ICC-CLASS: isotopically-coded cleavable crosslinking analysis software suite

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Successful application of crosslinking combined with mass spectrometry for studying proteins and protein complexes requires specifically-designed crosslinking reagents, experimental techniques, and data analysis software. Using isotopically-coded ("heavy and light") versions of the crosslinker and cleavable crosslinking reagents is analytically advantageous for mass spectrometric applications and provides a "handle" that can be used to distinguish crosslinked peptides of different types, and to increase the confidence of the identification of the crosslinks. Results Here, we describe a program suite designed for the analysis of mass spectrometric data obtained with isotopically-coded cleavable crosslinkers. The suite contains three programs called: DX, DXDX, and DXMSMS. DX searches the mass spectra for the presence of ion signal doublets resulting from the light and heavy isotopic forms of the isotopically-coded crosslinking reagent used. DXDX searches for possible mass matches between cleaved and uncleaved isotopically-coded crosslinks based on the established chemistry of the cleavage reaction for a given crosslinking reagent. DXMSMS assigns the crosslinks to the known protein sequences, based on the isotopically-coded and un-coded MS/MS fragmentation data of uncleaved and cleaved peptide crosslinks. Conclusion The combination of these three programs, which are tailored to the analytical features of the specific isotopically-coded cleavable crosslinking reagents used, represents a powerful software tool for automated high-accuracy peptide crosslink identification. See: http://www.creativemolecules.com/CM_Software.htm PMID:20109223

Using Antelope and Seiscomp in the framework of the Romanian Seismic Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marius Craiu, George; Craiu, Andreea; Marmureanu, Alexandru; Neagoe, Cristian

2014-05-01

The National Institute for Earth Physics (NIEP) operates a real-time seismic network designed to monitor the seismic activity on the Romania territory, dominated by the Vrancea intermediate-depth (60-200 km) earthquakes. The NIEP real-time network currently consists of 102 stations and two seismic arrays equipped with different high quality digitizers (Kinemetrics K2, Quanterra Q330, Quanterra Q330HR, PS6-26, Basalt), broadband and short period seismometers (CMG3ESP, CMG40T, KS2000, KS54000, KS2000, CMG3T, STS2, SH-1, S13, Mark l4c, Ranger, Gs21, Mark 22) and acceleration sensors (Episensor Kinemetrics). The primary goal of the real-time seismic network is to provide earthquake parameters from more broad-band stations with a high dynamic range, for more rapid and accurate computation of the locations and magnitudes of earthquakes. The Seedlink and AntelopeTM program packages are completely automated Antelope seismological system is run at the Data Center in Măgurele. The Antelope data acquisition and processing software is running for real-time processing and post processing. The Antelope real-time system provides automatic event detection, arrival picking, event location, and magnitude calculation. It also provides graphical displays and automatic location within near real time after a local, regional or teleseismic event has occurred SeisComP 3 is another automated system that is run at the NIEP and which provides the following features: data acquisition, data quality control, real-time data exchange and processing, network status monitoring, issuing event alerts, waveform archiving and data distribution, automatic event detection and location, easy access to relevant information about stations, waveforms, and recent earthquakes. The main goal of this paper is to compare both of these data acquisitions systems in order to improve their detection capabilities, location accuracy, magnitude and depth determination and reduce the RMS and other location errors.

SSAGES: Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations

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

Sidky, Hythem; Colón, Yamil J.; Helfferich, Julian

Molecular simulation has emerged as an essential tool for modern-day research, but obtaining proper results and making reliable conclusions from simulations requires adequate sampling of the system under consideration. To this end, a variety of methods exist in the literature that can enhance sampling considerably, and increasingly sophisticated, effective algorithms continue to be developed at a rapid pace. Implementation of these techniques, however, can be challenging for experts and non-experts alike. There is a clear need for software that provides rapid, reliable, and easy access to a wide range of advanced sampling methods, and that facilitates implementation of new techniquesmore » as they emerge. Here we present SSAGES, a publicly available Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations designed to interface with multiple widely used molecular dynamics simulations packages. SSAGES allows facile application of a variety of enhanced sampling techniques—including adaptive biasing force, string methods, and forward flux sampling—that extract meaningful free energy and transition path data from all-atom and coarse grained simulations. A noteworthy feature of SSAGES is a user-friendly framework that facilitates further development and implementation of new methods and collective variables. In this work, the use of SSAGES is illustrated in the context of simple representative applications involving distinct methods and different collective variables that are available in the current release of the suite.« less

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SSAGES: Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations.

PubMed

Sidky, Hythem; Colón, Yamil J; Helfferich, Julian; Sikora, Benjamin J; Bezik, Cody; Chu, Weiwei; Giberti, Federico; Guo, Ashley Z; Jiang, Xikai; Lequieu, Joshua; Li, Jiyuan; Moller, Joshua; Quevillon, Michael J; Rahimi, Mohammad; Ramezani-Dakhel, Hadi; Rathee, Vikramjit S; Reid, Daniel R; Sevgen, Emre; Thapar, Vikram; Webb, Michael A; Whitmer, Jonathan K; de Pablo, Juan J

2018-01-28

Molecular simulation has emerged as an essential tool for modern-day research, but obtaining proper results and making reliable conclusions from simulations requires adequate sampling of the system under consideration. To this end, a variety of methods exist in the literature that can enhance sampling considerably, and increasingly sophisticated, effective algorithms continue to be developed at a rapid pace. Implementation of these techniques, however, can be challenging for experts and non-experts alike. There is a clear need for software that provides rapid, reliable, and easy access to a wide range of advanced sampling methods and that facilitates implementation of new techniques as they emerge. Here we present SSAGES, a publicly available Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations designed to interface with multiple widely used molecular dynamics simulations packages. SSAGES allows facile application of a variety of enhanced sampling techniques-including adaptive biasing force, string methods, and forward flux sampling-that extract meaningful free energy and transition path data from all-atom and coarse-grained simulations. A noteworthy feature of SSAGES is a user-friendly framework that facilitates further development and implementation of new methods and collective variables. In this work, the use of SSAGES is illustrated in the context of simple representative applications involving distinct methods and different collective variables that are available in the current release of the suite. The code may be found at: https://github.com/MICCoM/SSAGES-public.

SSAGES: Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidky, Hythem; Colón, Yamil J.; Helfferich, Julian; Sikora, Benjamin J.; Bezik, Cody; Chu, Weiwei; Giberti, Federico; Guo, Ashley Z.; Jiang, Xikai; Lequieu, Joshua; Li, Jiyuan; Moller, Joshua; Quevillon, Michael J.; Rahimi, Mohammad; Ramezani-Dakhel, Hadi; Rathee, Vikramjit S.; Reid, Daniel R.; Sevgen, Emre; Thapar, Vikram; Webb, Michael A.; Whitmer, Jonathan K.; de Pablo, Juan J.

2018-01-01

Molecular simulation has emerged as an essential tool for modern-day research, but obtaining proper results and making reliable conclusions from simulations requires adequate sampling of the system under consideration. To this end, a variety of methods exist in the literature that can enhance sampling considerably, and increasingly sophisticated, effective algorithms continue to be developed at a rapid pace. Implementation of these techniques, however, can be challenging for experts and non-experts alike. There is a clear need for software that provides rapid, reliable, and easy access to a wide range of advanced sampling methods and that facilitates implementation of new techniques as they emerge. Here we present SSAGES, a publicly available Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations designed to interface with multiple widely used molecular dynamics simulations packages. SSAGES allows facile application of a variety of enhanced sampling techniques—including adaptive biasing force, string methods, and forward flux sampling—that extract meaningful free energy and transition path data from all-atom and coarse-grained simulations. A noteworthy feature of SSAGES is a user-friendly framework that facilitates further development and implementation of new methods and collective variables. In this work, the use of SSAGES is illustrated in the context of simple representative applications involving distinct methods and different collective variables that are available in the current release of the suite. The code may be found at: https://github.com/MICCoM/SSAGES-public.

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Running energetics in the pronghorn antelope.

PubMed

Lindstedt, S L; Hokanson, J F; Wells, D J; Swain, S D; Hoppeler, H; Navarro, V

1991-10-24

The pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) has an alleged top speed of 100 km h-1, second only to the cheetah (Acionyx jubatus) among land vertebrates, a possible response to predation in the exposed habitat of the North American prairie. Unlike cheetahs, however, pronghorn antelope are distance runners rather than sprinters, and can run 11 km in 10 min, an average speed of 65 km h-1. We measured maximum oxygen uptake in pronghorn antelope to distinguish between two potential explanations for this ability: either they have evolved a uniquely high muscular efficiency (low cost of transport) or they can supply oxygen to the muscles at unusually high levels. Because the cost of transport (energy per unit distance covered per unit body mass) varies as a predictable function of body mass among terrestrial vertebrates, we can calculate the predicted cost to maintain speeds of 65 and 100 km h-1 in an average 32-kg animal. The resulting range of predicted values, 3.2-5.1 ml O2 kg-1 s-1, far surpasses the predicted maximum aerobic capacity of a 32-kg mammal (1.5 ml O2 kg-1 s-1). We conclude that their performance is achieved by an extraordinary capacity to consume and process enough oxygen to support a predicted running speed greater than 20 ms-1 (70 km h-1), attained without unique respiratory-system structures.

'Lassen' antelope bitterbrush: A browse plant for game and livestock ranges

Treesearch

Nancy Shaw; Stephen B. Monsen

1986-01-01

A unique selection of antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata [Pursh] DC) recently became the first accession of this valuable western shrub species to be released for commercial seed collection and production. Chosen for its productivity, palatability, winter leafiness, cover value, and seedling vigor, 'Lassen' antelope bitterbrush is a useful shrub for...

The AST3 controlling and operating software suite for automatic sky survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Yi; Shang, Zhaohui; Ma, Bin; Hu, Keliang

2016-07-01

We have developed a specialized software package, called ast3suite, to achieve the remote control and automatic sky survey for AST3 (Antarctic Survey Telescope) from scratch. It includes several daemon servers and many basic commands. Each program does only one single task, and they work together to make AST3 a robotic telescope. A survey script calls basic commands to carry out automatic sky survey. Ast3suite was carefully tested in Mohe, China in 2013 and has been used at Dome, Antarctica in 2015 and 2016 with the real hardware for practical sky survey. Both test results and practical using showed that ast3suite had worked very well without any manual auxiliary as we expected.

The ESA's Space Trajectory Analysis software suite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortega, Guillermo

The European Space Agency (ESA) initiated in 2005 an internal activity to develop an open source software suite involving university science departments and research institutions all over the world. This project is called the "Space Trajectory Analysis" or STA. This article describes the birth of STA and its present configuration. One of the STA aims is to promote the exchange of technical ideas, and raise knowledge and competence in the areas of applied mathematics, space engineering, and informatics at University level. Conceived as a research and education tool to support the analysis phase of a space mission, STA is able to visualize a wide range of space trajectories. These include among others ascent, re-entry, descent and landing trajectories, orbits around planets and moons, interplanetary trajectories, rendezvous trajectories, etc. The article explains that STA project is an original idea of the Technical Directorate of ESA. It was born in August 2005 to provide a framework in astrodynamics research at University level. As research and education software applicable to Academia, a number of Universities support this development by joining ESA in leading the development. ESA and Universities partnership are expressed in the STA Steering Board. Together with ESA, each University has a chair in the board whose tasks are develop, control, promote, maintain, and expand the software suite. The article describes that STA provides calculations in the fields of spacecraft tracking, attitude analysis, coverage and visibility analysis, orbit determination, position and velocity of solar system bodies, etc. STA implements the concept of "space scenario" composed of Solar system bodies, spacecraft, ground stations, pads, etc. It is able to propagate the orbit of a spacecraft where orbital propagators are included. STA is able to compute communication links between objects of a scenario (coverage, line of sight), and to represent the trajectory computations and

PFLOTRAN Verification: Development of a Testing Suite to Ensure Software Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond, G. E.; Frederick, J. M.

2016-12-01

In scientific computing, code verification ensures the reliability and numerical accuracy of a model simulation by comparing the simulation results to experimental data or known analytical solutions. The model is typically defined by a set of partial differential equations with initial and boundary conditions, and verification ensures whether the mathematical model is solved correctly by the software. Code verification is especially important if the software is used to model high-consequence systems which cannot be physically tested in a fully representative environment [Oberkampf and Trucano (2007)]. Justified confidence in a particular computational tool requires clarity in the exercised physics and transparency in its verification process with proper documentation. We present a quality assurance (QA) testing suite developed by Sandia National Laboratories that performs code verification for PFLOTRAN, an open source, massively-parallel subsurface simulator. PFLOTRAN solves systems of generally nonlinear partial differential equations describing multiphase, multicomponent and multiscale reactive flow and transport processes in porous media. PFLOTRAN's QA test suite compares the numerical solutions of benchmark problems in heat and mass transport against known, closed-form, analytical solutions, including documentation of the exercised physical process models implemented in each PFLOTRAN benchmark simulation. The QA test suite development strives to follow the recommendations given by Oberkampf and Trucano (2007), which describes four essential elements in high-quality verification benchmark construction: (1) conceptual description, (2) mathematical description, (3) accuracy assessment, and (4) additional documentation and user information. Several QA tests within the suite will be presented, including details of the benchmark problems and their closed-form analytical solutions, implementation of benchmark problems in PFLOTRAN simulations, and the criteria used to

Diets of hartebeest and roan antelope in Burkina Faso: Support of the long-faced hypothesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schuette, J.R.; Leslie, David M.; Lochmiller, R.L.; Jenks, J.A.

1998-01-01

Diets of hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) and roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) were assessed at the Nazinga Game Ranch in southern Burkina Faso, West Africa. Microhistological analysis of feces indicated that dietary overlap was high during the rainy (X?? = 73.7%) and cool-dry (68.2%) seasons, low during the hot-dry season (48.2%), and lowest during the last month of the hot-dry season (31.5%). As the hot-dry season progressed and food presumably became less available, diets of the two antelopes diverged. Hartebeest maintained a high percentage of grass in their diet, but roan antelope switched from being predominantly grazers (>95% grass) to mixed feeders (<50% grass). As grass feeders, both antelopes have skeletal features that facilitate acquisition and grinding of highly fibrous diets, but 11 of 12 mass-relative indices of the skull morphology of hartebeest exceeded those of roan antelope. Because of those differences in skull morphology, and in keeping with the "long-faced" hypothesis, hartebeest were apparently more capable than roan antelope of acquiring and masticating scarce regrowth of perennial grasses when availability of forage was lowest. Such divergence within a single foraging class of African bovids, such as grass feeders, should reduce competition and perpetuate coexistence.

Tokamak-independent software analysis suite for multi-spectral line-polarization MSE diagnostics

DOE PAGES

Scott, S. D.; Mumgaard, R. T.

2016-07-20

A tokamak-independent analysis suite has been developed to process data from Motional Stark Effect (mse) diagnostics. The software supports multi-spectral line-polarization mse diagnostics which simultaneously measure emission at the mse σ and π lines as well as at two "background" wavelengths that are displaced from the mse spectrum by a few nanometers. This analysis accurately estimates the amplitude of partially polarized background light at the σ and π wavelengths even in situations where the background light changes rapidly in time and space, a distinct improvement over traditional "time-interpolation" background estimation. The signal amplitude at many frequencies is computed using amore » numerical-beat algorithm which allows the retardance of the mse photo-elastic modulators (pem's) to be monitored during routine operation. It also allows the use of summed intensities at multiple frequencies in the calculation of polarization direction, which increases the effective signal strength and reduces sensitivity to pem retardance drift. The software allows the polarization angles to be corrected for calibration drift using a system that illuminates the mse diagnostic with polarized light at four known polarization angles within ten seconds of a plasma discharge. As a result, the software suite is modular, parallelized, and portable to other facilities.« less

Tokamak-independent software analysis suite for multi-spectral line-polarization MSE diagnostics

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

Scott, S. D.; Mumgaard, R. T.

A tokamak-independent analysis suite has been developed to process data from Motional Stark Effect (mse) diagnostics. The software supports multi-spectral line-polarization mse diagnostics which simultaneously measure emission at the mse σ and π lines as well as at two "background" wavelengths that are displaced from the mse spectrum by a few nanometers. This analysis accurately estimates the amplitude of partially polarized background light at the σ and π wavelengths even in situations where the background light changes rapidly in time and space, a distinct improvement over traditional "time-interpolation" background estimation. The signal amplitude at many frequencies is computed using amore » numerical-beat algorithm which allows the retardance of the mse photo-elastic modulators (pem's) to be monitored during routine operation. It also allows the use of summed intensities at multiple frequencies in the calculation of polarization direction, which increases the effective signal strength and reduces sensitivity to pem retardance drift. The software allows the polarization angles to be corrected for calibration drift using a system that illuminates the mse diagnostic with polarized light at four known polarization angles within ten seconds of a plasma discharge. As a result, the software suite is modular, parallelized, and portable to other facilities.« less

CASS—CFEL-ASG software suite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foucar, Lutz; Barty, Anton; Coppola, Nicola; Hartmann, Robert; Holl, Peter; Hoppe, Uwe; Kassemeyer, Stephan; Kimmel, Nils; Küpper, Jochen; Scholz, Mirko; Techert, Simone; White, Thomas A.; Strüder, Lothar; Ullrich, Joachim

2012-10-01

The Max Planck Advanced Study Group (ASG) at the Center for Free Electron Laser Science (CFEL) has created the CFEL-ASG Software Suite CASS to view, process and analyse multi-parameter experimental data acquired at Free Electron Lasers (FELs) using the CFEL-ASG Multi Purpose (CAMP) instrument Strüder et al. (2010) [6]. The software is based on a modular design so that it can be adjusted to accommodate the needs of all the various experiments that are conducted with the CAMP instrument. In fact, this allows the use of the software in all experiments where multiple detectors are involved. One of the key aspects of CASS is that it can be used either 'on-line', using a live data stream from the free-electron laser facility's data acquisition system to guide the experiment, and 'off-line', on data acquired from a previous experiment which has been saved to file. Program summary Program title: CASS Catalogue identifier: AEMP_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEMP_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: GNU General Public Licence, version 3 No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 167073 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 1065056 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: C++. Computer: Intel x86-64. Operating system: GNU/Linux (for information about restrictions see outlook). RAM: >8 GB Classification: 2.3, 3, 15, 16.4. External routines: Qt-Framework[1], SOAP[2], (optional HDF5[3], VIGRA[4], ROOT[5], QWT[6]) Nature of problem: Analysis and visualisation of scientific data acquired at Free-Electron-Lasers Solution method: Generalise data access and storage so that a variety of small programming pieces can be linked to form a complex analysis chain. Unusual features: Complex analysis chains can be built without recompiling the program Additional comments: An updated extensive documentation of CASS is available

Recent advances in the CRANK software suite for experimental phasing

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

Pannu, Navraj S., E-mail: raj@chem.leidenuniv.nl; Waterreus, Willem-Jan; Skubák, Pavol

2011-04-01

Recent developments in the CRANK software suite for experimental phasing have led to many more structures being built automatically. For its first release in 2004, CRANK was shown to effectively detect and phase anomalous scatterers from single-wavelength anomalous diffraction data. Since then, CRANK has been significantly improved and many more structures can be built automatically with single- or multiple-wavelength anomalous diffraction or single isomorphous replacement with anomalous scattering data. Here, the new algorithms that have been developed that have led to these substantial improvements are discussed and CRANK’s performance on over 100 real data sets is shown. The latest versionmore » of CRANK is freely available for download at http://www.bfsc.leidenuniv.nl/software/crank/ and from CCP4 (http://www.ccp4.ac.uk/)« less

Engineering Software Suite Validates System Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

EDAptive Computing Inc.'s (ECI) EDAstar engineering software tool suite, created to capture and validate system design requirements, was significantly funded by NASA's Ames Research Center through five Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts. These programs specifically developed Syscape, used to capture executable specifications of multi-disciplinary systems, and VectorGen, used to automatically generate tests to ensure system implementations meet specifications. According to the company, the VectorGen tests considerably reduce the time and effort required to validate implementation of components, thereby ensuring their safe and reliable operation. EDASHIELD, an additional product offering from ECI, can be used to diagnose, predict, and correct errors after a system has been deployed using EDASTAR -created models. Initial commercialization for EDASTAR included application by a large prime contractor in a military setting, and customers include various branches within the U.S. Department of Defense, industry giants like the Lockheed Martin Corporation, Science Applications International Corporation, and Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation, as well as NASA's Langley and Glenn Research Centers

78 FR 49925 - Revisions to California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

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2013-08-16

... California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District and Ventura County Air...: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Air Management District (AVAQMD) and Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) portions of the...

77 FR 2469 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

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2012-01-18

... the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District and Imperial... Quality Management District (AVAQMD) and Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD) portions... Technology (RACT),'' adopted on February 23, 2010. * * * * * (G) Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

77 FR 12526 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

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2012-03-01

... the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District and Mojave Desert Quality Management District AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District...

78 FR 25011 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

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78 FR 58459 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

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2013-09-24

... the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, South Coast Air Quality Management District and Ventura.... SUMMARY: EPA is finalizing approval of revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District...

TypingSuite: Integrated Software for Presenting Stimuli, and Collecting and Analyzing Typing Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazerolle, Erin L.; Marchand, Yannick

2015-01-01

Research into typing patterns has broad applications in both psycholinguistics and biometrics (i.e., improving security of computer access via each user's unique typing patterns). We present a new software package, TypingSuite, which can be used for presenting visual and auditory stimuli, collecting typing data, and summarizing and analyzing the…

76 FR 38589 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-01

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 52 [EPA-R09-OAR-2011-0383; FRL-9428-1] Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District AGENCY... the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD) portion of the California State...

A Software Suite for Testing SpaceWire Devices and Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mills, Stuart; Parkes, Steve

2015-09-01

SpaceWire is a data-handling network for use on-board spacecraft, which connects together instruments, mass-memory, processors, downlink telemetry, and other on-board sub-systems. SpaceWire is simple to implement and has some specific characteristics that help it support data-handling applications in space: high-speed, low-power, simplicity, relatively low implementation cost, and architectural flexibility making it ideal for many space missions. SpaceWire provides high-speed (2 Mbits/s to 200 Mbits/s), bi-directional, full-duplex data-links, which connect together SpaceWire enabled equipment. Data-handling networks can be built to suit particular applications using point-to-point data-links and routing switches. STAR-Dundee’s STAR-System software stack has been designed to meet the needs of engineers designing and developing SpaceWire networks and devices. This paper describes the aims of the software and how those needs were met.

eXtended CASA Line Analysis Software Suite (XCLASS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Möller, T.; Endres, C.; Schilke, P.

2017-02-01

The eXtended CASA Line Analysis Software Suite (XCLASS) is a toolbox for the Common Astronomy Software Applications package (CASA) containing new functions for modeling interferometric and single dish data. Among the tools is the myXCLASS program which calculates synthetic spectra by solving the radiative transfer equation for an isothermal object in one dimension, whereas the finite source size and dust attenuation are considered as well. Molecular data required by the myXCLASS program are taken from an embedded SQLite3 database containing entries from the Cologne Database for Molecular Spectroscopy (CDMS) and JPL using the Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Center (VAMDC) portal. Additionally, the toolbox provides an interface for the model optimizer package Modeling and Analysis Generic Interface for eXternal numerical codes (MAGIX), which helps to find the best description of observational data using myXCLASS (or another external model program), that is, finding the parameter set that most closely reproduces the data. http://www.astro.uni-koeln.de/projects/schilke/myXCLASSInterface A copy of the code is available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/598/A7

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78 FR 49992 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

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Preliminary study on migration pattern of the Tibetan antelope ( Pantholops hodgsonii) based on satellite tracking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buho, Hoshino; Jiang, Z.; Liu, C.; Yoshida, T.; Mahamut, Halik; Kaneko, M.; Asakawa, M.; Motokawa, M.; Kaji, K.; Wu, X.; Otaishi, N.; Ganzorig, Sumiya; Masuda, R.

2011-07-01

The spatial and temporal patterns of the endangered Tibetan antelope or chiru ( Pantholops hodgsonii) have been studied using satellite-based ARGOS platform transmitter terminal (PTT) tracking data. The data was obtained from the satellite tracking of two female Tibetan antelopes that were collared with satellite transmitters and have been tracked from August 2007 to April 2009. Analysis of the locality data (LC) obtained, shows that both antelopes were migrant individuals, they shared the same calving ground surrounding lake Huiten (or Zhuonai lake), but different wintering pastures. Each antelope covered 250-300 km from the wintering to summer pastures. Annual range consisted of a core area that was used for at least 9 months; a calving ground used for a short time (from 8-20 days); and temporal pastures used during migration to and from the calving ground. Seasonal migration cycle was about 3 months, 27-30 days to reach the calving ground; 8-20 days staying there; and 36-40 days returning to the core area. Examination of the spatial distribution during migration showed that both chiru crossed the Qinghai-Tibetan railway (QTR) and the Golmud-Lhasa highway (GLH) at least two times, and reached calving ground (118-120 km from there) in 8 days, maintaining an average speed of 15 km per day. However, the return migration took twice as long (from 14 to 16 days). Each time, after reaching the QTR and GLH, the antelopes spent 20-40 days in that area, probably looking for passages and waiting. So far, we suppose that the QTR and the GLH have become a hindrance to the migration of the Tibetan antelopes and seriously delay their movement to and from the calving area. Extended aggregation of the herds of Tibetan antelopes along the QTR and the GLH may impact negatively with increased mortality among offspring, the spread of various diseases and overgrazing of pastures.

[Neurological adaptations to hypoxia in Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) with a view of molecular biology of respiratory globin-neuroglobin].

PubMed

Bai, Zhen-Zhong; Yang, Ying-Zhong; Jin, Guo-En; Ma, Lan; Ge, Ri-Li

2012-11-01

Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a respiratory protein that is preferentially expressed in brain of mouse and man. In this article, Tibetan antelope, living at altitude of 3 000-5 000 m for millions of years, was selected as the model of hypoxia-tolerant adaptation species. Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot techniques, expression of Ngb gene was amplified and analyzed in antelope brain tissue. Our results showed that Ngb homology protein in Tibetan antelope was identified with more sequence similarity with cattle (96%), sheep (95%), and human (95%). We detected that there were some mutations occurred in the Open Reading Frame of Ngb in Tibetan antelope compared with sheep. Phylogenetic analysis of Ngb chain showed that it was closer to cattle than the others. This study suggests possible roles of central nervous system enriched Ngb in adaptation of Tibetan antelope to extremely high altitude.

Freud: a software suite for high-throughput simulation analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harper, Eric; Spellings, Matthew; Anderson, Joshua; Glotzer, Sharon

Computer simulation is an indispensable tool for the study of a wide variety of systems. As simulations scale to fill petascale and exascale supercomputing clusters, so too does the size of the data produced, as well as the difficulty in analyzing these data. We present Freud, an analysis software suite for efficient analysis of simulation data. Freud makes no assumptions about the system being analyzed, allowing for general analysis methods to be applied to nearly any type of simulation. Freud includes standard analysis methods such as the radial distribution function, as well as new methods including the potential of mean force and torque and local crystal environment analysis. Freud combines a Python interface with fast, parallel C + + analysis routines to run efficiently on laptops, workstations, and supercomputing clusters. Data analysis on clusters reduces data transfer requirements, a prohibitive cost for petascale computing. Used in conjunction with simulation software, Freud allows for smart simulations that adapt to the current state of the system, enabling the study of phenomena such as nucleation and growth, intelligent investigation of phases and phase transitions, and determination of effective pair potentials.

Antelope Valley Community College District Education Center.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newmyer, Joe

An analysis is provided of a proposal to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges by the Antelope Valley Community College District (AVCCD) to develop an education center in Palmdale to accommodate rapid growth. First, pros and cons are discussed for the following major options: (1) increase utilization and/or expand the…

ISA software suite: supporting standards-compliant experimental annotation and enabling curation at the community level

PubMed Central

Rocca-Serra, Philippe; Brandizi, Marco; Maguire, Eamonn; Sklyar, Nataliya; Taylor, Chris; Begley, Kimberly; Field, Dawn; Harris, Stephen; Hide, Winston; Hofmann, Oliver; Neumann, Steffen; Sterk, Peter; Tong, Weida; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta

2010-01-01

Summary: The first open source software suite for experimentalists and curators that (i) assists in the annotation and local management of experimental metadata from high-throughput studies employing one or a combination of omics and other technologies; (ii) empowers users to uptake community-defined checklists and ontologies; and (iii) facilitates submission to international public repositories. Availability and Implementation: Software, documentation, case studies and implementations at http://www.isa-tools.org Contact: isatools@googlegroups.com PMID:20679334

Rangeland restoration for Hirola, the world's most endangered antelope

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rangeland restoration can improve habitat for threatened species such as the hirola antelope (Beatragus hunteri) that inhabit savannas of eastern Kenya. However, restoration success likely varies across soil types and target restoration species, as well as according to restoration approach. We teste...

79. COVERED CONDUIT ACROSS ANTELOPE VALLEY WITH WIND FARM IN ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

79. COVERED CONDUIT ACROSS ANTELOPE VALLEY WITH WIND FARM IN DISTANCE - Los Angeles Aqueduct, From Lee Vining Intake (Mammoth Lakes) to Van Norman Reservoir Complex (San Fernando Valley), Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Seed shatter dates of antelope bitterbrush in Oregon.

Treesearch

G.R. Johnson; P.C. Berrang

2007-01-01

Seed shatter dates for antelope bitterbrush were estimated from collections at 192 sites in Oregon and surrounding states. Shatter date was strongly correlated to elevation, and an equation that included elevation, latitude, longitude, and longitude squared explained 79 percent of the variation in seed shatter dates. This information can assist those needing to...

Bluetongue virus in Oryx antelope (Oryx leucoryx) during the quarantine period in 2010 in Croatia.

PubMed

Bosnić, Sanja; Beck, Relja; Listeš, Eddy; Lojkić, Ivana; Savini, Giovanni; Roić, Besi

2015-01-01

Bluetongue (BT) is a viral infectious non‑contagious disease of domestic and wild ruminants. Insect species of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) serve as biological vectors that transmit bluetongue virus (BTV) to susceptible hosts. The infection is present in the Mediterranean region. Recently, it has also been reported in Central, Western, and Northern Europe where BTV‑8 was recognised as the causative serotype. In the meantime, BTV‑14 has appeared in the North‑Eastern part of Europe. In the present study, BTV serotype 16 (BTV‑16) was detected by virus neutralisation (VNT)‑assay and real‑time reverse transcription‑PCR (rRT‑PCR) in 1 antelope and BTV‑1 in 3 of 10 Oryx antelopes (Oryx leucoryx) imported in Croatia from the Sultanate of Oman. No BTV vectors were collected during the antelope quarantine on the Veliki Brijun Island. Also, no BTV antibodies were detected in sheep, cattle, and deer on the Island. Entomological studies did not reveal any new vector species that may have been introduced with the infected antelopes on their transportation. It was the first time that BTV was demonstrated in animals imported in Croatia. It involved BTV‑1, which had never been demonstrated before and BTV‑16, which had been previously recorded in domestic ruminants.

Improvements to the APBS biomolecular solvation software suite: Improvements to the APBS Software Suite

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

Jurrus, Elizabeth; Engel, Dave; Star, Keith

The Adaptive Poisson-Boltzmann Solver (APBS) software was developed to solve the equations of continuum electrostatics for large biomolecular assemblages that has provided impact in the study of a broad range of chemical, biological, and biomedical applications. APBS addresses three key technology challenges for understanding solvation and electrostatics in biomedical applications: accurate and efficient models for biomolecular solvation and electrostatics, robust and scalable software for applying those theories to biomolecular systems, and mechanisms for sharing and analyzing biomolecular electrostatics data in the scientific community. To address new research applications and advancing computational capabilities, we have continually updated APBS and its suitemore » of accompanying software since its release in 2001. In this manuscript, we discuss the models and capabilities that have recently been implemented within the APBS software package including: a Poisson-Boltzmann analytical and a semi-analytical solver, an optimized boundary element solver, a geometry-based geometric flow solvation model, a graph theory based algorithm for determining pKa values, and an improved web-based visualization tool for viewing electrostatics.« less

Notes on some rooting characteristics of antelope bitterbrush.

Treesearch

Burt R. McConnell

1961-01-01

Information on the root habits of native forage species is limited and the need for such data is keenly appreciated by most range managers. The lack of such information results mainly from the time and care required to obtain it. Consequently, when 24 antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) root systems were excavated during a study of seasonal...

MASH Suite: a user-friendly and versatile software interface for high-resolution mass spectrometry data interpretation and visualization.

PubMed

Guner, Huseyin; Close, Patrick L; Cai, Wenxuan; Zhang, Han; Peng, Ying; Gregorich, Zachery R; Ge, Ying

2014-03-01

The rapid advancements in mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation, particularly in Fourier transform (FT) MS, have made the acquisition of high-resolution and high-accuracy mass measurements routine. However, the software tools for the interpretation of high-resolution MS data are underdeveloped. Although several algorithms for the automatic processing of high-resolution MS data are available, there is still an urgent need for a user-friendly interface with functions that allow users to visualize and validate the computational output. Therefore, we have developed MASH Suite, a user-friendly and versatile software interface for processing high-resolution MS data. MASH Suite contains a wide range of features that allow users to easily navigate through data analysis, visualize complex high-resolution MS data, and manually validate automatically processed results. Furthermore, it provides easy, fast, and reliable interpretation of top-down, middle-down, and bottom-up MS data. MASH Suite is convenient, easily operated, and freely available. It can greatly facilitate the comprehensive interpretation and validation of high-resolution MS data with high accuracy and reliability.

Strengthening Software Authentication with the ROSE Software Suite

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

White, G

2006-06-15

Many recent nonproliferation and arms control software projects include a software authentication regime. These include U.S. Government-sponsored projects both in the United States and in the Russian Federation (RF). This trend toward requiring software authentication is only accelerating. Demonstrating assurance that software performs as expected without hidden ''backdoors'' is crucial to a project's success. In this context, ''authentication'' is defined as determining that a software package performs only its intended purpose and performs said purpose correctly and reliably over the planned duration of an agreement. In addition to visual inspections by knowledgeable computer scientists, automated tools are needed to highlightmore » suspicious code constructs, both to aid visual inspection and to guide program development. While many commercial tools are available for portions of the authentication task, they are proprietary and not extensible. An open-source, extensible tool can be customized to the unique needs of each project (projects can have both common and custom rules to detect flaws and security holes). Any such extensible tool has to be based on a complete language compiler. ROSE is precisely such a compiler infrastructure developed within the Department of Energy (DOE) and targeted at the optimization of scientific applications and user-defined libraries within large-scale applications (typically applications of a million lines of code). ROSE is a robust, source-to-source analysis and optimization infrastructure currently addressing large, million-line DOE applications in C and C++ (handling the full C, C99, C++ languages and with current collaborations to support Fortran90). We propose to extend ROSE to address a number of security-specific requirements, and apply it to software authentication for nonproliferation and arms control projects.« less

Water-quality variations in Antelope Creek and Deadmans Run, Lincoln, Nebraska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pettijohn, R.A.; Engberg, R.A.

1985-01-01

Eleven sets of samples from five sites on Antelope Creek and Dead Man 's Run in Lincoln, Nebraska, were collected from December 1982 through June 1983 to study water-quality variations. Specific-conductance values generally were similar for Antelope Creek at 52nd Street and 27th Street, but during a low-flow survey of December 1 they increased from 974 to 8,700 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 C from 27th Street to Court Street. Seepage of saline water from underlying bedrock to the stream occurs in this reach. Specific-conductance values were less variable for Dead Man 's Run, increasing an average of only 47 percent from 66th Street to U.S. Highway 6. Specific-conductance values were less at high flows in Antelope Creek, except in samples collected on January 6, 1983, which contained runoff from salted streets. Sodium and chloride concentrations in these samples were from 5 to 10 times greater than those measured in any other samples. Stray-current corrosion occurs when current flows between dissimilar metals. Zinc-coated wire of channel-stabilization structures (gabions) may be an anode and material within the stream banks may be a cathode. Dissolution of the zinc coating by this type of corrosion may be a cause for gabion deterioration in both streams. (USGS)

Real-time fluoroscopic needle guidance in the interventional radiology suite using navigational software for percutaneous bone biopsies in children.

PubMed

Shellikeri, Sphoorti; Setser, Randolph M; Hwang, Tiffany J; Srinivasan, Abhay; Krishnamurthy, Ganesh; Vatsky, Seth; Girard, Erin; Zhu, Xiaowei; Keller, Marc S; Cahill, Anne Marie

2017-07-01

Navigational software provides real-time fluoroscopic needle guidance for percutaneous procedures in the Interventional Radiology (IR) suite. We describe our experience with navigational software for pediatric percutaneous bone biopsies in the IR suite and compare technical success, diagnostic accuracy, radiation dose and procedure time with that of CT-guided biopsies. Pediatric bone biopsies performed using navigational software (Syngo iGuide, Siemens Healthcare) from 2011 to 2016 were prospectively included and anatomically matched CT-guided bone biopsies from 2008 to 2016 were retrospectively reviewed with institutional review board approval. C-arm CT protocols used for navigational software-assisted cases included institution-developed low-dose (0.1/0.17 μGy/projection), regular-dose (0.36 μGy/projection), or a combination of low-dose/regular-dose protocols. Estimated effective radiation dose and procedure times were compared between software-assisted and CT-guided biopsies. Twenty-six patients (15 male; mean age: 10 years) underwent software-assisted biopsies (15 pelvic, 7 lumbar and 4 lower extremity) and 33 patients (13 male; mean age: 9 years) underwent CT-guided biopsies (22 pelvic, 7 lumbar and 4 lower extremity). Both modality biopsies resulted in a 100% technical success rate. Twenty-five of 26 (96%) software-assisted and 29/33 (88%) CT-guided biopsies were diagnostic. Overall, the effective radiation dose was significantly lower in software-assisted than CT-guided cases (3.0±3.4 vs. 6.6±7.7 mSv, P=0.02). The effective dose difference was most dramatic in software-assisted cases using low-dose C-arm CT (1.2±1.8 vs. 6.6±7.7 mSv, P=0.001) or combined low-dose/regular-dose C-arm CT (1.9±2.4 vs. 6.6±7.7 mSv, P=0.04), whereas effective dose was comparable in software-assisted cases using regular-dose C-arm CT (6.0±3.5 vs. 6.6±7.7 mSv, P=0.7). Mean procedure time was significantly lower for software-assisted cases (91±54 vs. 141±68 min, P=0

Scent marking in a territorial African antelope: I. The maintenance of borders between male oribi.

PubMed

Brashares; Arcese

1999-01-01

Scent marking is ubiquitous among the dwarf antelope and gazelles of Africa, but its function has been the subject of debate. This study examined preorbital gland scent marking in the oribi, Ourebia ourebi, a territorial African antelope. Several hypotheses for the function of scent marking by territorial antelope were tested with observational data. Of these, the hypotheses that scent marking is driven by intrasexual competition between neighbouring males, and that marks serve as an honest advertisement of a male's ability to defend his territory from rivals, were supported best. Thirty-three territorial male oribi on 23 territories marked most at borders shared with other territorial males, and territorial males marked more often at borders shared with multimale groups than at borders shared with a single male. This suggests that males perceived neighbouring male groups as a greater threat to territory ownership than neighbouring males that defended their territories without the aid of adult subordinates. Marking rate was unrelated to territory size or the number of females on adjacent territories, but males with many male neighbours marked at higher rates than those with fewer male neighbours. These results suggest that the presence of male neighbours has a greater effect on the scent marking behaviour of territorial antelope than has been considered previously. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Find Pairs: The Module for Protein Quantification of the PeakQuant Software Suite

PubMed Central

Eisenacher, Martin; Kohl, Michael; Wiese, Sebastian; Hebeler, Romano; Meyer, Helmut E.

2012-01-01

Abstract Accurate quantification of proteins is one of the major tasks in current proteomics research. To address this issue, a wide range of stable isotope labeling techniques have been developed, allowing one to quantitatively study thousands of proteins by means of mass spectrometry. In this article, the FindPairs module of the PeakQuant software suite is detailed. It facilitates the automatic determination of protein abundance ratios based on the automated analysis of stable isotope-coded mass spectrometric data. Furthermore, it implements statistical methods to determine outliers due to biological as well as technical variance of proteome data obtained in replicate experiments. This provides an important means to evaluate the significance in obtained protein expression data. For demonstrating the high applicability of FindPairs, we focused on the quantitative analysis of proteome data acquired in 14N/15N labeling experiments. We further provide a comprehensive overview of the features of the FindPairs software, and compare these with existing quantification packages. The software presented here supports a wide range of proteomics applications, allowing one to quantitatively assess data derived from different stable isotope labeling approaches, such as 14N/15N labeling, SILAC, and iTRAQ. The software is publicly available at http://www.medizinisches-proteom-center.de/software and free for academic use. PMID:22909347

An advanced software suite for the processing and analysis of silicon luminescence images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Payne, D. N. R.; Vargas, C.; Hameiri, Z.; Wenham, S. R.; Bagnall, D. M.

2017-06-01

Luminescence imaging is a versatile characterisation technique used for a broad range of research and industrial applications, particularly for the field of photovoltaics where photoluminescence and electroluminescence imaging is routinely carried out for materials analysis and quality control. Luminescence imaging can reveal a wealth of material information, as detailed in extensive literature, yet these techniques are often only used qualitatively instead of being utilised to their full potential. Part of the reason for this is the time and effort required for image processing and analysis in order to convert image data to more meaningful results. In this work, a custom built, Matlab based software suite is presented which aims to dramatically simplify luminescence image processing and analysis. The suite includes four individual programs which can be used in isolation or in conjunction to achieve a broad array of functionality, including but not limited to, point spread function determination and deconvolution, automated sample extraction, image alignment and comparison, minority carrier lifetime calibration and iron impurity concentration mapping.

CORE (Common Operating Response Environment) Software Technology Suite

ScienceCinema

Gelston, Gariann; Rohlfing, Kerrie

2018-05-30

Agencies that oversee complex, multi-stakeholder programs need efficient, secure ways to link people and knowledge within and across organizations. The Common Operating Response Environment (CORE), a software suite developed by PNNL researchers does just that. The CORE tool—which is customizable for a multitude of uses—facilitates situational awareness by integrating diverse data streams without the need to reformat them, summarizing that information, and providing users with the information they need to rapidly understand and appropriately respond to situations. It is mobile device-ready, has a straightforward interface for ease of use across organizations and skill sets, and is incredibly configurable to the needs of each specific user, whether they require data summaries for high-level decision makers or tactical maps, operational data, or weather information for responders in the field. Information can be input into CORE and queried in a variety of ways—using customized forms, reports, visuals, or other organizational templates—according to the needs of each user’s organization, teams, and business processes. CORE data forms, for instance, could be accessed and used in real-time to capture information about vessels being inspected for nuclear material.

Devonian and Mississippian rocks of the northern Antelope Range, Eureka County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hose, Richard Kenneth; Armstrong, A.K.; Harris, A.G.; Mamet, B.L.

1982-01-01

Lower through Upper Devonian rocks of the northern Antelope Range, Nev., consist of four formational rank units more than 800 m thick, separated from Mississippian units by an unconformity. The lower three Devonian units, the Beacon Peak Dolomite, McColley Canyon Formation, and Denay Limestone are known in other areas; the top unit, the Fenstermaker Wash Formation, is new. The Mississippian units, more than 280 m thick, are divisible into three units which are unlike coeval units elsewhere, and are herein named the Davis Spring Formation, Kinkead Spring Limestone, and Antelope Range Formation. Systematic sampling of the Devonian sequence has yielded relatively abundant conodonts containing several biostratigraphic ally significant taxa. The Mississippian units contain redeposited conodonts of chiefly Late Devonian and Early Mississippian (Kinderhookian) age together with indigenous Osagean foraminifers and algae in the Kinkead Spring Limestone.

Hydrologic characteristics and possible effects of surface mining in the northwestern part of West Branch Antelope Creek basin, Mercer County, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crawley, Mark E.; Emerson, Douglas G.

1981-01-01

Lignite beds and abundant discontinuous sandstone beds of the Paleocene Sentinel Butte Member of the Fort Union Formation and sand and gravel beds in the Quarternary glaciofluvial deposits (Antelope Creek aquifer) are the most important aquifers for domestic and livestock water supplies in the West Branch Antelope Creek basin. In the Beulah-Zap lignite, ground water moves from highland area in the west toward the Antelope Creek aquifer. Water levels in the basal Sentinel Butte sandstone appear to be controlled by the level of Lake Sakakawea. In the glaciofluvial deposits of the Antelope Creek aquifer water moves from a ground-water divide northwestward to Lake Sakakawea and southeastward toward the Knife River. Large water-level declines in wells completed in the lignite and shallower aquifers could be expected with mining. The effects probably would be limited to within 1 to 2 miles of an active mine. Surface-runoff duration could be altered by increased infiltration and retention in the reclaimed are and possible temporal extension of base flow could occur. Shallow ground water beneath mine sites would be expected to increase in dissolved solids and locally to contain large sodium and sulfate concentrations. In some locations movement of poor quality water toward the Antelope Creek aquifer would be expected. (USGS)

CFEL-ASG Software Suite (CASS): usage for free-electron laser experiments with biological focus.

PubMed

Foucar, Lutz

2016-08-01

CASS [Foucar et al. (2012). Comput. Phys. Commun. 183 , 2207-2213] is a well established software suite for experiments performed at any sort of light source. It is based on a modular design and can easily be adapted for use at free-electron laser (FEL) experiments that have a biological focus. This article will list all the additional functionality and enhancements of CASS for use with FEL experiments that have been introduced since the first publication. The article will also highlight some advanced experiments with biological aspects that have been performed.

SAGES: A Suite of Freely-Available Software Tools for Electronic Disease Surveillance in Resource-Limited Settings

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-10

concert with existing surveillance applications or the SAGES tools may be used en masse for an end-to-end biosurveillance capability. This flexibility...existing surveillance applications or the SAGES tools may be used en masse for an end–to-end biosurveillance capability. doi:10.1371/journal.pone...health resources, and the costs of proprietary software. The Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance (SAGES) is a collection of modular

The Waveform Suite: A robust platform for accessing and manipulating seismic waveforms in MATLAB

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reyes, C. G.; West, M. E.; McNutt, S. R.

2009-12-01

The Waveform Suite, developed at the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute, is an open-source collection of MATLAB classes that provide a means to import, manipulate, display, and share waveform data while ensuring integrity of the data and stability for programs that incorporate them. Data may be imported from a variety of sources, such as Antelope, Winston databases, SAC files, SEISAN, .mat files, or other user-defined file formats. The waveforms being manipulated in MATLAB are isolated from their stored representations, relieving the overlying programs from the responsibility of understanding the specific format in which data is stored or retrieved. The waveform class provides an object oriented framework that simplifies manipulations to waveform data. Playing with data becomes easier because the tedious aspects of data manipulation have been automated. The user is able to change multiple waveforms simultaneously using standard mathematical operators and other syntactically familiar functions. Unlike MATLAB structs or workspace variables, the data stored within waveform class objects are protected from modification, and instead are accessed through standardized functions, such as get and set; these are already familiar to users of MATLAB’s graphical features. This prevents accidental or nonsensical modifications to the data, which in turn simplifies troubleshooting of complex programs. Upgrades to the internal structure of the waveform class are invisible to applications which use it, making maintenance easier. We demonstrate the Waveform Suite’s capabilities on seismic data from Okmok and Redoubt volcanoes. Years of data from Okmok were retrieved from Antelope and Winston databases. Using the Waveform Suite, we built a tremor-location program. Because the program was built on the Waveform Suite, modifying it to operate on real-time data from Redoubt involved only minimal code changes. The utility of the Waveform Suite as a foundation for large

Hybridization following population collapse in a critically endangered antelope

PubMed Central

Vaz Pinto, Pedro; Beja, Pedro; Ferrand, Nuno; Godinho, Raquel

2016-01-01

Population declines may promote interspecific hybridization due to the shortage of conspecific mates (Hubb’s ‘desperation’ hypothesis), thus greatly increasing the risk of species extinction. Yet, confirming this process in the wild has proved elusive. Here we combine camera-trapping and molecular surveys over seven years to document demographic processes associated with introgressive hybridization between the critically endangered giant sable antelope (Hippotragus niger variani), and the naturally sympatric roan antelope (H. equinus). Hybrids with intermediate phenotypes, including backcrosses with roan, were confirmed in one of the two remnant giant sable populations. Hybridization followed population depletion of both species due to severe wartime poaching. In the absence of mature sable males, a mixed herd of sable females and hybrids formed and grew progressively over time. To prevent further hybridization and recover this small population, all sable females were confined to a large enclosure, to which sables from the other remnant population were translocated. Given the large scale declines in many animal populations, hybridization and introgression associated with the scarcity of conspecific mates may be an increasing cause of biodiversity conservation concern. In these circumstances, the early detection of hybrids should be a priority in the conservation management of small populations. PMID:26732144

Book review: Bovids of the World: Antelopes, gazelles, cattle, goats, sheep, and relatives

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leslie, David

2017-01-01

No abstract available.Book info: Bovids of the World: Antelopes, Gazelles, Cattle, Goats, Sheep, and Relatives. José R. Castelló. 2016. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. 664 pp. ISBN 978-0-691-16717-6.

Microchip transponder thermometry for monitoring core body temperature of antelope during capture.

PubMed

Rey, Benjamin; Fuller, Andrea; Hetem, Robyn S; Lease, Hilary M; Mitchell, Duncan; Meyer, Leith C R

2016-01-01

Hyperthermia is described as the major cause of morbidity and mortality associated with capture, immobilization and restraint of wild animals. Therefore, accurately determining the core body temperature of wild animals during capture is crucial for monitoring hyperthermia and the efficacy of cooling procedures. We investigated if microchip thermometry can accurately reflect core body temperature changes during capture and cooling interventions in the springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), a medium-sized antelope. Subcutaneous temperature measured with a temperature-sensitive microchip was a weak predictor of core body temperature measured by temperature-sensitive data loggers in the abdominal cavity (R(2)=0.32, bias >2 °C). Temperature-sensitive microchips in the gluteus muscle, however, provided an accurate estimate of core body temperature (R(2)=0.76, bias=0.012 °C). Microchips inserted into muscle therefore provide a convenient and accurate method to measure body temperature continuously in captured antelope, allowing detection of hyperthermia and the efficacy of cooling procedures. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Salvus: A scalable software suite for full-waveform modelling & inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afanasiev, M.; Boehm, C.; van Driel, M.; Krischer, L.; Fichtner, A.

2017-12-01

Full-waveform inversion (FWI), whether at the lab, exploration, or planetary scale, requires the cooperation of five principal components. (1) The geometry of the domain needs to be properly discretized and an initial guess of the model parameters must be projected onto it; (2) Large volumes of recorded waveform data must be collected, organized, and processed; (3) Synthetic waveform data must be efficiently and accurately computed through complex domains; (4) Suitable misfit functions and optimization techniques must be used to relate discrepancies in data space to perturbations in the model; and (5) Some form of workflow management must be employed to schedule and run (1) - (4) in the correct order. Each one of these components can represent a formidable technical challenge which redirects energy from the true task at hand: using FWI to extract new information about some underlying continuum.In this presentation we give an overview of the current status of the Salvus software suite, which was introduced to address the challenges listed above. Specifically, we touch on (1) salvus_mesher, which eases the discretization of complex Earth models into hexahedral meshes; (2) salvus_seismo, which integrates with LASIF and ObsPy to streamline the processing and preparation of seismic data; (3) salvus_wave, a high-performance and scalable spectral-element solver capable of simulating waveforms through general unstructured 2- and 3-D domains, and (4) salvus_opt, an optimization toolbox specifically designed for full-waveform inverse problems. Tying everything together, we also discuss (5) salvus_flow: a workflow package designed to orchestrate and manage the rest of the suite. It is our hope that these developments represent a step towards the automation of large-scale seismic waveform inversion, while also lowering the barrier of entry for new applications. We include several examples of Salvus' use in (extra-) planetary seismology, non-destructive testing, and medical

California; Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District; VOCs from Motor Vehicle Assembly Coating Operations

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA is proposing to approve a revision to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District portion of the California SIP concerning emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from motor vehicle assembly coating operations.

Windigo Ways: Eating and Excess in Louise Erdrich's "The Antelope Wife"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tharp, Julie

2003-01-01

The cautionary figure of windigo has lurked at the edges of Louise Erdrich's writing since her first collection of poems in 1984. In "The Antelope Wife" it finally emerges into full view. A windigo is defined as a cannibalistic monster set loose by human greed, envy, and jealousy. Traditional Ojibwe windigo stories usually focus on the starving…

Hekate: Software Suite for the Mass Spectrometric Analysis and Three-Dimensional Visualization of Cross-Linked Protein Samples

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Chemical cross-linking of proteins combined with mass spectrometry provides an attractive and novel method for the analysis of native protein structures and protein complexes. Analysis of the data however is complex. Only a small number of cross-linked peptides are produced during sample preparation and must be identified against a background of more abundant native peptides. To facilitate the search and identification of cross-linked peptides, we have developed a novel software suite, named Hekate. Hekate is a suite of tools that address the challenges involved in analyzing protein cross-linking experiments when combined with mass spectrometry. The software is an integrated pipeline for the automation of the data analysis workflow and provides a novel scoring system based on principles of linear peptide analysis. In addition, it provides a tool for the visualization of identified cross-links using three-dimensional models, which is particularly useful when combining chemical cross-linking with other structural techniques. Hekate was validated by the comparative analysis of cytochrome c (bovine heart) against previously reported data.1 Further validation was carried out on known structural elements of DNA polymerase III, the catalytic α-subunit of the Escherichia coli DNA replisome along with new insight into the previously uncharacterized C-terminal domain of the protein. PMID:24010795

COMPASS: a suite of pre- and post-search proteomics software tools for OMSSA

PubMed Central

Wenger, Craig D.; Phanstiel, Douglas H.; Lee, M. Violet; Bailey, Derek J.; Coon, Joshua J.

2011-01-01

Here we present the Coon OMSSA Proteomic Analysis Software Suite (COMPASS): a free and open-source software pipeline for high-throughput analysis of proteomics data, designed around the Open Mass Spectrometry Search Algorithm. We detail a synergistic set of tools for protein database generation, spectral reduction, peptide false discovery rate analysis, peptide quantitation via isobaric labeling, protein parsimony and protein false discovery rate analysis, and protein quantitation. We strive for maximum ease of use, utilizing graphical user interfaces and working with data files in the original instrument vendor format. Results are stored in plain text comma-separated values files, which are easy to view and manipulate with a text editor or spreadsheet program. We illustrate the operation and efficacy of COMPASS through the use of two LC–MS/MS datasets. The first is a dataset of a highly annotated mixture of standard proteins and manually validated contaminants that exhibits the identification workflow. The second is a dataset of yeast peptides, labeled with isobaric stable isotope tags and mixed in known ratios, to demonstrate the quantitative workflow. For these two datasets, COMPASS performs equivalently or better than the current de facto standard, the Trans-Proteomic Pipeline. PMID:21298793

Using fecal hormonal and behavioral analyses to evaluate the introduction of two sable antelope at Lincoln Park Zoo.

PubMed

Loeding, Erin; Thomas, Jeanette; Bernier, Dave; Santymire, Rachel

2011-01-01

Introductions of sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) can be difficult due to the potential ensuing aggression compounded by their large horns. The goal was to use hormonal assays and behavioral analyses to evaluate the success of an introduction of 2 adult females at Lincoln Park Zoo. The objectives were to (a) document behavioral and hormonal changes in 2 female sable antelope during the introduction, (b) compare fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) in each individual during the introduction stages, (c) measure fecal androgen metabolites (FAM) during introduction and compare with dominance rank and observed aggression, and (d) monitor estrous cycle synchronization. Results demonstrate that FGM were higher before than during and after the introduction. Behavioral observations indicated limited aggression between females, although the keeper survey results revealed that the new female was more dominant and had higher mean FGM and FAM than the resident. Both sable antelope were reproductively active throughout the year. Results indicate that fecal hormone analysis can provide zoo management with valuable information to minimize the risk of aggression, injury, and stress during introductions of nonhuman animals.

Web-based Tool Suite for Plasmasphere Information Discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newman, T. S.; Wang, C.; Gallagher, D. L.

2005-12-01

A suite of tools that enable discovery of terrestrial plasmasphere characteristics from NASA IMAGE Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) images is described. The tool suite is web-accessible, allowing easy remote access without the need for any software installation on the user's computer. The features supported by the tool include reconstruction of the plasmasphere plasma density distribution from a short sequence of EUV images, semi-automated selection of the plasmapause boundary in an EUV image, and mapping of the selected boundary to the geomagnetic equatorial plane. EUV image upload and result download is also supported. The tool suite's plasmapause mapping feature is achieved via the Roelof and Skinner (2000) Edge Algorithm. The plasma density reconstruction is achieved through a tomographic technique that exploits physical constraints to allow for a moderate resolution result. The tool suite's software architecture uses Java Server Pages (JSP) and Java Applets on the front side for user-software interaction and Java Servlets on the server side for task execution. The compute-intensive components of the tool suite are implemented in C++ and invoked by the server via Java Native Interface (JNI).

