

  1. Feature Selection Using Information Gain for Improved Structural-Based Alert Correlation

    PubMed Central

    Siraj, Maheyzah Md; Zainal, Anazida; Elshoush, Huwaida Tagelsir; Elhaj, Fatin

    2016-01-01

    Grouping and clustering alerts for intrusion detection based on the similarity of features is referred to as structurally base alert correlation and can discover a list of attack steps. Previous researchers selected different features and data sources manually based on their knowledge and experience, which lead to the less accurate identification of attack steps and inconsistent performance of clustering accuracy. Furthermore, the existing alert correlation systems deal with a huge amount of data that contains null values, incomplete information, and irrelevant features causing the analysis of the alerts to be tedious, time-consuming and error-prone. Therefore, this paper focuses on selecting accurate and significant features of alerts that are appropriate to represent the attack steps, thus, enhancing the structural-based alert correlation model. A two-tier feature selection method is proposed to obtain the significant features. The first tier aims at ranking the subset of features based on high information gain entropy in decreasing order. The‏ second tier extends additional features with a better discriminative ability than the initially ranked features. Performance analysis results show the significance of the selected features in terms of the clustering accuracy using 2000 DARPA intrusion detection scenario-specific dataset. PMID:27893821

  2. Accurate Finite Difference Algorithms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goodrich, John W.

    1996-01-01

    Two families of finite difference algorithms for computational aeroacoustics are presented and compared. All of the algorithms are single step explicit methods, they have the same order of accuracy in both space and time, with examples up to eleventh order, and they have multidimensional extensions. One of the algorithm families has spectral like high resolution. Propagation with high order and high resolution algorithms can produce accurate results after O(10(exp 6)) periods of propagation with eight grid points per wavelength.

  3. Linking THEMIS Orbital Data to MSL GTS Measurements: The Thermophysical Properties of the Bagnold Dunes, Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edwards, C. S.; Piqueux, S.; Hamilton, V. E.; Fergason, R. L.; Herkenhoff, K. E.; Vasavada, A. R.; Sacks, L. E.; Lewis, K. W.; Smith, M. D.

    2017-12-01

    The surface of Mars has been characterized using orbital thermal infrared observations from the time of the Mariner 9 and Viking missions. More recent observations from missions such as the Thermal Emission Spectrometer onboard the Mars Global Surveyor and the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument onboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter have continued to expand global coverage at progressively higher resolution. THEMIS has been producing 100 m/pixel thermal infrared data with nearly global coverage of the surface for >15 years and has enabled new investigations that successfully link outcrop-scale information to physical properties of the surface. However, significant discrepancies between morphologies and interpreted surface properties derived from orbital thermal measurements remain, requiring a robust link to direct surface measurements. Here, we compare the thermophysical properties and particle sizes derived from the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover's Ground Temperature Sensor (GTS), to those derived orbitally from THEMIS, ultimately linking these measurements to ground truth particle sizes determined from Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) images. We focus on the relatively homogenous Bagnold dunes, specifically Namib dune, and in general find that all three datasets report consistent particle sizes for the Bagnold dunes ( 110-350 µm, and are within measurement and model uncertainties), indicating that particles sizes of homogeneous materials determined from thermal measurements are reliable. In addition, we assess several potentially significant effects that could influence the derived particle sizes, including: 1) fine-scale (cm-m scale) ripples, and 2) thin (mm-cm) layering of indurated/armored materials. To first order, we find that small scale ripples and thin layers do not significantly affect the determination of bulk thermal inertia determined from orbit. However, a layer of coarser/indurated material and/or fine-scale layering does change

  4. Fostering accurate HIV/AIDS knowledge among unmarried youths in Cameroon: Do family environment and peers matter?

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background The last three decades have seen a series of HIV interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. However, youths still have a mixture of correct and incorrect HIV/AIDS knowledge of transmission routes and prevention strategies. Previous studies have identified parents and peers as the most important socializing agents for youths. This paper assesses the relationships between family structure, family/peer communication about sexuality and accurate knowledge of transmission routes and prevention strategies. Methods Data were drawn from the Cameroon Family Life and Health Survey (CFHS) conducted in 2002. The CFHS collected information on a representative sample of 4 950 people aged 10 years and over nested within 1 765 selected households from the 75 localities forming the administrative prefecture of Bandjoun, using detailed questionnaires about family, HIV/AIDS/STDs knowledge, sexual behaviors, contraception, health, media exposure, household assets and neighborhood characteristics. The survey cooperation rates were high (97%). For the purpose of this study, a sub-sample of 2 028 unmarried youths aged 12 - 29 years was utilized. Results Overall, 42% of respondents reported accurate knowledge of documented HIV transmission routes whereas 21% of them had inaccurate knowledge such as AIDS can be transmitted through mosquito bites or casual contact with an infected person. Only 9% of respondents were knowledgeable about all HIV prevention strategies. Multivariate analyses showed that family structure, communication with parents/guardians and peers about sexual topics were significantly associated with accurate HIV knowledge. Additionally, age, education, sexual experience and migration had significant effects on accurate knowledge. Finally, living in poor households and disadvantaged neighborhoods significantly increased inaccurate knowledge of HIV transmission modes and prevention strategies. Conclusions This paper evidenced the limited effects of HIV interventions

  5. Radiomics biomarkers for accurate tumor progression prediction of oropharyngeal cancer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hadjiiski, Lubomir; Chan, Heang-Ping; Cha, Kenny H.; Srinivasan, Ashok; Wei, Jun; Zhou, Chuan; Prince, Mark; Papagerakis, Silvana

    2017-03-01

    Accurate tumor progression prediction for oropharyngeal cancers is crucial for identifying patients who would best be treated with optimized treatment and therefore minimize the risk of under- or over-treatment. An objective decision support system that can merge the available radiomics, histopathologic and molecular biomarkers in a predictive model based on statistical outcomes of previous cases and machine learning may assist clinicians in making more accurate assessment of oropharyngeal tumor progression. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of developing individual and combined predictive models based on quantitative image analysis from radiomics, histopathology and molecular biomarkers for oropharyngeal tumor progression prediction. With IRB approval, 31, 84, and 127 patients with head and neck CT (CT-HN), tumor tissue microarrays (TMAs) and molecular biomarker expressions, respectively, were collected. For 8 of the patients all 3 types of biomarkers were available and they were sequestered in a test set. The CT-HN lesions were automatically segmented using our level sets based method. Morphological, texture and molecular based features were extracted from CT-HN and TMA images, and selected features were merged by a neural network. The classification accuracy was quantified using the area under the ROC curve (AUC). Test AUCs of 0.87, 0.74, and 0.71 were obtained with the individual predictive models based on radiomics, histopathologic, and molecular features, respectively. Combining the radiomics and molecular models increased the test AUC to 0.90. Combining all 3 models increased the test AUC further to 0.94. This preliminary study demonstrates that the individual domains of biomarkers are useful and the integrated multi-domain approach is most promising for tumor progression prediction.

  6. The Joint Effects of Background Selection and Genetic Recombination on Local Gene Genealogies

    PubMed Central

    Zeng, Kai; Charlesworth, Brian

    2011-01-01

    Background selection, the effects of the continual removal of deleterious mutations by natural selection on variability at linked sites, is potentially a major determinant of DNA sequence variability. However, the joint effects of background selection and genetic recombination on the shape of the neutral gene genealogy have proved hard to study analytically. The only existing formula concerns the mean coalescent time for a pair of alleles, making it difficult to assess the importance of background selection from genome-wide data on sequence polymorphism. Here we develop a structured coalescent model of background selection with recombination and implement it in a computer program that efficiently generates neutral gene genealogies for an arbitrary sample size. We check the validity of the structured coalescent model against forward-in-time simulations and show that it accurately captures the effects of background selection. The model produces more accurate predictions of the mean coalescent time than the existing formula and supports the conclusion that the effect of background selection is greater in the interior of a deleterious region than at its boundaries. The level of linkage disequilibrium between sites is elevated by background selection, to an extent that is well summarized by a change in effective population size. The structured coalescent model is readily extendable to more realistic situations and should prove useful for analyzing genome-wide polymorphism data. PMID:21705759

  7. The joint effects of background selection and genetic recombination on local gene genealogies.

    PubMed

    Zeng, Kai; Charlesworth, Brian

    2011-09-01

    Background selection, the effects of the continual removal of deleterious mutations by natural selection on variability at linked sites, is potentially a major determinant of DNA sequence variability. However, the joint effects of background selection and genetic recombination on the shape of the neutral gene genealogy have proved hard to study analytically. The only existing formula concerns the mean coalescent time for a pair of alleles, making it difficult to assess the importance of background selection from genome-wide data on sequence polymorphism. Here we develop a structured coalescent model of background selection with recombination and implement it in a computer program that efficiently generates neutral gene genealogies for an arbitrary sample size. We check the validity of the structured coalescent model against forward-in-time simulations and show that it accurately captures the effects of background selection. The model produces more accurate predictions of the mean coalescent time than the existing formula and supports the conclusion that the effect of background selection is greater in the interior of a deleterious region than at its boundaries. The level of linkage disequilibrium between sites is elevated by background selection, to an extent that is well summarized by a change in effective population size. The structured coalescent model is readily extendable to more realistic situations and should prove useful for analyzing genome-wide polymorphism data.

  8. Exploratory Movement Generates Higher-Order Information That Is Sufficient for Accurate Perception of Scaled Egocentric Distance

    PubMed Central

    Mantel, Bruno; Stoffregen, Thomas A.; Campbell, Alain; Bardy, Benoît G.

    2015-01-01

    Body movement influences the structure of multiple forms of ambient energy, including optics and gravito-inertial force. Some researchers have argued that egocentric distance is derived from inferential integration of visual and non-visual stimulation. We suggest that accurate information about egocentric distance exists in perceptual stimulation as higher-order patterns that extend across optics and inertia. We formalize a pattern that specifies the egocentric distance of a stationary object across higher-order relations between optics and inertia. This higher-order parameter is created by self-generated movement of the perceiver in inertial space relative to the illuminated environment. For this reason, we placed minimal restrictions on the exploratory movements of our participants. We asked whether humans can detect and use the information available in this higher-order pattern. Participants judged whether a virtual object was within reach. We manipulated relations between body movement and the ambient structure of optics and inertia. Judgments were precise and accurate when the higher-order optical-inertial parameter was available. When only optic flow was available, judgments were poor. Our results reveal that participants perceived egocentric distance from the higher-order, optical-inertial consequences of their own exploratory activity. Analysis of participants’ movement trajectories revealed that self-selected movements were complex, and tended to optimize availability of the optical-inertial pattern that specifies egocentric distance. We argue that accurate information about egocentric distance exists in higher-order patterns of ambient energy, that self-generated movement can generate these higher-order patterns, and that these patterns can be detected and used to support perception of egocentric distance that is precise and accurate. PMID:25856410

  9. Accurate core position control in polymer optical waveguides using the Mosquito method for three-dimensional optical wiring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Date, Kumi; Ishigure, Takaaki

    2017-02-01

    Polymer optical waveguides with graded-index (GI) circular cores are fabricated using the Mosquito method, in which the positions of parallel cores are accurately controlled. Such an accurate arrangement is of great importance for a high optical coupling efficiency with other optical components such as fiber ribbons. In the Mosquito method that we developed, a core monomer with a viscous liquid state is dispensed into another liquid state monomer for cladding via a syringe needle. Hence, the core positions are likely to shift during or after the dispensing process due to several factors. We investigate the factors, specifically affecting the core height. When the core and cladding monomers are selected appropriately, the effect of the gravity could be negligible, so the core height is maintained uniform, resulting in accurate core heights. The height variance is controlled in +/-2 micrometers for the 12 cores. Meanwhile, larger shift in the core height is observed when the needle-tip position is apart from the substrate surface. One of the possible reasons of the needle-tip height dependence is the asymmetric volume contraction during the monomer curing. We find a linear relationship between the original needle-tip height and the core-height observed. This relationship is implemented in the needle-scan program to stabilize the core height in different layers. Finally, the core heights are accurately controlled even if the cores are aligned on various heights. These results indicate that the Mosquito method enables to fabricate waveguides in which the cores are 3-dimensionally aligned with a high position accuracy.

  10. Calibrating GPS With TWSTFT For Accurate Time Transfer

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-12-01

    40th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval (PTTI) Meeting 577 CALIBRATING GPS WITH TWSTFT FOR ACCURATE TIME TRANSFER Z. Jiang1 and...primary time transfer techniques are GPS and TWSTFT (Two-Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer, TW for short). 83% of UTC time links are...Calibrating GPS With TWSTFT For Accurate Time Transfer 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT

  11. Mental models accurately predict emotion transitions.

    PubMed

    Thornton, Mark A; Tamir, Diana I

    2017-06-06

    Successful social interactions depend on people's ability to predict others' future actions and emotions. People possess many mechanisms for perceiving others' current emotional states, but how might they use this information to predict others' future states? We hypothesized that people might capitalize on an overlooked aspect of affective experience: current emotions predict future emotions. By attending to regularities in emotion transitions, perceivers might develop accurate mental models of others' emotional dynamics. People could then use these mental models of emotion transitions to predict others' future emotions from currently observable emotions. To test this hypothesis, studies 1-3 used data from three extant experience-sampling datasets to establish the actual rates of emotional transitions. We then collected three parallel datasets in which participants rated the transition likelihoods between the same set of emotions. Participants' ratings of emotion transitions predicted others' experienced transitional likelihoods with high accuracy. Study 4 demonstrated that four conceptual dimensions of mental state representation-valence, social impact, rationality, and human mind-inform participants' mental models. Study 5 used 2 million emotion reports on the Experience Project to replicate both of these findings: again people reported accurate models of emotion transitions, and these models were informed by the same four conceptual dimensions. Importantly, neither these conceptual dimensions nor holistic similarity could fully explain participants' accuracy, suggesting that their mental models contain accurate information about emotion dynamics above and beyond what might be predicted by static emotion knowledge alone.

  12. Mental models accurately predict emotion transitions

    PubMed Central

    Thornton, Mark A.; Tamir, Diana I.

    2017-01-01

    Successful social interactions depend on people’s ability to predict others’ future actions and emotions. People possess many mechanisms for perceiving others’ current emotional states, but how might they use this information to predict others’ future states? We hypothesized that people might capitalize on an overlooked aspect of affective experience: current emotions predict future emotions. By attending to regularities in emotion transitions, perceivers might develop accurate mental models of others’ emotional dynamics. People could then use these mental models of emotion transitions to predict others’ future emotions from currently observable emotions. To test this hypothesis, studies 1–3 used data from three extant experience-sampling datasets to establish the actual rates of emotional transitions. We then collected three parallel datasets in which participants rated the transition likelihoods between the same set of emotions. Participants’ ratings of emotion transitions predicted others’ experienced transitional likelihoods with high accuracy. Study 4 demonstrated that four conceptual dimensions of mental state representation—valence, social impact, rationality, and human mind—inform participants’ mental models. Study 5 used 2 million emotion reports on the Experience Project to replicate both of these findings: again people reported accurate models of emotion transitions, and these models were informed by the same four conceptual dimensions. Importantly, neither these conceptual dimensions nor holistic similarity could fully explain participants’ accuracy, suggesting that their mental models contain accurate information about emotion dynamics above and beyond what might be predicted by static emotion knowledge alone. PMID:28533373

  13. Discovery of highly selective inhibitors of p38alpha.

    PubMed

    Popa-Burke, Ioana; Birkos, Steve; Blackwell, Leonard; Cheatham, Lynn; Clark, Jennifer; Dickson, John K; Galasinski, Scott; Janzen, William P; Mendoza, Jose; Miller, Jennifer L; Mohney, Robert P; Steed, Paul M; Hodge, C Nicholas

    2005-01-01

    The p38 MAP kinases are a family of serine/threonine protein kinases that play a key role in cellular pathways leading to pro-inflammatory responses. We have developed and implemented a method for rapidly identifying and optimizing potent and selective p38alpha inhibitors, which is amenable to other targets and target classes. A diverse library of druggable, purified and quantitated molecules was assembled and standardized enzymatic assays were performed in a microfluidic format that provided very accurate and precise inhibition data allowing for development of SAR directly from the primary HTS. All compounds were screened against a collection of more than 60 enzymes (kinases, proteases and phosphatases), allowing for removal of promiscuous and non-selective inhibitors very early in the discovery process. Follow-up enzymological studies included measurement of concentration of compound in buffer, yielding accurate determination of K(i) and IC50 values, as well as mechanism of action. In addition, active compounds were screened against less desirable properties such as inhibition of the enzyme activity by aggregation, irreversible binding, and time-dependence. Screening of an 88,634-compound library through the above-described process led to the rapid identification of multiple scaffolds (>5 active compounds per scaffold) of potential drug leads for p38alpha that are highly selective against all other enzymes tested, including the three other p38 isoforms. Potency and selectivity data allowed prioritization of the identified scaffolds for optimization. Herein we present results around our 3-thio-1,2,4-triazole lead series of p38- selective inhibitors, including identification, SAR, synthesis, selectivity profile, enzymatic and cellular data in their progression towards drug candidates.

  14. MARSTHERM: A Web-based System Providing Thermophysical Analysis Tools for Mars Research

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Putzig, N. E.; Barratt, E. M.; Mellon, M. T.; Michaels, T. I.

    2013-12-01

    , we will present results from a thermophysical study of Gale Crater (Barratt and Putzig, 2013, EPSC abstract 613), for which TES and THEMIS mapping has been carried out during system development. Public access to the MARSTHERM system will be provided in conjunction with the 2013 AGU Fall Meeting and will feature the numerical thermal model and thermal-inertia derivation algorithm developed by Mellon et al. (2000, Icarus 148, 437-455) as modified by Putzig and Mellon (2007, Icarus 191, 68-94). Updates to the thermal model and derivation algorithm that include a more sophisticated representation of the atmosphere and a layered subsurface are presently in development, and these will be incorporated into the system when they are available. Other planned enhancements include tools for modeling temperatures from horizontal mixtures of materials and slope facets, for comparing heterogeneity modeling results to TES and THEMIS results, and for mosaicking THEMIS images.

  15. DNA barcode data accurately assign higher spider taxa

    PubMed Central

    Coddington, Jonathan A.; Agnarsson, Ingi; Cheng, Ren-Chung; Čandek, Klemen; Driskell, Amy; Frick, Holger; Gregorič, Matjaž; Kostanjšek, Rok; Kropf, Christian; Kweskin, Matthew; Lokovšek, Tjaša; Pipan, Miha; Vidergar, Nina

    2016-01-01

    The use of unique DNA sequences as a method for taxonomic identification is no longer fundamentally controversial, even though debate continues on the best markers, methods, and technology to use. Although both existing databanks such as GenBank and BOLD, as well as reference taxonomies, are imperfect, in best case scenarios “barcodes” (whether single or multiple, organelle or nuclear, loci) clearly are an increasingly fast and inexpensive method of identification, especially as compared to manual identification of unknowns by increasingly rare expert taxonomists. Because most species on Earth are undescribed, a complete reference database at the species level is impractical in the near term. The question therefore arises whether unidentified species can, using DNA barcodes, be accurately assigned to more inclusive groups such as genera and families—taxonomic ranks of putatively monophyletic groups for which the global inventory is more complete and stable. We used a carefully chosen test library of CO1 sequences from 49 families, 313 genera, and 816 species of spiders to assess the accuracy of genus and family-level assignment. We used BLAST queries of each sequence against the entire library and got the top ten hits. The percent sequence identity was reported from these hits (PIdent, range 75–100%). Accurate assignment of higher taxa (PIdent above which errors totaled less than 5%) occurred for genera at PIdent values >95 and families at PIdent values ≥ 91, suggesting these as heuristic thresholds for accurate generic and familial identifications in spiders. Accuracy of identification increases with numbers of species/genus and genera/family in the library; above five genera per family and fifteen species per genus all higher taxon assignments were correct. We propose that using percent sequence identity between conventional barcode sequences may be a feasible and reasonably accurate method to identify animals to family/genus. However, the quality of

  16. Neuropsychological Test Selection for Cognitive Impairment Classification: A Machine Learning Approach

    PubMed Central

    Williams, Jennifer A.; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen; Cook, Diane J.

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Reducing the amount of testing required to accurately detect cognitive impairment is clinically relevant. The aim of this research was to determine the fewest number of clinical measures required to accurately classify participants as healthy older adult, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia using a suite of classification techniques. Methods Two variable selection machine learning models (i.e., naive Bayes, decision tree), a logistic regression, and two participant datasets (i.e., clinical diagnosis, clinical dementia rating; CDR) were explored. Participants classified using clinical diagnosis criteria included 52 individuals with dementia, 97 with MCI, and 161 cognitively healthy older adults. Participants classified using CDR included 154 individuals CDR = 0, 93 individuals with CDR = 0.5, and 25 individuals with CDR = 1.0+. Twenty-seven demographic, psychological, and neuropsychological variables were available for variable selection. Results No significant difference was observed between naive Bayes, decision tree, and logistic regression models for classification of both clinical diagnosis and CDR datasets. Participant classification (70.0 – 99.1%), geometric mean (60.9 – 98.1%), sensitivity (44.2 – 100%), and specificity (52.7 – 100%) were generally satisfactory. Unsurprisingly, the MCI/CDR = 0.5 participant group was the most challenging to classify. Through variable selection only 2 – 9 variables were required for classification and varied between datasets in a clinically meaningful way. Conclusions The current study results reveal that machine learning techniques can accurately classifying cognitive impairment and reduce the number of measures required for diagnosis. PMID:26332171

  17. Extracting Time-Accurate Acceleration Vectors From Nontrivial Accelerometer Arrangements.

    PubMed

    Franck, Jennifer A; Blume, Janet; Crisco, Joseph J; Franck, Christian

    2015-09-01

    Sports-related concussions are of significant concern in many impact sports, and their detection relies on accurate measurements of the head kinematics during impact. Among the most prevalent recording technologies are videography, and more recently, the use of single-axis accelerometers mounted in a helmet, such as the HIT system. Successful extraction of the linear and angular impact accelerations depends on an accurate analysis methodology governed by the equations of motion. Current algorithms are able to estimate the magnitude of acceleration and hit location, but make assumptions about the hit orientation and are often limited in the position and/or orientation of the accelerometers. The newly formulated algorithm presented in this manuscript accurately extracts the full linear and rotational acceleration vectors from a broad arrangement of six single-axis accelerometers directly from the governing set of kinematic equations. The new formulation linearizes the nonlinear centripetal acceleration term with a finite-difference approximation and provides a fast and accurate solution for all six components of acceleration over long time periods (>250 ms). The approximation of the nonlinear centripetal acceleration term provides an accurate computation of the rotational velocity as a function of time and allows for reconstruction of a multiple-impact signal. Furthermore, the algorithm determines the impact location and orientation and can distinguish between glancing, high rotational velocity impacts, or direct impacts through the center of mass. Results are shown for ten simulated impact locations on a headform geometry computed with three different accelerometer configurations in varying degrees of signal noise. Since the algorithm does not require simplifications of the actual impacted geometry, the impact vector, or a specific arrangement of accelerometer orientations, it can be easily applied to many impact investigations in which accurate kinematics need

  18. No Galaxy Left Behind: Accurate Measurements with the Faintest Objects in the Dark Energy Survey

    DOE PAGES

    Suchyta, E.