Ascent/Descent Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Charles; Andrew, Robert; Roe, Scott; Frye, Ronald; Harvey, Michael; Vu, Tuan; Balachandran, Krishnaiyer; Bly, Ben

2012-01-01

The Ascent/Descent Software Suite has been used to support a variety of NASA Shuttle Program mission planning and analysis activities, such as range safety, on the Integrated Planning System (IPS) platform. The Ascent/Descent Software Suite, containing Ascent Flight Design (ASC)/Descent Flight Design (DESC) Configuration items (Cis), lifecycle documents, and data files used for shuttle ascent and entry modeling analysis and mission design, resides on IPS/Linux workstations. A list of tools in Navigation (NAV)/Prop Software Suite represents tool versions established during or after the IPS Equipment Rehost-3 project.

Land use and water use in the Antelope Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Templin, William E.; Phillips, Steven P.; Cherry, Daniel E.; DeBortoli, Myrna L.; Haltom, T.C.; McPherson, Kelly R.; Mrozek, C.A.

1995-01-01

Urban land use and water use in the Antelope Valley, California, have increased significantly since development of the valley began in the late 1800's.. Ground water has been a major source of water in this area because of limited local surface-water resources. Ground-water pumpage is reported to have increased from about 29,000 acre-feet in 1919 to about 400,000 acre-feet in the 1950's. Completion of the California Aqueduct to this area in the early 1970's conveyed water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, about 400 miles to the north. Declines in groundwater levels and increased costs of electrical power in the 1970's resulted in a reduction in the quantity of ground water that was pumped annually for irrigation uses. Total annual reported ground-water pumpage decreased to a low of about 53,200 acre-feet in 1983 and increased to about 91,700 acre-feet in 1991 as a result of rapid urban development and the 1987-92 drought. This increased urban development, in combination with several years of drought, renewed concern about a possible return to extensive depletion of ground-water storage and increased land subsidence.Increased water demands are expected to continue as a result of increased urban development. Water-demand forecasts in 1980 for the Antelope Valley indicated that total annual water demand by 2020 was expected to be about 250,000 acre-feet, with agricultural demand being about 65 percent of this total. In 1990, total water demand was projected to be about 175,000 acre-feet by 2010; however, agricultural water demand was expected to account for only 37 percent of the total demand. New and existing land- and water-use data were collected and compiled during 1992-93 to identify present and historical land and water uses. In 1993, preliminary forecasts for total water demand by 2010 ranged from about 127,500 to 329,000 acre-feet. These wide-ranging estimates indicate that forecasts can change with time as factors that affect water demand change and

Spatial distribution of nilgai antelope latrines: Implications for control of cattle fever ticks.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nilgai antelope (Boselaphus tragocamelus), are an exotic species of ungulate in Texas. Native to India, Nepal, and Pakistan, nilgai have expanded into northeast Mexico and much of coastal southern Texas since their introduction in 1924–1949. The presence of nilgai in Mexico and South Texas has compl...

Precipitation depth-duration and frequency characteristics for Antelope Valley, Mojave Desert, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Blodgett, J.C.

1995-01-01

Methods to evaluate changes in the volume of storm runoff from drainage basins that are likely to be urbanized are needed by land-use planning agencies to establish criteria for the design of flood-control systems. To document the changes in runoff volume of basins that may be urbanized, nine small basins that are considered representative of varying hydrologic conditions in Antelope Valley, California, were selected for detailed study. Precipitation and stream-gaging stations were established and data were collected for the period 1990-93. The data collected at these U.S. Geological Survey stations were supplemented by data collected at 35 Long-term precipitation stations operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. These data will be used to calibrate and verify rainfall-runoff models for the nine basins. Results of the model runs will then be used as a guide for estimating basin runoff characteristics throughout Antelope Valley. Annual precipitation in Antelope Valley ranges from more than 20 inches in the mountains to less than 4 inches on the valley floor. Most precipitation in the valley falls during the months of December through March, but cyclonic storms in the fall and convectional storms in the summer sometimes occur. The duration of most storms ranges from 1 to 8 days, but most of the precipitation usually occurs within the first 2 days. Many parts of the valley have been affected by storms with precipitation depths that equal or exceed 0.60 inch per hour. The storms of January 1943 and March 1983 were the most intense storms of record, with recurrence intervals greater than 100 years in some parts of the valley. Depth-duration ratios were calculated by disaggregating daily total precipitation data for intervals of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, and 18 hours for storms that occurred during 1990-93. The hourly total precipitation data were then disaggregated at 5-minute intervals. A comparison

77 FR 12495 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-01

... the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District and Mojave Desert Quality Management District AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Direct final... Quality Management District (AVAQMD) and Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD) portion of...

CLMSVault: A Software Suite for Protein Cross-Linking Mass-Spectrometry Data Analysis and Visualization.

PubMed

Courcelles, Mathieu; Coulombe-Huntington, Jasmin; Cossette, Émilie; Gingras, Anne-Claude; Thibault, Pierre; Tyers, Mike

2017-07-07

Protein cross-linking mass spectrometry (CL-MS) enables the sensitive detection of protein interactions and the inference of protein complex topology. The detection of chemical cross-links between protein residues can identify intra- and interprotein contact sites or provide physical constraints for molecular modeling of protein structure. Recent innovations in cross-linker design, sample preparation, mass spectrometry, and software tools have significantly improved CL-MS approaches. Although a number of algorithms now exist for the identification of cross-linked peptides from mass spectral data, a dearth of user-friendly analysis tools represent a practical bottleneck to the broad adoption of the approach. To facilitate the analysis of CL-MS data, we developed CLMSVault, a software suite designed to leverage existing CL-MS algorithms and provide intuitive and flexible tools for cross-platform data interpretation. CLMSVault stores and combines complementary information obtained from different cross-linkers and search algorithms. CLMSVault provides filtering, comparison, and visualization tools to support CL-MS analyses and includes a workflow for label-free quantification of cross-linked peptides. An embedded 3D viewer enables the visualization of quantitative data and the mapping of cross-linked sites onto PDB structural models. We demonstrate the application of CLMSVault for the analysis of a noncovalent Cdc34-ubiquitin protein complex cross-linked under different conditions. CLMSVault is open-source software (available at https://gitlab.com/courcelm/clmsvault.git ), and a live demo is available at http://democlmsvault.tyerslab.com/ .

SAGES: A Suite of Freely-Available Software Tools for Electronic Disease Surveillance in Resource-Limited Settings

PubMed Central

Lewis, Sheri L.; Feighner, Brian H.; Loschen, Wayne A.; Wojcik, Richard A.; Skora, Joseph F.; Coberly, Jacqueline S.; Blazes, David L.

2011-01-01

Public health surveillance is undergoing a revolution driven by advances in the field of information technology. Many countries have experienced vast improvements in the collection, ingestion, analysis, visualization, and dissemination of public health data. Resource-limited countries have lagged behind due to challenges in information technology infrastructure, public health resources, and the costs of proprietary software. The Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance (SAGES) is a collection of modular, flexible, freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings. One or more SAGES tools may be used in concert with existing surveillance applications or the SAGES tools may be used en masse for an end-to-end biosurveillance capability. This flexibility allows for the development of an inexpensive, customized, and sustainable disease surveillance system. The ability to rapidly assess anomalous disease activity may lead to more efficient use of limited resources and better compliance with World Health Organization International Health Regulations. PMID:21572957

Antelope bitterbrush reestablishment: a case study of plant size and browse protection effects.

Treesearch

G. Randy Johnson; Joel P. Okula

2006-01-01

After an intense stand-replacement fire in south-central Oregon, 1-y-old (1+0) bareroot seedlings of antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata (Pursh) DC. [Rosaceae]) were outplanted over a 4-y period. Paired-plots were established to examine the benefits of protecting the plants from damage due to animal browsing with Vexar mesh tubing. In the first...

Ibex-associated malignant catarrhal fever-like disease in a group of bongo antelope (Tragelaphus euryceros)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A private zoological facility experienced an outbreak of fatal malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) in a group of bongo antelope (Tragelaphus euryceros). Three periparturient female bongos exhibited an acute onset of anorexia beginning ~6 weeks after being housed with a Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana). Disea...

THE EPA MULTIMEDIA INTEGRATED MODELING SYSTEM SOFTWARE SUITE

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. EPA is developing a Multimedia Integrated Modeling System (MIMS) framework that will provide a software infrastructure or environment to support constructing, composing, executing, and evaluating complex modeling studies. The framework will include (1) common software ...

Groundwater-flow and land-subsidence model of Antelope Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Siade, Adam J.; Nishikawa, Tracy; Rewis, Diane L.; Martin, Peter; Phillips, Steven P.

2014-01-01

Results from the first scenario indicated that the total drawdown observed since predevelopment would continue, with values exceeding 325 ft near Palmdale; consequently, land subsidence would also continue, with additional subsidence (since 2005) exceeding 3 ft in the central part of the Lancaster subbasin. The second scenario evaluated redistributing pumpage from areas in the Lancaster subbasin where simulated hydraulic-head declines were the greatest to areas where declines were smallest. Neither a formal optimization algorithm nor water-rights allocations were considered when redistributing the pumpage. Results indicated that hydraulic heads near Palmdale, where the pumpage was reduced, would recover by about 200 ft compared to 2005 conditions, with only 30 ft of additional drawdown in the northwestern part of the Lancaster subbasin, where the pumpage was increased. The magnitude of the simulated additional land subsidence decreased slightly compared to the first, status quo, scenario but land subsidence continued to be simulated throughout most of the northern part of the Lancaster subbasin. The third scenario consisted of two artificial-recharge simulations along the Upper Amargosa Creek channel and at a site located north of Antelope Buttes. Results indicate that applying artificial recharge at these sites would yield continued drawdowns and associated land subsidence. However, the magnitudes of drawdown and subsidence would be smaller than those simulated in the status quo scenario, indicating that artificial-recharge operations in the Antelope Valley could be expected to reduce the magnitude and extent of continued water-level declines and associated land subsidence.

Student Equity at Antelope Valley College: An Examination of Underrepresented Student Access and Success.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewallen, Willard Clark

In February 1994, Antelope Valley College (AVC), in California, adopted a Student Equity Plan to determine the access and success of historically underrepresented students. As part of the Plan, AVC collected data on five student equity indicators: a comparison of ethnic group enrollment to representation in the service area, the ratio of courses…

Personal computer security: part 1. Firewalls, antivirus software, and Internet security suites.

PubMed

Caruso, Ronald D

2003-01-01

Personal computer (PC) security in the era of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) involves two interrelated elements: safeguarding the basic computer system itself and protecting the information it contains and transmits, including personal files. HIPAA regulations have toughened the requirements for securing patient information, requiring every radiologist with such data to take further precautions. Security starts with physically securing the computer. Account passwords and a password-protected screen saver should also be set up. A modern antivirus program can easily be installed and configured. File scanning and updating of virus definitions are simple processes that can largely be automated and should be performed at least weekly. A software firewall is also essential for protection from outside intrusion, and an inexpensive hardware firewall can provide yet another layer of protection. An Internet security suite yields additional safety. Regular updating of the security features of installed programs is important. Obtaining a moderate degree of PC safety and security is somewhat inconvenient but is necessary and well worth the effort. Copyright RSNA, 2003

Dtest Testing Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jain, Abhinandan; Cameron, Jonathan M.; Myint, Steven

2013-01-01

This software runs a suite of arbitrary software tests spanning various software languages and types of tests (unit level, system level, or file comparison tests). The dtest utility can be set to automate periodic testing of large suites of software, as well as running individual tests. It supports distributing multiple tests over multiple CPU cores, if available. The dtest tool is a utility program (written in Python) that scans through a directory (and its subdirectories) and finds all directories that match a certain pattern and then executes any tests in that directory as described in simple configuration files.

Role and movement of nilgai antelope, Boselaphus tragocamelus, in the epizootiology of cattle fever ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in re-infestations along the Texas/Mexico border in south Texas

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nilgai antelope are the largest Asian antelope and are originally endemic to the Indian subcontinent. Nilgai were introduced into Texas in the 1940s for hunting purposes and are now the most abundant free-ranging ungulate in south Texas with population estimates in the early 1990s of more than 36,0...

Hydrogeologic framework of Antelope Valley and Bedell Flat, Washoe County, west-central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berger, D.L.; Ponce, D.A.; Ross, W.C.

2001-01-01

Description of the hydrogeologic framework of Antelope Valley and Bedell Flat in west-central Nevada adds to the general knowledge of regional ground-water flow north of the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area. The hydrogeologic framework is defined by the rocks and deposits that transmit ground water or impede its movement and by the combined thickness of Cenozoic deposits. When data are lacking about the subsurface geology of an area, geophysical methods can be used to provide additional information. In this study, gravimetric and seismic-refraction methods were used to infer the form of structural features and to estimate the thickness of Cenozoic deposits in each of the two valleys. In Antelope Valley, the thickness of these deposits probably does not exceed about 300 feet, suggesting that ground-water storage in the basin-fill aquifer is limited. Beneath Bedell Flat is an elongated, northeast-trending structural depression in the pre-Cenozoic basement; the maximum thickness of Cenozoic deposits is about 2,500 feet beneath the south-central part of the valley. Shallow ground water in the northwest corner of Bedell Flat may be a result of decreasing depth to the pre-Cenozoic basement.

Principal facts for gravity stations in the Antelope Valley-Bedell Flat area, west-central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jewel, Eleanore B.; Ponce, David A.; Morin, Robert L.

2000-01-01

In April 2000 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) established 211 gravity stations in the Antelope Valley and Bedell Flat area of west-central Nevada (see figure 1). The stations were located about 15 miles north of Reno, Nevada, southwest of Dogskin Mountain, and east of Petersen Mountain, concentrated in Antelope Valley and Bedell Flat (figure 2). The ranges in this area primarily consist of normal-faulted Cretaceous granitic rocks, with some volcanic and metavolcanic rocks. The purpose of the survey was to characterize the hydrogeologic framework of Antelope Valley and Bedell Flat in support of future hydrologic investigations. The information developed during this study can be used in groundwater models. Gravity data were collected between latitude 39°37.5' and 40°00' N and longitude 119°37.5' and 120°00' W. The stations were located on the Seven Lakes Mountain, Dogskin Mountain, Granite Peak, Bedell Flat, Fraser Flat, and Reno NE 7.5 minute quadrangles. All data were tied to secondary base station RENO-A located on the campus of the University of Nevada at Reno (UNR) in Reno, Nevada (latitude 39°32.30' N, longitude 119°48.70' W, observed gravity value 979674.69 mGal). The value for observed gravity was calculated by multiple ties to the base station RENO (latitude 39°32.30' N, longitude 119°48.70' W, observed gravity value 979674.65 mGal), also on the UNR campus. The isostatic gravity map (figure 3) includes additional data sets from the following sources: 202 stations from a Geological Survey digital data set (Ponce, 1997), and 126 stations from Thomas C. Carpenter (written commun., 1998).

Dissolved-Solids Load in Henrys Fork Upstream from the Confluence with Antelope Wash, Wyoming, Water Years 1970-2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Foster, Katharine; Kenney, Terry A.

2010-01-01

Annual dissolved-solids load at the mouth of Henrys Fork was estimated by using data from U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station 09229500, Henrys Fork near Manila, Utah. The annual dissolved-solids load for water years 1970-2009 ranged from 18,300 tons in 1977 to 123,300 tons in 1983. Annual streamflows for this period ranged from 14,100 acre-feet in 1977 to 197,500 acre-feet in 1983. The 25-percent trimmed mean dissolved-solids load for water years 1970-2009 was 44,300 tons per year at Henrys Fork near Manila, Utah. Previous simulations using a SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) model for dissolved solids specific to water year 1991 conditions in the Upper Colorado River Basin predicted an annual dissolved-solids load of 25,000 tons for the Henrys Fork Basin upstream from Antelope Wash. On the basis of computed dissolved-solids load data from Henrys Fork near Manila, Utah, together with estimated annual dissolved-solids load from Antelope Wash and Peoples Canal, this prediction was adjusted to 37,200 tons. As determined by simulations with the Upper Colorado River Basin SPARROW model, approximately 56 percent (14,000 tons per year) of the dissolved-solids load at Henrys Fork upstream from Antelope Wash is associated with the 21,500 acres of irrigated agricultural lands in the upper Henrys Fork Basin.

An Improved Suite of Object Oriented Software Measures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neal, Ralph D.; Weistroffer, H. Roland; Coppins, Richard J.

1997-01-01

In the pursuit of ever increasing productivity, the need to be able to measure specific aspects of software is generally agreed upon. As object oriented programming languages are becoming more and more widely used, metrics specifically designed for object oriented software are required. In recent years there has been an explosion of new, object oriented software metrics proposed in the literature. Unfortunately, many or most of these proposed metrics have not been validated to measure what they claim to measure. In fact, an analysis of many of these metrics shows that they do not satisfy basic properties of measurement theory, and thus their application has to be suspect. In this paper ten improved metrics are proposed and are validated using measurement theory.

Preliminary hydrogeologic assessment near the boundary of the Antelope Valley and El Mirage Valley groundwater basins, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stamos, Christina L.; Christensen, Allen H.; Langenheim, Victoria

2017-07-19

The increasing demands on groundwater for water supply in desert areas in California and the western United States have resulted in the need to better understand groundwater sources, availability, and sustainability. This is true for a 650-square-mile area that encompasses the Antelope Valley, El Mirage Valley, and Upper Mojave River Valley groundwater basins, about 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, in the western part of the Mojave Desert. These basins have been adjudicated to ensure that groundwater rights are allocated according to legal judgments. In an effort to assess if the boundary between the Antelope Valley and El Mirage Valley groundwater basins could be better defined, the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative study in 2014 with the Mojave Water Agency to better understand the hydrogeology in the area and investigate potential controls on groundwater flow and availability, including basement topography.Recharge is sporadic and primarily from small ephemeral washes and streams that originate in the San Gabriel Mountains to the south; estimates range from about 400 to 1,940 acre-feet per year. Lateral underflow from adjacent basins has been considered minor in previous studies; underflow from the Antelope Valley to the El Mirage Valley groundwater basin has been estimated to be between 100 and 1,900 acre-feet per year. Groundwater discharge is primarily from pumping, mostly by municipal supply wells. Between October 2013 and September 2014, the municipal pumpage in the Antelope Valley and El Mirage Valley groundwater basins was reported to be about 800 and 2,080 acre-feet, respectively.This study was motivated by the results from a previously completed regional gravity study, which suggested a northeast-trending subsurface basement ridge and saddle approximately 3.5 miles west of the boundary between the Antelope Valley and El Mirage Valley groundwater basins that might influence groundwater flow. To better define potential basement

Approaches in highly parameterized inversion—PEST++ Version 3, a Parameter ESTimation and uncertainty analysis software suite optimized for large environmental models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Welter, David E.; White, Jeremy T.; Hunt, Randall J.; Doherty, John E.

2015-09-18

The PEST++ Version 3 software suite can be compiled for Microsoft Windows®4 and Linux®5 operating systems; the source code is available in a Microsoft Visual Studio®6 2013 solution; Linux Makefiles are also provided. PEST++ Version 3 continues to build a foundation for an open-source framework capable of producing robust and efficient parameter estimation tools for large environmental models.

Genetic diversity of the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) population of Ladakh, India, its relationship with other populations and conservation implications.

PubMed

Ahmad, Khursheed; Kumar, Ved P; Joshi, Bheem Dutt; Raza, Mohamed; Nigam, Parag; Khan, Anzara Anjum; Goyal, Surendra P

2016-10-21

The Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii), or chiru, is an endangered antelope, distributed in China [Xinjiang, Xizang, Qinghai, Zhuolaihu Lake (Breeding habitat)], and India (Aksai Chin and Ladakh). There is a global demand for the species prized wool, which is used in weaving shahtoosh shawls. Over the years, the population of the Tibetan antelope has drastically declined from more than a million to a few thousand individuals, mainly due to poaching. Field studies undertaken in Ladakh, India also indicated winter migration of the population to Tibet. Migration between winter and calving habitats is well established to be female-biased across the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau (QTP). For effective conservation planning, genetic characterization is considered the best way to understand the likely impact of threats for ensuring the long-term viability of the population. In this regard, genetic characteristics of all Chinese populations are well-studied using mitochondrial and microsatellite markers, but information is lacking for the Indian population. Therefore, using the control region marker, we document for the first time the genetic variation of the Indian population of the Tibetan antelope, the extent of migration and its relationships with other populations of China. The partial fragment of control region (259 bp) marker was successfully amplified in 30 Tibetan antelope samples that were collected from the Chang Chenmo Valley in eastern Ladakh, India. We also retrieved control region sequences (n = 88) available in the public domain from GenBank of different Chinese populations. Low levels of nucleotide (π; 0.004) and haplotype (hd; 0.543) diversity were observed in the Indian population when compared to Chinese populations (π = 0.01357-0.02048 and hd = 0.889-0.986). Commonly used indices (Tajima's D and Fu's Fs) were analyzed for inferring the demographic history of the Indian populations, and all values were negative indicating population expansion or

A suite of microsatellite markers optimized for amplification of DNA from Addax (Addax nasomaculatus) blood preserved on FTA cards.

PubMed

Heim, Brett C; Ivy, Jamie A; Latch, Emily K

2012-01-01

The addax (Addax nasomaculatus) is a critically endangered antelope that is currently maintained in zoos through regional, conservation breeding programs. As for many captive species, incomplete pedigree data currently impedes the ability of addax breeding programs to confidently manage the genetics of captive populations and to select appropriate animals for reintroduction. Molecular markers are often used to improve pedigree resolution, thereby improving the long-term effectiveness of genetic management. When developing a suite of molecular markers, it is important to consider the source of DNA, as the utility of markers may vary across DNA sources. In this study, we optimized a suite of microsatellite markers for use in genotyping captive addax blood samples collected on FTA cards. We amplified 66 microsatellite loci previously described in other Artiodactyls. Sixteen markers amplified a single product in addax, but only 5 of these were found to be polymorphic in a sample of 37 addax sampled from a captive herd at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in the US. The suite of microsatellite markers developed in this study provides a new tool for the genetic management of captive addax, and demonstrates that FTA cards can be a useful means of sample storage, provided appropriate loci are used in downstream analyses. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Data processing software suite SITENNO for coherent X-ray diffraction imaging using the X-ray free-electron laser SACLA.

PubMed

Sekiguchi, Yuki; Oroguchi, Tomotaka; Takayama, Yuki; Nakasako, Masayoshi

2014-05-01

Coherent X-ray diffraction imaging is a promising technique for visualizing the structures of non-crystalline particles with dimensions of micrometers to sub-micrometers. Recently, X-ray free-electron laser sources have enabled efficient experiments in the `diffraction before destruction' scheme. Diffraction experiments have been conducted at SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free-electron LAser (SACLA) using the custom-made diffraction apparatus KOTOBUKI-1 and two multiport CCD detectors. In the experiments, ten thousands of single-shot diffraction patterns can be collected within several hours. Then, diffraction patterns with significant levels of intensity suitable for structural analysis must be found, direct-beam positions in diffraction patterns determined, diffraction patterns from the two CCD detectors merged, and phase-retrieval calculations for structural analyses performed. A software suite named SITENNO has been developed to semi-automatically apply the four-step processing to a huge number of diffraction data. Here, details of the algorithm used in the suite are described and the performance for approximately 9000 diffraction patterns collected from cuboid-shaped copper oxide particles reported. Using the SITENNO suite, it is possible to conduct experiments with data processing immediately after the data collection, and to characterize the size distribution and internal structures of the non-crystalline particles.

Data processing software suite SITENNO for coherent X-ray diffraction imaging using the X-ray free-electron laser SACLA

PubMed Central

Sekiguchi, Yuki; Oroguchi, Tomotaka; Takayama, Yuki; Nakasako, Masayoshi

2014-01-01

Coherent X-ray diffraction imaging is a promising technique for visualizing the structures of non-crystalline particles with dimensions of micrometers to sub-micrometers. Recently, X-ray free-electron laser sources have enabled efficient experiments in the ‘diffraction before destruction’ scheme. Diffraction experiments have been conducted at SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free-electron LAser (SACLA) using the custom-made diffraction apparatus KOTOBUKI-1 and two multiport CCD detectors. In the experiments, ten thousands of single-shot diffraction patterns can be collected within several hours. Then, diffraction patterns with significant levels of intensity suitable for structural analysis must be found, direct-beam positions in diffraction patterns determined, diffraction patterns from the two CCD detectors merged, and phase-retrieval calculations for structural analyses performed. A software suite named SITENNO has been developed to semi-automatically apply the four-step processing to a huge number of diffraction data. Here, details of the algorithm used in the suite are described and the performance for approximately 9000 diffraction patterns collected from cuboid-shaped copper oxide particles reported. Using the SITENNO suite, it is possible to conduct experiments with data processing immediately after the data collection, and to characterize the size distribution and internal structures of the non-crystalline particles. PMID:24763651

Simulation of ground-water flow and land subsidence in the Antelope Valley ground-water basin, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leighton, David A.; Phillips, Steven P.

2003-01-01

Antelope Valley, California, is a topographically closed basin in the western part of the Mojave Desert, about 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The Antelope Valley ground-water basin is about 940 square miles and is separated from the northern part of Antelope Valley by faults and low-lying hills. Prior to 1972, ground water provided more than 90 percent of the total water supply in the valley; since 1972, it has provided between 50 and 90 percent. Most ground-water pumping in the valley occurs in the Antelope Valley ground-water basin, which includes the rapidly growing cities of Lancaster and Palmdale. Ground-water-level declines of more than 200 feet in some parts of the ground-water basin have resulted in an increase in pumping lifts, reduced well efficiency, and land subsidence of more than 6 feet in some areas. Future urban growth and limits on the supply of imported water may continue to increase reliance on ground water. To better understand the ground-water flow system and to develop a tool to aid in effectively managing the water resources, a numerical model of ground-water flow and land subsidence in the Antelope Valley ground-water basin was developed using old and new geohydrologic information. The ground-water flow system consists of three aquifers: the upper, middle, and lower aquifers. The aquifers, which were identified on the basis of the hydrologic properties, age, and depth of the unconsolidated deposits, consist of gravel, sand, silt, and clay alluvial deposits and clay and silty clay lacustrine deposits. Prior to ground-water development in the valley, recharge was primarily the infiltration of runoff from the surrounding mountains. Ground water flowed from the recharge areas to discharge areas around the playas where it discharged either from the aquifer system as evapotranspiration or from springs. Partial barriers to horizontal ground-water flow, such as faults, have been identified in the ground-water basin. Water-level declines owing to

Technical Reference Suite Addressing Challenges of Providing Assurance for Fault Management Architectural Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitz, Rhonda; Whitman, Gerek

2016-01-01

Research into complexities of software systems Fault Management (FM) and how architectural design decisions affect safety, preservation of assets, and maintenance of desired system functionality has coalesced into a technical reference (TR) suite that advances the provision of safety and mission assurance. The NASA Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Program, with Software Assurance Research Program support, extracted FM architectures across the IV&V portfolio to evaluate robustness, assess visibility for validation and test, and define software assurance methods applied to the architectures and designs. This investigation spanned IV&V projects with seven different primary developers, a wide range of sizes and complexities, and encompassed Deep Space Robotic, Human Spaceflight, and Earth Orbiter mission FM architectures. The initiative continues with an expansion of the TR suite to include Launch Vehicles, adding the benefit of investigating differences intrinsic to model-based FM architectures and insight into complexities of FM within an Agile software development environment, in order to improve awareness of how nontraditional processes affect FM architectural design and system health management. The identification of particular FM architectures, visibility, and associated IV&V techniques provides a TR suite that enables greater assurance that critical software systems will adequately protect against faults and respond to adverse conditions. Additionally, the role FM has with regard to strengthened security requirements, with potential to advance overall asset protection of flight software systems, is being addressed with the development of an adverse conditions database encompassing flight software vulnerabilities. Capitalizing on the established framework, this TR suite provides assurance capability for a variety of FM architectures and varied development approaches. Research results are being disseminated across NASA, other agencies, and the

Evaluation of volatile organic compounds in two Mojave Desert basins-Mojave River and Antelope Valley-in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Kern Counties, California, June-October 2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Densmore, Jill N.; Belitz, Kenneth; Wright, Michael T.; Dawson, Barbara J.; Johnson, Tyler D.

2005-01-01

The California Aquifer Susceptibility Assessment of the Ground-Water Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program was developed to assess water quality and susceptibility of ground-water resources to contamination from surficial sources. This study focuses on the Mojave River and the Antelope Valley ground-water basins in southern California. Volatile organic compound (VOC) data were evaluated in conjunction with tritium data to determine a potential correlation with aquifer type, depth to top of perforations, and land use to VOC distribution and occurrence in the Mojave River and the Antelope Valley Basins. Detection frequencies for VOCs were compiled and compared to assess the distribution in each area. Explanatory variables were evaluated by comparing detection frequencies for VOCs and tritium and the number of compounds detected. Thirty-three wells were sampled in the Mojave River Basin (9 in the floodplain aquifer, 15 in the regional aquifer, and 9 in the sewered subset of the regional aquifer). Thirty-two wells were sampled in the Antelope Valley Basin. Quality-control samples also were collected to identify, quantify, and document bias and variability in the data. Results show that VOCs generally were detected slightly more often in the Antelope Valley Basin samples than in the Mojave River Basin samples. VOCs were detected more frequently in the floodplain aquifer than in the regional aquifer and the sewered subset. Tritium was detected more frequently in the Mojave River Basin samples than in the Antelope Valley Basin samples, and it was detected more frequently in the floodplain aquifer than in the regional aquifer and the sewered subset. Most of the samples collected in both basins for this study contained old water (water recharged prior to 1952). In general, in these desert basins, tritium need not be present for VOCs to be present. When VOCs were detected, young water (water recharge after 1952) was slightly more likely to be contaminated than old water

Technical note: DIRART--A software suite for deformable image registration and adaptive radiotherapy research.

PubMed

Yang, Deshan; Brame, Scott; El Naqa, Issam; Aditya, Apte; Wu, Yu; Goddu, S Murty; Mutic, Sasa; Deasy, Joseph O; Low, Daniel A

2011-01-01

Recent years have witnessed tremendous progress in image guide radiotherapy technology and a growing interest in the possibilities for adapting treatment planning and delivery over the course of treatment. One obstacle faced by the research community has been the lack of a comprehensive open-source software toolkit dedicated for adaptive radiotherapy (ART). To address this need, the authors have developed a software suite called the Deformable Image Registration and Adaptive Radiotherapy Toolkit (DIRART). DIRART is an open-source toolkit developed in MATLAB. It is designed in an object-oriented style with focus on user-friendliness, features, and flexibility. It contains four classes of DIR algorithms, including the newer inverse consistency algorithms to provide consistent displacement vector field in both directions. It also contains common ART functions, an integrated graphical user interface, a variety of visualization and image-processing features, dose metric analysis functions, and interface routines. These interface routines make DIRART a powerful complement to the Computational Environment for Radiotherapy Research (CERR) and popular image-processing toolkits such as ITK. DIRART provides a set of image processing/registration algorithms and postprocessing functions to facilitate the development and testing of DIR algorithms. It also offers a good amount of options for DIR results visualization, evaluation, and validation. By exchanging data with treatment planning systems via DICOM-RT files and CERR, and by bringing image registration algorithms closer to radiotherapy applications, DIRART is potentially a convenient and flexible platform that may facilitate ART and DIR research. 0 2011 Ameri-

Synthetic Minor NSR Permit: Anadarko Uintah Midstream, LLC - Antelope Flats & Sand Wash Compressor Stations with South Central Tank Battery

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page contains documents relevant to the synthetic minor NSR permi for the Anadarko Uintah Midstream, LLC, Antelope Flats & Sand Wash Compressor Stations with South Central Tank Battery, located on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.

Response of antelope bitterbrush to repeated prescribed burning in Central Oregon ponderosa pine forests

Treesearch

Matt D. Busse; Gregg M. Riegel

2009-01-01

Antelope  bitterbrush is a dominant shrub in many interior ponderosa pine forests  in the western United States. How it responds to prescribed fire is not  well understood, yet is of considerable concern to wildlife and fire  managers alike given its importance as a browse species and as a ladder  fuel in these fire-prone forests. We quantified bitterbrush...

Large-Scale Land Development, Fugitive Dust, and Increased Coccidioidomycosis Incidence in the Antelope Valley of California, 1999-2014.

PubMed

Colson, Aaron J; Vredenburgh, Larry; Guevara, Ramon E; Rangel, Natalia P; Kloock, Carl T; Lauer, Antje

2017-06-01

Ongoing large-scale land development for renewable energy projects in the Antelope Valley, located in the Western Mojave Desert, has been blamed for increased fugitive dust emissions and coccidioidomycosis incidence among the general public in recent years. Soil samples were collected at six sites that were destined for solar farm construction and were analyzed for the presence of the soil-borne fungal pathogen Coccidioides immitis which is endemic to many areas of central and southern California. We used a modified culture-independent nested PCR approach to identify the pathogen in all soil samples and also compared the sampling sites in regard to soil physical and chemical parameters, degree of disturbance, and vegetation. Our results indicated the presence of C. immitis at four of the six sites, predominantly in non-disturbed soils of the Pond-Oban complex, which are characterized by an elevated pH and salt bush communities, but also in grassland characterized by different soil parameters and covered with native and non-native annuals. Overall, we were able to detect the pathogen in 40% of the soil samples (n = 42). Incidence of coccidioidomycosis in the Antelope Valley was positively correlated with land use and particulate matter in the air (PM10) (Pearson correlation coefficient >0.5). With the predicted population growth and ongoing large-scale disturbance of soil in the Antelope Valley in coming years, incidence of coccidioidomycosis will likely further increase if policy makers and land developers continue to ignore the risk of grading land without implementing long-term dust mitigation plans in Environmental Impact Reports.

A software suite for the generation and comparison of peptide arrays from sets of data collected by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Li, Xiao-jun; Yi, Eugene C; Kemp, Christopher J; Zhang, Hui; Aebersold, Ruedi

2005-09-01

There is an increasing interest in the quantitative proteomic measurement of the protein contents of substantially similar biological samples, e.g. for the analysis of cellular response to perturbations over time or for the discovery of protein biomarkers from clinical samples. Technical limitations of current proteomic platforms such as limited reproducibility and low throughput make this a challenging task. A new LC-MS-based platform is able to generate complex peptide patterns from the analysis of proteolyzed protein samples at high throughput and represents a promising approach for quantitative proteomics. A crucial component of the LC-MS approach is the accurate evaluation of the abundance of detected peptides over many samples and the identification of peptide features that can stratify samples with respect to their genetic, physiological, or environmental origins. We present here a new software suite, SpecArray, that generates a peptide versus sample array from a set of LC-MS data. A peptide array stores the relative abundance of thousands of peptide features in many samples and is in a format identical to that of a gene expression microarray. A peptide array can be subjected to an unsupervised clustering analysis to stratify samples or to a discriminant analysis to identify discriminatory peptide features. We applied the SpecArray to analyze two sets of LC-MS data: one was from four repeat LC-MS analyses of the same glycopeptide sample, and another was from LC-MS analysis of serum samples of five male and five female mice. We demonstrate through these two study cases that the SpecArray software suite can serve as an effective software platform in the LC-MS approach for quantitative proteomics.

Tuberculosis in Antelopes in a Zoo in Poland--Problem of Public Health.

PubMed

Krajewska, Monika; Załuski, Michał; Zabost, Anna; Orłowska, Blanka; Augustynowicz-Kopeć, Ewa; Anusz, Krzysztof; Lipiec, Marek; Weiner, Marcin; Szulowski, Krzysztof

2015-01-01

Bovine tuberculosis is an infectious disease that occurs in many species of both domestic and wild animals, as well as those held in captivity. The etiological factor is the acid resistant bacillus (Mycobacterium bovis or Mycobacterium caprae), which is characterized by the major pathogenicity among mycobacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. The material from 8 antelopes from the zoo, suspected for tuberculosis were examined, and M. bovis strains were isolated from 6 of them. The spoligotyping method showing spoligo pattern 676763777777600. In Poland, this spoligotype has not been observed so far.

Final Approval of California Air Plan Revision; Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District; VOCs From Motor Vehicle Assembly Coating Operations

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA is taking final action to approve a revision to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD) portion of the California SIP concerning the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from motor vehicle assembly coating operations.

77 FR 12527 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-01

...EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD) and San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern negative declarations for volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of sulfur source categories. We are proposing to approve these negative declarations under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

Modular Algorithm Testbed Suite (MATS): A Software Framework for Automatic Target Recognition

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-01-01

004 OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH ATTN JASON STACK MINE WARFARE & OCEAN ENGINEERING PROGRAMS CODE 32, SUITE 1092 875 N RANDOLPH ST ARLINGTON VA 22203 ONR...naval mine countermeasures (MCM) operations by automating a large portion of the data analysis. Successful long-term implementation of ATR requires a...Modular Algorithm Testbed Suite; MATS; Mine Countermeasures Operations U U U SAR 24 Derek R. Kolacinski (850) 230-7218 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT

Assessment of Suited Reach Envelope in an Underwater Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Han; Benson, Elizabeth; Bernal, Yaritza; Jarvis, Sarah; Meginnis, Ian; Rajulu, Sudhakar

2017-01-01

Predicting the performance of a crewmember in an extravehicular activity (EVA) space suit presents unique challenges. The kinematic patterns of suited motions are difficult to reproduce in gravity. Additionally, 3-D suited kinematics have been practically and technically difficult to quantify in an underwater environment, in which crewmembers are commonly trained and assessed for performance. The goal of this study is to develop a hardware and software system to predictively evaluate the kinematic mobility of suited crewmembers, by measuring the 3-D reach envelope of the suit in an underwater environment. This work is ultimately aimed at developing quantitative metrics to compare the mobility of the existing Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) to newly developed space suit, such as the Z-2. The EMU has been extensively used at NASA since 1981 for EVA outside the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. The Z-2 suit is NASA's newest prototype space suit. The suit is comprised of new upper torso and lower torso architectures, which were designed to improve test subject mobility.

Livermore Compiler Analysis Loop Suite

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

Hornung, R. D.

2013-03-01

LCALS is designed to evaluate compiler optimizations and performance of a variety of loop kernels and loop traversal software constructs. Some of the loop kernels are pulled directly from "Livermore Loops Coded in C", developed at LLNL (see item 11 below for details of earlier code versions). The older suites were used to evaluate floating-point performances of hardware platforms prior to porting larger application codes. The LCALS suite is geared toward assissing C++ compiler optimizations and platform performance related to SIMD vectorization, OpenMP threading, and advanced C++ language features. LCALS contains 20 of 24 loop kernels from the older Livermoremore » Loop suites, plus various others representative of loops found in current production appkication codes at LLNL. The latter loops emphasize more diverse loop constructs and data access patterns than the others, such as multi-dimensional difference stencils. The loops are included in a configurable framework, which allows control of compilation, loop sampling for execution timing, which loops are run and their lengths. It generates timing statistics for analysis and comparing variants of individual loops. Also, it is easy to add loops to the suite as desired.« less

Determination of land subsidence related to ground-water-level declines using Global Positioning System and leveling surveys in Antelope Valley, Los Angeles and Kern counties, California, 1992

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ikehara, M.E.; Phillips, S.P.

1994-01-01

A large-scale, land-subsidence monitoring network for Antelope Valley, California, was established, and positions and elevations for 85 stations were measured using Global Positioning System geodetic surveying in spring 1992. The 95-percent confidence (2@) level of accuracy for the elevations calculated for a multiple-constraint adjustment generally ranged from +0.010 meter (0.032 foot) to +0.024 meter (0.078 foot). The magnitudes and rates of land subsidence as of 1992 were calculated for several periods for 218 bench marks throughout Antelope Valley. The maximum measured magnitude of land subsidence that occurred between 1926 and 1992 was 6.0 feet (1.83 meters) at BM 474 near Avenue I and Sierra Highway. Measured or estimated subsidence of 2-7 feet (.61-2.l3 meters) had occurred in a 210- square-mile (542-square-kilometer) area of Antelope Valley, generally bounded by Avenue K, Avenue A, 90th Street West, and 120th Street East, during the same period. Land subsidence in Antelope Valley is caused by aquifer-system compaction, which is related to ground-water-level declines and the presence of fine-grained, compressible sediments. Comparison of potentiomethric-surface, water-level decline, and subsidence-rate maps for several periods indicated a general correlation between water-level declines and the distribution and rate of subsidence in the Lancaster ground-water subbasin. A conservative estimate of the amount of the reduction in storage capacity of the aquifer system in the Lancaster subbasin is about 50,000 acre-feet in the area that has been affected by more than one foot (.30 meters) of subsidence as of 1992. Information on the history of ground-water levels and the distribution and thickness of fine-grained compressible sediments can be used to mitigate continued land subsidence. Future monitoring of ground-water levels and land-surface elevations in subsidence-sensitive regions of Antelope Valley may be an effective means to manage land subsidence.

Magnetic properties of a new obsidian source, west Antelope Creek, Grant County, New Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sternberg, R. S.; Samuels, R.; Feinberg, J. M.; Shackley, M. S.

2013-12-01

This work is part of a Keck Geology Consortium project on characterizing obsidian sources in New Mexico using magnetic and geochemical properties. We collected over 3,000 samples, many of which were georeferenced, from 10 obsidian sources at three locales - Mule creek, Mt. Taylor, and Valles Caldera. One of the Mule Creek sources, herein called the west Antelope Creek (wAC) source, was previously unknown. The 143 samples collected at this source covered about 1 km2, but were not individually georeferenced. We plan to characterize the magnetic and chemical properties of this source to see if it is distinguishable from other nearby sources and useful for provenancing archaeological obsidians. Initial measurements on 34 specimens from 20 samples show NRM values range from 1-80 Am2/kg, and low-field susceptibilities range from 1.2-96 x 10-8 mass specific SI units. When there were two specimens from the same sample, results were in good agreement. The measurements define a rather broad field in NRM-susceptibility space compared to other Southwestern sources examined to date, and a considerably larger field than from the nearby Antelope Creek (AC) source. The previously measured NRM and susceptibility values from AC are all in the high end on both dimensions of the wAC field, so that these fields overlap but in many cases could be distinguished.

PrimerSuite: A High-Throughput Web-Based Primer Design Program for Multiplex Bisulfite PCR.

PubMed

Lu, Jennifer; Johnston, Andrew; Berichon, Philippe; Ru, Ke-Lin; Korbie, Darren; Trau, Matt

2017-01-24

The analysis of DNA methylation at CpG dinucleotides has become a major research focus due to its regulatory role in numerous biological processes, but the requisite need for assays which amplify bisulfite-converted DNA represents a major bottleneck due to the unique design constraints imposed on bisulfite-PCR primers. Moreover, a review of the literature indicated no available software solutions which accommodated both high-throughput primer design, support for multiplex amplification assays, and primer-dimer prediction. In response, the tri-modular software package PrimerSuite was developed to support bisulfite multiplex PCR applications. This software was constructed to (i) design bisulfite primers against multiple regions simultaneously (PrimerSuite), (ii) screen for primer-primer dimerizing artefacts (PrimerDimer), and (iii) support multiplex PCR assays (PrimerPlex). Moreover, a major focus in the development of this software package was the emphasis on extensive empirical validation, and over 1300 unique primer pairs have been successfully designed and screened, with over 94% of them producing amplicons of the expected size, and an average mapping efficiency of 93% when screened using bisulfite multiplex resequencing. The potential use of the software in other bisulfite-based applications such as methylation-specific PCR is under consideration for future updates. This resource is freely available for use at PrimerSuite website (www.primer-suite.com).

Interfacing with an EVA Suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Amy

2011-01-01

A NASA spacesuit under the EVA Technology Domain consists of a suit system; a PLSS; and a Power, Avionics, and Software (PAS) system. Ross described the basic functions, components, and interfaces of the PLSS, which consists of oxygen, ventilation, and thermal control subsystems; electronics; and interfaces. Design challenges were reviewed from a packaging perspective. Ross also discussed the development of the PLSS over the last two decades.

Remarkable vocal identity in wild-living mother and neonate saiga antelopes: a specialization for breeding in huge aggregations?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sibiryakova, Olga V.; Volodin, Ilya A.; Frey, Roland; Zuther, Steffen; Kisebaev, Talgat B.; Salemgareev, Albert R.; Volodina, Elena V.

2017-04-01

Saiga antelopes Saiga tatarica tatarica give birth in large aggregations, and offspring follow the herd soon after birth. Herding is advantageous as anti-predator strategy; however, communication between mothers and neonates is strongly complicated in large aggregations. Individual series of nasal and oral contact calls of mother and neonate saiga antelopes were selected from recordings made with automated recording systems placed near the hiding neonates on the saiga breeding grounds in Northern Kazakhstan during synchronized parturitions of 30,000 calving females. We used for comparison of the acoustic structure of nasal and oral contact calls 168 nasal calls of 18 mothers, 192 oral calls of 21 mothers, 78 nasal calls of 16 neonates, and 197 oral calls of 22 neonates. In the oral calls of either mothers or neonates, formant frequencies were higher and the duration was longer than in the nasal calls, whereas fundamental frequencies did not differ between oral and nasal calls. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) based on six acoustic variables, accurately classified individual identity for 99.4% of oral calls of 18 mothers, for 89.3% of nasal calls of 18 mothers, and for 94.4% of oral calls of 18 neonates. The average value of correct classification to individual was higher in mother oral than in mother nasal calls and in mother oral calls than in neonate oral calls; no significant difference was observed between mother nasal and neonate oral calls. Variables mainly responsible for vocal identity were the fundamental frequency and the second and third formants in either mothers or neonates, and in either nasal or oral calls. The high vocal identity of mothers and neonates suggests a powerful potential for the mutual mother-offspring recognition in dense aggregations of saiga antelopes as an important component of their survival strategy.

Onco-Regulon: an integrated database and software suite for site specific targeting of transcription factors of cancer genes

PubMed Central

Tomar, Navneet; Mishra, Akhilesh; Mrinal, Nirotpal; Jayaram, B.

2016-01-01

Transcription factors (TFs) bind at multiple sites in the genome and regulate expression of many genes. Regulating TF binding in a gene specific manner remains a formidable challenge in drug discovery because the same binding motif may be present at multiple locations in the genome. Here, we present Onco-Regulon (http://www.scfbio-iitd.res.in/software/onco/NavSite/index.htm), an integrated database of regulatory motifs of cancer genes clubbed with Unique Sequence-Predictor (USP) a software suite that identifies unique sequences for each of these regulatory DNA motifs at the specified position in the genome. USP works by extending a given DNA motif, in 5′→3′, 3′ →5′ or both directions by adding one nucleotide at each step, and calculates the frequency of each extended motif in the genome by Frequency Counter programme. This step is iterated till the frequency of the extended motif becomes unity in the genome. Thus, for each given motif, we get three possible unique sequences. Closest Sequence Finder program predicts off-target drug binding in the genome. Inclusion of DNA-Protein structural information further makes Onco-Regulon a highly informative repository for gene specific drug development. We believe that Onco-Regulon will help researchers to design drugs which will bind to an exclusive site in the genome with no off-target effects, theoretically. Database URL: http://www.scfbio-iitd.res.in/software/onco/NavSite/index.htm PMID:27515825

Technical Note: DIRART – A software suite for deformable image registration and adaptive radiotherapy research

PubMed Central

Yang, Deshan; Brame, Scott; El Naqa, Issam; Aditya, Apte; Wu, Yu; Murty Goddu, S.; Mutic, Sasa; Deasy, Joseph O.; Low, Daniel A.

2011-01-01

Purpose: Recent years have witnessed tremendous progress in image guide radiotherapy technology and a growing interest in the possibilities for adapting treatment planning and delivery over the course of treatment. One obstacle faced by the research community has been the lack of a comprehensive open-source software toolkit dedicated for adaptive radiotherapy (ART). To address this need, the authors have developed a software suite called the Deformable Image Registration and Adaptive Radiotherapy Toolkit (DIRART). Methods:DIRART is an open-source toolkit developed in MATLAB. It is designed in an object-oriented style with focus on user-friendliness, features, and flexibility. It contains four classes of DIR algorithms, including the newer inverse consistency algorithms to provide consistent displacement vector field in both directions. It also contains common ART functions, an integrated graphical user interface, a variety of visualization and image-processing features, dose metric analysis functions, and interface routines. These interface routines make DIRART a powerful complement to the Computational Environment for Radiotherapy Research (CERR) and popular image-processing toolkits such as ITK. Results: DIRART provides a set of image processing∕registration algorithms and postprocessing functions to facilitate the development and testing of DIR algorithms. It also offers a good amount of options for DIR results visualization, evaluation, and validation. Conclusions: By exchanging data with treatment planning systems via DICOM-RT files and CERR, and by bringing image registration algorithms closer to radiotherapy applications, DIRART is potentially a convenient and flexible platform that may facilitate ART and DIR research. PMID:21361176

A Parametric Model of Shoulder Articulation for Virtual Assessment of Space Suit Fit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, K. Han; Young, Karen S.; Bernal, Yaritza; Boppana, Abhishektha; Vu, Linh Q.; Benson, Elizabeth A.; Jarvis, Sarah; Rajulu, Sudhakar L.

2016-01-01

Shoulder injury is one of the most severe risks that have the potential to impair crewmembers' performance and health in long duration space flight. Overall, 64% of crewmembers experience shoulder pain after extra-vehicular training in a space suit, and 14% of symptomatic crewmembers require surgical repair (Williams & Johnson, 2003). Suboptimal suit fit, in particular at the shoulder region, has been identified as one of the predominant risk factors. However, traditional suit fit assessments and laser scans represent only a single person's data, and thus may not be generalized across wide variations of body shapes and poses. The aim of this work is to develop a software tool based on a statistical analysis of a large dataset of crewmember body shapes. This tool can accurately predict the skin deformation and shape variations for any body size and shoulder pose for a target population, from which the geometry can be exported and evaluated against suit models in commercial CAD software. A preliminary software tool was developed by statistically analyzing 150 body shapes matched with body dimension ranges specified in the Human-Systems Integration Requirements of NASA ("baseline model"). Further, the baseline model was incorporated with shoulder joint articulation ("articulation model"), using additional subjects scanned in a variety of shoulder poses across a pre-specified range of motion. Scan data was cleaned and aligned using body landmarks. The skin deformation patterns were dimensionally reduced and the co-variation with shoulder angles was analyzed. A software tool is currently in development and will be presented in the final proceeding. This tool would allow suit engineers to parametrically generate body shapes in strategically targeted anthropometry dimensions and shoulder poses. This would also enable virtual fit assessments, with which the contact volume and clearance between the suit and body surface can be predictively quantified at reduced time and

Analytical Tools for Space Suit Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aitchison, Lindsay

2011-01-01

As indicated by the implementation of multiple small project teams within the agency, NASA is adopting a lean approach to hardware development that emphasizes quick product realization and rapid response to shifting program and agency goals. Over the past two decades, space suit design has been evolutionary in approach with emphasis on building prototypes then testing with the largest practical range of subjects possible. The results of these efforts show continuous improvement but make scaled design and performance predictions almost impossible with limited budgets and little time. Thus, in an effort to start changing the way NASA approaches space suit design and analysis, the Advanced Space Suit group has initiated the development of an integrated design and analysis tool. It is a multi-year-if not decadal-development effort that, when fully implemented, is envisioned to generate analysis of any given space suit architecture or, conversely, predictions of ideal space suit architectures given specific mission parameters. The master tool will exchange information to and from a set of five sub-tool groups in order to generate the desired output. The basic functions of each sub-tool group, the initial relationships between the sub-tools, and a comparison to state of the art software and tools are discussed.

[Identification of ecological corridors for Tibetan antelope and assessment of their human disturbances in the alpine desert of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau].

PubMed

Zhuge, Hai-jin; Lin, Dan-qi; Li, Xiao-wen

2015-08-01

The alpine desert of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) provides the largest habitats for those endangered ungulates (e.g., Tibetan antelope, Tibetan Kiang and wild yak) on the earth. However, human disturbance especially infrastructure constructions (e.g., railway & highway) has increasingly fragmented the habitats of those endangered ungulates by disturbing and interrupting their ecological corridors for their seasonal migration. Aiming at identifying the potential ecological corridors for Tibetan antelope, a GIS-based model-Linkage Mapper was used to model and detect the potential ecological corridors of Tibetan antelope based on the principle of least cost path. Three categories of ecological corridors, i. e., closed (inside reserves), linking (linking the reserves) and open (starting from reserve but ending outside) corridors were distinguished by their spatial interactions with existing major national nature reserves (i.e., Altun, Kekexili and Qiangtang NNRs) in the alpine desert of QTP, and their spatial patterns, conservation status associated with human disturbance were also examined. Although our research indicated a general ecological integration of both habitats and ecological corridors in the alpine desert ecosystem, increasing human disturbance should not be ignored, which particularly partially undermined the functioning of those ecological corridors linking the nature reserves. Considering disadvantages of prevailing separate administrative structure of nature reserve on the effective conservation of ecological corridors for those endangered ungulates, a coordinative conservation network among these major national nature reserves should be established to ensure the unified trans-boundary conservation efforts and to enhance its overall conservation efficacy by sharing information, knowledge and optimizing conservation resources.

Software component quality evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clough, A. J.

1991-01-01

The paper describes a software inspection process that can be used to evaluate the quality of software components. Quality criteria, process application, independent testing of the process and proposed associated tool support are covered. Early results indicate that this technique is well suited for assessing software component quality in a standardized fashion. With automated machine assistance to facilitate both the evaluation and selection of software components, such a technique should promote effective reuse of software components.

Mineral Resources of the Antelope Wilderness Study Area, Nye County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hardyman, Richard F.; Poole, Forrest G.; Kleinhampl, Frank J.; Turner, Robert L.; Plouff, Donald; Duval, Joe S.; Johnson, Fredrick L.; Benjamin, David A.

1987-01-01

At the request of the U.S. Bureau of land Management, 83,100 acres of the Antelope Wilderness Study Area (NV-4)60-231/241) was studied. In this report the studied area is called the 'wilderness study area', or simply the 'study area.' No identified mineral or energy resources occur within the study area. The southern part of the area has moderate mineral resource potential for undiscovered gold and silver, and the Woodruff Formation in the southern part of the area has high resource potential for undiscovered vanadium, zinc, selenium, molybdenum, and silver (fig. 1). This assessment is based on field geochemical studies in 1984 and 1985 by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and field geochemical studies and geologic mapping by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1984 and 1985. The remainder of the study area has low resource potential for undiscovered gold, silver, lead, zinc, manganese, tin, and molybdenum. The study area also has low resource potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources. The Antelope Wilderness Study Area is about midway between Tonopah and Eureka, Nev., in the northern Hot Creek Range and southern Antelope Range of central Nevada. It is accessible by unimproved dirt roads extending 20 mi (miles) north from U.S. Highway 6 and 40 mi south from U.S. Highway 50 (fig. 2). Most of the study area consists of rugged mountainous terrain having approximately 2,600 ft (feet) of relief. The mountain range is a block tilted gently to the east and bounded on both sides by normal faults that dip steeply to moderately west and have major displacements. Most of the study area is underlain by a thick sequence of Tertiary volcanic rocks that predominantly consist of silicic ash-flow tuff, the Windous Butte Formation. Paleozoic and lower Mesozoic (see geologic time chart in appendix) marine sediments occur along the southern margin of the study area, and lower Paleozoic rocks are exposed in the northeast corner. The areas of exposed Paleozoic-Mesozoic rocks along the southern

78 FR 21545 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-11

...EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD) and Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) and Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). Under authority of the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act), we are approving local rules that address emission statements for AVAQMD, rule rescissions that addresses public records for MBUAPCD, and define terms for SBCAPCD.

78 FR 21581 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-11

...EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD), Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) and Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). We are proposing to approve revisions local rules that address emission statements for AVAQMD, rule rescissions that address public records for MBUAPCD, and define terms for SBCAPCD, under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

NASA Sponsors Antelope Valley’s Inaugural FIRST Robotics Competition

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-06-18

The Antelope Valley hosted its inaugural FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) on April 6-7, 2018, in the gymnasium of Eastside High School in Lancaster, California. The regional competition “Aerospace Valley Regional” serves as a championship-qualifying robotics competition and is sponsored by NASA, Lockheed, Northrup, Boeing and several other local organizations. An estimated 500 to 700 high-school students on 35 teams from around the world, competed in the regional’s 2018 season challenge, “FIRST POWER UP.” The "FIRST POWER UP" game pairs two alliances of video game characters with their human operators as they work to defeat a "boss" to escape an arcade game where they are trapped inside. Each match begins with a 15-second autonomous period in which robots operate only on pre-programmed instructions. During this period, robots work to earn points according to the game's rules. During the remaining two minutes and 15 seconds, student drivers’ control robots to earn points.

77 FR 26475 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-04

...EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD), Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District (EKAPCD), and Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). We are proposing to approve revisions to local rules that define terms used in other air pollution regulations in these areas and a rule rescission that address Petroleum Coke Calcining Operations--Oxides of Sulfur, under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

Revel8or: Model Driven Capacity Planning Tool Suite

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

Zhu, Liming; Liu, Yan; Bui, Ngoc B.

2007-05-31

Designing complex multi-tier applications that must meet strict performance requirements is a challenging software engineering problem. Ideally, the application architect could derive accurate performance predictions early in the project life-cycle, leveraging initial application design-level models and a description of the target software and hardware platforms. To this end, we have developed a capacity planning tool suite for component-based applications, called Revel8tor. The tool adheres to the model driven development paradigm and supports benchmarking and performance prediction for J2EE, .Net and Web services platforms. The suite is composed of three different tools: MDAPerf, MDABench and DSLBench. MDAPerf allows annotation of designmore » diagrams and derives performance analysis models. MDABench allows a customized benchmark application to be modeled in the UML 2.0 Testing Profile and automatically generates a deployable application, with measurement automatically conducted. DSLBench allows the same benchmark modeling and generation to be conducted using a simple performance engineering Domain Specific Language (DSL) in Microsoft Visual Studio. DSLBench integrates with Visual Studio and reuses its load testing infrastructure. Together, the tool suite can assist capacity planning across platforms in an automated fashion.« less

WinHPC System Software | High-Performance Computing | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Software WinHPC System Software Learn about the software applications, tools, toolchains, and for industrial applications. Intel Compilers Development Tool, Toolchain Suite featuring an industry

Health evaluation of a pronghorn antelope population in Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dunbar, M.R.; Velarde, Roser; Gregg, M.A.; Bray, M.

1999-01-01

During 1996 and 1997, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a study to determine the cause(s) of population decline and low survival of pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) fawns on Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge (HMNAR) located in southeastern Oregon (USA). As part of that study, blood, fecal, and tissue samples from 104 neonatal fawns, 40 adult does, and nine adult male pronghorns were collected to conduct a health evaluation of the population. Physiological parameters related to nutrition and/or disease were studied. No abnormalities were found in the complete blood cell counts of adults (n = 40) or fawns (n = 44 to 67). Serum total protein and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels were lower compared to other pronghorn populations. Does had mean BUN values significantly lower (P < 0.001) in December 1996 than March 1997. Serum copper (Cu) levels in does (range 0.39 to 0.74 ppm) were considered marginal when compared to domestic animals and other wild ungulates. Fawns had low (0.28 ppm) Cu levels at birth and reached the does' marginal values in about 3 days Whole blood, serum and liver selenium (Se) levels were considered marginal to low in most segments of the pronghorn population. However, serum levels of vitamin E (range 1.98 to 3.27 ??g/ml), as determined from the does captured in March, were apparently sufficient to offset any signs of Se deficiency. No clinical signs of Cu or Se deficiency were observed. Fifty-five of 87 dead fawns were necropsied. Trauma, due to predation by coyotes (Canis latrans), accounted for 62% of the mortality during mid-May to mid-July of each year. Other causes included predation by golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) (4%), dystocia (2%), septicemic pasteurellosis (4%), starvation (5%), and unknown (23%). Adult females were tested for serum neutralizing antibodies to Brucella spp. (n = 20, negative), Leptospira interrogans (n = 20, negative), bluetongue virus (n = 20, 35% positive), epizootic hemorrhagic disease

Effectiveness comparison of partially executed t-way test suite based generated by existing strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Othman, Rozmie R.; Ahmad, Mohd Zamri Zahir; Ali, Mohd Shaiful Aziz Rashid; Zakaria, Hasneeza Liza; Rahman, Md. Mostafijur

2015-05-01

Consuming 40 to 50 percent of software development cost, software testing is one of the most resource consuming activities in software development lifecycle. To ensure an acceptable level of quality and reliability of a typical software product, it is desirable to test every possible combination of input data under various configurations. Due to combinatorial explosion problem, considering all exhaustive testing is practically impossible. Resource constraints, costing factors as well as strict time-to-market deadlines are amongst the main factors that inhibit such consideration. Earlier work suggests that sampling strategy (i.e. based on t-way parameter interaction or called as t-way testing) can be effective to reduce number of test cases without effecting the fault detection capability. However, for a very large system, even t-way strategy will produce a large test suite that need to be executed. In the end, only part of the planned test suite can be executed in order to meet the aforementioned constraints. Here, there is a need for test engineers to measure the effectiveness of partially executed test suite in order for them to assess the risk they have to take. Motivated by the abovementioned problem, this paper presents the effectiveness comparison of partially executed t-way test suite generated by existing strategies using tuples coverage method. Here, test engineers can predict the effectiveness of the testing process if only part of the original test cases is executed.

Natural recharge estimation and uncertainty analysis of an adjudicated groundwater basin using a regional-scale flow and subsidence model (Antelope Valley, California, USA)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Siade, Adam J.; Nishikawa, Tracy; Martin, Peter

2015-01-01

Groundwater has provided 50–90 % of the total water supply in Antelope Valley, California (USA). The associated groundwater-level declines have led the Los Angeles County Superior Court of California to recently rule that the Antelope Valley groundwater basin is in overdraft, i.e., annual pumpage exceeds annual recharge. Natural recharge consists primarily of mountain-front recharge and is an important component of the total groundwater budget in Antelope Valley. Therefore, natural recharge plays a major role in the Court’s decision. The exact quantity and distribution of natural recharge is uncertain, with total estimates from previous studies ranging from 37 to 200 gigaliters per year (GL/year). In order to better understand the uncertainty associated with natural recharge and to provide a tool for groundwater management, a numerical model of groundwater flow and land subsidence was developed. The transient model was calibrated using PEST with water-level and subsidence data; prior information was incorporated through the use of Tikhonov regularization. The calibrated estimate of natural recharge was 36 GL/year, which is appreciably less than the value used by the court (74 GL/year). The effect of parameter uncertainty on the estimation of natural recharge was addressed using the Null-Space Monte Carlo method. A Pareto trade-off method was also used to portray the reasonableness of larger natural recharge rates. The reasonableness of the 74 GL/year value and the effect of uncertain pumpage rates were also evaluated. The uncertainty analyses indicate that the total natural recharge likely ranges between 34.5 and 54.3 GL/year.

Performance testing of 3D point cloud software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varela-González, M.; González-Jorge, H.; Riveiro, B.; Arias, P.

2013-10-01

LiDAR systems are being used widely in recent years for many applications in the engineering field: civil engineering, cultural heritage, mining, industry and environmental engineering. One of the most important limitations of this technology is the large computational requirements involved in data processing, especially for large mobile LiDAR datasets. Several software solutions for data managing are available in the market, including open source suites, however, users often unknown methodologies to verify their performance properly. In this work a methodology for LiDAR software performance testing is presented and four different suites are studied: QT Modeler, VR Mesh, AutoCAD 3D Civil and the Point Cloud Library running in software developed at the University of Vigo (SITEGI). The software based on the Point Cloud Library shows better results in the loading time of the point clouds and CPU usage. However, it is not as strong as commercial suites in working set and commit size tests.

Engineering geology considerations for park planning, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hecker, Suzanne; Case, William F.; King, Jon K.; Willis, Grant C.

2000-01-01

Report: 00-1 In the mid-1980s, historically high levels of Great Salt Lake caused damage to park facilities on Antelope Island and destroyed the causeway linking the park to the mainland. Information on the engineering geology of Antelope Islandcan be used to improve park facilities and reduce the risk from geologic hazards and poor construction conditions. Certain characteristics of the geologic environment need to be considered in park planning. During wet cycles, Great Salt Lake may reach static levels of 4,217 feet (1,285.3 m), and wave- and wind-elevated levels locally may reach 6.5 feet (2 m) higher. A probabilistic assessment of the earthquake ground-shaking hazard along the Wasatch Front indicates that peak ground accelerations of approximately 0.20 to 0.30 g have a one-in-ten chance of being exceeded in 50 years on the island. A slope-failure hazard exists locally in colluvial and Lake Bonneville deposits, along the modern shore, and beneath cliffs. Flash-flood and debris-flow hazards exist on alluvial fans. Areas in the southern two-thirds of the island may have a relatively high potential for radon emission. Particular soil types on the island may be expansive, compressible, erodible, impermeable, or susceptible to liquefaction or hydrocompaction. The distribution of most geologic hazards can be defined, and many locations on the island have conditions suitable for construction. Lacustrine sand and gravel deposits are wide-spread and have engineering characteristics that are generally favorable for foundations. However, facilities and roads built close to the modern shoreline may be susceptible to lake flooding and erosion, slope failures, shallow ground water, and burial by active sand dunes. Well-graded (poorly sorted) alluvial-fan deposits are generally most suitable for wastewater disposal, although they may be subject to flooding or be underlain by low-permeability, fine-grained lacustrine deposits.

libdrdc: software standards library

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erickson, David; Peng, Tie

2008-04-01

This paper presents the libdrdc software standards library including internal nomenclature, definitions, units of measure, coordinate reference frames, and representations for use in autonomous systems research. This library is a configurable, portable C-function wrapped C++ / Object Oriented C library developed to be independent of software middleware, system architecture, processor, or operating system. It is designed to use the automatically-tuned linear algebra suite (ATLAS) and Basic Linear Algebra Suite (BLAS) and port to firmware and software. The library goal is to unify data collection and representation for various microcontrollers and Central Processing Unit (CPU) cores and to provide a common Application Binary Interface (ABI) for research projects at all scales. The library supports multi-platform development and currently works on Windows, Unix, GNU/Linux, and Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems (RTEMS). This library is made available under LGPL version 2.1 license.

Development of variable microsatellite loci and range-wide characterization of nuclear genetic diversity in the important dryland shrub antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata)

Treesearch

M.E. Horning; R.C. Cronn

2009-01-01

Antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata Pursh DC; Rosaceae) is an arid-land shrub that occupies an important ecological niche in various fire-dominated communities across much of the Western United States. Because of its importance as a browse for large mammals and a food source for granivores, P. tridentata is frequently planted...

EpiTools, A software suite for presurgical brain mapping in epilepsy: Intracerebral EEG.

PubMed

Medina Villalon, S; Paz, R; Roehri, N; Lagarde, S; Pizzo, F; Colombet, B; Bartolomei, F; Carron, R; Bénar, C-G

2018-06-01

In pharmacoresistant epilepsy, exploration with depth electrodes can be needed to precisely define the epileptogenic zone. Accurate location of these electrodes is thus essential for the interpretation of Stereotaxic EEG (SEEG) signals. As SEEG analysis increasingly relies on signal processing, it is crucial to make a link between these results and patient's anatomy. Our aims were thus to develop a suite of software tools, called "EpiTools", able to i) precisely and automatically localize the position of each SEEG contact and ii) display the results of signal analysis in each patient's anatomy. The first tool, GARDEL (GUI for Automatic Registration and Depth Electrode Localization), is able to automatically localize SEEG contacts and to label each contact according to a pre-specified nomenclature (for instance that of FreeSurfer or MarsAtlas). The second tool, 3Dviewer, enables to visualize in the 3D anatomy of the patient the origin of signal processing results such as rate of biomarkers, connectivity graphs or Epileptogenicity Index. GARDEL was validated in 30 patients by clinicians and proved to be highly reliable to determine within the patient's individual anatomy the actual location of contacts. GARDEL is a fully automatic electrode localization tool needing limited user interaction (only for electrode naming or contact correction). The 3Dviewer is able to read signal processing results and to display them in link with patient's anatomy. EpiTools can help speeding up the interpretation of SEEG data and improving its precision. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Circadian rhythms of body temperature and locomotor activity in the antelope ground squirrel, Ammospermophilus leucurus.

PubMed

Refinetti, Roberto; Kenagy, G J

2018-02-01

We studied circadian rhythms of body temperature and locomotor activity in antelope ground squirrels (Ammospermophilus leucurus) under laboratory conditions of a 12L:12D light-dark cycle and in constant darkness. Antelope ground squirrels are diurnally active and, exceptionally among ground squirrels and other closely related members of the squirrel family in general, they do not hibernate. Daily oscillations in body temperature consisted of a rise in temperature during the daytime activity phase of the circadian cycle and a decrease in temperature during the nighttime rest phase. The body temperature rhythms were robust (71% of maximal strength) with a daily range of oscillation of 4.6°C, a daytime mean of 38.7°C, and a nighttime mean of 34.1°C (24-h overall mean 36.4°C). The body temperature rhythm persisted in continuous darkness with a free-running period of 24.2h. This pattern is similar to that of hibernating species of ground squirrels but with a wave form more similar to that of non-hibernating rodents. Daily oscillations in body temperature were correlated with individual bouts of activity, but daytime temperatures were higher than nighttime temperatures even when comparing short episodes of nocturnal activity that were as intense as diurnal activity. This suggests that although muscular thermogenesis associated with locomotor activity can modify the level of body temperature, the circadian rhythm of body temperature is not simply a consequence of the circadian rhythm of activity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

pcircle - A Suite of Scalable Parallel File System Tools

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

WANG, FEIYI

2015-10-01

Most of the software related to file system are written for conventional local file system, they are serialized and can't take advantage of the benefit of a large scale parallel file system. "pcircle" software builds on top of ubiquitous MPI in cluster computing environment and "work-stealing" pattern to provide a scalable, high-performance suite of file system tools. In particular - it implemented parallel data copy and parallel data checksumming, with advanced features such as async progress report, checkpoint and restart, as well as integrity checking.

Performance testing of LiDAR exploitation software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varela-González, M.; González-Jorge, H.; Riveiro, B.; Arias, P.

2013-04-01

Mobile LiDAR systems are being used widely in recent years for many applications in the field of geoscience. One of most important limitations of this technology is the large computational requirements involved in data processing. Several software solutions for data processing are available in the market, but users are often unknown about the methodologies to verify their performance accurately. In this work a methodology for LiDAR software performance testing is presented and six different suites are studied: QT Modeler, AutoCAD Civil 3D, Mars 7, Fledermaus, Carlson and TopoDOT (all of them in x64). Results depict as QTModeler, TopoDOT and AutoCAD Civil 3D allow the loading of large datasets, while Fledermaus, Mars7 and Carlson do not achieve these powerful performance. AutoCAD Civil 3D needs large loading time in comparison with the most powerful softwares such as QTModeler and TopoDOT. Carlson suite depicts the poorest results among all the softwares under study, where point clouds larger than 5 million points cannot be loaded and loading time is very large in comparison with the other suites even for the smaller datasets. AutoCAD Civil 3D, Carlson and TopoDOT show more threads than other softwares like QTModeler, Mars7 and Fledermaus.

Data Analysis and Graphing in an Introductory Physics Laboratory: Spreadsheet versus Statistics Suite

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterlin, Primoz

2010-01-01

Two methods of data analysis are compared: spreadsheet software and a statistics software suite. Their use is compared analysing data collected in three selected experiments taken from an introductory physics laboratory, which include a linear dependence, a nonlinear dependence and a histogram. The merits of each method are compared. (Contains 7…

A Parametric Model of Shoulder Articulation for Virtual Assessment of Space Suit Fit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, K. Han; Young, Karen S.; Bernal, Yaritza; Boppana, Abhishektha; Vu, Linh Q.; Benson, Elizabeth A.; Jarvis, Sarah; Rajulu, Sudhakar L.

2016-01-01

Suboptimal suit fit is a known risk factor for crewmember shoulder injury. Suit fit assessment is however prohibitively time consuming and cannot be generalized across wide variations of body shapes and poses. In this work, we have developed a new design tool based on the statistical analysis of body shape scans. This tool is aimed at predicting the skin deformation and shape variations for any body size and shoulder pose for a target population. This new process, when incorporated with CAD software, will enable virtual suit fit assessments, predictively quantifying the contact volume, and clearance between the suit and body surface at reduced time and cost.

Semantic Metrics for Analysis of Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Etzkorn, Letha H.; Cox, Glenn W.; Farrington, Phil; Utley, Dawn R.; Ghalston, Sampson; Stein, Cara

2005-01-01

A recently conceived suite of object-oriented software metrics focus is on semantic aspects of software, in contradistinction to traditional software metrics, which focus on syntactic aspects of software. Semantic metrics represent a more human-oriented view of software than do syntactic metrics. The semantic metrics of a given computer program are calculated by use of the output of a knowledge-based analysis of the program, and are substantially more representative of software quality and more readily comprehensible from a human perspective than are the syntactic metrics.

ORBS, ORCS, OACS, a Software Suite for Data Reduction and Analysis of the Hyperspectral Imagers SITELLE and SpIOMM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, T.; Drissen, L.; Joncas, G.

2015-09-01

SITELLE (installed in 2015 at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope) and SpIOMM (a prototype attached to the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic) are the first Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometers (IFTS) capable of obtaining a hyperspectral data cube which samples a 12 arc minutes field of view into four millions of visible spectra. The result of each observation is made up of two interferometric data cubes which need to be merged, corrected, transformed and calibrated in order to get a spectral cube of the observed region ready to be analysed. ORBS is a fully automatic data reduction software that has been entirely designed for this purpose. The data size (up to 68 Gb for larger science cases) and the computational needs have been challenging and the highly parallelized object-oriented architecture of ORBS reflects the solutions adopted which made possible to process 68 Gb of raw data in less than 11 hours using 8 cores and 22.6 Gb of RAM. It is based on a core framework (ORB) that has been designed to support the whole software suite for data analysis (ORCS and OACS), data simulation (ORUS) and data acquisition (IRIS). They all aim to provide a strong basis for the creation and development of specialized analysis modules that could benefit the scientific community working with SITELLE and SpIOMM.

Technical Reference Suite Addressing Challenges of Providing Assurance for Fault Management Architectural Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitz, Rhonda; Whitman, Gerek

2016-01-01

Research into complexities of software systems Fault Management (FM) and how architectural design decisions affect safety, preservation of assets, and maintenance of desired system functionality has coalesced into a technical reference (TR) suite that advances the provision of safety and mission assurance. The NASA Independent Verification and Validation (IVV) Program, with Software Assurance Research Program support, extracted FM architectures across the IVV portfolio to evaluate robustness, assess visibility for validation and test, and define software assurance methods applied to the architectures and designs. This investigation spanned IVV projects with seven different primary developers, a wide range of sizes and complexities, and encompassed Deep Space Robotic, Human Spaceflight, and Earth Orbiter mission FM architectures. The initiative continues with an expansion of the TR suite to include Launch Vehicles, adding the benefit of investigating differences intrinsic to model-based FM architectures and insight into complexities of FM within an Agile software development environment, in order to improve awareness of how nontraditional processes affect FM architectural design and system health management.

Advanced Spacesuit Informatics Software Design for Power, Avionics and Software Version 2.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Theodore W.

2016-01-01

A description of the software design for the 2016 edition of the Informatics computer assembly of the NASAs Advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AEMU), also called the Advanced Spacesuit. The Informatics system is an optional part of the spacesuit assembly. It adds a graphical interface for displaying suit status, timelines, procedures, and warning information. It also provides an interface to the suit mounted camera for recording still images, video, and audio field notes.

Bayesian, maximum parsimony and UPGMA models for inferring the phylogenies of antelopes using mitochondrial markers.

PubMed

Khan, Haseeb A; Arif, Ibrahim A; Bahkali, Ali H; Al Farhan, Ahmad H; Al Homaidan, Ali A

2008-10-06

This investigation was aimed to compare the inference of antelope phylogenies resulting from the 16S rRNA, cytochrome-b (cyt-b) and d-loop segments of mitochondrial DNA using three different computational models including Bayesian (BA), maximum parsimony (MP) and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA). The respective nucleotide sequences of three Oryx species (Oryx leucoryx, Oryx dammah and Oryx gazella) and an out-group (Addax nasomaculatus) were aligned and subjected to BA, MP and UPGMA models for comparing the topologies of respective phylogenetic trees. The 16S rRNA region possessed the highest frequency of conserved sequences (97.65%) followed by cyt-b (94.22%) and d-loop (87.29%). There were few transitions (2.35%) and none transversions in 16S rRNA as compared to cyt-b (5.61% transitions and 0.17% transversions) and d-loop (11.57% transitions and 1.14% transversions) while comparing the four taxa. All the three mitochondrial segments clearly differentiated the genus Addax from Oryx using the BA or UPGMA models. The topologies of all the gamma-corrected Bayesian trees were identical irrespective of the marker type. The UPGMA trees resulting from 16S rRNA and d-loop sequences were also identical (Oryx dammah grouped with Oryx leucoryx) to Bayesian trees except that the UPGMA tree based on cyt-b showed a slightly different phylogeny (Oryx dammah grouped with Oryx gazella) with a low bootstrap support. However, the MP model failed to differentiate the genus Addax from Oryx. These findings demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of BA and UPGMA methods for phylogenetic analysis of antelopes using mitochondrial markers.

Bayesian, Maximum Parsimony and UPGMA Models for Inferring the Phylogenies of Antelopes Using Mitochondrial Markers

PubMed Central

Khan, Haseeb A.; Arif, Ibrahim A.; Bahkali, Ali H.; Al Farhan, Ahmad H.; Al Homaidan, Ali A.

2008-01-01

This investigation was aimed to compare the inference of antelope phylogenies resulting from the 16S rRNA, cytochrome-b (cyt-b) and d-loop segments of mitochondrial DNA using three different computational models including Bayesian (BA), maximum parsimony (MP) and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA). The respective nucleotide sequences of three Oryx species (Oryx leucoryx, Oryx dammah and Oryx gazella) and an out-group (Addax nasomaculatus) were aligned and subjected to BA, MP and UPGMA models for comparing the topologies of respective phylogenetic trees. The 16S rRNA region possessed the highest frequency of conserved sequences (97.65%) followed by cyt-b (94.22%) and d-loop (87.29%). There were few transitions (2.35%) and none transversions in 16S rRNA as compared to cyt-b (5.61% transitions and 0.17% transversions) and d-loop (11.57% transitions and 1.14% transversions) while comparing the four taxa. All the three mitochondrial segments clearly differentiated the genus Addax from Oryx using the BA or UPGMA models. The topologies of all the gamma-corrected Bayesian trees were identical irrespective of the marker type. The UPGMA trees resulting from 16S rRNA and d-loop sequences were also identical (Oryx dammah grouped with Oryx leucoryx) to Bayesian trees except that the UPGMA tree based on cyt-b showed a slightly different phylogeny (Oryx dammah grouped with Oryx gazella) with a low bootstrap support. However, the MP model failed to differentiate the genus Addax from Oryx. These findings demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of BA and UPGMA methods for phylogenetic analysis of antelopes using mitochondrial markers. PMID:19204824

Software Acquisition Improvement in the Aeronautical Systems Center

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

software fielded, a variety of different methods were suggested by the interviewees. These included blocks, suites and other tailored processes developed...12 Selection of Research Method ...DoD look to the commercial market to buy tools, methods , environments, and application software, instead of custom-built software (DSB: 1987). These

Development of an e-VLBI Data Transport Software Suite with VDIF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sekido, Mamoru; Takefuji, Kazuhiro; Kimura, Moritaka; Hobiger, Thomas; Kokado, Kensuke; Nozawa, Kentarou; Kurihara, Shinobu; Shinno, Takuya; Takahashi, Fujinobu

2010-01-01

We have developed a software library (KVTP-lib) for VLBI data transmission over the network with the VDIF (VLBI Data Interchange Format), which is the newly proposed standard VLBI data format designed for electronic data transfer over the network. The software package keeps the application layer (VDIF frame) and the transmission layer separate, so that each layer can be developed efficiently. The real-time VLBI data transmission tool sudp-send is an application tool based on the KVTP-lib library. sudp-send captures the VLBI data stream from the VSI-H interface with the K5/VSI PC-board and writes the data to file in standard Linux file format or transmits it to the network using the simple- UDP (SUDP) protocol. Another tool, sudp-recv , receives the data stream from the network and writes the data to file in a specific VLBI format (K5/VSSP, VDIF, or Mark 5B). This software system has been implemented on the Wettzell Tsukuba baseline; evaluation before operational employment is under way.

XTCE GOVSAT Tool Suite 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rice, J. Kevin

2013-01-01

The XTCE GOVSAT software suite contains three tools: validation, search, and reporting. The Extensible Markup Language (XML) Telemetric and Command Exchange (XTCE) GOVSAT Tool Suite is written in Java for manipulating XTCE XML files. XTCE is a Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) and Object Management Group (OMG) specification for describing the format and information in telemetry and command packet streams. These descriptions are files that are used to configure real-time telemetry and command systems for mission operations. XTCE s purpose is to exchange database information between different systems. XTCE GOVSAT consists of rules for narrowing the use of XTCE for missions. The Validation Tool is used to syntax check GOVSAT XML files. The Search Tool is used to search (i.e. command and telemetry mnemonics) the GOVSAT XML files and view the results. Finally, the Reporting Tool is used to create command and telemetry reports. These reports can be displayed or printed for use by the operations team.

Reuse Metrics for Object Oriented Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bieman, James M.

1998-01-01

One way to increase the quality of software products and the productivity of software development is to reuse existing software components when building new software systems. In order to monitor improvements in reuse, the level of reuse must be measured. In this NASA supported project we (1) derived a suite of metrics which quantify reuse attributes for object oriented, object based, and procedural software, (2) designed prototype tools to take these measurements in Ada, C++, Java, and C software, (3) evaluated the reuse in available software, (4) analyzed the relationship between coupling, cohesion, inheritance, and reuse, (5) collected object oriented software systems for our empirical analyses, and (6) developed quantitative criteria and methods for restructuring software to improve reusability.

Supporting Information Linking and Discovery Across Organizations Using the VIVO Semantic Web Software Suite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayernik, M. S.; Daniels, M. D.; Maull, K. E.; Khan, H.; Krafft, D. B.; Gross, M. B.; Rowan, L. R.

2016-12-01

Geosciences research is often conducted using distributed networks of researchers and resources. To better enable the discovery of the research output from the scientists and resources used within these organizations, UCAR, Cornell University, and UNAVCO are collaborating on the EarthCollab (http://earthcube.org/group/earthcollab) project which seeks to leverage semantic technologies to manage and link scientific data. As part of this effort, we have been exploring how to leverage information distributed across multiple research organizations. EarthCollab is using the VIVO semantic software suite to lookup and display Semantic Web information across our project partners.Our presentation will include a demonstration of linking between VIVO instances, discussing how to create linkages between entities in different VIVO instances where both entities describe the same person or resource. This discussion will explore how we designate the equivalence of these entities using "same as" assertions between identifiers representing these entities including URIs and ORCID IDs and how we have extended the base VIVO architecture to support the lookup of which entities in separate VIVO instances may be equivalent and to then display information from external linked entities. We will also discuss how these extensions can support other linked data lookups and sources of information.This VIVO cross-linking mechanism helps bring information from multiple VIVO instances together and helps users in navigating information spread-out between multiple VIVO instances. Challenges and open questions for this approach relate to how to display the information obtained from an external VIVO instance, both in order to preserve the brands of the internal and external systems and to handle discrepancies between ontologies, content, and/or VIVO versions.

An experimental microcomputer controlled system for synchronized pulsating anti-gravity suit.

PubMed

Moore, T W; Foley, J; Reddy, B R; Kepics, F; Jaron, D

1987-07-01

An experimental system to deliver synchronized external pressure pulsations to the lower body is described in this technical note. The system is designed using a microcomputer with a real time interface and an electro-pneumatic subsystem capable of delivering pressure pulses to a modified anti-G suit at a fast rate. It is versatile, containing many options for synchronizing, phasing and sequencing of the pressure pulsations and controlling the pressure level in the suit bladders. Details of its software and hardware are described along with the results of initial testing in a Dynamic Flight Simulator on human volunteers.

Vertical-Deformation, Water-Level, Microgravity, Geodetic, Water-Chemistry, and Flow-Rate Data Collected During Injection, Storage, and Recovery Tests at Lancaster, Antelope Valley, California, September 1995 Through September 1998

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-01-01

63 Tiltmeter Network...71 34. Map showing locations of tiltmeters used to monitor the magnitude and direction of ground tilting associated with direct well injection...during cycle 2 at Lancaster, Antelope Valley, California .............................. 72 35. Photograph showing typical tiltmeter installation for

Middle Devonian to Early Carboniferous event stratigraphy of Devils Gate and Northern Antelope Range sections, Nevada, U.S.A

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sandberg, C.A.; Morrow, J.R.; Poole, F.G.; Ziegler, W.

2003-01-01

The classic type section of the Devils Gate Limestone at Devils Gate Pass is situated on the eastern slope of a proto-Antler forebulge that resulted from convergence of the west side of the North American continent with an ocean plate. The original Late Devonian forebulge, the site of which is now located between Devils Gate Pass and the Northern Antelope Range, separated the continental-rise to deep-slope Woodruff basin on the west from the backbulge Pilot basin on the east. Two connections between these basins are recorded by deeper water siltstone beds at Devils Gate; the older one is the lower tongue of the Woodruff Formation, which forms the basal unit of the upper member of the type Devils Gate, and the upper one is the overlying, thin lower member of the Pilot Shale. The forebulge and the backbulge Pilot basin originated during the middle Frasnian (early Late Devonian) Early hassi Zone, shortly following the Alamo Impact within the punctata Zone in southern Nevada. Evidence of this impact is recorded by coeval and reworked shocked quartz grains in the Northern Antelope Range and possibly by a unique bypass-channel or megatsunami-uprush sandy diamictite within carbonate-platform rocks of the lower member of the type Devils Gate Limestone. Besides the Alamo Impact and three regional events, two other important global events are recorded in the Devils Gate section. The semichatovae eustatic rise, the maximum Late Devonian flooding event, coincides with the sharp lithogenetic change at the discordant boundary above the lower member of the Devils Gate Limestone. Most significantly, the Devils Gate section contains the thickest and most complete rock record in North America across the late Frasnian linguiformis Zone mass extinction event. Excellent exposures include not only the extinction shale, but also a younger. Early triangularis Zone tsunamite breccia, produced by global collapse of carbonate platforms during a shallowing event that continued into the next

20. NBS SUIT LAB. TABLE WITH MISCELLANEOUS SUIT PARTS AND ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

20. NBS SUIT LAB. TABLE WITH MISCELLANEOUS SUIT PARTS AND TERRY WEST, A SPACE SUIT ASSEMBLY TECHNICIAN LOGGING SUIT PART DATA. PARTS ON THE TABLE ARE A HARD UPPER TORSO (HUT) (REAR LEFT), FULL HELMET (FRONT LEFT), TWO HELMETS WITHOUT PROTECTIVE VISORS, A PAIR OF GLOVES, AND A BACKPACK WITHOUT VOLUMETRIC COVER (REAR RIGHT). THE BACKPACK ATTACHES TO THE HUT TO MAKE-UP THE UPPER TORSO COMPONENTS OF THE SUIT. - Marshall Space Flight Center, Neutral Buoyancy Simulator Facility, Rideout Road, Huntsville, Madison County, AL

The Suite for Embedded Applications and Kernels

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

2016-05-10

Many applications of high performance embedded computing are limited by performance or power bottlenecks. We havedesigned SEAK, a new benchmark suite, (a) to capture these bottlenecks in a way that encourages creative solutions to these bottlenecks? and (b) to facilitate rigorous, objective, end-user evaluation for their solutions. To avoid biasing solutions toward existing algorithms, SEAK benchmarks use a mission-centric (abstracted from a particular algorithm) andgoal-oriented (functional) specification. To encourage solutions that are any combination of software or hardware, we use an end-user blackbox evaluation that can capture tradeoffs between performance, power, accuracy, size, and weight. The tradeoffs are especially informativemore » for procurement decisions. We call our benchmarks future proof because each mission-centric interface and evaluation remains useful despite shifting algorithmic preferences. It is challenging to create both concise and precise goal-oriented specifications for mission-centric problems. This paper describes the SEAK benchmark suite and presents an evaluation of sample solutions that highlights power and performance tradeoffs.« less

BuddySuite: Command-Line Toolkits for Manipulating Sequences, Alignments, and Phylogenetic Trees.

PubMed

Bond, Stephen R; Keat, Karl E; Barreira, Sofia N; Baxevanis, Andreas D

2017-06-01

The ability to manipulate sequence, alignment, and phylogenetic tree files has become an increasingly important skill in the life sciences, whether to generate summary information or to prepare data for further downstream analysis. The command line can be an extremely powerful environment for interacting with these resources, but only if the user has the appropriate general-purpose tools on hand. BuddySuite is a collection of four independent yet interrelated command-line toolkits that facilitate each step in the workflow of sequence discovery, curation, alignment, and phylogenetic reconstruction. Most common sequence, alignment, and tree file formats are automatically detected and parsed, and over 100 tools have been implemented for manipulating these data. The project has been engineered to easily accommodate the addition of new tools, is written in the popular programming language Python, and is hosted on the Python Package Index and GitHub to maximize accessibility. Documentation for each BuddySuite tool, including usage examples, is available at http://tiny.cc/buddysuite_wiki. All software is open source and freely available through http://research.nhgri.nih.gov/software/BuddySuite. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution 2017. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

Z-2 Suit Support Stand and MKIII Suit Center of Gravity Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Tuan Q.

2014-01-01

NASA's next generation spacesuits are the Z-Series suits, made for a range of possible exploration missions in the near future. The prototype Z-1 suit has been developed and assembled to incorporate new technologies that has never been utilized before in the Apollo suits and the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). NASA engineers tested the Z-1 suit extensively in order to developed design requirements for the new Z-2 suit. At the end of 2014, NASA will be receiving the new Z-2 suit to perform more testing and to further develop the new technologies of the suit. In order to do so, a suit support stand will be designed and fabricated to support the Z-2 suit during maintenance, sizing, and structural leakage testing. The Z-2 Suit Support Stand (Z2SSS) will be utilized for these purposes in the early testing stages of the Z-2 suit.

Evaluation of Brucella abortus strain RB51 and strain 19 in pronghorn antelope

USGS Publications Warehouse

Elzer, P.H.; Smith, J.; Roffe, T.; Kreeger, T.; Edwards, J.; Davis, D.

2002-01-01

Free-roaming elk and bison in the Greater Yellowstone Area remain the only wildlife reservoirs for Brucella abortus in the United States, and the large number of animals and a lack of holding facilities make it unreasonable to individually vaccinate each animal. Therefore, oral delivery is being proposed as a possible option to vaccinate these wild ungulates. One of the main problems associated with oral vaccination is the potential exposure of nontarget species to the vaccines. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of two Brucella vaccines, strain 19 (S19) and the rough strain RB51 (SRB51), in pregnant pronghorn antelope. We conclude that S19 and SRB51 rarely colonize maternal and fetal tissues of pregnant pronghorn and were not associated with fetal death. Oral delivery of either vaccine at this dose appears to be nonhazardous to pregnant pronghorn.

Orion ECLSS/Suit System - Ambient Pressure Integrated Suit Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barido, Richard A.

2012-01-01

The Ambient Pressure Integrated Suit Test (APIST) phase of the integrated system testing of the Orion Vehicle Atmosphere Revitalization System (ARS) technology was conducted for the Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) Program within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Crew and Thermal Systems Division performed this test in the eleven-foot human-rated vacuum chamber at the NASA Johnson Space Center. This testing is the first phase of suit loop testing to demonstrate the viability of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) being developed for Orion. APIST is the first in a series, which will consist of testing development hardware including the Carbon dioxide and Moisture Removal Amine Swing-bed (CAMRAS) and the air revitalization loop fan with human test subjects in pressure suits at varying suit pressures. Follow-on testing, to be conducted in 2013, will utilize the CAMRAS and a development regulator with human test subjects in pressure suits at varying cabin and suit pressures. This paper will discuss the results and findings of APIST and will also discuss future testing.

Error-Free Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

001 is an integrated tool suited for automatically developing ultra reliable models, simulations and software systems. Developed and marketed by Hamilton Technologies, Inc. (HTI), it has been applied in engineering, manufacturing, banking and software tools development. The software provides the ability to simplify the complex. A system developed with 001 can be a prototype or fully developed with production quality code. It is free of interface errors, consistent, logically complete and has no data or control flow errors. Systems can be designed, developed and maintained with maximum productivity. Margaret Hamilton, President of Hamilton Technologies, also directed the research and development of USE.IT, an earlier product which was the first computer aided software engineering product in the industry to concentrate on automatically supporting the development of an ultrareliable system throughout its life cycle. Both products originated in NASA technology developed under a Johnson Space Center contract.

Advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit Informatics Software Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Theodore

2014-01-01

This is a description of the software design for the 2013 edition of the Advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AEMU) Informatics computer assembly. The Informatics system is an optional part of the space suit assembly. It adds a graphical interface for displaying suit status, timelines, procedures, and caution and warning information. In the future it will display maps with GPS position data, and video and still images captured by the astronaut.

Open Source Seismic Software in NOAA's Next Generation Tsunami Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hellman, S. B.; Baker, B. I.; Hagerty, M. T.; Leifer, J. M.; Lisowski, S.; Thies, D. A.; Donnelly, B. K.; Griffith, F. P.

2014-12-01

The Tsunami Information technology Modernization (TIM) is a project spearheaded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to update the United States' Tsunami Warning System software currently employed at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (Eva Beach, Hawaii) and the National Tsunami Warning Center (Palmer, Alaska). This entirely open source software project will integrate various seismic processing utilities with the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office's core software, AWIPS2. For the real-time and near real-time seismic processing aspect of this project, NOAA has elected to integrate the open source portions of GFZ's SeisComP 3 (SC3) processing system into AWIPS2. To provide for better tsunami threat assessments we are developing open source tools for magnitude estimations (e.g., moment magnitude, energy magnitude, surface wave magnitude), detection of slow earthquakes with the Theta discriminant, moment tensor inversions (e.g. W-phase and teleseismic body waves), finite fault inversions, and array processing. With our reliance on common data formats such as QuakeML and seismic community standard messaging systems, all new facilities introduced into AWIPS2 and SC3 will be available as stand-alone tools or could be easily integrated into other real time seismic monitoring systems such as Earthworm, Antelope, etc. Additionally, we have developed a template based design paradigm so that the developer or scientist can efficiently create upgrades, replacements, and/or new metrics to the seismic data processing with only a cursory knowledge of the underlying SC3.

V-SUIT Model Validation Using PLSS 1.0 Test Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olthoff, Claas

2015-01-01

The dynamic portable life support system (PLSS) simulation software Virtual Space Suit (V-SUIT) has been under development at the Technische Universitat Munchen since 2011 as a spin-off from the Virtual Habitat (V-HAB) project. The MATLAB(trademark)-based V-SUIT simulates space suit portable life support systems and their interaction with a detailed and also dynamic human model, as well as the dynamic external environment of a space suit moving on a planetary surface. To demonstrate the feasibility of a large, system level simulation like V-SUIT, a model of NASA's PLSS 1.0 prototype was created. This prototype was run through an extensive series of tests in 2011. Since the test setup was heavily instrumented, it produced a wealth of data making it ideal for model validation. The implemented model includes all components of the PLSS in both the ventilation and thermal loops. The major components are modeled in greater detail, while smaller and ancillary components are low fidelity black box models. The major components include the Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) CO2 removal system, the Primary and Secondary Oxygen Assembly (POS/SOA), the Pressure Garment System Volume Simulator (PGSVS), the Human Metabolic Simulator (HMS), the heat exchanger between the ventilation and thermal loops, the Space Suit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME) and finally the Liquid Cooling Garment Simulator (LCGS). Using the created model, dynamic simulations were performed using same test points also used during PLSS 1.0 testing. The results of the simulation were then compared to the test data with special focus on absolute values during the steady state phases and dynamic behavior during the transition between test points. Quantified simulation results are presented that demonstrate which areas of the V-SUIT model are in need of further refinement and those that are sufficiently close to the test results. Finally, lessons learned from the modelling and validation process are given in combination

NASA Data Acquisition System Software Development for Rocket Propulsion Test Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herbert, Phillip W., Sr.; Elliot, Alex C.; Graves, Andrew R.

2015-01-01

Current NASA propulsion test facilities include Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, Plum Brook Station in Ohio, and White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Within and across these centers, a diverse set of data acquisition systems exist with different hardware and software platforms. The NASA Data Acquisition System (NDAS) is a software suite designed to operate and control many critical aspects of rocket engine testing. The software suite combines real-time data visualization, data recording to a variety formats, short-term and long-term acquisition system calibration capabilities, test stand configuration control, and a variety of data post-processing capabilities. Additionally, data stream conversion functions exist to translate test facility data streams to and from downstream systems, including engine customer systems. The primary design goals for NDAS are flexibility, extensibility, and modularity. Providing a common user interface for a variety of hardware platforms helps drive consistency and error reduction during testing. In addition, with an understanding that test facilities have different requirements and setups, the software is designed to be modular. One engine program may require real-time displays and data recording; others may require more complex data stream conversion, measurement filtering, or test stand configuration management. The NDAS suite allows test facilities to choose which components to use based on their specific needs. The NDAS code is primarily written in LabVIEW, a graphical, data-flow driven language. Although LabVIEW is a general-purpose programming language; large-scale software development in the language is relatively rare compared to more commonly used languages. The NDAS software suite also makes extensive use of a new, advanced development framework called the Actor Framework. The Actor Framework provides a level of code reuse and extensibility that has previously been difficult

A Heuristic for Improving Legacy Software Quality during Maintenance: An Empirical Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sale, Michael John

2017-01-01

Many organizations depend on the functionality of mission-critical legacy software and the continued maintenance of this software is vital. Legacy software is defined here as software that contains no testing suite, is often foreign to the developer performing the maintenance, lacks meaningful documentation, and over time, has become difficult to…

Implication of Nilgai Antelope (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) in Reinfestations of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) in South Texas: A Review and Update.

PubMed

Lohmeyer, Kimberly H; May, Melinda A; Thomas, Donald B; Pérez de León, Adalberto A

2018-05-04

The Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program was the first parasite eradication program of veterinary importance in the United States and is considered to be one of the greatest disease eradication programs of all time. The program's utilization of pasture vacation and dipping of cattle in acaricide has been extremely successful for controlling Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini) and R. (B.) annulatus (Say), collectively known as cattle fever ticks, on cattle along the Texas border with Mexico for decades. However, the increase of white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann), populations in South Texas over the last 50 yr has compromised the success of the program. R. (B.) microplus and R. (B.) annulatus infestation data have confirmed that O. virginianus can support the maintenance and movement of both species of cattle fever tick within the permanent quarantine or buffer zone in South Texas along the Rio Grande, and also in the cattle fever tick-free area north and east of the buffer zone. Over the last two decades, increasing populations of exotic nilgai antelope, Boselaphus tragocamelus (Pallas), in South Texas have further complicated cattle fever tick eradication efforts. Historical cattle fever tick infestation data, host source data, and geographical data support the continued role of O. virginianus in maintaining reinfestations of R. (B.) microplus and R. (B.) annulatus in South Texas as well as the increasing role of nilgai antelope in cattle fever tick maintenance and dispersal.

Music Education Suites.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemp, Wayne

This publication describes options for designing and equipping middle and high school music education suites and suggests means of gaining community support for including full service music suites in new and renovated facilities. It covers the basic music suite, practice rooms, small ensemble rehearsal rooms, recording/MIDI (musical instrument…

Advanced EVA Suit Camera System Development Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mock, Kyla

2016-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) is developing a new extra-vehicular activity (EVA) suit known as the Advanced EVA Z2 Suit. All of the improvements to the EVA Suit provide the opportunity to update the technology of the video imagery. My summer internship project involved improving the video streaming capabilities of the cameras that will be used on the Z2 Suit for data acquisition. To accomplish this, I familiarized myself with the architecture of the camera that is currently being tested to be able to make improvements on the design. Because there is a lot of benefit to saving space, power, and weight on the EVA suit, my job was to use Altium Design to start designing a much smaller and simplified interface board for the camera's microprocessor and external components. This involved checking datasheets of various components and checking signal connections to ensure that this architecture could be used for both the Z2 suit and potentially other future projects. The Orion spacecraft is a specific project that may benefit from this condensed camera interface design. The camera's physical placement on the suit also needed to be determined and tested so that image resolution can be maximized. Many of the options of the camera placement may be tested along with other future suit testing. There are multiple teams that work on different parts of the suit, so the camera's placement could directly affect their research or design. For this reason, a big part of my project was initiating contact with other branches and setting up multiple meetings to learn more about the pros and cons of the potential camera placements we are analyzing. Collaboration with the multiple teams working on the Advanced EVA Z2 Suit is absolutely necessary and these comparisons will be used as further progress is made for the overall suit design. This prototype will not be finished in time for the scheduled Z2 Suit testing, so my time was

Music Education Suites

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemp, Wayne

2009-01-01

This publication describes options for designing and equipping middle and high school music education suites, and suggests ways of gaining community support for including full service music suites in new and renovated school facilities. In addition to basic music suites, and practice rooms, other options detailed include: (1) small ensemble…

EMU Suit Performance Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cowley, Matthew S.; Benson, Elizabeth; Harvill, Lauren; Rajulu, Sudhakar

2014-01-01

Introduction: Designing a planetary suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade-offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. To verify that new suit designs meet requirements, full prototypes must be built and tested with human subjects. However, numerous design iterations will occur before the hardware meets those requirements. Traditional draw-prototype-test paradigms for research and development are prohibitively expensive with today's shrinking Government budgets. Personnel at NASA are developing modern simulation techniques that focus on a human-centric design paradigm. These new techniques make use of virtual prototype simulations and fully adjustable physical prototypes of suit hardware. This is extremely advantageous and enables comprehensive design down-selections to be made early in the design process. Objectives: The primary objective was to test modern simulation techniques for evaluating the human performance component of two EMU suit concepts, pivoted and planar style hard upper torso (HUT). Methods: This project simulated variations in EVA suit shoulder joint design and subject anthropometry and then measured the differences in shoulder mobility caused by the modifications. These estimations were compared to human-in-the-loop test data gathered during past suited testing using four subjects (two large males, two small females). Results: Results demonstrated that EVA suit modeling and simulation are feasible design tools for evaluating and optimizing suit design based on simulated performance. The suit simulation model was found to be advantageous in its ability to visually represent complex motions and volumetric reach zones in three dimensions, giving designers a faster and deeper comprehension of suit component performance vs. human performance. Suit models were able to discern differing movement capabilities between EMU HUT configurations, generic suit fit concerns, and specific suit fit concerns for crewmembers based

VISUAL PLUMES MIXING ZONE MODELING SOFTWARE

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a long history of both supporting plume model development and providing mixing zone modeling software. The Visual Plumes model is the most recent addition to the suite of public-domain models available through the EPA-Athens Center f...

Practical Issues in Implementing Software Reliability Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nikora, Allen P.; Schneidewind, Norman F.; Everett, William W.; Munson, John C.; Vouk, Mladen A.; Musa, John D.

1999-01-01

Many ways of estimating software systems' reliability, or reliability-related quantities, have been developed over the past several years. Of particular interest are methods that can be used to estimate a software system's fault content prior to test, or to discriminate between components that are fault-prone and those that are not. The results of these methods can be used to: 1) More accurately focus scarce fault identification resources on those portions of a software system most in need of it. 2) Estimate and forecast the risk of exposure to residual faults in a software system during operation, and develop risk and safety criteria to guide the release of a software system to fielded use. 3) Estimate the efficiency of test suites in detecting residual faults. 4) Estimate the stability of the software maintenance process.

Unraveling transcriptional control and cis-regulatory codes using the software suite GeneACT

PubMed Central

Cheung, Tom Hiu; Kwan, Yin Lam; Hamady, Micah; Liu, Xuedong

2006-01-01

Deciphering gene regulatory networks requires the systematic identification of functional cis-acting regulatory elements. We present a suite of web-based bioinformatics tools, called GeneACT , that can rapidly detect evolutionarily conserved transcription factor binding sites or microRNA target sites that are either unique or over-represented in differentially expressed genes from DNA microarray data. GeneACT provides graphic visualization and extraction of common regulatory sequence elements in the promoters and 3'-untranslated regions that are conserved across multiple mammalian species. PMID:17064417

Potential of a suite of robot/computer-assisted motivating systems for personalized, home-based, stroke rehabilitation.

PubMed

Johnson, Michelle J; Feng, Xin; Johnson, Laura M; Winters, Jack M

2007-03-01

There is a need to improve semi-autonomous stroke therapy in home environments often characterized by low supervision of clinical experts and low extrinsic motivation. Our distributed device approach to this problem consists of an integrated suite of low-cost robotic/computer-assistive technologies driven by a novel universal access software framework called UniTherapy. Our design strategy for personalizing the therapy, providing extrinsic motivation and outcome assessment is presented and evaluated. Three studies were conducted to evaluate the potential of the suite. A conventional force-reflecting joystick, a modified joystick therapy platform (TheraJoy), and a steering wheel platform (TheraDrive) were tested separately with the UniTherapy software. Stroke subjects with hemiparesis and able-bodied subjects completed tracking activities with the devices in different positions. We quantify motor performance across subject groups and across device platforms and muscle activation across devices at two positions in the arm workspace. Trends in the assessment metrics were consistent across devices with able-bodied and high functioning strokes subjects being significantly more accurate and quicker in their motor performance than low functioning subjects. Muscle activation patterns were different for shoulder and elbow across different devices and locations. The Robot/CAMR suite has potential for stroke rehabilitation. By manipulating hardware and software variables, we can create personalized therapy environments that engage patients, address their therapy need, and track their progress. A larger longitudinal study is still needed to evaluate these systems in under-supervised environments such as the home.

Fleet-Wide Prognostic and Health Management Suite: Asset Fault Signature Database

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

Vivek Agarwal; Nancy J. Lybeck; Randall Bickford

Proactive online monitoring in the nuclear industry is being explored using the Electric Power Research Institute’s Fleet-Wide Prognostic and Health Management (FW-PHM) Suite software. The FW-PHM Suite is a set of web-based diagnostic and prognostic tools and databases that serves as an integrated health monitoring architecture. The FW-PHM Suite has four main modules: (1) Diagnostic Advisor, (2) Asset Fault Signature (AFS) Database, (3) Remaining Useful Life Advisor, and (4) Remaining Useful Life Database. The paper focuses on the AFS Database of the FW-PHM Suite, which is used to catalog asset fault signatures. A fault signature is a structured representation ofmore » the information that an expert would use to first detect and then verify the occurrence of a specific type of fault. The fault signatures developed to assess the health status of generator step-up transformers are described in the paper. The developed fault signatures capture this knowledge and implement it in a standardized approach, thereby streamlining the diagnostic and prognostic process. This will support the automation of proactive online monitoring techniques in nuclear power plants to diagnose incipient faults, perform proactive maintenance, and estimate the remaining useful life of assets.« less

Metabolism and evaporative heat loss in the dik-dik antelope (Rhynchotragus kirki).

PubMed

Kamau, J M

1988-01-01

1. Under controlled conditions, the rate of oxygen consumption (VO2) respiratory frequency, evaporative water loss, heat balance, rectal (Trec) and surface temperatures were determined in the dik-dik antelopes at ambient temperatures (Ta) ranging from 1 to 44 degrees C. 2. The thermal neutral zone was found to be between 24 and 35 degrees C. 3. Respiratory frequency ranged between 27 and 630 breaths/min. 4. At a Ta of 44 degrees C, 95% of the heat produced by the dik-dik was lost via respiratory evaporation. Despite an increase in Trec, cutaneous evaporation did not increase. 5. During panting, VO2 increased in accordance with the expected Q10 effect, contrary to earlier findings. 6. Measurements of circadian rhythm [LD 12:12 (7-19) CT26 degrees C] in VO2 showed that the minimum VO2 (0.42 ml O2/g/hr) occurred at midnight while the maximum (0.78 ml O2/g/hr) occurred at midday. The 24 hr mean VO2 was 0.61 ml O2/g/hr. 7. These measurements suggest that in nature, determinants other than light may be responsible for triggering the variations observed in VO2.

A tool to include gamma analysis software into a quality assurance program.

PubMed

Agnew, Christina E; McGarry, Conor K

2016-03-01

To provide a tool to enable gamma analysis software algorithms to be included in a quality assurance (QA) program. Four image sets were created comprising two geometric images to independently test the distance to agreement (DTA) and dose difference (DD) elements of the gamma algorithm, a clinical step and shoot IMRT field and a clinical VMAT arc. The images were analysed using global and local gamma analysis with 2 in-house and 8 commercially available software encompassing 15 software versions. The effect of image resolution on gamma pass rates was also investigated. All but one software accurately calculated the gamma passing rate for the geometric images. Variation in global gamma passing rates of 1% at 3%/3mm and over 2% at 1%/1mm was measured between software and software versions with analysis of appropriately sampled images. This study provides a suite of test images and the gamma pass rates achieved for a selection of commercially available software. This image suite will enable validation of gamma analysis software within a QA program and provide a frame of reference by which to compare results reported in the literature from various manufacturers and software versions. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

The Use of Computer Software to Teach High Technology Skills to Vocational Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farmer, Edgar I.

A study examined the type of computer software that is best suited to teach high technology skills to vocational students. During the study, 50 manufacturers of computer software and hardware were sent questionnaires designed to gather data concerning their recommendations in regard to: software to teach high technology skills to vocational…

Space Suit Thermal Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, Anthony B.; Nair, Satish S.; Miles, John B.; Iovine, John V.; Lin, Chin H.

1998-01-01

The present NASA space suit (the Shuttle EMU) is a self-contained environmental control system, providing life support, environmental protection, earth-like mobility, and communications. This study considers the thermal dynamics of the space suit as they relate to astronaut thermal comfort control. A detailed dynamic lumped capacitance thermal model of the present space suit is used to analyze the thermal dynamics of the suit with observations verified using experimental and flight data. Prior to using the model to define performance characteristics and limitations for the space suit, the model is first evaluated and improved. This evaluation includes determining the effect of various model parameters on model performance and quantifying various temperature prediction errors in terms of heat transfer and heat storage. The observations from this study are being utilized in two future design efforts, automatic thermal comfort control design for the present space suit and design of future space suit systems for Space Station, Lunar, and Martian missions.

Software Quality Assurance and Controls Standard

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-27

Software Quality Assurance d C t l St d dan on ro s an ar Sue Carroll Principal Software Quality Analyst, SAS John Wal z VP Technology and...for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that...Cycle (SLC) process? • What is in a SQA Process? • Where are SQA Controls? • What is the SQA standards history? Wh t i h i i SQA?• a s c ang ng n

Ionospheric Mapping Software Ensures Accuracy of Pilots GPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2015-01-01

IonoSTAGE and SuperTruth software are part of a suite created at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to enable the Federal Aviation Administration's Wide Area Augmentation System, which provides pinpoint accuracy in aircraft GPS units. The system, used by more than 73,000 planes, facilitates landings under adverse conditions at small airports. In 2013, IonoSTAGE and SuperTruth found their first commercial license when NEC, based in Japan, with US headquarters in Irving, Texas, licensed the entire suite.

Evaluation of a butorphanol, detomidine, and midazolam combination for immobilization of captive Nile lechwe antelopes (Kobus magaceros).

PubMed

Laricchiuta, Pietro; De Monte, Valentina; Campolo, Marco; Grano, Fabio; Iarussi, Fabrizio; Crovace, Antonio; Staffieri, Francesco

2012-07-01

Field immobilization of captive antelope may be required for medical examination, blood sample collection, and animal identification. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a combination of butorphanol, detomidine, and midazolam (BDM) and its partial reversibility in Nile lechwe antelope (Kobus megaceros). Nine captive lechwes, weighing 28-64 kg, were immobilized, in February 2011, with butorphanol 0.20 ± 0.05 (mean ± SD) mg/kg, detomidine 0.20 ± 0.05 mg/kg, and midazolam 0.31 ± 0.08 mg/kg administered intramuscularly (IM) with a blowpipe. Physiologic parameters and depth of anesthesia were recorded when the animals became recumbent at 19.55 ± 8.36 min after darting (T0) and after 10 (T10), 20 (T20), and 30 (T30) min. An arterial blood sample was collected at T20. At the end of the procedures, immobilization was partially reversed with atipamezole 0.25 mg/kg IM. Quality of induction, immobilization, and recovery was scored. The BDM combination induced immobilization and lateral recumbency in 13.44 ± 5.61 min. Median induction score (scored 1 [excellent] to 4 [poor]) was 1 (range 1-2). Heart rate varied 40-104 beats/min, respiratory rate 16-108 breaths/min, and rectal temperature 36.5-40.3 C. Hyperthermia was observed and rapidly treated in three animals that demonstrated insufficient immobilization after darting. Arterial blood gas analyses revealed a mean pH of 7.43 ± 0.07, partial arterial pressure of CO(2) of 44.1 ± 6.0 mmHg, partial arterial pressure of O(2) of 74.0 ± 13.5 mmHg, and an arterial O(2) saturation of 94.77 ± 3.96%. Recovery was smooth and animals were walking in 13.44 ± 7.85 min. Median recovery score (1 = excellent to 4 = poor) was 1 (range 1-2). The BDM was effective in immobilizing captive healthy lechwes with minimal cardiorespiratory changes.

Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit Intravehicular Activity Suit for Extravehicular Activity Mobility Evaluations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, Richard D.