    2016-01-27

    Accurate statistical measurement with large imaging surveys has traditionally required throwing away a sizable fraction of the data. This is because most measurements have have relied on selecting nearly complete samples, where variations in the composition of the galaxy population with seeing, depth, or other survey characteristics are small. We introduce a new measurement method that aims to minimize this wastage, allowing precision measurement for any class of stars or galaxies detectable in an imaging survey. We have implemented our proposal in Balrog, a software package which embeds fake objects in real imaging in order to accurately characterize measurement biases.more » We also demonstrate this technique with an angular clustering measurement using Dark Energy Survey (DES) data. We first show that recovery of our injected galaxies depends on a wide variety of survey characteristics in the same way as the real data. We then construct a flux-limited sample of the faintest galaxies in DES, chosen specifically for their sensitivity to depth and seeing variations. Using the synthetic galaxies as randoms in the standard LandySzalay correlation function estimator suppresses the effects of variable survey selection by at least two orders of magnitude. Now our measured angular clustering is found to be in excellent agreement with that of a matched sample drawn from much deeper, higherresolution space-based COSMOS imaging; over angular scales of 0.004° < θ < 0.2 ° , we find a best-fit scaling amplitude between the DES and COSMOS measurements of 1.00 ± 0.09. We expect this methodology to be broadly useful for extending the statistical reach of measurements in a wide variety of coming imaging surveys.« less

  19. Determining accurate distances to nearby galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bonanos, Alceste Zoe

    2005-11-01

    Determining accurate distances to nearby or distant galaxies is a very simple conceptually, yet complicated in practice, task. Presently, distances to nearby galaxies are only known to an accuracy of 10-15%. The current anchor galaxy of the extragalactic distance scale is the Large Magellanic Cloud, which has large (10-15%) systematic uncertainties associated with it, because of its morphology, its non-uniform reddening and the unknown metallicity dependence of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation. This work aims to determine accurate distances to some nearby galaxies, and subsequently help reduce the error in the extragalactic distance scale and the Hubble constant H 0 . In particular, this work presents the first distance determination of the DIRECT Project to M33 with detached eclipsing binaries. DIRECT aims to obtain a new anchor galaxy for the extragalactic distance scale by measuring direct, accurate (to 5%) distances to two Local Group galaxies, M31 and M33, with detached eclipsing binaries. It involves a massive variability survey of these galaxies and subsequent photometric and spectroscopic follow-up of the detached binaries discovered. In this work, I also present a catalog of variable stars discovered in one of the DIRECT fields, M31Y, which includes 41 eclipsing binaries. Additionally, we derive the distance to the Draco Dwarf Spheroidal galaxy, with ~100 RR Lyrae found in our first CCD variability study of this galaxy. A "hybrid" method of discovering Cepheids with ground-based telescopes is described next. It involves applying the image subtraction technique on the images obtained from ground-based telescopes and then following them up with the Hubble Space Telescope to derive Cepheid period-luminosity distances. By re-analyzing ESO Very Large Telescope data on M83 (NGC 5236), we demonstrate that this method is much more powerful for detecting variability, especially in crowded fields. I finally present photometry for the Wolf-Rayet binary WR 20a

  20. Accurate determination of the geoid undulation N

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lambrou, E.; Pantazis, G.; Balodimos, D. D.

    2003-04-01

    This work is related to the activities of the CERGOP Study Group Geodynamics of the Balkan Peninsula, presents a method for the determination of the variation ΔN and, indirectly, of the geoid undulation N with an accuracy of a few millimeters. It is based on the determination of the components xi, eta of the deflection of the vertical using modern geodetic instruments (digital total station and GPS receiver). An analysis of the method is given. Accuracy of the order of 0.01arcsec in the estimated values of the astronomical coordinates Φ and Δ is achieved. The result of applying the proposed method in an area around Athens is presented. In this test application, a system is used which takes advantage of the capabilities of modern geodetic instruments. The GPS receiver permits the determination of the geodetic coordinates at a chosen reference system and, in addition, provides accurate timing information. The astronomical observations are performed through a digital total station with electronic registering of angles and time. The required accuracy of the values of the coordinates is achieved in about four hours of fieldwork. In addition, the instrumentation is lightweight, easily transportable and can be setup in the field very quickly. Combined with a stream-lined data reduction procedure and the use of up-to-date astrometric data, the values of the components xi, eta of the deflection of the vertical and, eventually, the changes ΔN of the geoid undulation are determined easily and accurately. In conclusion, this work demonstrates that it is quite feasible to create an accurate map of the geoid undulation, especially in areas that present large geoid variations and other methods are not capable to give accurate and reliable results.

  1. Accurate SHAPE-directed RNA secondary structure modeling, including pseudoknots.

    PubMed

    Hajdin, Christine E; Bellaousov, Stanislav; Huggins, Wayne; Leonard, Christopher W; Mathews, David H; Weeks, Kevin M

    2013-04-02

    A pseudoknot forms in an RNA when nucleotides in a loop pair with a region outside the helices that close the loop. Pseudoknots occur relatively rarely in RNA but are highly overrepresented in functionally critical motifs in large catalytic RNAs, in riboswitches, and in regulatory elements of viruses. Pseudoknots are usually excluded from RNA structure prediction algorithms. When included, these pairings are difficult to model accurately, especially in large RNAs, because allowing this structure dramatically increases the number of possible incorrect folds and because it is difficult to search the fold space for an optimal structure. We have developed a concise secondary structure modeling approach that combines SHAPE (selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension) experimental chemical probing information and a simple, but robust, energy model for the entropic cost of single pseudoknot formation. Structures are predicted with iterative refinement, using a dynamic programming algorithm. This melded experimental and thermodynamic energy function predicted the secondary structures and the pseudoknots for a set of 21 challenging RNAs of known structure ranging in size from 34 to 530 nt. On average, 93% of known base pairs were predicted, and all pseudoknots in well-folded RNAs were identified.

  2. Fast and accurate inference of local ancestry in Latino populations

    PubMed Central

    Baran, Yael; Pasaniuc, Bogdan; Sankararaman, Sriram; Torgerson, Dara G.; Gignoux, Christopher; Eng, Celeste; Rodriguez-Cintron, William; Chapela, Rocio; Ford, Jean G.; Avila, Pedro C.; Rodriguez-Santana, Jose; Burchard, Esteban Gonzàlez; Halperin, Eran

    2012-01-01

    Motivation: It is becoming increasingly evident that the analysis of genotype data from recently admixed populations is providing important insights into medical genetics and population history. Such analyses have been used to identify novel disease loci, to understand recombination rate variation and to detect recent selection events. The utility of such studies crucially depends on accurate and unbiased estimation of the ancestry at every genomic locus in recently admixed populations. Although various methods have been proposed and shown to be extremely accurate in two-way admixtures (e.g. African Americans), only a few approaches have been proposed and thoroughly benchmarked on multi-way admixtures (e.g. Latino populations of the Americas). Results: To address these challenges we introduce here methods for local ancestry inference which leverage the structure of linkage disequilibrium in the ancestral population (LAMP-LD), and incorporate the constraint of Mendelian segregation when inferring local ancestry in nuclear family trios (LAMP-HAP). Our algorithms uniquely combine hidden Markov models (HMMs) of haplotype diversity within a novel window-based framework to achieve superior accuracy as compared with published methods. Further, unlike previous methods, the structure of our HMM does not depend on the number of reference haplotypes but on a fixed constant, and it is thereby capable of utilizing large datasets while remaining highly efficient and robust to over-fitting. Through simulations and analysis of real data from 489 nuclear trio families from the mainland US, Puerto Rico and Mexico, we demonstrate that our methods achieve superior accuracy compared with published methods for local ancestry inference in Latinos. Availability: http://lamp.icsi.berkeley.edu/lamp/lampld/ Contact: bpasaniu@hsph.harvard.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:22495753

  3. Reliable and accurate point-based prediction of cumulative infiltration using soil readily available characteristics: A comparison between GMDH, ANN, and MLR

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rahmati, Mehdi

    2017-08-01

    Developing accurate and reliable pedo-transfer functions (PTFs) to predict soil non-readily available characteristics is one of the most concerned topic in soil science and selecting more appropriate predictors is a crucial factor in PTFs' development. Group method of data handling (GMDH), which finds an approximate relationship between a set of input and output variables, not only provide an explicit procedure to select the most essential PTF input variables, but also results in more accurate and reliable estimates than other mostly applied methodologies. Therefore, the current research was aimed to apply GMDH in comparison with multivariate linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN) to develop several PTFs to predict soil cumulative infiltration point-basely at specific time intervals (0.5-45 min) using soil readily available characteristics (RACs). In this regard, soil infiltration curves as well as several soil RACs including soil primary particles (clay (CC), silt (Si), and sand (Sa)), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), bulk (Db) and particle (Dp) densities, organic carbon (OC), wet-aggregate stability (WAS), electrical conductivity (EC), and soil antecedent (θi) and field saturated (θfs) water contents were measured at 134 different points in Lighvan watershed, northwest of Iran. Then, applying GMDH, MLR, and ANN methodologies, several PTFs have been developed to predict cumulative infiltrations using two sets of selected soil RACs including and excluding Ks. According to the test data, results showed that developed PTFs by GMDH and MLR procedures using all soil RACs including Ks resulted in more accurate (with E values of 0.673-0.963) and reliable (with CV values lower than 11 percent) predictions of cumulative infiltrations at different specific time steps. In contrast, ANN procedure had lower accuracy (with E values of 0.356-0.890) and reliability (with CV values up to 50 percent) compared to GMDH and MLR. The results also revealed

  4. Accurate quantum chemical calculations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bauschlicher, Charles W., Jr.; Langhoff, Stephen R.; Taylor, Peter R.

    1989-01-01

    An important goal of quantum chemical calculations is to provide an understanding of chemical bonding and molecular electronic structure. A second goal, the prediction of energy differences to chemical accuracy, has been much harder to attain. First, the computational resources required to achieve such accuracy are very large, and second, it is not straightforward to demonstrate that an apparently accurate result, in terms of agreement with experiment, does not result from a cancellation of errors. Recent advances in electronic structure methodology, coupled with the power of vector supercomputers, have made it possible to solve a number of electronic structure problems exactly using the full configuration interaction (FCI) method within a subspace of the complete Hilbert space. These exact results can be used to benchmark approximate techniques that are applicable to a wider range of chemical and physical problems. The methodology of many-electron quantum chemistry is reviewed. Methods are considered in detail for performing FCI calculations. The application of FCI methods to several three-electron problems in molecular physics are discussed. A number of benchmark applications of FCI wave functions are described. Atomic basis sets and the development of improved methods for handling very large basis sets are discussed: these are then applied to a number of chemical and spectroscopic problems; to transition metals; and to problems involving potential energy surfaces. Although the experiences described give considerable grounds for optimism about the general ability to perform accurate calculations, there are several problems that have proved less tractable, at least with current computer resources, and these and possible solutions are discussed.

  5. Accurate Structural Correlations from Maximum Likelihood Superpositions

    PubMed Central

    Theobald, Douglas L; Wuttke, Deborah S

    2008-01-01

    The cores of globular proteins are densely packed, resulting in complicated networks of structural interactions. These interactions in turn give rise to dynamic structural correlations over a wide range of time scales. Accurate analysis of these complex correlations is crucial for understanding biomolecular mechanisms and for relating structure to function. Here we report a highly accurate technique for inferring the major modes of structural correlation in macromolecules using likelihood-based statistical analysis of sets of structures. This method is generally applicable to any ensemble of related molecules, including families of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) models, different crystal forms of a protein, and structural alignments of homologous proteins, as well as molecular dynamics trajectories. Dominant modes of structural correlation are determined using principal components analysis (PCA) of the maximum likelihood estimate of the correlation matrix. The correlations we identify are inherently independent of the statistical uncertainty and dynamic heterogeneity associated with the structural coordinates. We additionally present an easily interpretable method (“PCA plots”) for displaying these positional correlations by color-coding them onto a macromolecular structure. Maximum likelihood PCA of structural superpositions, and the structural PCA plots that illustrate the results, will facilitate the accurate determination of dynamic structural correlations analyzed in diverse fields of structural biology. PMID:18282091

  6. Correcting false positive medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency results from newborn screening; synthesis, purification, and standardization of branched-chain C8 acylcarnitines for use in their selective and accurate absolute quantitation by UHPLC-MS/MS.

    PubMed

    Minkler, Paul E; Stoll, Maria S K; Ingalls, Stephen T; Hoppel, Charles L

    2017-04-01

    While selectively quantifying acylcarnitines in thousands of patient samples using UHPLC-MS/MS, we have occasionally observed unidentified branched-chain C8 acylcarnitines. Such observations are not possible using tandem MS methods, which generate pseudo-quantitative acylcarnitine "profiles". Since these "profiles" select for mass alone, they cannot distinguish authentic signal from isobaric and isomeric interferences. For example, some of the samples containing branched-chain C8 acylcarnitines were, in fact, expanded newborn screening false positive "profiles" for medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD). Using our fast, highly selective, and quantitatively accurate UHPLC-MS/MS acylcarnitine determination method, we corrected the false positive tandem MS results and reported the sample results as normal for octanoylcarnitine (the marker for MCADD). From instances such as these, we decided to further investigate the presence of branched-chain C8 acylcarnitines in patient samples. To accomplish this, we synthesized and chromatographically characterized several branched-chain C8 acylcarnitines (in addition to valproylcarnitine): 2-methylheptanoylcarnitine, 6-methylheptanoylcarnitine, 2,2-dimethylhexanoylcarnitine, 3,3-dimethylhexanoylcarnitine, 3,5-dimethylhexanoylcarnitine, 2-ethylhexanoylcarnitine, and 2,4,4-trimethylpentanoylcarnitine. We then compared their behavior with branched-chain C8 acylcarnitines observed in patient samples and demonstrated our ability to chromographically resolve, and thus distinguish, octanoylcarnitine from branched-chain C8 acylcarnitines, correcting false positive MCADD results from expanded newborn screening. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. High Frequency QRS ECG Accurately Detects Cardiomyopathy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schlegel, Todd T.; Arenare, Brian; Poulin, Gregory; Moser, Daniel R.; Delgado, Reynolds

    2005-01-01

    High frequency (HF, 150-250 Hz) analysis over the entire QRS interval of the ECG is more sensitive than conventional ECG for detecting myocardial ischemia. However, the accuracy of HF QRS ECG for detecting cardiomyopathy is unknown. We obtained simultaneous resting conventional and HF QRS 12-lead ECGs in 66 patients with cardiomyopathy (EF = 23.2 plus or minus 6.l%, mean plus or minus SD) and in 66 age- and gender-matched healthy controls using PC-based ECG software recently developed at NASA. The single most accurate ECG parameter for detecting cardiomyopathy was an HF QRS morphological score that takes into consideration the total number and severity of reduced amplitude zones (RAZs) present plus the clustering of RAZs together in contiguous leads. This RAZ score had an area under the receiver operator curve (ROC) of 0.91, and was 88% sensitive, 82% specific and 85% accurate for identifying cardiomyopathy at optimum score cut-off of 140 points. Although conventional ECG parameters such as the QRS and QTc intervals were also significantly longer in patients than controls (P less than 0.001, BBBs excluded), these conventional parameters were less accurate (area under the ROC = 0.77 and 0.77, respectively) than HF QRS morphological parameters for identifying underlying cardiomyopathy. The total amplitude of the HF QRS complexes, as measured by summed root mean square voltages (RMSVs), also differed between patients and controls (33.8 plus or minus 11.5 vs. 41.5 plus or minus 13.6 mV, respectively, P less than 0.003), but this parameter was even less accurate in distinguishing the two groups (area under ROC = 0.67) than the HF QRS morphologic and conventional ECG parameters. Diagnostic accuracy was optimal (86%) when the RAZ score from the HF QRS ECG and the QTc interval from the conventional ECG were used simultaneously with cut-offs of greater than or equal to 40 points and greater than or equal to 445 ms, respectively. In conclusion 12-lead HF QRS ECG employing

  8. Selection and testing of reference genes for accurate RT-qPCR in rice seedlings under iron toxicity.

    PubMed

    Santos, Fabiane Igansi de Castro Dos; Marini, Naciele; Santos, Railson Schreinert Dos; Hoffman, Bianca Silva Fernandes; Alves-Ferreira, Marcio; de Oliveira, Antonio Costa

    2018-01-01

    Reverse Transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is a technique for gene expression profiling with high sensibility and reproducibility. However, to obtain accurate results, it depends on data normalization by using endogenous reference genes whose expression is constitutive or invariable. Although the technique is widely used in plant stress analyzes, the stability of reference genes for iron toxicity in rice (Oryza sativa L.) has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we tested a set of candidate reference genes for use in rice under this stressful condition. The test was performed using four distinct methods: NormFinder, BestKeeper, geNorm and the comparative ΔCt. To achieve reproducible and reliable results, Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines were followed. Valid reference genes were found for shoot (P2, OsGAPDH and OsNABP), root (OsEF-1a, P8 and OsGAPDH) and root+shoot (OsNABP, OsGAPDH and P8) enabling us to perform further reliable studies for iron toxicity in both indica and japonica subspecies. The importance of the study of other than the traditional endogenous genes for use as normalizers is also shown here.

  9. Selection and testing of reference genes for accurate RT-qPCR in rice seedlings under iron toxicity

    PubMed Central

    dos Santos, Fabiane Igansi de Castro; Marini, Naciele; dos Santos, Railson Schreinert; Hoffman, Bianca Silva Fernandes; Alves-Ferreira, Marcio

    2018-01-01

    Reverse Transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is a technique for gene expression profiling with high sensibility and reproducibility. However, to obtain accurate results, it depends on data normalization by using endogenous reference genes whose expression is constitutive or invariable. Although the technique is widely used in plant stress analyzes, the stability of reference genes for iron toxicity in rice (Oryza sativa L.) has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we tested a set of candidate reference genes for use in rice under this stressful condition. The test was performed using four distinct methods: NormFinder, BestKeeper, geNorm and the comparative ΔCt. To achieve reproducible and reliable results, Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines were followed. Valid reference genes were found for shoot (P2, OsGAPDH and OsNABP), root (OsEF-1a, P8 and OsGAPDH) and root+shoot (OsNABP, OsGAPDH and P8) enabling us to perform further reliable studies for iron toxicity in both indica and japonica subspecies. The importance of the study of other than the traditional endogenous genes for use as normalizers is also shown here. PMID:29494624

  10. Understanding the Relationship Between Structure and Thermophysical Properties of CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3 Molten Slags

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Yongqi; Wang, Hao; Zhang, Zuotai

    2018-04-01

    In the present work, the relationship between the microscopic structure and macroscopic thermophysical properties in a basic CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3 quaternary system was identified using Fourier transformation infrared, Raman and 27Al magic angular spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) techniques. The Raman spectra quantitatively proved that with increasing Al2O3 content, the concentrations of the symmetric units of Q 0(Si) and Q 2(Si) decreased, while those of the asymmetric units of Q 1(Si) and Q 3(Si) increased; consequently, the degree of polymerization of the networks increased, which resulted in an increase in slag viscosity. The 27Al MAS-NMR spectra demonstrated that three structural units of Al atoms, namely, AlO4, AlO5, and AlO6, mainly existed in the networks. With increasing Al2O3 content, the concentration of AlO4 slightly decreased, while those of AlO5 and AlO6 increased; overall, Al2O3 acted as a network former in the present system. The increasing Al2O3 content led to additional AlO6 and Si-NBO-Ca-NBO-Al frameworks, which replaced Si-NBO-Ca-NBO-Si in the networks (NBO: non-bridging oxygen) and induced a change in the primarily precipitated crystalline phase from Ca2MgSi2O7 and Ca2Al2SiO7 to MgAlO4.

  11. Modeling methodology for the accurate and prompt prediction of symptomatic events in chronic diseases.

    PubMed

    Pagán, Josué; Risco-Martín, José L; Moya, José M; Ayala, José L

    2016-08-01

    Prediction of symptomatic crises in chronic diseases allows to take decisions before the symptoms occur, such as the intake of drugs to avoid the symptoms or the activation of medical alarms. The prediction horizon is in this case an important parameter in order to fulfill the pharmacokinetics of medications, or the time response of medical services. This paper presents a study about the prediction limits of a chronic disease with symptomatic crises: the migraine. For that purpose, this work develops a methodology to build predictive migraine models and to improve these predictions beyond the limits of the initial models. The maximum prediction horizon is analyzed, and its dependency on the selected features is studied. A strategy for model selection is proposed to tackle the trade off between conservative but robust predictive models, with respect to less accurate predictions with higher horizons. The obtained results show a prediction horizon close to 40min, which is in the time range of the drug pharmacokinetics. Experiments have been performed in a realistic scenario where input data have been acquired in an ambulatory clinical study by the deployment of a non-intrusive Wireless Body Sensor Network. Our results provide an effective methodology for the selection of the future horizon in the development of prediction algorithms for diseases experiencing symptomatic crises. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Hypermixer Pylon Fuel Injection for Scramjet Combustors

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-09-11

    menu was selected , and the fuel port boundary conditions were assigned the proper mass flow values . Adding Mach number 1.0 ethylene injection from the...45433, 2007. 8Vargaftik, N., Tables on the Thermophysical Properties of Liquids and Gases, John Wiley and Sons, 2nd ed., 1975. 9Curran, E. and Murthy, S...Total Pressure Loss Tradeoff . . . . 131 Energy Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 VI. Conclusions and Recommendations

  13. Accurate and noninvasive embryos screening during in vitro fertilization (IVF) assisted by Raman analysis of embryos culture medium Accurate and noninvasive embryos screening during IVF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, A. G.; Peng, J.; Zhao, Q. H.; Su, L.; Wang, X. H.; Hu, J. M.; Yang, J.

    2012-04-01

    In combination with morphological evaluation tests, we employ Raman spectroscopy to select higher potential reproductive embryos during in vitro fertilization (IVF) based on chemical composition of embryos culture medium. In this study, 57 Raman spectra are acquired from both higher and lower quality embryos culture medium (ECM) from 10 patients which have been preliminarily confirmed by clinical assay. Data are fit by using a linear combination model of least squares method in which 12 basis spectra represent the chemical features of ECM. The final fitting coefficients provide insight into the chemical compositions of culture medium samples and are subsequently used as criterion to evaluate the quality of embryos. The relative fitting coefficients ratios of sodium pyruvate/albumin and phenylalanine/albumin seem act as key roles in the embryo screening, attaining 85.7% accuracy in comparison with clinical pregnancy. The good results demonstrate that Raman spectroscopy therefore is an important candidate for an accurate and noninvasive screening of higher quality embryos, which potentially decrease the time-consuming clinical trials during IVF.

  14. Apparatus for accurate density measurements of fluids based on a magnetic suspension balance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gong, Maoqiong; Li, Huiya; Guo, Hao; Dong, Xueqiang; Wu, J. F.

    2012-06-01

    A new apparatus for accurate pressure, density and temperature (p, ρ, T) measurements over wide ranges of (p, ρ, T) (90 K to 290 K; 0 MPa to 3 MPa; 0 kg/m3 to 2000 kg/m3) is described. This apparatus is based on a magnetic suspension balance which applies the Archimedes' buoyancy principle. In order to verify the new apparatus, comprehensive (p, ρ, T) measurements on pure nitrogen were carried out. The maximum relative standard uncertainty is 0.09% in density. The maximum standard uncertainty in temperature is 5 mK, and that in pressure is 250 Pa for 1.5 MPa and 390 Pa for 3MPa full scale range respectively. The experimental data were compared with selected literature data and good agreements were found.