2014-01-01

The use of an intravehicular activity (IVA) suit for a spacewalk or extravehicular activity (EVA) was evaluated for mobility and usability in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) environment at the Sonny Carter Training Facility near NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The Space Shuttle Advanced Crew Escape Suit was modified to integrate with the Orion spacecraft. The first several missions of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle will not have mass available to carry an EVA-specific suit; therefore, any EVA required will have to be performed by the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit (MACES). Since the MACES was not designed with EVA in mind, it was unknown what mobility the suit would be able to provide for an EVA or whether a person could perform useful tasks for an extended time inside the pressurized suit. The suit was evaluated in multiple NBL runs by a variety of subjects, including crewmembers with significant EVA experience. Various functional mobility tasks performed included: translation, body positioning, tool carrying, body stabilization, equipment handling, and tool usage. Hardware configurations included with and without Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment, suit with IVA gloves and suit with EVA gloves. Most tasks were completed on International Space Station mock-ups with existing EVA tools. Some limited tasks were completed with prototype tools on a simulated rocky surface. Major findings include: demonstrating the ability to weigh-out the suit, understanding the need to have subjects perform multiple runs prior to getting feedback, determining critical sizing factors, and need for adjusting suit work envelope. Early testing demonstrated the feasibility of EVA's limited duration and limited scope. Further testing is required with more flight-like tasking and constraints to validate these early results. If the suit is used for EVA, it will require mission-specific modifications for umbilical management or Primary Life Support System integration

Software Measurement Guidebook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

This Software Measurement Guidebook is based on the extensive experience of several organizations that have each developed and applied significant measurement programs over a period of at least 10 years. The lessons derived from those experiences reflect not only successes but also failures. By applying those lessons, an organization can minimize, or at least reduce, the time, effort, and frustration of introducing a software measurement program. The Software Measurement Guidebook is aimed at helping organizations to begin or improve a measurement program. It does not provide guidance for the extensive application of specific measures (such as how to estimate software cost or analyze software complexity) other than by providing examples to clarify points. It does contain advice for establishing and using an effective software measurement program and for understanding some of the key lessons that other organizations have learned. Some of that advice will appear counterintuitive, but it is all based on actual experience. Although all of the information presented in this guidebook is derived from specific experiences of mature measurement programs, the reader must keep in mind that the characteristics of every organization are unique. Some degree of measurement is critical for all software development and maintenance organizations, and most of the key rules captured in this report will be generally applicable. Nevertheless, each organization must strive to understand its own environment so that the measurement program can be tailored to suit its characteristics and needs.

Journal and Wave Bearing Impedance Calculation Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanford, Amanda; Campbell, Robert

2012-01-01

The wave bearing software suite is a MALTA application that computes bearing properties for user-specified wave bearing conditions, as well as plain journal bearings. Wave bearings are fluid film journal bearings with multi-lobed wave patterns around the circumference of the bearing surface. In this software suite, the dynamic coefficients are outputted in a way for easy implementation in a finite element model used in rotor dynamics analysis. The software has a graphical user interface (GUI) for inputting bearing geometry parameters, and uses MATLAB s structure interface for ease of interpreting data. This innovation was developed to provide the stiffness and damping components of wave bearing impedances. The computational method for computing bearing coefficients was originally designed for plain journal bearings and tilting pad bearings. Modifications to include a wave bearing profile consisted of changing the film thickness profile given by an equation, and writing an algorithm to locate the integration limits for each fluid region. Careful consideration was needed to implement the correct integration limits while computing the dynamic coefficients, depending on the form of the input/output variables specified in the algorithm.

Providing Web Interfaces to the NSF EarthScope USArray Transportable Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vernon, Frank; Newman, Robert; Lindquist, Kent

2010-05-01

Since April 2004 the EarthScope USArray seismic network has grown to over 850 broadband stations that stream multi-channel data in near real-time to the Array Network Facility in San Diego. Providing secure, yet open, access to real-time and archived data for a broad range of audiences is best served by a series of platform agnostic low-latency web-based applications. We present a framework of tools that mediate between the world wide web and Boulder Real Time Technologies Antelope Environmental Monitoring System data acquisition and archival software. These tools provide comprehensive information to audiences ranging from network operators and geoscience researchers, to funding agencies and the general public. This ranges from network-wide to station-specific metadata, state-of-health metrics, event detection rates, archival data and dynamic report generation over a station's two year life span. Leveraging open source web-site development frameworks for both the server side (Perl, Python and PHP) and client-side (Flickr, Google Maps/Earth and jQuery) facilitates the development of a robust extensible architecture that can be tailored on a per-user basis, with rapid prototyping and development that adheres to web-standards. Typical seismic data warehouses allow online users to query and download data collected from regional networks, without the scientist directly visually assessing data coverage and/or quality. Using a suite of web-based protocols, we have recently developed an online seismic waveform interface that directly queries and displays data from a relational database through a web-browser. Using the Python interface to Datascope and the Python-based Twisted network package on the server side, and the jQuery Javascript framework on the client side to send and receive asynchronous waveform queries, we display broadband seismic data using the HTML Canvas element that is globally accessible by anyone using a modern web-browser. We are currently creating

Potential of a suite of robot/computer-assisted motivating systems for personalized, home-based, stroke rehabilitation

PubMed Central

Johnson, Michelle J; Feng, Xin; Johnson, Laura M; Winters, Jack M

2007-01-01

Background There is a need to improve semi-autonomous stroke therapy in home environments often characterized by low supervision of clinical experts and low extrinsic motivation. Our distributed device approach to this problem consists of an integrated suite of low-cost robotic/computer-assistive technologies driven by a novel universal access software framework called UniTherapy. Our design strategy for personalizing the therapy, providing extrinsic motivation and outcome assessment is presented and evaluated. Methods Three studies were conducted to evaluate the potential of the suite. A conventional force-reflecting joystick, a modified joystick therapy platform (TheraJoy), and a steering wheel platform (TheraDrive) were tested separately with the UniTherapy software. Stroke subjects with hemiparesis and able-bodied subjects completed tracking activities with the devices in different positions. We quantify motor performance across subject groups and across device platforms and muscle activation across devices at two positions in the arm workspace. Results Trends in the assessment metrics were consistent across devices with able-bodied and high functioning strokes subjects being significantly more accurate and quicker in their motor performance than low functioning subjects. Muscle activation patterns were different for shoulder and elbow across different devices and locations. Conclusion The Robot/CAMR suite has potential for stroke rehabilitation. By manipulating hardware and software variables, we can create personalized therapy environments that engage patients, address their therapy need, and track their progress. A larger longitudinal study is still needed to evaluate these systems in under-supervised environments such as the home. PMID:17331243

Automation of Military Civil Engineering and Site Design Functions: Software Evaluation

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-09-01

promising advantage over manual methods, USACERL is to evaluate available software to determine which, if any, is best suited to the type of civil...moved. Therefore, original surface data were assembled by scaling the northing and easting distances of field elevations and entering them manually into...in the software or requesting an update or addition to the software or manuals . Responses to forms submitted during the test were received at

Summary of Documentation for DYNA3D-ParaDyn's Software Quality Assurance Regression Test Problems

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

Zywicz, Edward

The Software Quality Assurance (SQA) regression test suite for DYNA3D (Zywicz and Lin, 2015) and ParaDyn (DeGroot, et al., 2015) currently contains approximately 600 problems divided into 21 suites, and is a required component of ParaDyn’s SQA plan (Ferencz and Oliver, 2013). The regression suite allows developers to ensure that software modifications do not unintentionally alter the code response. The entire regression suite is run prior to permanently incorporating any software modification or addition. When code modifications alter test problem results, the specific cause must be determined and fully understood before the software changes and revised test answers can bemore » incorporated. The regression suite is executed on LLNL platforms using a Python script and an associated data file. The user specifies the DYNA3D or ParaDyn executable, number of processors to use, test problems to run, and other options to the script. The data file details how each problem and its answer extraction scripts are executed. For each problem in the regression suite there exists an input deck, an eight-processor partition file, an answer file, and various extraction scripts. These scripts assemble a temporary answer file in a specific format from the simulation results. The temporary and stored answer files are compared to a specific level of numerical precision, and when differences are detected the test problem is flagged as failed. Presently, numerical results are stored and compared to 16 digits. At this accuracy level different processor types, compilers, number of partitions, etc. impact the results to various degrees. Thus, for consistency purposes the regression suite is run with ParaDyn using 8 processors on machines with a specific processor type (currently the Intel Xeon E5530 processor). For non-parallel regression problems, i.e., the two XFEM problems, DYNA3D is used instead. When environments or platforms change, executables using the current source code and

The PyRosetta Toolkit: a graphical user interface for the Rosetta software suite.

PubMed

Adolf-Bryfogle, Jared; Dunbrack, Roland L

2013-01-01

The Rosetta Molecular Modeling suite is a command-line-only collection of applications that enable high-resolution modeling and design of proteins and other molecules. Although extremely useful, Rosetta can be difficult to learn for scientists with little computational or programming experience. To that end, we have created a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Rosetta, called the PyRosetta Toolkit, for creating and running protocols in Rosetta for common molecular modeling and protein design tasks and for analyzing the results of Rosetta calculations. The program is highly extensible so that developers can add new protocols and analysis tools to the PyRosetta Toolkit GUI.

MARTA: a suite of Java-based tools for assigning taxonomic status to DNA sequences.

PubMed

Horton, Matthew; Bodenhausen, Natacha; Bergelson, Joy

2010-02-15

We have created a suite of Java-based software to better provide taxonomic assignments to DNA sequences. We anticipate that the program will be useful for protistologists, virologists, mycologists and other microbial ecologists. The program relies on NCBI utilities including the BLAST software and Taxonomy database and is easily manipulated at the command-line to specify a BLAST candidate's query-coverage or percent identity requirements; other options include the ability to set minimal consensus requirements (%) for each of the eight major taxonomic ranks (Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, ...) and whether to consider lower scoring candidates when the top-hit lacks taxonomic classification.

Space suit bioenergetics: framework and analysis of unsuited and suited activity.

PubMed

Carr, Christopher E; Newman, Dava J

2007-11-01

Metabolic costs limit the duration and intensity of extravehicular activity (EVA), an essential component of future human missions to the Moon and Mars. Energetics Framework: We present a framework for comparison of energetics data across and between studies. This framework, applied to locomotion, differentiates between muscle efficiency and energy recovery, two concepts often confused in the literature. The human run-walk transition in Earth gravity occurs at the point for which energy recovery is approximately the same for walking and running, suggesting a possible role for recovery in gait transitions. Muscular Energetics: Muscle physiology limits the overall efficiency by which chemical energy is converted through metabolism to useful work. Unsuited Locomotion: Walking and running use different methods of energy storage and release. These differences contribute to the relative changes in the metabolic cost of walking and running as gravity is varied, with the metabolic cost of locomoting at a given velocity changing in proportion to gravity for running and less than in proportion for walking. Space Suits: Major factors affecting the energetic cost of suited movement include suit pressurization, gravity, velocity, surface slope, and space suit configuration. Apollo lunar surface EVA traverse metabolic rates, while unexpectedly low, were higher than other activity categories. The Lunar Roving Vehicle facilitated even lower metabolic rates, thus longer duration EVAs. Muscles and tendons act like springs during running; similarly, longitudinal pressure forces in gas pressure space suits allow spring-like storage and release of energy when suits are self-supporting.

Exoskeletons, Robots and System Software: Tools for the Warfighter

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-24

Exoskeletons , Robots and System Software: Tools for the Warfighter? Paul Flanagan, Tuesday, April 24, 2012 11:15 am– 12:00 pm 1 “The views...Emerging technologies such as exoskeletons , robots , drones, and the underlying software are and will change the face of the battlefield. Warfighters will...global hub for educating, informing, and connecting Information Age leaders.” What is an exoskeleton ? An exoskeleton is a wearable robot suit that

Astronomical Video Suites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francisco Salgado, Jose

2010-01-01

Astronomer and visual artist Jose Francisco Salgado has directed two astronomical video suites to accompany live performances of classical music works. The suites feature awe-inspiring images, historical illustrations, and visualizations produced by NASA, ESA, and the Adler Planetarium. By the end of 2009, his video suites Gustav Holst's The Planets and Astronomical Pictures at an Exhibition will have been presented more than 40 times in over 10 countries. Lately Salgado, an avid photographer, has been experimenting with high dynamic range imaging, time-lapse, infrared, and fisheye photography, as well as with stereoscopic photography and video to enhance his multimedia works.

adwTools Developed: New Bulk Alloy and Surface Analysis Software for the Alloy Design Workbench

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bozzolo, Guillermo; Morse, Jeffrey A.; Noebe, Ronald D.; Abel, Phillip B.

2004-01-01

A suite of atomistic modeling software, called the Alloy Design Workbench, has been developed by the Computational Materials Group at the NASA Glenn Research Center and the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI). The main goal of this software is to guide and augment experimental materials research and development efforts by creating powerful, yet intuitive, software that combines a graphical user interface with an operating code suitable for real-time atomistic simulations of multicomponent alloy systems. Targeted for experimentalists, the interface is straightforward and requires minimum knowledge of the underlying theory, allowing researchers to focus on the scientific aspects of the work. The centerpiece of the Alloy Design Workbench suite is the adwTools module, which concentrates on the atomistic analysis of surfaces and bulk alloys containing an arbitrary number of elements. An additional module, adwParams, handles ab initio input for the parameterization used in adwTools. Future modules planned for the suite include adwSeg, which will provide numerical predictions for segregation profiles to alloy surfaces and interfaces, and adwReport, which will serve as a window into the database, providing public access to the parameterization data and a repository where users can submit their own findings from the rest of the suite. The entire suite is designed to run on desktop-scale computers. The adwTools module incorporates a custom OAI/Glenn-developed Fortran code based on the BFS (Bozzolo- Ferrante-Smith) method for alloys, ref. 1). The heart of the suite, this code is used to calculate the energetics of different compositions and configurations of atoms.

Nutrition systems for pressure suits.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huber, C. S.; Heidelbaugh, N. D.; Rapp, R. M.; Smith, M. C., Jr.

1973-01-01

Nutrition systems were successfully developed in the Apollo Program for astronauts wearing pressure suits during emergency decompression situations and during lunar surface explorations. These nutrition systems consisted of unique dispensers, water, flavored beverages, nutrient-fortified beverages, and intermediate moisture food bars. The emergency decompression system dispensed the nutrition from outside the pressure suit by interfacing with a suit helmet penetration port. The lunar exploration system utilized dispensers stowed within the interior layers of the pressure suit. These systems could be adapted for provision of nutrients in other situations requiring the use of pressure suits.

Suited for Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosmo, Joseph J.

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation describes the basic functions of space suits for EVA astronauts. Space suits are also described from the past, present and future space missions. The contents include: 1) Why Do You Need A Space Suit?; 2) Generic EVA System Requirements; 3) Apollo Lunar Surface Cycling Certification; 4) EVA Operating Cycles for Mars Surface Missions; 5) Mars Surface EVA Mission Cycle Requirements; 6) Robustness Durability Requirements Comparison; 7) Carry-Weight Capabilities; 8) EVA System Challenges (Mars); 9) Human Planetary Surface Exploration Experience; 10) NASA Johnson Space Center Planetary Analog Activities; 11) Why Perform Remote Field Tests; and 12) Other Reasons Why We Perform Remote Field Tests.

Software Safety Risk in Legacy Safety-Critical Computer Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Janice; Baggs, Rhoda

2007-01-01

Safety-critical computer systems must be engineered to meet system and software safety requirements. For legacy safety-critical computer systems, software safety requirements may not have been formally specified during development. When process-oriented software safety requirements are levied on a legacy system after the fact, where software development artifacts don't exist or are incomplete, the question becomes 'how can this be done?' The risks associated with only meeting certain software safety requirements in a legacy safety-critical computer system must be addressed should such systems be selected as candidates for reuse. This paper proposes a method for ascertaining formally, a software safety risk assessment, that provides measurements for software safety for legacy systems which may or may not have a suite of software engineering documentation that is now normally required. It relies upon the NASA Software Safety Standard, risk assessment methods based upon the Taxonomy-Based Questionnaire, and the application of reverse engineering CASE tools to produce original design documents for legacy systems.

Team Software Development for Aerothermodynamic and Aerodynamic Analysis and Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexandrov, N.; Atkins, H. L.; Bibb, K. L.; Biedron, R. T.; Carpenter, M. H.; Gnoffo, P. A.; Hammond, D. P.; Jones, W. T.; Kleb, W. L.; Lee-Rausch, E. M.

2003-01-01

A collaborative approach to software development is described. The approach employs the agile development techniques: project retrospectives, Scrum status meetings, and elements of Extreme Programming to efficiently develop a cohesive and extensible software suite. The software product under development is a fluid dynamics simulator for performing aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic analysis and design. The functionality of the software product is achieved both through the merging, with substantial rewrite, of separate legacy codes and the authorship of new routines. Examples of rapid implementation of new functionality demonstrate the benefits obtained with this agile software development process. The appendix contains a discussion of coding issues encountered while porting legacy Fortran 77 code to Fortran 95, software design principles, and a Fortran 95 coding standard.

The Effects of Development Team Skill on Software Product Quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaver, Justin M.; Schiavone, Guy A.

2006-01-01

This paper provides an analysis of the effect of the skill/experience of the software development team on the quality of the final software product. A method for the assessment of software development team skill and experience is proposed, and was derived from a workforce management tool currently in use by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Using data from 26 smallscale software development projects, the team skill measures are correlated to 5 software product quality metrics from the ISO/IEC 9126 Software Engineering Product Quality standard. in the analysis of the results, development team skill is found to be a significant factor in the adequacy of the design and implementation. In addition, the results imply that inexperienced software developers are tasked with responsibilities ill-suited to their skill level, and thus have a significant adverse effect on the quality of the software product. Keywords: software quality, development skill, software metrics

Suited crewmember productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barer, A. S.; Filipenkov, S. N.

Analysis of the extravehicular activity (EVA) sortie experience gained in the former Soviet Union and physiologic hygienic aspect of space suit design and development shows that crewmember productivity is related to the following main factors: —space suit microclimate (gas composition, pressure and temperature); —limitation of motion activity and perception, imposed by the space suit; —good crewmember training in the ground training program; —level of crewmember general physical performance capabilities in connection with mission duration and intervals between sorties; —individual EVA experience (with accumulation) at which workmanship improves, while metabolism, physical and emotional stress decreases; —concrete EVA duration and work rate; —EVA bioengineering, including selection of tools, work station, EVA technology and mechanization.

Suited crewmember productivity.

PubMed

Barer, A S; Filipenkov, S N

1994-01-01

Analysis of the extravehicular activity (EVA) sortie experience gained in the former Soviet Union and physiologic hygienic aspect of space suit design and development shows that crewmember productivity is related to the following main factors: -space suit microclimate (gas composition, pressure and temperature); -limitation of motion activity and perception, imposed by the space suit; -good crewmember training in the ground training program; -level of crewmember general physical performance capabilities in connection with mission duration and intervals between sorties; -individual EVA experience (with accumulation) at which workmanship improves, while metabolism, physical and emotional stress decreases; -concrete EVA duration and work rate; -EVA bioengineering, including selection of tools, work station, EVA technology and mechanization.

Implementation and Simulation Results using Autonomous Aerobraking Development Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maddock, Robert W.; DwyerCianciolo, Alicia M.; Bowes, Angela; Prince, Jill L. H.; Powell, Richard W.

2011-01-01

An Autonomous Aerobraking software system is currently under development with support from the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) that would move typically ground-based operations functions to onboard an aerobraking spacecraft, reducing mission risk and mission cost. The suite of software that will enable autonomous aerobraking is the Autonomous Aerobraking Development Software (AADS) and consists of an ephemeris model, onboard atmosphere estimator, temperature and loads prediction, and a maneuver calculation. The software calculates the maneuver time, magnitude and direction commands to maintain the spacecraft periapsis parameters within design structural load and/or thermal constraints. The AADS is currently tested in simulations at Mars, with plans to also evaluate feasibility and performance at Venus and Titan.

Functional Mobility Testing: A Novel Method to Create Suit Design Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

England, Scott A.; Benson, Elizabeth A.; Rajulu, Sudhakar L.

2008-01-01

This study was performed to aide in the creation of design requirements for the next generation of space suits that more accurately describe the level of mobility necessary for a suited crewmember through the use of an innovative methodology utilizing functional mobility. A novel method was utilized involving the collection of kinematic data while 20 subjects (10 male, 10 female) performed pertinent functional tasks that will be required of a suited crewmember during various phases of a lunar mission. These tasks were selected based on relevance and criticality from a larger list of tasks that may be carried out by the crew. Kinematic data was processed through Vicon BodyBuilder software to calculate joint angles for the ankle, knee, hip, torso, shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Maximum functional mobility was consistently lower than maximum isolated mobility. This study suggests that conventional methods for establishing design requirements for human-systems interfaces based on maximal isolated joint capabilities may overestimate the required mobility. Additionally, this method provides a valuable means of evaluating systems created from these requirements by comparing the mobility available in a new spacesuit, or the mobility required to use a new piece of hardware, to this newly established database of functional mobility.

A custom multi-modal sensor suite and data analysis pipeline for aerial field phenotyping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartlett, Paul W.; Coblenz, Lauren; Sherwin, Gary; Stambler, Adam; van der Meer, Andries

2017-05-01

Our group has developed a custom, multi-modal sensor suite and data analysis pipeline to phenotype crops in the field using unpiloted aircraft systems (UAS). This approach to high-throughput field phenotyping is part of a research initiative intending to markedly accelerate the breeding process for refined energy sorghum varieties. To date, single rotor and multirotor helicopters, roughly 14 kg in total weight, are being employed to provide sensor coverage over multiple hectaresized fields in tens of minutes. The quick, autonomous operations allow for complete field coverage at consistent plant and lighting conditions, with low operating costs. The sensor suite collects data simultaneously from six sensors and registers it for fusion and analysis. High resolution color imagery targets color and geometric phenotypes, along with lidar measurements. Long-wave infrared imagery targets temperature phenomena and plant stress. Hyperspectral visible and near-infrared imagery targets phenotypes such as biomass and chlorophyll content, as well as novel, predictive spectral signatures. Onboard spectrometers and careful laboratory and in-field calibration techniques aim to increase the physical validity of the sensor data throughout and across growing seasons. Off-line processing of data creates basic products such as image maps and digital elevation models. Derived data products include phenotype charts, statistics, and trends. The outcome of this work is a set of commercially available phenotyping technologies, including sensor suites, a fully integrated phenotyping UAS, and data analysis software. Effort is also underway to transition these technologies to farm management users by way of streamlined, lower cost sensor packages and intuitive software interfaces.

UFMulti: A new parallel processing software system for HEP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avery, Paul; White, Andrew

1989-12-01

UFMulti is a multiprocessing software package designed for general purpose high energy physics applications, including physics and detector simulation, data reduction and DST physics analysis. The system is particularly well suited for installations where several workstation or computers are connected through a local area network (LAN). The initial configuration of the software is currently running on VAX/VMS machines with a planned extension to ULTRIX, using the new RISC CPUs from Digital, in the near future.

VOLCWORKS: A suite for optimization of hazards mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delgado Granados, H.; Ramírez Guzmán, R.; Villareal Benítez, J. L.; García Sánchez, T.

2012-04-01

Making hazards maps is a process linking basic science, applied science and engineering for the benefit of the society. The methodologies for hazards maps' construction have evolved enormously together with the tools that allow the forecasting of the behavior of the materials produced by different eruptive processes. However, in spite of the development of tools and evolution of methodologies, the utility of hazards maps has not changed: prevention and mitigation of volcanic disasters. Integration of different tools for simulation of different processes for a single volcano is a challenge to be solved using software tools including processing, simulation and visualization techniques, and data structures in order to build up a suit that helps in the construction process starting from the integration of the geological data, simulations and simplification of the output to design a hazards/scenario map. Scientific visualization is a powerful tool to explore and gain insight into complex data from instruments and simulations. The workflow from data collection, quality control and preparation for simulations, to achieve visual and appropriate presentation is a process that is usually disconnected, using in most of the cases different applications for each of the needed processes, because it requires many tools that are not built for the solution of a specific problem, or were developed by research groups to solve particular tasks, but disconnected. In volcanology, due to its complexity, groups typically examine only one aspect of the phenomenon: ash dispersal, laharic flows, pyroclastic flows, lava flows, and ballistic projectile ejection, among others. However, when studying the hazards associated to the activity of a volcano, it is important to analyze all the processes comprehensively, especially for communication of results to the end users: decision makers and planners. In order to solve this problem and connect different parts of a workflow we are developing the

An Integrated Software Suite for Surface-based Analyses of Cerebral Cortex

PubMed Central

Van Essen, David C.; Drury, Heather A.; Dickson, James; Harwell, John; Hanlon, Donna; Anderson, Charles H.

2001-01-01

The authors describe and illustrate an integrated trio of software programs for carrying out surface-based analyses of cerebral cortex. The first component of this trio, SureFit (Surface Reconstruction by Filtering and Intensity Transformations), is used primarily for cortical segmentation, volume visualization, surface generation, and the mapping of functional neuroimaging data onto surfaces. The second component, Caret (Computerized Anatomical Reconstruction and Editing Tool Kit), provides a wide range of surface visualization and analysis options as well as capabilities for surface flattening, surface-based deformation, and other surface manipulations. The third component, SuMS (Surface Management System), is a database and associated user interface for surface-related data. It provides for efficient insertion, searching, and extraction of surface and volume data from the database. PMID:11522765

An integrated software suite for surface-based analyses of cerebral cortex.

PubMed

Van Essen, D C; Drury, H A; Dickson, J; Harwell, J; Hanlon, D; Anderson, C H

2001-01-01

The authors describe and illustrate an integrated trio of software programs for carrying out surface-based analyses of cerebral cortex. The first component of this trio, SureFit (Surface Reconstruction by Filtering and Intensity Transformations), is used primarily for cortical segmentation, volume visualization, surface generation, and the mapping of functional neuroimaging data onto surfaces. The second component, Caret (Computerized Anatomical Reconstruction and Editing Tool Kit), provides a wide range of surface visualization and analysis options as well as capabilities for surface flattening, surface-based deformation, and other surface manipulations. The third component, SuMS (Surface Management System), is a database and associated user interface for surface-related data. It provides for efficient insertion, searching, and extraction of surface and volume data from the database.

An integrated software suite for surface-based analyses of cerebral cortex

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Van Essen, D. C.; Drury, H. A.; Dickson, J.; Harwell, J.; Hanlon, D.; Anderson, C. H.

2001-01-01

The authors describe and illustrate an integrated trio of software programs for carrying out surface-based analyses of cerebral cortex. The first component of this trio, SureFit (Surface Reconstruction by Filtering and Intensity Transformations), is used primarily for cortical segmentation, volume visualization, surface generation, and the mapping of functional neuroimaging data onto surfaces. The second component, Caret (Computerized Anatomical Reconstruction and Editing Tool Kit), provides a wide range of surface visualization and analysis options as well as capabilities for surface flattening, surface-based deformation, and other surface manipulations. The third component, SuMS (Surface Management System), is a database and associated user interface for surface-related data. It provides for efficient insertion, searching, and extraction of surface and volume data from the database.

An overview of suite for automated global electronic biosurveillance (SAGES)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Sheri L.; Feighner, Brian H.; Loschen, Wayne A.; Wojcik, Richard A.; Skora, Joseph F.; Coberly, Jacqueline S.; Blazes, David L.

2012-06-01

Public health surveillance is undergoing a revolution driven by advances in the field of information technology. Many countries have experienced vast improvements in the collection, ingestion, analysis, visualization, and dissemination of public health data. Resource-limited countries have lagged behind due to challenges in information technology infrastructure, public health resources, and the costs of proprietary software. The Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance (SAGES) is a collection of modular, flexible, freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings. One or more SAGES tools may be used in concert with existing surveillance applications or the SAGES tools may be used en masse for an end-to-end biosurveillance capability. This flexibility allows for the development of an inexpensive, customized, and sustainable disease surveillance system. The ability to rapidly assess anomalous disease activity may lead to more efficient use of limited resources and better compliance with World Health Organization International Health Regulations.

Software Design Description for the Tidal Open-boundary Prediction System (TOPS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-04

Naval Research Laboratory Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-5004 NRL/MR/7320--10-9209 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Software ...Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services , Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704-0188), 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite...RESPONSIBLE PERSON 19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (include area code) b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT Software Design

DSPSR: Digital Signal Processing Software for Pulsar Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Straten, W.; Bailes, M.

2010-10-01

DSPSR, written primarily in C++, is an open-source, object-oriented, digital signal processing software library and application suite for use in radio pulsar astronomy. The library implements an extensive range of modular algorithms for use in coherent dedispersion, filterbank formation, pulse folding, and other tasks. The software is installed and compiled using the standard GNU configure and make system, and is able to read astronomical data in 18 different file formats, including FITS, S2, CPSR, CPSR2, PuMa, PuMa2, WAPP, ASP, and Mark5.

Technical Performance Assessment: Mission Success in Software Acquisition Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-27

Examples Design constraints make software acquisition and development t l iti lex reme y cr ca Application domain – Operational Flight Program, Air...environment – used to produce the software Ri k t t bli h d d i t i d i k ts managemen – es a s e an ma n a ne r s managemen systems Milestone reviews...Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that

Space suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepard, L. F.; Durney, G. P.; Case, M. C.; Kenneway, A. J., III; Wise, R. C.; Rinehart, D.; Bessette, R. J.; Pulling, R. C. (Inventor)

1973-01-01

A pressure suit for high altitude flights, particularly space missions is reported. The suit is designed for astronauts in the Apollo space program and may be worn both inside and outside a space vehicle, as well as on the lunar surface. It comprises an integrated assembly of inner comfort liner, intermediate pressure garment, and outer thermal protective garment with removable helmet, and gloves. The pressure garment comprises an inner convoluted sealing bladder and outer fabric restraint to which are attached a plurality of cable restraint assemblies. It provides versitility in combination with improved sealing and increased mobility for internal pressures suitable for life support in the near vacuum of outer space.

If an antelope is a document, then a rock is data: preserving earth science samples for the future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramdeen, S.

2015-12-01

As discussed in seminal works by Briet (1951) and Buckland (1998), physical objects can be considered documents when given specific context. In the case of an antelope, in the wild it's an animal, in a zoo it's a document. It is the primary source of information, specifically when it is made an object of study. When discussing earth science data, we may think about numbers in a spreadsheet or verbal descriptions of a rock. But what about physical materials such as cores, cuttings, fossils, and other tangible objects? The most recent version of the American Geophysical Union's data position statement states data preservation and management policies should apply to both "digital data and physical objects"[1]. If an antelope is a document, than isn't a rock a form of data? Like books in a library or items in a museum, these objects require surrogates (digital or analog) that allow researchers to access and retrieve them. Once these scientific objects are acquired, researchers can process the information they contain. Unlike books, and some museum materials, most earth science objects cannot yet be completely replaced by digital surrogates. A fossil may be scanned, but the original is needed for chemical testing and ultimately for 'not yet developed' processes of scientific analysis. These objects along with their metadata or other documentation become scientific data when they are used in research. Without documentation of key information (i.e. the location where it was collected) these objects may lose their scientific value. This creates a complex situation where we must preserve the object, its metadata, and the connection between them. These factors are important as we consider the future of earth science data, our definitions of what constitutes scientific data, as well as our data preservation and management practices. This talk will discuss current initiatives within the earth science communities (EarthCube's EC3 and iSamples; USGS's data preservation program

Klusters, NeuroScope, NDManager: a free software suite for neurophysiological data processing and visualization.

PubMed

Hazan, Lynn; Zugaro, Michaël; Buzsáki, György

2006-09-15

Recent technological advances now allow for simultaneous recording of large populations of anatomically distributed neurons in behaving animals. The free software package described here was designed to help neurophysiologists process and view recorded data in an efficient and user-friendly manner. This package consists of several well-integrated applications, including NeuroScope (http://neuroscope.sourceforce.net), an advanced viewer for electrophysiological and behavioral data with limited editing capabilities, Klusters (http://klusters.sourceforge.net), a graphical cluster cutting application for manual and semi-automatic spike sorting, NDManager (GPL,see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html), an experimental parameter and data processing manager. All of these programs are distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL, see ), which gives its users legal permission to copy, distribute and/or modify the software. Also included are extensive user manuals and sample data, as well as source code and documentation.

Durable Suit Bladder with Improved Water Permeability for Pressure and Environment Suits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bue, Grant C.; Kuznetz, Larry; Orndoff, Evelyne; Tang, Henry; Aitchison, Lindsay; Ross, Amy

2009-01-01

Water vapor permeability is shown to be useful in rejecting heat and managing moisture accumulation in launch-and-entry pressure suits. Currently this is accomplished through a porous Gortex layer in the Advanced Crew and Escape Suit (ACES) and in the baseline design of the Constellation Suit System Element (CSSE) Suit 1. Non-porous dense monolithic membranes (DMM) that are available offer potential improvements for water vapor permeability with reduced gas leak. Accordingly, three different pressure bladder materials were investigated for water vapor permeability and oxygen leak: ElasthaneTM 80A (thermoplastic polyether urethane) provided from stock polymer material and two custom thermoplastic polyether urethanes. Water vapor, carbon dioxide and oxygen permeability of the DMM's was measured in a 0.13 mm thick stand-alone layer, a 0.08 mm and 0.05 mm thick layer each bonded to two different nylon and polyester woven reinforcing materials. Additional water vapor permeability and mechanical compression measurements were made with the reinforced 0.05 mm thick layers, further bonded with a polyester wicking and overlaid with moistened polyester fleece thermal underwear .This simulated the pressure from a supine crew person. The 0.05 mm thick nylon reinforced sample with polyester wicking layer was further mechanically tested for wear and abrasion. Concepts for incorporating these materials in launch/entry and Extravehicular Activity pressure suits are presented.

PSC, a Programmable Software Controller for a Multiple Bladder, Sequentially Inflatable G-Suit.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-12-01

Valves . For inflation and deflation, industrial soleniod pilot valves provide filling and dumping via a manually thrown three -poition switch...medicine with a tool for performing that research. This research concerns itself with developing a programmable valve actuation controller generic to g...Subsystem 2 - Software Controller ......... -5 %o Subsystem 3 - Cromemco D/7A S-100 Bus S y m Conversion Board ....o...... -6 Subsyst 4 Computer/ Valve

The improved broadband Real-Time Seismic Network in Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neagoe, C.; Ionescu, C.

2009-04-01

Starting with 2002 the National Institute for Earth Physics (NIEP) has developed its real-time digital seismic network. This network consists of 96 seismic stations of which 48 broad band and short period stations and two seismic arrays are transmitted in real-time. The real time seismic stations are equipped with Quanterra Q330 and K2 digitizers, broadband seismometers (STS2, CMG40T, CMG 3ESP, CMG3T) and strong motions sensors Kinemetrics episensors (+/- 2g). SeedLink and AntelopeTM (installed on MARMOT) program packages are used for real-time (RT) data acquisition and exchange. The communication from digital seismic stations to the National Data Center in Bucharest is assured by 5 providers (GPRS, VPN, satellite communication, radio lease line and internet), which will assure the back-up communications lines. The processing centre runs BRTT's AntelopeTM 4.10 data acquisition and processing software on 2 workstations for real-time processing and post processing. The Antelope Real-Time System is also providing automatic event detection, arrival picking, event location and magnitude calculation. It provides graphical display and reporting within near-real-time after a local or regional event occurred. Also at the data center was implemented a system to collect macroseismic information using the internet on which macro seismic intensity maps are generated. In the near future at the data center will be install Seiscomp 3 data acquisition processing software on a workstation. The software will run in parallel with Antelope software as a back-up. The present network will be expanded in the near future. In the first half of 2009 NIEP will install 8 additional broad band stations in Romanian territory, which also will be transmitted to the data center in real time. The Romanian Seismic Network is permanently exchanging real -time waveform data with IRIS, ORFEUS and different European countries through internet. In Romania, magnitude and location of an earthquake are now

HDBStat!: a platform-independent software suite for statistical analysis of high dimensional biology data.

PubMed

Trivedi, Prinal; Edwards, Jode W; Wang, Jelai; Gadbury, Gary L; Srinivasasainagendra, Vinodh; Zakharkin, Stanislav O; Kim, Kyoungmi; Mehta, Tapan; Brand, Jacob P L; Patki, Amit; Page, Grier P; Allison, David B

2005-04-06

Many efforts in microarray data analysis are focused on providing tools and methods for the qualitative analysis of microarray data. HDBStat! (High-Dimensional Biology-Statistics) is a software package designed for analysis of high dimensional biology data such as microarray data. It was initially developed for the analysis of microarray gene expression data, but it can also be used for some applications in proteomics and other aspects of genomics. HDBStat! provides statisticians and biologists a flexible and easy-to-use interface to analyze complex microarray data using a variety of methods for data preprocessing, quality control analysis and hypothesis testing. Results generated from data preprocessing methods, quality control analysis and hypothesis testing methods are output in the form of Excel CSV tables, graphs and an Html report summarizing data analysis. HDBStat! is a platform-independent software that is freely available to academic institutions and non-profit organizations. It can be downloaded from our website http://www.soph.uab.edu/ssg_content.asp?id=1164.

The vTAS suite: A simulator for classical and multiplexed three-axis neutron spectrometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boehm, M.; Filhol, A.; Raoul, Y.; Kulda, J.; Schmidt, W.; Schmalzl, K.; Farhi, E.

2013-01-01

The vTAS suite provides graphical assistance to prepare and perform inelastic neutron scattering experiments on a TAS instrument, including latest multiplexed instrumental configurations, such as FlatCone, IMPS and UFO. The interactive display allows for flexible translation between instrument positions in real space and neutron scattering conditions represented in reciprocal space. It is a platform independent public domain software tool, available for download from the website of the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL).

The Use of Flexible, Interactive, Situation-Focused Software for the E-Learning of Mathematics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farnsworth, Ralph Edward

This paper discusses the classroom, home, and distance use of new, flexible, interactive, application-oriented software known as Active Learning Suite. The actual use of the software, not just a controlled experiment, is reported on. Designed for the e-learning of university mathematics, the program was developed by a joint U.S.-Russia team and…

Software Validation via Model Animation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dutle, Aaron M.; Munoz, Cesar A.; Narkawicz, Anthony J.; Butler, Ricky W.

2015-01-01

This paper explores a new approach to validating software implementations that have been produced from formally-verified algorithms. Although visual inspection gives some confidence that the implementations faithfully reflect the formal models, it does not provide complete assurance that the software is correct. The proposed approach, which is based on animation of formal specifications, compares the outputs computed by the software implementations on a given suite of input values to the outputs computed by the formal models on the same inputs, and determines if they are equal up to a given tolerance. The approach is illustrated on a prototype air traffic management system that computes simple kinematic trajectories for aircraft. Proofs for the mathematical models of the system's algorithms are carried out in the Prototype Verification System (PVS). The animation tool PVSio is used to evaluate the formal models on a set of randomly generated test cases. Output values computed by PVSio are compared against output values computed by the actual software. This comparison improves the assurance that the translation from formal models to code is faithful and that, for example, floating point errors do not greatly affect correctness and safety properties.

Evaluating Suit Fit Using Performance Degradation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Margerum, Sarah E.; Cowley, Matthew; Harvill, Lauren; Benson, Elizabeth; Rajulu, Sudhakar

2012-01-01

The Mark III planetary technology demonstrator space suit can be tailored to an individual by swapping the modular components of the suit, such as the arms, legs, and gloves, as well as adding or removing sizing inserts in key areas. A method was sought to identify the transition from an ideal suit fit to a bad fit and how to quantify this breakdown using a metric of mobility-based human performance data. To this end, the degradation of the range of motion of the elbow and wrist of the suit as a function of suit sizing modifications was investigated to attempt to improve suit fit. The sizing range tested spanned optimal and poor fit and was adjusted incrementally in order to compare each joint angle across five different sizing configurations. Suited range of motion data were collected using a motion capture system for nine isolated and functional tasks utilizing the elbow and wrist joints. A total of four subjects were tested with motions involving both arms simultaneously as well as the right arm by itself. Findings indicated that no single joint drives the performance of the arm as a function of suit size; instead it is based on the interaction of multiple joints along a limb. To determine a size adjustment range where an individual can operate the suit at an acceptable level, a performance detriment limit was set. This user-selected limit reveals the task-dependent tolerance of the suit fit around optimal size. For example, the isolated joint motion indicated that the suit can deviate from optimal by as little as -0.6 in to -2.6 in before experiencing a 10% performance drop in the wrist or elbow joint. The study identified a preliminary method to quantify the impact of size on performance and developed a new way to gauge tolerances around optimal size.

Software Quality Control at Belle II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ritter, M.; Kuhr, T.; Hauth, T.; Gebard, T.; Kristof, M.; Pulvermacher, C.; Belle Software Group, II

2017-10-01

Over the last seven years the software stack of the next generation B factory experiment Belle II has grown to over one million lines of C++ and Python code, counting only the part included in offline software releases. There are several thousand commits to the central repository by about 100 individual developers per year. To keep a coherent software stack of high quality that it can be sustained and used efficiently for data acquisition, simulation, reconstruction, and analysis over the lifetime of the Belle II experiment is a challenge. A set of tools is employed to monitor the quality of the software and provide fast feedback to the developers. They are integrated in a machinery that is controlled by a buildbot master and automates the quality checks. The tools include different compilers, cppcheck, the clang static analyzer, valgrind memcheck, doxygen, a geometry overlap checker, a check for missing or extra library links, unit tests, steering file level tests, a sophisticated high-level validation suite, and an issue tracker. The technological development infrastructure is complemented by organizational means to coordinate the development.

ESPC Common Model Architecture Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) Software and Application Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-30

originate from NASA , NOAA , and community modeling efforts, and support for creation of the suite was shared by sponsors from other agencies. ESPS...Framework (ESMF) Software and Application Development Cecelia Deluca NESII/CIRES/ NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory 325 Broadway Boulder, CO...Capability (NUOPC) was established between NOAA and Navy to develop a common software architecture for easy and efficient interoperability. The

Importance and effects of altered workplace ergonomics in modern radiology suites.

PubMed

Harisinghani, Mukesh G; Blake, Michael A; Saksena, Mansi; Hahn, Peter F; Gervais, Debra; Zalis, Michael; da Silva Dias Fernandes, Leonor; Mueller, Peter R

2004-01-01

The transition from a film-based to a filmless soft-copy picture archiving and communication system (PACS)-based environment has resulted in improved work flow as well as increased productivity, diagnostic accuracy, and job satisfaction. Adapting to this filmless environment in an efficient manner requires seamless integration of various components such as PACS workstations, the Internet and hospital intranet, speech recognition software, paperless electronic hospital medical records, e-mail, office software, and telecommunications. However, the importance of optimizing workplace ergonomics has received little attention. Factors such as the position of the work chair, workstation table, keyboard, mouse, and monitors, along with monitor refresh rates and ambient room lighting, have become secondary considerations. Paying close attention to the basics of workplace ergonomics can go a long way in increasing productivity and reducing fatigue, thus allowing full realization of the potential benefits of a PACS. Optimization of workplace ergonomics should be considered in the basic design of any modern radiology suite. Copyright RSNA, 2004

EVA Suits Arrival

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-01-01

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suits packed inside containers arrive at the Space Station Processing Facility from Johnson Space Center in Texas. The suits will be used by STS-117 crew members to perform several spacewalks during the mission. The mission payload aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis is the S3/S4 integrated truss structure, along with a third set of solar arrays and batteries. The crew of six astronauts will install the truss to continue assembly of the International Space Station.

Insights into the skeletal muscle characteristics of three southern African antelope species.

PubMed

Kohn, Tertius Abraham

2014-10-17

Skeletal muscle fibre type, cross-sectional area (CSA), maximum enzyme capacities and fibre oxidative capacities were investigated in three southern African antelope species. Muscle samples from blesbok (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi), mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula) and greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) were collected post mortem from the Vastus lateralis and analysed for myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform content, citrate synthase (CS), 3-hydroxyacyl Co A dehydrogenase (3-HAD), phosphofructokinase (PFK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) activities. Histochemistry and immunohistochemistry were performed to determine relative fibre oxidative capacity, fibre type and cross-sectional area (CSA). Type IIX fibres were the most abundant fibre type in all three species, ranging from 43 to 57%. Kudu had less type IIX fibres than mountain reedbuck and blesbok (P<0.05), values confirmed by their respective MHC isoform content. Blesbok had the smallest fibres, followed by mountain reedbuck and finally kudu (P<0.001). Overall, all three species had high oxidative and glycolytic capacities, but species differences were found. Kudu had the lowest CS activity, followed by blesbok and mountain reedbuck, but the highest PFK, LDH and CK activities. This study confirmed large variation in oxidative capacities within a single fibre type, as well as overlap between the fibre types with no distinct differences between the three species. The fibre type profile of each species is discussed and confirms some of their physical attributes and capabilities. © 2014. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Helminths of saiga antelope in Kazakhstan: implications for conservation and livestock production.

PubMed

Morgan, Eric R; Shaikenov, Blok; Torgerson, Paul R; Medley, Graham F; Milner-Gulland, E J

2005-01-01

Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) graze extensively on livestock pasture, potentially enabling transmission of a wide range of parasitic helminths between saigas and domestic ruminants. Thirty-six of the 38 species of helminth that have been found in saigas in Kazakhstan in the past have been found also in domestic livestock. We examined 133 saigas culled for meat in autumn 1997, and found three species of cestode and 12 nematodes (nine in the abomasum), but no trematodes or lungworms. The most abundant species were Marshallagia marshalli, Marshallagia mongolica, and Nematodirus gazellae in the abomasum, Nematodirus gazellae in the small intestine, and Skrjabinema ovis in the large intestine. There was no clear relationship between intensities of abomasal nematodes and body condition. Age-intensity patterns differed between species: N. gazellae intensities were highest in saigas around 2-3 yr old, and declined in older animals, whereas the intensity of Marshallagia spp. rose asymptotically with age. Fecal egg density was directly proportional to adult worm intensity across ages for Marshallagia spp., but only in young animals for N. gazellae. There was no evidence that helminths, at the intensities observed, adversely affect saiga populations. The host range of many of the parasites found is broad, and transmission between saigas and livestock in both directions might become important to agriculture and conservation as livestock numbers recover. Simplified sampling techniques used in this study, and statistical analysis based on bootstrapping, could prove useful in other parasitologic surveys of wildlife in remote areas.

Processes Affecting the Trihalomethane Concentrations Associated with the Third Injection, Storage, and Recovery Test at Lancaster, Antelope Valley, California, March 1998 through April 1999

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fram, Miranda S.; Bergamaschi, Brian A.; Goodwin, Kelly D.; Fujii, Roger; Clark, Jordan F.

2003-01-01

The formation and fate of trihalomethanes (THM) during the third injection, storage, and recovery test at Lancaster, Antelope Valley, California, were investigated as part of a program to assess the long-term feasibility of using injection, storage, and recovery as a water-supply method and as a way to reduce water-level declines and land-subsidence in the Antelope Valley. The program was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency. The water used for injection, storage, and recovery must be disinfected before injection and thus contains THMs and other disinfection by-products. THMs (chloroform, CHCl3, bromodichloromethane, CHCl2Br, dibromochloromethane, CHClBr2, and bromoform, CHBr3) are formed by reaction between natural dissolved organic carbon that is present in water and chlorine that is added during the disinfection step of the drinking water treatment process. THMs are carcinogenic compounds, and their concentrations in drinking water are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. During previous cycles of the Lancaster program, extracted water still contained measurable concentrations of THMs long after continuous pumping had extracted a greater volume of water than had been injected. This raised concerns about the potential long-term effect of injection, storage, and recovery cycles on ground-water quality in Antelope Valley aquifers. The primary objectives of this investigation were to determine (1) what controlled continued THM formation in the aquifer after injection, (2) what caused of the persistence of THMs in the extracted water, even after long periods of pumping, (3) what controlled the decrease of THM concentrations during the extraction period, and (4) the potential for natural attenuation of THMs in the aquifer. Laboratory experiments on biodegradation of THMs in microcosms of aquifer materials indicate that aquifer

Integrating open-source software applications to build molecular dynamics systems.

PubMed

Allen, Bruce M; Predecki, Paul K; Kumosa, Maciej

2014-04-05

Three open-source applications, NanoEngineer-1, packmol, and mis2lmp are integrated using an open-source file format to quickly create molecular dynamics (MD) cells for simulation. The three software applications collectively make up the open-source software (OSS) suite known as MD Studio (MDS). The software is validated through software engineering practices and is verified through simulation of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-a and isophorone diamine (DGEBA/IPD) system. Multiple simulations are run using the MDS software to create MD cells, and the data generated are used to calculate density, bulk modulus, and glass transition temperature of the DGEBA/IPD system. Simulation results compare well with published experimental and numerical results. The MDS software prototype confirms that OSS applications can be analyzed against real-world research requirements and integrated to create a new capability. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Heat exchanges in wet suits.

PubMed

Wolff, A H; Coleshaw, S R; Newstead, C G; Keatinge, W R

1985-03-01

Flow of water under foam neoprene wet suits could halve insulation that the suits provided, even at rest in cold water. On the trunk conductance of this flow was approximately 6.6 at rest and 11.4 W . m-2 . C-1 exercising; on the limbs, it was only 3.4 at rest and 5.8 W . m-2 . degrees C-1 exercising; but during vasoconstriction in the cold, skin temperatures on distal parts of limbs were lower than were those of the trunk, allowing adequate metabolic responses. In warm water, minor postural changes and movement made flow under suits much higher, approximately 60 on trunk and 30 W . m-2 . degrees C-1 on limbs, both at rest and at work. These changes in flow allowed for a wide range of water temperatures at which people could stabilize body temperature in any given suit, neither overheating when exercising nor cooling below 35 degrees C when still. Even thin people with 4- or 7- mm suits covering the whole body could stabilize their body temperatures in water near 10 degrees C in spite of cold vasodilatation. Equations to predict limits of water temperature for stability with various suits and fat thicknesses are given.

Space Suit Joint Torque Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valish, Dana J.

2011-01-01

In 2009 and early 2010, a test was performed to quantify the torque required to manipulate joints in several existing operational and prototype space suits in an effort to develop joint torque requirements appropriate for a new Constellation Program space suit system. The same test method was levied on the Constellation space suit contractors to verify that their suit design meets the requirements. However, because the original test was set up and conducted by a single test operator there was some question as to whether this method was repeatable enough to be considered a standard verification method for Constellation or other future space suits. In order to validate the method itself, a representative subset of the previous test was repeated, using the same information that would be available to space suit contractors, but set up and conducted by someone not familiar with the previous test. The resultant data was compared using graphical and statistical analysis and a variance in torque values for some of the tested joints was apparent. Potential variables that could have affected the data were identified and re-testing was conducted in an attempt to eliminate these variables. The results of the retest will be used to determine if further testing and modification is necessary before the method can be validated.

IDATEN and G-SITENNO: GUI-assisted software for coherent X-ray diffraction imaging experiments and data analyses at SACLA.

PubMed

Sekiguchi, Yuki; Yamamoto, Masaki; Oroguchi, Tomotaka; Takayama, Yuki; Suzuki, Shigeyuki; Nakasako, Masayoshi

2014-11-01

Using our custom-made diffraction apparatus KOTOBUKI-1 and two multiport CCD detectors, cryogenic coherent X-ray diffraction imaging experiments have been undertaken at the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron LAser (SACLA) facility. To efficiently perform experiments and data processing, two software suites with user-friendly graphical user interfaces have been developed. The first is a program suite named IDATEN, which was developed to easily conduct four procedures during experiments: aligning KOTOBUKI-1, loading a flash-cooled sample into the cryogenic goniometer stage inside the vacuum chamber of KOTOBUKI-1, adjusting the sample position with respect to the X-ray beam using a pair of telescopes, and collecting diffraction data by raster scanning the sample with X-ray pulses. Named G-SITENNO, the other suite is an automated version of the original SITENNO suite, which was designed for processing diffraction data. These user-friendly software suites are now indispensable for collecting a large number of diffraction patterns and for processing the diffraction patterns immediately after collecting data within a limited beam time.

An Innovative Software Tool Suite for Power Plant Model Validation and Parameter Calibration using PMU Measurements

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

Li, Yuanyuan; Diao, Ruisheng; Huang, Renke

Maintaining good quality of power plant stability models is of critical importance to ensure the secure and economic operation and planning of today’s power grid with its increasing stochastic and dynamic behavior. According to North American Electric Reliability (NERC) standards, all generators in North America with capacities larger than 10 MVA are required to validate their models every five years. Validation is quite costly and can significantly affect the revenue of generator owners, because the traditional staged testing requires generators to be taken offline. Over the past few years, validating and calibrating parameters using online measurements including phasor measurement unitsmore » (PMUs) and digital fault recorders (DFRs) has been proven to be a cost-effective approach. In this paper, an innovative open-source tool suite is presented for validating power plant models using PPMV tool, identifying bad parameters with trajectory sensitivity analysis, and finally calibrating parameters using an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) based algorithm. The architectural design and the detailed procedures to run the tool suite are presented, with results of test on a realistic hydro power plant using PMU measurements for 12 different events. The calibrated parameters of machine, exciter, governor and PSS models demonstrate much better performance than the original models for all the events and show the robustness of the proposed calibration algorithm.« less

Collaborative Software Development in Support of Fast Adaptive AeroSpace Tools (FAAST)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kleb, William L.; Nielsen, Eric J.; Gnoffo, Peter A.; Park, Michael A.; Wood, William A.

2003-01-01

A collaborative software development approach is described. The software product is an adaptation of proven computational capabilities combined with new capabilities to form the Agency's next generation aerothermodynamic and aerodynamic analysis and design tools. To efficiently produce a cohesive, robust, and extensible software suite, the approach uses agile software development techniques; specifically, project retrospectives, the Scrum status meeting format, and a subset of Extreme Programming's coding practices are employed. Examples are provided which demonstrate the substantial benefits derived from employing these practices. Also included is a discussion of issues encountered when porting legacy Fortran 77 code to Fortran 95 and a Fortran 95 coding standard.

A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Perceptions of Software Professionals on the Asperger's Syndrome/High Functioning Autism Spectrum and the Success of Software Development Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kendall, Leslie R.

2013-01-01

Individuals who have Asperger's Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism, as a group, are chronically underemployed and underutilized. Many in this group have abilities that are well suited for various roles within the practice of software development. Multiple studies have shown that certain organizational and management changes in the software…

Implementation and Testing of VLBI Software Correlation at the USNO

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fey, Alan; Ojha, Roopesh; Boboltz, Dave; Geiger, Nicole; Kingham, Kerry; Hall, David; Gaume, Ralph; Johnston, Ken

2010-01-01

The Washington Correlator (WACO) at the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) is a dedicated VLBI processor based on dedicated hardware of ASIC design. The WACO is currently over 10 years old and is nearing the end of its expected lifetime. Plans for implementation and testing of software correlation at the USNO are currently being considered. The VLBI correlation process is, by its very nature, well suited to a parallelized computing environment. Commercial off-the-shelf computer hardware has advanced in processing power to the point where software correlation is now both economically and technologically feasible. The advantages of software correlation are manifold but include flexibility, scalability, and easy adaptability to changing environments and requirements. We discuss our experience with and plans for use of software correlation at USNO with emphasis on the use of the DiFX software correlator.

Evaluating Suit Fit Using Performance Degradation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Margerum, Sarah E.; Cowley, Matthew; Harvill, Lauren; Benson, Elizabeth; Rajulu, Sudhakar

2011-01-01

The Mark III suit has multiple sizes of suit components (arm, leg, and gloves) as well as sizing inserts to tailor the fit of the suit to an individual. This study sought to determine a way to identify the point an ideal suit fit transforms into a bad fit and how to quantify this breakdown using mobility-based physical performance data. This study examined the changes in human physical performance via degradation of the elbow and wrist range of motion of the planetary suit prototype (Mark III) with respect to changes in sizing and as well as how to apply that knowledge to suit sizing options and improvements in suit fit. The methods implemented in this study focused on changes in elbow and wrist mobility due to incremental suit sizing modifications. This incremental sizing was within a range that included both optimum and poor fit. Suited range of motion data was collected using a motion analysis system for nine isolated and functional tasks encompassing the elbow and wrist joints. A total of four subjects were tested with motions involving both arms simultaneously as well as the right arm only. The results were then compared across sizing configurations. The results of this study indicate that range of motion may be used as a viable parameter to quantify at what stage suit sizing causes a detriment in performance; however the human performance decrement appeared to be based on the interaction of multiple joints along a limb, not a single joint angle. The study was able to identify a preliminary method to quantify the impact of size on performance and to develop a means to gauge tolerances around optimal size. More work is needed to improve the assessment of optimal fit and to compensate for multiple joint interactions.

Proposing a Mathematical Software Tool in Physics Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baltzis, Konstantinos B.

2009-01-01

MathCad® is a very popular software tool for mathematical and statistical analysis in science and engineering. Its low cost, ease of use, extensive function library, and worksheet-like user interface distinguish it among other commercial packages. Its features are also well suited to educational process. The use of natural mathematical notation…

Evaporation-Cooled Protective Suits for Firefighters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinstein, Leonard Murray

2007-01-01

Suits cooled by evaporation of water have been proposed as improved means of temporary protection against high temperatures near fires. When air temperature exceeds 600 F (316 C) or in the presence of radiative heating from nearby sources at temperatures of 1,200 F (649 C) or more, outer suits now used by firefighters afford protection for only a few seconds. The proposed suits would exploit the high latent heat of vaporization of water to satisfy a need to protect against higher air temperatures and against radiant heating for significantly longer times. These suits would be fabricated and operated in conjunction with breathing and cooling systems like those with which firefighting suits are now equipped

Software Schedules Missions, Aids Project Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

NASA missions require advanced planning, scheduling, and management, and the Space Agency has worked extensively to develop the programs and software suites necessary to facilitate these complex missions. These enormously intricate undertakings have hundreds of active components that need constant management and monitoring. It is no surprise, then, that the software developed for these tasks is often applicable in other high-stress, complex environments, like in government or industrial settings. NASA work over the past few years has resulted in a handful of new scheduling, knowledge-management, and research tools developed under contract with one of NASA s partners. These tools have the unique responsibility of supporting NASA missions, but they are also finding uses outside of the Space Program.