  15. SHAPE Selection (SHAPES) enrich for RNA structure signal in SHAPE sequencing-based probing data

    PubMed Central

    Poulsen, Line Dahl; Kielpinski, Lukasz Jan; Salama, Sofie R.; Krogh, Anders; Vinther, Jeppe

    2015-01-01

    Selective 2′ Hydroxyl Acylation analyzed by Primer Extension (SHAPE) is an accurate method for probing of RNA secondary structure. In existing SHAPE methods, the SHAPE probing signal is normalized to a no-reagent control to correct for the background caused by premature termination of the reverse transcriptase. Here, we introduce a SHAPE Selection (SHAPES) reagent, N-propanone isatoic anhydride (NPIA), which retains the ability of SHAPE reagents to accurately probe RNA structure, but also allows covalent coupling between the SHAPES reagent and a biotin molecule. We demonstrate that SHAPES-based selection of cDNA–RNA hybrids on streptavidin beads effectively removes the large majority of background signal present in SHAPE probing data and that sequencing-based SHAPES data contain the same amount of RNA structure data as regular sequencing-based SHAPE data obtained through normalization to a no-reagent control. Moreover, the selection efficiently enriches for probed RNAs, suggesting that the SHAPES strategy will be useful for applications with high-background and low-probing signal such as in vivo RNA structure probing. PMID:25805860

  16. Proportional basal area method for implementing selection silviculture systems in longleaf pine forests

    Treesearch

    Dale G. Brockway; Edward F. Loewenstein; Kenneth W. Outcalt

    2014-01-01

    Proportional basal area (Pro-B) was developed as an accurate, easy-to-use method for making uneven-aged silviculture a practical management option. Following less than 3 h of training, forest staff from a range of professional backgrounds used Pro-B in an operational-scale field study to apply single-tree selection and group selection systems in longleaf pine (Pinus...

  17. Genetic Diversity in the Interference Selection Limit

    PubMed Central

    Good, Benjamin H.; Walczak, Aleksandra M.; Neher, Richard A.; Desai, Michael M.

    2014-01-01

    Pervasive natural selection can strongly influence observed patterns of genetic variation, but these effects remain poorly understood when multiple selected variants segregate in nearby regions of the genome. Classical population genetics fails to account for interference between linked mutations, which grows increasingly severe as the density of selected polymorphisms increases. Here, we describe a simple limit that emerges when interference is common, in which the fitness effects of individual mutations play a relatively minor role. Instead, similar to models of quantitative genetics, molecular evolution is determined by the variance in fitness within the population, defined over an effectively asexual segment of the genome (a “linkage block”). We exploit this insensitivity in a new “coarse-grained” coalescent framework, which approximates the effects of many weakly selected mutations with a smaller number of strongly selected mutations that create the same variance in fitness. This approximation generates accurate and efficient predictions for silent site variability when interference is common. However, these results suggest that there is reduced power to resolve individual selection pressures when interference is sufficiently widespread, since a broad range of parameters possess nearly identical patterns of silent site variability. PMID:24675740

  18. Genetic diversity in the interference selection limit.

    PubMed

    Good, Benjamin H; Walczak, Aleksandra M; Neher, Richard A; Desai, Michael M

    2014-03-01

    Pervasive natural selection can strongly influence observed patterns of genetic variation, but these effects remain poorly understood when multiple selected variants segregate in nearby regions of the genome. Classical population genetics fails to account for interference between linked mutations, which grows increasingly severe as the density of selected polymorphisms increases. Here, we describe a simple limit that emerges when interference is common, in which the fitness effects of individual mutations play a relatively minor role. Instead, similar to models of quantitative genetics, molecular evolution is determined by the variance in fitness within the population, defined over an effectively asexual segment of the genome (a "linkage block"). We exploit this insensitivity in a new "coarse-grained" coalescent framework, which approximates the effects of many weakly selected mutations with a smaller number of strongly selected mutations that create the same variance in fitness. This approximation generates accurate and efficient predictions for silent site variability when interference is common. However, these results suggest that there is reduced power to resolve individual selection pressures when interference is sufficiently widespread, since a broad range of parameters possess nearly identical patterns of silent site variability.

  19. Accurate pointing of tungsten welding electrodes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ziegelmeier, P.

    1971-01-01

    Thoriated-tungsten is pointed accurately and quickly by using sodium nitrite. Point produced is smooth and no effort is necessary to hold the tungsten rod concentric. The chemically produced point can be used several times longer than ground points. This method reduces time and cost of preparing tungsten electrodes.

  20. Dosimetry control and monitoring of selective retina therapy using optical coherence tomography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaufmann, Daniel; Burri, Christian; Arnold, Patrik; Koch, Volker M.; Meier, Christoph; Považay, Boris; Justiz, Joern

    2017-07-01

    Selective retina therapy and optical coherence tomography have been combined to monitor laser-tissue interaction in real-time. An ex-vivo study of porcine eyes unveils mechanisms that enable automated and accurate dose-control during laser-therapy.

  1. An UPLC-MS/MS method for separation and accurate quantification of tamoxifen and its metabolites isomers.

    PubMed

    Arellano, Cécile; Allal, Ben; Goubaa, Anwar; Roché, Henri; Chatelut, Etienne

    2014-11-01

    A selective and accurate analytical method is needed to quantify tamoxifen and its phase I metabolites in a prospective clinical protocol, for evaluation of pharmacokinetic parameters of tamoxifen and its metabolites in adjuvant treatment of breast cancer. The selectivity of the analytical method is a fundamental criteria to allow the quantification of the main active metabolites (Z)-isomers from (Z)'-isomers. An UPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the quantification of (Z)-tamoxifen, (Z)-endoxifen, (E)-endoxifen, Z'-endoxifen, (Z)'-endoxifen, (Z)-4-hydroxytamoxifen, (Z)-4'-hydroxytamoxifen, N-desmethyl tamoxifen, and tamoxifen-N-oxide. The validation range was set between 0.5ng/mL and 125ng/mL for 4-hydroxytamoxifen and endoxifen isomers, and between 12.5ng/mL and 300ng/mL for tamoxifen, tamoxifen N-desmethyl and tamoxifen-N-oxide. The application to patient plasma samples was performed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Image Capture with Synchronized Multiple-Cameras for Extraction of Accurate Geometries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koehl, M.; Delacourt, T.; Boutry, C.

    2016-06-01

    This paper presents a project of recording and modelling tunnels, traffic circles and roads from multiple sensors. The aim is the representation and the accurate 3D modelling of a selection of road infrastructures as dense point clouds in order to extract profiles and metrics from it. Indeed, these models will be used for the sizing of infrastructures in order to simulate exceptional convoy truck routes. The objective is to extract directly from the point clouds the heights, widths and lengths of bridges and tunnels, the diameter of gyrating and to highlight potential obstacles for a convoy. Light, mobile and fast acquisition approaches based on images and videos from a set of synchronized sensors have been tested in order to obtain useable point clouds. The presented solution is based on a combination of multiple low-cost cameras designed on an on-boarded device allowing dynamic captures. The experimental device containing GoPro Hero4 cameras has been set up and used for tests in static or mobile acquisitions. That way, various configurations have been tested by using multiple synchronized cameras. These configurations are discussed in order to highlight the best operational configuration according to the shape of the acquired objects. As the precise calibration of each sensor and its optics are major factors in the process of creation of accurate dense point clouds, and in order to reach the best quality available from such cameras, the estimation of the internal parameters of fisheye lenses of the cameras has been processed. Reference measures were also realized by using a 3D TLS (Faro Focus 3D) to allow the accuracy assessment.

  3. Accurate Learning with Few Atlases (ALFA): an algorithm for MRI neonatal brain extraction and comparison with 11 publicly available methods.

    PubMed

    Serag, Ahmed; Blesa, Manuel; Moore, Emma J; Pataky, Rozalia; Sparrow, Sarah A; Wilkinson, A G; Macnaught, Gillian; Semple, Scott I; Boardman, James P

    2016-03-24

    Accurate whole-brain segmentation, or brain extraction, of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a critical first step in most neuroimage analysis pipelines. The majority of brain extraction algorithms have been developed and evaluated for adult data and their validity for neonatal brain extraction, which presents age-specific challenges for this task, has not been established. We developed a novel method for brain extraction of multi-modal neonatal brain MR images, named ALFA (Accurate Learning with Few Atlases). The method uses a new sparsity-based atlas selection strategy that requires a very limited number of atlases 'uniformly' distributed in the low-dimensional data space, combined with a machine learning based label fusion technique. The performance of the method for brain extraction from multi-modal data of 50 newborns is evaluated and compared with results obtained using eleven publicly available brain extraction methods. ALFA outperformed the eleven compared methods providing robust and accurate brain extraction results across different modalities. As ALFA can learn from partially labelled datasets, it can be used to segment large-scale datasets efficiently. ALFA could also be applied to other imaging modalities and other stages across the life course.

  4. Electromagnetic Levitation: A Useful Tool in Microgravity Research

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Szekely, Julian; Schwartz, Elliot; Hyers, Robert

    1995-01-01

    Electromagnetic levitation is one area of the electromagnetic processing of materials that has uses for both fundamental research and practical applications. This technique was successfully used on the Space Shuttle Columbia during the Spacelab IML-2 mission in July 1994 as a platform for accurately measuring the surface tensions of liquid metals and alloys. In this article, we discuss the key transport phenomena associated with electromagnetic levitation, the fundamental relationships associated with thermophysical property measurement that can be made using this technique, reasons for working in microgravity, and some of the results obtained from the microgravity experiments.

  5. Property evaluations of hydrocarbon fuels under supercritical conditions based on cubic equation of state

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Haohan; Wu, Yong; Zeng, Xiaojun; Wang, Xiaohan; Zhao, Daiqing

    2017-06-01

    Thermophysical properties, such as density, specific heat, viscosity and thermal conductivity, vary sharply near critical point. To evaluate these properties of hydrocarbons accurately is crucial to the further research of fuel system. Comparison was made by the calculating program based on four widely used equations of state (EoS), and results indicated that calculations based on the Peng-Robinson (PR) equation of state achieve better prediction accuracy among the four equations of state. Due to the small computational amount and high accuracy, the evaluation method proposed in this paper can be implemented into practical application for the design of fuel system.

  6. A hamster model for Marburg virus infection accurately recapitulates Marburg hemorrhagic fever

    PubMed Central

    Marzi, Andrea; Banadyga, Logan; Haddock, Elaine; Thomas, Tina; Shen, Kui; Horne, Eva J.; Scott, Dana P.; Feldmann, Heinz; Ebihara, Hideki

    2016-01-01

    Marburg virus (MARV), a close relative of Ebola virus, is the causative agent of a severe human disease known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF). No licensed vaccine or therapeutic exists to treat MHF, and MARV is therefore classified as a Tier 1 select agent and a category A bioterrorism agent. In order to develop countermeasures against this severe disease, animal models that accurately recapitulate human disease are required. Here we describe the development of a novel, uniformly lethal Syrian golden hamster model of MHF using a hamster-adapted MARV variant Angola. Remarkably, this model displayed almost all of the clinical features of MHF seen in humans and non-human primates, including coagulation abnormalities, hemorrhagic manifestations, petechial rash, and a severely dysregulated immune response. This MHF hamster model represents a powerful tool for further dissecting MARV pathogenesis and accelerating the development of effective medical countermeasures against human MHF. PMID:27976688

  7. A hamster model for Marburg virus infection accurately recapitulates Marburg hemorrhagic fever.

    PubMed

    Marzi, Andrea; Banadyga, Logan; Haddock, Elaine; Thomas, Tina; Shen, Kui; Horne, Eva J; Scott, Dana P; Feldmann, Heinz; Ebihara, Hideki

    2016-12-15

    Marburg virus (MARV), a close relative of Ebola virus, is the causative agent of a severe human disease known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF). No licensed vaccine or therapeutic exists to treat MHF, and MARV is therefore classified as a Tier 1 select agent and a category A bioterrorism agent. In order to develop countermeasures against this severe disease, animal models that accurately recapitulate human disease are required. Here we describe the development of a novel, uniformly lethal Syrian golden hamster model of MHF using a hamster-adapted MARV variant Angola. Remarkably, this model displayed almost all of the clinical features of MHF seen in humans and non-human primates, including coagulation abnormalities, hemorrhagic manifestations, petechial rash, and a severely dysregulated immune response. This MHF hamster model represents a powerful tool for further dissecting MARV pathogenesis and accelerating the development of effective medical countermeasures against human MHF.

  8. Fast and accurate mock catalogue generation for low-mass galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koda, Jun; Blake, Chris; Beutler, Florian; Kazin, Eyal; Marin, Felipe

    2016-06-01

    We present an accurate and fast framework for generating mock catalogues including low-mass haloes, based on an implementation of the COmoving Lagrangian Acceleration (COLA) technique. Multiple realisations of mock catalogues are crucial for analyses of large-scale structure, but conventional N-body simulations are too computationally expensive for the production of thousands of realizations. We show that COLA simulations can produce accurate mock catalogues with a moderate computation resource for low- to intermediate-mass galaxies in 1012 M⊙ haloes, both in real and redshift space. COLA simulations have accurate peculiar velocities, without systematic errors in the velocity power spectra for k ≤ 0.15 h Mpc-1, and with only 3-per cent error for k ≤ 0.2 h Mpc-1. We use COLA with 10 time steps and a Halo Occupation Distribution to produce 600 mock galaxy catalogues of the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey. Our parallelized code for efficient generation of accurate halo catalogues is publicly available at github.com/junkoda/cola_halo.

  9. Survival-related Selection Bias in Studies of Racial Health Disparities: The Importance of the Target Population and Study Design.

    PubMed

    Howe, Chanelle J; Robinson, Whitney R

    2018-07-01

    The impact of survival-related selection bias has not always been discussed in relevant studies of racial health disparities. Moreover, the analytic approaches most frequently employed in the epidemiologic literature to minimize selection bias are difficult to implement appropriately in racial disparities research. This difficulty stems from the fact that frequently employed analytic techniques require that common causes of survival and the outcome are accurately measured. Unfortunately, such common causes are often unmeasured or poorly measured in racial health disparities studies. In the absence of accurate measures of the aforementioned common causes, redefining the target population or changing the study design represents a useful approach for reducing the extent of survival-related selection bias. To help researchers recognize and minimize survival-related selection bias in racial health disparities studies, we illustrate the aforementioned selection bias and how redefining the target population or changing the study design can be useful.

  10. Determination of doping peptides via solid-phase microelution and accurate-mass quadrupole time-of-flight LC-MS.

    PubMed

    Cuervo, Darío; Loli, Cynthia; Fernández-Álvarez, María; Muñoz, Gloria; Carreras, Daniel

    2017-10-15

    A complete analytical protocol for the determination of 25 doping-related peptidic drugs and 3 metabolites in urine was developed by means of accurate-mass quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) LC-MS analysis following solid-phase extraction (SPE) on microplates and conventional SPE pre-treatment for initial testing and confirmation, respectively. These substances included growth hormone releasing factors, gonadotropin releasing factors and anti-diuretic hormones, with molecular weights ranging from 540 to 1320Da. Optimal experimental conditions were stablished after investigation of different parameters concerning sample preparation and instrumental analysis. Weak cation exchange SPE followed by C18 HPLC chromatography and accurate mass detection provided the required sensitivity and selectivity for all the target peptides under study. 2mg SPE on 96-well microplates can be used in combination with full scan MS detection for the initial testing, thus providing a fast, cost-effective and high-throughput protocol for the processing of a large batch of samples simultaneously. On the other hand, extraction on 30mg SPE cartridges and subsequent target MS/MS determination was the protocol of choice for confirmatory purposes. The methodology was validated in terms of selectivity, recovery, matrix effect, precision, sensitivity (limit of detection, LOD), cross contamination, carryover, robustness and stability. Recoveries ranged from 6 to 70% (microplates) and 17-95% (cartridges), with LODs from 0.1 to 1ng/mL. The suitability of the method was assessed by analyzing different spiked or excreted urines containing some of the target substances. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Thermophysical properties of paramagnetic Fe from first principles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ehteshami, Hossein; Korzhavyi, Pavel A.

    2017-12-01

    A computationally efficient, yet general, free-energy modeling scheme is developed based on first-principles calculations. Finite-temperature disorder associated with the fast (electronic and magnetic) degrees of freedom is directly included in the electronic structure calculations, whereas the vibrational free energy is evaluated by a proposed model that uses elastic constants to calculate average sound velocity of the quasiharmonic Debye model. The proposed scheme is tested by calculating the lattice parameter, heat capacity, and single-crystal elastic constants of α -, γ -, and δ -iron as functions of temperature in the range 1000-1800 K. The calculations accurately reproduce the well-established experimental data on thermal expansion and heat capacity of γ - and δ -iron. Electronic and magnetic excitations are shown to account for about 20% of the heat capacity for the two phases. Nonphonon contributions to thermal expansion are 12% and 10% for α - and δ -Fe and about 30% for γ -Fe. The elastic properties predicted by the model are in good agreement with those obtained in previous theoretical treatments of paramagnetic phases of iron, as well as with the bulk moduli derived from isothermal compressibility measurements [N. Tsujino et al., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 375, 244 (2013), 10.1016/j.epsl.2013.05.040]. Less agreement is found between theoretically calculated and experimentally derived single-crystal elastic constants of γ - and δ -iron.

  12. Low-dimensional, morphologically accurate models of subthreshold membrane potential

    PubMed Central

    Kellems, Anthony R.; Roos, Derrick; Xiao, Nan; Cox, Steven J.

    2009-01-01

    The accurate simulation of a neuron’s ability to integrate distributed synaptic input typically requires the simultaneous solution of tens of thousands of ordinary differential equations. For, in order to understand how a cell distinguishes between input patterns we apparently need a model that is biophysically accurate down to the space scale of a single spine, i.e., 1 μm. We argue here that one can retain this highly detailed input structure while dramatically reducing the overall system dimension if one is content to accurately reproduce the associated membrane potential at a small number of places, e.g., at the site of action potential initiation, under subthreshold stimulation. The latter hypothesis permits us to approximate the active cell model with an associated quasi-active model, which in turn we reduce by both time-domain (Balanced Truncation) and frequency-domain (ℋ2 approximation of the transfer function) methods. We apply and contrast these methods on a suite of typical cells, achieving up to four orders of magnitude in dimension reduction and an associated speed-up in the simulation of dendritic democratization and resonance. We also append a threshold mechanism and indicate that this reduction has the potential to deliver an accurate quasi-integrate and fire model. PMID:19172386

  13. Accurate optimization of amino acid form factors for computing small-angle X-ray scattering intensity of atomistic protein structures

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tong, Dudu; Yang, Sichun; Lu, Lanyuan

    2016-06-20

    Structure modellingviasmall-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data generally requires intensive computations of scattering intensity from any given biomolecular structure, where the accurate evaluation of SAXS profiles using coarse-grained (CG) methods is vital to improve computational efficiency. To date, most CG SAXS computing methods have been based on a single-bead-per-residue approximation but have neglected structural correlations between amino acids. To improve the accuracy of scattering calculations, accurate CG form factors of amino acids are now derived using a rigorous optimization strategy, termed electron-density matching (EDM), to best fit electron-density distributions of protein structures. This EDM method is compared with and tested againstmore » other CG SAXS computing methods, and the resulting CG SAXS profiles from EDM agree better with all-atom theoretical SAXS data. By including the protein hydration shell represented by explicit CG water molecules and the correction of protein excluded volume, the developed CG form factors also reproduce the selected experimental SAXS profiles with very small deviations. Taken together, these EDM-derived CG form factors present an accurate and efficient computational approach for SAXS computing, especially when higher molecular details (represented by theqrange of the SAXS data) become necessary for effective structure modelling.« less

  14. Gold nanospikes based microsensor as a highly accurate mercury emission monitoring system

    PubMed Central

    Sabri, Ylias M.; Ippolito, Samuel J.; Tardio, James; Bansal, Vipul; O'Mullane, Anthony P.; Bhargava, Suresh K.

    2014-01-01

    Anthropogenic elemental mercury (Hg0) emission is a serious worldwide environmental problem due to the extreme toxicity of the heavy metal to humans, plants and wildlife. Development of an accurate and cheap microsensor based online monitoring system which can be integrated as part of Hg0 removal and control processes in industry is still a major challenge. Here, we demonstrate that forming Au nanospike structures directly onto the electrodes of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) using a novel electrochemical route results in a self-regenerating, highly robust, stable, sensitive and selective Hg0 vapor sensor. The data from a 127 day continuous test performed in the presence of volatile organic compounds and high humidity levels, showed that the sensor with an electrodeposted sensitive layer had 260% higher response magnitude, 3.4 times lower detection limit (~22 μg/m3 or ~2.46 ppbv) and higher accuracy (98% Vs 35%) over a Au control based QCM (unmodified) when exposed to a Hg0 vapor concentration of 10.55 mg/m3 at 101°C. Statistical analysis of the long term data showed that the nano-engineered Hg0 sorption sites on the developed Au nanospikes sensitive layer play a critical role in the enhanced sensitivity and selectivity of the developed sensor towards Hg0 vapor. PMID:25338965

  15. Gold nanospikes based microsensor as a highly accurate mercury emission monitoring system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sabri, Ylias M.; Ippolito, Samuel J.; Tardio, James; Bansal, Vipul; O'Mullane, Anthony P.; Bhargava, Suresh K.

    2014-10-01

    Anthropogenic elemental mercury (Hg0) emission is a serious worldwide environmental problem due to the extreme toxicity of the heavy metal to humans, plants and wildlife. Development of an accurate and cheap microsensor based online monitoring system which can be integrated as part of Hg0 removal and control processes in industry is still a major challenge. Here, we demonstrate that forming Au nanospike structures directly onto the electrodes of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) using a novel electrochemical route results in a self-regenerating, highly robust, stable, sensitive and selective Hg0 vapor sensor. The data from a 127 day continuous test performed in the presence of volatile organic compounds and high humidity levels, showed that the sensor with an electrodeposted sensitive layer had 260% higher response magnitude, 3.4 times lower detection limit (~22 μg/m3 or ~2.46 ppbv) and higher accuracy (98% Vs 35%) over a Au control based QCM (unmodified) when exposed to a Hg0 vapor concentration of 10.55 mg/m3 at 101°C. Statistical analysis of the long term data showed that the nano-engineered Hg0 sorption sites on the developed Au nanospikes sensitive layer play a critical role in the enhanced sensitivity and selectivity of the developed sensor towards Hg0 vapor.

  16. Effect of Compositional Variation in TiO2-Based Flux-Cored Arc Welding Fluxes on the Thermo-physical Properties and Mechanical Behavior of a Weld Zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, J. B.; Lee, T. H.; Sohn, I.