Extravehicular activity space suit interoperability.

PubMed

Skoog, A I; McBarron JW 2nd; Severin, G I

1995-10-01

The European Agency (ESA) and the Russian Space Agency (RKA) are jointly developing a new space suit system for improved extravehicular activity (EVA) capabilities in support of the MIR Space Station Programme, the EVA Suit 2000. Recent national policy agreements between the U.S. and Russia on planned cooperations in manned space also include joint extravehicular activity (EVA). With an increased number of space suit systems and a higher operational frequency towards the end of this century an improved interoperability for both routine and emergency operations is of eminent importance. It is thus timely to report the current status of ongoing work on international EVA interoperability being conducted by the Committee on EVA Protocols and Operations of the International Academy of Astronauts initiated in 1991. This paper summarises the current EVA interoperability issues to be harmonised and presents quantified vehicle interface requirements for the current U.S. Shuttle EMU and Russian MIR Orlan DMA and the new European/Russian EVA Suit 2000 extravehicular systems. Major critical/incompatible interfaces for suits/mother-craft of different combinations are discussed, and recommendations for standardisations given.

Modeling the Impact of Space Suit Components and Anthropometry on the Center of Mass of a Seated Crewmember

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajulu, Sudhakar; Blackledge, Christopher; Ferrer, Mike; Margerum, Sarah

2009-01-01

subset of the possible maximum and minimum sized crewmembers, were segmented using point-cloud software to create 17 major body segments. The general approach used to calculate the human mass properties was to utilize center of volume outputs from the software for each body segment and apply a homogeneous density function to determine segment mass 3-D coordinates. Suit components, based on the current consensus regarding predicted suit configuration values, were treated as point masses and were positioned using vector mathematics along the body segments based on anthropometry and COM position. A custom MATLAB script then articulates the body segment and suit positions into a selected seated configuration, using joint angles that characterize a standard seated position and a CEV specific seated position. Additional MATLAB(r) scripts are finally used to calculate the composite COM positions in 3-D space for all 12 manikins in both suited and unsuited conditions for both seated configurations. The analysis focused on two aspects: (1) to quantify how much the whole body COM varied from the smallest to largest subject and (2) the impacts of the suit components on the overall COM in each seat configuration. The location across all boundary manikins of the anterior- posterior COM varied by approximately 7cm, the vertical COM varied by approximately 9-10cm, and the mediolateral COM varied by approximately 1.2 cm from the midline sagittal plane for both seat configurations. This variation was surprisingly large given the relative proportionality of the mass distribution of the human body. The suit components caused an anterior shift of the total COM by approximately 2 cm and a shift to the right along the mediolateral axis of 0.4 cm for both seat configurations. When the seat configuration is in the standard posture, the suited vertical COM shifts inferiorly by up to 1 cm whereas in the CEV posture the vertical COM has no appreciable change. These general differences were due the

Software for Probabilistic Risk Reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hensley, Scott; Michel, Thierry; Madsen, Soren; Chapin, Elaine; Rodriguez, Ernesto

2004-01-01

A computer program implements a methodology, denoted probabilistic risk reduction, that is intended to aid in planning the development of complex software and/or hardware systems. This methodology integrates two complementary prior methodologies: (1) that of probabilistic risk assessment and (2) a risk-based planning methodology, implemented in a prior computer program known as Defect Detection and Prevention (DDP), in which multiple requirements and the beneficial effects of risk-mitigation actions are taken into account. The present methodology and the software are able to accommodate both process knowledge (notably of the efficacy of development practices) and product knowledge (notably of the logical structure of a system, the development of which one seeks to plan). Estimates of the costs and benefits of a planned development can be derived. Functional and non-functional aspects of software can be taken into account, and trades made among them. It becomes possible to optimize the planning process in the sense that it becomes possible to select the best suite of process steps and design choices to maximize the expectation of success while remaining within budget.

Software and languages for microprocessors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, David O.

1986-08-01

This paper forms the basis for lectures given at the 6th Summer School on Computing Techniques in Physics, organised by the Computational Physics group of the European Physics Society, and held at the Hotel Ski, Nové Město na Moravě, Czechoslovakia, on 17-26 September 1985. Various types of microprocessor applications are discussed and the main emphasis of the paper is devoted to 'embedded' systems, where the software development is not carried out on the target microprocessor. Some information is provided on the general characteristics of microprocessor hardware. Various types of microprocessor operating system are compared and contrasted. The selection of appropriate languages and software environments for use with microprocessors is discussed. Mechanisms for interworking between different languages, including reasonable error handling, are treated. The CERN developed cross-software suite for the Motorola 68000 family is described. Some remarks are made concerning program tools applicable to microprocessors. PILS, a Portable Interactive Language System, which can be interpreted or compiled for a range of microprocessors, is described in some detail, and the implementation techniques are discussed.

Breaking the Silos: The art Documentation Suite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kutschke, Robert K.

2015-12-01

The art event-processing framework is used by almost all new experiments at Fermilab, and by several outside of Fermilab. All use art as an external product in the same sense that the compiler, ROOT, Geant4, CLHEP and boost are external products. The art team has embarked on a campaign to document art and develop training materials for new users. Many new users of art have little or no knowledge of C++, software engineering, build systems or the many external packages used by art or their experiments, such as ROOT, CLHEP, HEPPDT, and boost. To effectively teach art requires that the training materials include appropriate introductions to these topics as they are encountered. Experience has shown that simply referring readers to the existing native documentation does not work; too often a simple idea that they need to understand is described in a context that presumes prerequisites that are unimportant for a beginning user of art. There is the additional complication that the training materials must be presented in a way that does not presume knowledge of any of the experiments using art. Finally, new users of art arrive at random times throughout the year and the training materials must allow them to start to learn art at any time. This presentation will explain the strategies adopted by the art team to develop a documentation suite that complies with these boundary conditions. It will also show the present status of the documentation suite, including feedback the art team has received from pilot users.

Breaking the silos: The art documentation suite

DOE PAGES

Kutschke, Robert K.

2015-12-23

The art event-processing framework is used by almost all new experiments at Fermilab, and by several outside of Fermilab. All use art as an external product in the same sense that the compiler, ROOT, Geant4, CLHEP and boost are external products. The art team has embarked on a campaign to document art and develop training materials for new users. Many new users of art have little or no knowledge of C++, software engineering, build systems or the many external packages used by art or their experiments, such as ROOT, CLHEP, HEPPDT, and boost. To effectively teach art requires that themore » training materials include appropriate introductions to these topics as they are encountered. Experience has shown that simply referring readers to the existing native documentation does not work, too often a simple idea that they need to understand is described in a context that presumes prerequisites that are unimportant for a beginning user of art. There is the additional complication that the training materials must be presented in a way that does not presume knowledge of any of the experiments using art. Finally, new users of art arrive at random times throughout the year and the training materials must allow them to start to learn art at any time. This presentation will explain the strategies adopted by the art team to develop a documentation suite that complies with these boundary conditions. It will also show the present status of the documentation suite, including feedback the art team has received from pilot users.« less

Constellation Space Suit System Development Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Amy; Aitchison, Lindsay; Daniel, Brian

2007-01-01

The Constellation Program has initiated the first new flight suit development project since the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was developed for the Space Shuttle Program in the 1970s. The Constellation suit system represents a significant challenge to designers in that the system is required to address all space suit functions needed through all missions and mission phases. This is in marked contrast to the EMU, which was designed specifically for micro-gravity space walks. The Constellation suit system must serve in all of the following scenarios: launch, entry and abort crew survival; micro-gravity extravehicular activity (EVA); and lunar (1/6th-gravity) surface EVA. This paper discusses technical efforts performed from May 2006 through February 2007 for the Constellation space suit system pressure garment.

CoMD Implementation Suite in Emerging Programming Models

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

Haque, Riyaz; Reeve, Sam; Juallmes, Luc

CoMD-Em is a software implementation suite of the CoMD [4] proxy app using different emerging programming models. It is intended to analyze the features and capabilities of novel programming models that could help ensure code and performance portability and scalability across heterogeneous platforms while improving programmer productivity. Another goal is to provide the authors and venders with some meaningful feedback regarding the capabilities and limitations of their models. The actual application is a classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using either the Lennard-Jones method (LJ) or the embedded atom method (EAM) for primary particle interaction. The code can be extended tomore » support alternate interaction models. The code is expected ro run on a wide class of heterogeneous hardware configurations like shard/distributed/hybrid memory, GPU's and any other platform supported by the underlying programming model.« less

Landowner and permit-holder perceptions of wildlife damage around the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. A survey of INEEL neighbors about elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and depredation

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

Roush, D.E. Jr.; Beaver, D.E.

1998-06-01

Property-owners (N = 220) around the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) in southeastern Idaho were surveyed about depredation, control methods and economic issues related to use of the area by elk (Cervus elaphus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana). Depredation was defined as damage to privately-owned crops, forage, and fences and irrigation equipment by these animals. The focus on the three ungulate species was prompted by concerns that elk, which had recolonized the INEEL since 1984, were responsible for an inordinate amount of unprecedented damage to agricultural operations. As the INEEL is a US Departmentmore » of Energy (DOE) reserve with little public hunting access, there have been calls for removal of elk from this land. This study`s objective was to quantify the wildlife damage occurring on agricultural operations adjacent to the INEEL and to characterize the damage attributed to each big game species. Responses from 70.2% of the target population indicate an evenness of opinion, by which the authors mean that various opinions were represented equitably, toward these animals and wildlife damage Total estimated wildlife damage in 1996 was between $140,000 and $180,000 It was attributed foremost to elk, although pronghorn antelope were viewed nearly as damaging. Respondents placed high values in big game animals and wished to see them continue to inhabit these lands. For managing depredation, adjusting hunting seasons was preferred.« less

An online database for plant image analysis software tools.

PubMed

Lobet, Guillaume; Draye, Xavier; Périlleux, Claire

2013-10-09

Recent years have seen an increase in methods for plant phenotyping using image analyses. These methods require new software solutions for data extraction and treatment. These solutions are instrumental in supporting various research pipelines, ranging from the localisation of cellular compounds to the quantification of tree canopies. However, due to the variety of existing tools and the lack of central repository, it is challenging for researchers to identify the software that is best suited for their research. We present an online, manually curated, database referencing more than 90 plant image analysis software solutions. The website, plant-image-analysis.org, presents each software in a uniform and concise manner enabling users to identify the available solutions for their experimental needs. The website also enables user feedback, evaluations and new software submissions. The plant-image-analysis.org database provides an overview of existing plant image analysis software. The aim of such a toolbox is to help users to find solutions, and to provide developers a way to exchange and communicate about their work.

Comparison of air exhausts for surgical body suits (space suits) and the potential for periprosthetic joint infection.

PubMed

Ling, F; Halabi, S; Jones, C

2018-07-01

Periprosthetic joint infection is a major complication of total joint replacement surgery and is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and financial burden. Surgical body suits (space suits), originally designed to reduce the incidence of infection, have paradoxically been implicated in increased periprosthetic joint infection rates recently. Air exhausted from space suits may contribute to this increased rate of periprosthetic joint infection. To investigate the flow of air exhausted from space suits commonly used in modern operating theatres. The exhaust airflow patterns of four commercially available space suit systems were compared using a fog machine and serial still photographs. The space suit systems tested all air exhausted into the operating room. The single fan systems with a standard surgical gown exhausted air laterally from the posterior gown fold at approximately the level of the surgical field. The single fan system with a dedicated zippered suit exhausted air at a level below the surgical field. The dual fan system exhausted air out of the top of the helmet at a level above the surgical field. Space suit systems currently in use in joint replacement surgery differ significantly from traditional body exhaust systems; rather than removing contaminated air from the operating environment, modern systems exhaust this air into the operating room, in some cases potentially towards the sterile instrument tray and the surgical field. Copyright © 2018 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A controlled experiment on the impact of software structure on maintainability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rombach, Dieter H.

1987-01-01

The impact of software structure on maintainability aspects including comprehensibility, locality, modifiability, and reusability in a distributed system environment is studied in a controlled maintenance experiment involving six medium-size distributed software systems implemented in LADY (language for distributed systems) and six in an extended version of sequential PASCAL. For all maintenance aspects except reusability, the results were quantitatively given in terms of complexity metrics which could be automated. The results showed LADY to be better suited to the development of maintainable software than the extension of sequential PASCAL. The strong typing combined with high parametrization of units is suggested to improve the reusability of units in LADY.

Geohydrology of the Antelope Valley Area, California and design for a ground-water-quality monitoring network

USGS Publications Warehouse

Duell, L.F.

1987-01-01

A basinwide ideal network and an actual network were designed to identify ambient groundwater quality, trends in groundwater quality, and degree of threat from potential pollution sources in Antelope Valley, California. In general, throughout the valley groundwater quality has remained unchanged, and no specific trends are apparent. The main source of groundwater for the valley is generally suitable for domestic, irrigation, and most industrial uses. Water quality data for selected constituents of some network wells and surface-water sites are presented. The ideal network of 77 sites was selected on the basis of site-specific criteria, geohydrology, and current land use (agricultural, residential, and industrial). These sites were used as a guide in the design of the actual network consisting of 44 existing wells. Wells are currently being monitored and were selected whenever possible because of budgetary constraints. Of the remaining ideal sites, 20 have existing wells not part of a current water quality network, and 13 are locations where no wells exist. The methodology used for the selection of sites, constituents monitored, and frequency of analysis will enable network users to make appropriate future changes to the monitoring network. (USGS)

Fostering successful scientific software communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bangerth, W.; Heister, T.; Hwang, L.; Kellogg, L. H.

2016-12-01

Developing sustainable open source software packages for the sciences appears at first to be primarily a technical challenge: How can one create stable and robust algorithms, appropriate software designs, sufficient documentation, quality assurance strategies such as continuous integration and test suites, or backward compatibility approaches that yield high-quality software usable not only by the authors, but also the broader community of scientists? However, our experience from almost two decades of leading the development of the deal.II software library (http://www.dealii.org, a widely-used finite element package) and the ASPECT code (http://aspect.dealii.org, used to simulate convection in the Earth's mantle) has taught us that technical aspects are not the most difficult ones in scientific open source software. Rather, it is the social challenge of building and maintaining a community of users and developers interested in answering questions on user forums, contributing code, and jointly finding solutions to common technical and non-technical challenges. These problems are posed in an environment where project leaders typically have no resources to reward the majority of contributors, where very few people are specifically paid for the work they do on the project, and with frequent turnover of contributors as project members rotate into and out of jobs. In particular, much software work is done by graduate students who may become fluent enough in a software only a year or two before they leave academia. We will discuss strategies we have found do and do not work in maintaining and growing communities around the scientific software projects we lead. Specifically, we will discuss the management style necessary to keep contributors engaged, ways to give credit where credit is due, and structuring documentation to decrease reliance on forums and thereby allow user communities to grow without straining those who answer questions.

Computing and software

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Gary C.; Hines, J.E.

2004-01-01

The reality is that the statistical methods used for analysis of data depend upon the availability of software. Analysis of marked animal data is no different than the rest of the statistical field. The methods used for analysis are those that are available in reliable software packages. Thus, the critical importance of having reliable, up–to–date software available to biologists is obvious. Statisticians have continued to develop more robust models, ever expanding the suite of potential analysis methodsavailable. But without software to implement these newer methods, they will languish in the abstract, and not be applied to the problems deserving them.In the Computers and Software Session, two new software packages are described, a comparison of implementation of methods for the estimation of nest survival is provided, and a more speculative paper about how the next generation of software might be structured is presented.Rotella et al. (2004) compare nest survival estimation with different software packages: SAS logistic regression, SAS non–linear mixed models, and Program MARK. Nests are assumed to be visited at various, possibly infrequent, intervals. All of the approaches described compute nest survival with the same likelihood, and require that the age of the nest is known to account for nests that eventually hatch. However, each approach offers advantages and disadvantages, explored by Rotella et al. (2004).Efford et al. (2004) present a new software package called DENSITY. The package computes population abundance and density from trapping arrays and other detection methods with a new and unique approach. DENSITY represents the first major addition to the analysis of trapping arrays in 20 years.Barker & White (2004) discuss how existing software such as Program MARK require that each new model’s likelihood must be programmed specifically for that model. They wishfully think that future software might allow the user to combine pieces of likelihood

Hybrid Enhanced Epidermal SpaceSuit Design Approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jessup, Joseph M.

A Space suit that does not rely on gas pressurization is a multi-faceted problem that requires major stability controls to be incorporated during design and construction. The concept of Hybrid Epidermal Enhancement space suit integrates evolved human anthropomorphic and physiological adaptations into its functionality, using commercially available bio-medical technologies to address shortcomings of conventional gas pressure suits, and the impracticalities of MCP suits. The prototype HEE Space Suit explored integumentary homeostasis, thermal control and mobility using advanced bio-medical materials technology and construction concepts. The goal was a space suit that functions as an enhanced, multi-functional bio-mimic of the human epidermal layer that works in attunement with the wearer rather than as a separate system. In addressing human physiological requirements for design and construction of the HEE suit, testing regimes were devised and integrated into the prototype which was then subject to a series of detailed tests using both anatomical reproduction methods and human subject.

Z-1 Prototype Space Suit Testing Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Amy

2013-01-01

The Advanced Space Suit team of the NASA-Johnson Space Center performed a series of test with the Z-1 prototype space suit in 2012. This paper discusses, at a summary level, the tests performed and results from those tests. The purpose of the tests were two-fold: 1) characterize the suit performance so that the data could be used in the downselection of components for the Z-2 Space Suit and 2) develop interfaces with the suitport and exploration vehicles through pressurized suit evaluations. Tests performed included isolated and functional range of motion data capture, Z-1 waist and hip testing, joint torque testing, CO2 washout testing, fit checks and subject familiarizations, an exploration vehicle aft deck and suitport controls interface evaluation, delta pressure suitport tests including pressurized suit don and doff, and gross mobility and suitport ingress and egress demonstrations in reduced gravity. Lessons learned specific to the Z-1 prototype and to suit testing techniques will be presented.

Z-1 Prototype Space Suit Testing Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Amy J.

2012-01-01

The Advanced Space Suit team of the NASA-Johnson Space Center performed a series of test with the Z-1 prototype space suit in 2012. This paper discusses, at a summary level, the tests performed and results from those tests. The purpose of the tests were two -fold: 1) characterize the suit performance so that the data could be used in the downselection of components for the Z -2 Space Suit and 2) develop interfaces with the suitport and exploration vehicles through pressurized suit evaluations. Tests performed included isolated and functional range of motion data capture, Z-1 waist and hip testing, joint torque testing, CO2 washout testing, fit checks and subject familiarizations, an exploration vehicle aft deck and suitport controls interface evaluation, delta pressure suitport tests including pressurized suit don and doff, and gross mobility and suitport ingress and egress demonstrations in reduced gravity. Lessons learned specific to the Z -1 prototype and to suit testing techniques will be presented.

Towards the Integration of APECS with VE-Suite to Create a Comprehensive Virtual Engineering Environment

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

McCorkle, D.; Yang, C.; Jordan, T.

2007-06-01

Modeling and simulation tools are becoming pervasive in the process engineering practice of designing advanced power generation facilities. These tools enable engineers to explore many what-if scenarios before cutting metal or constructing a pilot scale facility. While such tools enable investigation of crucial plant design aspects, typical commercial process simulation tools such as Aspen Plus®, gPROMS®, and HYSYS® still do not explore some plant design information, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models for complex thermal and fluid flow phenomena, economics models for policy decisions, operational data after the plant is constructed, and as-built information for use in as-designed models. Softwaremore » tools must be created that allow disparate sources of information to be integrated if environments are to be constructed where process simulation information can be accessed. At the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the Advanced Process Engineering Co-Simulator (APECS) has been developed as an integrated software suite that combines process simulation (e.g., Aspen Plus) and high-fidelity equipment simulation (e.g., Fluent® CFD), together with advanced analysis capabilities including case studies, sensitivity analysis, stochastic simulation for risk/uncertainty analysis, and multi-objective optimization. In this paper, we discuss the initial phases of integrating APECS with the immersive and interactive virtual engineering software, VE-Suite, developed at Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory. VE-Suite utilizes the ActiveX (OLE Automation) controls in Aspen Plus wrapped by the CASI library developed by Reaction Engineering International to run the process simulation and query for unit operation results. This integration permits any application that uses the VE-Open interface to integrate with APECS co-simulations, enabling construction of the comprehensive virtual engineering environment needed for

Health evaluation of pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) on Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in southeastern Oregon, 1996-1997.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dunbar, Michael R.; Velarde, Roser

1998-01-01

One hundred four neonatal (fawns) and 40 adult female (does) pronghorn antelope (pronghorns) (Antilocapra americana) were captured on the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge (HMNAR) in Lake County, southeastern Oregon, between 13 May 1996 and 26 May 1997. Blood and fecal samples were taken for an investigation of low fawn survival that may be due to disease and/or poor nutrition. No abnormalities were found in hematological parameters of adult does (n = 40) or fawns (n = 44 to 67). In general, there were lower serum total proteins (TP) and Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) concentrations in this population than in other populations from Alberta, Canada; Idaho; and Baker City, Oregon. Mean BUN values in does were significantly lower (p < 0.001) in December than March. The duration of this apparently low protein content of the December diet may affect the weight of the newborn and consequent survivability if it should continue into late gestation (March-May). Serum copper (Cu) levels in does (range 0.39 to 0.74 ppm) were considered marginal when compared to domestic animals and some wild ungulates. Fawns had low but apparently normal Cu levels at birth and reached the does' marginal values in about three days. Whole blood and serum Selenium (Se) levels (<100 ng/ml) were considered to be marginal to low in most segments of the pronghorn population in this study. However, serum levels of vitamin E (range 1.98 - 3.27 pg/ml), as determined from the does captured in March, are apparently sufficient to offset any signs of deficiency due to low Se levels. No clinical signs of Cu or Se deficiency were observed. Does captured in December 1996 were tested for neutralizing antibodies to Brucella spp. (n = 20, neg.), Leptospira spp. (n = 20, neg.), bluetongue virus (n = 20, 35% pos.), epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (n = 20, 30% pos.), respiratory syncytial virus (n = 18, neg.), parainfluenza virus type 3 (n = 18, 67% pos.), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (n = 18, neg.), and

Anthropometric Accommodation in Space Suit Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajulu, Sudhakar; Thaxton, Sherry

2007-01-01

Design requirements for next generation hardware are in process at NASA. Anthropometry requirements are given in terms of minimum and maximum sizes for critical dimensions that hardware must accommodate. These dimensions drive vehicle design and suit design, and implicitly have an effect on crew selection and participation. At this stage in the process, stakeholders such as cockpit and suit designers were asked to provide lists of dimensions that will be critical for their design. In addition, they were asked to provide technically feasible minimum and maximum ranges for these dimensions. Using an adjusted 1988 Anthropometric Survey of U.S. Army (ANSUR) database to represent a future astronaut population, the accommodation ranges provided by the suit critical dimensions were calculated. This project involved participation from the Anthropometry and Biomechanics facility (ABF) as well as suit designers, with suit designers providing expertise about feasible hardware dimensions and the ABF providing accommodation analysis. The initial analysis provided the suit design team with the accommodation levels associated with the critical dimensions provided early in the study. Additional outcomes will include a comparison of principal components analysis as an alternate method for anthropometric analysis.

OASYS (OrAnge SYnchrotron Suite): an open-source graphical environment for x-ray virtual experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rebuffi, Luca; Sanchez del Rio, Manuel

2017-08-01

The evolution of the hardware platforms, the modernization of the software tools, the access to the codes of a large number of young people and the popularization of the open source software for scientific applications drove us to design OASYS (ORange SYnchrotron Suite), a completely new graphical environment for modelling X-ray experiments. The implemented software architecture allows to obtain not only an intuitive and very-easy-to-use graphical interface, but also provides high flexibility and rapidity for interactive simulations, making configuration changes to quickly compare multiple beamline configurations. Its purpose is to integrate in a synergetic way the most powerful calculation engines available. OASYS integrates different simulation strategies via the implementation of adequate simulation tools for X-ray Optics (e.g. ray tracing and wave optics packages). It provides a language to make them to communicate by sending and receiving encapsulated data. Python has been chosen as main programming language, because of its universality and popularity in scientific computing. The software Orange, developed at the University of Ljubljana (SLO), is the high level workflow engine that provides the interaction with the user and communication mechanisms.

Computerized Placement Management Software (CPMS): User Manual, Version 3.0.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

College Entrance Examination Board, Princeton, NJ.

This guide is designed to enable the beginner, as well as the advanced user, to understand and use the Computerized Placement Management Software (CPMS). The CPMS is a system for evaluating information about students and recommending their placement into courses best suited for them. It also tracks their progress and maintains their records. The…

NASA's Software Safety Standard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramsay, Christopher M.

2007-01-01

requirements. This allows the projects leeway to meet these requirements in many forms that best suit a particular project's needs and safety risk. In other words, it tells the project what to do, not how to do it. This update also incorporated advances in the state of the practice of software safety from academia and private industry. It addresses some of the more common issues now facing software developers in the NASA environment such as the use of Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Software (COTS), Modified OTS (MOTS), Government OTS (GOTS), and reused software. A team from across NASA developed the update and it has had both NASA-wide internal reviews by software engineering, quality, safety, and project management. It has also had expert external review. This presentation and paper will discuss the new NASA Software Safety Standard, its organization, and key features. It will start with a brief discussion of some NASA mission failures and incidents that had software as one of their root causes. It will then give a brief overview of the NASA Software Safety Process. This will include an overview of the key personnel responsibilities and functions that must be performed for safety-critical software.

ARROWSMITH-P: A prototype expert system for software engineering management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basili, Victor R.; Ramsey, Connie Loggia

1985-01-01

Although the field of software engineering is relatively new, it can benefit from the use of expert systems. Two prototype expert systems were developed to aid in software engineering management. Given the values for certain metrics, these systems will provide interpretations which explain any abnormal patterns of these values during the development of a software project. The two systems, which solve the same problem, were built using different methods, rule-based deduction and frame-based abduction. A comparison was done to see which method was better suited to the needs of this field. It was found that both systems performed moderately well, but the rule-based deduction system using simple rules provided more complete solutions than did the frame-based abduction system.

Detection of aquifer system compaction and land subsidence using interferometric synthetic aperture radar, Antelope Valley, Mojave Desert, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Galloway, D.L.; Hudnut, K.W.; Ingebritsen, S.E.; Phillips, S.P.; Peltzer, G.; Rogez, F.; Rosen, P.A.

1998-01-01

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has great potential to detect and quantify land subsidence caused by aquifer system compaction. InSAR maps with high spatial detail and resolution of range displacement (±10 mm in change of land surface elevation) were developed for a groundwater basin (∼103 km2) in Antelope Valley, California, using radar data collected from the ERS-1 satellite. These data allow comprehensive comparison between recent (1993–1995) subsidence patterns and those detected historically (1926–1992) by more traditional methods. The changed subsidence patterns are generally compatible with recent shifts in land and water use. The InSAR-detected patterns are generally consistent with predictions based on a coupled model of groundwater flow and aquifer system compaction. The minor inconsistencies may reflect our imperfect knowledge of the distribution and properties of compressible sediments. When used in conjunction with coincident measurements of groundwater levels and other geologic information, InSAR data may be useful for constraining parameter estimates in simulations of aquifer system compaction.

Advanced Crew Escape Suit.

PubMed

1995-09-01

Design of the S1032 Launch Entry Suit (LES) began following the Challenger loss and NASA's decision to incorporate a Shuttle crew escape system. The LES (see Figure 1) has successfully supported Shuttle missions since NASA's Return to Flight with STS-26 in September 1988. In 1990, engineers began developing the S1035 Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) to serve as a replacement for the LES. The ACES was designed to be a simplified, lightweight, low-bulk pressure suit which aided self donning/doffing, provided improved comfort, and enhanced overall performance to reduce crew member stress and fatigue. Favorable crew member evaluations of a prototype led to full-scale development and qualification of the S1035 ACES between 1990 and 1992. Production of the S1035 ACES began in February 1993, with the first unit delivered to NASA in May 1994. The S1035 ACES first flew aboard STS-68 in August 1994 and will become the primary crew escape suit when the S1032 LES ends its service life in late 1995. The primary goal of the S1035 development program was to provide improved performance over that of the S1032 to minimize the stress and fatigue typically experienced by crew members. To achieve this, five fundamental design objectives were established, resulting in various material/configuration changes.

Software Framework for Controlling Unsupervised Scientific Instruments.

PubMed

Schmid, Benjamin; Jahr, Wiebke; Weber, Michael; Huisken, Jan

2016-01-01

Science outreach and communication are gaining more and more importance for conveying the meaning of today's research to the general public. Public exhibitions of scientific instruments can provide hands-on experience with technical advances and their applications in the life sciences. The software of such devices, however, is oftentimes not appropriate for this purpose. In this study, we describe a software framework and the necessary computer configuration that is well suited for exposing a complex self-built and software-controlled instrument such as a microscope to laymen under limited supervision, e.g. in museums or schools. We identify several aspects that must be met by such software, and we describe a design that can simultaneously be used to control either (i) a fully functional instrument in a robust and fail-safe manner, (ii) an instrument that has low-cost or only partially working hardware attached for illustration purposes or (iii) a completely virtual instrument without hardware attached. We describe how to assess the educational success of such a device, how to monitor its operation and how to facilitate its maintenance. The introduced concepts are illustrated using our software to control eduSPIM, a fluorescent light sheet microscope that we are currently exhibiting in a technical museum.

Mars EVA Suit Airlock (MESA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ransom, Stephen; Böttcher, Jörg; Steinsiek, Frank

The Astrium Space Infrastructure Division has begun an in-house research activity of an Earth-based simulation facility supporting future manned missions to Mars. This research unit will help to prepare and support planned missions in the following ways: 1) to enable the investigation and analysis of contamination issues in advance of a human visit to Mars; 2) as a design tool to investigate and simulate crew operations; 3) to simulate crew operation during an actual mission; 4) to enable on-surface scientific operations without leaving the shirt-sleeve habitation environment ("glove box principle"). The MESA module is a surface EVA facility attached to the main habitation or laboratory module, or mobile pressurized rover. It will be sealed, but not pressurized, and provide protection against the harsh Martian environment. This module will include a second crew airlock for safety reasons. The compartment can also be used to provide an external working bench and experiment area for the crew. A simpler MESA concept provides only an open shelter against wind and dust. This concept does not incorporate working and experimental areas. The principle idea behind the MESA concept is to tackle the issue of contamination by minimizing the decontamination processes needed to clean surface equipment and crew suit surfaces after an EVA excursion prior to the astronaut re-entering the habitable area. The technical solution envisages the use of a dedicated crew suit airlock. This airlock uses an EVA suit which is externally attached by its back-pack to the EVA compartment area facing the Martian environment. The crew donns the suit from inside the habitable volume through the airlock on the back of the suit. The surface EVA can be accomplished after closing the back-pack and detaching the suit. A special technical design concept foresees an extendable suit back-pack, so that the astronaut can operate outside and in the vincinity of the module. The key driver in the investigation

Space Suit Spins

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

Space is a hostile environment where astronauts combat extreme temperatures, dangerous radiation, and a near-breathless vacuum. Life support in these unforgiving circumstances is crucial and complex, and failure is not an option for the devices meant to keep astronauts safe in an environment that presents constant opposition. A space suit must meet stringent requirements for life support. The suit has to be made of durable material to withstand the impact of space debris and protect against radiation. It must provide essential oxygen, pressure, heating, and cooling while retaining mobility and dexterity. It is not a simple article of clothing but rather a complex modern armor that the space explorers must don if they are to continue exploring the heavens

Enabling interoperability in Geoscience with GI-suite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boldrini, Enrico; Papeschi, Fabrizio; Santoro, Mattia; Nativi, Stefano

2015-04-01

GI-suite is a brokering framework targeting interoperability of heterogeneous systems in the Geoscience domain. The framework is composed by different brokers each one focusing on a specific functionality: discovery, access and semantics (i.e. GI-cat, GI-axe, GI-sem). The brokering takes place between a set of heterogeneous publishing services and a set of heterogeneous consumer applications: the brokering target is represented by resources (e.g. coverages, features, or metadata information) required to seamlessly flow from the providers to the consumers. Different international and community standards are now supported by GI-suite, making possible the successful deployment of GI-suite in many international projects and initiatives (such as GEOSS, NSF BCube and several EU funded projects). As for the publisher side more than 40 standards and implementations are supported (e.g. Dublin Core, OAI-PMH, OGC W*S, Geonetwork, THREDDS Data Server, Hyrax Server, etc.). The support for each individual standard is provided by means of specific GI-suite components, called accessors. As for the consumer applications side more than 15 standards and implementations are supported (e.g. ESRI ArcGIS, Openlayers, OGC W*S, OAI-PMH clients, etc.). The support for each individual standard is provided by means of specific profiler components. The GI-suite can be used in different scenarios by different actors: - A data provider having a pre-existent data repository can deploy and configure GI-suite to broker it and making thus available its data resources through different protocols to many different users (e.g. for data discovery and/or data access) - A data consumer can use GI-suite to discover and/or access resources from a variety of publishing services that are already publishing data according to well-known standards. - A community can deploy and configure GI-suite to build a community (or project-specific) broker: GI-suite can broker a set of community related repositories and

A methodology for model-based development and automated verification of software for aerospace systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, L.; Schatalov, M.; Hagner, M.; Goltz, U.; Maibaum, O.

Today's software for aerospace systems typically is very complex. This is due to the increasing number of features as well as the high demand for safety, reliability, and quality. This complexity also leads to significant higher software development costs. To handle the software complexity, a structured development process is necessary. Additionally, compliance with relevant standards for quality assurance is a mandatory concern. To assure high software quality, techniques for verification are necessary. Besides traditional techniques like testing, automated verification techniques like model checking become more popular. The latter examine the whole state space and, consequently, result in a full test coverage. Nevertheless, despite the obvious advantages, this technique is rarely yet used for the development of aerospace systems. In this paper, we propose a tool-supported methodology for the development and formal verification of safety-critical software in the aerospace domain. The methodology relies on the V-Model and defines a comprehensive work flow for model-based software development as well as automated verification in compliance to the European standard series ECSS-E-ST-40C. Furthermore, our methodology supports the generation and deployment of code. For tool support we use the tool SCADE Suite (Esterel Technology), an integrated design environment that covers all the requirements for our methodology. The SCADE Suite is well established in avionics and defense, rail transportation, energy and heavy equipment industries. For evaluation purposes, we apply our approach to an up-to-date case study of the TET-1 satellite bus. In particular, the attitude and orbit control software is considered. The behavioral models for the subsystem are developed, formally verified, and optimized.

The SAM Suite

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-08

This illustration shows the instruments and subsystems of the Sample Analysis at Mars SAM suite on the Curiosity Rover of NASA Mars Science Laboratory Project. SAM analyzes the gases in the Martian atmosphere.

MNE Scan: Software for real-time processing of electrophysiological data.

PubMed

Esch, Lorenz; Sun, Limin; Klüber, Viktor; Lew, Seok; Baumgarten, Daniel; Grant, P Ellen; Okada, Yoshio; Haueisen, Jens; Hämäläinen, Matti S; Dinh, Christoph

2018-06-01

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and Electroencephalography (EEG) are noninvasive techniques to study the electrophysiological activity of the human brain. Thus, they are well suited for real-time monitoring and analysis of neuronal activity. Real-time MEG/EEG data processing allows adjustment of the stimuli to the subject's responses for optimizing the acquired information especially by providing dynamically changing displays to enable neurofeedback. We introduce MNE Scan, an acquisition and real-time analysis software based on the multipurpose software library MNE-CPP. MNE Scan allows the development and application of acquisition and novel real-time processing methods in both research and clinical studies. The MNE Scan development follows a strict software engineering process to enable approvals required for clinical software. We tested the performance of MNE Scan in several device-independent use cases, including, a clinical epilepsy study, real-time source estimation, and Brain Computer Interface (BCI) application. Compared to existing tools we propose a modular software considering clinical software requirements expected by certification authorities. At the same time the software is extendable and freely accessible. We conclude that MNE Scan is the first step in creating a device-independent open-source software to facilitate the transition from basic neuroscience research to both applied sciences and clinical applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) from the critically endangered antelope Addax nasomaculatus in Tunisia.

PubMed

Boufana, Belgees; Saïd, Yousra; Dhibi, Mokhtar; Craig, Philip S; Lahmar, Samia

2015-12-01

Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.) is a zoonotic disease highly endemic in Tunisia. Canids including stray and semi-stray dogs, jackals and foxes are known as definitive hosts and a wide range of ungulates have been shown to harbour the metacestode hydatid stage and may serve as intermediate hosts. Fertile hydatid cysts of Echinococcus equinus and E. granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) were recently molecularly identified for the first time from Tunisian donkeys. E. granulosus (s.s.) was also identified from wild boars in Tunisia. Here we report the confirmation of hydatid cysts caused by E. granulosus (s.s.) in the critically endangered antelope, Addax nasomaculatus in Tunisia. DNA-based molecular analysis revealed that A.nasomaculatus was infected with E. granulosus (s.s.) which had a 100% identity with the main globally distributed E. granulosus (s.s.) (EgTu01) haplotype. Cysts of Taenia hydatigena (n=33) were also observed on the liver and in the body cavity. Due to their endangered status and their relatively small numbers, it is unlikely that hydatid infection of A. nasomaculatus will form a major contribution to the epidemiology and transmission of E. granulosus in Tunisia, but infection may result in pathology, morbidity and early mortality, and may still play a role in the perpetuation of the parasite in wildlife cycles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ASDA - Advanced Suit Design Analyzer computer program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bue, Grant C.; Conger, Bruce C.; Iovine, John V.; Chang, Chi-Min

1992-01-01

An ASDA model developed to evaluate the heat and mass transfer characteristics of advanced pressurized suit design concepts for low pressure or vacuum planetary applications is presented. The model is based on a generalized 3-layer suit that uses the Systems Integrated Numerical Differencing Analyzer '85 in conjunction with a 41-node FORTRAN routine. The latter simulates the transient heat transfer and respiratory processes of a human body in a suited environment. The user options for the suit encompass a liquid cooled garment, a removable jacket, a CO2/H2O permeable layer, and a phase change layer.

Extravehicular Space Suit Bearing Technology Development Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pang, Yan; Liu, Xiangyang; Guanghui, Xie

2017-03-01

Pressure bearing has been acting an important role in the EVA (extravehicular activity) suit as a main mobility component. EVA suit bearing has its unique traits on the material, dustproof design, seal, interface, lubrication, load and performance. This paper states the peculiarity and development of the pressure bearing on the construction design element, load and failure mode, and performance and test from the point view of structure design. The status and effect of EVA suit pressure bearing is introduced in the paper. This analysis method can provide reference value for our country’s EVA suit pressure bearing design and development.

Pgltools: a genomic arithmetic tool suite for manipulation of Hi-C peak and other chromatin interaction data.

PubMed

Greenwald, William W; Li, He; Smith, Erin N; Benaglio, Paola; Nariai, Naoki; Frazer, Kelly A

2017-04-07

Genomic interaction studies use next-generation sequencing (NGS) to examine the interactions between two loci on the genome, with subsequent bioinformatics analyses typically including annotation, intersection, and merging of data from multiple experiments. While many file types and analysis tools exist for storing and manipulating single locus NGS data, there is currently no file standard or analysis tool suite for manipulating and storing paired-genomic-loci: the data type resulting from "genomic interaction" studies. As genomic interaction sequencing data are becoming prevalent, a standard file format and tools for working with these data conveniently and efficiently are needed. This article details a file standard and novel software tool suite for working with paired-genomic-loci data. We present the paired-genomic-loci (PGL) file standard for genomic-interactions data, and the accompanying analysis tool suite "pgltools": a cross platform, pypy compatible python package available both as an easy-to-use UNIX package, and as a python module, for integration into pipelines of paired-genomic-loci analyses. Pgltools is a freely available, open source tool suite for manipulating paired-genomic-loci data. Source code, an in-depth manual, and a tutorial are available publicly at www.github.com/billgreenwald/pgltools , and a python module of the operations can be installed from PyPI via the PyGLtools module.

Policy Process Editor for P3BM Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, Mark; Chang, Hsin-Ping; Chow, Edward T.; Crichton, Gerald A.

2010-01-01

A computer program enables generation, in the form of graphical representations of process flows with embedded natural-language policy statements, input to a suite of policy-, process-, and performance-based management (P3BM) software. This program (1) serves as an interface between users and the Hunter software, which translates the input into machine-readable form; and (2) enables users to initialize and monitor the policy-implementation process. This program provides an intuitive graphical interface for incorporating natural-language policy statements into business-process flow diagrams. Thus, the program enables users who dictate policies to intuitively embed their intended process flows as they state the policies, reducing the likelihood of errors and reducing the time between declaration and execution of policy.

A Mathematical Model to Predict and Maintain the Neutral Buoyancy of Suited Astronauts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clowers, Kurt; Jaramillo, Marcos; Nguyen, Daniel; Sweet, Robert; Rajulu, Sudhakar

2006-01-01

A previous study reported that inadequate weigh outs of suited subjects contribute to fatigue and the risk of injury during training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL). Another study suggested that shoulder injuries observed in suited subjects who train in the NBL may be attributed to excessive righting moments caused by a non-optimal weigh out. The purpose of this study was to develop a mathematical model to predict and maintain the neutral buoyancy of suited subjects during training operations at the NBL. Due to time constraints, one certified NBL support diver served as a subject (height: 66.54 in; weight: 182 lbs) for this study and only one complete test was conducted. The study was divided into two runs for which the first run required the NBL divers to perform a weigh out similar to a suited astronaut on a scuba diver wearing a mock Portable Life Support System and a Displays and Control Module. For the second run, the same subject and equipment were weighed out according to the mathematical model. The objective of each run was to achieve a neutrally buoyant subject floating 450 to the pool floor. Motion data was collected using two underwater cameras and analyzed using Dartfish video analysis software while force and moment data were recorded using an AMTI force plate. The results from the NBL divers visual run indicate that the subject was floating at an angle of 29.50 while the resultant force and moment data were 1.139 lb and 1.125 ft-lb respectively. The mathematical model s weigh out resulted in the subject floating at an angle of 37.40 and a resultant force of 0.765 lb and resultant moment of 1.248 ft-lb. The mathematical model was better able to orient the subject and reduce resultant moment and force as compared to the NBL divers.

Free software for performing physical analysis of systems for digital radiography and mammography.

PubMed

Donini, Bruno; Rivetti, Stefano; Lanconelli, Nico; Bertolini, Marco

2014-05-01

In this paper, the authors present a free software for assisting users in achieving the physical characterization of x-ray digital systems and image quality checks. The program was developed as a plugin of a well-known public-domain suite ImageJ. The software can assist users in calculating various physical parameters such as the response curve (also termed signal transfer property), modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectra (NPS), and detective quantum efficiency (DQE). It also includes the computation of some image quality checks: defective pixel analysis, uniformity, dark analysis, and lag. The software was made available in 2009 and has been used during the last couple of years by many users who gave us valuable feedback for improving its usability. It was tested for achieving the physical characterization of several clinical systems for digital radiography and mammography. Various published papers made use of the outcomes of the plugin. This software is potentially beneficial to a variety of users: physicists working in hospitals, staff working in radiological departments, such as medical physicists, physicians, engineers. The plugin, together with a brief user manual, are freely available and can be found online (www.medphys.it/downloads.htm). With our plugin users can estimate all three most important parameters used for physical characterization (MTF, NPS, and also DQE). The plugin can run on any operating system equipped with ImageJ suite. The authors validated the software by comparing MTF and NPS curves on a common set of images with those obtained with other dedicated programs, achieving a very good agreement.

Use MACES IVA Suit for EVA Mobility Evaluations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, Richard D.

2014-01-01

The use of an Intra-Vehicular Activity (IVA) suit for a spacewalk or Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) was evaluated for mobility and usability in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) environment. The Space Shuttle Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) has been modified (MACES) to integrate with the Orion spacecraft. The first several missions of the Orion MPCV spacecraft will not have mass available to carry an EVA specific suit so any EVA required will have to be performed by the MACES. Since the MACES was not designed with EVA in mind, it was unknown what mobility the suit would be able to provide for an EVA or if a person could perform useful tasks for an extended time inside the pressurized suit. The suit was evaluated in multiple NBL runs by a variety of subjects including crewmembers with significant EVA experience. Various functional mobility tasks performed included: translation, body positioning, carrying tools, body stabilization, equipment handling, and use of tools. Hardware configurations included with and without TMG, suit with IVA gloves and suit with EVA gloves. Most tasks were completed on ISS mockups with existing EVA tools. Some limited tasks were completed with prototype tools on a simulated rocky surface. Major findings include: demonstration of the ability to weigh-out the suit, understanding the need to have subjects perform multiple runs prior to getting feedback, determination of critical sizing factors, and need for adjustment of suit work envelop. The early testing has demonstrated the feasibility of EVA's limited duration and limited scope. Further testing is required with more flight like tasking and constraints to validate these early results. If the suit is used for EVA, it will require mission specific modifications for umbilical management or PLSS integration, safety tether attachment, and tool interfaces. These evaluations are continuing through calendar year 2014.

Expedition 18 Suit-up

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-10-11

A Russian Sokol suit technician prepares to help American spaceflight participant Richard Garriott don his flight suit prior to the Soyuz TMA-13 launch with Expedition 18 Commander Michael Fincke and Flight Engineer Yuri V. Lonchakov, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The three crew members are scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on Oct. 14. Fincke and Lonchakov will spend six months on the station, while Garriott will return to Earth Oct. 24 with two of the Expedition 17 crew members currently on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

ORBS: A reduction software for SITELLE and SpiOMM data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Thomas

2014-09-01

ORBS merges, corrects, transforms and calibrates interferometric data cubes and produces a spectral cube of the observed region for analysis. It is a fully automatic data reduction software for use with SITELLE (installed at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope) and SpIOMM (a prototype attached to the Observatoire du Mont Mégantic); these imaging Fourier transform spectrometers obtain a hyperspectral data cube which samples a 12 arc-minutes field of view into 4 millions of visible spectra. ORBS is highly parallelized; its core classes (ORB) have been designed to be used in a suite of softwares for data analysis (ORCS and OACS), data simulation (ORUS) and data acquisition (IRIS).

SIMPATIQCO: a server-based software suite which facilitates monitoring the time course of LC-MS performance metrics on Orbitrap instruments.

PubMed

Pichler, Peter; Mazanek, Michael; Dusberger, Frederico; Weilnböck, Lisa; Huber, Christian G; Stingl, Christoph; Luider, Theo M; Straube, Werner L; Köcher, Thomas; Mechtler, Karl

2012-11-02

While the performance of liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation continues to increase, applications such as analyses of complete or near-complete proteomes and quantitative studies require constant and optimal system performance. For this reason, research laboratories and core facilities alike are recommended to implement quality control (QC) measures as part of their routine workflows. Many laboratories perform sporadic quality control checks. However, successive and systematic longitudinal monitoring of system performance would be facilitated by dedicated automatic or semiautomatic software solutions that aid an effortless analysis and display of QC metrics over time. We present the software package SIMPATIQCO (SIMPle AuTomatIc Quality COntrol) designed for evaluation of data from LTQ Orbitrap, Q-Exactive, LTQ FT, and LTQ instruments. A centralized SIMPATIQCO server can process QC data from multiple instruments. The software calculates QC metrics supervising every step of data acquisition from LC and electrospray to MS. For each QC metric the software learns the range indicating adequate system performance from the uploaded data using robust statistics. Results are stored in a database and can be displayed in a comfortable manner from any computer in the laboratory via a web browser. QC data can be monitored for individual LC runs as well as plotted over time. SIMPATIQCO thus assists the longitudinal monitoring of important QC metrics such as peptide elution times, peak widths, intensities, total ion current (TIC) as well as sensitivity, and overall LC-MS system performance; in this way the software also helps identify potential problems. The SIMPATIQCO software package is available free of charge.

SIMPATIQCO: A Server-Based Software Suite Which Facilitates Monitoring the Time Course of LC–MS Performance Metrics on Orbitrap Instruments

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

While the performance of liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation continues to increase, applications such as analyses of complete or near-complete proteomes and quantitative studies require constant and optimal system performance. For this reason, research laboratories and core facilities alike are recommended to implement quality control (QC) measures as part of their routine workflows. Many laboratories perform sporadic quality control checks. However, successive and systematic longitudinal monitoring of system performance would be facilitated by dedicated automatic or semiautomatic software solutions that aid an effortless analysis and display of QC metrics over time. We present the software package SIMPATIQCO (SIMPle AuTomatIc Quality COntrol) designed for evaluation of data from LTQ Orbitrap, Q-Exactive, LTQ FT, and LTQ instruments. A centralized SIMPATIQCO server can process QC data from multiple instruments. The software calculates QC metrics supervising every step of data acquisition from LC and electrospray to MS. For each QC metric the software learns the range indicating adequate system performance from the uploaded data using robust statistics. Results are stored in a database and can be displayed in a comfortable manner from any computer in the laboratory via a web browser. QC data can be monitored for individual LC runs as well as plotted over time. SIMPATIQCO thus assists the longitudinal monitoring of important QC metrics such as peptide elution times, peak widths, intensities, total ion current (TIC) as well as sensitivity, and overall LC–MS system performance; in this way the software also helps identify potential problems. The SIMPATIQCO software package is available free of charge. PMID:23088386

PD5: a general purpose library for primer design software.

PubMed

Riley, Michael C; Aubrey, Wayne; Young, Michael; Clare, Amanda

2013-01-01

Complex PCR applications for large genome-scale projects require fast, reliable and often highly sophisticated primer design software applications. Presently, such applications use pipelining methods to utilise many third party applications and this involves file parsing, interfacing and data conversion, which is slow and prone to error. A fully integrated suite of software tools for primer design would considerably improve the development time, the processing speed, and the reliability of bespoke primer design software applications. The PD5 software library is an open-source collection of classes and utilities, providing a complete collection of software building blocks for primer design and analysis. It is written in object-oriented C(++) with an emphasis on classes suitable for efficient and rapid development of bespoke primer design programs. The modular design of the software library simplifies the development of specific applications and also integration with existing third party software where necessary. We demonstrate several applications created using this software library that have already proved to be effective, but we view the project as a dynamic environment for building primer design software and it is open for future development by the bioinformatics community. Therefore, the PD5 software library is published under the terms of the GNU General Public License, which guarantee access to source-code and allow redistribution and modification. The PD5 software library is downloadable from Google Code and the accompanying Wiki includes instructions and examples: http://code.google.com/p/primer-design.

Testing of Space Suit Materials for Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, Kristine

2016-01-01

Human missions to Mars may require radical changes in our approach to EVA suit design. A major challenge is the balance of building a suit robust enough to complete 50 EVAs in the dirt under intense UV exposure without losing mechanical strength or compromising its mobility. We conducted ground testing on both current and new space suit materials to determine performance degradation after exposure to 2500 hours of Mars mission equivalent UV. This testing will help mature the material technologies and provide performance data that can be used by not only the space suit development teams but for all Mars inflatable and soft goods derived structures from airlocks to habitats.

BROMOC suite: Monte Carlo/Brownian dynamics suite for studies of ion permeation and DNA transport in biological and artificial pores with effective potentials.

PubMed

De Biase, Pablo M; Markosyan, Suren; Noskov, Sergei

2015-02-05

The transport of ions and solutes by biological pores is central for cellular processes and has a variety of applications in modern biotechnology. The time scale involved in the polymer transport across a nanopore is beyond the accessibility of conventional MD simulations. Moreover, experimental studies lack sufficient resolution to provide details on the molecular underpinning of the transport mechanisms. BROMOC, the code presented herein, performs Brownian dynamics simulations, both serial and parallel, up to several milliseconds long. BROMOC can be used to model large biological systems. IMC-MACRO software allows for the development of effective potentials for solute-ion interactions based on radial distribution function from all-atom MD. BROMOC Suite also provides a versatile set of tools to do a wide variety of preprocessing and postsimulation analysis. We illustrate a potential application with ion and ssDNA transport in MspA nanopore. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) for space habitation and exploration.

PubMed

Duda, Kevin R; Vasquez, Rebecca A; Middleton, Akil J; Hansberry, Mitchell L; Newman, Dava J; Jacobs, Shane E; West, John J

2015-01-01

The "Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) for Space Habitation and Exploration" is a novel system concept that provides a platform for integrating sensors and actuators with daily astronaut intravehicular activities to improve health and performance, while reducing the mass and volume of the physiologic adaptation countermeasure systems, as well as the required exercise time during long-duration space exploration missions. The V2Suit system leverages wearable kinematic monitoring technology and uses inertial measurement units (IMUs) and control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) within miniaturized modules placed on body segments to provide a "viscous resistance" during movements against a specified direction of "down"-initially as a countermeasure to the sensorimotor adaptation performance decrements that manifest themselves while living and working in microgravity and during gravitational transitions during long-duration spaceflight, including post-flight recovery and rehabilitation. Several aspects of the V2Suit system concept were explored and simulated prior to developing a brassboard prototype for technology demonstration. This included a system architecture for identifying the key components and their interconnects, initial identification of key human-system integration challenges, development of a simulation architecture for CMG selection and parameter sizing, and the detailed mechanical design and fabrication of a module. The brassboard prototype demonstrates closed-loop control from "down" initialization through CMG actuation, and provides a research platform for human performance evaluations to mitigate sensorimotor adaptation, as well as a tool for determining the performance requirements when used as a musculoskeletal deconditioning countermeasure. This type of countermeasure system also has Earth benefits, particularly in gait or movement stabilization and rehabilitation.

Suited Contingency Ops Food - 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glass, J. W.; Leong, M. L.; Douglas, G. L.

2014-01-01

The contingency scenario for an emergency cabin depressurization event may require crewmembers to subsist in a pressurized suit for up to 144 hours. This scenario requires the capability for safe nutrition delivery through a helmet feed port against a 4 psi pressure differential to enable crewmembers to maintain strength and cognition to perform critical tasks. Two nutritional delivery prototypes were developed and analyzed for compatibility with the helmet feed port interface and for operational effectiveness against the pressure differential. The bag-in-bag (BiB) prototype, designed to equalize the suit pressure with the beverage pouch and enable a crewmember to drink normally, delivered water successfully to three different subjects in suits pressurized to 4 psi. The Boa restrainer pouch, designed to provide mechanical leverage to overcome the pressure differential, did not operate sufficiently. Guidelines were developed and compiled for contingency beverages that provide macro-nutritional requirements, a minimum one-year shelf life, and compatibility with the delivery hardware. Evaluation results and food product parameters have the potential to be used to improve future prototype designs and develop complete nutritional beverages for contingency events. These feeding capabilities would have additional use on extended surface mission EVAs, where the current in-suit drinking device may be insufficient.

Space Suit (Mobil Biological Isolation)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

A Houston five-year-old known as David is getting a "space suit," a vitally important gift that will give him mobility he has never known. David suffers from a rare malady called severe combined immune deficiency, which means that be was born without natural body defenses against disease; germs that would have little or no effect on most people could cause his death. As a result, he has spent his entire life in germ-free isolation rooms, one at Houston's Texas Children's hospital, another at his home. The "space suit" David is getting will allow him to spend four hours ata a time in a mobile sterile environment outside his isolation rooms. Built by NASA's Johnson Space Center, it is a specially-designed by product of Space Suit technology known as the mobile biological isolation system.

University Software Ownership and Litigation: A First Examination*

PubMed Central

Rai, Arti K.; Allison, John R.; Sampat, Bhaven N.

2013-01-01

Software patents and university-owned patents represent two of the most controversial intellectual property developments of the last twenty-five years. Despite this reality, and concerns that universities act as “patent trolls” when they assert software patents in litigation against successful commercializers, no scholar has systematically examined the ownership and litigation of university software patents. In this Article, we present the first such examination. Our empirical research reveals that software patents represent a significant and growing proportion of university patent holdings. Additionally, the most important determinant of the number of software patents a university owns is not its research and development (“R&D”) expenditures (whether computer science-related or otherwise) but, rather, its tendency to seek patents in other areas. In other words, universities appear to take a “one size fits all” approach to patenting their inventions. This one size fits all approach is problematic given the empirical evidence that software is likely to follow a different commercialization path than other types of invention. Thus, it is perhaps not surprising that we see a number of lawsuits in which university software patents have been used not for purposes of fostering commercialization, but instead, to extract rents in apparent holdup litigation. The Article concludes by examining whether this trend is likely to continue in the future, particularly given a 2006 Supreme Court decision that appears to diminish the holdup threat by recognizing the possibility of liability rules in patent suits, as well as recent case law that may call into question certain types of software patents. PMID:23750052

Results and Analysis from Space Suit Joint Torque Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matty, Jennifer

2010-01-01

A space suit's mobility is critical to an astronaut's ability to perform work efficiently. As mobility increases, the astronaut can perform tasks for longer durations with less fatigue. Mobility can be broken down into two parts: range of motion (ROM) and torque. These two measurements describe how the suit moves and how much force it takes to move. Two methods were chosen to define mobility requirements for the Constellation Space Suit Element (CSSE). One method focuses on range of motion and the second method centers on joint torque. A joint torque test was conducted to determine a baseline for current advanced space suit joint torques. This test utilized the following space suits: Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES), I-Suit, D-Suit, Enhanced Mobility (EM)- ACES, and Mark III (MK-III). Data was collected data from 16 different joint movements of each suit. The results were then reviewed and CSSE joint torque requirement values were selected. The focus of this paper is to discuss trends observed during data analysis.