    2018-04-01

    The effect of compositional variation in TiO2-based flux-cored arc welding fluxes on viscosity, wettability, and electronegativity was studied. The thermo-physical properties of the retrieved fluxes and their relationship with the mechanical properties of the weld zone, including tensile strength and micro-Vickers hardness, after welding were identified. Microstructural observation under similar welding conditions revealed significant grain coarsening at a corrected optical basicity (Λcorr) of 0.62, resulting in reduced strength and hardness due to greater heat transfer. Welding fluxes containing TiO2-based simple structural units should result in greater heat transfer due to the deficiency in complex [AlO4]5-- and [SiO4]4--based structural units, as identified through spectroscopic analyses using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electronegativity of the retrieved fluxes was also evaluated since higher electronegativity results in greater absorption of electrons in the arc, resulting in arc condensation towards the center direction. Consequently, deeper penetration could be obtained, where the highest electronegativity was identified to be approximately 0.62 of the corrected optical basicity. Thus, both the thermal conductivity and electronegativity of the welding fluxes were identified to determine the heat transfer phenomenon during flux-cored arc welding.

  17. Effect of Compositional Variation in TiO2-Based Flux-Cored Arc Welding Fluxes on the Thermo-physical Properties and Mechanical Behavior of a Weld Zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, J. B.; Lee, T. H.; Sohn, I.

    2018-07-01

    The effect of compositional variation in TiO2-based flux-cored arc welding fluxes on viscosity, wettability, and electronegativity was studied. The thermo-physical properties of the retrieved fluxes and their relationship with the mechanical properties of the weld zone, including tensile strength and micro-Vickers hardness, after welding were identified. Microstructural observation under similar welding conditions revealed significant grain coarsening at a corrected optical basicity (Λcorr) of 0.62, resulting in reduced strength and hardness due to greater heat transfer. Welding fluxes containing TiO2-based simple structural units should result in greater heat transfer due to the deficiency in complex [AlO4]5-- and [SiO4]4--based structural units, as identified through spectroscopic analyses using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electronegativity of the retrieved fluxes was also evaluated since higher electronegativity results in greater absorption of electrons in the arc, resulting in arc condensation towards the center direction. Consequently, deeper penetration could be obtained, where the highest electronegativity was identified to be approximately 0.62 of the corrected optical basicity. Thus, both the thermal conductivity and electronegativity of the welding fluxes were identified to determine the heat transfer phenomenon during flux-cored arc welding.

  18. Kinetic Methods for Predicting Flow Physics of Small Thruster Expansions

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-01-24

    Zeifman, M., and Levin, D.,“Sensitivity of Water Condensation in a Super- sonic Plume to the Nucleation Rate,” Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer ...M. I., and Levin, D. A., “Kinetic Model of Condensation in a Free Argon Expanding Jet,” Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer , Vol. 20, No. 1...of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer , 25-28 June 2007. [44] Kumar, R. and Levin, D., “Simulation of Homogeneous Condensation of Ethanol in High

  19. Promising System for Selecting Healthy In Vitro–Fertilized Embryos in Cattle

    PubMed Central

    Sugimura, Satoshi; Akai, Tomonori; Hashiyada, Yutaka; Somfai, Tamás; Inaba, Yasushi; Hirayama, Muneyuki; Yamanouchi, Tadayuki; Matsuda, Hideo; Kobayashi, Shuji; Aikawa, Yoshio; Ohtake, Masaki; Kobayashi, Eiji; Konishi, Kazuyuki; Imai, Kei

    2012-01-01

    Conventionally, in vitro–fertilized (IVF) bovine embryos are morphologically evaluated at the time of embryo transfer to select those that are likely to establish a pregnancy. This method is, however, subjective and results in unreliable selection. Here we describe a novel selection system for IVF bovine blastocysts for transfer that traces the development of individual embryos with time-lapse cinematography in our developed microwell culture dish and analyzes embryonic metabolism. The system can noninvasively identify prognostic factors that reflect not only blastocyst qualities detected with histological, cytogenetic, and molecular analysis but also viability after transfer. By assessing a combination of identified prognostic factors—(i) timing of the first cleavage; (ii) number of blastomeres at the end of the first cleavage; (iii) presence or absence of multiple fragments at the end of the first cleavage; (iv) number of blastomeres at the onset of lag-phase, which results in temporary developmental arrest during the fourth or fifth cell cycle; and (v) oxygen consumption at the blastocyst stage—pregnancy success could be accurately predicted (78.9%). The conventional method or individual prognostic factors could not accurately predict pregnancy. No newborn calves showed neonatal overgrowth or death. Our results demonstrate that these five predictors and our system could provide objective and reliable selection of healthy IVF bovine embryos. PMID:22590579

  20. Using step and path selection functions for estimating resistance to movement: Pumas as a case study

    Treesearch

    Katherine A. Zeller; Kevin McGarigal; Samuel A. Cushman; Paul Beier; T. Winston Vickers; Walter M. Boyce

    2015-01-01

    GPS telemetry collars and their ability to acquire accurate and consistently frequent locations have increased the use of step selection functions (SSFs) and path selection functions (PathSFs) for studying animal movement and estimating resistance. However, previously published SSFs and PathSFs often do not accommodate multiple scales or multiscale modeling....

  1. PETher - Physical Properties of Thermal Water under In-situ-Conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herfurth, Sarah; Schröder, Elisabeth

    2016-04-01

    The objective of PETher, a research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), is to experimentally determine thermo-physical properties (specific isobaric heat capacity, kinematic viscosity, density and thermal conductivity) of geothermal water in-situ-conditions (pressure, temperature, chemical composition including gas content of the brine) present in geothermal applications. Knowing these thermo-physical properties reduces the uncertainties with respect to estimating the thermal output and therefore the economic viability of the power plant. Up to now, only a limited number of measurements of selected physical properties have been made, usually under laboratory conditions and for individual geothermal plants. In-situ measured parameters, especially in the temperature range of 120°C and higher, at pressures of 20 bar and higher, as well as with a salinity of up to 250 g/l, are sparse to non-existing. Therefore, pure water properties are often used as reference data and for designing the power plant and its components. Currently available numerical models describing the thermo-physical properties are typically not valid for the conditions in geothermal applications and do not consider the substantial influence of the chemical composition of the thermal water. Also, actual geothermal waters have not been subject of detailed measurements systematically performed under operational conditions on a large-scale basis. Owing to the lack of reliable data, a validation of numerical models for investigating geothermal systems is not possible. In order to determine the dependency of the thermo-physical properties of geothermal water on temperature, pressure and salinity in-situ measurements are conducted. The measurements are taking place directly at several geothermal applications located in Germany's hydrogeothermal key regions. In order to do this, a mobile testing unit was developed and refined with instruments specifically

  2. Remote balance weighs accurately amid high radiation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eggenberger, D. N.; Shuck, A. B.

    1969-01-01

    Commercial beam-type balance, modified and outfitted with electronic controls and digital readout, can be remotely controlled for use in high radiation environments. This allows accurate weighing of breeder-reactor fuel pieces when they are radioactively hot.

  3. The Limits of Natural Selection in a Nonequilibrium World.

    PubMed

    Brandvain, Yaniv; Wright, Stephen I

    2016-04-01

    Evolutionary theory predicts that factors such as a small population size or low recombination rate can limit the action of natural selection. The emerging field of comparative population genomics offers an opportunity to evaluate these hypotheses. However, classical theoretical predictions assume that populations are at demographic equilibrium. This assumption is likely to be violated in the very populations researchers use to evaluate selection's limits: populations that have experienced a recent shift in population size and/or effective recombination rates. Here we highlight theory and data analyses concerning limitations on the action of natural selection in nonequilibrial populations and argue that substantial care is needed to appropriately test whether species and populations show meaningful differences in selection efficacy. A move toward model-based inferences that explicitly incorporate nonequilibrium dynamics provides a promising approach to more accurately contrast selection efficacy across populations and interpret its significance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Ingot selection for aesthetic restorations using contemporary pressed ceramics.

    PubMed

    Ritter, Robert G; Culp, Lee

    2002-08-01

    Accurate communication among the patient, clinician, and laboratory technician is critical to the development of a functional, aesthetic restoration. The use of pressed ceramic restorations has provided a durable, consistent alternative for full-coverage crowns, veneers, onlays, and short-span fixed partial dentures. This article discusses the importance of proper ingot selection in the fabrication of aesthetic restorations and in the realization of patients' expectations for smile design. Ceramic ingots are available in a variety of colors and opacities that provide the clinician and laboratory technician with the latitude to select an ingot that will ultimately ensure patient satisfaction.

  5. Development and Validation of the Conceptual Assessment of Natural Selection (CANS)

    PubMed Central

    Kalinowski, Steven T.; Leonard, Mary J.; Taper, Mark L.

    2016-01-01

    We developed and validated the Conceptual Assessment of Natural Selection (CANS), a multiple-choice test designed to assess how well college students understand the central principles of natural selection. The expert panel that reviewed the CANS concluded its questions were relevant to natural selection and generally did a good job sampling the specific concepts they were intended to assess. Student interviews confirmed questions on the CANS provided accurate reflections of how students think about natural selection. And, finally, statistical analysis of student responses using item response theory showed that the CANS did a very good job of estimating how well students understood natural selection. The empirical reliability of the CANS was substantially higher than the Force Concept Inventory, a highly regarded test in physics that has a similar purpose. PMID:27856552

  6. Fast and accurate computation of projected two-point functions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grasshorn Gebhardt, Henry S.; Jeong, Donghui

    2018-01-01

    We present the two-point function from the fast and accurate spherical Bessel transformation (2-FAST) algorithmOur code is available at https://github.com/hsgg/twoFAST. for a fast and accurate computation of integrals involving one or two spherical Bessel functions. These types of integrals occur when projecting the galaxy power spectrum P (k ) onto the configuration space, ξℓν(r ), or spherical harmonic space, Cℓ(χ ,χ'). First, we employ the FFTLog transformation of the power spectrum to divide the calculation into P (k )-dependent coefficients and P (k )-independent integrations of basis functions multiplied by spherical Bessel functions. We find analytical expressions for the latter integrals in terms of special functions, for which recursion provides a fast and accurate evaluation. The algorithm, therefore, circumvents direct integration of highly oscillating spherical Bessel functions.

  7. Memory conformity affects inaccurate memories more than accurate memories.

    PubMed

    Wright, Daniel B; Villalba, Daniella K

    2012-01-01

    After controlling for initial confidence, inaccurate memories were shown to be more easily distorted than accurate memories. In two experiments groups of participants viewed 50 stimuli and were then presented with these stimuli plus 50 fillers. During this test phase participants reported their confidence that each stimulus was originally shown. This was followed by computer-generated responses from a bogus participant. After being exposed to this response participants again rated the confidence of their memory. The computer-generated responses systematically distorted participants' responses. Memory distortion depended on initial memory confidence, with uncertain memories being more malleable than confident memories. This effect was moderated by whether the participant's memory was initially accurate or inaccurate. Inaccurate memories were more malleable than accurate memories. The data were consistent with a model describing two types of memory (i.e., recollective and non-recollective memories), which differ in how susceptible these memories are to memory distortion.

  8. Genome-wide prediction and analysis of human tissue-selective genes using microarray expression data

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Understanding how genes are expressed specifically in particular tissues is a fundamental question in developmental biology. Many tissue-specific genes are involved in the pathogenesis of complex human diseases. However, experimental identification of tissue-specific genes is time consuming and difficult. The accurate predictions of tissue-specific gene targets could provide useful information for biomarker development and drug target identification. Results In this study, we have developed a machine learning approach for predicting the human tissue-specific genes using microarray expression data. The lists of known tissue-specific genes for different tissues were collected from UniProt database, and the expression data retrieved from the previously compiled dataset according to the lists were used for input vector encoding. Random Forests (RFs) and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) were used to construct accurate classifiers. The RF classifiers were found to outperform SVM models for tissue-specific gene prediction. The results suggest that the candidate genes for brain or liver specific expression can provide valuable information for further experimental studies. Our approach was also applied for identifying tissue-selective gene targets for different types of tissues. Conclusions A machine learning approach has been developed for accurately identifying the candidate genes for tissue specific/selective expression. The approach provides an efficient way to select some interesting genes for developing new biomedical markers and improve our knowledge of tissue-specific expression. PMID:23369200

  9. Mutation-selection balance in mixed mating populations.

    PubMed

    Kelly, John K

    2007-05-21

    An approximation to the average number of deleterious mutations per gamete, Q, is derived from a model allowing selection on both zygotes and male gametes. Progeny are produced by either outcrossing or self-fertilization with fixed probabilities. The genetic model is a standard in evolutionary biology: mutations occur at unlinked loci, have equivalent effects, and combine multiplicatively to determine fitness. The approximation developed here treats individual mutation counts with a generalized Poisson model conditioned on the distribution of selfing histories in the population. The approximation is accurate across the range of parameter sets considered and provides both analytical insights and greatly increased computational speed. Model predictions are discussed in relation to several outstanding problems, including the estimation of the genomic deleterious mutation rates (U), the generality of "selective interference" among loci, and the consequences of gametic selection for the joint distribution of inbreeding depression and mating system across species. Finally, conflicting results from previous analytical treatments of mutation-selection balance are resolved to assumptions about the life-cycle and the initial fate of mutations.

  10. The ALHAMBRA survey: accurate merger fractions derived by PDF analysis of photometrically close pairs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    López-Sanjuan, C.; Cenarro, A. J.; Varela, J.; Viironen, K.; Molino, A.; Benítez, N.; Arnalte-Mur, P.; Ascaso, B.; Díaz-García, L. A.; Fernández-Soto, A.; Jiménez-Teja, Y.; Márquez, I.; Masegosa, J.; Moles, M.; Pović, M.; Aguerri, J. A. L.; Alfaro, E.; Aparicio-Villegas, T.; Broadhurst, T.; Cabrera-Caño, J.; Castander, F. J.; Cepa, J.; Cerviño, M.; Cristóbal-Hornillos, D.; Del Olmo, A.; González Delgado, R. M.; Husillos, C.; Infante, L.; Martínez, V. J.; Perea, J.; Prada, F.; Quintana, J. M.

    2015-04-01

    Aims: Our goal is to develop and test a novel methodology to compute accurate close-pair fractions with photometric redshifts. Methods: We improved the currently used methodologies to estimate the merger fraction fm from photometric redshifts by (i) using the full probability distribution functions (PDFs) of the sources in redshift space; (ii) including the variation in the luminosity of the sources with z in both the sample selection and the luminosity ratio constrain; and (iii) splitting individual PDFs into red and blue spectral templates to reliably work with colour selections. We tested the performance of our new methodology with the PDFs provided by the ALHAMBRA photometric survey. Results: The merger fractions and rates from the ALHAMBRA survey agree excellently well with those from spectroscopic work for both the general population and red and blue galaxies. With the merger rate of bright (MB ≤ -20-1.1z) galaxies evolving as (1 + z)n, the power-law index n is higher for blue galaxies (n = 2.7 ± 0.5) than for red galaxies (n = 1.3 ± 0.4), confirming previous results. Integrating the merger rate over cosmic time, we find that the average number of mergers per galaxy since z = 1 is Nmred = 0.57 ± 0.05 for red galaxies and Nmblue = 0.26 ± 0.02 for blue galaxies. Conclusions: Our new methodology statistically exploits all the available information provided by photometric redshift codes and yields accurate measurements of the merger fraction by close pairs from using photometric redshifts alone. Current and future photometric surveys will benefit from this new methodology. Based on observations collected at the German-Spanish Astronomical Center, Calar Alto, jointly operated by the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (MPIA) at Heidelberg and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC).The catalogues, probabilities, and figures of the ALHAMBRA close pairs detected in Sect. 5.1 are available at http://https://cloud.iaa.csic.es/alhambra/catalogues/ClosePairs

  11. A near-optimal low complexity sensor fusion technique for accurate indoor localization based on ultrasound time of arrival measurements from low-quality sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitilineos, Stelios A.; Argyreas, Nick D.; Thomopoulos, Stelios C. A.

    2009-05-01

    A fusion-based localization technique for location-based services in indoor environments is introduced herein, based on ultrasound time-of-arrival measurements from multiple off-the-shelf range estimating sensors which are used in a market-available localization system. In-situ field measurements results indicated that the respective off-the-shelf system was unable to estimate position in most of the cases, while the underlying sensors are of low-quality and yield highly inaccurate range and position estimates. An extensive analysis is performed and a model of the sensor-performance characteristics is established. A low-complexity but accurate sensor fusion and localization technique is then developed, which consists inof evaluating multiple sensor measurements and selecting the one that is considered most-accurate based on the underlying sensor model. Optimality, in the sense of a genie selecting the optimum sensor, is subsequently evaluated and compared to the proposed technique. The experimental results indicate that the proposed fusion method exhibits near-optimal performance and, albeit being theoretically suboptimal, it largely overcomes most flaws of the underlying single-sensor system resulting in a localization system of increased accuracy, robustness and availability.

  12. Thermophysical Properties of Cold- and Vacuum Plasma-Sprayed Cu-Cr-X Alloys, NiAl and NiCrAlY Coatings I: Electrical and Thermal Conductivity, Thermal Diffusivity, and Total Hemispherical Emissivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raj, S. V.

    2017-11-01

    This two-part paper reports the thermophysical properties of several cold- and vacuum plasma-sprayed monolithic Cu- and Ni-based alloy coatings. Part I presents the electrical and thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and total hemispherical emissivity data, while Part II reports the specific heat capacity data for these coatings. Metallic copper alloys and stoichiometric NiAl and NiCrAlY coatings were fabricated by either the cold spray or the vacuum plasma spray deposition processes for thermal property measurements between 77 and 1223 K. The temperature dependencies of the thermal conductivities, thermal diffusivities, electrical conductivities, and total hemispherical emissivities of these cold- and vacuum-sprayed monolithic coatings are reported in this paper. The electrical and thermal conductivity data correlate reasonably well for Cu-8%Cr-1%Al, Cu-23%Cr-5%Al, and NiAl in accordance with the Wiedemann-Franz (WF) law although a better fit is obtained using the Smith-Palmer relationship. The Lorentz numbers determined from the WF law are close to the theoretical value.

  13. Mass spectrometry-based protein identification with accurate statistical significance assignment.

    PubMed

    Alves, Gelio; Yu, Yi-Kuo

    2015-03-01

    Assigning statistical significance accurately has become increasingly important as metadata of many types, often assembled in hierarchies, are constructed and combined for further biological analyses. Statistical inaccuracy of metadata at any level may propagate to downstream analyses, undermining the validity of scientific conclusions thus drawn. From the perspective of mass spectrometry-based proteomics, even though accurate statistics for peptide identification can now be achieved, accurate protein level statistics remain challenging. We have constructed a protein ID method that combines peptide evidences of a candidate protein based on a rigorous formula derived earlier; in this formula the database P-value of every peptide is weighted, prior to the final combination, according to the number of proteins it maps to. We have also shown that this protein ID method provides accurate protein level E-value, eliminating the need of using empirical post-processing methods for type-I error control. Using a known protein mixture, we find that this protein ID method, when combined with the Sorić formula, yields accurate values for the proportion of false discoveries. In terms of retrieval efficacy, the results from our method are comparable with other methods tested. The source code, implemented in C++ on a linux system, is available for download at ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/qmbp/qmbp_ms/RAId/RAId_Linux_64Bit. Published by Oxford University Press 2014. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

  14. A New CCI ECV Release (v2.0) to Accurately Measure the Sea Level Change (1993-2015)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Legeais, J.; Cazenave, A. A.; Ablain, M.; Gilles, G.; Johannessen, J. A.; Scharffenberg, M. G.; Timms, G.; Andersen, O. B.; Cipollini, P.; Roca, M.; Rudenko, S.; Fernandes, J.; Balmaseda, M.; Quartly, G.; Fenoglio Marc, L.; Meyssignac, B.; Benveniste, J.; Ambrozio, A.; Restano, M.

    2016-12-01

    Accurate monitoring of the sea level is required to better understand its variability and changes. Sea level is one of the Essential Climate Variables (ECV) selected in the frame of the ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI) program. It aims at providing a long-term homogeneous and accurate sea level record. The needs and feedback of the climate research community have been collected and a first version of the sea level ECV product has been generated with the best algorithms and altimeter standards. This record (1993-2014) has been validated by the climate research community. Within phase II (2014-2016), the 15 partner consortium has prepared the production of a new reprocessed homogeneous and accurate altimeter sea level record which will be distributed in Autumn 2016. New level 2 altimeter standards developed and tested within the project as well as external contributions have been identified, processed and evaluated by comparison with a reference for different altimeter missions (TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1 & 2, ERS-1 & 2, Envisat and GFO). The main evolutions are associated with the wet troposphere correction (based on the GPD+ algorithm including inter calibration with respect to external sensors) but also to the orbit solutions (POE-E and GFZ15), the ERA-Interim based atmospheric corrections and the FES2014 ocean tide model. A new pole tide solution is used and anomalies are referenced to the MSS DTU15. The presentation will focus on the main achievements of the ESA CCI Sea Level project and on the description of the new SL_cci ECV release covering 1993-2015. The major steps required to produce the reprocessed 23 year climate time series will be described. The impacts of the selected level 2 altimeter standards on the SL_cci ECV have been assessed on different spatial scales (global, regional, mesoscale) and temporal scales (long-term, inter-annual, periodic). A significant improvement is expected compared to the current v1.1, with the main impacts observed on the

  15. Accurately measuring volcanic plume velocity with multiple UV spectrometers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Williams-Jones, Glyn; Horton, Keith A.; Elias, Tamar; Garbeil, Harold; Mouginis-Mark, Peter J; Sutton, A. Jeff; Harris, Andrew J. L.

    2006-01-01

    A fundamental problem with all ground-based remotely sensed measurements of volcanic gas flux is the difficulty in accurately measuring the velocity of the gas plume. Since a representative wind speed and direction are used as proxies for the actual plume velocity, there can be considerable uncertainty in reported gas flux values. Here we present a method that uses at least two time-synchronized simultaneously recording UV spectrometers (FLYSPECs) placed a known distance apart. By analyzing the time varying structure of SO2 concentration signals at each instrument, the plume velocity can accurately be determined. Experiments were conducted on Kīlauea (USA) and Masaya (Nicaragua) volcanoes in March and August 2003 at plume velocities between 1 and 10 m s−1. Concurrent ground-based anemometer measurements differed from FLYSPEC-measured plume speeds by up to 320%. This multi-spectrometer method allows for the accurate remote measurement of plume velocity and can therefore greatly improve the precision of volcanic or industrial gas flux measurements.

  16. Differential equation based method for accurate approximations in optimization

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pritchard, Jocelyn I.; Adelman, Howard M.

    1990-01-01

    This paper describes a method to efficiently and accurately approximate the effect of design changes on structural response. The key to this new method is to interpret sensitivity equations as differential equations that may be solved explicitly for closed form approximations, hence, the method is denoted the Differential Equation Based (DEB) method. Approximations were developed for vibration frequencies, mode shapes and static displacements. The DEB approximation method was applied to a cantilever beam and results compared with the commonly-used linear Taylor series approximations and exact solutions. The test calculations involved perturbing the height, width, cross-sectional area, tip mass, and bending inertia of the beam. The DEB method proved to be very accurate, and in msot cases, was more accurate than the linear Taylor series approximation. The method is applicable to simultaneous perturbation of several design variables. Also, the approximations may be used to calculate other system response quantities. For example, the approximations for displacement are used to approximate bending stresses.

  17. Differential equation based method for accurate approximations in optimization

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pritchard, Jocelyn I.; Adelman, Howard M.

    1990-01-01

    A method to efficiently and accurately approximate the effect of design changes on structural response is described. The key to this method is to interpret sensitivity equations as differential equations that may be solved explicitly for closed form approximations, hence, the method is denoted the Differential Equation Based (DEB) method. Approximations were developed for vibration frequencies, mode shapes and static displacements. The DEB approximation method was applied to a cantilever beam and results compared with the commonly-used linear Taylor series approximations and exact solutions. The test calculations involved perturbing the height, width, cross-sectional area, tip mass, and bending inertia of the beam. The DEB method proved to be very accurate, and in most cases, was more accurate than the linear Taylor series approximation. The method is applicable to simultaneous perturbation of several design variables. Also, the approximations may be used to calculate other system response quantities. For example, the approximations for displacements are used to approximate bending stresses.

  18. The importance of ignoring: Alpha oscillations protect selectivity.

    PubMed

    Payne, Lisa; Sekuler, Robert

    2014-06-01

    Selective attention is often thought to entail an enhancement of some task-relevant stimulus or attribute. We discuss the perspective that ignoring irrelevant, distracting information plays a complementary role in information processing. Cortical oscillations within the alpha (8-14 Hz) frequency band have emerged as a marker of sensory suppression. This suppression is linked to selective attention for visual, auditory, somatic, and verbal stimuli. Inhibiting processing of irrelevant input makes responses more accurate and timely. It also helps protect material held in short-term memory against disruption. Furthermore, this selective process keeps irrelevant information from distorting the fidelity of memories. Memory is only as good as the perceptual representations on which it is based, and on whose maintenance it depends. Modulation of alpha oscillations can be exploited as an active, purposeful mechanism to help people pay attention and remember the things that matter.

  19. Realization and performance of cryogenic selection mechanisms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aitink-Kroes, Gabby; Bettonvil, Felix; Kragt, Jan; Elswijk, Eddy; Tromp, Niels

    2014-07-01

    Within Infra-Red large wavelength bandwidth instruments the use of mechanisms for selection of observation modes, filters, dispersing elements, pinholes or slits is inevitable. The cryogenic operating environment poses several challenges to these cryogenic mechanisms; like differential thermal shrinkage, physical property change of materials, limited use of lubrication, high feature density, limited space etc. MATISSE the mid-infrared interferometric spectrograph and imager for ESO's VLT interferometer (VLTI) at Paranal in Chile coherently combines the light from 4 telescopes. Within the Cold Optics Bench (COB) of MATISSE two concepts of selection mechanisms can be distinguished based on the same design principles: linear selection mechanisms (sliders) and rotating selection mechanisms (wheels).Both sliders and wheels are used at a temperature of 38 Kelvin. The selection mechanisms have to provide high accuracy and repeatability. The sliders/wheels have integrated tracks that run on small, accurately located, spring loaded precision bearings. Special indents are used for selection of the slider/wheel position. For maximum accuracy/repeatability the guiding/selection system is separated from the actuation in this case a cryogenic actuator inside the cryostat. The paper discusses the detailed design of the mechanisms and the final realization for the MATISSE COB. Limited lifetime and performance tests determine accuracy, warm and cold and the reliability/wear during life of the instrument. The test results and further improvements to the mechanisms are discussed.

  20. Photometric brown-dwarf classification. I. A method to identify and accurately classify large samples of brown dwarfs without spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Skrzypek, N.; Warren, S. J.; Faherty, J. K.; Mortlock, D. J.; Burgasser, A. J.; Hewett, P. C.

    2015-02-01

    Aims: We present a method, named photo-type, to identify and accurately classify L and T dwarfs onto the standard spectral classification system using photometry alone. This enables the creation of large and deep homogeneous samples of these objects efficiently, without the need for spectroscopy. Methods: We created a catalogue of point sources with photometry in 8 bands, ranging from 0.75 to 4.6 μm, selected from an area of 3344 deg2, by combining SDSS, UKIDSS LAS, and WISE data. Sources with 13.0 0.8, were then classified by comparison against template colours of quasars, stars, and brown dwarfs. The L and T templates, spectral types L0 to T8, were created by identifying previously known sources with spectroscopic classifications, and fitting polynomial relations between colour and spectral type. Results: Of the 192 known L and T dwarfs with reliable photometry in the surveyed area and magnitude range, 189 are recovered by our selection and classification method. We have quantified the accuracy of the classification method both externally, with spectroscopy, and internally, by creating synthetic catalogues and accounting for the uncertainties. We find that, brighter than J = 17.5, photo-type classifications are accurate to one spectral sub-type, and are therefore competitive with spectroscopic classifications. The resultant catalogue of 1157 L and T dwarfs will be presented in a companion paper.

  1. Validation of reference genes aiming accurate normalization of qRT-PCR data in Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro.

    PubMed

    Liu, Mingying; Jiang, Jing; Han, Xiaojiao; Qiao, Guirong; Zhuo, Renying

    2014-01-01

    Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro distributes widely in subtropical areas and plays vital roles as valuable natural resources. The transcriptome sequencing for D. latiflorus Munro has been performed and numerous genes especially those predicted to be unique to D. latiflorus Munro were revealed. qRT-PCR has become a feasible approach to uncover gene expression profiling, and the accuracy and reliability of the results obtained depends upon the proper selection of stable reference genes for accurate normalization. Therefore, a set of suitable internal controls should be validated for D. latiflorus Munro. In this report, twelve candidate reference genes were selected and the assessment of gene expression stability was performed in ten tissue samples and four leaf samples from seedlings and anther-regenerated plants of different ploidy. The PCR amplification efficiency was estimated, and the candidate genes were ranked according to their expression stability using three software packages: geNorm, NormFinder and Bestkeeper. GAPDH and EF1α were characterized to be the most stable genes among different tissues or in all the sample pools, while CYP showed low expression stability. RPL3 had the optimal performance among four leaf samples. The application of verified reference genes was illustrated by analyzing ferritin and laccase expression profiles among different experimental sets. The analysis revealed the biological variation in ferritin and laccase transcript expression among the tissues studied and the individual plants. geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper analyses recommended different suitable reference gene(s) for normalization according to the experimental sets. GAPDH and EF1α had the highest expression stability across different tissues and RPL3 for the other sample set. This study emphasizes the importance of validating superior reference genes for qRT-PCR analysis to accurately normalize gene expression of D. latiflorus Munro.

  2. FSR: feature set reduction for scalable and accurate multi-class cancer subtype classification based on copy number.

    PubMed

    Wong, Gerard; Leckie, Christopher; Kowalczyk, Adam

    2012-01-15

    Feature selection is a key concept in machine learning for microarray datasets, where features represented by probesets are typically several orders of magnitude larger than the available sample size. Computational tractability is a key challenge for feature selection algorithms in handling very high-dimensional datasets beyond a hundred thousand features, such as in datasets produced on single nucleotide polymorphism microarrays. In this article, we present a novel feature set reduction approach that enables scalable feature selection on datasets with hundreds of thousands of features and beyond. Our approach enables more efficient handling of higher resolution datasets to achieve better disease subtype classification of samples for potentially more accurate diagnosis and prognosis, which allows clinicians to make more informed decisions in regards to patient treatment options. We applied our feature set reduction approach to several publicly available cancer single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array datasets and evaluated its performance in terms of its multiclass predictive classification accuracy over different cancer subtypes, its speedup in execution as well as its scalability with respect to sample size and array resolution. Feature Set Reduction (FSR) was able to reduce the dimensions of an SNP array dataset by more than two orders of magnitude while achieving at least equal, and in most cases superior predictive classification performance over that achieved on features selected by existing feature selection methods alone. An examination of the biological relevance of frequently selected features from FSR-reduced feature sets revealed strong enrichment in association with cancer. FSR was implemented in MATLAB R2010b and is available at http://ww2.cs.mu.oz.au/~gwong/FSR.

  3. Determination of the cement content of hardened concrete by selective solution : final report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1972-01-01

    The method of selective solution by methanolic maleic acid, developed by Tabikh et. al for the determination of cement content in hardened concrete, was evaluated. It was found to be relatively simple and inexpensive, and is accurate to within 1 pe...

  4. Determination of the biotin content of select foods using accurate and sensitive HPLC/avidin binding

    PubMed Central

    Staggs, C.G.; Sealey, W.M.; McCabe, B.J.; Teague, A.M.; Mock, D.M.

    2006-01-01

    Assessing dietary biotin content, biotin bioavailability, and resulting biotin status are crucial in determining whether biotin deficiency is teratogenic in humans. Accuracy in estimating dietary biotin is limited both by data gaps in food composition tables and by inaccuracies in published data. The present study applied sensitive and specific analytical techniques to determine values for biotin content in a select group of foods. Total biotin content of 87 foods was determined using acid hydrolysis and the HPLC/avidin-binding assay. These values are consistent with published values in that meat, fish, poultry, egg, dairy, and some vegetables are relatively rich sources of biotin. However, these biotin values disagreed substantially with published values for many foods. Assay values varied between 247 times greater than published values for a given food to as much as 36% less than the published biotin value. Among 51 foods assayed for which published values were available, only seven agreed within analytical variability (720%). We conclude that published values for biotin content of foods are likely to be inaccurate. PMID:16648879

  5. Effects of shade tab arrangement on the repeatability and accuracy of shade selection.

    PubMed

    Yılmaz, Burak; Yuzugullu, Bulem; Cınar, Duygu; Berksun, Semih

    2011-06-01

    Appropriate and repeatable shade matching using visual shade selection remains a challenge for the restorative dentist. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different arrangements of a shade guide on the repeatability and accuracy of visual shade selection by restorative dentists. Three Vitapan Classical shade guides were used for shade selection. Seven shade tabs from one shade guide were used as target shades for the testing (A1, A4, B2, B3, C2, C4, and D3); the other 2 guides were used for shade selection by the subjects. One shade guide was arranged according to hue and chroma and the second was arranged according to value. Thirteen male and 22 female restorative dentists were asked to match the target shades using shade guide tabs arranged in the 2 different orders. The sessions were performed twice with each guide in a viewing booth. Collected data were analyzed with Fisher's exact test to compare the accuracy and repeatability of the shade selection (α=.05). There were no significant differences observed in the accuracy or repeatability of the shade selection results obtained with the 2 different arrangements. When the hue/chroma-ordered shade guide was used, 58% of the shade selections were accurate. This ratio was 57.6% when the value-ordered shade guide was used. The observers repeated 55.5% of the selections accurately with the hue/chroma-ordered shade guide and 54.3% with the value-ordered shade guide. The accuracy and repeatability of shade selections by restorative dentists were similar when different arrangements (hue/chroma-ordered and value-ordered) of the Vitapan Classical shade guide were used. Copyright © 2011 The Editorial Council of the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Coalescence and genetic diversity in sexual populations under selection.

    PubMed

    Neher, Richard A; Kessinger, Taylor A; Shraiman, Boris I

    2013-09-24

    In sexual populations, selection operates neither on the whole genome, which is repeatedly taken apart and reassembled by recombination, nor on individual alleles that are tightly linked to the chromosomal neighborhood. The resulting interference between linked alleles reduces the efficiency of selection and distorts patterns of genetic diversity. Inference of evolutionary history from diversity shaped by linked selection requires an understanding of these patterns. Here, we present a simple but powerful scaling analysis identifying the unit of selection as the genomic "linkage block" with a characteristic length, , determined in a self-consistent manner by the condition that the rate of recombination within the block is comparable to the fitness differences between different alleles of the block. We find that an asexual model with the strength of selection tuned to that of the linkage block provides an excellent description of genetic diversity and the site frequency spectra compared with computer simulations. This linkage block approximation is accurate for the entire spectrum of strength of selection and is particularly powerful in scenarios with many weakly selected loci. The latter limit allows us to characterize coalescence, genetic diversity, and the speed of adaptation in the infinitesimal model of quantitative genetics.

  7. Facilitating the selection and creation of accurate interatomic potentials with robust tools and characterization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trautt, Zachary T.; Tavazza, Francesca; Becker, Chandler A.

    2015-10-01

    The Materials Genome Initiative seeks to significantly decrease the cost and time of development and integration of new materials. Within the domain of atomistic simulations, several roadblocks stand in the way of reaching this goal. While the NIST Interatomic Potentials Repository hosts numerous interatomic potentials (force fields), researchers cannot immediately determine the best choice(s) for their use case. Researchers developing new potentials, specifically those in restricted environments, lack a comprehensive portfolio of efficient tools capable of calculating and archiving the properties of their potentials. This paper elucidates one solution to these problems, which uses Python-based scripts that are suitable for rapid property evaluation and human knowledge transfer. Calculation results are visible on the repository website, which reduces the time required to select an interatomic potential for a specific use case. Furthermore, property evaluation scripts are being integrated with modern platforms to improve discoverability and access of materials property data. To demonstrate these scripts and features, we will discuss the automation of stacking fault energy calculations and their application to additional elements. While the calculation methodology was developed previously, we are using it here as a case study in simulation automation and property calculations. We demonstrate how the use of Python scripts allows for rapid calculation in a more easily managed way where the calculations can be modified, and the results presented in user-friendly and concise ways. Additionally, the methods can be incorporated into other efforts, such as openKIM.

  8. Selecting Feature Subsets Based on SVM-RFE and the Overlapping Ratio with Applications in Bioinformatics.

    PubMed

    Lin, Xiaohui; Li, Chao; Zhang, Yanhui; Su, Benzhe; Fan, Meng; Wei, Hai

    2017-12-26

    Feature selection is an important topic in bioinformatics. Defining informative features from complex high dimensional biological data is critical in disease study, drug development, etc. Support vector machine-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) is an efficient feature selection technique that has shown its power in many applications. It ranks the features according to the recursive feature deletion sequence based on SVM. In this study, we propose a method, SVM-RFE-OA, which combines the classification accuracy rate and the average overlapping ratio of the samples to determine the number of features to be selected from the feature rank of SVM-RFE. Meanwhile, to measure the feature weights more accurately, we propose a modified SVM-RFE-OA (M-SVM-RFE-OA) algorithm that temporally screens out the samples lying in a heavy overlapping area in each iteration. The experiments on the eight public biological datasets show that the discriminative ability of the feature subset could be measured more accurately by combining the classification accuracy rate with the average overlapping degree of the samples compared with using the classification accuracy rate alone, and shielding the samples in the overlapping area made the calculation of the feature weights more stable and accurate. The methods proposed in this study can also be used with other RFE techniques to define potential biomarkers from big biological data.

  9. Thermophysical Properties of Cold and Vacuum Plasma Sprayed Cu-Cr-X Alloys, NiAl and NiCrAlY Coatings. Part 1; Electrical and Thermal Conductivity, Thermal Diffusivity, and Total Hemispherical Emissivity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Raj, S. V.

    2017-01-01

    This two-part paper reports the thermophysical properties of several cold and vacuum plasma sprayed monolithic Cu and Ni-based alloy coatings. Part I presents the electrical and thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and total hemispherical emissivity data while Part II reports the specific heat capacity data for these coatings. Metallic copper alloys, stoichiometric NiAl and NiCrAlY coatings were fabricated by either the cold sprayed or the vacuum plasma spray deposition processes for thermal property measurements between 77 and 1223 K. The temperature dependencies of the thermal conductivities, thermal diffusivities, electrical conductivities and total hemispherical emissivities of these cold and vacuum sprayed monolithic coatings are reported in this paper. The electrical and thermal conductivity data correlate reasonably well for Cu-8%Cr-1%Al, Cu-23%Cr-5%Al and NiAl in accordance with the Wiedemann-Franz (WF) law although a better fit is obtained using the Smith-Palmer relationship. The Lorentz numbers determined from the WF law are close to the theoretical value.

  10. Thermophysical Characterization of MgCl₂·6H₂O, Xylitol and Erythritol as Phase Change Materials (PCM) for Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage (LHTES).

    PubMed

    Höhlein, Stephan; König-Haagen, Andreas; Brüggemann, Dieter

    2017-04-24

    The application range of existing real scale mobile thermal storage units with phase change materials (PCM) is restricted by the low phase change temperature of 58 ∘ C for sodium acetate trihydrate, which is a commonly used storage material. Therefore, only low temperature heat sinks like swimming pools or greenhouses can be supplied. With increasing phase change temperatures, more applications like domestic heating or industrial process heat could be operated. The aim of this study is to find alternative PCM with phase change temperatures between 90 and 150 ∘ C . Temperature dependent thermophysical properties like phase change temperatures and enthalpies, densities and thermal diffusivities are measured for the technical grade purity materials xylitol (C 5 H 12 O 5 ), erythritol (C 4 H 10 O 4 ) and magnesiumchloride hexahydrate (MCHH, MgCl 2 · 6H 2 O). The sugar alcohols xylitol and erythritol indicate a large supercooling and different melting regimes. The salt hydrate MgCl 2 · 6H 2 O seems to be a suitable candidate for practical applications. It has a melting temperature of 115.1 ± 0.1 ∘ C and a phase change enthalpy of 166.9 ± 1.2 J / g with only 2.8 K supercooling at sample sizes of 100 g . The PCM is stable over 500 repeated melting and solidification cycles at differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) scale with only small changes of the melting enthalpy and temperature.

  11. Enhance the Value of a Research Paper: Choosing the Right References and Writing them Accurately.

    PubMed

    Bavdekar, Sandeep B

    2016-03-01

    References help readers identify and locate sources used for justifying the need for conducting the research study, verify methods employed in the study and for discussing the interpretation of results and implications of the study. It is extremely essential that references are accurate and complete. This article provides suggestions regarding choosing references and writing reference list. References are a list of sources that are selected by authors to represent the best documents concerning the research study.1 They constitute the foundation of any research paper. Although generally written towards the end of the article-writing process, they are nevertheless extremely important. They provide the context for the hypothesis and help justify the need for conducting the research study. Authors use references to inform readers about the techniques used for conducting the study and convince them about the appropriateness of methodology used. References help provide appropriate perspective in which the research findings should be seen and interpreted. This communication will discuss the purpose of citations, how to select quality sources for citing and the importance of accuracy while writing the reference list. © Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 2011.

  12. Spatial Mutual Information Based Hyperspectral Band Selection for Classification

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    The amount of information involved in hyperspectral imaging is large. Hyperspectral band selection is a popular method for reducing dimensionality. Several information based measures such as mutual information have been proposed to reduce information redundancy among spectral bands. Unfortunately, mutual information does not take into account the spatial dependency between adjacent pixels in images thus reducing its robustness as a similarity measure. In this paper, we propose a new band selection method based on spatial mutual information. As validation criteria, a supervised classification method using support vector machine (SVM) is used. Experimental results of the classification of hyperspectral datasets show that the proposed method can achieve more accurate results. PMID:25918742

  13. Accurate radiative transfer calculations for layered media.

    PubMed

    Selden, Adrian C

    2016-07-01

    Simple yet accurate results for radiative transfer in layered media with discontinuous refractive index are obtained by the method of K-integrals. These are certain weighted integrals applied to the angular intensity distribution at the refracting boundaries. The radiative intensity is expressed as the sum of the asymptotic angular intensity distribution valid in the depth of the scattering medium and a transient term valid near the boundary. Integrated boundary equations are obtained, yielding simple linear equations for the intensity coefficients, enabling the angular emission intensity and the diffuse reflectance (albedo) and transmittance of the scattering layer to be calculated without solving the radiative transfer equation directly. Examples are given of half-space, slab, interface, and double-layer calculations, and extensions to multilayer systems are indicated. The K-integral method is orders of magnitude more accurate than diffusion theory and can be applied to layered scattering media with a wide range of scattering albedos, with potential applications to biomedical and ocean optics.

  14. Are Registration of Disease Codes for Adult Anaphylaxis Accurate in the Emergency Department?

    PubMed Central

    Choi, Byungho; Lee, Hyeji

    2018-01-01

    Purpose There has been active research on anaphylaxis, but many study subjects are limited to patients registered with anaphylaxis codes. However, anaphylaxis codes tend to be underused. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of anaphylaxis code registration and the clinical characteristics of accurate and inaccurate anaphylaxis registration in anaphylactic patients. Methods This retrospective study evaluated the medical records of adult patients who visited the university hospital emergency department between 2012 and 2016. The study subjects were divided into the groups with accurate and inaccurate anaphylaxis codes registered under anaphylaxis and other allergy-related codes and symptom-related codes, respectively. Results Among 211,486 patients, 618 (0.29%) had anaphylaxis. Of these, 161 and 457 were assigned to the accurate and inaccurate coding groups, respectively. The average age, transportation to the emergency department, past anaphylaxis history, cancer history, and the cause of anaphylaxis differed between the 2 groups. Cutaneous symptom manifested more frequently in the inaccurate coding group, while cardiovascular and neurologic symptoms were more frequently observed in the accurate group. Severe symptoms and non-alert consciousness were more common in the accurate group. Oxygen supply, intubation, and epinephrine were more commonly used as treatments for anaphylaxis in the accurate group. Anaphylactic patients with cardiovascular symptoms, severe symptoms, and epinephrine use were more likely to be accurately registered with anaphylaxis disease codes. Conclusions In case of anaphylaxis, more patients were registered inaccurately under other allergy-related codes and symptom-related codes rather than accurately under anaphylaxis disease codes. Cardiovascular symptoms, severe symptoms, and epinephrine treatment were factors associated with accurate registration with anaphylaxis disease codes in patients with anaphylaxis. PMID:29411554

  15. Highly accurate quantitative spectroscopy of massive stars in the Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nieva, María-Fernanda; Przybilla, Norbert

    2017-11-01

    Achieving high accuracy and precision in stellar parameter and chemical composition determinations is challenging in massive star spectroscopy. On one hand, the target selection for an unbiased sample build-up is complicated by several types of peculiarities that can occur in individual objects. On the other hand, composite spectra are often not recognized as such even at medium-high spectral resolution and typical signal-to-noise ratios, despite multiplicity among massive stars is widespread. In particular, surveys that produce large amounts of automatically reduced data are prone to oversight of details that turn hazardous for the analysis with techniques that have been developed for a set of standard assumptions applicable to a spectrum of a single star. Much larger systematic errors than anticipated may therefore result because of the unrecognized true nature of the investigated objects, or much smaller sample sizes of objects for the analysis than initially planned, if recognized. More factors to be taken care of are the multiple steps from the choice of instrument over the details of the data reduction chain to the choice of modelling code, input data, analysis technique and the selection of the spectral lines to be analyzed. Only when avoiding all the possible pitfalls, a precise and accurate characterization of the stars in terms of fundamental parameters and chemical fingerprints can be achieved that form the basis for further investigations regarding e.g. stellar structure and evolution or the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. The scope of the present work is to provide the massive star and also other astrophysical communities with criteria to evaluate the quality of spectroscopic investigations of massive stars before interpreting them in a broader context. The discussion is guided by our experiences made in the course of over a decade of studies of massive star spectroscopy ranging from the simplest single objects to multiple systems.

  16. A performance analysis in AF full duplex relay selection network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ngoc, Long Nguyen; Hong, Nhu Nguyen; Loan, Nguyen Thi Phuong; Kieu, Tam Nguyen; Voznak, Miroslav; Zdralek, Jaroslav

    2018-04-01

    This paper studies on the relaying selective matter in amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperation communication with full-duplex (FD) activity. Various relay choice models supposing the present of different instant information are investigated. We examine a maximal relaying choice that optimizes the instant FD channel capacity and asks for global channel state information (CSI) as well as partial CSI learning. To make comparison easy, accurate outage probability clauses and asymptote form of these strategies that give a diversity rank are extracted. From that, we can see clearly that the number of relays, noise factor, the transmittance coefficient as well as the information transfer power had impacted on their performance. Besides, the optimal relay selection (ORS) model can promote than that of the partial relay selection (PRS) model.