Interoperative efficiency in minimally invasive surgery suites.

PubMed

van Det, M J; Meijerink, W J H J; Hoff, C; Pierie, J P E N

2009-10-01

Performing minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in a conventional operating room (OR) requires additional specialized equipment otherwise stored outside the OR. Before the procedure, the OR team must collect, prepare, and connect the equipment, then take it away afterward. These extra tasks pose a thread to OR efficiency and may lengthen turnover times. The dedicated MIS suite has permanently installed laparoscopic equipment that is operational on demand. This study presents two experiments that quantify the superior efficiency of the MIS suite in the interoperative period. Preoperative setup and postoperative breakdown times in the conventional OR and the MIS suite in an experimental setting and in daily practice were analyzed. In the experimental setting, randomly chosen OR teams simulated the setup and breakdown for a standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and a complex laparoscopic sigmoid resection (LS). In the clinical setting, the interoperative period for 66 LCs randomly assigned to the conventional OR or the MIS suite were analyzed. In the experimental setting, the setup and breakdown times were significantly shorter in the MIS suite. The difference between the two types of OR increased for the complex procedure: 2:41 min for the LC (p < 0.001) and 10:47 min for the LS (p < 0.001). In the clinical setting, the setup and breakdown times as a whole were not reduced in the MIS suite. Laparoscopic setup and breakdown times were significantly shorter in the MIS suite (mean difference, 5:39 min; p < 0.001). Efficiency during the interoperative period is significantly improved in the MIS suite. The OR nurses' tasks are relieved, which may reduce mental and physical workload and improve job satisfaction and patient safety. Due to simultaneous tasks of other disciplines, an overall turnover time reduction could not be achieved.

The Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) for space habitation and exploration

PubMed Central

Duda, Kevin R.; Vasquez, Rebecca A.; Middleton, Akil J.; Hansberry, Mitchell L.; Newman, Dava J.; Jacobs, Shane E.; West, John J.

2015-01-01

The “Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) for Space Habitation and Exploration” is a novel system concept that provides a platform for integrating sensors and actuators with daily astronaut intravehicular activities to improve health and performance, while reducing the mass and volume of the physiologic adaptation countermeasure systems, as well as the required exercise time during long-duration space exploration missions. The V2Suit system leverages wearable kinematic monitoring technology and uses inertial measurement units (IMUs) and control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) within miniaturized modules placed on body segments to provide a “viscous resistance” during movements against a specified direction of “down”—initially as a countermeasure to the sensorimotor adaptation performance decrements that manifest themselves while living and working in microgravity and during gravitational transitions during long-duration spaceflight, including post-flight recovery and rehabilitation. Several aspects of the V2Suit system concept were explored and simulated prior to developing a brassboard prototype for technology demonstration. This included a system architecture for identifying the key components and their interconnects, initial identification of key human-system integration challenges, development of a simulation architecture for CMG selection and parameter sizing, and the detailed mechanical design and fabrication of a module. The brassboard prototype demonstrates closed-loop control from “down” initialization through CMG actuation, and provides a research platform for human performance evaluations to mitigate sensorimotor adaptation, as well as a tool for determining the performance requirements when used as a musculoskeletal deconditioning countermeasure. This type of countermeasure system also has Earth benefits, particularly in gait or movement stabilization and rehabilitation. PMID:25914631

SBSI: an extensible distributed software infrastructure for parameter estimation in systems biology.

PubMed

Adams, Richard; Clark, Allan; Yamaguchi, Azusa; Hanlon, Neil; Tsorman, Nikos; Ali, Shakir; Lebedeva, Galina; Goltsov, Alexey; Sorokin, Anatoly; Akman, Ozgur E; Troein, Carl; Millar, Andrew J; Goryanin, Igor; Gilmore, Stephen

2013-03-01

Complex computational experiments in Systems Biology, such as fitting model parameters to experimental data, can be challenging to perform. Not only do they frequently require a high level of computational power, but the software needed to run the experiment needs to be usable by scientists with varying levels of computational expertise, and modellers need to be able to obtain up-to-date experimental data resources easily. We have developed a software suite, the Systems Biology Software Infrastructure (SBSI), to facilitate the parameter-fitting process. SBSI is a modular software suite composed of three major components: SBSINumerics, a high-performance library containing parallelized algorithms for performing parameter fitting; SBSIDispatcher, a middleware application to track experiments and submit jobs to back-end servers; and SBSIVisual, an extensible client application used to configure optimization experiments and view results. Furthermore, we have created a plugin infrastructure to enable project-specific modules to be easily installed. Plugin developers can take advantage of the existing user-interface and application framework to customize SBSI for their own uses, facilitated by SBSI's use of standard data formats. All SBSI binaries and source-code are freely available from http://sourceforge.net/projects/sbsi under an Apache 2 open-source license. The server-side SBSINumerics runs on any Unix-based operating system; both SBSIVisual and SBSIDispatcher are written in Java and are platform independent, allowing use on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. The SBSI project website at http://www.sbsi.ed.ac.uk provides documentation and tutorials.

Class Action Suits against Public Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mesibov, Laurie

1984-01-01

If a suit is brought as a class action, either plaintiff or defendant may move to uphold or challenge class certification. If neither does so, the court decides whether the action may be maintained as a class suit. Prerequisites for class certification from Rule 23 (Federal Rules of Civil Procedure) are explained. (TE)

Romanian Data Center: A modern way for seismic monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neagoe, Cristian; Marius Manea, Liviu; Ionescu, Constantin

2014-05-01

The main seismic survey of Romania is performed by the National Institute for Earth Physics (NIEP) which operates a real-time digital seismic network. The NIEP real-time network currently consists of 102 stations and two seismic arrays equipped with different high quality digitizers (Kinemetrics K2, Quanterra Q330, Quanterra Q330HR, PS6-26, Basalt), broadband and short period seismometers (CMG3ESP, CMG40T, KS2000, KS54000, KS2000, CMG3T,STS2, SH-1, S13, Mark l4c, Ranger, gs21, Mark l22) and acceleration sensors (Episensor Kinemetrics). The data are transmitted at the National Data Center (NDC) and Eforie Nord (EFOR) Seismic Observatory. EFOR is the back-up for the NDC and also a monitoring center for the Black Sea tsunami events. NIEP is a data acquisition node for the seismic network of Moldova (FDSN code MD) composed of five seismic stations. NIEP has installed in the northern part of Bulgaria eight seismic stations equipped with broadband sensors and Episensors and nine accelerometers (Episensors) installed in nine districts along the Danube River. All the data are acquired at NIEP for Early Warning System and for primary estimation of the earthquake parameters. The real-time acquisition (RT) and data exchange is done by Antelope software and Seedlink (from Seiscomp3). The real-time data communication is ensured by different types of transmission: GPRS, satellite, radio, Internet and a dedicated line provided by a governmental network. For data processing and analysis at the two data centers Antelope 5.2 TM is being used running on 3 workstations: one from a CentOS platform and two on MacOS. Also a Seiscomp3 server stands as back-up for Antelope 5.2 Both acquisition and analysis of seismic data systems produce information about local and global parameters of earthquakes. In addition, Antelope is used for manual processing (event association, calculation of magnitude, creating a database, sending seismic bulletins, calculation of PGA and PGV, etc.), generating

The ZPIC educational code suite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calado, R.; Pardal, M.; Ninhos, P.; Helm, A.; Mori, W. B.; Decyk, V. K.; Vieira, J.; Silva, L. O.; Fonseca, R. A.

2017-10-01

Particle-in-Cell (PIC) codes are used in almost all areas of plasma physics, such as fusion energy research, plasma accelerators, space physics, ion propulsion, and plasma processing, and many other areas. In this work, we present the ZPIC educational code suite, a new initiative to foster training in plasma physics using computer simulations. Leveraging on our expertise and experience from the development and use of the OSIRIS PIC code, we have developed a suite of 1D/2D fully relativistic electromagnetic PIC codes, as well as 1D electrostatic. These codes are self-contained and require only a standard laptop/desktop computer with a C compiler to be run. The output files are written in a new file format called ZDF that can be easily read using the supplied routines in a number of languages, such as Python, and IDL. The code suite also includes a number of example problems that can be used to illustrate several textbook and advanced plasma mechanisms, including instructions for parameter space exploration. We also invite contributions to this repository of test problems that will be made freely available to the community provided the input files comply with the format defined by the ZPIC team. The code suite is freely available and hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/zambzamb/zpic. Work partially supported by PICKSC.

Agile Acceptance Test–Driven Development of Clinical Decision Support Advisories: Feasibility of Using Open Source Software

PubMed Central

Baldwin, Krystal L; Kannan, Vaishnavi; Flahaven, Emily L; Parks, Cassandra J; Ott, Jason M; Willett, Duwayne L

2018-01-01

Background Moving to electronic health records (EHRs) confers substantial benefits but risks unintended consequences. Modern EHRs consist of complex software code with extensive local configurability options, which can introduce defects. Defects in clinical decision support (CDS) tools are surprisingly common. Feasible approaches to prevent and detect defects in EHR configuration, including CDS tools, are needed. In complex software systems, use of test–driven development and automated regression testing promotes reliability. Test–driven development encourages modular, testable design and expanding regression test coverage. Automated regression test suites improve software quality, providing a “safety net” for future software modifications. Each automated acceptance test serves multiple purposes, as requirements (prior to build), acceptance testing (on completion of build), regression testing (once live), and “living” design documentation. Rapid-cycle development or “agile” methods are being successfully applied to CDS development. The agile practice of automated test–driven development is not widely adopted, perhaps because most EHR software code is vendor-developed. However, key CDS advisory configuration design decisions and rules stored in the EHR may prove amenable to automated testing as “executable requirements.” Objective We aimed to establish feasibility of acceptance test–driven development of clinical decision support advisories in a commonly used EHR, using an open source automated acceptance testing framework (FitNesse). Methods Acceptance tests were initially constructed as spreadsheet tables to facilitate clinical review. Each table specified one aspect of the CDS advisory’s expected behavior. Table contents were then imported into a test suite in FitNesse, which queried the EHR database to automate testing. Tests and corresponding CDS configuration were migrated together from the development environment to production, with

Emergency Medical Considerations in a Space-Suited Patient.

PubMed

Garbino, Alejandro; Nusbaum, Derek M; Buckland, Daniel M; Menon, Anil S; Clark, Jonathan B; Antonsen, Erik L

The Stratex Project is a high altitude balloon flight that culminated in a freefall from 41,422 m (135,890 ft), breaking the record for the highest freefall to date. Crew recovery operations required an innovative approach due to the unique nature of the event as well as the equipment involved. The parachutist donned a custom space suit similar to a NASA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), with life support system mounted to the front and a parachute on the back. This space suit had a metal structure around the torso, which, in conjunction with the parachute and life support assembly, created a significant barrier to extraction from the suit in the event of a medical emergency. For this reason the Medical Support Team coordinated with the pressure suit assembly engineer team for integration, training in suit removal, definition of a priori contingency leadership on site, creation of color-coded extraction scenarios, and extraction drills with a suit mock-up that provided insight into limitations to immediate access. This paper discusses novel extraction processes and contrasts the required medical preparation for this type of equipment with the needs of the prior record-holding jump that used a different space suit with easier immediate access. Garbino A, Nusbaum DM, Buckland DM, Menon AS, Clark JB, Antonsen EL. Emergency medical considerations in a space-suited patient. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2016; 87(11):958-962.

[Antigravity suit used for neurosurgical operations in sitting position].

PubMed

Szpiro-Zurkowska, A; Milczarek, Z; Marchel, A; Jagielski, J

1996-01-01

The aviator's antigravity suit (G-suit) was used for 40 operations on neurosurgical patients operated on in sitting position. The G-suit was filled with air to 0.2 atmosphere (20 kPa) pressure in 26 cases, and 0.3 atm. (30 kPa) in 14 cases. In all cases G-suit filling was followed by central venous pressure rise and mean arterial pressure rise. Venous air embolism was found in 5 (12.5%) patients. No other complications connected with the use of G-suit were observed.

Suitport Feasibility: Development and Test of a Suitport and Space Suit for Human Pressurized Space Suit Donning Tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boyle, Robert M.; Mitchell, Kathryn; Allton, Charles; Ju, Hsing

2012-01-01

The suitport concept has been recently implemented as part of the small pressurized lunar rover (Currently the Space Exploration vehicle, or SEV) and the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV) concept demonstrator vehicle. Suitport replaces or augments the traditional airlock function of a spacecraft by providing a bulkhead opening, capture mechanism, and sealing system to allow ingress and egress of a space suit while the space suit remains outside of the pressurized volume of the spacecraft. This presents significant new opportunities to EVA exploration in both microgravity and surface environments. The suitport concept will enable three main improvements in EVA by providing reductions in: pre-EVA time from hours to less than thirty minutes; airlock consumables; contamination returned to the cabin with the EVA crewmember. To date, the first generation suitport has been tested with mockup suits on the rover cabins and pressurized on a bench top engineering unit. The work on the rover cabin has helped define the operational concepts and timelines, and has demonstrated the potential of suitport to save significant amounts of crew time before and after EVAs. The work with the engineering unit has successfully demonstrated the pressurizable seal concept including the ability to seal after the introduction and removal of contamination to the sealing surfaces. Using this experience, a second generation suitport was designed. This second generation suitport has been tested with a space suit prototype on the second generation MMSEV cabin, and testing is planned using the pressure differentials of the spacecraft. Pressurized testing will be performed using the JSC B32 Chamber B, a human rated vacuum chamber. This test will include human rated suitports, a suitport compatible prototype suit, and chamber modifications. This test will bring these three elements together in the first ever pressurized donning of a rear entry suit through a suitport. This paper presents

Metabolic Assessment of Suited Mobility Using Functional Tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norcross, J. R.; McFarland, S. M.; Ploutz-Snyder, Robert

2016-01-01

Existing methods for evaluating extravehicular activity (EVA) suit mobility have typically focused on isolated joint range of motion or torque, but these techniques have little to do with how well a crewmember functionally performs in an EVA suit. To evaluate suited mobility at the system level through measuring metabolic cost (MC) of functional tasks.

NASGRO 3.0: A Software for Analyzing Aging Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mettu, S. R.; Shivakumar, V.; Beek, J. M.; Yeh, F.; Williams, L. C.; Forman, R. G.; McMahon, J. J.; Newman, J. C., Jr.

1999-01-01

Structural integrity analysis of aging aircraft is a critical necessity in view of the increasing numbers of such aircraft in general aviation, the airlines and the military. Efforts are in progress by NASA, the FAA and the DoD to focus attention on aging aircraft safety. The present paper describes the NASGRO software which is well-suited for effectively analyzing the behavior of defects that may be found in aging aircraft. The newly revised Version 3.0 has many features specifically implemented to suit the needs of the aircraft community. The fatigue crack growth computer program NASA/FLAGRO 2.0 was originally developed to analyze space hardware such as the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station and the associated payloads. Due to popular demand, the software was enhanced to suit the needs of the aircraft industry. Major improvements in Version 3.0 are the incorporation of the ability to read aircraft spectra of unlimited size, generation of common aircraft fatigue load blocks, and the incorporation of crack-growth models which include load-interaction effects such as retardation due to overloads and acceleration due to underloads. Five new crack-growth models, viz., generalized Willenborg, modified generalized Willenborg, constant closure model, Walker-Chang model and the deKoning-Newman strip-yield model, have been implemented. To facilitate easier input of geometry, material properties and load spectra, a Windows-style graphical user interface has been developed. Features to quickly change the input and rerun the problem as well as examine the output are incorporated. NASGRO has been organized into three modules, the crack-growth module being the primary one. The other two modules are the boundary element module and the material properties module. The boundary-element module provides the ability to model and analyze complex two-dimensional problems to obtain stresses and stress-intensity factors. The material properties module allows users to store and

GeMS: an advanced software package for designing synthetic genes.

PubMed

Jayaraj, Sebastian; Reid, Ralph; Santi, Daniel V

2005-01-01

A user-friendly, advanced software package for gene design is described. The software comprises an integrated suite of programs-also provided as stand-alone tools-that automatically performs the following tasks in gene design: restriction site prediction, codon optimization for any expression host, restriction site inclusion and exclusion, separation of long sequences into synthesizable fragments, T(m) and stem-loop determinations, optimal oligonucleotide component design and design verification/error-checking. The output is a complete design report and a list of optimized oligonucleotides to be prepared for subsequent gene synthesis. The user interface accommodates both inexperienced and experienced users. For inexperienced users, explanatory notes are provided such that detailed instructions are not necessary; for experienced users, a streamlined interface is provided without such notes. The software has been extensively tested in the design and successful synthesis of over 400 kb of genes, many of which exceeded 5 kb in length.

Suites of dwarfs around Nearby giant galaxies

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

Karachentsev, Igor D.; Kaisina, Elena I.; Makarov, Dmitry I., E-mail: ikar@sao.ru, E-mail: kei@sao.ru, E-mail: dim@sao.ru

2014-01-01

The Updated Nearby Galaxy Catalog (UNGC) contains the most comprehensive summary of distances, radial velocities, and luminosities for 800 galaxies located within 11 Mpc from us. The high density of observables in the UNGC makes this sample indispensable for checking results of N-body simulations of cosmic structures on a ∼1 Mpc scale. The environment of each galaxy in the UNGC was characterized by a tidal index Θ{sub 1}, depending on the separation and mass of the galaxy's main disturber (MD). We grouped UNGC galaxies with a common MD in suites, and ranked suite members according to their Θ{sub 1}. Allmore » suite members with positive Θ{sub 1} are assumed to be physical companions of the MD. About 58% of the sample are members of physical groups. The distribution of suites by the number of members, n, follows a relation N(n) ∼ n {sup –2}. The 20 most populated suites contain 468 galaxies, i.e., 59% of the UNGC sample. The fraction of MDs among the brightest galaxies is almost 100% and drops to 50% at M{sub B} = –18{sup m}. We discuss various properties of MDs, as well as galaxies belonging to their suites. The suite abundance practically does not depend on the morphological type, linear diameter, or hydrogen mass of the MD, the tightest correlation being with the MD dynamical mass. Dwarf galaxies around MDs exhibit well-known segregation effects: the population of the outskirts has later morphological types, richer H I contents, and higher rates of star formation activity. Nevertheless, there are some intriguing cases where dwarf spheroidal galaxies occur at the far periphery of the suites, as well as some late-type dwarfs residing close to MDs. Comparing simulation results with galaxy groups, most studies assume the Local Group is fairly typical. However, we recognize that the nearby groups significantly differ from each other and there is considerable variation in their properties. The suites of companions around the Milky Way and M31, consisting

Metavisitor, a Suite of Galaxy Tools for Simple and Rapid Detection and Discovery of Viruses in Deep Sequence Data

PubMed Central

Vernick, Kenneth D.

2017-01-01

Metavisitor is a software package that allows biologists and clinicians without specialized bioinformatics expertise to detect and assemble viral genomes from deep sequence datasets. The package is composed of a set of modular bioinformatic tools and workflows that are implemented in the Galaxy framework. Using the graphical Galaxy workflow editor, users with minimal computational skills can use existing Metavisitor workflows or adapt them to suit specific needs by adding or modifying analysis modules. Metavisitor works with DNA, RNA or small RNA sequencing data over a range of read lengths and can use a combination of de novo and guided approaches to assemble genomes from sequencing reads. We show that the software has the potential for quick diagnosis as well as discovery of viruses from a vast array of organisms. Importantly, we provide here executable Metavisitor use cases, which increase the accessibility and transparency of the software, ultimately enabling biologists or clinicians to focus on biological or medical questions. PMID:28045932

Space Suit Joint Torque Measurement Method Validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valish, Dana; Eversley, Karina

2012-01-01

In 2009 and early 2010, a test method was developed and performed to quantify the torque required to manipulate joints in several existing operational and prototype space suits. This was done in an effort to develop joint torque requirements appropriate for a new Constellation Program space suit system. The same test method was levied on the Constellation space suit contractors to verify that their suit design met the requirements. However, because the original test was set up and conducted by a single test operator there was some question as to whether this method was repeatable enough to be considered a standard verification method for Constellation or other future development programs. In order to validate the method itself, a representative subset of the previous test was repeated, using the same information that would be available to space suit contractors, but set up and conducted by someone not familiar with the previous test. The resultant data was compared using graphical and statistical analysis; the results indicated a significant variance in values reported for a subset of the re-tested joints. Potential variables that could have affected the data were identified and a third round of testing was conducted in an attempt to eliminate and/or quantify the effects of these variables. The results of the third test effort will be used to determine whether or not the proposed joint torque methodology can be applied to future space suit development contracts.

Suited Occupant Injury Potential During Dynamic Spacecraft Flight Phases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dub, Mark O.; McFarland, Shane M.

2010-01-01

In support of the Constellation Space Suit Element [CSSE], a new space-suit architecture will be created for support of Launch, Entry, Abort, Microgravity Extra- Vehicular Activity [EVA], and post-landing crew operations, safety and, under emergency conditions, survival. The space suit is unique in comparison to previous launch, entry, and abort [LEA] suit architectures in that it utilizes rigid mobility elements in the scye (i.e., shoulder) and the upper arm regions. The suit architecture also utilizes rigid thigh disconnect elements to create a quick disconnect approximately located above the knee. This feature allows commonality of the lower portion of the suit (from the thigh disconnect down), making the lower legs common across two suit configurations. This suit must interface with the Orion vehicle seat subsystem, which includes seat components, lateral supports, and restraints. Due to the unique configuration of spacesuit mobility elements, combined with the need to provide occupant protection during dynamic vehicle events, risks have been identified with potential injury due to the suit characteristics described above. To address the risk concerns, a test series has been developed in coordination with the Injury Biomechanics Research Laboratory [IBRL] to evaluate the likelihood and consequences of these potential issues. Testing includes use of Anthropomorphic Test Devices [ATDs; vernacularly referred to as "crash test dummies"], Post Mortem Human Subjects [PMHS], and representative seat/suit hardware in combination with high linear acceleration events. The ensuing treatment focuses on test purpose and objectives; test hardware, facility, and setup; and preliminary results.

SolCalc: A Suite for the Calculation and the Display of Magnetic Fields Generated by Solenoid Systems

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

Lopes, M. L.

2014-07-01

SolCalc is a software suite that computes and displays magnetic fields generated by a three dimensional (3D) solenoid system. Examples of such systems are the Mu2e magnet system and Helical Solenoids for muon cooling systems. SolCalc was originally coded in Matlab, and later upgraded to a compiled version (called MEX) to improve solving speed. Matlab was chosen because its graphical capabilities represent an attractive feature over other computer languages. Solenoid geometries can be created using any text editor or spread sheets and can be displayed dynamically in 3D. Fields are computed from any given list of coordinates. The field distributionmore » on the surfaces of the coils can be displayed as well. SolCalc was benchmarked against a well-known commercial software for speed and accuracy and the results compared favorably.« less

Complexity of Sizing for Space Suit Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajulu, Sudhakar; Benson, Elizabeth

2009-01-01

The `fit? of a garment is often considered to be a subjective measure of garment quality. However, some experts attest that a complaint of poor garment fit is a symptom of inadequate or excessive ease, the space between the garment and the wearer. Fit has traditionally been hard to quantify, and space suits are an extreme example, where fit is difficult to measure but crucial for safety and operability. A proper space suit fit is particularly challenging because of NASA?s need to fit an incredibly diverse population (males and females from the 1st to 99th percentile) while developing a minimum number of space suit sizes. Because so few sizes are available, the available space suits must be optimized so that each fits a large segment of the population without compromising the fit of any one wearer.

"HIP" new software: The Hydroecological Integrity Assessment Process

USGS Publications Warehouse

Henriksen, Jim; Wilson, Juliette T.

2006-01-01

Center (FORT) have developed the Hydroecological Integrity Assessment Process (HIP) and a suite of software tools for conducting a hydrologic classification of streams, addressing instream flow needs, and assessing past and proposed hydrologic alterations on streamflow and other ecosystem components. The HIP recognizes that streamflow is strongly related to many critical physiochemical components of rivers, such as dissolved oxygen, channel geomorphology, and habitats. Streamflow is considered a “master variable” that limits the distribution, abundance, and diversity of many aquatic plant and animal species.

Thermal Analysis and Design of an Advanced Space Suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Chin H.; Campbell, Anthony B.; French, Jonathan D.; French, D.; Nair, Satish S.; Miles, John B.

2000-01-01

The thermal dynamics and design of an Advanced Space Suit are considered. A transient model of the Advanced Space Suit has been developed and implemented using MATLAB/Simulink to help with sizing, with design evaluation, and with the development of an automatic thermal comfort control strategy. The model is described and the thermal characteristics of the Advanced Space suit are investigated including various parametric design studies. The steady state performance envelope for the Advanced Space Suit is defined in terms of the thermal environment and human metabolic rate and the transient response of the human-suit-MPLSS system is analyzed.

Gesture Analysis for Astronomy Presentation Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, Marc A.

Astronomy presentation software in a planetarium setting provides a visually stimulating way to introduce varied scientific concepts, including computer science concepts, to a wide audience. However, the underlying computational complexity and opportunities for discussion are often overshadowed by the brilliance of the presentation itself. To bring this discussion back out into the open, a method needs to be developed to make the computer science applications more visible. This thesis introduces the GAAPS system, which endeavors to implement free-hand gesture-based control of astronomy presentation software, with the goal of providing that talking point to begin the discussion of computer science concepts in a planetarium setting. The GAAPS system incorporates gesture capture and analysis in a unique environment presenting unique challenges, and introduces a novel algorithm called a Bounding Box Tree to create and select features for this particular gesture data. This thesis also analyzes several different machine learning techniques to determine a well-suited technique for the classification of this particular data set, with an artificial neural network being chosen as the implemented algorithm. The results of this work will allow for the desired introduction of computer science discussion into the specific setting used, as well as provide for future work pertaining to gesture recognition with astronomy presentation software.

Development of a customizable software application for medical imaging analysis and visualization.

PubMed

Martinez-Escobar, Marisol; Peloquin, Catherine; Juhnke, Bethany; Peddicord, Joanna; Jose, Sonia; Noon, Christian; Foo, Jung Leng; Winer, Eliot

2011-01-01

Graphics technology has extended medical imaging tools to the hands of surgeons and doctors, beyond the radiology suite. However, a common issue in most medical imaging software is the added complexity for non-radiologists. This paper presents the development of a unique software toolset that is highly customizable and targeted at the general physicians as well as the medical specialists. The core functionality includes features such as viewing medical images in two-and three-dimensional representations, clipping, tissue windowing, and coloring. Additional features can be loaded in the form of 'plug-ins' such as tumor segmentation, tissue deformation, and surgical planning. This allows the software to be lightweight and easy to use while still giving the user the flexibility of adding the necessary features, thus catering to a wide range of user population.

Physiological responses to wearing the space shuttle launch and entry suit and the prototype advanced crew escape suit compared to the unsuited condition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrows, Linda H.; Mcbrine, John J.; Hayes, Judith C.; Stricklin, Marcella D.; Greenisen, Michael C.

1993-01-01

The launch and entry suit (LES) is a life support suit worn during Orbiter ascent and descent. The impact of suit weight and restricted mobility on egress from the Orbiter during an emergency is unknown. An alternate suit - the advanced crew escape suite (ACES) - is being evaluated. The physiological responses to ambulatory exercise of six subjects wearing the LES and ACES were measured and compared to those measurements taken while unsuited. Dependent variables included heart rate and metabolic response to treadmill walking at 5.6 km/h (3.5 mph), and also bilateral concentric muscle strength about the knee, shoulder, and elbow. No significant (p greater than 0.06) differences in heart rate or metabolic variables were measured in either suit while walking at 5.6 km/h. Significant (p less than 0.05) decreases in all metabolic variables were remarked when both suits were compared to the unsuited condition. There were no significant (p greater than 0.05) differences among the three suit conditions at 30 or 180 deg/s for muscles about the elbow and knee; however, about the shoulder, a significant (p = 0.0215) difference between the ACES and the unsuited condition was noted. Therefore, wearing a life support suit while performing Orbiter egress imposes a significant metabolic demand on crewmembers. Selective upper body strength movements may be compromised.

Open architecture of smart sensor suites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Wilmuth; Kuwertz, Achim; Grönwall, Christina; Petersson, Henrik; Dekker, Rob; Reinert, Frank; Ditzel, Maarten

2017-10-01

Experiences from recent conflicts show the strong need for smart sensor suites comprising different multi-spectral imaging sensors as core elements as well as additional non-imaging sensors. Smart sensor suites should be part of a smart sensor network - a network of sensors, databases, evaluation stations and user terminals. Its goal is to optimize the use of various information sources for military operations such as situation assessment, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, target recognition and tracking. Such a smart sensor network will enable commanders to achieve higher levels of situational awareness. Within the study at hand, an open system architecture was developed in order to increase the efficiency of sensor suites. The open system architecture for smart sensor suites, based on a system-of-systems approach, enables combining different sensors in multiple physical configurations, such as distributed sensors, co-located sensors combined in a single package, tower-mounted sensors, sensors integrated in a mobile platform, and trigger sensors. The architecture was derived from a set of system requirements and relevant scenarios. Its mode of operation is adaptable to a series of scenarios with respect to relevant objects of interest, activities to be observed, available transmission bandwidth, etc. The presented open architecture is designed in accordance with the NATO Architecture Framework (NAF). The architecture allows smart sensor suites to be part of a surveillance network, linked e.g. to a sensor planning system and a C4ISR center, and to be used in combination with future RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) for supporting a more flexible dynamic configuration of RPAS payloads.

EVA Suit R and D for Performance Optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cowley, Matthew S.; Harvill, Lauren; Benson, Elizabeth; Rajulu, Sudhakar

2014-01-01

Designing a planetary suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade-offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. To verify that new suit designs meet requirements, full prototypes must be built and tested with human subjects. However, numerous design iterations will occur before the hardware meets those requirements. Traditional draw-prototype-test paradigms for R&D are prohibitively expensive with today's shrinking Government budgets. Personnel at NASA are developing modern simulation techniques which focus on human-centric designs by creating virtual prototype simulations and fully adjustable physical prototypes of suit hardware. During the R&D design phase, these easily modifiable representations of an EVA suit's hard components will allow designers to think creatively and exhaust design possibilities before they build and test working prototypes with human subjects. It allows scientists to comprehensively benchmark current suit capabilities and limitations for existing suit sizes and sizes that do not exist. This is extremely advantageous and enables comprehensive design down-selections to be made early in the design process, enables the use of human performance as design criteria, and enables designs to target specific populations

Advanced Sensor Platform to Evaluate Manloads For Exploration Suit Architectures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McFarland, Shane; Pierce, Gregory

2016-01-01

Space suit manloads are defined as the outer bounds of force that the human occupant of a suit is able to exert onto the suit during motion. They are defined on a suit-component basis as a unit of maximum force that the suit component in question must withstand without failure. Existing legacy manloads requirements are specific to the suit architecture of the EMU and were developed in an iterative fashion; however, future exploration needs dictate a new suit architecture with bearings, load paths, and entry capability not previously used in any flight suit. No capability currently exists to easily evaluate manloads imparted by a suited occupant, which would be required to develop requirements for a flight-rated design. However, sensor technology has now progressed to the point where an easily-deployable, repeatable and flexible manloads measuring technique could be developed leveraging recent advances in sensor technology. INNOVATION: This development positively impacts schedule, cost and safety risk associated with new suit exploration architectures. For a final flight design, a comprehensive and accurate man loads requirements set must be communicated to the contractor; failing that, a suit design which does not meet necessary manloads limits is prone to failure during testing or worse, during an EVA, which could cause catastrophic failure of the pressure garment posing risk to the crew. This work facilitates a viable means of developing manloads requirements using a range of human sizes & strengths. OUTCOME / RESULTS: Performed sensor market research. Highlighted three viable options (primary, secondary, and flexible packaging option). Designed/fabricated custom bracket to evaluate primary option on a single suit axial. Manned suited manload testing completed and general approach verified.

SBSI: an extensible distributed software infrastructure for parameter estimation in systems biology

PubMed Central

Adams, Richard; Clark, Allan; Yamaguchi, Azusa; Hanlon, Neil; Tsorman, Nikos; Ali, Shakir; Lebedeva, Galina; Goltsov, Alexey; Sorokin, Anatoly; Akman, Ozgur E.; Troein, Carl; Millar, Andrew J.; Goryanin, Igor; Gilmore, Stephen

2013-01-01

Summary: Complex computational experiments in Systems Biology, such as fitting model parameters to experimental data, can be challenging to perform. Not only do they frequently require a high level of computational power, but the software needed to run the experiment needs to be usable by scientists with varying levels of computational expertise, and modellers need to be able to obtain up-to-date experimental data resources easily. We have developed a software suite, the Systems Biology Software Infrastructure (SBSI), to facilitate the parameter-fitting process. SBSI is a modular software suite composed of three major components: SBSINumerics, a high-performance library containing parallelized algorithms for performing parameter fitting; SBSIDispatcher, a middleware application to track experiments and submit jobs to back-end servers; and SBSIVisual, an extensible client application used to configure optimization experiments and view results. Furthermore, we have created a plugin infrastructure to enable project-specific modules to be easily installed. Plugin developers can take advantage of the existing user-interface and application framework to customize SBSI for their own uses, facilitated by SBSI’s use of standard data formats. Availability and implementation: All SBSI binaries and source-code are freely available from http://sourceforge.net/projects/sbsi under an Apache 2 open-source license. The server-side SBSINumerics runs on any Unix-based operating system; both SBSIVisual and SBSIDispatcher are written in Java and are platform independent, allowing use on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. The SBSI project website at http://www.sbsi.ed.ac.uk provides documentation and tutorials. Contact: stg@inf.ed.ac.uk Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:23329415

Z-2 Prototype Space Suit Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Amy; Rhodes, Richard; Graziosi, David; Jones, Bobby; Lee, Ryan; Haque, Bazle Z.; Gillespie, John W., Jr.

2014-01-01

NASA's Z-2 prototype space suit is the highest fidelity pressure garment from both hardware and systems design perspectives since the Space Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was developed in the late 1970's. Upon completion the Z-2 will be tested in the 11 foot human-rated vacuum chamber and the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at the NASA Johnson Space Center to assess the design and to determine applicability of the configuration to micro-, low- (asteroid), and planetary- (surface) gravity missions. This paper discusses the 'firsts' that the Z-2 represents. For example, the Z-2 sizes to the smallest suit scye bearing plane distance for at least the last 25 years and is being designed with the most intensive use of human models with the suit model.

Benchmark Dose Software (BMDS) Development and ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This report is intended to provide an overview of beta version 1.0 of the implementation of a model of repeated measures data referred to as the Toxicodiffusion model. The implementation described here represents the first steps towards integration of the Toxicodiffusion model into the EPA benchmark dose software (BMDS). This version runs from within BMDS 2.0 using an option screen for making model selection, as is done for other models in the BMDS 2.0 suite. This report is intended to provide an overview of beta version 1.0 of the implementation of a model of repeated measures data referred to as the Toxicodiffusion model.

Developing of an automation for therapy dosimetry systems by using labview software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aydin, Selim; Kam, Erol

2018-06-01

Traceability, accuracy and consistency of radiation measurements are essential in radiation dosimetry, particularly in radiotherapy, where the outcome of treatments is highly dependent on the radiation dose delivered to patients. Therefore it is very important to provide reliable, accurate and fast calibration services for therapy dosimeters since the radiation dose delivered to a radiotherapy patient is directly related to accuracy and reliability of these devices. In this study, we report the performance of in-house developed computer controlled data acquisition and monitoring software for the commercially available radiation therapy electrometers. LabVIEW® software suite is used to provide reliable, fast and accurate calibration services. The software also collects environmental data such as temperature, pressure and humidity in order to use to use these them in correction factor calculations. By using this software tool, a better control over the calibration process is achieved and the need for human intervention is reduced. This is the first software that can control frequently used dosimeter systems, in radiation thereapy field at hospitals, such as Unidos Webline, Unidos E, Dose-1 and PC Electrometers.

Rosetta3: An Object-Oriented Software Suite for the Simulation and Design of Macromolecules

PubMed Central

Leaver-Fay, Andrew; Tyka, Michael; Lewis, Steven M.; Lange, Oliver F.; Thompson, James; Jacak, Ron; Kaufman, Kristian; Renfrew, P. Douglas; Smith, Colin A.; Sheffler, Will; Davis, Ian W.; Cooper, Seth; Treuille, Adrien; Mandell, Daniel J.; Richter, Florian; Ban, Yih-En Andrew; Fleishman, Sarel J.; Corn, Jacob E.; Kim, David E.; Lyskov, Sergey; Berrondo, Monica; Mentzer, Stuart; Popović, Zoran; Havranek, James J.; Karanicolas, John; Das, Rhiju; Meiler, Jens; Kortemme, Tanja; Gray, Jeffrey J.; Kuhlman, Brian; Baker, David; Bradley, Philip

2013-01-01

We have recently completed a full re-architecturing of the Rosetta molecular modeling program, generalizing and expanding its existing functionality. The new architecture enables the rapid prototyping of novel protocols by providing easy to use interfaces to powerful tools for molecular modeling. The source code of this rearchitecturing has been released as Rosetta3 and is freely available for academic use. At the time of its release, it contained 470,000 lines of code. Counting currently unpublished protocols at the time of this writing, the source includes 1,285,000 lines. Its rapid growth is a testament to its ease of use. This document describes the requirements for our new architecture, justifies the design decisions, sketches out central classes, and highlights a few of the common tasks that the new software can perform. PMID:21187238

Quantifying Astronaut Tasks: Robotic Technology and Future Space Suit Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newman, Dava

2003-01-01

The primary aim of this research effort was to advance the current understanding of astronauts' capabilities and limitations in space-suited EVA by developing models of the constitutive and compatibility relations of a space suit, based on experimental data gained from human test subjects as well as a 12 degree-of-freedom human-sized robot, and utilizing these fundamental relations to estimate a human factors performance metric for space suited EVA work. The three specific objectives are to: 1) Compile a detailed database of torques required to bend the joints of a space suit, using realistic, multi- joint human motions. 2) Develop a mathematical model of the constitutive relations between space suit joint torques and joint angular positions, based on experimental data and compare other investigators' physics-based models to experimental data. 3) Estimate the work envelope of a space suited astronaut, using the constitutive and compatibility relations of the space suit. The body of work that makes up this report includes experimentation, empirical and physics-based modeling, and model applications. A detailed space suit joint torque-angle database was compiled with a novel experimental approach that used space-suited human test subjects to generate realistic, multi-joint motions and an instrumented robot to measure the torques required to accomplish these motions in a space suit. Based on the experimental data, a mathematical model is developed to predict joint torque from the joint angle history. Two physics-based models of pressurized fabric cylinder bending are compared to experimental data, yielding design insights. The mathematical model is applied to EVA operations in an inverse kinematic analysis coupled to the space suit model to calculate the volume in which space-suited astronauts can work with their hands, demonstrating that operational human factors metrics can be predicted from fundamental space suit information.

46 CFR 199.214 - Immersion suits and thermal protective aids.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Immersion suits and thermal protective aids. 199.214... Passenger Vessels § 199.214 Immersion suits and thermal protective aids. (a) Each passenger vessel must... an immersion suit. (c) The immersion suits and thermal protective aids required under paragraphs (a...

46 CFR 199.214 - Immersion suits and thermal protective aids.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Immersion suits and thermal protective aids. 199.214... Passenger Vessels § 199.214 Immersion suits and thermal protective aids. (a) Each passenger vessel must... an immersion suit. (c) The immersion suits and thermal protective aids required under paragraphs (a...

46 CFR 199.214 - Immersion suits and thermal protective aids.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Immersion suits and thermal protective aids. 199.214... Passenger Vessels § 199.214 Immersion suits and thermal protective aids. (a) Each passenger vessel must... an immersion suit. (c) The immersion suits and thermal protective aids required under paragraphs (a...

46 CFR 199.214 - Immersion suits and thermal protective aids.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Immersion suits and thermal protective aids. 199.214... Passenger Vessels § 199.214 Immersion suits and thermal protective aids. (a) Each passenger vessel must... an immersion suit. (c) The immersion suits and thermal protective aids required under paragraphs (a...

46 CFR 199.214 - Immersion suits and thermal protective aids.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Immersion suits and thermal protective aids. 199.214... Passenger Vessels § 199.214 Immersion suits and thermal protective aids. (a) Each passenger vessel must... an immersion suit. (c) The immersion suits and thermal protective aids required under paragraphs (a...

Integration and validation of a data grid software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carenton-Madiec, Nicolas; Berger, Katharina; Cofino, Antonio

2014-05-01

The Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) Peer-to-Peer (P2P) is a software infrastructure for the management, dissemination, and analysis of model output and observational data. The ESGF grid is composed with several types of nodes which have different roles. About 40 data nodes host model outputs and datasets using thredds catalogs. About 25 compute nodes offer remote visualization and analysis tools. About 15 index nodes crawl data nodes catalogs and implement faceted and federated search in a web interface. About 15 Identity providers nodes manage accounts, authentication and authorization. Here we will present an actual size test federation spread across different institutes in different countries and a python test suite that were started in December 2013. The first objective of the test suite is to provide a simple tool that helps to test and validate a single data node and its closest index, compute and identity provider peer. The next objective will be to run this test suite on every data node of the federation and therefore test and validate every single node of the whole federation. The suite already implements nosetests, requests, myproxy-logon, subprocess, selenium and fabric python libraries in order to test both web front ends, back ends and security services. The goal of this project is to improve the quality of deliverable in a small developers team context. Developers are widely spread around the world working collaboratively and without hierarchy. This kind of working organization context en-lighted the need of a federated integration test and validation process.

Agile Acceptance Test-Driven Development of Clinical Decision Support Advisories: Feasibility of Using Open Source Software.

PubMed

Basit, Mujeeb A; Baldwin, Krystal L; Kannan, Vaishnavi; Flahaven, Emily L; Parks, Cassandra J; Ott, Jason M; Willett, Duwayne L

2018-04-13

Moving to electronic health records (EHRs) confers substantial benefits but risks unintended consequences. Modern EHRs consist of complex software code with extensive local configurability options, which can introduce defects. Defects in clinical decision support (CDS) tools are surprisingly common. Feasible approaches to prevent and detect defects in EHR configuration, including CDS tools, are needed. In complex software systems, use of test-driven development and automated regression testing promotes reliability. Test-driven development encourages modular, testable design and expanding regression test coverage. Automated regression test suites improve software quality, providing a "safety net" for future software modifications. Each automated acceptance test serves multiple purposes, as requirements (prior to build), acceptance testing (on completion of build), regression testing (once live), and "living" design documentation. Rapid-cycle development or "agile" methods are being successfully applied to CDS development. The agile practice of automated test-driven development is not widely adopted, perhaps because most EHR software code is vendor-developed. However, key CDS advisory configuration design decisions and rules stored in the EHR may prove amenable to automated testing as "executable requirements." We aimed to establish feasibility of acceptance test-driven development of clinical decision support advisories in a commonly used EHR, using an open source automated acceptance testing framework (FitNesse). Acceptance tests were initially constructed as spreadsheet tables to facilitate clinical review. Each table specified one aspect of the CDS advisory's expected behavior. Table contents were then imported into a test suite in FitNesse, which queried the EHR database to automate testing. Tests and corresponding CDS configuration were migrated together from the development environment to production, with tests becoming part of the production regression test

InteractiveROSETTA: a graphical user interface for the PyRosetta protein modeling suite.

PubMed

Schenkelberg, Christian D; Bystroff, Christopher

2015-12-15

Modern biotechnical research is becoming increasingly reliant on computational structural modeling programs to develop novel solutions to scientific questions. Rosetta is one such protein modeling suite that has already demonstrated wide applicability to a number of diverse research projects. Unfortunately, Rosetta is largely a command-line-driven software package which restricts its use among non-computational researchers. Some graphical interfaces for Rosetta exist, but typically are not as sophisticated as commercial software. Here, we present InteractiveROSETTA, a graphical interface for the PyRosetta framework that presents easy-to-use controls for several of the most widely used Rosetta protocols alongside a sophisticated selection system utilizing PyMOL as a visualizer. InteractiveROSETTA is also capable of interacting with remote Rosetta servers, facilitating sophisticated protocols that are not accessible in PyRosetta or which require greater computational resources. InteractiveROSETTA is freely available at https://github.com/schenc3/InteractiveROSETTA/releases and relies upon a separate download of PyRosetta which is available at http://www.pyrosetta.org after obtaining a license (free for academic use). © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Reprint of "Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) from the critically endangered antelope Addax nasomaculatus in Tunisia".

PubMed

Boufana, Belgees; Saïd, Yousra; Dhibi, Mokhtar; Craig, Philip S; Lahmar, Samia

2017-01-01

Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.) is a zoonotic disease highly endemic in Tunisia. Canids including stray and semi-stray dogs, jackals and foxes are known as definitive hosts and a wide range of ungulates have been shown to harbour the metacestode hydatid stage and may serve as intermediate hosts. Fertile hydatid cysts of Echinococcus equinus and E. granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) were recently molecularly identified for the first time from Tunisian donkeys. E. granulosus (s.s.) was also identified from wild boars in Tunisia. Here we report the confirmation of hydatid cysts caused by E. granulosus (s.s.) in the critically endangered antelope, Addax nasomaculatus in Tunisia. DNA-based molecular analysis revealed that A. nasomaculatus was infected with E. granulosus (s.s.) which had a 100% identity with the main globally distributed E. granulosus (s.s.) (EgTu01) haplotype. Cysts of Taenia hydatigena (n=33) were also observed on the liver and in the body cavity. Due to their endangered status and their relatively small numbers, it is unlikely that hydatid infection of A. nasomaculatus will form a major contribution to the epidemiology and transmission of E. granulosus in Tunisia, but infection may result in pathology, morbidity and early mortality, and may still play a role in the perpetuation of the parasite in wildlife cycles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Feasibility of video codec algorithms for software-only playback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, Arturo A.; Morse, Ken

1994-05-01

Software-only video codecs can provide good playback performance in desktop computers with a 486 or 68040 CPU running at 33 MHz without special hardware assistance. Typically, playback of compressed video can be categorized into three tasks: the actual decoding of the video stream, color conversion, and the transfer of decoded video data from system RAM to video RAM. By current standards, good playback performance is the decoding and display of video streams of 320 by 240 (or larger) compressed frames at 15 (or greater) frames-per- second. Software-only video codecs have evolved by modifying and tailoring existing compression methodologies to suit video playback in desktop computers. In this paper we examine the characteristics used to evaluate software-only video codec algorithms, namely: image fidelity (i.e., image quality), bandwidth (i.e., compression) ease-of-decoding (i.e., playback performance), memory consumption, compression to decompression asymmetry, scalability, and delay. We discuss the tradeoffs among these variables and the compromises that can be made to achieve low numerical complexity for software-only playback. Frame- differencing approaches are described since software-only video codecs typically employ them to enhance playback performance. To complement other papers that appear in this session of the Proceedings, we review methods derived from binary pattern image coding since these methods are amenable for software-only playback. In particular, we introduce a novel approach called pixel distribution image coding.

Modern software approaches applied to a Hydrological model: the GEOtop Open-Source Software Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cozzini, Stefano; Endrizzi, Stefano; Cordano, Emanuele; Bertoldi, Giacomo; Dall'Amico, Matteo

2017-04-01

and the suite of tests (easily manageable by means of ctest tools) greatly reduces the burden of the installation and allows us to enhance portability on different compilers and Operating system platforms. The package was also complemented by several software tools which provide web-based visualization of results based on R plugins, in particular "shiny" (Chang at al, 2016), "geotopbricks" and "geotopOptim2" (Cordano et al, 2016) packages, which allow rapid and efficient scientific validation of new examples and tests. The software re-engineering activities are still under development. However, our first results are promising enough to eventually reach a robust and stable software project that manages in a flexible way a complex state-of-the-art hydrological model like GEOtop and integrates it into wider workflows.

PsychoPy--Psychophysics software in Python.

PubMed

Peirce, Jonathan W

2007-05-15

The vast majority of studies into visual processing are conducted using computer display technology. The current paper describes a new free suite of software tools designed to make this task easier, using the latest advances in hardware and software. PsychoPy is a platform-independent experimental control system written in the Python interpreted language using entirely free libraries. PsychoPy scripts are designed to be extremely easy to read and write, while retaining complete power for the user to customize the stimuli and environment. Tools are provided within the package to allow everything from stimulus presentation and response collection (from a wide range of devices) to simple data analysis such as psychometric function fitting. Most importantly, PsychoPy is highly extensible and the whole system can evolve via user contributions. If a user wants to add support for a particular stimulus, analysis or hardware device they can look at the code for existing examples, modify them and submit the modifications back into the package so that the whole community benefits.

PsychoPy—Psychophysics software in Python

PubMed Central

Peirce, Jonathan W.

2007-01-01

The vast majority of studies into visual processing are conducted using computer display technology. The current paper describes a new free suite of software tools designed to make this task easier, using the latest advances in hardware and software. PsychoPy is a platform-independent experimental control system written in the Python interpreted language using entirely free libraries. PsychoPy scripts are designed to be extremely easy to read and write, while retaining complete power for the user to customize the stimuli and environment. Tools are provided within the package to allow everything from stimulus presentation and response collection (from a wide range of devices) to simple data analysis such as psychometric function fitting. Most importantly, PsychoPy is highly extensible and the whole system can evolve via user contributions. If a user wants to add support for a particular stimulus, analysis or hardware device they can look at the code for existing examples, modify them and submit the modifications back into the package so that the whole community benefits. PMID:17254636

Space Suit CO2 Washout During Intravehicular Activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Augustine, Phillip M.; Navarro, Moses; Conger, Bruce; Sargusingh, Miriam M.

2010-01-01

Space suit carbon dioxide (CO2) washout refers to the removal of CO2 gas from the oral-nasal area of a suited astronaut's (or crewmember's) helmet using the suit's ventilation system. Inadequate washout of gases can result in diminished mental/cognitive abilities as well as headaches and light headedness. In addition to general discomfort, these ailments can impair an astronaut s ability to perform mission-critical tasks ranging from flying the space vehicle to performing lunar extravehicular activities (EVAs). During design development for NASA s Constellation Program (CxP), conflicting requirements arose between the volume of air flow that the new Orion manned space vehicle is allocated to provide to the suited crewmember and the amount of air required to achieve CO2 washout in a space suit. Historically, space suits receive 6.0 actual cubic feet per minute (acfm) of air flow, which has adequately washed out CO2 for EVAs. For CxP, the Orion vehicle will provide 4.5 acfm of air flow to the suit. A group of subject matter experts (SM Es) among the EVA Systems community came to an early consensus that 4.5 acfm may be acceptable for low metabolic rate activities. However, this value appears very risky for high metabolic rates, hence the need for further analysis and testing. An analysis was performed to validate the 4.5 acfm value and to determine if adequate CO2 washout can be achieved with the new suit helmet design concepts. The analysis included computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling cases, which modeled the air flow and breathing characteristics of a human wearing suit helmets. Helmet testing was performed at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to provide a gross-level validation of the CFD models. Although there was not a direct data correlation between the helmet testing and the CFD modeling, the testing data showed trends that are very similar to the CFD modeling. Overall, the analysis yielded

Design of Test Support Hardware for Advanced Space Suits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watters, Jeffrey A.; Rhodes, Richard

2013-01-01

As a member of the Space Suit Assembly Development Engineering Team, I designed and built test equipment systems to support the development of the next generation of advanced space suits. During space suit testing it is critical to supply the subject with two functions: (1) cooling to remove metabolic heat, and (2) breathing air to pressurize the space suit. The objective of my first project was to design, build, and certify an improved Space Suit Cooling System for manned testing in a 1-G environment. This design had to be portable and supply a minimum cooling rate of 2500 BTU/hr. The Space Suit Cooling System is a robust, portable system that supports very high metabolic rates. It has a highly adjustable cool rate and is equipped with digital instrumentation to monitor the flowrate and critical temperatures. It can supply a variable water temperature down to 34 deg., and it can generate a maximum water flowrate of 2.5 LPM. My next project was to design and build a Breathing Air System that was capable of supply facility air to subjects wearing the Z-2 space suit. The system intakes 150 PSIG breathing air and regulates it to two operating pressures: 4.3 and 8.3 PSIG. It can also provide structural capabilities at 1.5x operating pressure: 6.6 and 13.2 PSIG, respectively. It has instrumentation to monitor flowrate, as well as inlet and outlet pressures. The system has a series of relief valves to fully protect itself in case of regulator failure. Both projects followed a similar design methodology. The first task was to perform research on existing concepts to develop a sufficient background knowledge. Then mathematical models were developed to size components and simulate system performance. Next, mechanical and electrical schematics were generated and presented at Design Reviews. After the systems were approved by the suit team, all the hardware components were specified and procured. The systems were then packaged, fabricated, and thoroughly tested. The next step

33 CFR 144.20-5 - Exposure suits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... readily accessible location in or near the berthing area of the person for whom the exposure suit is... stowed in that location) is readily accessible to the station. (c) Each exposure suit on a MODU must be... type or multi-tone type, of corrosion resistant construction, and in good working order. The whistle...

Z-2 Prototype Space Suit Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Amy; Rhodes, Richard; Graziosi, David; Jones, Bobby; Lee, Ryan; Haque, Bazle Z.; Gillespie, John W., Jr.

2014-01-01

NASA's Z-2 prototype space suit is the highest fidelity pressure garment from both hardware and systems design perspectives since the Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was developed in the late 1970's. Upon completion it will be tested in the 11' humanrated vacuum chamber and the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at the NASA Johnson Space Center to assess the design and to determine applicability of the configuration to micro-, low- (asteroid), and planetary- (surface) gravity missions. This paper discusses the 'firsts' the Z-2 represents. For example, the Z-2 sizes to the smallest suit scye bearing plane distance for at least the last 25 years and is being designed with the most intensive use of human models with the suit model. The paper also provides a discussion of significant Z-2 configuration features, and how these components evolved from proposal concepts to final designs.

Z-2 Prototype Space Suit Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Amy; Rhodes, Richard; Graziosi, David

2014-01-01

NASA's Z-2 prototype space suit is the highest fidelity pressure garment from both hardware and systems design perspectives since the Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was developed in the late 1970's. Upon completion it will be tested in the 11' human-rated vacuum chamber and the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at the NASA Johnson Space Center to assess the design and to determine applicability of the configuration to micro-, low- (asteroid), and planetary- (surface) gravity missions. This paper discusses the 'firsts' the Z-2 represents. For example, the Z-2 sizes to the smallest suit scye bearing plane distance for at least the last 25 years and is being designed with the most intensive use of human models with the suit model. The paper also provides a discussion of significant Z-2 configuration features, and how these components evolved from proposal concepts to final designs.

The Software Distribution for Gemini Observatory's Science Operations Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoenig, M. D.; Clarke, M.; Pohlen, M.; Hirst, P.

2014-05-01

Gemini Observatory consists of two telescopes in different hemispheres. It also operates mostly on a queue observing model, meaning observations are performed by staff working shifts as opposed to PIs. For these two reasons alone, maintaining and distributing a diverse software suite is not a trivial matter. We present a way to make the appropriate tools available to staff at Gemini North and South, whether they are working on the summit or from our base facility offices in Hilo, Hawai'i and La Serena, Chile.

A new device for the inflation of the antigravity suit.

PubMed

Brodrick, P M

1986-02-01

The 'Schuco' orthopaedic tourniquet inflator can be simply converted into a suitable device for inflating an antigravity suit (G-suit). The antigravity suit may be used on neurosurgical patients undergoing procedures in the sitting position to help prevent hypotension and air embolism. The availability of this device may encourage the more widespread use of an antigravity suit in neuro-anaesthetic practice.

The emerging Web 2.0 social software: an enabling suite of sociable technologies in health and health care education.

PubMed

Kamel Boulos, Maged N; Wheeler, Steve

2007-03-01

Web 2.0 sociable technologies and social software are presented as enablers in health and health care, for organizations, clinicians, patients and laypersons. They include social networking services, collaborative filtering, social bookmarking, folksonomies, social search engines, file sharing and tagging, mashups, instant messaging, and online multi-player games. The more popular Web 2.0 applications in education, namely wikis, blogs and podcasts, are but the tip of the social software iceberg. Web 2.0 technologies represent a quite revolutionary way of managing and repurposing/remixing online information and knowledge repositories, including clinical and research information, in comparison with the traditional Web 1.0 model. The paper also offers a glimpse of future software, touching on Web 3.0 (the Semantic Web) and how it could be combined with Web 2.0 to produce the ultimate architecture of participation. Although the tools presented in this review look very promising and potentially fit for purpose in many health care applications and scenarios, careful thinking, testing and evaluation research are still needed in order to establish 'best practice models' for leveraging these emerging technologies to boost our teaching and learning productivity, foster stronger 'communities of practice', and support continuing medical education/professional development (CME/CPD) and patient education.

The physician's reaction to a malpractice suit.

PubMed

Lavery, J P

1988-01-01

A malpractice suit can have a devastating impact on a practitioner's professional and personal life. The physician's reaction to this event is profound, affecting his own life-style and that of family, colleagues, and patients. This commentary presents an analogy between the physician's reaction to a malpractice suit and the stages of grief described by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: the sequence of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Understanding the psychodynamics of this reaction can help physicians to cope with the problems inherent in a malpractice suit and to maintain a greater stability in their personal lives. Adverse effects on medical practice and private life-style, and on the legal proceedings, can be minimized.

Water Vapor Permeability of the Advanced Crew Escape Suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bue, Grant; Kuznetz, Larry; Gillis, David; Jones, Jeffery; Daniel, Brian; Gernhardt, Michael; Hamilton, Douglas

2009-01-01

Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) crewmembers are expected to return to earth wearing a suit similar to the current Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES). To ensure optimum cognitive performance, suited crewmembers must maintain their core body temperature within acceptable limits. There are currently several options for thermal maintenance in the post-landing phase. These include the current baseline, which uses an ammonia boiler, purge flow using oxygen in the suit, accessing sea water for liquid cooling garment (LCG) cooling and/or relying on the evaporative cooling capacity of the suit. These options vary significantly in mass, power, engineering and safety factors, with relying on the evaporative cooling capacity of the suit being the least difficult to implement. Data from previous studies indicates that the evaporative cooling capacity of the ACES was much higher than previously expected, but subsequent tests were performed for longer duration and higher metabolic rates to better define the water vapor permeability of the ACES. In these tests five subjects completed a series of tests performing low to moderate level exercise in order to control for a target metabolic rate while wearing the ACES in an environmentally controlled thermal chamber. Four different metabolic profiles at a constant temperature of 95 F and relative humidity of 50% were evaluated. These tests showed subjects were able to reject about twice as much heat in the permeable ACES as they were in an impermeable suit that had less thermal insulation. All of the heat rejection differential is attributed to the increased evaporation capability through the Gortex bladder of the suit.

Postural hypotension and the anti-gravity suit.

PubMed

Brook, W H

1994-10-01

An air force anti-gravity suit, as used by fighter pilots to prevent loss of consciousness, has been successfully employed to treat severe postural hypotension in a patient with Shy-Drager syndrome. The definition of postural hypotension is reviewed, and reference is made to the previous use of the anti-gravity suit in the treatment of this condition.

Shuttle Space Suit: Fabric/LCVG Model Validation. Chapter 8

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, J. W.; Tweed, J.; Zeitlin, C.; Kim, M.-H. Y.; Anderson, B. M.; Cucinotta, F. A.; Ware, J.; Persans, A. E.

2003-01-01

A detailed space suit computational model is being developed at the Langley Research Center for radiation exposure evaluation studies. The details of the construction of the space suit are critical to estimation of exposures and assessing the risk to the astronaut on EVA. Past evaluations of space suit shielding properties assumed the basic fabric layup (Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment, fabric restraints, and pressure envelope) and LCVG could be homogenized as a single layer overestimating the protective properties over 60 percent of the fabric area. The present space suit model represents the inhomogeneous distributions of LCVG materials (mainly the water filled cooling tubes). An experimental test is performed using a 34-MeV proton beam and high-resolution detectors to compare with model-predicted transmission factors. Some suggestions are made on possible improved construction methods to improve the space suit s protection properties.

Gendermetrics.NET: a novel software for analyzing the gender representation in scientific authoring.

PubMed

Bendels, Michael H K; Brüggmann, Dörthe; Schöffel, Norman; Groneberg, David A

2016-01-01

Imbalances in female career promotion are believed to be strong in the field of academic science. A primary parameter to analyze gender inequalities is the gender authoring in scientific publications. Since the presently available data on gender distribution is largely limited to underpowered studies, we here develop a new approach to analyze authors' genders in large bibliometric databases. A SQL-Server based multiuser software suite was developed that serves as an integrative tool for analyzing bibliometric data with a special emphasis on gender and topographical analysis. The presented system allows seamless integration, inspection, modification, evaluation and visualization of bibliometric data. By providing an adaptive and almost fully automatic integration and analysis process, the inter-individual variability of analysis is kept at a low level. Depending on the scientific question, the system enables the user to perform a scientometric analysis including its visualization within a short period of time. In summary, a new software suite for analyzing gender representations in scientific articles was established. The system is suitable for the comparative analysis of scientific structures on the level of continents, countries, cities, city regions, institutions, research fields and journals.

Spinoff From a Moon Suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Al Gross transferred expertise obtained as an ILC engineer for NASA's Apollo program to the manufacture of athletic shoes. Gross substituted DuPont's Hytrel plastic for foam materials in the shoe's midsole, eliminating cushioning loss caused by body weight. An external pressurized shell applied from space suit technology was incorporated into the shoe. Stiffness and cushioning properties of the midsole were "tuned" by varying material thickness and styling lines. A stress free "blow molding" process adapted from NASA space suit design was also utilized. The resulting compression chamber midsole performed well in tests. It allows AVIA to re-configure for specific sports and is a "first step" toward a durable, foamless, non-fatiguing midsole.

Elastic-Tether Suits for Artificial Gravity and Exercise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torrance, Paul; Biesinger, Paul; Rybicki, Daniel D.

2005-01-01

Body suits harnessed to systems of elastic tethers have been proposed as means of approximating the effects of normal Earth gravitation on crewmembers of spacecraft in flight to help preserve the crewmembers physical fitness. The suits could also be used on Earth to increase effective gravitational loads for purposes of athletic training. The suit according to the proposal would include numerous small tether-attachment fixtures distributed over its outer surface so as to distribute the artificial gravitational force as nearly evenly as possible over the wearer s body. Elastic tethers would be connected between these fixtures and a single attachment fixture on a main elastic tether that would be anchored to a fixture on or under a floor. This fixture might include multiple pulleys to make the effective length of the main tether great enough that normal motions of the wearer cause no more than acceptably small variations in the total artificial gravitational force. Among the problems in designing the suit would be equalizing the load in the shoulder area and keeping tethers out of the way below the knees to prevent tripping. The solution would likely include running tethers through rings on the sides. Body suits with a weight or water ballast system are also proposed for very slight spinning space-station scenarios, in which cases the proposed body suits will easily be able to provide the equivalency of a 1-G or even greater load.

Multifunctional Cooling Garment for Space Suit Environmental Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Izenson, Michael; Chen, Weibo; Phillips, Scott; Chepko, Ariane; Bue, Grant; Ferl, Janet; Cencer, Daniel

2015-01-01

Future manned space exploration missions will require space suits with capabilities beyond the current state of the art. Portable Life Support Systems for these future space suits face daunting challenges, since they must maintain healthy and comfortable conditions inside the suit for long-duration missions while minimizing weight and water venting. We have demonstrated the feasibility of an innovative, multipurpose garment for thermal and humidity control inside a space suit pressure garment that is simple, rugged, compact, and lightweight. The garment is a based on a conventional liquid cooling and ventilation garment (LCVG) that has been modified to directly absorb latent heat as well as sensible heat. This hybrid garment will prevent buildup of condensation inside the pressure garment, prevent loss of water by absorption in regenerable CO2 removal beds, and conserve water through use of advanced lithium chloride absorber/radiator (LCAR) technology for nonventing heat rejection. We have shown the feasibility of this approach by sizing the critical components for the hybrid garment, developing fabrication methods, building and testing a proof-of-concept system, and demonstrating by test that its performance is suitable for use in space suit life support systems.

Multifunctional Cooling Garment for Space Suit Environmental Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Izenson, Michael G.; Chen, Weibo; Phillips, Scott; Chepko, Ariane; Bue, Grant; Ferl, Janet

2014-01-01

Future manned space exploration missions will require space suits with capabilities beyond the current state of the art. Portable Life Support Systems for these future space suits face daunting challenges, since they must maintain healthy and comfortable conditions inside the suit for longduration missions while minimizing weight and water venting. We have demonstrated the feasibility of an innovative, multipurpose garment for thermal and humidity control inside a space suit pressure garment that is simple, rugged, compact, and lightweight. The garment is a based on a conventional liquid cooling and ventilation garment (LCVG) that has been modified to directly absorb latent heat as well as sensible heat. This hybrid garment will prevent buildup of condensation inside the pressure garment, prevent loss of water by absorption in regenerable CO2 removal beds, and conserve water through use of advanced lithium chloride absorber/radiator (LCAR) technology for nonventing heat rejection. We have shown the feasibility of this approach by sizing the critical components for the hybrid garment, developing fabrication methods, building and testing a proof-of-concept system, and demonstrating by test that its performance is suitable for use in space suit life support systems.

Preliminary Shuttle Space Suit Shielding Model. Chapter 9

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Brooke M.; Nealy, J. E.; Qualls, G. D.; Staritz, P. J.; Wilson, J. W.; Kim, M.-H. Y.; Cucinotta, F. A.; Atwell, W.; DeAngelis, G.; Ware, J.;

Immersion Suit Usage Within the RAAF

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-01

IMMERSION SUIT USED UVIC QDIS HOLDINGS 202. in 12 Sizes, held by ALSS 492SQN REQUIREMENTS No comment USAGE POLICY REFERENCE DIRAF) AAP 7215.004-1 (P3C...held by ALSS 492SQN. REQUIREMENTS No comment ISACE POLICY REFERENCE DIIAF) AAP 7215.004-1 (P3C Flight Manual) RAAF Supplement No 92 USAGE POUICY UVIC...TYPE P3C REFERENCE Telecon FLTLT Toft I I SQNfRESO AVMED Dated 22 Mar 91 IMMERSION SUIT USED UVIC QDIS HOLDINGS No comment REQUIREMENTS No comment USAGE

Artificial Intelligence Software for Assessing Postural Stability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lieberman, Erez; Forth, Katharine; Paloski, William

2013-01-01

A software package reads and analyzes pressure distributions from sensors mounted under a person's feet. Pressure data from sensors mounted in shoes, or in a platform, can be used to provide a description of postural stability (assessing competence to deficiency) and enables the determination of the person's present activity (running, walking, squatting, falling). This package has three parts: a preprocessing algorithm for reading input from pressure sensors; a Hidden Markov Model (HMM), which is used to determine the person's present activity and level of sensing-motor competence; and a suite of graphical algorithms, which allows visual representation of the person's activity and vestibular function over time.

Alterations in MAST suit pressure with changes in ambient temperature.

PubMed

Sanders, A B; Meislin, H W; Daub, E

1983-01-01

A study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that change in ambient air temperature has an effect on MAST suit pressure according to the ideal gas law. Two different MAST suits were tested on Resusci-Annie dummies. The MAST suits were applied in a cold room at 4.4 degrees C and warmed to 44 degrees C. Positive linear correlations were found in nine trials, but the two suits differed in their rate of increase in pressure. Three trials using humans were conducted showing increased pressure with temperature but at a lesser rate than with dummies. A correlation of 0.5 to 1.0 mm Hg increase in MAST suit pressure for each 1.0 degrees C increase in ambient temperature was found. Implications are discussed for the use of the MAST suit in environmental conditions where the temperature changes.

Safety Precautions and Operating Procedures in an (A)BSL-4 Laboratory: 1. Biosafety Level 4 Suit Laboratory Suite Entry and Exit Procedures

PubMed Central

Janosko, Krisztina; Holbrook, Michael R.; Adams, Ricky; Barr, Jason; Bollinger, Laura; Newton, Je T'aime; Ntiforo, Corrie; Coe, Linda; Wada, Jiro; Pusl, Daniela; Jahrling, Peter B.; Kuhn, Jens H.; Lackemeyer, Matthew G.

2016-01-01

Biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) suit laboratories are specifically designed to study high-consequence pathogens for which neither infection prophylaxes nor treatment options exist. The hallmarks of these laboratories are: custom-designed airtight doors, dedicated supply and exhaust airflow systems, a negative-pressure environment, and mandatory use of positive-pressure (“space”) suits. The risk for laboratory specialists working with highly pathogenic agents is minimized through rigorous training and adherence to stringent safety protocols and standard operating procedures. Researchers perform the majority of their work in BSL-2 laboratories and switch to BSL-4 suit laboratories when work with a high-consequence pathogen is required. Collaborators and scientists considering BSL-4 projects should be aware of the challenges associated with BSL-4 research both in terms of experimental technical limitations in BSL-4 laboratory space and the increased duration of such experiments. Tasks such as entering and exiting the BSL-4 suit laboratories are considerably more complex and time-consuming compared to BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratories. The focus of this particular article is to address basic biosafety concerns and describe the entrance and exit procedures for the BSL-4 laboratory at the NIH/NIAID Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick. Such procedures include checking external systems that support the BSL-4 laboratory, and inspecting and donning positive-pressure suits, entering the laboratory, moving through air pressure-resistant doors, and connecting to air-supply hoses. We will also discuss moving within and exiting the BSL-4 suit laboratories, including using the chemical shower and removing and storing positive-pressure suits. PMID:27768063

Safety Precautions and Operating Procedures in an (A)BSL-4 Laboratory: 1. Biosafety Level 4 Suit Laboratory Suite Entry and Exit Procedures.

PubMed

Janosko, Krisztina; Holbrook, Michael R; Adams, Ricky; Barr, Jason; Bollinger, Laura; Newton, Je T'aime; Ntiforo, Corrie; Coe, Linda; Wada, Jiro; Pusl, Daniela; Jahrling, Peter B; Kuhn, Jens H; Lackemeyer, Matthew G

2016-10-03

Biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) suit laboratories are specifically designed to study high-consequence pathogens for which neither infection prophylaxes nor treatment options exist. The hallmarks of these laboratories are: custom-designed airtight doors, dedicated supply and exhaust airflow systems, a negative-pressure environment, and mandatory use of positive-pressure ("space") suits. The risk for laboratory specialists working with highly pathogenic agents is minimized through rigorous training and adherence to stringent safety protocols and standard operating procedures. Researchers perform the majority of their work in BSL-2 laboratories and switch to BSL-4 suit laboratories when work with a high-consequence pathogen is required. Collaborators and scientists considering BSL-4 projects should be aware of the challenges associated with BSL-4 research both in terms of experimental technical limitations in BSL-4 laboratory space and the increased duration of such experiments. Tasks such as entering and exiting the BSL-4 suit laboratories are considerably more complex and time-consuming compared to BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratories. The focus of this particular article is to address basic biosafety concerns and describe the entrance and exit procedures for the BSL-4 laboratory at the NIH/NIAID Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick. Such procedures include checking external systems that support the BSL-4 laboratory, and inspecting and donning positive-pressure suits, entering the laboratory, moving through air pressure-resistant doors, and connecting to air-supply hoses. We will also discuss moving within and exiting the BSL-4 suit laboratories, including using the chemical shower and removing and storing positive-pressure suits.

SPLASSH: Open source software for camera-based high-speed, multispectral in-vivo optical image acquisition

PubMed Central

Sun, Ryan; Bouchard, Matthew B.; Hillman, Elizabeth M. C.

2010-01-01

Camera-based in-vivo optical imaging can provide detailed images of living tissue that reveal structure, function, and disease. High-speed, high resolution imaging can reveal dynamic events such as changes in blood flow and responses to stimulation. Despite these benefits, commercially available scientific cameras rarely include software that is suitable for in-vivo imaging applications, making this highly versatile form of optical imaging challenging and time-consuming to implement. To address this issue, we have developed a novel, open-source software package to control high-speed, multispectral optical imaging systems. The software integrates a number of modular functions through a custom graphical user interface (GUI) and provides extensive control over a wide range of inexpensive IEEE 1394 Firewire cameras. Multispectral illumination can be incorporated through the use of off-the-shelf light emitting diodes which the software synchronizes to image acquisition via a programmed microcontroller, allowing arbitrary high-speed illumination sequences. The complete software suite is available for free download. Here we describe the software’s framework and provide details to guide users with development of this and similar software. PMID:21258475

Model for Predicting the Performance of Planetary Suit Hip Bearing Designs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cowley, Matthew S.; Margerum, Sarah; Hharvill, Lauren; Rajulu, Sudhakar

2012-01-01

Designing a space suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade-offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. During the development period of the suit numerous design iterations need to occur before the hardware meets human performance requirements. Using computer models early in the design phase of hardware development is advantageous, by allowing virtual prototyping to take place. A virtual design environment allows designers to think creatively, exhaust design possibilities, and study design impacts on suit and human performance. A model of the rigid components of the Mark III Technology Demonstrator Suit (planetary-type space suit) and a human manikin were created and tested in a virtual environment. The performance of the Mark III hip bearing model was first developed and evaluated virtually by comparing the differences in mobility performance between the nominal bearing configurations and modified bearing configurations. Suited human performance was then simulated with the model and compared to actual suited human performance data using the same bearing configurations. The Mark III hip bearing model was able to visually represent complex bearing rotations and the theoretical volumetric ranges of motion in three dimensions. The model was also able to predict suited human hip flexion and abduction maximums to within 10% of the actual suited human subject data, except for one modified bearing condition in hip flexion which was off by 24%. Differences between the model predictions and the human subject performance data were attributed to the lack of joint moment limits in the model, human subject fitting issues, and the limited suit experience of some of the subjects. The results demonstrate that modeling space suit rigid segments is a feasible design tool for evaluating and optimizing suited human performance. Keywords: space suit, design, modeling, performance

Agile methods in biomedical software development: a multi-site experience report.

PubMed

Kane, David W; Hohman, Moses M; Cerami, Ethan G; McCormick, Michael W; Kuhlmman, Karl F; Byrd, Jeff A

2006-05-30

Agile is an iterative approach to software development that relies on strong collaboration and automation to keep pace with dynamic environments. We have successfully used agile development approaches to create and maintain biomedical software, including software for bioinformatics. This paper reports on a qualitative study of our experiences using these methods. We have found that agile methods are well suited to the exploratory and iterative nature of scientific inquiry. They provide a robust framework for reproducing scientific results and for developing clinical support systems. The agile development approach also provides a model for collaboration between software engineers and researchers. We present our experience using agile methodologies in projects at six different biomedical software development organizations. The organizations include academic, commercial and government development teams, and included both bioinformatics and clinical support applications. We found that agile practices were a match for the needs of our biomedical projects and contributed to the success of our organizations. We found that the agile development approach was a good fit for our organizations, and that these practices should be applicable and valuable to other biomedical software development efforts. Although we found differences in how agile methods were used, we were also able to identify a set of core practices that were common to all of the groups, and that could be a focus for others seeking to adopt these methods.

Agile methods in biomedical software development: a multi-site experience report

PubMed Central

Kane, David W; Hohman, Moses M; Cerami, Ethan G; McCormick, Michael W; Kuhlmman, Karl F; Byrd, Jeff A

2006-01-01

Background Agile is an iterative approach to software development that relies on strong collaboration and automation to keep pace with dynamic environments. We have successfully used agile development approaches to create and maintain biomedical software, including software for bioinformatics. This paper reports on a qualitative study of our experiences using these methods. Results We have found that agile methods are well suited to the exploratory and iterative nature of scientific inquiry. They provide a robust framework for reproducing scientific results and for developing clinical support systems. The agile development approach also provides a model for collaboration between software engineers and researchers. We present our experience using agile methodologies in projects at six different biomedical software development organizations. The organizations include academic, commercial and government development teams, and included both bioinformatics and clinical support applications. We found that agile practices were a match for the needs of our biomedical projects and contributed to the success of our organizations. Conclusion We found that the agile development approach was a good fit for our organizations, and that these practices should be applicable and valuable to other biomedical software development efforts. Although we found differences in how agile methods were used, we were also able to identify a set of core practices that were common to all of the groups, and that could be a focus for others seeking to adopt these methods. PMID:16734914

CosmoQuest Transient Tracker: Opensource Photometry & Astrometry software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myers, Joseph L.; Lehan, Cory; Gay, Pamela; Richardson, Matthew; CosmoQuest Team

2018-01-01

CosmoQuest is moving from online citizen science, to observational astronomy with the creation of Transient Trackers. This open source software is designed to identify asteroids and other transient/variable objects in image sets. Transient Tracker’s features in final form will include: astrometric and photometric solutions, identification of moving/transient objects, identification of variable objects, and lightcurve analysis. In this poster we present our initial, v0.1 release and seek community input.This software builds on the existing NIH funded ImageJ libraries. Creation of this suite of opensource image manipulation routines is lead by Wayne Rasband and is released primarily under the MIT license. In this release, we are building on these libraries to add source identification for point / point-like sources, and to do astrometry. Our materials released under the Apache 2.0 license on github (http://github.com/CosmoQuestTeam) and documentation can be found at http://cosmoquest.org/TransientTracker.

Planetary Suit Hip Bearing Model for Predicting Design vs. Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cowley, Matthew S.; Margerum, Sarah; Harvil, Lauren; Rajulu, Sudhakar

2011-01-01

Designing a planetary suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade-offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. In order to verifying that new suit designs meet requirements, full prototypes must eventually be built and tested with human subjects. Using computer models early in the design phase of new hardware development can be advantageous, allowing virtual prototyping to take place. Having easily modifiable models of the suit hard sections may reduce the time it takes to make changes to the hardware designs and then to understand their impact on suit and human performance. A virtual design environment gives designers the ability to think outside the box and exhaust design possibilities before building and testing physical prototypes with human subjects. Reductions in prototyping and testing may eventually reduce development costs. This study is an attempt to develop computer models of the hard components of the suit with known physical characteristics, supplemented with human subject performance data. Objectives: The primary objective was to develop an articulating solid model of the Mark III hip bearings to be used for evaluating suit design performance of the hip joint. Methods: Solid models of a planetary prototype (Mark III) suit s hip bearings and brief section were reverse-engineered from the prototype. The performance of the models was then compared by evaluating the mobility performance differences between the nominal hardware configuration and hardware modifications. This was accomplished by gathering data from specific suited tasks. Subjects performed maximum flexion and abduction tasks while in a nominal suit bearing configuration and in three off-nominal configurations. Performance data for the hip were recorded using state-of-the-art motion capture technology. Results: The results demonstrate that solid models of planetary suit hard segments for use as a performance design tool is feasible. From a general trend perspective

EVA Suit Microbial Leakage Investigation Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Falker, Jay; Baker, Christopher; Clayton, Ronald; Rucker, Michelle

2016-01-01

The objective of this project is to collect microbial samples from various EVA suits to determine how much microbial contamination is typically released during simulated planetary exploration activities. Data will be released to the planetary protection and science communities, and advanced EVA system designers. In the best case scenario, we will discover that very little microbial contamination leaks from our current or prototype suit designs, in the worst case scenario, we will identify leak paths, learn more about what affects leakage--and we'll have a new, flight-certified swab tool for our EVA toolbox.

Bridging the Research-to-Practice Gap in Education: A Software-Mediated Approach for Improving Classroom Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weston, Mark E.; Bain, Alan

2015-01-01

This study reports findings from a matched-comparison, repeated-measure for intact groups design of the mediating effect of a suite of software on the quality of classroom instruction provided to students by teachers. The quality of instruction provided by teachers in the treatment and control groups was documented via observations that were…

[A dynamic model of the extravehicular (correction of extravehicuar) activity space suit].

PubMed

Yang, Feng; Yuan, Xiu-gan

2002-12-01

Objective. To establish a dynamic model of the space suit base on the particular configuration of the space suit. Method. The mass of the space suit components, moment of inertia, mobility of the joints of space suit, as well as the suit-generated torques, were considered in this model. The expressions to calculate the moment of inertia were developed by simplifying the geometry of the space suit. A modified Preisach model was used to mathematically describe the hysteretic torque characteristics of joints in a pressurized space suit, and it was implemented numerically basing on the observed suit parameters. Result. A dynamic model considering mass, moment of inertia and suit-generated torques was established. Conclusion. This dynamic model provides some elements for the dynamic simulation of the astronaut extravehicular activity.

Results and Analysis from Space Suit Joint Torque Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matty, Jennifer E.; Aitchison, Lindsay

2009-01-01

A space suit s mobility is critical to an astronaut s ability to perform work efficiently. As mobility increases, the astronaut can perform tasks for longer durations with less fatigue. The term mobility, with respect to space suits, is defined in terms of two key components: joint range of motion and joint torque. Individually these measures describe the path which in which a joint travels and the force required to move it through that path. Previous space suits mobility requirements were defined as the collective result of these two measures and verified by the completion of discrete functional tasks. While a valid way to impose mobility requirements, such a method does necessitate a solid understanding of the operational scenarios in which the final suit will be performing. Because the Constellation space suit system requirements are being finalized with a relatively immature concept of operations, the Space Suit Element team elected to define mobility in terms of its constituent parts to increase the likelihood that the future pressure garment will be mobile enough to enable a broad scope of undefined exploration activities. The range of motion requirements were defined by measuring the ranges of motion test subjects achieved while performing a series of joint maximizing tasks in a variety of flight and prototype space suits. The definition of joint torque requirements has proved more elusive. NASA evaluated several different approaches to the problem before deciding to generate requirements based on unmanned joint torque evaluations of six different space suit configurations being articulated through 16 separate joint movements. This paper discusses the experiment design, data analysis and results, and the process used to determine the final values for the Constellation pressure garment joint torque requirements.

28 CFR 51.31 - Communications concerning voting suits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Communications concerning voting suits... Groups § 51.31 Communications concerning voting suits. Individuals and groups are urged to notify the Chief, Voting Section, Civil Rights Division, of litigation concerning voting in jurisdictions subject...

EVA Physiology and Medical Considerations Working in the Suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parazynski, Scott

2012-01-01

This "EVA Physiology and Medical Considerations Working in the Suit" presentation covers several topics related to the medical implications and physiological effects of suited operations in space from the perspective of a physician with considerable first-hand Extravehicular Activity (EVA) experience. Key themes include EVA physiology working in a pressure suit in the vacuum of space, basic EVA life support and work support, Thermal Protection System (TPS) inspections and repairs, and discussions of the physical challenges of an EVA. Parazynski covers the common injuries and significant risks during EVAs, as well as physical training required to prepare for EVAs. He also shares overall suit physiological and medical knowledge with the next generation of Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) system designers.

Results from Carbon Dioxide Washout Testing Using a Suited Manikin Test Apparatus with a Space Suit Ventilation Test Loop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chullen, Cinda; Conger, Bruce; McMillin, Summer; Vonau, Walt; Kanne, Bryan; Korona, Adam; Swickrath, Mike

2016-01-01

NASA is developing an advanced portable life support system (PLSS) to meet the needs of a new NASA advanced space suit. The PLSS is one of the most critical aspects of the space suit providing the necessary oxygen, ventilation, and thermal protection for an astronaut performing a spacewalk. The ventilation subsystem in the PLSS must provide sufficient carbon dioxide (CO2) removal and ensure that the CO2 is washed away from the oronasal region of the astronaut. CO2 washout is a term used to describe the mechanism by which CO2 levels are controlled within the helmet to limit the concentration of CO2 inhaled by the astronaut. Accumulation of CO2 in the helmet or throughout the ventilation loop could cause the suited astronaut to experience hypercapnia (excessive carbon dioxide in the blood). A suited manikin test apparatus (SMTA) integrated with a space suit ventilation test loop was designed, developed, and assembled at NASA in order to experimentally validate adequate CO2 removal throughout the PLSS ventilation subsystem and to quantify CO2 washout performance under various conditions. The test results from this integrated system will be used to validate analytical models and augment human testing. This paper presents the system integration of the PLSS ventilation test loop with the SMTA including the newly developed regenerative Rapid Cycle Amine component used for CO2 removal and tidal breathing capability to emulate the human. The testing and analytical results of the integrated system are presented along with future work.

Advanced Space Suit Insulation Feasibility Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trevino, Luis A.; Orndoff, Evelyne S.

2000-01-01

For planetary applications, the space suit insulation has unique requirements because it must perform in a dynamic mode to protect humans in the harsh dust, pressure and temperature environments. Since the presence of a gaseous planetary atmosphere adds significant thermal conductance to the suit insulation, the current multi-layer flexible insulation designed for vacuum applications is not suitable in reduced pressure planetary environments such as that of Mars. Therefore a feasibility study has been conducted at NASA to identify the most promising insulation concepts that can be developed to provide an acceptable suit insulation. Insulation concepts surveyed include foams, microspheres, microfibers, and vacuum jackets. The feasibility study includes a literature survey of potential concepts, an evaluation of test results for initial insulation concepts, and a development philosophy to be pursued as a result of the initial testing and conceptual surveys. The recommended focus is on microfibers due to the versatility of fiber structure configurations, the wide choice of fiber materials available, the maturity of the fiber processing industry, and past experience with fibers in insulation applications

Integrated Software Systems for Crew Management During Extravehicular Activity in Planetary Terrain Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuznetz, Lawrence; Nguen, Dan; Jones, Jeffrey; Lee, Pascal; Merrell, Ronald; Rafiq, Azhar

2008-01-01

Initial planetary explorations with the Apollo program had a veritable ground support army monitoring the safety and health of the 12 astronauts who performed lunar surface extravehicular activities (EVAs). Given the distances involved, this will not be possible on Mars. A spacesuit for Mars must be smart enough to replace that army. The next generation suits can do so using 2 software systems serving as virtual companions, LEGACI (Life support, Exploration Guidance Algorithm and Consumable Interrogator) and VIOLET (Voice Initiated Operator for Life support and Exploration Tracking). The system presented in this study integrates data inputs from a suite of sensors into the MIII suit s communications, avionics and informatics hardware for distribution to remote managers and data analysis. If successful, the system has application not only for Mars but for nearer term missions to the Moon, and the next generation suits used on ISS as well. Field tests are conducted to assess capabilities for next generation spacesuits at Johnson Space Center (JSC) as well as the Mars and Lunar analog (Devon Island, Canada). LEGACI integrates data inputs from a suite of noninvasive biosensors in the suit and the astronaut (heart rate, suit inlet/outlet lcg temperature and flowrate, suit outlet gas and dewpoint temperature, pCO2, suit O2 pressure, state vector (accelerometry) and others). In the Integrated Walkback Suit Tests held at NASA-JSC and the HMP tests at Devon Island, communication and informatics capabilities were tested (including routing by satellite from the suit at Devon Island to JSC in Houston via secure servers at VCU in Richmond, VA). Results. The input from all the sensors enable LEGACI to compute multiple independent assessments of metabolic rate, from which a "best" met rate is chosen based on statistical methods. This rate can compute detailed information about the suit, crew and EVA performance using test-derived algorithms. VIOLET gives LEGACI voice activation

ISO-IEC MPEG-2 software video codec

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eckart, Stefan; Fogg, Chad E.

1995-04-01

Part 5 of the International Standard ISO/IEC 13818 `Generic Coding of Moving Pictures and Associated Audio' (MPEG-2) is a Technical Report, a sample software implementation of the procedures in parts 1, 2 and 3 of the standard (systems, video, and audio). This paper focuses on the video software, which gives an example of a fully compliant implementation of the standard and of a good video quality encoder, and serves as a tool for compliance testing. The implementation and some of the development aspects of the codec are described. The encoder is based on Test Model 5 (TM5), one of the best, published, non-proprietary coding models, which was used during MPEG-2 collaborative stage to evaluate proposed algorithms and to verify the syntax. The most important part of the Test Model is controlling the quantization parameter based on the image content and bit rate constraints under both signal-to-noise and psycho-optical aspects. The decoder has been successfully tested for compliance with the MPEG-2 standard, using the ISO/IEC MPEG verification and compliance bitstream test suites as stimuli.

Integrated Suit Test 1 - A Study to Evaluate Effects of Suit Weight, Pressure, and Kinematics on Human Performance during Lunar Ambulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gernhardt, Michael L.; Norcross, Jason; Vos, Jessica R.

2008-01-01

In an effort to design the next generation Lunar suit, NASA has initiated a series of tests aimed at understanding the human physiological and biomechanical affects of space suits under a variety of conditions. The first of these tests was the EVA Walkback Test (ICES 2007-01-3133). NASA-JSC assembled a multi-disciplinary team to conduct the second test of the series, titled Integrated Suit Test 1 (IST-1), from March 6 through July 24, 2007. Similar to the Walkback Test, this study was performed with the Mark III (MKIII) EVA Technology Demonstrator suit, a treadmill, and the Partial Gravity Simulator in the Space Vehicle Mock-Up Facility at Johnson Space Center. The data collected for IST-1 included metabolic rates, ground reaction forces, biomechanics, and subjective workload and controllability feedback on both suited and unsuited (shirt-sleeve) astronaut subjects. For IST-1 the center of gravity was controlled to a nearly perfect position while the weight, pressure and biomechanics (waist locked vs. unlocked) were varied individually to evaluate the effects of each on the ability to perform level (0 degree incline) ambulation in simulated Lunar gravity. The detailed test methodology and preliminary key findings of IST-1 are summarized in this report.

Development of a space activity suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Annis, J. F.; Webb, P.

1971-01-01

The development of a series of prototype space activity suit (SAS) assemblies is discussed. The SAS is a new type of pressure suit designed especially for extravehicular activity. It consists of a set of carefully tailored elastic fabric garments which have been engineered to supply sufficient counterpressure to the body to permit subjects to breath O2 at pressures up to 200 mm Hg without circulatory difficulty. A closed, positive pressure breathing system (PPBS) and a full bubble helmet were also developed to complete the system. The ultimate goal of the SAS is to improve the range of activity and decrease the energy cost of work associated with wearing conventional gas filled pressure suits. Results are presented from both laboratory (1 atmosphere) and altitude chamber tests with subjects wearing various SAS assemblies. In laboratory tests lasting up to three hours, the SAS was worn while subjects breathed O2 at pressures up to 170 mm Hg without developing physiological problems. The only physiological symptoms apparent were a moderate tachycardia related to breathing pressures above 130 mm Hg, and a small collection of edema fluid in the hands. Both problems were considered to be related to areas of under-pressurization by the garments. These problems, it is suggested, can ultimately be corrected by the development of new elastic fabrics and tailoring techniques. Energy cost of activity, and mobility and dexterity of subjects in the SAS, were found to be superior to those in comparable tests on subjects in full pressure suits.

Injury Potential Testing of Suited Occupants During Dynamic Spacecraft Flight Phases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McFarland, Shane M.

2010-01-01

In support of the Constellation Program, a space-suit architecture was envisioned for support of Launch, Entry, Abort, Micro-g EVA, Post Landing crew operations, and under emergency conditions, survival. This space suit architecture is unique in comparison to previous launch, entry, and abort (LEA) suit architectures in that it utilized rigid mobility elements in the scye and the upper arm regions. The suit architecture also employed rigid thigh disconnect elements to allow for quick disconnect functionality above the knee which allowed for commonality of the lower portion of the suit across two suit configurations. This suit architecture was designed to interface with the Orion seat subsystem, which includes seat components, lateral supports, and restraints. Due to this unique configuration of spacesuit mobility elements, combined with the need to provide occupant protection during dynamic landing events, risks were identified with potential injury due to the suit characteristics described above. To address the risk concerns, a test series was developed to evaluate the likelihood and consequences of these potential issues. Testing included use of Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs), Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS), and representative seat/suit hardware in combination with high linear acceleration events. The ensuing treatment focuses o detailed results of the testing that has ben conducted under this test series thus far.

Injury Potential Testing of Suited Occupants During Dynamic Spacecraft Flight Phases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McFarland, Shane M.

2011-01-01

In support of the NASA Constellation Program, a space-suit architecture was envisioned for support of Launch, Entry, Abort, Micro-g EVA, Post Landing crew operations, and under emergency conditions, survival. This space suit architecture is unique in comparison to previous launch, entry, and abort (LEA) suit architectures in that it utilized rigid mobility elements in the scye and the upper arm regions. The suit architecture also employed rigid thigh disconnect elements to allow for quick disconnect functionality above the knee which allowed for commonality of the lower portion of the suit across two suit configurations. This suit architecture was designed to interface with the Orion seat subsystem, which includes seat components, lateral supports, and restraints. Due to this unique configuration of spacesuit mobility elements, combined with the need to provide occupant protection during dynamic landing events, risks were identified with potential injury due to the suit characteristics described above. To address the risk concerns, a test series was developed to evaluate the likelihood and consequences of these potential issues. Testing included use of Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs), Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS), and representative seat/suit hardware in combination with high linear acceleration events. The ensuing treatment focuses on detailed results of the testing that has been conducted under this test series thus far.

Don/doff support stand for use with rear entry space suits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosmo, Joseph J. (Inventor); Tri, Terry O. (Inventor); Spenny, William E. (Inventor); West, Philip R. (Inventor)

1988-01-01

A don/doff support stand for use with rear entry space suits is disclosed. The support stand is designed for use in one-g environments; however, certain features of the stand can be used on future spacecraft, lunar, or planetary bases. The present invention has a retainer which receives a protrucing lug fixed on the torso section of the space suit. When the lug is locked in the retainer, the space suit is held in a generally upright position. In a one-g environment a portable ladder is positioned adjacent to the rear entry of the space suit supported by the stand. The astronaut climbs up the ladder and grasps a hand bar assembly positioned above the rear entry. The astronaut then slips his legs through the open rear entry and down into the abdominal portion of the suite. The astronaut then lowers himself fully into the suit. The portable ladder is then removed and the astronaut can close the rear entry door. The lug is then disengaged from the retainer and the astronaut is free to engage in training exercises in the suit. When suit use is over, the astronaut returns to the stand and inserts the lug into the retainer. A technician repositions the ladder. The astronaut opens the rear entry door, grasps the hand bar assembly and does a chin-up to extricate himself from the suit. The astronaut climbs down the movable ladder while the suit is supported by the stand.

Don/Doff support stand for use with rear entry space suits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosmo, Joseph J. (Inventor); Tri, Terry O. (Inventor); Spenny, William E. (Inventor); West, Philip R. (Inventor)

1989-01-01

A don/doff support stand for use with rear entry space suits is disclosed. The support stand is designed for use in one-g environments; however, certain features of the stand can be used on future space-craft, lunar or planetary bases. The present invention has a retainer which receives a protruding lug fixed on the torso section of the space suit. When the lug is locked in the retainer, the space suit is held in a generally upright position. In a one-g environment a portable ladder is positioned adjacent to the rear entry of the space suit supported by the stand. The astronaut climbs up the ladder and grasps a hand bar assembly positioned above the rear entry. The astronaut then slips his legs through the open rear entry and down into the abdominal portion of the suit. The astronaut then lowers himself fully into the suit. The portable ladder is then removed and the astronaut can close the rear entry door. The lug is then disengaged from the retainer and the astronaut is free to engage in training exercises in the suit. When suit use is over, the astronaut returns to the stand and inserts the lug into the retainer. A technician repositions the ladder. The astronaut opens the rear entry door, grasps the hand bar assembly and does a chin-up to extricate himself from the suit. The astronaut climbs down the movable ladder while the suit is supported by the stand.

EVA Suit Microbial Leakage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rucker, Michelle

2016-01-01

NASA has a strategic knowledge gap (B5-3) about what life signatures leak/vent from our Extravehicular Activity (EVA) systems. This will impact how we search for evidence of life on Mars. Characterizing contamination leaks from our suits will help us comply with planetary protection guidelines, and better plan human exploration missions.

46 CFR 131.875 - Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys. 131.875... OPERATIONS Markings for Fire Equipment and Emergency Equipment § 131.875 Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys. (a) Each lifejacket, immersion suit, and ring life buoy must be marked in block capital...

46 CFR 131.875 - Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys. 131.875... OPERATIONS Markings for Fire Equipment and Emergency Equipment § 131.875 Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys. (a) Each lifejacket, immersion suit, and ring life buoy must be marked in block capital...

46 CFR 131.875 - Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys. 131.875... OPERATIONS Markings for Fire Equipment and Emergency Equipment § 131.875 Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys. (a) Each lifejacket, immersion suit, and ring life buoy must be marked in block capital...

46 CFR 131.875 - Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys. 131.875... OPERATIONS Markings for Fire Equipment and Emergency Equipment § 131.875 Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys. (a) Each lifejacket, immersion suit, and ring life buoy must be marked in block capital...

46 CFR 131.875 - Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys. 131.875... OPERATIONS Markings for Fire Equipment and Emergency Equipment § 131.875 Lifejackets, immersion suits, and ring buoys. (a) Each lifejacket, immersion suit, and ring life buoy must be marked in block capital...

The EVA space suit development in Europe.

PubMed

Skoog, A I

1994-01-01

The progress of the European EVA space suit predevelopment activities has resulted in an improved technical reference concept, which will form the basis for a start of the Phase C/D development work in 1992. Technology development work over the last 2 years has resulted in a considerable amount of test data and a better understanding of the characteristics and behaviour of individual parts of the space suit system, in particular in the areas of suits' mobility and life support functions. This information has enabled a consolidation of certain design features on the one hand, but also led to the challenging of some of the design solutions on the other hand. While working towards an improved situation with respect to the main design drivers mass and cost, the technical concept has been improved with respect to functional safety and ease of handling, taking the evolving Hermes spaceplane requirements into consideration. Necessary hardware and functional redundancies have been implemented taking the operational scenario with Hermes and Columbus servicing into consideration. This paper presents the latest design status of the European EVA space suit concept, with particular emphasis on crew safety, comfort and productivity, in the frame of the predevelopment work for the European Space Agency.

Recent software developments for biomechanical assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greaves, John O. B.

1990-08-01

While much of the software developed in research laboratories is narrow in focus and suited for a specific experiment, some of it is broad enough and of high enough quality to be useful to others in solving similar problems. Several biomechanical assessment packages are now beginning to emerge, including: * 3D research biomechanics (5- and 6-DOF) with kinematics, kinetics, 32-channel analog data subsystem, and project management. * 3D full-body gait analysis with kinematics, kinetics, EMG charts, and force plate charts. * 2D dynamic rear-foot assessment. * 2D occupational biomechanics lifting task and personnel assessments. * 2D dynamic gait analysis. * Multiple 2D dynamic spine assessments. * 2D sport and biomechanics assessments with kinematics and kinetics. * 2D and 3D equine gait assessments.

An evaluation of three anti-G suit concepts for shuttle reentry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krutz, R. W., Jr.; Burton, R. R.; Sawin, C. F.

1992-01-01

A study was conducted to compare the standard anti-G launch-entry suit (LES) with a reentry full-coverage anti-G suit (REAGS) and a REAGS without an abdominal bladder (AB). (The inflated AB is the most uncomfortable G-suit component). Intravenous Lasix, a diuretic, was used to induce the fluid loss seen during space flight. Using the Armstrong Laboratory Centrifuge, data collected from seven subjects have shown that less anti-G suit pressure is required to maintain eye-level systolic blood pressure above 70 mmHg when the REAGS or REAGS without AB is worn during simulated shuttle reentry G-profiles when compared to the current LES G-suit. The REAGS without AB was significantly more comfortable than the standard anti-G suit.

Supervised Semi-Automated Data Analysis Software for Gas Chromatography / Differential Mobility Spectrometry (GC/DMS) Metabolomics Applications.

PubMed

Peirano, Daniel J; Pasamontes, Alberto; Davis, Cristina E

2016-09-01

Modern differential mobility spectrometers (DMS) produce complex and multi-dimensional data streams that allow for near-real-time or post-hoc chemical detection for a variety of applications. An active area of interest for this technology is metabolite monitoring for biological applications, and these data sets regularly have unique technical and data analysis end user requirements. While there are initial publications on how investigators have individually processed and analyzed their DMS metabolomic data, there are no user-ready commercial or open source software packages that are easily used for this purpose. We have created custom software uniquely suited to analyze gas chromatograph / differential mobility spectrometry (GC/DMS) data from biological sources. Here we explain the implementation of the software, describe the user features that are available, and provide an example of how this software functions using a previously-published data set. The software is compatible with many commercial or home-made DMS systems. Because the software is versatile, it can also potentially be used for other similarly structured data sets, such as GC/GC and other IMS modalities.

The experience in operation and improving the Orlan-type space suits.

PubMed

Abramov, I P

1995-07-01

Nowadays significant experience has been gained in Russia concerning extravehicular activity (EVA) with cosmonauts wearing a semi-rigid space suit of the "Orlan" type. The conditions for the cosmonauts' vital activities, the operational and ergonomic features of the space suit and its reliability are the most critical factors defining the efficiency of the scheduled operation to be performed by the astronaut and his safety. As the missions performed by the cosmonauts during EVA become more and more elaborate, the requirements for EVA space suits and their systems become more and more demanding, resulting in their consistent advancement. This paper provides certain results of the space suit's operation and analysis of its major problems as applied to the Salyut and MIR orbiting stations. The modification steps of the space suit in the course of operation (Orlan-D, Orlan-DM, Orlan-DMA) and its specific features are presented. The concept of the suited cosmonauts' safety is described as well as trends for future space suit improvements.

Shoulder Joint For Protective Suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosmo, Joseph J.; Smallcombe, Richard D.

1994-01-01

Shoulder joint allows full range of natural motion: wearer senses little or no resisting force or torque. Developed for space suit, joint offers advantages in protective garments for underwater work, firefighting, or cleanup of hazardous materials.

Metabolic and Subjective Results Review of the Integrated Suit Test Series

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norcross, J.R.; Stroud, L.C.; Klein, J.; Desantis, L.; Gernhardt, M.L.

2009-01-01

Crewmembers will perform a variety of exploration and construction activities on the lunar surface. These activities will be performed while inside an extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuit. In most cases, human performance is compromised while inside an EVA suit as compared to a crewmember s unsuited performance baseline. Subjects completed different EVA type tasks, ranging from ambulation to geology and construction activities, in different lunar analog environments including overhead suspension, underwater and 1-g lunar-like terrain, in both suited and unsuited conditions. In the suited condition, the Mark III (MKIII) EVA technology demonstrator suit was used and suit pressure and suit weight were parameters tested. In the unsuited conditions, weight, mass, center of gravity (CG), terrain type and navigation were the parameters. To the extent possible, one parameter was varied while all others were held constant. Tests were not fully crossed, but rather one parameter was varied while all others were left in the most nominal setting. Oxygen consumption (VO2), modified Cooper-Harper (CH) ratings of operator compensation and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured for each trial. For each variable, a lower value correlates to more efficient task performance. Due to a low sample size, statistical significance was not attainable. Initial findings indicate that suit weight, CG and the operational environment can have a large impact on human performance during EVA. Systematic, prospective testing series such as those performed to date will enable a better understanding of the crucial interactions of the human and the EVA suit system and their environment. However, work remains to be done to confirm these findings. These data have been collected using only unsuited subjects and one EVA suit prototype that is known to fit poorly on a large demographic of the astronaut population. Key findings need to be retested using an EVA suit prototype better suited to a

FIRE: an open-software suite for real-time 2D/3D image registration for image guided radiotherapy research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furtado, H.; Gendrin, C.; Spoerk, J.; Steiner, E.; Underwood, T.; Kuenzler, T.; Georg, D.; Birkfellner, W.

2016-03-01

Radiotherapy treatments have changed at a tremendously rapid pace. Dose delivered to the tumor has escalated while organs at risk (OARs) are better spared. The impact of moving tumors during dose delivery has become higher due to very steep dose gradients. Intra-fractional tumor motion has to be managed adequately to reduce errors in dose delivery. For tumors with large motion such as tumors in the lung, tracking is an approach that can reduce position uncertainty. Tumor tracking approaches range from purely image intensity based techniques to motion estimation based on surrogate tracking. Research efforts are often based on custom designed software platforms which take too much time and effort to develop. To address this challenge we have developed an open software platform especially focusing on tumor motion management. FLIRT is a freely available open-source software platform. The core method for tumor tracking is purely intensity based 2D/3D registration. The platform is written in C++ using the Qt framework for the user interface. The performance critical methods are implemented on the graphics processor using the CUDA extension. One registration can be as fast as 90ms (11Hz). This is suitable to track tumors moving due to respiration (~0.3Hz) or heartbeat (~1Hz). Apart from focusing on high performance, the platform is designed to be flexible and easy to use. Current use cases range from tracking feasibility studies, patient positioning and method validation. Such a framework has the potential of enabling the research community to rapidly perform patient studies or try new methods.

Validation of software for calculating the likelihood ratio for parentage and kinship.

PubMed

Drábek, J

2009-03-01

Although the likelihood ratio is a well-known statistical technique, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products for its calculation are not sufficiently validated to suit general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories (EN/ISO/IEC 17025:2005 norm) per se. The software in question can be considered critical as it directly weighs the forensic evidence allowing judges to decide on guilt or innocence or to identify person or kin (i.e.: in mass fatalities). For these reasons, accredited laboratories shall validate likelihood ratio software in accordance with the above norm. To validate software for calculating the likelihood ratio in parentage/kinship scenarios I assessed available vendors, chose two programs (Paternity Index and familias) for testing, and finally validated them using tests derived from elaboration of the available guidelines for the field of forensics, biomedicine, and software engineering. MS Excel calculation using known likelihood ratio formulas or peer-reviewed results of difficult paternity cases were used as a reference. Using seven testing cases, it was found that both programs satisfied the requirements for basic paternity cases. However, only a combination of two software programs fulfills the criteria needed for our purpose in the whole spectrum of functions under validation with the exceptions of providing algebraic formulas in cases of mutation and/or silent allele.

Astronaut Fred Haise - Suiting Room - Prelaunch - KSC

NASA Image and Video Library

1970-04-11

S70-34851 (11 April 1970) --- A space suit technician talks with astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot for NASA's Apollo 13 mission, during suiting up procedures at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Other members of the crew are astronauts James A. Lovell Jr., commander, and John L. Swigert Jr., command module pilot. Swigert replaced astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II as a member of the crew when it was learned he had been exposed to measles.

Pilot Fullerton dons EES anti-gravity suit lower torso on middeck

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Pilot Fullerton dons ejection escape suit (EES) anti-gravity (anti-g) suit lower torso on forward port side middeck above potable water tank. Anti-g suit is an olive drab inner garment that complements EES.

Development and Evaluation of Titanium Space Suit Bearings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhodes, Richard; Battisti, Brian; Ytuarte, Ray, Jr.; Schultz, Bradley

2016-01-01

The Z-2 Prototype Planetary Extravehicular Space Suit Assembly is a continuation of NASA's Z series of spacesuits, designed with the intent of meeting a wide variety of exploration mission objectives, including human exploration of the Martian surface. Incorporating titanium bearings into the Z series space suit architecture allows us to reduce mass by an estimated 23 pounds per suit system compared to the previously used stainless steel bearing designs without compromising suit functionality. There are two obstacles to overcome when using titanium for a bearing race: 1) titanium is flammable when exposed to the oxygen wetted environment inside the space suit and 2) titanium's poor wear properties are often challenging to overcome in tribology applications. In order to evaluate the ignitability of a titanium space suit bearing, a series of tests were conducted at White Sands Test Facility that introduced the bearings to an extreme test profile, with multiple failures imbedded into the test bearings. The testing showed no signs of ignition in the most extreme test cases; however, substantial wear of the bearing races was observed. In order to design a bearing that can last an entire exploration mission (approximately 2 years), bearing test rigs were developed that allow for the quick evaluation of various bearing ball loads, ball diameters, lubricants, and surface treatments. This test data will allow designers to minimize the titanium bearing mass for a specific material and lubricant combination around a maximum contact stress that will allow the bearing to survive the life of an exploration mission. This paper reviews the current research and testing that has been performed on titanium bearing races to evaluate the use of such materials in an enriched oxygen environment and to optimize the bearing assembly mass and tribological properties to accommodate for the high bearing cycle life for an exploration mission.

Ultraviolet Testing of Space Suit Materials for Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, Kristine; Fries, Marc

2017-01-01

Human missions to Mars may require radical changes in the approach to extra-vehicular (EVA) suit design. A major challenge is the balance of building a suit robust enough to complete multiple EVAs under intense ultraviolet (UV) light exposure without losing mechanical strength or compromising the suit's mobility. To study how the materials degrade on Mars in-situ, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) invited the Advanced Space Suit team at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) to place space suit materials on the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument's calibration target of the Mars 2020 rover. In order to select materials for the rover and understand the effects from Mars equivalent UV exposure, JSC conducted ground testing on both current and new space suit materials when exposed to 2500 hours of Mars mission equivalent UV. To complete this testing, JSC partnered with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to utilize their UV vacuum chambers. Materials tested were Orthofabric, polycarbonate, Teflon, Dacron, Vectran, spectra, bladder, nGimat coated Teflon, and nGimat coated Orthofabric. All samples were measured for mass, tensile strength, and chemical composition before and after radiation. Mass loss was insignificant (less than 0.5%) among the materials. Most materials loss tensile strength after radiation and became more brittle with a loss of elongation. Changes in chemical composition were seen in all radiated materials through Spectral Analysis. Results from this testing helped select the materials that will fly on the Mars 2020 rover. In addition, JSC can use this data to create a correlation to the chemical changes after radiation-which is what the rover will send back while on Mars-to the mechanical changes, such as tensile strength.

The Walkback Test: A Study to Evaluate Suit and Life Support System Performance Requirements for a 10 Kilometer Traverse in a Planetary Suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vos, Jessica R.; Gernhardt, Michael L.; Lee, Lesley

2007-01-01

As planetary suit and planetary life support systems develop, specific design inputs for each system relate to a presently unanswered question concerning operational concepts: What distance can be considered a safe walking distance for a suited EVA crew member exploring the surface of the Moon to "walk-back" to the habitat in the event of a rover breakdown, taking into consideration the planned EVA tasks as well as the possible traverse back to the habitat? It has been assumed, based on Apollo program experience, that 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) will be the maximum EVA excursion distance from the lander or habitat to ensure the crew member s safe return to the habitat in the event of a rover failure. To investigate the feasibility of performing a suited 10 km Walkback, NASA-JSC assembled a multi-disciplinary team to design and implement the Lunar Walkback Test . The test was designed not only to determine the feasibility of a 10 km excursion, but also to collect human performance, biomedical, and biomechanical data relevant to optimizing space suit design and life support system sizing. These data will also be used to develop follow-on studies to understand interrelationships of such key parameters as suit mass, inertia, suit pressure, and center of gravity (CG), and the respective influences of each on human performance.

Comparison of Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) suited and unsuited isolated joint strength measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maida, James C.; Demel, Kenneth J.; Morgan, David A.; Wilmington, Robert P.; Pandya, Abhilash K.

1996-01-01

In this study the strength of subjects suited in extravehicular mobility units (EMU's) - or Space Shuttle suits - was compared to the strength of unsuited subjects. The authors devised a systematic and complete data set that characterizes isolated joint torques for all major joints of EMU-suited subjects. Six joint motions were included in the data set. The joint conditions of six subjects were compared to increase our understanding of the strength capabilities of suited subjects. Data were gathered on suited and unsuited subjects. Suited subjects wore Class 3 or Class 1 suits, with and without thermal micrometeoroid garments (TMG's). Suited and unsuited conditions for each joint motion were compared. From this the authors found, for example, that shoulder abduction suited conditions differ from each other and from the unsuited condition. A second-order polynomial regression model was also provided. This model, which allows the prediction of suited strength when given unsuited strength information, relates the torques of unsuited conditions to the torques of all suited conditions. Data obtained will enable computer modeling of EMU strength, conversion from unsuited to suited data, and isolated joint strength comparisons between suited and unsuited conditions at any measured angle. From these data mission planners and human factors engineers may gain a better understanding of crew posture, and mobility and strength capabilities. This study also may help suit designers optimize suit strength, and provide a foundation for EMU strength modeling systems.

CO2 Washout Testing of NASA Space Suits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norcross, Jason

2012-01-01

During the presentation "CO2 Washout Testing of NASA Spacesuits," Jason Norcross discussed the results of recent carbon dioxide CO2 washout testing of NASA spacesuits including the Rear Entry I-suit (REI), Enhanced Mobility Advanced Crew Escape Suit (EM-ACES), and possibly the ACES and Z-1 EVA prototype. When a spacesuit is used during ground testing, adequate CO2 washout must be provided for the suited subject. Symptoms of acute CO2 exposure depend on the partial pressure of CO2 (ppCO2) available to enter the lungs during respiration. The primary factors during ground-based testing that influence the ppCO2 level in the oronasal area include the metabolic rate of the subject and air flow through the suit. These tests were done to characterize inspired oronasal ppCO2 for a range of workloads and flow rates for which ground testing is nominally performed. During this presentation, Norcross provided descriptions of the spacesuits, test hardware, methodology, and results, as well as implications for future ground testing and verification of flight requirements.

CCP4i2: the new graphical user interface to the CCP4 program suite.