  17. On accurate determination of contact angle

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Concus, P.; Finn, R.

    1992-01-01

    Methods are proposed that exploit a microgravity environment to obtain highly accurate measurement of contact angle. These methods, which are based on our earlier mathematical results, do not require detailed measurement of a liquid free-surface, as they incorporate discontinuous or nearly-discontinuous behavior of the liquid bulk in certain container geometries. Physical testing is planned in the forthcoming IML-2 space flight and in related preparatory ground-based experiments.

  18. Accurate thermoelastic tensor and acoustic velocities of NaCl

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Marcondes, Michel L., E-mail: michel@if.usp.br; Chemical Engineering and Material Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 55455; Shukla, Gaurav, E-mail: shukla@physics.umn.edu

    Despite the importance of thermoelastic properties of minerals in geology and geophysics, their measurement at high pressures and temperatures are still challenging. Thus, ab initio calculations are an essential tool for predicting these properties at extreme conditions. Owing to the approximate description of the exchange-correlation energy, approximations used in calculations of vibrational effects, and numerical/methodological approximations, these methods produce systematic deviations. Hybrid schemes combining experimental data and theoretical results have emerged as a way to reconcile available information and offer more reliable predictions at experimentally inaccessible thermodynamics conditions. Here we introduce a method to improve the calculated thermoelastic tensor bymore » using highly accurate thermal equation of state (EoS). The corrective scheme is general, applicable to crystalline solids with any symmetry, and can produce accurate results at conditions where experimental data may not exist. We apply it to rock-salt-type NaCl, a material whose structural properties have been challenging to describe accurately by standard ab initio methods and whose acoustic/seismic properties are important for the gas and oil industry.« less

  19. Accurate and Inaccurate Conceptions about Osmosis That Accompanied Meaningful Problem Solving.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zuckerman, June Trop

    This study focused on the knowledge of six outstanding science students who solved an osmosis problem meaningfully. That is, they used appropriate and substantially accurate conceptual knowledge to generate an answer. Three generated a correct answer; three, an incorrect answer. This paper identifies both the accurate and inaccurate conceptions…

  20. The selected reaction monitoring/multiple reaction monitoring-based mass spectrometry approach for the accurate quantitation of proteins: clinical applications in the cardiovascular diseases.

    PubMed

    Gianazza, Erica; Tremoli, Elena; Banfi, Cristina

    2014-12-01

    Selected reaction monitoring, also known as multiple reaction monitoring, is a powerful targeted mass spectrometry approach for a confident quantitation of proteins/peptides in complex biological samples. In recent years, its optimization and application have become pivotal and of great interest in clinical research to derive useful outcomes for patient care. Thus, selected reaction monitoring/multiple reaction monitoring is now used as a highly sensitive and selective method for the evaluation of protein abundances and biomarker verification with potential applications in medical screening. This review describes technical aspects for the development of a robust multiplex assay and discussing its recent applications in cardiovascular proteomics: verification of promising disease candidates to select only the highest quality peptides/proteins for a preclinical validation, as well as quantitation of protein isoforms and post-translational modifications.

  1. Selection of actuator locations for static shape control of large space structures by heuristic integer programing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Haftka, R. T.; Adelman, H. M.

    1984-01-01

    Orbiting spacecraft such as large space antennas have to maintain a highly accurate space to operate satisfactorily. Such structures require active and passive controls to mantain an accurate shape under a variety of disturbances. Methods for the optimum placement of control actuators for correcting static deformations are described. In particular, attention is focused on the case were control locations have to be selected from a large set of available sites, so that integer programing methods are called for. The effectiveness of three heuristic techniques for obtaining a near-optimal site selection is compared. In addition, efficient reanalysis techniques for the rapid assessment of control effectiveness are presented. Two examples are used to demonstrate the methods: a simple beam structure and a 55m space-truss-parabolic antenna.

  2. Multi-task feature selection in microarray data by binary integer programming.

    PubMed

    Lan, Liang; Vucetic, Slobodan

    2013-12-20

    A major challenge in microarray classification is that the number of features is typically orders of magnitude larger than the number of examples. In this paper, we propose a novel feature filter algorithm to select the feature subset with maximal discriminative power and minimal redundancy by solving a quadratic objective function with binary integer constraints. To improve the computational efficiency, the binary integer constraints are relaxed and a low-rank approximation to the quadratic term is applied. The proposed feature selection algorithm was extended to solve multi-task microarray classification problems. We compared the single-task version of the proposed feature selection algorithm with 9 existing feature selection methods on 4 benchmark microarray data sets. The empirical results show that the proposed method achieved the most accurate predictions overall. We also evaluated the multi-task version of the proposed algorithm on 8 multi-task microarray datasets. The multi-task feature selection algorithm resulted in significantly higher accuracy than when using the single-task feature selection methods.

  3. Mining method selection by integrated AHP and PROMETHEE method.

    PubMed

    Bogdanovic, Dejan; Nikolic, Djordje; Ilic, Ivana

    2012-03-01

    Selecting the best mining method among many alternatives is a multicriteria decision making problem. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the implementation of an integrated approach that employs AHP and PROMETHEE together for selecting the most suitable mining method for the "Coka Marin" underground mine in Serbia. The related problem includes five possible mining methods and eleven criteria to evaluate them. Criteria are accurately chosen in order to cover the most important parameters that impact on the mining method selection, such as geological and geotechnical properties, economic parameters and geographical factors. The AHP is used to analyze the structure of the mining method selection problem and to determine weights of the criteria, and PROMETHEE method is used to obtain the final ranking and to make a sensitivity analysis by changing the weights. The results have shown that the proposed integrated method can be successfully used in solving mining engineering problems.

  4. Highly accurate nephelometric titrimetry.

    PubMed

    Zhan, Xiancheng; Li, Chengrong; Li, Zhiyi; Yang, Xiucen; Zhong, Shuguang; Yi, Tao

    2004-02-01

    A method that accurately indicates the end-point of precipitation reactions by the measurement of the relative intensity of the scattered light in the titrate is presented. A new nephelometric titrator with an internal nephelometric sensor has been devised. The work of the titrator including the sensor and change in the turbidity of the titrate and intensity of the scattered light are described. The accuracy of the nephelometric titrimetry is discussed theoretically. The titration of NaCl with AgNO(3) serves as a model. A relative error as well as deviation is within 0.2% under the experimental conditions. The applicability of the titrimetry in pharmaceutical analyses, for example, phenytoin sodium and procaine hydrochloride, is generally illustrated. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association

  5. Accurate vehicle classification including motorcycles using piezoelectric sensors.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-03-01

    State and federal departments of transportation are charged with classifying vehicles and monitoring mileage traveled. Accurate data reporting enables suitable roadway design for safety and capacity. Vehicle classifiers currently employ inductive loo...

  6. Time-Accurate Numerical Simulations of Synthetic Jet Quiescent Air

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rupesh, K-A. B.; Ravi, B. R.; Mittal, R.; Raju, R.; Gallas, Q.; Cattafesta, L.

    2007-01-01

    The unsteady evolution of three-dimensional synthetic jet into quiescent air is studied by time-accurate numerical simulations using a second-order accurate mixed explicit-implicit fractional step scheme on Cartesian grids. Both two-dimensional and three-dimensional calculations of synthetic jet are carried out at a Reynolds number (based on average velocity during the discharge phase of the cycle V(sub j), and jet width d) of 750 and Stokes number of 17.02. The results obtained are assessed against PIV and hotwire measurements provided for the NASA LaRC workshop on CFD validation of synthetic jets.

  7. High accurate time system of the Low Latitude Meridian Circle.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Jing; Wang, Feng; Li, Zhiming

    In order to obtain the high accurate time signal for the Low Latitude Meridian Circle (LLMC), a new GPS accurate time system is developed which include GPS, 1 MC frequency source and self-made clock system. The second signal of GPS is synchronously used in the clock system and information can be collected by a computer automatically. The difficulty of the cancellation of the time keeper can be overcomed by using this system.

  8. A Comparative Analysis of Selected Mechanical Aspects of the Ice Skating Stride.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marino, G. Wayne

    This study quantitatively analyzes selected aspects of the skating strides of above-average and below-average ability skaters. Subproblems were to determine how stride length and stride rate are affected by changes in skating velocity, to ascertain whether the basic assumption that stride length accurately approximates horizontal movement of the…

  9. Single-cell entropy for accurate estimation of differentiation potency from a cell's transcriptome

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Teschendorff, Andrew E.; Enver, Tariq

    2017-06-01

    The ability to quantify differentiation potential of single cells is a task of critical importance. Here we demonstrate, using over 7,000 single-cell RNA-Seq profiles, that differentiation potency of a single cell can be approximated by computing the signalling promiscuity, or entropy, of a cell's transcriptome in the context of an interaction network, without the need for feature selection. We show that signalling entropy provides a more accurate and robust potency estimate than other entropy-based measures, driven in part by a subtle positive correlation between the transcriptome and connectome. Signalling entropy identifies known cell subpopulations of varying potency and drug resistant cancer stem-cell phenotypes, including those derived from circulating tumour cells. It further reveals that expression heterogeneity within single-cell populations is regulated. In summary, signalling entropy allows in silico estimation of the differentiation potency and plasticity of single cells and bulk samples, providing a means to identify normal and cancer stem-cell phenotypes.

  10. Single-cell entropy for accurate estimation of differentiation potency from a cell's transcriptome

    PubMed Central

    Teschendorff, Andrew E.; Enver, Tariq

    2017-01-01

    The ability to quantify differentiation potential of single cells is a task of critical importance. Here we demonstrate, using over 7,000 single-cell RNA-Seq profiles, that differentiation potency of a single cell can be approximated by computing the signalling promiscuity, or entropy, of a cell's transcriptome in the context of an interaction network, without the need for feature selection. We show that signalling entropy provides a more accurate and robust potency estimate than other entropy-based measures, driven in part by a subtle positive correlation between the transcriptome and connectome. Signalling entropy identifies known cell subpopulations of varying potency and drug resistant cancer stem-cell phenotypes, including those derived from circulating tumour cells. It further reveals that expression heterogeneity within single-cell populations is regulated. In summary, signalling entropy allows in silico estimation of the differentiation potency and plasticity of single cells and bulk samples, providing a means to identify normal and cancer stem-cell phenotypes. PMID:28569836

  11. A high order accurate finite element algorithm for high Reynolds number flow prediction

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baker, A. J.

    1978-01-01

    A Galerkin-weighted residuals formulation is employed to establish an implicit finite element solution algorithm for generally nonlinear initial-boundary value problems. Solution accuracy, and convergence rate with discretization refinement, are quantized in several error norms, by a systematic study of numerical solutions to several nonlinear parabolic and a hyperbolic partial differential equation characteristic of the equations governing fluid flows. Solutions are generated using selective linear, quadratic and cubic basis functions. Richardson extrapolation is employed to generate a higher-order accurate solution to facilitate isolation of truncation error in all norms. Extension of the mathematical theory underlying accuracy and convergence concepts for linear elliptic equations is predicted for equations characteristic of laminar and turbulent fluid flows at nonmodest Reynolds number. The nondiagonal initial-value matrix structure introduced by the finite element theory is determined intrinsic to improved solution accuracy and convergence. A factored Jacobian iteration algorithm is derived and evaluated to yield a consequential reduction in both computer storage and execution CPU requirements while retaining solution accuracy.

  12. Controlling Hay Fever Symptoms with Accurate Pollen Counts

    MedlinePlus

    ... counts Share | Controlling Hay Fever Symptoms with Accurate Pollen Counts Seasonal allergic rhinitis known as hay fever is ... hay fever symptoms, it is important to monitor pollen counts so you can limit your exposure on days ...

  13. [Study on Accurately Controlling Discharge Energy Method Used in External Defibrillator].

    PubMed

    Song, Biao; Wang, Jianfei; Jin, Lian; Wu, Xiaomei

    2016-01-01

    This paper introduces a new method which controls discharge energy accurately. It is achieved by calculating target voltage based on transthoracic impedance and accurately controlling charging voltage and discharge pulse width. A new defibrillator is designed and programmed using this method. The test results show that this method is valid and applicable to all kinds of external defibrillators.

  14. New Solar PV Tool Accurately Calculates Degradation Rates, Saving Money and

    Science.gov Websites

    Guiding Business Decisions | News | NREL New Solar PV Tool Accurately Calculates Degradation Rates, Saving Money and Guiding Business Decisions News Release: New Solar PV Tool Accurately Calculates ; said Dirk Jordan, engineer and solar PV researcher at NREL. "We spent years building consensus in

  15. Accurate upwind methods for the Euler equations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huynh, Hung T.

    1993-01-01

    A new class of piecewise linear methods for the numerical solution of the one-dimensional Euler equations of gas dynamics is presented. These methods are uniformly second-order accurate, and can be considered as extensions of Godunov's scheme. With an appropriate definition of monotonicity preservation for the case of linear convection, it can be shown that they preserve monotonicity. Similar to Van Leer's MUSCL scheme, they consist of two key steps: a reconstruction step followed by an upwind step. For the reconstruction step, a monotonicity constraint that preserves uniform second-order accuracy is introduced. Computational efficiency is enhanced by devising a criterion that detects the 'smooth' part of the data where the constraint is redundant. The concept and coding of the constraint are simplified by the use of the median function. A slope steepening technique, which has no effect at smooth regions and can resolve a contact discontinuity in four cells, is described. As for the upwind step, existing and new methods are applied in a manner slightly different from those in the literature. These methods are derived by approximating the Euler equations via linearization and diagonalization. At a 'smooth' interface, Harten, Lax, and Van Leer's one intermediate state model is employed. A modification for this model that can resolve contact discontinuities is presented. Near a discontinuity, either this modified model or a more accurate one, namely, Roe's flux-difference splitting. is used. The current presentation of Roe's method, via the conceptually simple flux-vector splitting, not only establishes a connection between the two splittings, but also leads to an admissibility correction with no conditional statement, and an efficient approximation to Osher's approximate Riemann solver. These reconstruction and upwind steps result in schemes that are uniformly second-order accurate and economical at smooth regions, and yield high resolution at discontinuities.

  16. Estimated Rock Abundance and Thermophysical Parameters in Oppenheimer Crater on the Moon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bauch, Karin E.; Hiesinger, Harald; Ivanov, Mikhail; van der Bogert, Carolyn H.; Pasckert, Jan-Hendrik; Weinauer, Julia

    2016-04-01

    Oppenheimer crater is located in the north-east of the South Pole-Aitken basin (SPA), the largest impact structure on the Moon [e.g., 1]. The crater is ˜215km in diameter and has an estimated age of ˜4.1 Ga [2]. The floor of Oppenheimer shows evidence of dark mantling deposits and a concentric system of graben structures close to the rim of the crater [3]. Image and topography data show that the floor is flat apart from the graben structures and subsequent impacts on the floor. Oppenheimer-U (˜40km) and -H (˜35km) are floor-fractured craters within the north-west and south-east portions of Oppenheimer crater [3]. Dark mantling deposits on the floor are associated with the graben system. [3] estimated an age between ˜3.98Ga and ˜3.66Ga for the pyroclastic activity, based on crater size-frequency distribution (CSFD) measurements on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) WAC and NAC images. In this study we compare the mapping results of [3] with temperature data of the LRO Diviner experiment [4] using a numerical model [5, 6]. Nighttime temperature variations are directly influenced by the surface and subsurface thermophysical properties, namely bulk density, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity [7, 8]. These properties can be summarized to a thermal inertia, which represents the ability to conduct and store heat [8]. Low thermal inertia units, such as dust and other fine grained material, quickly respond to temperature changes, which results in large temperature amplitudes between the lunar day and night. On the other hand, high thermal inertia material, e.g. rocks or bedrock, take more time to heat up during the day and reradiate the heat during the night [8]. Relative rock abundances are derived from temperature measurements of the same location at different wavelengths. Brightness temperatures are a function of wavelength and increase with decreasing wavelength [9, 10]. This nonlinearity of the Planck radiance can be used to determine the amount of

  17. Genes and Junk in Plant Mitochondria—Repair Mechanisms and Selection

    PubMed Central

    Christensen, Alan C.

    2014-01-01

    Plant mitochondrial genomes have very low mutation rates. In contrast, they also rearrange and expand frequently. This is easily understood if DNA repair in genes is accomplished by accurate mechanisms, whereas less accurate mechanisms including nonhomologous end joining or break-induced replication are used in nongenes. An important question is how different mechanisms of repair predominate in coding and noncoding DNA, although one possible mechanism is transcription-coupled repair (TCR). This work tests the predictions of TCR and finds no support for it. Examination of the mutation spectra and rates in genes and junk reveals what DNA repair mechanisms are available to plant mitochondria, and what selective forces act on the repair products. A model is proposed that mismatches and other DNA damages are repaired by converting them into double-strand breaks (DSBs). These can then be repaired by any of the DSB repair mechanisms, both accurate and inaccurate. Natural selection will eliminate coding regions repaired by inaccurate mechanisms, accounting for the low mutation rates in genes, whereas mutations, rearrangements, and expansions generated by inaccurate repair in noncoding regions will persist. Support for this model includes the structure of the mitochondrial mutS homolog in plants, which is fused to a double-strand endonuclease. The model proposes that plant mitochondria do not distinguish a damaged or mismatched DNA strand from the undamaged strand, they simply cut both strands and perform homology-based DSB repair. This plant-specific strategy for protecting future generations from mitochondrial DNA damage has the side effect of genome expansions and rearrangements. PMID:24904012

  18. Integration trumps selection in object recognition.

    PubMed

    Saarela, Toni P; Landy, Michael S

    2015-03-30

    Finding and recognizing objects is a fundamental task of vision. Objects can be defined by several "cues" (color, luminance, texture, etc.), and humans can integrate sensory cues to improve detection and recognition [1-3]. Cortical mechanisms fuse information from multiple cues [4], and shape-selective neural mechanisms can display cue invariance by responding to a given shape independent of the visual cue defining it [5-8]. Selective attention, in contrast, improves recognition by isolating a subset of the visual information [9]. Humans can select single features (red or vertical) within a perceptual dimension (color or orientation), giving faster and more accurate responses to items having the attended feature [10, 11]. Attention elevates neural responses and sharpens neural tuning to the attended feature, as shown by studies in psychophysics and modeling [11, 12], imaging [13-16], and single-cell and neural population recordings [17, 18]. Besides single features, attention can select whole objects [19-21]. Objects are among the suggested "units" of attention because attention to a single feature of an object causes the selection of all of its features [19-21]. Here, we pit integration against attentional selection in object recognition. We find, first, that humans can integrate information near optimally from several perceptual dimensions (color, texture, luminance) to improve recognition. They cannot, however, isolate a single dimension even when the other dimensions provide task-irrelevant, potentially conflicting information. For object recognition, it appears that there is mandatory integration of information from multiple dimensions of visual experience. The advantage afforded by this integration, however, comes at the expense of attentional selection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Integration trumps selection in object recognition

    PubMed Central

    Saarela, Toni P.; Landy, Michael S.

    2015-01-01

    Summary Finding and recognizing objects is a fundamental task of vision. Objects can be defined by several “cues” (color, luminance, texture etc.), and humans can integrate sensory cues to improve detection and recognition [1–3]. Cortical mechanisms fuse information from multiple cues [4], and shape-selective neural mechanisms can display cue-invariance by responding to a given shape independent of the visual cue defining it [5–8]. Selective attention, in contrast, improves recognition by isolating a subset of the visual information [9]. Humans can select single features (red or vertical) within a perceptual dimension (color or orientation), giving faster and more accurate responses to items having the attended feature [10,11]. Attention elevates neural responses and sharpens neural tuning to the attended feature, as shown by studies in psychophysics and modeling [11,12], imaging [13–16], and single-cell and neural population recordings [17,18]. Besides single features, attention can select whole objects [19–21]. Objects are among the suggested “units” of attention because attention to a single feature of an object causes the selection of all of its features [19–21]. Here, we pit integration against attentional selection in object recognition. We find, first, that humans can integrate information near-optimally from several perceptual dimensions (color, texture, luminance) to improve recognition. They cannot, however, isolate a single dimension even when the other dimensions provide task-irrelevant, potentially conflicting information. For object recognition, it appears that there is mandatory integration of information from multiple dimensions of visual experience. The advantage afforded by this integration, however, comes at the expense of attentional selection. PMID:25802154

  20. Accurate force field for molybdenum by machine learning large materials data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Chi; Deng, Zhi; Tran, Richard; Tang, Hanmei; Chu, Iek-Heng; Ong, Shyue Ping

    2017-09-01

    In this work, we present a highly accurate spectral neighbor analysis potential (SNAP) model for molybdenum (Mo) developed through the rigorous application of machine learning techniques on large materials data sets. Despite Mo's importance as a structural metal, existing force fields for Mo based on the embedded atom and modified embedded atom methods do not provide satisfactory accuracy on many properties. We will show that by fitting to the energies, forces, and stress tensors of a large density functional theory (DFT)-computed dataset on a diverse set of Mo structures, a Mo SNAP model can be developed that achieves close to DFT accuracy in the prediction of a broad range of properties, including elastic constants, melting point, phonon spectra, surface energies, grain boundary energies, etc. We will outline a systematic model development process, which includes a rigorous approach to structural selection based on principal component analysis, as well as a differential evolution algorithm for optimizing the hyperparameters in the model fitting so that both the model error and the property prediction error can be simultaneously lowered. We expect that this newly developed Mo SNAP model will find broad applications in large and long-time scale simulations.

  1. Reference Genes for Accurate Transcript Normalization in Citrus Genotypes under Different Experimental Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Mafra, Valéria; Kubo, Karen S.; Alves-Ferreira, Marcio; Ribeiro-Alves, Marcelo; Stuart, Rodrigo M.; Boava, Leonardo P.; Rodrigues, Carolina M.; Machado, Marcos A.

    2012-01-01

    Real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) has emerged as an accurate and widely used technique for expression profiling of selected genes. However, obtaining reliable measurements depends on the selection of appropriate reference genes for gene expression normalization. The aim of this work was to assess the expression stability of 15 candidate genes to determine which set of reference genes is best suited for transcript normalization in citrus in different tissues and organs and leaves challenged with five pathogens (Alternaria alternata, Phytophthora parasitica, Xylella fastidiosa and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus). We tested traditional genes used for transcript normalization in citrus and orthologs of Arabidopsis thaliana genes described as superior reference genes based on transcriptome data. geNorm and NormFinder algorithms were used to find the best reference genes to normalize all samples and conditions tested. Additionally, each biotic stress was individually analyzed by geNorm. In general, FBOX (encoding a member of the F-box family) and GAPC2 (GAPDH) was the most stable candidate gene set assessed under the different conditions and subsets tested, while CYP (cyclophilin), TUB (tubulin) and CtP (cathepsin) were the least stably expressed genes found. Validation of the best suitable reference genes for normalizing the expression level of the WRKY70 transcription factor in leaves infected with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus showed that arbitrary use of reference genes without previous testing could lead to misinterpretation of data. Our results revealed FBOX, SAND (a SAND family protein), GAPC2 and UPL7 (ubiquitin protein ligase 7) to be superior reference genes, and we recommend their use in studies of gene expression in citrus species and relatives. This work constitutes the first systematic analysis for the selection of superior reference genes for transcript normalization in different citrus organs and under biotic stress. PMID:22347455

  2. Accurate monitoring leads to effective control and greater learning of patient education materials.

    PubMed

    Rawson, Katherine A; O'Neil, Rochelle; Dunlosky, John

    2011-09-01

    Effective management of chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes) can depend on the extent to which patients can learn and remember disease-relevant information. In two experiments, we explored a technique motivated by theories of self-regulated learning for improving people's learning of information relevant to managing a chronic disease. Materials were passages from patient education booklets on diabetes from NIDDK. Session 1 included an initial study trial, Session 2 included self-regulated restudy, and Session 3 included a final memory test. The key manipulation concerned the kind of support provided for self-regulated learning during Session 2. In Experiment 1, participants either were prompted to self-test and then evaluate their learning before selecting passages to restudy, were shown the prompt questions but did not overtly self-test or evaluate learning prior to selecting passages, or were not shown any prompts and were simply given the menu for selecting passages to restudy. Participants who self-tested and evaluated learning during Session 2 had a small but significant advantage over the other groups on the final test. Secondary analyses provided evidence that the performance advantage may have been modest because of inaccurate monitoring. Experiment 2 included a group who also self-tested but who evaluated their learning using idea-unit judgments (i.e., by checking their responses against a list of key ideas from the correct response). Participants who self-tested and made idea-unit judgments exhibited a sizable advantage on final test performance. Secondary analyses indicated that the performance advantage was attributable in part to more accurate monitoring and more effective self-regulated learning. An important practical implication is that learning of patient education materials can be enhanced by including appropriate support for learners' self-regulatory processes. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

  3. Improved method for rapid and accurate isolation and identification of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus from human plaque samples.