PubMed

Potterton, Liz; Agirre, Jon; Ballard, Charles; Cowtan, Kevin; Dodson, Eleanor; Evans, Phil R; Jenkins, Huw T; Keegan, Ronan; Krissinel, Eugene; Stevenson, Kyle; Lebedev, Andrey; McNicholas, Stuart J; Nicholls, Robert A; Noble, Martin; Pannu, Navraj S; Roth, Christian; Sheldrick, George; Skubak, Pavol; Turkenburg, Johan; Uski, Ville; von Delft, Frank; Waterman, David; Wilson, Keith; Winn, Martyn; Wojdyr, Marcin

2018-02-01

The CCP4 (Collaborative Computational Project, Number 4) software suite for macromolecular structure determination by X-ray crystallography groups brings together many programs and libraries that, by means of well established conventions, interoperate effectively without adhering to strict design guidelines. Because of this inherent flexibility, users are often presented with diverse, even divergent, choices for solving every type of problem. Recently, CCP4 introduced CCP4i2, a modern graphical interface designed to help structural biologists to navigate the process of structure determination, with an emphasis on pipelining and the streamlined presentation of results. In addition, CCP4i2 provides a framework for writing structure-solution scripts that can be built up incrementally to create increasingly automatic procedures.

CCP4i2: the new graphical user interface to the CCP4 program suite

PubMed Central

Potterton, Liz; Ballard, Charles; Dodson, Eleanor; Evans, Phil R.; Keegan, Ronan; Krissinel, Eugene; Stevenson, Kyle; Lebedev, Andrey; McNicholas, Stuart J.; Noble, Martin; Pannu, Navraj S.; Roth, Christian; Sheldrick, George; Skubak, Pavol; Uski, Ville

2018-01-01

The CCP4 (Collaborative Computational Project, Number 4) software suite for macromolecular structure determination by X-ray crystallography groups brings together many programs and libraries that, by means of well established conventions, interoperate effectively without adhering to strict design guidelines. Because of this inherent flexibility, users are often presented with diverse, even divergent, choices for solving every type of problem. Recently, CCP4 introduced CCP4i2, a modern graphical interface designed to help structural biologists to navigate the process of structure determination, with an emphasis on pipelining and the streamlined presentation of results. In addition, CCP4i2 provides a framework for writing structure-solution scripts that can be built up incrementally to create increasingly automatic procedures. PMID:29533233

The Soviet-Russian space suits a historical overview of the 1960's.

PubMed

Skoog, A Ingemar; Abramov, Isaac P; Stoklitsky, Anatoly Y; Doodnik, Michail N

2002-01-01

The development of protective suits for space use started with the Vostok-suit SK-1, first used by Yu. Gagarin on April 12, 1961, and then used on all subsequent Vostok-flights. The technical background for the design of these suits was the work on full pressure protective suits for military pilots and stratospheric flights in the 1930's through 50's. The Soviet-Russian space programme contains a large number of 'firsts', and one of the most well known is the first EVA by Leonov in 1965. This event is also the starting point for a long series of space suit development for Extravehicular Activities over the last 35 years. The next step to come was the transfer in void space of crew members between the two spacecraft Soyuz 4 and 5 in 1969. As has later become known this was an essential element in the planned Soviet lunar exploration programme, which in itself required a new space suit. After the termination of the lunar programme in 1972, the space suit development concentrated on suits applicable to zero-gravity work around the manned space stations Salyut 6, Salyut 7 and MIR. These suits have become known as the ORLAN-family of suits, and an advanced version of this suit (ORLAN-M) will be used on the International Space Station together with the American EMU. This paper covers the space suit development in the Soviet Union in the 1960's and the experience used from the pre-space era. c2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

28 CFR 51.11 - Right to bring suit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED General Provisions § 51.11 Right to bring suit. Submission to the Attorney General does not affect the right of the submitting authority to bring an action in... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Right to bring suit. 51.11 Section 51.11...

28 CFR 51.11 - Right to bring suit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED General Provisions § 51.11 Right to bring suit. Submission... affecting voting neither has the purpose nor will have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Right to bring suit. 51.11 Section 51.11...

NASA CONNECT(TradeMark): Space Suit Science in the Classroom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, William B.; Giersch, Chris; Bensen, William E.; Holland, Susan M.

2003-01-01

NASA CONNECT's(TradeMark) program titled Functions and Statistics: Dressed for Space initially aired on Public Broadcasting Stations (PBS) nationwide on May 9, 2002. The program traces the evolution of past space suit technologies in the design of space suits for future flight. It serves as the stage to provide educators, parents, and students "space suit science" in the classroom.

NEDE: an open-source scripting suite for developing experiments in 3D virtual environments.

PubMed

Jangraw, David C; Johri, Ansh; Gribetz, Meron; Sajda, Paul

2014-09-30

As neuroscientists endeavor to understand the brain's response to ecologically valid scenarios, many are leaving behind hyper-controlled paradigms in favor of more realistic ones. This movement has made the use of 3D rendering software an increasingly compelling option. However, mastering such software and scripting rigorous experiments requires a daunting amount of time and effort. To reduce these startup costs and make virtual environment studies more accessible to researchers, we demonstrate a naturalistic experimental design environment (NEDE) that allows experimenters to present realistic virtual stimuli while still providing tight control over the subject's experience. NEDE is a suite of open-source scripts built on the widely used Unity3D game development software, giving experimenters access to powerful rendering tools while interfacing with eye tracking and EEG, randomizing stimuli, and providing custom task prompts. Researchers using NEDE can present a dynamic 3D virtual environment in which randomized stimulus objects can be placed, allowing subjects to explore in search of these objects. NEDE interfaces with a research-grade eye tracker in real-time to maintain precise timing records and sync with EEG or other recording modalities. Python offers an alternative for experienced programmers who feel comfortable mastering and integrating the various toolboxes available. NEDE combines many of these capabilities with an easy-to-use interface and, through Unity's extensive user base, a much more substantial body of assets and tutorials. Our flexible, open-source experimental design system lowers the barrier to entry for neuroscientists interested in developing experiments in realistic virtual environments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Secure Communication Suite for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Dini, Gianluca; Duca, Angelica Lo

2012-01-01

In this paper we describe a security suite for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks comprising both fixed and mobile nodes. The security suite is composed of a secure routing protocol and a set of cryptographic primitives aimed at protecting the confidentiality and the integrity of underwater communication while taking into account the unique characteristics and constraints of the acoustic channel. By means of experiments and simulations based on real data, we show that the suite is suitable for an underwater networking environment as it introduces limited, and sometimes negligible, communication and power consumption overhead. PMID:23202204

Skin blood flow with elastic compressive extravehicular activity space suit.

PubMed

Tanaka, Kunihiko; Gotoh, Taro M; Morita, Hironobu; Hargens, Alan R

2003-10-01

During extravehicular activity (EVA), current space suits are pressurized with 100% oxygen at approximately 222 mmHg. A tight elastic garment, or mechanical counter pressure (MCP) suit that generates pressure by compression, may have several advantages over current space suit technology. In this study, we investigated local microcirculatory effects produced with negative ambient pressure with an MCP sleeve. The MCP glove and sleeve generated pressures similar to the current space suit. MCP remained constant during negative pressure due to unchanged elasticity of the material. Decreased skin capillary blood flow and temperature during MCP compression was counteracted by greater negative pressure or a smaller pressure differential.

P43-S Computational Biology Applications Suite for High-Performance Computing (BioHPC.net)

PubMed Central

Pillardy, J.

2007-01-01

One of the challenges of high-performance computing (HPC) is user accessibility. At the Cornell University Computational Biology Service Unit, which is also a Microsoft HPC institute, we have developed a computational biology application suite that allows researchers from biological laboratories to submit their jobs to the parallel cluster through an easy-to-use Web interface. Through this system, we are providing users with popular bioinformatics tools including BLAST, HMMER, InterproScan, and MrBayes. The system is flexible and can be easily customized to include other software. It is also scalable; the installation on our servers currently processes approximately 8500 job submissions per year, many of them requiring massively parallel computations. It also has a built-in user management system, which can limit software and/or database access to specified users. TAIR, the major database of the plant model organism Arabidopsis, and SGN, the international tomato genome database, are both using our system for storage and data analysis. The system consists of a Web server running the interface (ASP.NET C#), Microsoft SQL server (ADO.NET), compute cluster running Microsoft Windows, ftp server, and file server. Users can interact with their jobs and data via a Web browser, ftp, or e-mail. The interface is accessible at http://cbsuapps.tc.cornell.edu/.

EarthCollab, building geoscience-centric implementations of the VIVO semantic software suite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rowan, L. R.; Gross, M. B.; Mayernik, M. S.; Daniels, M. D.; Krafft, D. B.; Kahn, H. J.; Allison, J.; Snyder, C. B.; Johns, E. M.; Stott, D.

2017-12-01

EarthCollab, an EarthCube Building Block project, is extending an existing open-source semantic web application, VIVO, to enable the exchange of information about scientific researchers and resources across institutions. EarthCollab is a collaboration between UNAVCO, a geodetic facility and consortium that supports diverse research projects informed by geodesy, The Bering Sea Project, an interdisciplinary field program whose data archive is hosted by NCAR's Earth Observing Laboratory, and Cornell University. VIVO has been implemented by more than 100 universities and research institutions to highlight research and institutional achievements. This presentation will discuss benefits and drawbacks of working with and extending open source software. Some extensions include plotting georeferenced objects on a map, a mobile-friendly theme, integration of faceting via Elasticsearch, extending the VIVO ontology to capture geoscience-centric objects and relationships, and the ability to cross-link between VIVO instances. Most implementations of VIVO gather information about a single organization. The EarthCollab project created VIVO extensions to enable cross-linking of VIVO instances to reduce the amount of duplicate information about the same people and scientific resources and to enable dynamic linking of related information across VIVO installations. As the list of customizations grows, so does the effort required to maintain compatibility between the EarthCollab forks and the main VIVO code. For example, dozens of libraries and dependencies were updated prior to the VIVO v1.10 release, which introduced conflicts in the EarthCollab cross-linking code. The cross-linking code has been developed to enable sharing of data across different versions of VIVO, however, using a JSON output schema standardized across versions. We will outline lessons learned in working with VIVO and its open source dependencies, which include Jena, Solr, Freemarker, and jQuery and discuss future

Romanian Complex Data Center for Dense Seismic network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neagoe, Cristian; Ionescu, Constantin; Marius Manea, Liviu

2010-05-01

Since 2002 the National Institute for Earth Physics (NIEP) developed its own real-time digital seismic network: consisting of 96 seismic stations of which 35 are broadband sensors and 24 stations equipped with short period sensors and two arrays earthquakes that transmit data in real time at the National Data Center (NDC) and Eforie Nord (EFOR) Seismic Observatory. EFOR is the back-up for the NDC and also a monitoring center for Black Sea tsunamis. Seismic stations are equipped with Quanterra Q330 and K2 digitizers, broadband seismometers (STS2, CMG40T, CMG 3ESP, CMG3T) and acceleration sensors Episensor Kinemetrics (+ / - 2G). SeedLink who is a part of Seiscomp2.5 and Antelope are software packages used for acquisition in real time (RT) and for data exchange. Communication of digital seismic stations to the National Data Center in Bucharest and Seismic Observatory Eforie Nord is assured by 5 providers (GPRS, VPN, satellite radio and Internet communication). For acquisition and data processing at the two centers of reception and processing is used AntelopeTM 4.11 running on 2 workstations: one for real-time and other for offline processing and also a Seiscomp 3 server that works as back-up for Antelope 4.11 Both acquisition and analysis of seismic data systems produced information about local and global parameters of earthquakes, in addition Antelope is used for manual processing (association events, the calculation of magnitude, creating a database, sending seismic bulletins, calculation of PGA and PGV , etc.), generating ShakeMap products and interacts with global data centers. In order to make all this information easily available across the Web and also lay the grounds for a more modular and flexible development environment the National Data Center developed tools to enable centralizing of data from software such as Antelope which is using a dedicated database system ( Datascope, a database system based on text files ) to a more general-purpose database, My

Interaction of Space Suits with Windblown Soil: Preliminary Mars Wind Tunnel Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, J.; Bratton, C.; Kosmo, J.; Trevino, R.

1999-09-01

Experiments in the Mars Wind Tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center show that under Mars conditions, spacesuit materials are highly susceptible to dust contamination when exposed to windblown soil. This effect was suspected from knowledge of the interaction of electrostatically adhesive dust with solid surfaces in general. However, it is important to evaluate the respective roles of materials, meteorological and radiation effects, and the character of the soil. The tunnel permits evaluation of dust contamination and sand abrasion of space suits by simulating both pressure and wind conditions on Mars. The long-term function of space suits on Mars will be primarily threatened by dust contamination. Lunar EVA activities caused heavy contamination of space suits, but the problem was never seriously manifest because of the brief utilization of the suits, and the suits were never reused. Electrostatically adhering dust grains have various detrimental effects: (1) penetration and subsequent wear of suit fabrics, (2) viewing obscuration through visors and scratching/pitting of visor surfaces, (3) penetration, wear, and subsequent seizing-up of mechanical suit joints, (4) changes in albedo and therefore of radiation properties of external heat-exchanger systems, (5) changes in electrical conductivity of suit surfaces which may affect tribocharging of suits and create spurious discharge effects detrimental to suit electronics/radio systems. Additional information is contained in the original.

Inertial motion capture system for biomechanical analysis in pressure suits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Capua, Massimiliano

A non-invasive system has been developed at the University of Maryland Space System Laboratory with the goal of providing a new capability for quantifying the motion of the human inside a space suit. Based on an array of six microprocessors and eighteen microelectromechanical (MEMS) inertial measurement units (IMUs), the Body Pose Measurement System (BPMS) allows the monitoring of the kinematics of the suit occupant in an unobtrusive, self-contained, lightweight and compact fashion, without requiring any external equipment such as those necessary with modern optical motion capture systems. BPMS measures and stores the accelerations, angular rates and magnetic fields acting upon each IMU, which are mounted on the head, torso, and each segment of each limb. In order to convert the raw data into a more useful form, such as a set of body segment angles quantifying pose and motion, a series of geometrical models and a non-linear complimentary filter were implemented. The first portion of this works focuses on assessing system performance, which was measured by comparing the BPMS filtered data against rigid body angles measured through an external VICON optical motion capture system. This type of system is the industry standard, and is used here for independent measurement of body pose angles. By comparing the two sets of data, performance metrics such as BPMS system operational conditions, accuracy, and drift were evaluated and correlated against VICON data. After the system and models were verified and their capabilities and limitations assessed, a series of pressure suit evaluations were conducted. Three different pressure suits were used to identify the relationship between usable range of motion and internal suit pressure. In addition to addressing range of motion, a series of exploration tasks were also performed, recorded, and analysed in order to identify different motion patterns and trajectories as suit pressure is increased and overall suit mobility is reduced

STS-77 MS Andrew Thomas suits up

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

STS-77 Mission Specialist Andrew S. W. Thomas finishes donning his launch/entry suit in the Operations and Checkout Building with assistance from a suit technician. A native of South Australia, the rookie astronaut joins a crew of five veterans on the fourth Shuttle flight of 1996. They will depart shortly for Launch Pad 39B, where the Space Shuttle Endeavour is undergoing final preparations for liftoff during a two-and-a-half hour launch window opening at 6:30 a.m. EDT, May 19.

Determination of specific yield and water-table changes using temporal microgravity surveys collected during the second injection, storage, and recovery test at Lancaster, Antelope Valley, California, November 1996 through April 1997

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howle, James F.; Phillips, Steven P.; Denlinger, Roger P.; Metzger, Loren F.

2003-01-01

To evaluate the feasibility of artificially recharging the ground-water system in the Lancaster area of the Antelope Valley, California, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency, conducted a series of injection, storage, and recovery tests between September 1995 and September 1998. A key component of this study was to measure the response of the water table to injection, which was difficult because the water table averaged 300 feet below land surface. Rather than install many expensive piezometers, microgravity surveys were conducted to determine specific yield and to measure the development of a ground-water mound during the injection of about 1,050 acre-feet of fresh water into an alluvial-aquifer system. The surveys were done prior to, during, and near the end of a 5-month injection period (November 12, 1996, to April 17, 1997). Results of the surveys indicate increases in gravity of as much as 66 microgals between a bedrock reference station and 20 gravity stations within a 1-square-mile area surrounding the injection site. The changes were assumed to have been caused by changes in the ground-water elevation. Gravity and ground-water levels were measured simultaneously at an existing well (7N/12W-34B1). The coupled measurements were used to calculate a specific yield of 0.13 for the alluvial aquifer near the well. To determine the gravitational effect of the injection mound on the gravity measurements made near well 7N/12W-34B1, a two-dimensional gravity model was used. Results of the model simulation show that the effect on gravity associated with the mass of the injection mound was minor and thus had a negligible effect on the calculation of specific yield. The specific yield of 0.13, therefore, was used to infer water-level changes at other gravity stations within the study area. The gravity-derived water-level changes were compared with simulated water

Apache Open Climate Workbench: Building Open Source Climate Science Tools and Community at the Apache Software Foundation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joyce, M.; Ramirez, P.; Boustani, M.; Mattmann, C. A.; Khudikyan, S.; McGibbney, L. J.; Whitehall, K. D.

2014-12-01

Apache Open Climate Workbench (OCW; https://climate.apache.org/) is a Top-Level Project at the Apache Software Foundation that aims to provide a suite of tools for performing climate science evaluations using model outputs from a multitude of different sources (ESGF, CORDEX, U.S. NCA, NARCCAP) with remote sensing data from NASA, NOAA, and other agencies. Apache OCW is the second NASA project to become a Top-Level Project at the Apache Software Foundation. It grew out of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Regional Climate Model Evaluation System (RCMES) project, a collaboration between JPL and the University of California, Los Angeles' Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering (JIFRESSE). Apache OCW provides scientists and developers with tools for data manipulation, metrics for dataset comparisons, and a visualization suite. In addition to a powerful low-level API, Apache OCW also supports a web application for quick, browser-controlled evaluations, a command line application for local evaluations, and a virtual machine for isolated experimentation with minimal setup. This talk will look at the difficulties and successes of moving a closed community research project out into the wild world of open source. We'll explore the growing pains Apache OCW went through to become a Top-Level Project at the Apache Software Foundation as well as the benefits gained by opening up development to the broader climate and computer science communities.

Software Support for Transiently Powered Computers

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

Van Der Woude, Joel Matthew

With the continued reduction in size and cost of computing, power becomes an increasingly heavy burden on system designers for embedded applications. While energy harvesting techniques are an increasingly desirable solution for many deeply embedded applications where size and lifetime are a priority, previous work has shown that energy harvesting provides insufficient power for long running computation. We present Ratchet, which to the authors knowledge is the first automatic, software-only checkpointing system for energy harvesting platforms. We show that Ratchet provides a means to extend computation across power cycles, consistent with those experienced by energy harvesting devices. We demonstrate themore » correctness of our system under frequent failures and show that it has an average overhead of 58.9% across a suite of benchmarks representative for embedded applications.« less

Tessera: Open source software for accelerated data science

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

Sego, Landon H.; Hafen, Ryan P.; Director, Hannah M.

2014-06-30

Extracting useful, actionable information from data can be a formidable challenge for the safeguards, nonproliferation, and arms control verification communities. Data scientists are often on the “front-lines” of making sense of complex and large datasets. They require flexible tools that make it easy to rapidly reformat large datasets, interactively explore and visualize data, develop statistical algorithms, and validate their approaches—and they need to perform these activities with minimal lines of code. Existing commercial software solutions often lack extensibility and the flexibility required to address the nuances of the demanding and dynamic environments where data scientists work. To address this need,more » Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed Tessera, an open source software suite designed to enable data scientists to interactively perform their craft at the terabyte scale. Tessera automatically manages the complicated tasks of distributed storage and computation, empowering data scientists to do what they do best: tackling critical research and mission objectives by deriving insight from data. We illustrate the use of Tessera with an example analysis of computer network data.« less

Extravehicular Mobility Unit Training Suit Symptom Study Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strauss, Samuel

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to characterize the symptoms and injuries experienced by NASA astronauts during extravehicular activity (space walk) spacesuit training at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at Ellington Field, Houston, Texas. We identified the frequency and incidence rates of symptoms by each general body location and characterized mechanisms of injury and effective countermeasures. Based on these findings a comprehensive list of recommendations was made to improve training, test preparation, and current spacesuit components, and to design the next -generation spacesuit. At completion of each test event a comprehensive questionnaire was produced that documented suit symptom comments, identified mechanisms of injury, and recommended countermeasures. As we completed our study we found that most extravehicular mobility unit suit symptoms were mild, self-limited, and controlled by available countermeasures. Some symptoms represented the potential for significant injury with short- and long-term consequences regarding astronaut health and interference with mission objectives. The location of symptoms and injuries that were most clinically significant was in the hands, shoulders, and feet. Correction of suit symptoms issues will require a multidisciplinary approach to improve prevention, early medical intervention, astronaut training, test planning, and suit engineering.

Newly designed launch and entry suit (LES) modeled by technician

NASA Image and Video Library

1988-11-14

Space shuttle orange launch and entry suit (LES), a partial pressure suit, is modeled by a technician. LES was designed for STS-26, the return to flight mission, and subsequent missions. Included in the crew escape system (CES) package are launch and entry helmet (LEH) with communications carrier (COMM CAP), parachute pack and harness, life raft, life preserver unit (LPU), LES gloves, suit oxygen manifold and valves, boots, and survival gear.

46 CFR 160.171-17 - Approval testing for adult size immersion suit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... equivalent synthetic socks; (v) Work shoes, if the suit is designed for shoes to be worn inside. (2) Test... Approval testing for adult size immersion suit. Caution: During each of the in-water tests prescribed in... if the oversize adult suit is of the same design as the adult suit except for extra material to...

Buying in to bioinformatics: an introduction to commercial sequence analysis software

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Advancements in high-throughput nucleotide sequencing techniques have brought with them state-of-the-art bioinformatics programs and software packages. Given the importance of molecular sequence data in contemporary life science research, these software suites are becoming an essential component of many labs and classrooms, and as such are frequently designed for non-computer specialists and marketed as one-stop bioinformatics toolkits. Although beautifully designed and powerful, user-friendly bioinformatics packages can be expensive and, as more arrive on the market each year, it can be difficult for researchers, teachers and students to choose the right software for their needs, especially if they do not have a bioinformatics background. This review highlights some of the currently available and most popular commercial bioinformatics packages, discussing their prices, usability, features and suitability for teaching. Although several commercial bioinformatics programs are arguably overpriced and overhyped, many are well designed, sophisticated and, in my opinion, worth the investment. If you are just beginning your foray into molecular sequence analysis or an experienced genomicist, I encourage you to explore proprietary software bundles. They have the potential to streamline your research, increase your productivity, energize your classroom and, if anything, add a bit of zest to the often dry detached world of bioinformatics. PMID:25183247

Utilizing a Suited Manikin Test Apparatus and Space Suit Ventilation Loop to Evaluate Carbon Dioxide Washout

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chullen, Cinda; Conger, Bruce; Korona, Adam; Kanne, Bryan; McMillin, Summer; Paul, Thomas; Norcross, Jason; Alonso, Jesus Delgado; Swickrath, Mike

2015-01-01

NASA is pursuing technology development of an Advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AEMU) which is an integrated assembly made up of primarily a pressure garment system and a portable life support subsystem (PLSS). The PLSS is further composed of an oxygen subsystem, a ventilation subsystem, and a thermal subsystem. One of the key functions of the ventilation system is to remove and control the carbon dioxide (CO2) delivered to the crewmember. Carbon dioxide washout is the mechanism by which CO2 levels are controlled within the space suit helmet to limit the concentration of CO2 inhaled by the crew member. CO2 washout performance is a critical parameter needed to ensure proper and robust designs that are insensitive to human variabilities in a space suit. A suited manikin test apparatus (SMTA) was developed to augment testing of the PLSS ventilation loop in order to provide a lower cost and more controlled alternative to human testing. The CO2 removal function is performed by the regenerative Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) within the PLSS ventilation loop and its performance is evaluated within the integrated SMTA and Ventilation Loop test system. This paper will provide a detailed description of the schematics, test configurations, and hardware components of this integrated system. Results and analysis of testing performed with this integrated system will be presented within this paper.

Ground System Architectures Workshop GMSEC SERVICES SUITE (GSS): an Agile Development Story

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ly, Vuong

2017-01-01

The GMSEC (Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center) Services Suite (GSS) is a collection of tools and software services along with a robust customizable web-based portal that enables the user to capture, monitor, report, and analyze system-wide GMSEC data. Given our plug-and-play architecture and the needs for rapid system development, we opted to follow the Scrum Agile Methodology for software development. Being one of the first few projects to implement the Agile methodology at NASA GSFC, in this presentation we will present our approaches, tools, successes, and challenges in implementing this methodology. The GMSEC architecture provides a scalable, extensible ground and flight system for existing and future missions. GMSEC comes with a robust Application Programming Interface (GMSEC API) and a core set of Java-based GMSEC components that facilitate the development of a GMSEC-based ground system. Over the past few years, we have seen an upbeat in the number of customers who are moving from a native desktop application environment to a web based environment particularly for data monitoring and analysis. We also see a need to provide separation of the business logic from the GUI display for our Java-based components and also to consolidate all the GUI displays into one interface. This combination of separation and consolidation brings immediate value to a GMSEC-based ground system through increased ease of data access via a uniform interface, built-in security measures, centralized configuration management, and ease of feature extensibility.

SCaN Testbed Software Development and Lessons Learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kacpura, Thomas J.; Varga, Denise M.

2012-01-01

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed an on-orbit, adaptable, Software Defined Radio (SDR)Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS)-based testbed facility to conduct a suite of experiments to advance technologies, reduce risk, and enable future mission capabilities on the International Space Station (ISS). The SCAN Testbed Project will provide NASA, industry, other Government agencies, and academic partners the opportunity to develop and field communications, navigation, and networking technologies in the laboratory and space environment based on reconfigurable, SDR platforms and the STRS Architecture.The SDRs are a new technology for NASA, and the support infrastructure they require is different from legacy, fixed function radios. SDRs offer the ability to reconfigure on-orbit communications by changing software for new waveforms and operating systems to enable new capabilities or fix any anomalies, which was not a previous option. They are not stand alone devices, but required a new approach to effectively control them and flow data. This requires extensive software to be developed to utilize the full potential of these reconfigurable platforms. The paper focuses on development, integration and testing as related to the avionics processor system, and the software required to command, control, monitor, and interact with the SDRs, as well as the other communication payload elements. An extensive effort was required to develop the flight software and meet the NASA requirements for software quality and safety. The flight avionics must be radiation tolerant, and these processors have limited capability in comparison to terrestrial counterparts. A big challenge was that there are three SDRs onboard, and interfacing with multiple SDRs simultaneously complicatesd the effort. The effort also includes ground software, which is a key element for both the command of the payload, and displaying data created by the payload. The verification of

Software Program: Software Management Guidebook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

The purpose of this NASA Software Management Guidebook is twofold. First, this document defines the core products and activities required of NASA software projects. It defines life-cycle models and activity-related methods but acknowledges that no single life-cycle model is appropriate for all NASA software projects. It also acknowledges that the appropriate method for accomplishing a required activity depends on characteristics of the software project. Second, this guidebook provides specific guidance to software project managers and team leaders in selecting appropriate life cycles and methods to develop a tailored plan for a software engineering project.

STS-71 Pilot Charles J. Precourt suits up

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

STS-71 Pilot Charles J. Precourt gets a helping hand from a suit technician as he dons his launch/entry suit in the Operations and Checkout Building. About to embark on his second spaceflight, Precourt and six fellow crew members will shortly depart for Launch Pad 39A, where the Space Shuttle Atlantis is poised for a third liftoff attempt at 3:32 p.m. EDT.

Neoprene wet-suit hood affects low-frequency underwater hearing thresholds.

PubMed

Fothergill, David M; Sims, John R; Curley, Michael D

2004-05-01

Psychophysical measures of wet-suit hood sound attenuation are needed to provide the diving community with guidance on protection from underwater sound. Underwater hearing thresholds were obtained from 15 male and 5 female recreational divers with and without a 3-mm thick wet-suit hood. Dives were conducted at a depth of 1 m in a large quiet anechoic pool. Thresholds were determined using a two-interval forced-choice procedure with a 0.71 probability of positive response at convergence. A 1-s pure tone was presented with a 20-ms rise and fall time at 100, 200, 250, 300, 400, and 500 Hz. Without a wet-suit hood, mean thresholds decreased from 99 dB re 1 microPa at 100 Hz to 85 dB at 500 Hz. Thresholds were statistically similar at 100 to 300 Hz with and without the wet-suit hood, but were significantly increased at 400 and 500 Hz with the hood (p < 0.001). In conclusion, at shallow depths, a 3-mm neoprene wet-suit hood attenuates underwater sound by approximately 10 dB for frequencies between 400 Hz and 500 Hz. At frequencies below 400 Hz, a 3-mm neoprene wet-suit hood offers no sound protection.

Inherent work suit buoyancy distribution: effects on lifejacket self-righting performance.

PubMed

Barwood, Martin J; Long, Geoffrey M; Lunt, Heather; Tipton, Michael J

2014-09-01

Accidental immersion in cold water is an occupational risk. Work suits and life jackets (LJ) should work effectively in combination to keep the airway clear of the water (freeboard) and enable self-righting. We hypothesized that inherent buoyancy, in the suit or LJ, would be beneficial for enabling freeboard, but its distribution may influence LJ self-righting. Six participants consented to complete nine immersions. Suits and LJ tested were: flotation suit (FLOAT; 85 N inherent buoyancy); oilskins 1 (OS-1) and 2 (OS-2), both with no inherent buoyancy; LJs (inherent buoyancy/buoyancy after inflation/total buoyancy), LJ-1 50/150/200 N, LJ-2 0/290/290 N, LJ-3 80/190/270 N. Once dressed, the subject entered an immersion pool where uninflated freeboard, self-righting performance, and inflated freeboard were measured. Data were compared using Friedman's test to the 0.05 alpha level. All suits and LJs enabled uninflated and inflated freeboard, but differences were seen between the suits and LJs. Self-righting was achieved on 43 of 54 occasions, irrespective of suit or LJ. On all occasions that self-righting was not achieved, this occurred in an LJ that included inherent buoyancy (11/54 occasions). Of these 11 failures, 8 occurred (73% of occasions) when the FLOAT suit was being worn. LJs that included inherent buoyancy, that are certified as effective on their own, worked less effectively from the perspective of self-righting in combination with a work suit that also included inherent buoyancy. Equipment that is approved for use in the workplace should be tested in combination to ensure adequate performance in an emergency scenario.

Portable image-manipulation software: what is the extra development cost?

PubMed

Ligier, Y; Ratib, O; Funk, M; Perrier, R; Girard, C; Logean, M

1992-08-01

A hospital-wide picture archiving and communication system (PACS) project is currently under development at the University Hospital of Geneva. The visualization and manipulation of images provided by different imaging modalities constitutes one of the most challenging component of a PACS. It was necessary to provide this visualization software on a number of types of workstations because of the varying requirements imposed by the range of clinical uses it must serve. The user interface must be the same, independent of the underlying workstation. In addition to a standard set of image-manipulation and processing tools, there is a need for more specific clinical tools that can be easily adapted to specific medical requirements. To achieve this goal, it was elected to develop a modular and portable software called OSIRIS. This software is available on two different operating systems (the UNIX standard X-11/OSF-Motif based workstations and the Macintosh family) and can be easily ported to other systems. The extra effort required to design such software in a modular and portable way was worthwhile because it resulted in a platform that can be easily expanded and adapted to a variety of specific clinical applications. Its portability allows users to benefit from the rapidly evolving workstation technology and to adapt the performance to suit their needs.

Dexterity: A MATLAB-based analysis software suite for processing and visualizing data from tasks that measure arm or forelimb function.

PubMed

Butensky, Samuel D; Sloan, Andrew P; Meyers, Eric; Carmel, Jason B

2017-07-15

Hand function is critical for independence, and neurological injury often impairs dexterity. To measure hand function in people or forelimb function in animals, sensors are employed to quantify manipulation. These sensors make assessment easier and more quantitative and allow automation of these tasks. While automated tasks improve objectivity and throughput, they also produce large amounts of data that can be burdensome to analyze. We created software called Dexterity that simplifies data analysis of automated reaching tasks. Dexterity is MATLAB software that enables quick analysis of data from forelimb tasks. Through a graphical user interface, files are loaded and data are identified and analyzed. These data can be annotated or graphed directly. Analysis is saved, and the graph and corresponding data can be exported. For additional analysis, Dexterity provides access to custom scripts created by other users. To determine the utility of Dexterity, we performed a study to evaluate the effects of task difficulty on the degree of impairment after injury. Dexterity analyzed two months of data and allowed new users to annotate the experiment, visualize results, and save and export data easily. Previous analysis of tasks was performed with custom data analysis, requiring expertise with analysis software. Dexterity made the tools required to analyze, visualize and annotate data easy to use by investigators without data science experience. Dexterity increases accessibility to automated tasks that measure dexterity by making analysis of large data intuitive, robust, and efficient. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Thermal Protection Afforded by Hot Water Diving Suits

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-07-03

Assessment of Thermal Protect! " Afforded by Hot Water Diving Suits A AA L. A. Kuehn Diver thermal comfort in cold water is presently only...with proper control oj inlet suit water flow% and temperature, as well as heating of inspired gas, this suit technology suffices for thermal comfort for...technology provides in part to the convective heat loss that it prpsents, sustained long-term thermal comfort in cold water, Webb (W) has defined a

Software Tools for Developing and Simulating the NASA LaRC CMF Motion Base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryant, Richard B., Jr.; Carrelli, David J.

2006-01-01

The NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Cockpit Motion Facility (CMF) motion base has provided many design and analysis challenges. In the process of addressing these challenges, a comprehensive suite of software tools was developed. The software tools development began with a detailed MATLAB/Simulink model of the motion base which was used primarily for safety loads prediction, design of the closed loop compensator and development of the motion base safety systems1. A Simulink model of the digital control law, from which a portion of the embedded code is directly generated, was later added to this model to form a closed loop system model. Concurrently, software that runs on a PC was created to display and record motion base parameters. It includes a user interface for controlling time history displays, strip chart displays, data storage, and initializing of function generators used during motion base testing. Finally, a software tool was developed for kinematic analysis and prediction of mechanical clearances for the motion system. These tools work together in an integrated package to support normal operations of the motion base, simulate the end to end operation of the motion base system providing facilities for software-in-the-loop testing, mechanical geometry and sensor data visualizations, and function generator setup and evaluation.

Software analysis handbook: Software complexity analysis and software reliability estimation and prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Alice T.; Gunn, Todd; Pham, Tuan; Ricaldi, Ron

1994-01-01

This handbook documents the three software analysis processes the Space Station Software Analysis team uses to assess space station software, including their backgrounds, theories, tools, and analysis procedures. Potential applications of these analysis results are also presented. The first section describes how software complexity analysis provides quantitative information on code, such as code structure and risk areas, throughout the software life cycle. Software complexity analysis allows an analyst to understand the software structure, identify critical software components, assess risk areas within a software system, identify testing deficiencies, and recommend program improvements. Performing this type of analysis during the early design phases of software development can positively affect the process, and may prevent later, much larger, difficulties. The second section describes how software reliability estimation and prediction analysis, or software reliability, provides a quantitative means to measure the probability of failure-free operation of a computer program, and describes the two tools used by JSC to determine failure rates and design tradeoffs between reliability, costs, performance, and schedule.

Comparisons of three anti-G suit configurations during long duration, low onset, +Gz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stegmann, B. J.; Krutz, R. W.; Burton, R. R.; Sawin, C. F.

1992-01-01

Little physiologic data exist on the effects of long duration, low onset, hypergravity (+G). Space shuttle crewmembers are subjected to low +G forces (less than +3G) for upwards of 30 minutes during reentry. A similar reentry profile is predicted for the National Aerospace Plane (NASP). The physiologic effects of this acceleration stress are compounded by the loss of body water experienced during microgravity. Currently, a standard 5 bladder anti-G suit is being used during shuttle reentry. There have been complaints of discomfort using this suit, mainly due to the abdominal bladder. This study compared the effectiveness of three anti-G suit configurations in volume depleted subjects during a simulated space shuttle reentry profile. Methods: Seven male subjects were given intravenous Lasix in a dose from 20-40 mg to induce a total body weight loss of 3 plus or minus 1.5 percent. Approximately six hours after the injection, the subjects donned one of three anti-G suits - a standard 5 bladder anti-G suit, an extended coverage anti-G suit (the advanced technology anti-G suit or ATAGS), or an extended coverage anti-G suit without an abdominal bladder (the reentry anti-G suit or REAGS). All subjects were exposed to a simulated space shuttle reentry profile. Non-invasive eye-level blood pressure (ELBP) was monitored throughout the +G exposure. When systolic ELBP dropped below 70 mmHg, the anti-G suit was inflated in 0.5 psig increments to the pressure required to maintain 70 mmHg ELBP. Each subject rode with all three suits. Comparisons were made between the final pressure required in each suit to maintain ELBP and subjective reports of comfort. Results: The mean final suit pressure required to maintain ELBP was 1.1 psi, in both the ATAGS and REAGS versus 1.8 psi in the standard suit. In addition, the subjects rated the REAGS suit highest on the comfort scale, citing the absence of the abdominal bladder as the main reason. Conclusions: Overall, the REAGS suit was the

Exploration Space Suit Architecture: Destination Environmental-Based Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Terry R.

2010-01-01

This paper picks up where EVA Space Suit Architecture: Low Earth Orbit Vs. Moon Vs. Mars (Hill, Johnson, IEEEAC paper #1209) left off in the development of a space suit architecture that is modular in design and interfaces and could be reconfigured to meet the mission or during any given mission depending on the tasks or destination. This paper will walk though the continued development of a space suit system architecture, and how it should evolve to meeting the future exploration EVA needs of the United States space program. In looking forward to future US space exploration and determining how the work performed to date in the CxP and how this would map to a future space suit architecture with maximum re-use of technology and functionality, a series of thought exercises and analysis have provided a strong indication that the CxP space suit architecture is well postured to provide a viable solution for future exploration missions. Through the destination environmental analysis that is presented in this paper, the modular architecture approach provides the lowest mass, lowest mission cost for the protection of the crew given any human mission outside of low Earth orbit. Some of the studies presented here provide a look and validation of the non-environmental design drivers that will become every-increasingly important the further away from Earth humans venture and the longer they are away. Additionally, the analysis demonstrates a logical clustering of design environments that allows a very focused approach to technology prioritization, development and design that will maximize the return on investment independent of any particular program and provide architecture and design solutions for space suit systems in time or ahead of being required for any particular manned flight program in the future. The new approach to space suit design and interface definition the discussion will show how the architecture is very adaptable to programmatic and funding changes with

Trends in Personal Injury Suits.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Smissen, Betty

1985-01-01

Professional competence becomes more important as personal injury suits against recreation enterprises and parks focus increasingly on the professional responsible for facility safety. All professionals should be aware of and educated in risk management. Trends in liability awards and providers' legal responsibilities in various situations are…

Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev receives assistance from suit technician

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

Sergei Krikalev, alternative mission specialist for STS-63, gets help from Dawn Mays, a Boeing suit technician. The cosmonaut was about to participate in a training session at JSC's Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF). Wearing the training version of the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) space suit, weighted to allow neutral buoyancy in the 25 feet deep WETF pool, Krikalev minutes later was underwater simulating a contingency spacewalk, or extravehicular activity (EVA).

15. NBS TOP SIDE CONTROL ROOM. THE SUIT SYSTEMS CONSOLE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

15. NBS TOP SIDE CONTROL ROOM. THE SUIT SYSTEMS CONSOLE IS USED TO CONTROL AIR FLOW AND WATER FLOW TO THE UNDERWATER SPACE SUIT DURING THE TEST. THE SUIT SYSTEMS ENGINEER MONITORS AIR FLOW ON THE PANEL TO THE LEFT, AND SUIT DATA ON THE COMPUTER MONITOR JUST SLIGHTLY TO HIS LEFT. WATER FLOW IS MONITORED ON THE PANEL JUST SLIGHTLY TO HIS RIGHT AND TEST VIDEO TO HIS FAR RIGHT. THE DECK CHIEF MONITORS THE DIVER'S DIVE TIMES ON THE COMPUTER IN THE UPPER RIGHT. THE DECK CHIEF LOGS THEM IN AS THEY ENTER THE WATER, AND LOGS THEM OUT AS THEY EXIT THE WATER. THE COMPUTER CALCULATES TOTAL DIVE TIME. - Marshall Space Flight Center, Neutral Buoyancy Simulator Facility, Rideout Road, Huntsville, Madison County, AL

Suitport Feasibility - Development and Test of a Suitport and Space Suit for Human Pressurized Space Suit Donning Tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boyle, Robert M.; Mitchell, Kathryn; Allton, Charles; Ju, Hsing

2011-01-01

The suitport concept has been recently implemented as part of the small pressurized lunar rover (Currently the Space Exploration vehicle, or SEV) and the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV) concept demonstrator vehicle. Suitport replaces or augments the traditional airlock function of a spacecraft by providing a bulkhead opening, capture mechanism, and sealing system to allow ingress and egress of a spacesuit while the spacesuit remains outside of the pressurized volume of the spacecraft. This presents significant new opportunities to EVA exploration in both microgravity and surface environments. The suitport concept will enable three main improvements in EVA by providing reductions in: pre-EVA time from hours to less than thirty minutes; airlock consumables; contamination returned to the cabin with the EVA crewmember. To date, the first generation suitport has been tested with mockup suits on the rover cabins and pressurized on a bench top engineering unit. The work on the rover cabin has helped define the operational concepts and timelines, and has demonstrated the potential of suitport to save significant amounts of crew time before and after EVAs. The work with the engineering unit has successfully demonstrated the pressurizable seal concept including the ability to seal after the introduction and removal of contamination to the sealing surfaces. Using this experience, a second generation suitport was designed. This second generation suitport has been tested with a spacesuit prototype using the pressure differentials of the spacecraft. This test will be performed using the JSC B32 Chamber B, a human rated vacuum chamber. This test will include human rated suitports, the suitport compatible prototype suit, and chamber modifications. This test will bring these three elements together in the first ever pressurized donning of a rear entry suit through a suitport. This paper presents design of a human rated second generation suitport, modifications to

The antigravity suit in neurosurgery. Cardiovascular responses in seated neurosurgical patients.

PubMed

Brodrick, P M; Ingram, G S

1988-09-01

The haemodynamic responses associated with inflation of the antigravity suit (G suit, aviation type) to 8.0 kPa were studied in a series of 40 patients who underwent neurosurgical operations in the sitting position. The study showed statistically significant increases in systolic arterial pressure (p less than 0.005) and mean central venous pressure (p less than 0.001) with inflation of the suit. The systolic arterial and mean central venous pressures remained significantly elevated immediately before deflation of the suit at the end of the operation (p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.005 respectively). The addition of 0.8-1.0 kPa positive end expiratory pressure during suit inflation was also investigated. A further increase in central venous pressure occurred but this did not achieve statistical significance.

Argon used as dry suit insulation gas for cold-water diving.

PubMed

Vrijdag, Xavier Ce; van Ooij, Pieter-Jan Am; van Hulst, Robert A

2013-06-03

Cold-water diving requires good thermal insulation because hypothermia is a serious risk. Water conducts heat more efficiently compared to air. To stay warm during a dive, the choice of thermal protection should be based on physical activity, the temperature of the water, and the duration of exposure. A dry suit, a diving suit filled with gas, is the most common diving suit in cold water. Air is the traditional dry suit inflation gas, whereas the thermal conductivity of argon is approximately 32% lower compared to that of air. This study evaluates the benefits of argon, compared to air, as a thermal insulation gas for a dry suit during a 1-h cold-water dive by divers of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Seven male Special Forces divers made (in total) 19 dives in a diving basin with water at 13 degrees C at a depth of 3 m for 1 h in upright position. A rubber dry suit and woollen undergarment were used with either argon (n = 13) or air (n = 6) (blinded to the divers) as suit inflation gas. Core temperature was measured with a radio pill during the dive. Before, halfway, and after the dive, subjective thermal comfort was recorded using a thermal comfort score. No diver had to abort the test due to cold. No differences in core temperature and thermal comfort score were found between the two groups. Core temperature remained unchanged during the dives. Thermal comfort score showed a significant decrease in both groups after a 60-min dive compared to baseline. In these tests the combination of the dry suit and undergarment was sufficient to maintain core temperature and thermal comfort for a dive of 1h in water at 13 degrees C. The use of argon as a suit inflation gas had no added value for thermal insulation compared to air for these dives.

CO2 Washout Testing of the REI and EM-ACES Space Suits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, Kathryn C.; Norcross, Jason

2012-01-01

When a space suit is used during ground testing, adequate carbon dioxide (CO2) washout must be provided for the suited subject. Symptoms of acute CO2 exposure depend on partial pressure of CO2 (ppCO2), metabolic rate of the subject, and other factors. This test was done to characterize inspired oronasal ppCO2 in the Rear Entry I-Suit (REI) and the Enhanced Mobility Advanced Crew Escape Suit (EM-ACES) for a range of workloads and flow rates for which ground testing is nominally performed. Three subjects were tested in each suit. In all but one case, each subject performed the test twice. Suit pressure was maintained at 4.3 psid. Subjects wore the suit while resting, performing arm ergometry, and walking on a treadmill to generate metabolic workloads of about 500 to 3000 BTU/hr. Supply airflow was varied between 6, 5, and 4 actual cubic feet per minute (ACFM) at each workload. Subjects wore an oronasal mask with an open port in front of the mouth and were allowed to breathe freely. Oronasal ppCO2 was monitored in real time by gas analyzers with sampling tubes connected to the mask. Metabolic rate was calculated from the total CO2 production measured by an additional gas analyzer at the suit air outlet. Real-time metabolic rate was used to adjust the arm ergometer or treadmill workload to meet target metabolic rates. In both suits, inspired CO2 was affected mainly by the metabolic rate of the subject: increased metabolic rate significantly (P < 0.05) increased inspired ppCO2. Decreased air flow caused small increases in inspired ppCO2. The effect of flow was more evident at metabolic rates . 2000 BTU/hr. CO2 washout values of the EM-ACES were slightly but not significantly better than those of the REI suit. Regression equations were developed for each suit to predict the mean inspired ppCO2 as a function of metabolic rate and suit flow rate. This paper provides detailed descriptions of the test hardware, methodology, and results as well as implications for future

CO2 Washout Testing of the REI and EM-ACES Space Suits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, Kate; Norcross, Jason

2011-01-01

Requirements for using a space suit during ground testing include providing adequate carbon dioxide (CO2) washout for the suited subject. Acute CO2 exposure can lead to symptoms including headache, dyspnea, lethargy and eventually unconsciousness or even death. Symptoms depend on several factors including partial pressure of CO2 (ppCO2), duration of exposure, metabolic rate of the subject and physiological differences between subjects. The objective of this test was to characterize inspired oronasal ppCO2 in the Rear Entry I-Suit (REI) and the Enhanced Mobility Advanced Crew Escape Suit (EM-ACES) across a range of workloads and flow rates for which ground testing is nominally performed. Three subjects were tested in each suit. In all but one case, each subject performed the test twice to allow for comparison between tests. Suit pressure was maintained at 4.3 psid. Subjects wore the suit while resting, performing arm ergometry, and walking on a treadmill to generate metabolic workloads of approximately 500 to 3000 BTU/hr. Supply airflow was varied at 6, 5 and 4 actual cubic feet per minute (ACFM) at each workload. Subjects wore an oronasal mask with an open port in front of the mouth and were allowed to breathe freely. Oronasal ppCO2 was monitored real-time via gas analyzers with sampling tubes connected to the oronasal mask. Metabolic rate was calculated from the total CO2 production measured by an additional gas analyzer at the air outlet from the suit. Real-time metabolic rate was used to adjust the arm ergometer or treadmill workload to meet target metabolic rates. In both suits, inspired CO2 was primarily affected by the metabolic rate of the subject, with increased metabolic rate resulting in increased inspired ppCO2. Suit flow rate also affected inspired ppCO2, with decreased flow causing small increases in inspired ppCO2. The effect of flow was more evident at metabolic rates greater than or equal to 2000 BTU/hr. Results were consistent between suits, with

Checkout and Standard Use Procedures for the Mark III Space Suit Assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valish, Dana J.

2012-01-01

The operational pressure range is the range to which the suit can be nominally operated for manned testing. The top end of the nominal operational pressure range is equivalent to 1/2 the proof pressure. Structural pressure is 1.5 times the specified test pressure for any given test. Proof pressure is the maximum unmanned pressure to which the suit was tested by the vendor prior to delivery. The maximum allowable working pressure (MAWP) is 90% of the proof pressure. The pressure systems RVs are set to keep components below their MAWPs. If the suit is pressurized over its MAWP, the suit will be taken out of service and an in-depth inspection/review of the suit will be performed before the suit is put back in service. The procedures outlined in this document should be followed as written. However, the suit test engineer (STE) may make redline changes real-time, provided those changes are recorded in the anomaly section of the test data sheet. If technicians supporting suit build-up, check-out, and/or test execution believe that a procedure can be improved, they should notify their lead. If procedures are incorrect to the point of potentially causing hardware damage or affecting safety, bring the problem to the technician lead and/or STE s attention and stop work until a solution (temporary or permanent) is authorized. Certain steps in the procedure are marked with a DV , for Designated Verifier. The Designated Verifier for this procedure is an Advanced Space Suit Technology Development Laboratory technician, not directly involved in performing the procedural steps, who will verify that the step was performed as stated. The steps to be verified by the DV were selected based on one or more of the following criteria: the step was deemed significant in ensuring the safe performance of the test, the data recorded in the step is of specific interest in monitoring the suit system operation, or the step has a strong influence on the successful completion of test objectives

Analysis of dynamics and fit of diving suits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahnic Naglic, M.; Petrak, S.; Gersak, J.; Rolich, T.

2017-10-01

Paper presents research on dynamical behaviour and fit analysis of customised diving suits. Diving suits models are developed using the 3D flattening method, which enables the construction of a garment model directly on the 3D computer body model and separation of discrete 3D surfaces as well as transformation into 2D cutting parts. 3D body scanning of male and female test subjects was performed with the purpose of body measurements analysis in static and dynamic postures and processed body models were used for construction and simulation of diving suits prototypes. All necessary parameters, for 3D simulation were applied on obtained cutting parts, as well as parameters values for mechanical properties of neoprene material. Developed computer diving suits prototypes were used for stretch analysis on areas relevant for body dimensional changes according to dynamic anthropometrics. Garment pressures against the body in static and dynamic conditions was also analysed. Garments patterns for which the computer prototype verification was conducted were used for real prototype production. Real prototypes were also used for stretch and pressure analysis in static and dynamic conditions. Based on the obtained results, correlation analysis between body changes in dynamic positions and dynamic stress, determined on computer and real prototypes, was performed.

Membrane-Based Water Evaporator for a Space Suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ungar, Eugene K.; McCann, Charles J.; O'Connell, Mary K.; Andrea, Scott

2004-01-01

A membrane-based water evaporator has been developed that is intended to serve as a heat-rejection device for a space suit. This evaporator would replace the current sublimator that is sensitive to contamination of its feedwater. The design of the membrane-based evaporator takes advantage of recent advances in hydrophobic micropore membranes to provide robust heat rejection with much less sensitivity to contamination. The low contamination sensitivity allows use of the heat transport loop as feedwater, eliminating the need for the separate feedwater system used for the sublimator. A cross section of the evaporator is shown in the accompanying figure. The space-suit cooling loop water flows into a distribution plenum, through a narrow annulus lined on both sides with a hydrophobic membrane, into an exit plenum, and returns to the space suit. Two perforated metal tubes encase the membranes and provide structural strength. Evaporation at the membrane inner surface dissipates the waste heat from the space suit. The water vapor passes through the membrane, into a steam duct and is vented to the vacuum environment through a back-pressure valve. The back-pressure setting can be adjusted to regulate the heat-rejection rate and the water outlet temperature.

An MBSE Approach to Space Suit Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cordova, Lauren; Kovich, Christine; Sargusingh, Miriam

2012-01-01

The EVA/Space Suit Development Office (ESSD) Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) team has utilized MBSE in multiple programs. After developing operational and architectural models, the MBSE framework was expanded to link the requirements space to the system models through functional analysis and interfaces definitions. By documenting all the connections within the technical baseline, ESSD experienced significant efficiency improvements in analysis and identification of change impacts. One of the biggest challenges presented to the MBSE structure was a program transition and restructuring effort, which was completed successfully in 4 months culminating in the approval of a new EVA Technical Baseline. During this time three requirements sets spanning multiple DRMs were streamlined into one NASA-owned Systems Requirement Document (SRD) that successfully identified requirements relevant to the current hardware development effort while remaining extensible to support future hardware developments. A capability-based hierarchy was established to provide a more flexible framework for future space suit development that can support multiple programs with minimal rework of basic EVA/Space Suit requirements. This MBSE approach was most recently applied for generation of an EMU Demonstrator technical baseline being developed for an ISS DTO. The relatively quick turnaround of operational concepts, architecture definition, and requirements for this new suit development has allowed us to test and evolve the MBSE process and framework in an extremely different setting while still offering extensibility and traceability throughout ESSD projects. The ESSD MBSE framework continues to be evolved in order to support integration of all products associated with the SE&I engine.

Software Tools to Support the Assessment of System Health

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Melcher, Kevin J.

2013-01-01

This presentation provides an overview of three software tools that were developed by the NASA Glenn Research Center to support the assessment of system health: the Propulsion Diagnostic Method Evaluation Strategy (ProDIMES), the Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy (S4), and the Extended Testability Analysis (ETA) tool. Originally developed to support specific NASA projects in aeronautics and space, these software tools are currently available to U.S. citizens through the NASA Glenn Software Catalog. The ProDiMES software tool was developed to support a uniform comparison of propulsion gas path diagnostic methods. Methods published in the open literature are typically applied to dissimilar platforms with different levels of complexity. They often address different diagnostic problems and use inconsistent metrics for evaluating performance. As a result, it is difficult to perform a one ]to ]one comparison of the various diagnostic methods. ProDIMES solves this problem by serving as a theme problem to aid in propulsion gas path diagnostic technology development and evaluation. The overall goal is to provide a tool that will serve as an industry standard, and will truly facilitate the development and evaluation of significant Engine Health Management (EHM) capabilities. ProDiMES has been developed under a collaborative project of The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) based on feedback provided by individuals within the aircraft engine health management community. The S4 software tool provides a framework that supports the optimal selection of sensors for health management assessments. S4 is structured to accommodate user ]defined applications, diagnostic systems, search techniques, and system requirements/constraints. One or more sensor suites that maximize this performance while meeting other user ]defined system requirements that are presumed to exist. S4 provides a systematic approach for evaluating combinations of sensors to determine the set or sets of

Extending the GI Brokering Suite to Support New Interoperability Specifications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boldrini, E.; Papeschi, F.; Santoro, M.; Nativi, S.

2014-12-01

The GI brokering suite provides the discovery, access, and semantic Brokers (i.e. GI-cat, GI-axe, GI-sem) that empower a Brokering framework for multi-disciplinary and multi-organizational interoperability. GI suite has been successfully deployed in the framework of several programmes and initiatives, such as European Union funded projects, NSF BCube, and the intergovernmental coordinated effort Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Each GI suite Broker facilitates interoperability for a particular functionality (i.e. discovery, access, semantic extension) among a set of brokered resources published by autonomous providers (e.g. data repositories, web services, semantic assets) and a set of heterogeneous consumers (e.g. client applications, portals, apps). A wide set of data models, encoding formats, and service protocols are already supported by the GI suite, such as the ones defined by international standardizing organizations like OGC and ISO (e.g. WxS, CSW, SWE, GML, netCDF) and by Community specifications (e.g. THREDDS, OpenSearch, OPeNDAP, ESRI APIs). Using GI suite, resources published by a particular Community or organization through their specific technology (e.g. OPeNDAP/netCDF) can be transparently discovered, accessed, and used by different Communities utilizing their preferred tools (e.g. a GIS visualizing WMS layers). Since Information Technology is a moving target, new standards and technologies continuously emerge and are adopted in the Earth Science context too. Therefore, GI Brokering suite was conceived to be flexible and accommodate new interoperability protocols and data models. For example, GI suite has recently added support to well-used specifications, introduced to implement Linked data, Semantic Web and precise community needs. Amongst the others, they included: DCAT: a RDF vocabulary designed to facilitate interoperability between Web data catalogs. CKAN: a data management system for data distribution, particularly used by

Air conditioned suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carl, G. R. (Inventor)

1973-01-01

An environmentally controlled suit is described consisting of an airtight outergarment attached by an airtight bellows to the wall of a sterile chamber, an undergarment providing for circulation of air near the skin of the wearer, and a circulation system comprised of air supply and distribution to the extremities of the undegarment and central collection and exhaust of air from the midsection of the undergarment. A workman wearing the undergarment and attached circulation system enters the outer garment through a tunnel in the chamber wall and the attached bellows to work in the chamber without any danger of spreading bacteria.

Terrestrial EVA Suit = Fire Fighter's Protective Clothing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foley, Tico; Brown, Robert G.; Burrell, Eddie; DelRosso, Dominic; Krishen, Kumar; Moffitt, Harold; Orndoff, Evelyne; Santos, Beatrice; Butzer, Melissa; Dasgupta, Rajib