    PubMed

    Villhauer, Alissa L; Lynch, David J; Drake, David R

    2017-08-01

    Mutans streptococci (MS), specifically Streptococcus mutans (SM) and Streptococcus sobrinus (SS), are bacterial species frequently targeted for investigation due to their role in the etiology of dental caries. Differentiation of S. mutans and S. sobrinus is an essential part of exploring the role of these organisms in disease progression and the impact of the presence of either/both on a subject's caries experience. Of vital importance to the study of these organisms is an identification protocol that allows us to distinguish between the two species in an easy, accurate, and timely manner. While conducting a 5-year birth cohort study in a Northern Plains American Indian tribe, the need for a more rapid procedure for isolating and identifying high volumes of MS was recognized. We report here on the development of an accurate and rapid method for MS identification. Accuracy, ease of use, and material and time requirements for morphological differentiation on selective agar, biochemical tests, and various combinations of PCR primers were compared. The final protocol included preliminary identification based on colony morphology followed by PCR confirmation of species identification using primers targeting regions of the glucosyltransferase (gtf) genes of SM and SS. This method of isolation and identification was found to be highly accurate, more rapid than the previous methodology used, and easily learned. It resulted in more efficient use of both time and material resources. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. A fast algorithm for determining bounds and accurate approximate p-values of the rank product statistic for replicate experiments.

    PubMed

    Heskes, Tom; Eisinga, Rob; Breitling, Rainer

    2014-11-21

    The rank product method is a powerful statistical technique for identifying differentially expressed molecules in replicated experiments. A critical issue in molecule selection is accurate calculation of the p-value of the rank product statistic to adequately address multiple testing. Both exact calculation and permutation and gamma approximations have been proposed to determine molecule-level significance. These current approaches have serious drawbacks as they are either computationally burdensome or provide inaccurate estimates in the tail of the p-value distribution. We derive strict lower and upper bounds to the exact p-value along with an accurate approximation that can be used to assess the significance of the rank product statistic in a computationally fast manner. The bounds and the proposed approximation are shown to provide far better accuracy over existing approximate methods in determining tail probabilities, with the slightly conservative upper bound protecting against false positives. We illustrate the proposed method in the context of a recently published analysis on transcriptomic profiling performed in blood. We provide a method to determine upper bounds and accurate approximate p-values of the rank product statistic. The proposed algorithm provides an order of magnitude increase in throughput as compared with current approaches and offers the opportunity to explore new application domains with even larger multiple testing issue. The R code is published in one of the Additional files and is available at http://www.ru.nl/publish/pages/726696/rankprodbounds.zip .

  5. Discrete sensors distribution for accurate plantar pressure analyses.

    PubMed

    Claverie, Laetitia; Ille, Anne; Moretto, Pierre

    2016-12-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of discrete sensors under the footprint for accurate plantar pressure analyses. For this purpose, two different sensor layouts have been tested and compared, to determine which was the most accurate to monitor plantar pressure with wireless devices in research and/or clinical practice. Ten healthy volunteers participated in the study (age range: 23-58 years). The barycenter of pressures (BoP) determined from the plantar pressure system (W-inshoe®) was compared to the center of pressures (CoP) determined from a force platform (AMTI) in the medial-lateral (ML) and anterior-posterior (AP) directions. Then, the vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) obtained from both W-inshoe® and force platform was compared for both layouts for each subject. The BoP and vGRF determined from the plantar pressure system data showed good correlation (SCC) with those determined from the force platform data, notably for the second sensor organization (ML SCC= 0.95; AP SCC=0.99; vGRF SCC=0.91). The study demonstrates that an adjusted placement of removable sensors is key to accurate plantar pressure analyses. These results are promising for a plantar pressure recording outside clinical or laboratory settings, for long time monitoring, real time feedback or for whatever activity requiring a low-cost system. Copyright © 2016 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Accurate modelling of unsteady flows in collapsible tubes.

    PubMed

    Marchandise, Emilie; Flaud, Patrice

    2010-01-01

    The context of this paper is the development of a general and efficient numerical haemodynamic tool to help clinicians and researchers in understanding of physiological flow phenomena. We propose an accurate one-dimensional Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin (RK-DG) method coupled with lumped parameter models for the boundary conditions. The suggested model has already been successfully applied to haemodynamics in arteries and is now extended for the flow in collapsible tubes such as veins. The main difference with cardiovascular simulations is that the flow may become supercritical and elastic jumps may appear with the numerical consequence that scheme may not remain monotone if no limiting procedure is introduced. We show that our second-order RK-DG method equipped with an approximate Roe's Riemann solver and a slope-limiting procedure allows us to capture elastic jumps accurately. Moreover, this paper demonstrates that the complex physics associated with such flows is more accurately modelled than with traditional methods such as finite difference methods or finite volumes. We present various benchmark problems that show the flexibility and applicability of the numerical method. Our solutions are compared with analytical solutions when they are available and with solutions obtained using other numerical methods. Finally, to illustrate the clinical interest, we study the emptying process in a calf vein squeezed by contracting skeletal muscle in a normal and pathological subject. We compare our results with experimental simulations and discuss the sensitivity to parameters of our model.

  7. Prognostic breast cancer signature identified from 3D culture model accurately predicts clinical outcome across independent datasets

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Martin, Katherine J.; Patrick, Denis R.; Bissell, Mina J.

    2008-10-20

    One of the major tenets in breast cancer research is that early detection is vital for patient survival by increasing treatment options. To that end, we have previously used a novel unsupervised approach to identify a set of genes whose expression predicts prognosis of breast cancer patients. The predictive genes were selected in a well-defined three dimensional (3D) cell culture model of non-malignant human mammary epithelial cell morphogenesis as down-regulated during breast epithelial cell acinar formation and cell cycle arrest. Here we examine the ability of this gene signature (3D-signature) to predict prognosis in three independent breast cancer microarray datasetsmore » having 295, 286, and 118 samples, respectively. Our results show that the 3D-signature accurately predicts prognosis in three unrelated patient datasets. At 10 years, the probability of positive outcome was 52, 51, and 47 percent in the group with a poor-prognosis signature and 91, 75, and 71 percent in the group with a good-prognosis signature for the three datasets, respectively (Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, p<0.05). Hazard ratios for poor outcome were 5.5 (95% CI 3.0 to 12.2, p<0.0001), 2.4 (95% CI 1.6 to 3.6, p<0.0001) and 1.9 (95% CI 1.1 to 3.2, p = 0.016) and remained significant for the two larger datasets when corrected for estrogen receptor (ER) status. Hence the 3D-signature accurately predicts breast cancer outcome in both ER-positive and ER-negative tumors, though individual genes differed in their prognostic ability in the two subtypes. Genes that were prognostic in ER+ patients are AURKA, CEP55, RRM2, EPHA2, FGFBP1, and VRK1, while genes prognostic in ER patients include ACTB, FOXM1 and SERPINE2 (Kaplan-Meier p<0.05). Multivariable Cox regression analysis in the largest dataset showed that the 3D-signature was a strong independent factor in predicting breast cancer outcome. The 3D-signature accurately predicts breast cancer outcome across multiple datasets and holds

  8. Molecular simulation of the thermophysical properties and phase behaviour of impure CO2 relevant to CCS.

    PubMed

    Cresswell, Alexander J; Wheatley, Richard J; Wilkinson, Richard D; Graham, Richard S

    2016-10-20

    Impurities from the CCS chain can greatly influence the physical properties of CO 2 . This has important design, safety and cost implications for the compression, transport and storage of CO 2 . There is an urgent need to understand and predict the properties of impure CO 2 to assist with CCS implementation. However, CCS presents demanding modelling requirements. A suitable model must both accurately and robustly predict CO 2 phase behaviour over a wide range of temperatures and pressures, and maintain that predictive power for CO 2 mixtures with numerous, mutually interacting chemical species. A promising technique to address this task is molecular simulation. It offers a molecular approach, with foundations in firmly established physical principles, along with the potential to predict the wide range of physical properties required for CCS. The quality of predictions from molecular simulation depends on accurate force-fields to describe the interactions between CO 2 and other molecules. Unfortunately, there is currently no universally applicable method to obtain force-fields suitable for molecular simulation. In this paper we present two methods of obtaining force-fields: the first being semi-empirical and the second using ab initio quantum-chemical calculations. In the first approach we optimise the impurity force-field against measurements of the phase and pressure-volume behaviour of CO 2 binary mixtures with N 2 , O 2 , Ar and H 2 . A gradient-free optimiser allows us to use the simulation itself as the underlying model. This leads to accurate and robust predictions under conditions relevant to CCS. In the second approach we use quantum-chemical calculations to produce ab initio evaluations of the interactions between CO 2 and relevant impurities, taking N 2 as an exemplar. We use a modest number of these calculations to train a machine-learning algorithm, known as a Gaussian process, to describe these data. The resulting model is then able to accurately

  9. Mechanism for accurate, protein-assisted DNA annealing by Deinococcus radiodurans DdrB

    PubMed Central

    Sugiman-Marangos, Seiji N.; Weiss, Yoni M.; Junop, Murray S.

    2016-01-01

    Accurate pairing of DNA strands is essential for repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). How cells achieve accurate annealing when large regions of single-strand DNA are unpaired has remained unclear despite many efforts focused on understanding proteins, which mediate this process. Here we report the crystal structure of a single-strand annealing protein [DdrB (DNA damage response B)] in complex with a partially annealed DNA intermediate to 2.2 Å. This structure and supporting biochemical data reveal a mechanism for accurate annealing involving DdrB-mediated proofreading of strand complementarity. DdrB promotes high-fidelity annealing by constraining specific bases from unauthorized association and only releases annealed duplex when bound strands are fully complementary. To our knowledge, this mechanism provides the first understanding for how cells achieve accurate, protein-assisted strand annealing under biological conditions that would otherwise favor misannealing. PMID:27044084

  10. Monitoring circuit accurately measures movement of solenoid valve

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gillett, J. D.

    1966-01-01

    Solenoid operated valve in a control system powered by direct current issued to accurately measure the valve travel. This system is currently in operation with a 28-vdc power system used for control of fluids in liquid rocket motor test facilities.

  11. Analytic theory for the selection of 2-D needle crystal at arbitrary Peclet number

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tanveer, Saleh

    1989-01-01

    An accurate analytic theory is presented for the velocity selection of a two-dimensional needle crystal for arbitrary Peclet number for small values of the surface tension parameter. The velocity selection is caused by the effect of transcendentally small terms which are determined by analytic continuation to the complex plane and analysis of nonlinear equations. The work supports the general conclusion of previous small Peclet number analytical results of other investigators, though there are some discrepancies in details. It also addresses questions raised on the validity of selection theory owing to assumptions made on shape corrections at large distances from the tip.

  12. Stable and accurate methods for identification of water bodies from Landsat series imagery using meta-heuristic algorithms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gamshadzaei, Mohammad Hossein; Rahimzadegan, Majid

    2017-10-01

    Identification of water extents in Landsat images is challenging due to surfaces with similar reflectance to water extents. The objective of this study is to provide stable and accurate methods for identifying water extents in Landsat images based on meta-heuristic algorithms. Then, seven Landsat images were selected from various environmental regions in Iran. Training of the algorithms was performed using 40 water pixels and 40 nonwater pixels in operational land imager images of Chitgar Lake (one of the study regions). Moreover, high-resolution images from Google Earth were digitized to evaluate the results. Two approaches were considered: index-based and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. In the first approach, nine common water spectral indices were investigated. AI algorithms were utilized to acquire coefficients of optimal band combinations to extract water extents. Among the AI algorithms, the artificial neural network algorithm and also the ant colony optimization, genetic algorithm, and particle swarm optimization (PSO) meta-heuristic algorithms were implemented. Index-based methods represented different performances in various regions. Among AI methods, PSO had the best performance with average overall accuracy and kappa coefficient of 93% and 98%, respectively. The results indicated the applicability of acquired band combinations to extract accurately and stably water extents in Landsat imagery.

  13. Wind scatterometry with improved ambiguity selection and rain modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Draper, David Willis

    Although generally accurate, the quality of SeaWinds on QuikSCAT scatterometer ocean vector winds is compromised by certain natural phenomena and retrieval algorithm limitations. This dissertation addresses three main contributors to scatterometer estimate error: poor ambiguity selection, estimate uncertainty at low wind speeds, and rain corruption. A quality assurance (QA) analysis performed on SeaWinds data suggests that about 5% of SeaWinds data contain ambiguity selection errors and that scatterometer estimation error is correlated with low wind speeds and rain events. Ambiguity selection errors are partly due to the "nudging" step (initialization from outside data). A sophisticated new non-nudging ambiguity selection approach produces generally more consistent wind than the nudging method in moderate wind conditions. The non-nudging method selects 93% of the same ambiguities as the nudged data, validating both techniques, and indicating that ambiguity selection can be accomplished without nudging. Variability at low wind speeds is analyzed using tower-mounted scatterometer data. According to theory, below a threshold wind speed, the wind fails to generate the surface roughness necessary for wind measurement. A simple analysis suggests the existence of the threshold in much of the tower-mounted scatterometer data. However, the backscatter does not "go to zero" beneath the threshold in an uncontrolled environment as theory suggests, but rather has a mean drop and higher variability below the threshold. Rain is the largest weather-related contributor to scatterometer error, affecting approximately 4% to 10% of SeaWinds data. A simple model formed via comparison of co-located TRMM PR and SeaWinds measurements characterizes the average effect of rain on SeaWinds backscatter. The model is generally accurate to within 3 dB over the tropics. The rain/wind backscatter model is used to simultaneously retrieve wind and rain from SeaWinds measurements. The simultaneous

  14. How to select a continuous emission monitoring system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Radigan, M.J.

    1994-02-01

    Selecting a continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) involves more than picking an analyzer. Successful CEMS interface sampling and data-management systems to produce accurate, reliable reports required by regulatory agencies. Following objective guidelines removes some of the misery from CEMS shopping. However, prospective CEMS buyers should do their homework and develop well-thought-out, detailed specification for the processes' sampling criteria. Fine tuning the analyzer/data management system can eliminate maintenance costs and keep the facility operating within its permit restrictions.

  15. ASTRAL, DRAGON and SEDAN scores predict stroke outcome more accurately than physicians.

    PubMed

    Ntaios, G; Gioulekas, F; Papavasileiou, V; Strbian, D; Michel, P

    2016-11-01

    ASTRAL, SEDAN and DRAGON scores are three well-validated scores for stroke outcome prediction. Whether these scores predict stroke outcome more accurately compared with physicians interested in stroke was investigated. Physicians interested in stroke were invited to an online anonymous survey to provide outcome estimates in randomly allocated structured scenarios of recent real-life stroke patients. Their estimates were compared to scores' predictions in the same scenarios. An estimate was considered accurate if it was within 95% confidence intervals of actual outcome. In all, 244 participants from 32 different countries responded assessing 720 real scenarios and 2636 outcomes. The majority of physicians' estimates were inaccurate (1422/2636, 53.9%). 400 (56.8%) of physicians' estimates about the percentage probability of 3-month modified Rankin score (mRS) > 2 were accurate compared with 609 (86.5%) of ASTRAL score estimates (P < 0.0001). 394 (61.2%) of physicians' estimates about the percentage probability of post-thrombolysis symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage were accurate compared with 583 (90.5%) of SEDAN score estimates (P < 0.0001). 160 (24.8%) of physicians' estimates about post-thrombolysis 3-month percentage probability of mRS 0-2 were accurate compared with 240 (37.3%) DRAGON score estimates (P < 0.0001). 260 (40.4%) of physicians' estimates about the percentage probability of post-thrombolysis mRS 5-6 were accurate compared with 518 (80.4%) DRAGON score estimates (P < 0.0001). ASTRAL, DRAGON and SEDAN scores predict outcome of acute ischaemic stroke patients with higher accuracy compared to physicians interested in stroke. © 2016 EAN.

  16. Efficient Training of Supervised Spiking Neural Network via Accurate Synaptic-Efficiency Adjustment Method.

    PubMed

    Xie, Xiurui; Qu, Hong; Yi, Zhang; Kurths, Jurgen

    2017-06-01

    The spiking neural network (SNN) is the third generation of neural networks and performs remarkably well in cognitive tasks, such as pattern recognition. The temporal neural encode mechanism found in biological hippocampus enables SNN to possess more powerful computation capability than networks with other encoding schemes. However, this temporal encoding approach requires neurons to process information serially on time, which reduces learning efficiency significantly. To keep the powerful computation capability of the temporal encoding mechanism and to overcome its low efficiency in the training of SNNs, a new training algorithm, the accurate synaptic-efficiency adjustment method is proposed in this paper. Inspired by the selective attention mechanism of the primate visual system, our algorithm selects only the target spike time as attention areas, and ignores voltage states of the untarget ones, resulting in a significant reduction of training time. Besides, our algorithm employs a cost function based on the voltage difference between the potential of the output neuron and the firing threshold of the SNN, instead of the traditional precise firing time distance. A normalized spike-timing-dependent-plasticity learning window is applied to assigning this error to different synapses for instructing their training. Comprehensive simulations are conducted to investigate the learning properties of our algorithm, with input neurons emitting both single spike and multiple spikes. Simulation results indicate that our algorithm possesses higher learning performance than the existing other methods and achieves the state-of-the-art efficiency in the training of SNN.

  17. Small Bodies: Near and Far (SBNAF)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duffard, Rene; Mueller, Thomas G.; Marciniak, Anna; Santana-Ros, Toni; Ortiz, Jose-Luis; Santos-Sanz, Pablo; Estela, Fernandez-Valenzuela; Kiss, Csaba; Erika, Verebelyi; Bartczak, Przemyslaw; Magda, Butkiewicz-Bak; Dudziński, Grzegorz; Robert, Szakáts; Farkas Aniko, Takácsné

    2016-10-01

    We conduct an EU Horizon2020-funded benchmark study (2016-2019) that addresses critical points in reconstructing physical and thermal properties of near-Earth, main-belt, and trans-Neptunian objects. The combination of the visual and thermal data from the ground andfrom astrophysics missions (like Herschel, Spitzer and Akari) is key to improving the scientific understanding of these objects. The development of new tools will be crucial for the interpretation of much larger data sets from WISE, Gaia, JWST, or NEOShield-2, but also for the operations and scientific exploitation of the Hayabusa-2 mission. Our approach is to combine different methods and techniques to get full information on selected bodies: lightcurve inversion, stellar occultations, thermo-physical modeling, radiometric methods, radar ranging and adaptive optics imaging. The applications to objects with ground-truth information from interplanetary missions Hayabusa, NEAR-Shoemaker, Rosetta, and DAWN allows us to advance the techniques beyond the current state-of-the-art and to assess the limitations of each method.The SBNAF project will derive size, spin and shape, thermal inertia, surface roughness, and in some cases even internal structure and composition, out to the most distant objects in the Solar System. Another important aim is to build accurate thermo-physical asteroid modelsto establish new primary and secondary celestial calibrators for ALMA, SOFIA, APEX, and IRAM, as well as to provide a link to the high-quality calibration standards of Herschel and Planck.The target list comprises recent interplanetary mission targets, two samples of main-beltobjects, representatives of the Trojan and Centaur populations, and all known dwarf planets (and candidates) beyond Neptune. Our team combines world- leading expertise in different scientific areas in a new European partnership with a high synergy potential in the field ofsmall body and dwarf planet characterization, related to astrophysics, Earth

  18. Reducing Wrong Patient Selection Errors: Exploring the Design Space of User Interface Techniques

    PubMed Central

    Sopan, Awalin; Plaisant, Catherine; Powsner, Seth; Shneiderman, Ben

    2014-01-01

    Wrong patient selection errors are a major issue for patient safety; from ordering medication to performing surgery, the stakes are high. Widespread adoption of Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) systems makes patient selection using a computer screen a frequent task for clinicians. Careful design of the user interface can help mitigate the problem by helping providers recall their patients’ identities, accurately select their names, and spot errors before orders are submitted. We propose a catalog of twenty seven distinct user interface techniques, organized according to a task analysis. An associated video demonstrates eighteen of those techniques. EHR designers who consider a wider range of human-computer interaction techniques could reduce selection errors, but verification of efficacy is still needed. PMID:25954415

  19. Reducing wrong patient selection errors: exploring the design space of user interface techniques.

    PubMed

    Sopan, Awalin; Plaisant, Catherine; Powsner, Seth; Shneiderman, Ben

    2014-01-01

    Wrong patient selection errors are a major issue for patient safety; from ordering medication to performing surgery, the stakes are high. Widespread adoption of Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) systems makes patient selection using a computer screen a frequent task for clinicians. Careful design of the user interface can help mitigate the problem by helping providers recall their patients' identities, accurately select their names, and spot errors before orders are submitted. We propose a catalog of twenty seven distinct user interface techniques, organized according to a task analysis. An associated video demonstrates eighteen of those techniques. EHR designers who consider a wider range of human-computer interaction techniques could reduce selection errors, but verification of efficacy is still needed.

  20. Joint profiling of greenhouse gases, isotopes, thermodynamic variables, and wind from space by combined microwave and IR laser occultation: the ACCURATE concept

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kirchengast, G.; Schweitzer, S.

    2008-12-01

    The ACCURATE (Atmospheric Climate and Chemistry in the UTLS Region And climate Trends Explorer) mission was conceived at the Wegener Center in late 2004 and subsequently proposed in 2005 by an international team of more than 20 scientific partners from more than 12 countries to an ESA selection process for next Earth Explorer Missions. While the mission was not selected for formal pre-phase A study, it received very positive evaluation and was recommended for further development and demonstration. ACCURATE employs the occultation measurement principle, known for its unique combination of high vertical resolution, accuracy and long-term stability, in a novel way. It systematically combines use of highly stable signals in the MW 17-23/178-196 GHz bands (LEO-LEO MW crosslink occultation) with laser signals in the SWIR 2-2.5 μm band (LEO-LEO IR laser crosslink occultation) for exploring and monitoring climate and chemistry in the atmosphere with focus on the UTLS region (upper troposphere/lower stratosphere, 5-35 km). The MW occultation is an advanced and at the same time compact version of the LEO-LEO MW occultation concept, studied in 2002-2004 for the ACE+ mission project of ESA for frequencies including the 17-23 GHz band, complemented by U.S. study heritage for frequencies including the 178-196 GHz bands (R. Kursinski et al., Univ. of Arizona, Tucson). The core of ACCURATE is tight synergy of the IR laser crosslinks with the MW crosslinks. The observed parameters, obtained simultaneously and in a self-calibrated manner based on Doppler shift and differential log-transmission profiles, comprise the fundamental thermodynamic variables of the atmosphere (temperature, pressure/geopotential height, humidity) retrieved from the MW bands, complemented by line-of-sight wind, six greenhouse gases (GHGs) and key species of UTLS chemistry (H2O, CO2, CH4, N2O, O3, CO) and four CO2 and H2O isotopes (HDO, H218O, 13CO2, C18OO) from the SWIR band. Furthermore, profiles of

  1. Accurate lithography simulation model based on convolutional neural networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Watanabe, Yuki; Kimura, Taiki; Matsunawa, Tetsuaki; Nojima, Shigeki

    2017-07-01

    Lithography simulation is an essential technique for today's semiconductor manufacturing process. In order to calculate an entire chip in realistic time, compact resist model is commonly used. The model is established for faster calculation. To have accurate compact resist model, it is necessary to fix a complicated non-linear model function. However, it is difficult to decide an appropriate function manually because there are many options. This paper proposes a new compact resist model using CNN (Convolutional Neural Networks) which is one of deep learning techniques. CNN model makes it possible to determine an appropriate model function and achieve accurate simulation. Experimental results show CNN model can reduce CD prediction errors by 70% compared with the conventional model.

  2. A Machine Learned Classifier That Uses Gene Expression Data to Accurately Predict Estrogen Receptor Status

    PubMed Central

    Bastani, Meysam; Vos, Larissa; Asgarian, Nasimeh; Deschenes, Jean; Graham, Kathryn; Mackey, John; Greiner, Russell

    2013-01-01

    Background Selecting the appropriate treatment for breast cancer requires accurately determining the estrogen receptor (ER) status of the tumor. However, the standard for determining this status, immunohistochemical analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded samples, suffers from numerous technical and reproducibility issues. Assessment of ER-status based on RNA expression can provide more objective, quantitative and reproducible test results. Methods To learn a parsimonious RNA-based classifier of hormone receptor status, we applied a machine learning tool to a training dataset of gene expression microarray data obtained from 176 frozen breast tumors, whose ER-status was determined by applying ASCO-CAP guidelines to standardized immunohistochemical testing of formalin fixed tumor. Results This produced a three-gene classifier that can predict the ER-status of a novel tumor, with a cross-validation accuracy of 93.17±2.44%. When applied to an independent validation set and to four other public databases, some on different platforms, this classifier obtained over 90% accuracy in each. In addition, we found that this prediction rule separated the patients' recurrence-free survival curves with a hazard ratio lower than the one based on the IHC analysis of ER-status. Conclusions Our efficient and parsimonious classifier lends itself to high throughput, highly accurate and low-cost RNA-based assessments of ER-status, suitable for routine high-throughput clinical use. This analytic method provides a proof-of-principle that may be applicable to developing effective RNA-based tests for other biomarkers and conditions. PMID:24312637

  3. Selection of reliable reference genes for quantitative real-time PCR gene expression analysis in Jute (Corchorus capsularis) under stress treatments

    PubMed Central

    Niu, Xiaoping; Qi, Jianmin; Zhang, Gaoyang; Xu, Jiantang; Tao, Aifen; Fang, Pingping; Su, Jianguang

    2015-01-01

    To accurately measure gene expression using quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR), reliable reference gene(s) are required for data normalization. Corchorus capsularis, an annual herbaceous fiber crop with predominant biodegradability and renewability, has not been investigated for the stability of reference genes with qRT-PCR. In this study, 11 candidate reference genes were selected and their expression levels were assessed using qRT-PCR. To account for the influence of experimental approach and tissue type, 22 different jute samples were selected from abiotic and biotic stress conditions as well as three different tissue types. The stability of the candidate reference genes was evaluated using geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper programs, and the comprehensive rankings of gene stability were generated by aggregate analysis. For the biotic stress and NaCl stress subsets, ACT7 and RAN were suitable as stable reference genes for gene expression normalization. For the PEG stress subset, UBC, and DnaJ were sufficient for accurate normalization. For the tissues subset, four reference genes TUBβ, UBI, EF1α, and RAN were sufficient for accurate normalization. The selected genes were further validated by comparing expression profiles of WRKY15 in various samples, and two stable reference genes were recommended for accurate normalization of qRT-PCR data. Our results provide researchers with appropriate reference genes for qRT-PCR in C. capsularis, and will facilitate gene expression study under these conditions. PMID:26528312

  4. A New CCI ECV Release (v2.0) to Accurately Measure the Sea Level Change from space (1993-2015)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Legeais, Jean-Francois; Benveniste, Jérôme

    2017-04-01

    Accurate monitoring of the sea level is required to better understand its variability and changes. Sea level is one of the Essential Climate Variables (ECV) selected in the frame of the ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI) program. It aims at providing a long-term homogeneous and accurate sea level record. The needs and feedback of the climate research community have been collected so that the development of the products is adapted to the users. A first version of the sea level ECV product has been generated during phase I of the project (2011-2013). Within phase II (2014-2016), the 15 partner consortium has prepared the production of a new reprocessed homogeneous and accurate altimeter sea level record which is now available (see http://www.esa-sealevel-cci.org/products ). New level 2 altimeter standards developed and tested within the project as well as external contributions have been identified, processed and evaluated by comparison with a reference for different altimeter missions (TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1 & 2, ERS-1 & 2, Envisat, GFO, SARAL/AltiKa and CryoSat-2). The main evolutions are associated with the wet troposphere correction (based on the GPD+ algorithm including inter calibration with respect to external sensors) but also to the orbit solutions (POE-E and GFZ15), the ERA-Interim based atmospheric corrections and the FES2014 ocean tide model. A new pole tide solution is used and anomalies are referenced to the MSS DTU15. The presentation will focus on the main achievements of the ESA CCI Sea Level project and on the description of the new SL_cci ECV release covering 1993-2015. The major steps required to produce the reprocessed 23 year climate time series will be described. The impacts of the selected level 2 altimeter standards on the SL_cci ECV have been assessed on different spatial scales (global, regional, mesoscale) and temporal scales (long-term, inter-annual, periodic signals). A significant improvement is observed compared to the current v1

  5. 48 CFR 552.215-72 - Price Adjustment-Failure To Provide Accurate Information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Price Adjustment-Failure... Provisions and Clauses 552.215-72 Price Adjustment—Failure To Provide Accurate Information. As prescribed in 515.408(d), insert the following clause: Price Adjustment—Failure To Provide Accurate Information (AUG...

  6. Accurate atomistic first-principles calculations of electronic stopping

    DOE PAGES

    Schleife, André; Kanai, Yosuke; Correa, Alfredo A.

    2015-01-20

    In this paper, we show that atomistic first-principles calculations based on real-time propagation within time-dependent density functional theory are capable of accurately describing electronic stopping of light projectile atoms in metal hosts over a wide range of projectile velocities. In particular, we employ a plane-wave pseudopotential scheme to solve time-dependent Kohn-Sham equations for representative systems of H and He projectiles in crystalline aluminum. This approach to simulate nonadiabatic electron-ion interaction provides an accurate framework that allows for quantitative comparison with experiment without introducing ad hoc parameters such as effective charges, or assumptions about the dielectric function. Finally, our work clearlymore » shows that this atomistic first-principles description of electronic stopping is able to disentangle contributions due to tightly bound semicore electrons and geometric aspects of the stopping geometry (channeling versus off-channeling) in a wide range of projectile velocities.« less

  7. BASIC: A Simple and Accurate Modular DNA Assembly Method.

    PubMed

    Storch, Marko; Casini, Arturo; Mackrow, Ben; Ellis, Tom; Baldwin, Geoff S

    2017-01-01

    Biopart Assembly Standard for Idempotent Cloning (BASIC) is a simple, accurate, and robust DNA assembly method. The method is based on linker-mediated DNA assembly and provides highly accurate DNA assembly with 99 % correct assemblies for four parts and 90 % correct assemblies for seven parts [1]. The BASIC standard defines a single entry vector for all parts flanked by the same prefix and suffix sequences and its idempotent nature means that the assembled construct is returned in the same format. Once a part has been adapted into the BASIC format it can be placed at any position within a BASIC assembly without the need for reformatting. This allows laboratories to grow comprehensive and universal part libraries and to share them efficiently. The modularity within the BASIC framework is further extended by the possibility of encoding ribosomal binding sites (RBS) and peptide linker sequences directly on the linkers used for assembly. This makes BASIC a highly versatile library construction method for combinatorial part assembly including the construction of promoter, RBS, gene variant, and protein-tag libraries. In comparison with other DNA assembly standards and methods, BASIC offers a simple robust protocol; it relies on a single entry vector, provides for easy hierarchical assembly, and is highly accurate for up to seven parts per assembly round [2].

  8. Accurate forced-choice recognition without awareness of memory retrieval.

    PubMed

    Voss, Joel L; Baym, Carol L; Paller, Ken A

    2008-06-01

    Recognition confidence and the explicit awareness of memory retrieval commonly accompany accurate responding in recognition tests. Memory performance in recognition tests is widely assumed to measure explicit memory, but the generality of this assumption is questionable. Indeed, whether recognition in nonhumans is always supported by explicit memory is highly controversial. Here we identified circumstances wherein highly accurate recognition was unaccompanied by hallmark features of explicit memory. When memory for kaleidoscopes was tested using a two-alternative forced-choice recognition test with similar foils, recognition was enhanced by an attentional manipulation at encoding known to degrade explicit memory. Moreover, explicit recognition was most accurate when the awareness of retrieval was absent. These dissociations between accuracy and phenomenological features of explicit memory are consistent with the notion that correct responding resulted from experience-dependent enhancements of perceptual fluency with specific stimuli--the putative mechanism for perceptual priming effects in implicit memory tests. This mechanism may contribute to recognition performance in a variety of frequently-employed testing circumstances. Our results thus argue for a novel view of recognition, in that analyses of its neurocognitive foundations must take into account the potential for both (1) recognition mechanisms allied with implicit memory and (2) recognition mechanisms allied with explicit memory.

  9. Ordinal feature selection for iris and palmprint recognition.

    PubMed

    Sun, Zhenan; Wang, Libin; Tan, Tieniu

    2014-09-01

    Ordinal measures have been demonstrated as an effective feature representation model for iris and palmprint recognition. However, ordinal measures are a general concept of image analysis and numerous variants with different parameter settings, such as location, scale, orientation, and so on, can be derived to construct a huge feature space. This paper proposes a novel optimization formulation for ordinal feature selection with successful applications to both iris and palmprint recognition. The objective function of the proposed feature selection method has two parts, i.e., misclassification error of intra and interclass matching samples and weighted sparsity of ordinal feature descriptors. Therefore, the feature selection aims to achieve an accurate and sparse representation of ordinal measures. And, the optimization subjects to a number of linear inequality constraints, which require that all intra and interclass matching pairs are well separated with a large margin. Ordinal feature selection is formulated as a linear programming (LP) problem so that a solution can be efficiently obtained even on a large-scale feature pool and training database. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed LP formulation is advantageous over existing feature selection methods, such as mRMR, ReliefF, Boosting, and Lasso for biometric recognition, reporting state-of-the-art accuracy on CASIA and PolyU databases.

  10. Deformed exponentials and portfolio selection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rodrigues, Ana Flávia P.; Guerreiro, Igor M.; Cavalcante, Charles Casimiro

    In this paper, we present a method for portfolio selection based on the consideration on deformed exponentials in order to generalize the methods based on the gaussianity of the returns in portfolio, such as the Markowitz model. The proposed method generalizes the idea of optimizing mean-variance and mean-divergence models and allows a more accurate behavior for situations where heavy-tails distributions are necessary to describe the returns in a given time instant, such as those observed in economic crises. Numerical results show the proposed method outperforms the Markowitz portfolio for the cumulated returns with a good convergence rate of the weights for the assets which are searched by means of a natural gradient algorithm.

  11. Method for accurate growth of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

    DOEpatents

    Chalmers, Scott A.; Killeen, Kevin P.; Lear, Kevin L.

    1995-01-01

    We report a method for accurate growth of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). The method uses a single reflectivity spectrum measurement to determine the structure of the partially completed VCSEL at a critical point of growth. This information, along with the extracted growth rates, allows imprecisions in growth parameters to be compensated for during growth of the remaining structure, which can then be completed with very accurate critical dimensions. Using this method, we can now routinely grow lasing VCSELs with Fabry-Perot cavity resonance wavelengths controlled to within 0.5%.

  12. Method for accurate growth of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

    DOEpatents

    Chalmers, S.A.; Killeen, K.P.; Lear, K.L.

    1995-03-14

    The authors report a method for accurate growth of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). The method uses a single reflectivity spectrum measurement to determine the structure of the partially completed VCSEL at a critical point of growth. This information, along with the extracted growth rates, allows imprecisions in growth parameters to be compensated for during growth of the remaining structure, which can then be completed with very accurate critical dimensions. Using this method, they can now routinely grow lasing VCSELs with Fabry-Perot cavity resonance wavelengths controlled to within 0.5%. 4 figs.

  13. Accurate, precise, and efficient theoretical methods to calculate anion-π interaction energies in model structures.

    PubMed

    Mezei, Pál D; Csonka, Gábor I; Ruzsinszky, Adrienn; Sun, Jianwei

    2015-01-13

    A correct description of the anion-π interaction is essential for the design of selective anion receptors and channels and important for advances in the field of supramolecular chemistry. However, it is challenging to do accurate, precise, and efficient calculations of this interaction, which are lacking in the literature. In this article, by testing sets of 20 binary anion-π complexes of fluoride, chloride, bromide, nitrate, or carbonate ions with hexafluorobenzene, 1,3,5-trifluorobenzene, 2,4,6-trifluoro-1,3,5-triazine, or 1,3,5-triazine and 30 ternary π-anion-π' sandwich complexes composed from the same monomers, we suggest domain-based local-pair natural orbital coupled cluster energies extrapolated to the complete basis-set limit as reference values. We give a detailed explanation of the origin of anion-π interactions, using the permanent quadrupole moments, static dipole polarizabilities, and electrostatic potential maps. We use symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) to calculate the components of the anion-π interaction energies. We examine the performance of the direct random phase approximation (dRPA), the second-order screened exchange (SOSEX), local-pair natural-orbital (LPNO) coupled electron pair approximation (CEPA), and several dispersion-corrected density functionals (including generalized gradient approximation (GGA), meta-GGA, and double hybrid density functional). The LPNO-CEPA/1 results show the best agreement with the reference results. The dRPA method is only slightly less accurate and precise than the LPNO-CEPA/1, but it is considerably more efficient (6-17 times faster) for the binary complexes studied in this paper. For 30 ternary π-anion-π' sandwich complexes, we give dRPA interaction energies as reference values. The double hybrid functionals are much more efficient but less accurate and precise than dRPA. The dispersion-corrected double hybrid PWPB95-D3(BJ) and B2PLYP-D3(BJ) functionals perform better than the GGA and meta

  14. Accurate quantum wave packet calculations for the F + HCl → Cl + HF reaction on the ground 1(2)A' potential energy surface.

    PubMed

    Bulut, Niyazi; Kłos, Jacek; Alexander, Millard H

    2012-03-14

    We present converged exact quantum wave packet calculations of reaction probabilities, integral cross sections, and thermal rate coefficients for the title reaction. Calculations have been carried out on the ground 1(2)A' global adiabatic potential energy surface of Deskevich et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 124, 224303 (2006)]. Converged wave packet reaction probabilities at selected values of the total angular momentum up to a partial wave of J = 140 with the HCl reagent initially selected in the v = 0, j = 0-16 rovibrational states have been obtained for the collision energy range from threshold up to 0.8 eV. The present calculations confirm an important enhancement of reactivity with rotational excitation of the HCl molecule. First, accurate integral cross sections and rate constants have been calculated and compared with the available experimental data.

  15. Role of orientation reference selection in motion sickness

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Peterka, Robert J.; Black, F. Owen

    1990-01-01

    Three areas related to human orientation control are investigated: (1) reflexes associated with the control of eye movements and posture; (2) the perception of body rotation and position with respect to gravity; and (3) the strategies used to resolve sensory conflict situations which arise when different sensory systems provide orientation cues which are not consistent with one another or with previous experience. Of particular interest is the possibility that a subject may be able to ignore an inaccurate sensory modality in favor of one or more other sensory modalities which do provide accurate orientation reference information. This process is referred as sensory selection. This proposal will attempt to quantify subject's sensory selection abilities and determine if this ability confers some immunity to the development of motion sickness symptoms.

  16. Social Groups Prioritize Selective Attention to Faces: How Social Identity Shapes Distractor Interference

    PubMed Central

    Hill, LaBarron K.; Williams, DeWayne P.; Thayer, Julian F.

    2016-01-01

    Human faces automatically attract visual attention and this process appears to be guided by social group memberships. In two experiments, we examined how social groups guide selective attention toward in-group and out-group faces. Black and White participants detected a target letter among letter strings superimposed on faces (Experiment 1). White participants were less accurate on trials with racial out-group (Black) compared to in-group (White) distractor faces. Likewise, Black participants were less accurate on trials with racial out-group (White) compared to in-group (Black) distractor faces. However, this pattern of out-group bias was only evident under high perceptual load—when the task was visually difficult. To examine the malleability of this pattern of racial bias, a separate sample of participants were assigned to mixed-race minimal groups (Experiment 2). Participants assigned to groups were less accurate on trials with their minimal in-group members compared to minimal out-group distractor faces, regardless of race. Again, this pattern of out-group bias was only evident under high perceptual load. Taken together, these results suggest that social identity guides selective attention toward motivationally relevant social groups—shifting from out-group bias in the domain of race to in-group bias in the domain of minimal groups—when perceptual resources are scarce. PMID:27556646

  17. Scedo-Select III: a new semi-selective culture medium for detection of the Scedosporium apiospermum species complex.

    PubMed

    Pham, Trâm; Giraud, Sandrine; Schuliar, Gaëlle; Rougeron, Amandine; Bouchara, Jean-Philippe

    2015-06-01

    The Scedosporium apiospermum complex is responsible for a large variety of infections in human. Members of this complex have become emerging fungal pathogens with an increasing occurrence in patients with underlying conditions such as immunosuppression or cystic fibrosis. A better knowledge of these fungi and of the sources of contamination of the patients is required and more accurate detection methods from the environment are needed. In this context, a highly selective culture medium was developed in the present study. Thus, various aliphatic, cyclic, or aromatic compounds were tested as the sole carbon source, in combination with some inorganic nitrogen sources and fungicides. The best results were obtained with 4-hydroxy-benzoate combined with ammonium sulfate and the fungicides dichloran and benomyl. This new culture medium called Scedo-Select III was shown to support growth of all species of the S. apiospermum complex. Subsequently, this new culture medium was evaluated successfully on water and soil samples, exhibiting higher sensitivity and selectivity than the previously described SceSel+ culture medium. Therefore, this easy-to-prepare and synthetic semi-selective culture medium may be useful to clarify the ecology of these fungi and to identify their reservoirs in patients' environment. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Green material selection for sustainability: A hybrid MCDM approach.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Honghao; Peng, Yong; Tian, Guangdong; Wang, Danqi; Xie, Pengpeng

    2017-01-01

    Green material selection is a crucial step for the material industry to comprehensively improve material properties and promote sustainable development. However, because of the subjectivity and conflicting evaluation criteria in its process, green material selection, as a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem, has been a widespread concern to the relevant experts. Thus, this study proposes a hybrid MCDM approach that combines decision making and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), analytical network process (ANP), grey relational analysis (GRA) and technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) to select the optimal green material for sustainability based on the product's needs. A nonlinear programming model with constraints was proposed to obtain the integrated closeness index. Subsequently, an empirical application of rubbish bins was used to illustrate the proposed method. In addition, a sensitivity analysis and a comparison with existing methods were employed to validate the accuracy and stability of the obtained final results. We found that this method provides a more accurate and effective decision support tool for alternative evaluation or strategy selection.

  19. Green material selection for sustainability: A hybrid MCDM approach

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Honghao; Peng, Yong; Tian, Guangdong; Wang, Danqi; Xie, Pengpeng

    2017-01-01

    Green material selection is a crucial step for the material industry to comprehensively improve material properties and promote sustainable development. However, because of the subjectivity and conflicting evaluation criteria in its process, green material selection, as a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem, has been a widespread concern to the relevant experts. Thus, this study proposes a hybrid MCDM approach that combines decision making and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), analytical network process (ANP), grey relational analysis (GRA) and technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) to select the optimal green material for sustainability based on the product's needs. A nonlinear programming model with constraints was proposed to obtain the integrated closeness index. Subsequently, an empirical application of rubbish bins was used to illustrate the proposed method. In addition, a sensitivity analysis and a comparison with existing methods were employed to validate the accuracy and stability of the obtained final results. We found that this method provides a more accurate and effective decision support tool for alternative evaluation or strategy selection. PMID:28498864

  20. The Relation between Vaporization Enthalpies and Viscosities: Eyring's Theory Applied to Selected Ionic Liquids.

    PubMed

    Bonsa, Anne-Marie; Paschek, Dietmar; Zaitsau, Dzmitry H; Emel'yanenko, Vladimir N; Verevkin, Sergey P; Ludwig, Ralf

    2017-05-19

    Key properties for the use of ionic liquids as electrolytes in batteries are low viscosities, low vapor pressure and high vaporization enthalpies. Whereas the measurement of transport properties is well established, the determination of vaporization enthalpies of these extremely low volatile compounds is still a challenge. At a first glance both properties seem to describe different thermophysical phenomena. However, eighty years ago Eyring suggested a theory which related viscosities and vaporization enthalpies to each other. The model is based on Eyring's theory of absolute reaction rates. Recent attempts to apply Eyring's theory to ionic liquids failed. The motivation of our study is to show that Eyring's theory works, if the assumptions specific for ionic liquids are fulfilled. For that purpose we measured the viscosities of three well selected protic ionic liquids (PILs) at different temperatures. The temperature dependences of viscosities were approximated by the Vogel-Fulcher-Tamann (VFT) relation and extrapolated to the high-temperature regime up to 600 K. Then the VFT-data could be fitted to the Eyring-model. The values of vaporization enthalpies for the three selected PILs predicted by the Eyring model have been very close to the experimental values measured by well-established techniques. We conclude that the Eyring theory can be successfully applied to the chosen set of PILs, if the assumption that ionic pairs of the viscous flow in the liquid and the ionic pairs in the gas phase are similar is fulfilled. It was also noticed that proper transfer of energies can be only derived if the viscosities and the vaporization energies are known for temperatures close to the liquid-gas transition temperature. The idea to correlate easy measurable viscosities of ionic liquids with their vaporization enthalpies opens a new way for a reliable assessment of these thermodynamic properties for a broad range of ionic liquids. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGa