Construction of Economics Achievement Test for Assessment of Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osadebe, P. U.

2014-01-01

The study was carried out to construct a valid and reliable test in Economics for secondary school students. Two research questions were drawn to guide the establishment of validity and reliability for the Economics Achievement Test (EAT). It is a multiple choice objective test of five options with 100 items. A sample of 1000 students was randomly…

Towards Robust Designs Via Multiple-Objective Optimization Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Man Mohan, Rai

2006-01-01

Fabricating and operating complex systems involves dealing with uncertainty in the relevant variables. In the case of aircraft, flow conditions are subject to change during operation. Efficiency and engine noise may be different from the expected values because of manufacturing tolerances and normal wear and tear. Engine components may have a shorter life than expected because of manufacturing tolerances. In spite of the important effect of operating- and manufacturing-uncertainty on the performance and expected life of the component or system, traditional aerodynamic shape optimization has focused on obtaining the best design given a set of deterministic flow conditions. Clearly it is important to both maintain near-optimal performance levels at off-design operating conditions, and, ensure that performance does not degrade appreciably when the component shape differs from the optimal shape due to manufacturing tolerances and normal wear and tear. These requirements naturally lead to the idea of robust optimal design wherein the concept of robustness to various perturbations is built into the design optimization procedure. The basic ideas involved in robust optimal design will be included in this lecture. The imposition of the additional requirement of robustness results in a multiple-objective optimization problem requiring appropriate solution procedures. Typically the costs associated with multiple-objective optimization are substantial. Therefore efficient multiple-objective optimization procedures are crucial to the rapid deployment of the principles of robust design in industry. Hence the companion set of lecture notes (Single- and Multiple-Objective Optimization with Differential Evolution and Neural Networks ) deals with methodology for solving multiple-objective Optimization problems efficiently, reliably and with little user intervention. Applications of the methodologies presented in the companion lecture to robust design will be included here. The evolutionary method (DE) is first used to solve a relatively difficult problem in extended surface heat transfer wherein optimal fin geometries are obtained for different safe operating base temperatures. The objective of maximizing the safe operating base temperature range is in direct conflict with the objective of maximizing fin heat transfer. This problem is a good example of achieving robustness in the context of changing operating conditions. The evolutionary method is then used to design a turbine airfoil; the two objectives being reduced sensitivity of the pressure distribution to small changes in the airfoil shape and the maximization of the trailing edge wedge angle with the consequent increase in airfoil thickness and strength. This is a relevant example of achieving robustness to manufacturing tolerances and wear and tear in the presence of other objectives.

Diagnostic Classification Models and Multidimensional Adaptive Testing: A Commentary on Rupp and Templin

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frey, Andreas; Carstensen, Claus H.

2009-01-01

On a general level, the objective of diagnostic classifications models (DCMs) lies in a classification of individuals regarding multiple latent skills. In this article, the authors show that this objective can be achieved by multidimensional adaptive testing (MAT) as well. The authors discuss whether or not the restricted applicability of DCMs can…

MIMO nonlinear ultrasonic tomography by propagation and backpropagation method.

PubMed

Dong, Chengdong; Jin, Yuanwei

2013-03-01

This paper develops a fast ultrasonic tomographic imaging method in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration using the propagation and backpropagation (PBP) method. By this method, ultrasonic excitation signals from multiple sources are transmitted simultaneously to probe the objects immersed in the medium. The scattering signals are recorded by multiple receivers. Utilizing the nonlinear ultrasonic wave propagation equation and the received time domain scattered signals, the objects are to be reconstructed iteratively in three steps. First, the propagation step calculates the predicted acoustic potential data at the receivers using an initial guess. Second, the difference signal between the predicted value and the measured data is calculated. Third, the backpropagation step computes updated acoustical potential data by backpropagating the difference signal to the same medium computationally. Unlike the conventional PBP method for tomographic imaging where each source takes turns to excite the acoustical field until all the sources are used, the developed MIMO-PBP method achieves faster image reconstruction by utilizing multiple source simultaneous excitation. Furthermore, we develop an orthogonal waveform signaling method using a waveform delay scheme to reduce the impact of speckle patterns in the reconstructed images. By numerical experiments we demonstrate that the proposed MIMO-PBP tomographic imaging method results in faster convergence and achieves superior imaging quality.

An International Comparison Study of Pharmacy Students’ Achievement Goals and their Relationship to Assessment Type and Scores

PubMed Central

Anderson, Claire; Coulman, Sion A.; John, Dai N.; Tordoff, June; Sainsbury, Erica; Rose, Grenville; Smith, Lorraine

2015-01-01

Objective: To identify pharmacy students’ preferred achievement goals in a multi-national undergraduate population, to investigate achievement goal preferences across comparable degree programs, and to identify relationships between achievement goals, academic performance, and assessment type. Methods: The Achievement Goal Questionnaire was administered to second year students in 4 universities in Australia, New Zealand, England, and Wales. Academic performance was measured using total scores, multiple-choice questions, and written answers (short essay). Results: Four hundred eighty-six second year students participated. Students showed an overall preference for the mastery-approach goal orientation across all sites. The predicted relationships between goal orientation and multiple-choice questions, and written answers scores, were significant. Conclusion: This study is the first of its kind to examine pharmacy students’ achievement goals at a multi-national level and to differentiate between assessment type and measures of achievement motivation. Students adopting a mastery-approach goal are more likely to gain high scores in assessments that measure understanding and depth of knowledge. PMID:25995510

Multiple Hypotheses Image Segmentation and Classification With Application to Dietary Assessment

PubMed Central

Zhu, Fengqing; Bosch, Marc; Khanna, Nitin; Boushey, Carol J.; Delp, Edward J.

2016-01-01

We propose a method for dietary assessment to automatically identify and locate food in a variety of images captured during controlled and natural eating events. Two concepts are combined to achieve this: a set of segmented objects can be partitioned into perceptually similar object classes based on global and local features; and perceptually similar object classes can be used to assess the accuracy of image segmentation. These ideas are implemented by generating multiple segmentations of an image to select stable segmentations based on the classifier’s confidence score assigned to each segmented image region. Automatic segmented regions are classified using a multichannel feature classification system. For each segmented region, multiple feature spaces are formed. Feature vectors in each of the feature spaces are individually classified. The final decision is obtained by combining class decisions from individual feature spaces using decision rules. We show improved accuracy of segmenting food images with classifier feedback. PMID:25561457

Multiple hypotheses image segmentation and classification with application to dietary assessment.

PubMed

Zhu, Fengqing; Bosch, Marc; Khanna, Nitin; Boushey, Carol J; Delp, Edward J

2015-01-01

We propose a method for dietary assessment to automatically identify and locate food in a variety of images captured during controlled and natural eating events. Two concepts are combined to achieve this: a set of segmented objects can be partitioned into perceptually similar object classes based on global and local features; and perceptually similar object classes can be used to assess the accuracy of image segmentation. These ideas are implemented by generating multiple segmentations of an image to select stable segmentations based on the classifier's confidence score assigned to each segmented image region. Automatic segmented regions are classified using a multichannel feature classification system. For each segmented region, multiple feature spaces are formed. Feature vectors in each of the feature spaces are individually classified. The final decision is obtained by combining class decisions from individual feature spaces using decision rules. We show improved accuracy of segmenting food images with classifier feedback.

A multiple-point spatially weighted k-NN method for object-based classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Yunwei; Jing, Linhai; Li, Hui; Atkinson, Peter M.

2016-10-01

Object-based classification, commonly referred to as object-based image analysis (OBIA), is now commonly regarded as able to produce more appealing classification maps, often of greater accuracy, than pixel-based classification and its application is now widespread. Therefore, improvement of OBIA using spatial techniques is of great interest. In this paper, multiple-point statistics (MPS) is proposed for object-based classification enhancement in the form of a new multiple-point k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) classification method (MPk-NN). The proposed method first utilises a training image derived from a pre-classified map to characterise the spatial correlation between multiple points of land cover classes. The MPS borrows spatial structures from other parts of the training image, and then incorporates this spatial information, in the form of multiple-point probabilities, into the k-NN classifier. Two satellite sensor images with a fine spatial resolution were selected to evaluate the new method. One is an IKONOS image of the Beijing urban area and the other is a WorldView-2 image of the Wolong mountainous area, in China. The images were object-based classified using the MPk-NN method and several alternatives, including the k-NN, the geostatistically weighted k-NN, the Bayesian method, the decision tree classifier (DTC), and the support vector machine classifier (SVM). It was demonstrated that the new spatial weighting based on MPS can achieve greater classification accuracy relative to the alternatives and it is, thus, recommended as appropriate for object-based classification.

Multiple Semantic Matching on Augmented N-partite Graph for Object Co-segmentation.

PubMed

Wang, Chuan; Zhang, Hua; Yang, Liang; Cao, Xiaochun; Xiong, Hongkai

2017-09-08

Recent methods for object co-segmentation focus on discovering single co-occurring relation of candidate regions representing the foreground of multiple images. However, region extraction based only on low and middle level information often occupies a large area of background without the help of semantic context. In addition, seeking single matching solution very likely leads to discover local parts of common objects. To cope with these deficiencies, we present a new object cosegmentation framework, which takes advantages of semantic information and globally explores multiple co-occurring matching cliques based on an N-partite graph structure. To this end, we first propose to incorporate candidate generation with semantic context. Based on the regions extracted from semantic segmentation of each image, we design a merging mechanism to hierarchically generate candidates with high semantic responses. Secondly, all candidates are taken into consideration to globally formulate multiple maximum weighted matching cliques, which complements the discovery of part of the common objects induced by a single clique. To facilitate the discovery of multiple matching cliques, an N-partite graph, which inherently excludes intralinks between candidates from the same image, is constructed to separate multiple cliques without additional constraints. Further, we augment the graph with an additional virtual node in each part to handle irrelevant matches when the similarity between two candidates is too small. Finally, with the explored multiple cliques, we statistically compute pixel-wise co-occurrence map for each image. Experimental results on two benchmark datasets, i.e., iCoseg and MSRC datasets, achieve desirable performance and demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed framework.

Single and multiple object tracking using log-euclidean Riemannian subspace and block-division appearance model.

PubMed

Hu, Weiming; Li, Xi; Luo, Wenhan; Zhang, Xiaoqin; Maybank, Stephen; Zhang, Zhongfei

2012-12-01

Object appearance modeling is crucial for tracking objects, especially in videos captured by nonstationary cameras and for reasoning about occlusions between multiple moving objects. Based on the log-euclidean Riemannian metric on symmetric positive definite matrices, we propose an incremental log-euclidean Riemannian subspace learning algorithm in which covariance matrices of image features are mapped into a vector space with the log-euclidean Riemannian metric. Based on the subspace learning algorithm, we develop a log-euclidean block-division appearance model which captures both the global and local spatial layout information about object appearances. Single object tracking and multi-object tracking with occlusion reasoning are then achieved by particle filtering-based Bayesian state inference. During tracking, incremental updating of the log-euclidean block-division appearance model captures changes in object appearance. For multi-object tracking, the appearance models of the objects can be updated even in the presence of occlusions. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed tracking algorithm obtains more accurate results than six state-of-the-art tracking algorithms.

Cooperative angle-only orbit initialization via fusion of admissible areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Bin; Pham, Khanh; Blasch, Erik; Chen, Genshe; Shen, Dan; Wang, Zhonghai

2017-05-01

For the short-arc angle only orbit initialization problem, the admissible area is often used. However, the accuracy using a single sensor is often limited. For high value space objects, it is desired to achieve more accurate results. Fortunately, multiple sensors, which are dedicated to space situational awareness, are available. The work in this paper uses multiple sensors' information to cooperatively initialize the orbit based on the fusion of multiple admissible areas. Both the centralized fusion and decentralized fusion are discussed. Simulation results verify the expectation that the orbit initialization accuracy is improved by using information from multiple sensors.

Design and Analysis of a Hyperspectral Microwave Receiver Subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackwell, W.; Galbraith, C.; Hancock, T.; Leslie, R.; Osaretin, I.; Shields, M.; Racette, P.; Hillard, L.

2012-01-01

Hyperspectral microwave (HM) sounding has been proposed to achieve unprecedented performance. HM operation is achieved using multiple banks of RF spectrometers with large aggregate bandwidth. A principal challenge is Size/Weight/Power scaling. Objectives of this work: 1) Demonstrate ultra-compact (100 cm3) 52-channel IF processor (enabler); 2) Demonstrate a hyperspectral microwave receiver subsystem; and 3) Deliver a flight-ready system to validate HM sounding.

A Metabolic–Epidemiological Microsimulation Model to Estimate the Changes in Energy Intake and Physical Activity Necessary to Meet the Healthy People 2020 Obesity Objective

PubMed Central

Seligman, Hilary; Winkleby, Marilyn

2014-01-01

Objectives. We combined a metabolic and an epidemiological model of obesity to estimate changes in calorie intake and physical activity necessary to achieve the Healthy People 2020 objective of reducing adult obesity prevalence from 33.9% to 30.5%. Methods. We used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2010) to construct and validate a microsimulation model of the US population aged 10 years and older, for 2010 to 2020. Results. Obesity prevalence is expected to shift toward older adults, and disparities are expected to widen between White, higher-income groups and minority, lower-income groups if recent calorie consumption and expenditure trends continue into the future. Although a less than 10% reduction in daily calorie intake or increase in physical activity would in theory achieve the Healthy People 2020 objective, no single population-level intervention is likely to achieve the target alone, and individual weight-loss attempts are even more unlikely to achieve the target. Conclusions. Changes in calorie intake and physical activity portend rising inequalities in obesity prevalence. These changes require multiple simultaneous population interventions. PMID:24832140

4D Hyperspherical Harmonic (HyperSPHARM) Representation of Multiple Disconnected Brain Subcortical Structures

PubMed Central

Hosseinbor, A. Pasha; Chung, Moo K.; Schaefer, Stacey M.; van Reekum, Carien M.; Peschke-Schmitz, Lara; Sutterer, Matt; Alexander, Andrew L.; Davidson, Richard J.

2014-01-01

We present a novel surface parameterization technique using hyperspherical harmonics (HSH) in representing compact, multiple, disconnected brain subcortical structures as a single analytic function. The proposed hyperspherical harmonic representation (HyperSPHARM) has many advantages over the widely used spherical harmonic (SPHARM) parameterization technique. SPHARM requires flattening 3D surfaces to 3D sphere which can be time consuming for large surface meshes, and can’t represent multiple disconnected objects with single parameterization. On the other hand, HyperSPHARM treats 3D object, via simple stereographic projection, as a surface of 4D hypersphere with extremely large radius, hence avoiding the computationally demanding flattening process. HyperSPHARM is shown to achieve a better reconstruction with only 5 basis compared to SPHARM that requires more than 441. PMID:24505716

Application of model predictive control for optimal operation of wind turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Yuan; Cao, Pei; Tang, J.

2017-04-01

For large-scale wind turbines, reducing maintenance cost is a major challenge. Model predictive control (MPC) is a promising approach to deal with multiple conflicting objectives using the weighed sum approach. In this research, model predictive control method is applied to wind turbine to find an optimal balance between multiple objectives, such as the energy capture, loads on turbine components, and the pitch actuator usage. The actuator constraints are integrated into the objective function at the control design stage. The analysis is carried out in both the partial load region and full load region, and the performances are compared with those of a baseline gain scheduling PID controller. The application of this strategy achieves enhanced balance of component loads, the average power and actuator usages in partial load region.

Variety of geologic silhouette shapes distinguishable by multiple rotations method of quantitative shape analysis text

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

Collins, D.G.; Parks, J.M.

1984-04-01

Silhouette shapes are two-dimensional projections of three-dimensional objects such as sand grains, gravel, and fossils. Within-the-margin markings such as chamber boundaries, sutures, or ribs are ignored. Comparisons between populations of objects from similar and differential origins (i.e., environments, species or genera, growth series, etc) is aided by quantifying the shapes. The Multiple Rotations Method (MRM) uses a variation of ''eigenshapes'', which is capable of distinguishing most of the subtle variations that the ''trained eye'' can detect. With a video-digitizer and microcomputer, MRM is fast, more accurate, and more objective than the human eye. The resulting shape descriptors comprise 5 ormore » 6 numbers per object that can be stored and retrieved to compare with similar descriptions of other objects. The original-shape outlines can be reconstituted sufficiently for gross recognition from these few numerical descriptors. Thus, a semi-automated data-retrieval system becomes feasible, with silhouette-shape descriptions as one of several recognition criteria. MRM consists of four ''rotations'': rotation about a center to a comparable orientation; a principal-components rotation to reduce the many original shape descriptors to a few; a VARIMAX orthogonal-factor rotation to achieve simple structure; and a rotation to achieve factor scores on individual objects. A variety of subtly different shapes includes sand grains from several locations, ages, and environments, and fossils of several types. This variety illustrates the feasibility of quantitative comparisons by MRM.« less

Some See It, Some Don’t: Exploring the Relation between Inattentional Blindness and Personality Factors

PubMed Central

Kreitz, Carina; Schnuerch, Robert; Gibbons, Henning; Memmert, Daniel

2015-01-01

Human awareness is highly limited, which is vividly demonstrated by the phenomenon that unexpected objects go unnoticed when attention is focused elsewhere (inattentional blindness). Typically, some people fail to notice unexpected objects while others detect them instantaneously. Whether this pattern reflects stable individual differences is unclear to date. In particular, hardly anything is known about the influence of personality on the likelihood of inattentional blindness. To fill this empirical gap, we examined the role of multiple personality factors, namely the Big Five, BIS/BAS, absorption, achievement motivation, and schizotypy, in these failures of awareness. In a large-scale sample (N = 554), susceptibility to inattentional blindness was associated with a low level of openness to experience and marginally with a low level of achievement motivation. However, in a multiple regression analysis, only openness emerged as an independent, negative predictor. This suggests that the general tendency to be open to experience extends to the domain of perception. Our results complement earlier work on the possible link between inattentional blindness and personality by demonstrating, for the first time, that failures to consciously perceive unexpected objects reflect individual differences on a fundamental dimension of personality. PMID:26011567

A case study of assigning conservation value to dispersed habitat units for conservation planning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rohweder, Jason J.; Sara C. Vacek,; Crimmins, Shawn M.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.

2015-01-01

Resource managers are increasingly tasked with developing habitat conservation plans in the face of numerous, sometimes competing, objectives. These plans must often be implemented across dispersed habitat conservation units that may contribute unequally to overall conservation objectives. Using U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service waterfowl production areas (WPA) in western Minnesota as our conservation landscape, we develop a landscape-scale approach for evaluating the conservation value of dispersed habitat conservation units with multiple conservation priorities. We evaluated conservation value based on a suite of variables directly applicable to conservation management practices, thus providing a direct link between conservation actions and outcomes. We developed spatial models specific to each of these conservation objectives and also developed two freely available prioritization tools to implement these analyses. We found that some WPAs provided high conservation value across a range of conservation objectives, suggesting that managing these specific areas would achieve multiple conservation goals. Conversely, other WPAs provided low conservation value for some objectives, suggesting they would be most effectively managed for a distinct set of specific conservation goals. Approaches such as ours provide a direct means of assessing the conservation value of dispersed habitat conservation units and could be useful in the development of habitat management plans, particularly when faced with multiple conservation objectives.

National Silviculture Meeting: Forestry to meet special objectives (A look at uneven-aged management); Marquette, Michigan; September 10-14, 1973

Treesearch

Michael A. Barton; Louis J. Verme; Robert E. Radtke; Berwyn O. Reed; William T. Plass; Stephen G. Boyce

1973-01-01

As a matter of policy and good forest resource management, the Forest Service will manage the timber resources on the National Forests to achieve the various multiple use objectives established for the respective management units. In so doing, we are not to be bound to any particular system of management as the primary system, but we are to prescribe and use the system...

Developing a technique to master multiplication facts 6 to 9 for year 5 pupils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmat, Norhayati; Mohamed, Nurul Huda; Azmee, Nor Afzalina; Adham, Sarah Mohd

2017-05-01

This study was performed to enhance the mastery of multiplication facts 6 to 9 amongst the year 5 pupils. The samples of this study were 40 pupils of year 5 from one of primary school at Teluk Intan, Perak. The samples were divided into two groups, the control group and the treatment group where each group consists of 20 pupils respectively. In this study, new multiplication facts technique, known as `Teknik Sifir Jari' has been introduced to the treatment group. The objectives of the study are to test the effectiveness of the new technique and to increase multiplication fact fluency among pupils. The instruments that have been used in this study are the achievement tests (pre-test and post-test). The data obtained were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 21.A t-test had also been carried out to test the null hypothesis. The results showed that there was an increment in the students' achievement for the students who were taught using the `Teknik Sifir Jari'. Therefore, the `Teknik Sifir Jari' has proved its effectiveness to support students in mastering multiplication facts.

Crafting Coherence: How Schools Strategically Manage Multiple, External Demands

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honig, Meredith I.; Hatch, Thomas C.

2004-01-01

"Policy coherence" is an often cited but seldom achieved education policy goal. We argue that addressing this policy-practice gap requires a reconceptualization of coherence not as the objective alignment of external requirements but as a dynamic process. This article elaborates this re-conceptualization using theories of institutional…

Using Evaluation to Guide and Validate Improvements to the Utah Master Naturalist Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larese-Casanova, Mark

2015-01-01

Integrating evaluation into an Extension program offers multiple opportunities to understand program success through achieving program goals and objectives, delivering programming using the most effective techniques, and refining program audiences. It is less common that evaluation is used to guide and validate the effectiveness of program…

DeepSkeleton: Learning Multi-Task Scale-Associated Deep Side Outputs for Object Skeleton Extraction in Natural Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Wei; Zhao, Kai; Jiang, Yuan; Wang, Yan; Bai, Xiang; Yuille, Alan

2017-11-01

Object skeletons are useful for object representation and object detection. They are complementary to the object contour, and provide extra information, such as how object scale (thickness) varies among object parts. But object skeleton extraction from natural images is very challenging, because it requires the extractor to be able to capture both local and non-local image context in order to determine the scale of each skeleton pixel. In this paper, we present a novel fully convolutional network with multiple scale-associated side outputs to address this problem. By observing the relationship between the receptive field sizes of the different layers in the network and the skeleton scales they can capture, we introduce two scale-associated side outputs to each stage of the network. The network is trained by multi-task learning, where one task is skeleton localization to classify whether a pixel is a skeleton pixel or not, and the other is skeleton scale prediction to regress the scale of each skeleton pixel. Supervision is imposed at different stages by guiding the scale-associated side outputs toward the groundtruth skeletons at the appropriate scales. The responses of the multiple scale-associated side outputs are then fused in a scale-specific way to detect skeleton pixels using multiple scales effectively. Our method achieves promising results on two skeleton extraction datasets, and significantly outperforms other competitors. Additionally, the usefulness of the obtained skeletons and scales (thickness) are verified on two object detection applications: Foreground object segmentation and object proposal detection.

Locator-Checker-Scaler Object Tracking Using Spatially Ordered and Weighted Patch Descriptor.

PubMed

Kim, Han-Ul; Kim, Chang-Su

2017-08-01

In this paper, we propose a simple yet effective object descriptor and a novel tracking algorithm to track a target object accurately. For the object description, we divide the bounding box of a target object into multiple patches and describe them with color and gradient histograms. Then, we determine the foreground weight of each patch to alleviate the impacts of background information in the bounding box. To this end, we perform random walk with restart (RWR) simulation. We then concatenate the weighted patch descriptors to yield the spatially ordered and weighted patch (SOWP) descriptor. For the object tracking, we incorporate the proposed SOWP descriptor into a novel tracking algorithm, which has three components: locator, checker, and scaler (LCS). The locator and the scaler estimate the center location and the size of a target, respectively. The checker determines whether it is safe to adjust the target scale in a current frame. These three components cooperate with one another to achieve robust tracking. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed LCS tracker achieves excellent performance on recent benchmarks.

BiRD (Biaxin [clarithromycin]/Revlimid [lenalidomide]/dexamethasone) combination therapy results in high complete- and overall-response rates in treatment-naive symptomatic multiple myeloma.

PubMed

Niesvizky, Ruben; Jayabalan, David S; Christos, Paul J; Furst, Jessica R; Naib, Tara; Ely, Scott; Jalbrzikowski, Jessica; Pearse, Roger N; Zafar, Faiza; Pekle, Karen; Larow, April; Lent, Richard; Mark, Tomer; Cho, Hearn J; Shore, Tsiporah; Tepler, Jeffrey; Harpel, John; Schuster, Michael W; Mathew, Susan; Leonard, John P; Mazumdar, Madhu; Chen-Kiang, Selina; Coleman, Morton

2008-02-01

This trial determined the safety and efficacy of the combination regimen clarithromycin (Biaxin), lenalidomide (Revlimid), and dexamethasone (BiRD) as first-line therapy for multiple myeloma. Patients received BiRD in 28-day cycles. Dexamethasone (40 mg) was given orally once weekly, clarithromycin (500 mg) was given orally twice daily, and lenalidomide (25 mg) was given orally daily on days 1 to 21. Objective response was defined by standard criteria (ie, decrease in serum monoclonal protein [M-protein] by at least 50%, and a decrease in urine M-protein by at least 90%). Of the 72 patients enrolled, 65 had an objective response (90.3%). A combined stringent and conventional complete response rate of 38.9% was achieved, and 73.6% of the patients achieved at least a 90% decrease in M-protein levels. This regimen did not interfere with hematopoietic stem-cell harvest. Fifty-two patients who did not go on to receive transplants received continued therapy (complete response, 37%; very good partial response, 33%). The major adverse events were thromboembolic events, corticosteroid-related morbidity, and cytopenias. BiRD is an effective regimen with manageable side effects in the treatment of symptomatic, newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00151203.

Pareto fronts for multiobjective optimization design on materials data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopakumar, Abhijith; Balachandran, Prasanna; Gubernatis, James E.; Lookman, Turab

Optimizing multiple properties simultaneously is vital in materials design. Here we apply infor- mation driven, statistical optimization strategies blended with machine learning methods, to address multi-objective optimization tasks on materials data. These strategies aim to find the Pareto front consisting of non-dominated data points from a set of candidate compounds with known character- istics. The objective is to find the pareto front in as few additional measurements or calculations as possible. We show how exploration of the data space to find the front is achieved by using uncer- tainties in predictions from regression models. We test our proposed design strategies on multiple, independent data sets including those from computations as well as experiments. These include data sets for Max phases, piezoelectrics and multicomponent alloys.

Object instance recognition using motion cues and instance specific appearance models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schumann, Arne

2014-03-01

In this paper we present an object instance retrieval approach. The baseline approach consists of a pool of image features which are computed on the bounding boxes of a query object track and compared to a database of tracks in order to find additional appearances of the same object instance. We improve over this simple baseline approach in multiple ways: 1) we include motion cues to achieve improved robustness to viewpoint and rotation changes, 2) we include operator feedback to iteratively re-rank the resulting retrieval lists and 3) we use operator feedback and location constraints to train classifiers and learn an instance specific appearance model. We use these classifiers to further improve the retrieval results. The approach is evaluated on two popular public datasets for two different applications. We evaluate person re-identification on the CAVIAR shopping mall surveillance dataset and vehicle instance recognition on the VIVID aerial dataset and achieve significant improvements over our baseline results.

Robust continuous clustering

PubMed Central

Shah, Sohil Atul

2017-01-01

Clustering is a fundamental procedure in the analysis of scientific data. It is used ubiquitously across the sciences. Despite decades of research, existing clustering algorithms have limited effectiveness in high dimensions and often require tuning parameters for different domains and datasets. We present a clustering algorithm that achieves high accuracy across multiple domains and scales efficiently to high dimensions and large datasets. The presented algorithm optimizes a smooth continuous objective, which is based on robust statistics and allows heavily mixed clusters to be untangled. The continuous nature of the objective also allows clustering to be integrated as a module in end-to-end feature learning pipelines. We demonstrate this by extending the algorithm to perform joint clustering and dimensionality reduction by efficiently optimizing a continuous global objective. The presented approach is evaluated on large datasets of faces, hand-written digits, objects, newswire articles, sensor readings from the Space Shuttle, and protein expression levels. Our method achieves high accuracy across all datasets, outperforming the best prior algorithm by a factor of 3 in average rank. PMID:28851838

How Question Types Reveal Student Thinking: An Experimental Comparison of Multiple-True-False and Free-Response Formats

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubbard, Joanna K.; Potts, Macy A.; Couch, Brian A.

2017-01-01

Assessments represent an important component of undergraduate courses because they affect how students interact with course content and gauge student achievement of course objectives. To make decisions on assessment design, instructors must understand the affordances and limitations of available question formats. Here, we use a crossover…

Managing for multiple resources under climate change: national forests

Treesearch

Linda A. Joyce; Geoffrey M. Blate; Steven G. McNulty; Constance I. Millar; Susanne Moser; Ronald P. Neilson; David L. Peterson

2009-01-01

This study explores potential adaptation approaches in planning andmanagement that theUnited States Forest Servicemight adopt to help achieve its goals and objectives in the face of climate change. Availability of information, vulnerability of ecological and socio-economic systems, and uncertainties associated with climate change, as well as the interacting non-...

Art Therapy Programs with At-Risk Students in Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varallo, Patrick A.

2012-01-01

Educating and meeting the multiple needs of students at risk of low academic achievement has been a growing concern for public schools in the United States. Many at-risk students require alternative school-based interventions. This study examined the operation, premise, and objectives of art therapy integrated in 14 school districts across the…

An Innovative Approach to Scheme Learning Map Considering Tradeoff Multiple Objectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Yu-Shih; Chang, Yi-Chun; Chu, Chih-Ping

2016-01-01

An important issue in personalized learning is to provide learners with customized learning according to their learning characteristics. This paper focused attention on scheming learning map as follows. The learning goal can be achieved via different pathways based on alternative materials, which have the relationships of prerequisite, dependence,…

Prototype solar heated hot water systems and double-walled heat exchangers: A collection of quarterly reports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The plan schedule and status of multiple objectives to be achieved in the development, manufacture, installation, and maintenance of two solar heated hot water prototype systems and two heat exchangers are reported. A computer program developed to resolve problems and evaluate system performance is described.

Multiple Objectives Achieved with a Germination Experiment in a Science Education Biology Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bergwerff, Ken; Warners, David

2007-01-01

In our college course, "Life Science for Elementary School Teachers," our investigation assesses the germination success of an invasive plant, purple loosestrife, compared to native wildflowers. Topics addressed include the scientific method, experimental design, seed dormancy, plant competition, ethno-botany, and success of non-native plants. The…

Optimal illusion and invisibility of multilayered anisotropic cylinders and spheres.

PubMed

Zhang, Lin; Shi, Yan; Liang, Chang-Hong

2016-10-03

In this paper, full-wave electromagnetic scattering theory is employed to investigate illusion and invisibility of inhomogeneous anisotropic cylinders and spheres. With the use of a shell designed according to Mie series theory for multiple piecewise anisotropic layers, radar cross section (RCS) of the coated inhomogeneous anisotropic object can be dramatically reduced or disguised as another object in the long-wavelength limit. With the suitable adjustment of the anisotropy parameters of the shell, optimal illusion and invisibility characteristics of the coated inhomogeneous anisotropic object can be achieved. Details of theoretical analysis and numerical examples are presented to validate the proposed methodology.

Distributed proximity sensor system having embedded light emitters and detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Sukhan (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A distributed proximity sensor system is provided with multiple photosensitive devices and light emitters embedded on the surface of a robot hand or other moving member in a geometric pattern. By distributing sensors and emitters capable of detecting distances and angles to points on the surface of an object from known points in the geometric pattern, information is obtained for achieving noncontacting shape and distance perception, i.e., for automatic determination of the object's shape, direction and distance, as well as the orientation of the object relative to the robot hand or other moving member.

Space assets, technology and services in support of energy policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasko, C. A.; Adriaensen, M.; Bretel, A.; Duvaux-Bechon, I.; Giannopapa, C. G.

2017-09-01

Space can be used as a tool by decision and policy makers in developing, implementing and monitoring various policy areas including resource management, environment, transport, security and energy. This paper focuses on the role of space for the energy policy. Firstly, the paper summarizes the European Union's (EU) main objectives in energy policy enclosed in the Energy Strategy 2020-2030-2050 and demonstrates how space assets can contribute to achieving those objectives. Secondly, the paper addresses how the European Space Agency (ESA) has established multiple initiatives and programs that directly finance the development of space assets, technology and applications that deliver services in support of the EU energy policy and sector. These efforts should be continued and strengthened in order to overcome identified technological challenges. The use of space assets, technology and applications, can help achieve the energy policy objectives for the next decades.

Real-time optical holographic tracking of multiple objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chao, Tien-Hsin; Liu, Hua-Kuang

1989-01-01

A coherent optical correlation technique for real-time simultaneous tracking of several different objects making independent movements is described, and experimental results are presented. An evaluation of this system compared with digital computing systems is made. The real-time processing capability is obtained through the use of a liquid crystal television spatial light modulator and a dichromated gelatin multifocus hololens. A coded reference beam is utilized in the separation of the output correlation plane associated with each input target so that independent tracking can be achieved.

Evaluating stakeholder participation in water management: intermediary outcomes as potential indicators for future resource management outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carr, Gemma; Bloeschl, Guenter; Loucks, Daniel Pete

2013-04-01

Evaluation of participation programmes, projects and activities is essential to identify whether stakeholder involvement has been successful in achieving its aims. Aims may include an improvement in water resource management such as enhanced ecological functioning, an improvement in human wellbeing and economic conditions, or overcoming a conflict between interest groups. Evaluating against "interest-based" resource management criteria requires that a desirable outcome can be identified, agreed upon and be measured at the time of evaluation. In many water management situations where collaborative approaches are applied, multiple interests and objectives are present, or stakeholders have not yet identified their own positions and priorities. Even if a resource management objective has been identified and strategy agreed upon, resource management changes tend to emerge over longer timescales and evaluation frequently takes place before they can be recognised. Evaluating against resource management criteria may lead evaluators to conclude that a programme has failed because it has not achieved a resource management objective at the time of evaluation. This presents a critical challenge to researchers assessing the effectiveness of stakeholder participation programmes. One strategy to overcome this is to conduct "goal-free" evaluation to identify what the programme is actually achieving. An evaluation framework that includes intermediary outcomes that are both tangible achievements such as innovation, creation of new organisations, and shared information and knowledge, as well as intangible achievements such as trust and network development can be applied to more broadly assess a programme's success. Analysis of case-studies in the published literature for which a resource management outcome has been achieved shows that intermediary outcomes frequently precede resource management outcomes. They seem to emerge over shorter timescales than resource management outcomes. Furthermore, failure to achieve intermediary outcomes correlates to failure to achieve resource management outcomes. Evaluating intermediary outcomes leads to both a broader assessment of a programme's achievements at the time of evaluation, and can indicate whether a programme will go on to achieve resource management objectives in the future.

Ultrathin zoom telescopic objective.

PubMed

Li, Lei; Wang, Di; Liu, Chao; Wang, Qiong-Hua

2016-08-08

We report an ultrathin zoom telescopic objective that can achieve continuous zoom change and has reduced compact volume. The objective consists of an annular folded lens and three electrowetting liquid lenses. The annular folded lens undertakes the main part of the focal power of the lens system. Due to a multiple-fold design, the optical path is folded in a lens with the thickness of ~1.98mm. The electrowetting liquid lenses constitute a zoom part. Based on the proposed objective, an ultrathin zoom telescopic camera is demonstrated. We analyze the properties of the proposed objective. The aperture of the proposed objective is ~15mm. The total length of the system is ~18mm with a tunable focal length ~48mm to ~65mm. Compared with the conventional zoom telescopic objective, the total length has been largely reduced.

Robust Pedestrian Tracking and Recognition from FLIR Video: A Unified Approach via Sparse Coding

PubMed Central

Li, Xin; Guo, Rui; Chen, Chao

2014-01-01

Sparse coding is an emerging method that has been successfully applied to both robust object tracking and recognition in the vision literature. In this paper, we propose to explore a sparse coding-based approach toward joint object tracking-and-recognition and explore its potential in the analysis of forward-looking infrared (FLIR) video to support nighttime machine vision systems. A key technical contribution of this work is to unify existing sparse coding-based approaches toward tracking and recognition under the same framework, so that they can benefit from each other in a closed-loop. On the one hand, tracking the same object through temporal frames allows us to achieve improved recognition performance through dynamical updating of template/dictionary and combining multiple recognition results; on the other hand, the recognition of individual objects facilitates the tracking of multiple objects (i.e., walking pedestrians), especially in the presence of occlusion within a crowded environment. We report experimental results on both the CASIAPedestrian Database and our own collected FLIR video database to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed joint tracking-and-recognition approach. PMID:24961216

Multiple Sensory-Motor Pathways Lead to Coordinated Visual Attention

PubMed Central

Yu, Chen; Smith, Linda B.

2016-01-01

Joint attention has been extensively studied in the developmental literature because of overwhelming evidence that the ability to socially coordinate visual attention to an object is essential to healthy developmental outcomes, including language learning. The goal of the present study is to understand the complex system of sensory-motor behaviors that may underlie the establishment of joint attention between parents and toddlers. In an experimental task, parents and toddlers played together with multiple toys. We objectively measured joint attention – and the sensory-motor behaviors that underlie it – using a dual head-mounted eye-tracking system and frame-by-frame coding of manual actions. By tracking the momentary visual fixations and hand actions of each participant, we precisely determined just how often they fixated on the same object at the same time, the visual behaviors that preceded joint attention, and manual behaviors that preceded and co-occurred with joint attention. We found that multiple sequential sensory-motor patterns lead to joint attention. In addition, there are developmental changes in this multi-pathway system evidenced as variations in strength among multiple routes. We propose that coordinated visual attention between parents and toddlers is primarily a sensory-motor behavior. Skill in achieving coordinated visual attention in social settings – like skills in other sensory-motor domains – emerges from multiple pathways to the same functional end. PMID:27016038

Multiple Sensory-Motor Pathways Lead to Coordinated Visual Attention.

PubMed

Yu, Chen; Smith, Linda B

2017-02-01

Joint attention has been extensively studied in the developmental literature because of overwhelming evidence that the ability to socially coordinate visual attention to an object is essential to healthy developmental outcomes, including language learning. The goal of this study was to understand the complex system of sensory-motor behaviors that may underlie the establishment of joint attention between parents and toddlers. In an experimental task, parents and toddlers played together with multiple toys. We objectively measured joint attention-and the sensory-motor behaviors that underlie it-using a dual head-mounted eye-tracking system and frame-by-frame coding of manual actions. By tracking the momentary visual fixations and hand actions of each participant, we precisely determined just how often they fixated on the same object at the same time, the visual behaviors that preceded joint attention and manual behaviors that preceded and co-occurred with joint attention. We found that multiple sequential sensory-motor patterns lead to joint attention. In addition, there are developmental changes in this multi-pathway system evidenced as variations in strength among multiple routes. We propose that coordinated visual attention between parents and toddlers is primarily a sensory-motor behavior. Skill in achieving coordinated visual attention in social settings-like skills in other sensory-motor domains-emerges from multiple pathways to the same functional end. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Construction of Valid and Reliable Test for Assessment of Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osadebe, P. U.

2015-01-01

The study was carried out to construct a valid and reliable test in Economics for secondary school students. Two research questions were drawn to guide the establishment of validity and reliability for the Economics Achievement Test (EAT). It is a multiple choice objective test of five options with 100 items. A sample of 1000 students was randomly…

An overview of the Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program's (CHaMP) spatial-temporal design framework

EPA Science Inventory

We briefly review the concept of a master sample applied to stream networks in which a randomized set of stream sites is selected across a broad region to serve as a list of sites from which a subset of sites is selected to achieve multiple objectives of specific designs. The Col...

Effectiveness of forest management strategies to mitigate effects of global change in south-central Siberia

Treesearch

Eric J. Gustafson; Anatoly Z. Shvidenko; Robert M. Scheller

2011-01-01

We investigated questions about the ability of broad silvicultural strategies to achieve multiple objectives (reduce disturbance losses, maintain the abundance of preferred species, mitigate fragmentation and loss of age-class diversity, and sequester aboveground carbon) under future climate conditions in Siberia. We conducted a factorial experiment using the LANDIS-II...

An integrated monitoring approach using multiple reference sites to assess sustainable restoration in coastal Louisiana

Treesearch

Gregory D. Steyer; Robert R. Twilley; Richard C. Raynie

2006-01-01

Achieving sustainable resource management in coastal Louisiana requires establishing reference conditions that incorporate the goals and objectives of restoration efforts. Since the reference condition is usually considered sustainable, it can be a gauge to assess the present condition of a (degraded) system or to evaluate progress of management actions toward some...

A Comprehensive Examination of Preschool Teachers' Implementation Fidelity When Using a Supplemental Language and Literacy Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piasta, Shayne B.; Justice, Laura M.; McGinty, Anita; Mashburn, Andrew; Slocum, Laura

2015-01-01

Background: Recent curriculum studies raise a number of questions concerning teachers' implementation fidelity, including the extent to which fidelity to multiple curriculum components is achieved and measured and the extent to which fidelity serves as a mechanism for impacting children's learning. Objective: Within the context of a language and…

Managing wildfire events: risk-based decision making among a group of federal fire managers

Treesearch

Robyn S. Wilson; Patricia L. Winter; Lynn A. Maguire; Timothy Ascher

2011-01-01

Managing wildfire events to achieve multiple management objectives involves a high degree of decision complexity and uncertainty, increasing the likelihood that decisions will be informed by experience-based heuristics triggered by available cues at the time of the decision. The research reported here tests the prevalence of three risk-based biases among 206...

Addressing wild turkey population declines using structured decision making

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robinson, Kelly F.; Fuller, Angela K.; Schiavone, Michael V.; Swift, Bryan L.; Diefenbach, Duane R.; Siemer, William F.; Decker, Daniel J.

2017-01-01

We present a case study from New York, USA, of the use of structured decision making (SDM) to identify fall turkey harvest regulations that best meet stakeholder objectives, in light of recent apparent declines in abundance of wild turkeys in the northeastern United States. We used the SDM framework to incorporate the multiple objectives associated with turkey hunting, stakeholder desires, and region-specific ecological and environmental factors that could influence fall harvest. We identified a set of 4 fall harvest regulations, composed of different season lengths and bag limits, and evaluated their relative achievement of the objectives. We used a stochastic turkey population model, statistical modeling, and expert elicitation to evaluate the consequences of each harvest regulation on each of the objectives. We conducted a statewide mail survey of fall turkey hunters in New York to gather the necessary information to evaluate tradeoffs among multiple objectives associated with hunter satisfaction. The optimal fall harvest regulation was a 2-week season and allowed for the harvest of 1 bird/hunter. This regulation was the most conservative of those evaluated, reflecting the concerns about recent declines in turkey abundance among agency wildlife biologists and the hunting public. Depending on the region of the state, the 2-week, 1-bird regulation was predicted to result in 7–32% more turkeys on the landscape after 5 years. The SDM process provided a transparent framework for setting fall turkey harvest regulations and reduced potential stakeholder conflict by explicitly taking the multiple objectives of different stakeholder groups into account.

GPU-based relative fuzzy connectedness image segmentation

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

Zhuge Ying; Ciesielski, Krzysztof C.; Udupa, Jayaram K.

2013-01-15

Purpose:Recently, clinical radiological research and practice are becoming increasingly quantitative. Further, images continue to increase in size and volume. For quantitative radiology to become practical, it is crucial that image segmentation algorithms and their implementations are rapid and yield practical run time on very large data sets. The purpose of this paper is to present a parallel version of an algorithm that belongs to the family of fuzzy connectedness (FC) algorithms, to achieve an interactive speed for segmenting large medical image data sets. Methods: The most common FC segmentations, optimizing an Script-Small-L {sub {infinity}}-based energy, are known as relative fuzzymore » connectedness (RFC) and iterative relative fuzzy connectedness (IRFC). Both RFC and IRFC objects (of which IRFC contains RFC) can be found via linear time algorithms, linear with respect to the image size. The new algorithm, P-ORFC (for parallel optimal RFC), which is implemented by using NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) platform, considerably improves the computational speed of the above mentioned CPU based IRFC algorithm. Results: Experiments based on four data sets of small, medium, large, and super data size, achieved speedup factors of 32.8 Multiplication-Sign , 22.9 Multiplication-Sign , 20.9 Multiplication-Sign , and 17.5 Multiplication-Sign , correspondingly, on the NVIDIA Tesla C1060 platform. Although the output of P-ORFC need not precisely match that of IRFC output, it is very close to it and, as the authors prove, always lies between the RFC and IRFC objects. Conclusions: A parallel version of a top-of-the-line algorithm in the family of FC has been developed on the NVIDIA GPUs. An interactive speed of segmentation has been achieved, even for the largest medical image data set. Such GPU implementations may play a crucial role in automatic anatomy recognition in clinical radiology.« less

Parallel Computing for Probabilistic Response Analysis of High Temperature Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sues, R. H.; Lua, Y. J.; Smith, M. D.

1994-01-01

The objective of this Phase I research was to establish the required software and hardware strategies to achieve large scale parallelism in solving PCM problems. To meet this objective, several investigations were conducted. First, we identified the multiple levels of parallelism in PCM and the computational strategies to exploit these parallelisms. Next, several software and hardware efficiency investigations were conducted. These involved the use of three different parallel programming paradigms and solution of two example problems on both a shared-memory multiprocessor and a distributed-memory network of workstations.

Self-Induced Backaction Optical Pulling Force

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Tongtong; Cao, Yongyin; Wang, Lin; Nie, Zhongquan; Cao, Tun; Sun, Fangkui; Jiang, Zehui; Nieto-Vesperinas, Manuel; Liu, Yongmin; Qiu, Cheng-Wei; Ding, Weiqiang

2018-03-01

We achieve long-range and continuous optical pulling in a periodic photonic crystal background, which supports a unique Bloch mode with the self-collimation effect. Most interestingly, the pulling force reported here is mainly contributed by the intensity gradient force originating from the self-induced backaction of the object to the self-collimation mode. This force is sharply distinguished from the widely held conception of optical tractor beams based on the scattering force. Also, this pulling force is insensitive to the angle of incidence and can pull multiple objects simultaneously.

Assessing trade-offs in large marine protected areas.

PubMed

Davies, Tammy E; Epstein, Graham; Aguilera, Stacy E; Brooks, Cassandra M; Cox, Michael; Evans, Louisa S; Maxwell, Sara M; Nenadovic, Mateja; Ban, Natalie C

2018-01-01

Large marine protected areas (LMPAs) are increasingly being established and have a high profile in marine conservation. LMPAs are expected to achieve multiple objectives, and because of their size are postulated to avoid trade-offs that are common in smaller MPAs. However, evaluations across multiple outcomes are lacking. We used a systematic approach to code several social and ecological outcomes of 12 LMPAs. We found evidence of three types of trade-offs: trade-offs between different ecological resources (supply trade-offs); trade-offs between ecological resource conditions and the well-being of resource users (supply-demand trade-offs); and trade-offs between the well-being outcomes of different resource users (demand trade-offs). We also found several divergent outcomes that were attributed to influences beyond the scope of the LMPA. We suggest that despite their size, trade-offs can develop in LMPAs and should be considered in planning and design. LMPAs may improve their performance across multiple social and ecological objectives if integrated with larger-scale conservation efforts.

Compressed Sensing mm-Wave SAR for Non-Destructive Testing Applications Using Multiple Weighted Side Information.

PubMed

Becquaert, Mathias; Cristofani, Edison; Van Luong, Huynh; Vandewal, Marijke; Stiens, Johan; Deligiannis, Nikos

2018-05-31

This work explores an innovative strategy for increasing the efficiency of compressed sensing applied on mm-wave SAR sensing using multiple weighted side information. The approach is tested on synthetic and on real non-destructive testing measurements performed on a 3D-printed object with defects while taking advantage of multiple previous SAR images of the object with different degrees of similarity. The tested algorithm attributes autonomously weights to the side information at two levels: (1) between the components inside the side information and (2) between the different side information. The reconstruction is thereby almost immune to poor quality side information while exploiting the relevant components hidden inside the added side information. The presented results prove that, in contrast to common compressed sensing, good SAR image reconstruction is achieved at subsampling rates far below the Nyquist rate. Moreover, the algorithm is shown to be much more robust for low quality side information compared to coherent background subtraction.

Assessing trade-offs in large marine protected areas

PubMed Central

Aguilera, Stacy E.; Brooks, Cassandra M.; Cox, Michael; Evans, Louisa S.; Maxwell, Sara M.; Nenadovic, Mateja

2018-01-01

Large marine protected areas (LMPAs) are increasingly being established and have a high profile in marine conservation. LMPAs are expected to achieve multiple objectives, and because of their size are postulated to avoid trade-offs that are common in smaller MPAs. However, evaluations across multiple outcomes are lacking. We used a systematic approach to code several social and ecological outcomes of 12 LMPAs. We found evidence of three types of trade-offs: trade-offs between different ecological resources (supply trade-offs); trade-offs between ecological resource conditions and the well-being of resource users (supply-demand trade-offs); and trade-offs between the well-being outcomes of different resource users (demand trade-offs). We also found several divergent outcomes that were attributed to influences beyond the scope of the LMPA. We suggest that despite their size, trade-offs can develop in LMPAs and should be considered in planning and design. LMPAs may improve their performance across multiple social and ecological objectives if integrated with larger-scale conservation efforts. PMID:29668750

Fast automated segmentation of multiple objects via spatially weighted shape learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra, Shekhar S.; Dowling, Jason A.; Greer, Peter B.; Martin, Jarad; Wratten, Chris; Pichler, Peter; Fripp, Jurgen; Crozier, Stuart

2016-11-01

Active shape models (ASMs) have proved successful in automatic segmentation by using shape and appearance priors in a number of areas such as prostate segmentation, where accurate contouring is important in treatment planning for prostate cancer. The ASM approach however, is heavily reliant on a good initialisation for achieving high segmentation quality. This initialisation often requires algorithms with high computational complexity, such as three dimensional (3D) image registration. In this work, we present a fast, self-initialised ASM approach that simultaneously fits multiple objects hierarchically controlled by spatially weighted shape learning. Prominent objects are targeted initially and spatial weights are progressively adjusted so that the next (more difficult, less visible) object is simultaneously initialised using a series of weighted shape models. The scheme was validated and compared to a multi-atlas approach on 3D magnetic resonance (MR) images of 38 cancer patients and had the same (mean, median, inter-rater) Dice’s similarity coefficients of (0.79, 0.81, 0.85), while having no registration error and a computational time of 12-15 min, nearly an order of magnitude faster than the multi-atlas approach.

Fast automated segmentation of multiple objects via spatially weighted shape learning.

PubMed

Chandra, Shekhar S; Dowling, Jason A; Greer, Peter B; Martin, Jarad; Wratten, Chris; Pichler, Peter; Fripp, Jurgen; Crozier, Stuart

2016-11-21

Active shape models (ASMs) have proved successful in automatic segmentation by using shape and appearance priors in a number of areas such as prostate segmentation, where accurate contouring is important in treatment planning for prostate cancer. The ASM approach however, is heavily reliant on a good initialisation for achieving high segmentation quality. This initialisation often requires algorithms with high computational complexity, such as three dimensional (3D) image registration. In this work, we present a fast, self-initialised ASM approach that simultaneously fits multiple objects hierarchically controlled by spatially weighted shape learning. Prominent objects are targeted initially and spatial weights are progressively adjusted so that the next (more difficult, less visible) object is simultaneously initialised using a series of weighted shape models. The scheme was validated and compared to a multi-atlas approach on 3D magnetic resonance (MR) images of 38 cancer patients and had the same (mean, median, inter-rater) Dice's similarity coefficients of (0.79, 0.81, 0.85), while having no registration error and a computational time of 12-15 min, nearly an order of magnitude faster than the multi-atlas approach.

Robust visual tracking via multiple discriminative models with object proposals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yuanqiang; Bi, Duyan; Zha, Yufei; Li, Huanyu; Ku, Tao; Wu, Min; Ding, Wenshan; Fan, Zunlin

2018-04-01

Model drift is an important reason for tracking failure. In this paper, multiple discriminative models with object proposals are used to improve the model discrimination for relieving this problem. Firstly, the target location and scale changing are captured by lots of high-quality object proposals, which are represented by deep convolutional features for target semantics. And then, through sharing a feature map obtained by a pre-trained network, ROI pooling is exploited to wrap the various sizes of object proposals into vectors of the same length, which are used to learn a discriminative model conveniently. Lastly, these historical snapshot vectors are trained by different lifetime models. Based on entropy decision mechanism, the bad model owing to model drift can be corrected by selecting the best discriminative model. This would improve the robustness of the tracker significantly. We extensively evaluate our tracker on two popular benchmarks, the OTB 2013 benchmark and UAV20L benchmark. On both benchmarks, our tracker achieves the best performance on precision and success rate compared with the state-of-the-art trackers.

A Process for Curricular Improvement Based on Evaluation of Student Performance on Milestone Examinations

PubMed Central

Hylton, Ann C.; Justice, Michael

2016-01-01

Objective. To identify and address areas for curricular improvement by evaluating student achievement of expected learning outcomes and competencies on annual milestone examinations. Design. Students were tested each professional year with a comprehensive milestone examination designed to evaluate student achievement of learning outcomes and professional competencies using a combination of multiple-choice questions, standardized patient assessments (SPAs), and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) questions. Assessment. Based on student performance on milestone examinations, curricular changes were instituted, including an increased emphasis on graded comprehensive cases, OSCE skills days, and use of patient simulation in lecture and laboratory courses. After making these changes, significant improvements were observed in second and third-year pharmacy students’ grades for the therapeutic case and physician interaction/errors and omissions components of the milestone examinations. Conclusion. Results from milestone examinations can be used to identify specific areas in which curricular improvements are needed to foster student achievement of learning outcomes and professional competencies. PMID:28090108

3D shape measurement of moving object with FFT-based spatial matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Qinghua; Ruan, Yuxi; Xi, Jiangtao; Song, Limei; Zhu, Xinjun; Yu, Yanguang; Tong, Jun

2018-03-01

This work presents a new technique for 3D shape measurement of moving object in translational motion, which finds applications in online inspection, quality control, etc. A low-complexity 1D fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based spatial matching approach is devised to obtain accurate object displacement estimates, and it is combined with single shot fringe pattern prolometry (FPP) techniques to achieve high measurement performance with multiple captured images through coherent combining. The proposed technique overcomes some limitations of existing ones. Specifically, the placement of marks on object surface and synchronization between projector and camera are not needed, the velocity of the moving object is not required to be constant, and there is no restriction on the movement trajectory. Both simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.

The Team Process: Realizing Effective Group Work and Enhancing School Improvement Plans (S.I.P.).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beiter, David J.; And Others

The use of the team process in school improvement plans may play a role in how effective the group is in achieving its goals and objectives. Representative efforts and perceptions of the use of teams in local educational agencies were surveyed in multiple measurements, such as interviews, self-assessments, self-perceptions, and observations. The…

Beyond fuel treatment effectiveness: Characterizing interactions between fire and treatments in the US

Treesearch

Kevin Barnett; Sean A. Parks; Carol Miller; Helen T. Naughton

2016-01-01

In the United States, fuel reduction treatments are a standard land management tool to restore the structure and composition of forests that have been degraded by past management. Although treatments can have multiple purposes, their principal objective is to create landscape conditions where wildland fire can be safely managed to help achieve long-term land management...

Real-time multiple objects tracking on Raspberry-Pi-based smart embedded camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dziri, Aziz; Duranton, Marc; Chapuis, Roland

2016-07-01

Multiple-object tracking constitutes a major step in several computer vision applications, such as surveillance, advanced driver assistance systems, and automatic traffic monitoring. Because of the number of cameras used to cover a large area, these applications are constrained by the cost of each node, the power consumption, the robustness of the tracking, the processing time, and the ease of deployment of the system. To meet these challenges, the use of low-power and low-cost embedded vision platforms to achieve reliable tracking becomes essential in networks of cameras. We propose a tracking pipeline that is designed for fixed smart cameras and which can handle occlusions between objects. We show that the proposed pipeline reaches real-time processing on a low-cost embedded smart camera composed of a Raspberry-Pi board and a RaspiCam camera. The tracking quality and the processing speed obtained with the proposed pipeline are evaluated on publicly available datasets and compared to the state-of-the-art methods.

Highly accurate quantitative spectroscopy of massive stars in the Galaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nieva, María-Fernanda; Przybilla, Norbert

2017-11-01

Achieving high accuracy and precision in stellar parameter and chemical composition determinations is challenging in massive star spectroscopy. On one hand, the target selection for an unbiased sample build-up is complicated by several types of peculiarities that can occur in individual objects. On the other hand, composite spectra are often not recognized as such even at medium-high spectral resolution and typical signal-to-noise ratios, despite multiplicity among massive stars is widespread. In particular, surveys that produce large amounts of automatically reduced data are prone to oversight of details that turn hazardous for the analysis with techniques that have been developed for a set of standard assumptions applicable to a spectrum of a single star. Much larger systematic errors than anticipated may therefore result because of the unrecognized true nature of the investigated objects, or much smaller sample sizes of objects for the analysis than initially planned, if recognized. More factors to be taken care of are the multiple steps from the choice of instrument over the details of the data reduction chain to the choice of modelling code, input data, analysis technique and the selection of the spectral lines to be analyzed. Only when avoiding all the possible pitfalls, a precise and accurate characterization of the stars in terms of fundamental parameters and chemical fingerprints can be achieved that form the basis for further investigations regarding e.g. stellar structure and evolution or the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. The scope of the present work is to provide the massive star and also other astrophysical communities with criteria to evaluate the quality of spectroscopic investigations of massive stars before interpreting them in a broader context. The discussion is guided by our experiences made in the course of over a decade of studies of massive star spectroscopy ranging from the simplest single objects to multiple systems.

Conditioning 3D object-based models to dense well data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yimin C.; Pyrcz, Michael J.; Catuneanu, Octavian; Boisvert, Jeff B.

2018-06-01

Object-based stochastic simulation models are used to generate categorical variable models with a realistic representation of complicated reservoir heterogeneity. A limitation of object-based modeling is the difficulty of conditioning to dense data. One method to achieve data conditioning is to apply optimization techniques. Optimization algorithms can utilize an objective function measuring the conditioning level of each object while also considering the geological realism of the object. Here, an objective function is optimized with implicit filtering which considers constraints on object parameters. Thousands of objects conditioned to data are generated and stored in a database. A set of objects are selected with linear integer programming to generate the final realization and honor all well data, proportions and other desirable geological features. Although any parameterizable object can be considered, objects from fluvial reservoirs are used to illustrate the ability to simultaneously condition multiple types of geologic features. Channels, levees, crevasse splays and oxbow lakes are parameterized based on location, path, orientation and profile shapes. Functions mimicking natural river sinuosity are used for the centerline model. Channel stacking pattern constraints are also included to enhance the geological realism of object interactions. Spatial layout correlations between different types of objects are modeled. Three case studies demonstrate the flexibility of the proposed optimization-simulation method. These examples include multiple channels with high sinuosity, as well as fragmented channels affected by limited preservation. In all cases the proposed method reproduces input parameters for the object geometries and matches the dense well constraints. The proposed methodology expands the applicability of object-based simulation to complex and heterogeneous geological environments with dense sampling.

The continuous end-state comfort effect: weighted integration of multiple biases.

PubMed

Herbort, Oliver; Butz, Martin V

2012-05-01

The grasp orientation when grasping an object is frequently aligned in anticipation of the intended rotation of the object (end-state comfort effect). We analyzed grasp orientation selection in a continuous task to determine the mechanisms underlying the end-state comfort effect. Participants had to grasp a box by a circular handle-which allowed for arbitrary grasp orientations-and then had to rotate the box by various angles. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed both that the rotation's direction considerably determined grasp orientations and that end-postures varied considerably. Experiments 3 and 4 further showed that visual stimuli and initial arm postures biased grasp orientations if the intended rotation could be easily achieved. The data show that end-state comfort but also other factors determine grasp orientation selection. A simple mechanism that integrates multiple weighted biases can account for the data.

Structured decision making for managing pneumonia epizootics in bighorn sheep

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sells, Sarah N.; Mitchell, Michael S.; Edwards, Victoria L.; Gude, Justin A.; Anderson, Neil J.

2016-01-01

Good decision-making is essential to conserving wildlife populations. Although there may be multiple ways to address a problem, perfect solutions rarely exist. Managers are therefore tasked with identifying decisions that will best achieve desired outcomes. Structured decision making (SDM) is a method of decision analysis used to identify the most effective, efficient, and realistic decisions while accounting for values and priorities of the decision maker. The stepwise process includes identifying the management problem, defining objectives for solving the problem, developing alternative approaches to achieve the objectives, and formally evaluating which alternative is most likely to accomplish the objectives. The SDM process can be more effective than informal decision-making because it provides a transparent way to quantitatively evaluate decisions for addressing multiple management objectives while incorporating science, uncertainty, and risk tolerance. To illustrate the application of this process to a management need, we present an SDM-based decision tool developed to identify optimal decisions for proactively managing risk of pneumonia epizootics in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in Montana. Pneumonia epizootics are a major challenge for managers due to long-term impacts to herds, epistemic uncertainty in timing and location of future epizootics, and consequent difficulty knowing how or when to manage risk. The decision tool facilitates analysis of alternative decisions for how to manage herds based on predictions from a risk model, herd-specific objectives, and predicted costs and benefits of each alternative. Decision analyses for 2 example herds revealed that meeting management objectives necessitates specific approaches unique to each herd. The analyses showed how and under what circumstances the alternatives are optimal compared to other approaches and current management. Managers can be confident that these decisions are effective, efficient, and realistic because they explicitly account for important considerations managers implicitly weigh when making decisions, including competing management objectives, uncertainty in potential outcomes, and risk tolerance.

Bioerodible System for Sequential Release of Multiple Drugs

PubMed Central

Sundararaj, Sharath C.; Thomas, Mark V.; Dziubla, Thomas D.; Puleo, David A.

2013-01-01

Because many complex physiological processes are controlled by multiple biomolecules, comprehensive treatment of certain disease conditions may be more effectively achieved by administration of more than one type of drug. Thus, the objective of the present research was to develop a multilayered, polymer-based system for sequential delivery of multiple drugs. The polymers used were cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP) complexed with Pluronic F-127 (P). After evaluating morphology of the resulting CAPP system, in vitro release of small molecule drugs and a model protein was studied from both single and multilayered devices. Drug release from single-layered CAPP films followed zero-order kinetics related to surface erosion of the association polymer. Release studies from multilayered CAPP devices showed the possibility of achieving intermittent release of one type of drug as well as sequential release of more than one type of drug. Mathematical modeling accurately predicted the release profiles for both single layer and multilayered devices. The present CAPP association polymer-based multilayer devices can be used for localized, sequential delivery of multiple drugs for the possible treatment of complex disease conditions, and perhaps for tissue engineering applications, that require delivery of more than one type of biomolecule. PMID:24096151

The achievement of spacecraft autonomy through the thematic application of multiple cooperating intelligent agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rossomando, Philip J.

1992-01-01

A description is given of UNICORN, a prototype system developed for the purpose of investigating artificial intelligence (AI) concepts supporting spacecraft autonomy. UNICORN employs thematic reasoning, of the type first described by Rodger Schank of Northwestern University, to allow the context-sensitive control of multiple intelligent agents within a blackboard based environment. In its domain of application, UNICORN demonstrates the ability to reason teleologically with focused knowledge. Also presented are some of the lessons learned as a result of this effort. These lessons apply to any effort wherein system level autonomy is the objective.

The relationship between autonomous motivation and autonomy support in medical students’ academic achievement

PubMed Central

Soemantri, Diantha; Jusuf, Anwar

2016-01-01

Objectives This study applied self-determination theory (SDT) to investigate the relationship between students’ autonomous motivation and tutors’ autonomy support in medical students’ academic achievement. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. Out of 204 students in a fundamental medical science course, 199 participated in the study. Data was collected using two questionnaires: the Learning Self-Regulation and Learning Climate Questionnaires. The score of the course assessment was the measure of academic achievement. Data was analyzed and reported with descriptive and inferential statistics (mean, standard deviation and multiple regression analysis).  Results Mean score (±standard deviation) of the autonomous motivation, tutors’ autonomy support, and academic achievement were 5.48±0.89, 5.22±0.92, and 5.22±0.92. Multiple regression results reported students’ autonomous motivation was associated with improvement of students’ academic achievement (β=15.2, p=0.004). However, augmentation of tutors’ autonomy support was not reflected in the improvement of students’ academic achievement (β = -12.6, p = 0.019). Both students’ autonomous motivation and tutors’ autonomy support had a contribution of about 4.2% students’ academic achievement (F = 4.343, p = 0.014, R2 = 0.042). Conclusions Due to the unique characteristic of our medical students’ educational background, our study shows that tutors’ autonomy support is inconsistent with students’ academic achievement. However, both autonomous motivation and support are essential to students’ academic achievement. Further study is needed to explore students’ educational background and self-regulated learning competence to improve students’ academic achievement.               PMID:28035054

Examining the Relationship of Textbooks and Labs on Student Achievement in Eighth-Grade Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugalan, Anacita Noromor

One of the most important objectives of teachers, parents, school administrators, and students is to improve student scores on standardized tests such as the State of Texas Assessment for Academic Readiness (STAAR) in eighth-grade science. This quasi experimental study examined the science achievement scores between schools that use textbooks and labs when delivering instruction. This study utilized a quantitative approach using archival data and survey design. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and multiple regression were used to analyze the data while controlling STAAR eighth-grade reading scores to reveal significant differences between classes. The sample and population for this study were predominantly eighth-grade Hispanic students in South Texas. Analysis of covariance showed that classes that used high labs got higher science scores and that the reading scores were significantly related to science scores. Multiple regression findings indicated that textbooks and labs were significant predictors of student achievement on the STAAR eighth- grade science class result in South Texas for Spring 2015. The findings of this study may serve as a catalyst for improving student achievement in science through changes in textbook adoption and doing labs in science. The result suggests the need to research further to investigate other contributing factors of student achievement.

Scenario management and automated scenario generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKeever, William; Gilmour, Duane; Lehman, Lynn; Stirtzinger, Anthony; Krause, Lee

2006-05-01

The military planning process utilizes simulation to determine the appropriate course of action (COA) that will achieve a campaign end state. However, due to the difficulty in developing and generating simulation level COAs, only a few COAs are simulated. This may have been appropriate for traditional conflicts but the evolution of warfare from attrition based to effects based strategies, as well as the complexities of 4 th generation warfare and asymmetric adversaries have placed additional demands on military planners and simulation. To keep pace with this dynamic, changing environment, planners must be able to perform continuous, multiple, "what-if" COA analysis. Scenario management and generation are critical elements to achieving this goal. An effects based scenario generation research project demonstrated the feasibility of automated scenario generation techniques which support multiple stove-pipe and emerging broad scope simulations. This paper will discuss a case study in which the scenario generation capability was employed to support COA simulations to identify plan effectiveness. The study demonstrated the effectiveness of using multiple simulation runs to evaluate the effectiveness of alternate COAs in achieving the overall campaign (metrics-based) objectives. The paper will discuss how scenario generation technology can be employed to allow military commanders and mission planning staff to understand the impact of command decisions on the battlespace of tomorrow.

Focusing attention on objects of interest using multiple matched filters.

PubMed

Stough, T M; Brodley, C E

2001-01-01

In order to be of use to scientists, large image databases need to be analyzed to create a catalog of the objects of interest. One approach is to apply a multiple tiered search algorithm that uses reduction techniques of increasing computational complexity to select the desired objects from the database. The first tier of this type of algorithm, often called a focus of attention (FOA) algorithm, selects candidate regions from the image data and passes them to the next tier of the algorithm. In this paper we present a new approach to FOA that employs multiple matched filters (MMF), one for each object prototype, to detect the regions of interest. The MMFs are formed using k-means clustering on a set of image patches identified by domain experts as positive examples of objects of interest. An innovation of the approach is to radically reduce the dimensionality of the feature space, used by the k-means algorithm, by taking block averages (spoiling) the sample image patches. The process of spoiling is analyzed and its applicability to other domains is discussed. The combination of the output of the MMFs is achieved through the projection of the detections back into an empty image and then thresholding. This research was motivated by the need to detect small volcanos in the Magellan probe data from Venus. An empirical evaluation of the approach illustrates that a combination of the MMF plus the average filter results in a higher likelihood of 100% detection of the objects of interest at a lower false positive rate than a single matched filter alone.

Some recent developments of the immersed interface method for flow simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Sheng

2017-11-01

The immersed interface method is a general methodology for solving PDEs subject to interfaces. In this talk, I will give an overview of some recent developments of the method toward the enhancement of its robustness for flow simulation. In particular, I will present with numerical results how to capture boundary conditions on immersed rigid objects, how to adopt interface triangulation in the method, and how to parallelize the method for flow with moving objects. With these developments, the immersed interface method can achieve accurate and efficient simulation of a flow involving multiple moving complex objects. Thanks to NSF for the support of this work under Grant NSF DMS 1320317.

Assessment of the core learning objectives curriculum for the urology clerkship.

PubMed

Rapp, David E; Gong, Edward M; Reynolds, W Stuart; Lucioni, Alvaro; Zagaja, Gregory P

2007-11-01

The traditional approach to the surgical clerkship has limitations, including variability of clinical exposure. To optimize student education we developed and introduced the core learning objectives curriculum, which is designed to allow students freedom to direct their learning and focus on core concepts. We performed a prospective, randomized, controlled study to compare the efficacy of core learning objectives vs traditional curricula through objective and subjective measures. Medical students were randomly assigned to the core learning objectives or traditional curricula during the 2-week urology clerkship. Faculty was blinded to student assignment. Upon rotation completion all students were given a 20-question multiple choice examination covering basic urology concepts. In addition, students completed a questionnaire addressing subjective clerkship satisfaction, comprising 15 questions. Between June 2005 and January 2007, 10 core learning objectives students and 10 traditional students completed the urology clerkship. The average +/- SEM multiple choice examination score was 12.1 +/- 0.87 and 9.8 +/- 0.59 for students assigned to the core learning objectives and traditional curricula, respectively (p <0.05). Subjective scores were higher in the core learning objectives cohort, although this result did not attain statistical significance (124.9 +/- 3.72 vs 114.3 +/- 4.96, p = 0.1). Core learning objectives students reported higher satisfaction in all 15 assessed subjective end points. Our experience suggests that the core learning objectives model may be an effective educational tool to help students achieve a broad and directed exposure to the core urological concepts.

The ASLOTS concept: An interactive, adaptive decision support concept for Final Approach Spacing of Aircraft (FASA). FAA-NASA Joint University Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, Robert W.

1993-01-01

This presentation outlines a concept for an adaptive, interactive decision support system to assist controllers at a busy airport in achieving efficient use of multiple runways. The concept is being implemented as a computer code called FASA (Final Approach Spacing for Aircraft), and will be tested and demonstrated in ATCSIM, a high fidelity simulation of terminal area airspace and airport surface operations. Objectives are: (1) to provide automated cues to assist controllers in the sequencing and spacing of landing and takeoff aircraft; (2) to provide the controller with a limited ability to modify the sequence and spacings between aircraft, and to insert takeoffs and missed approach aircraft in the landing flows; (3) to increase spacing accuracy using more complex and precise separation criteria while reducing controller workload; and (4) achieve higher operational takeoff and landing rates on multiple runways in poor visibility.

Research pressure instrumentation for NASA Space Shuttle main engine, modification no. 5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, P. J.; Nussbaum, P.; Gustafson, G.

1984-01-01

The advantages of silicon piezoresistive strain sensing technology are being used to achieve the objectives of state of the art pressure sensors for SSME applications. The integration of multiple functions on a single chip is the key attribute being exploited. Progress is reported in transducer packaging and materials; silicon resistor characterization at cryogenic temperatures; chip mounting; and frequency response optimization.

School Finance: A Primer. A Practical Guide to the Structural Components of, Alternative Approaches to, and Policy Questions about State School Finance Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Augenblick, John; And Others

Although school funding structures are similar in many ways across the states, no two states have school finance systems that are precisely the same. School finance systems which are used to achieve multiple objectives, must consider characteristics of numerous school districts, distribute large amounts of money, and have developed incrementally…

Effects of basal area on survival and growth of longleaf pine when practicing selection silviculture

Treesearch

Ferhat Kara; Edward F. Loewenstein; Dale G. Brockway

2017-01-01

Aim of study: Uneven-aged (UEA) management systems can achieve multiple-use objectives, however, use of UEA techniques to manage longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests are still open to question, because of the species’ intolerance of competition. It was our aim to examine the influence of different levels (9.2, 13.8 and...

Review of Aircraft Engine Fan Noise Reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanZante, Dale

2008-01-01

Aircraft turbofan engines incorporate multiple technologies to enhance performance and durability while reducing noise emissions. Both careful aerodynamic design of the fan and proper installation of the fan into the system are requirements for achieving the performance and acoustic objectives. The design and installation characteristics of high performance aircraft engine fans will be discussed along with some lessons learned that may be applicable to spaceflight fan applications.

Software for Automated Image-to-Image Co-registration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benkelman, Cody A.; Hughes, Heidi

2007-01-01

The project objectives are: a) Develop software to fine-tune image-to-image co-registration, presuming images are orthorectified prior to input; b) Create a reusable software development kit (SDK) to enable incorporation of these tools into other software; d) provide automated testing for quantitative analysis; and e) Develop software that applies multiple techniques to achieve subpixel precision in the co-registration of image pairs.

Modeling of Explorative Procedures for Remote Object Identification

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

haptic sensory system and the simulated foveal component of the visual system. Eventually it will allow multiple applications in remote sensing and...superposition of sensory channels. The use of a force reflecting telemanipulator and computer simulated visual foveal component are the tools which...representation of human search models is achieved by using the proprioceptive component of the haptic sensory system and the simulated foveal component of the

A model for diagnosing and explaining multiple disorders.

PubMed

Jamieson, P W

1991-08-01

The ability to diagnose multiple interacting disorders and explain them in a coherent causal framework has only partially been achieved in medical expert systems. This paper proposes a causal model for diagnosing and explaining multiple disorders whose key elements are: physician-directed hypotheses generation, object-oriented knowledge representation, and novel explanation heuristics. The heuristics modify and link the explanations to make the physician aware of diagnostic complexities. A computer program incorporating the model currently is in use for diagnosing peripheral nerve and muscle disorders. The program successfully diagnoses and explains interactions between diseases in terms of underlying pathophysiologic concepts. The model offers a new architecture for medical domains where reasoning from first principles is difficult but explanation of disease interactions is crucial for the system's operation.

Multi-objective vs. single-objective calibration of a hydrologic model using single- and multi-objective screening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mai, Juliane; Cuntz, Matthias; Shafii, Mahyar; Zink, Matthias; Schäfer, David; Thober, Stephan; Samaniego, Luis; Tolson, Bryan

2016-04-01

Hydrologic models are traditionally calibrated against observed streamflow. Recent studies have shown however, that only a few global model parameters are constrained using this kind of integral signal. They can be identified using prior screening techniques. Since different objectives might constrain different parameters, it is advisable to use multiple information to calibrate those models. One common approach is to combine these multiple objectives (MO) into one single objective (SO) function and allow the use of a SO optimization algorithm. Another strategy is to consider the different objectives separately and apply a MO Pareto optimization algorithm. In this study, two major research questions will be addressed: 1) How do multi-objective calibrations compare with corresponding single-objective calibrations? 2) How much do calibration results deteriorate when the number of calibrated parameters is reduced by a prior screening technique? The hydrologic model employed in this study is a distributed hydrologic model (mHM) with 52 model parameters, i.e. transfer coefficients. The model uses grid cells as a primary hydrologic unit, and accounts for processes like snow accumulation and melting, soil moisture dynamics, infiltration, surface runoff, evapotranspiration, subsurface storage and discharge generation. The model is applied in three distinct catchments over Europe. The SO calibrations are performed using the Dynamically Dimensioned Search (DDS) algorithm with a fixed budget while the MO calibrations are achieved using the Pareto Dynamically Dimensioned Search (PA-DDS) algorithm allowing for the same budget. The two objectives used here are the Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) of the simulated streamflow and the NSE of the logarithmic transformation. It is shown that the SO DDS results are located close to the edges of the Pareto fronts of the PA-DDS. The MO calibrations are hence preferable due to their supply of multiple equivalent solutions from which the user can choose at the end due to the specific needs. The sequential single-objective parameter screening was employed prior to the calibrations reducing the number of parameters by at least 50% in the different catchments and for the different single objectives. The single-objective calibrations led to a faster convergence of the objectives and are hence beneficial when using a DDS on single-objectives. The above mentioned parameter screening technique is generalized for multi-objectives and applied before calibration using the PA-DDS algorithm. Two different alternatives of this MO-screening are tested. The comparison of the calibration results using all parameters and using only screened parameters shows for both alternatives that the PA-DDS algorithm does not profit in terms of trade-off size and function evaluations required to achieve converged pareto fronts. This is because the PA-DDS algorithm automatically reduces search space with progress of the calibration run. This automatic reduction should be different for other search algorithms. It is therefore hypothesized that prior screening can but must not be beneficial for parameter estimation dependent on the chosen optimization algorithm.

Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and learning English as a foreign language.

PubMed

Shaikholeslami, Razieh; Khayyer, Mohammad

2006-12-01

The objective of this study was to examine the relationships of amotivation, extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation with learning the English language. The 230 Iranian students at Shiraz University were tested using the Language Learning Orientations Scales to measure Amotivation, Extrinsic Motivation, and Intrinsic Motivation as explanatory variables. Grade point average in English exams was selected as a measure of English learning Achievement. Multiple regression analysis revealed that learning Achievement scores were predicted by scores on the Amotivation subscale, Introjected Regulation subscale, Knowledge subscale, and Stimulation subscale, whereas, the External and Identified Regulation and Accomplishment subscales did not have a significant relationship with Achievement. The results are discussed in terms of differences in Iranian context and culture.

An opposite view data replacement approach for reducing artifacts due to metallic dental objects

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

Yazdi, Mehran; Lari, Meghdad Asadi; Bernier, Gaston

Purpose: To present a conceptually new method for metal artifact reduction (MAR) that can be used on patients with multiple objects within the scan plane that are also of small sized along the longitudinal (scanning) direction, such as dental fillings. Methods: The proposed algorithm, named opposite view replacement, achieves MAR by first detecting the projection data affected by metal objects and then replacing the affected projections by the corresponding opposite view projections, which are not affected by metal objects. The authors also applied a fading process to avoid producing any discontinuities in the boundary of the affected projection areas inmore » the sinogram. A skull phantom with and without a variety of dental metal inserts was made to extract the performance metric of the algorithm. A head and neck case, typical of IMRT planning, was also tested. Results: The reconstructed CT images based on this new replacement scheme show a significant improvement in image quality for patients with metallic dental objects compared to the MAR algorithms based on the interpolation scheme. For the phantom, the authors showed that the artifact reduction algorithm can efficiently recover the CT numbers in the area next to the metallic objects. Conclusions: The authors presented a new and efficient method for artifact reduction due to multiple small metallic objects. The obtained results from phantoms and clinical cases fully validate the proposed approach.« less

Design of inventory pools in spare part support operation systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, Daniel Y.; Tseng, Mitchell M.; Cheung, Raymond K.

2014-06-01

The objective of a spare part support operation is to fulfill the part request order with different service contracts in the agreed response time. With this objective to achieve different service targets for multiple service contracts and the considerations of inventory investment, it is not only important to determine the inventory policy but also to design the structure of inventory pools and the order fulfilment strategies. In this research, we focused on two types of inventory pools: multiple inventory pool (MIP) and consolidated inventory pool (CIP). The idea of MIP is to maintain separated inventory pools based on the types of service contract, while CIP solely maintains a single inventory pool regardless of service contract. Our research aims to design the inventory pool analytically and propose reserve strategies to manage the order fulfilment risks in CIP. Mathematical models and simulation experiments would be applied for analysis and evaluation.

Motion and force control for multiple cooperative manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wen, John T.; Kreutz, Kenneth

1989-01-01

The motion and force control of multiple robot arms manipulating a commonly held object is addressed. A general control paradigm that decouples the motion and force control problems is introduced. For motion control, there are three natural choices: (1) joint torques, (2) arm-tip force vectors, and (3) the acceleration of a generalized coordinate. Choice (1) allows a class of relatively model-independent control laws by exploiting the Hamiltonian structure of the open-loop system; (2) and (3) require the full model information but produce simpler problems. To resolve the nonuniqueness of the joint torques, two methods are introduced. If the arm and object models are available, the allocation of the desired end-effector control force to the joint actuators can be optimized; otherwise the internal force can be controlled about some set point. It is shown that effective force regulation can be achieved even if little model information is available.

Multiple objective optimization in reliability demonstration test

DOE PAGES

Lu, Lu; Anderson-Cook, Christine Michaela; Li, Mingyang

2016-10-01

Reliability demonstration tests are usually performed in product design or validation processes to demonstrate whether a product meets specified requirements on reliability. For binomial demonstration tests, the zero-failure test has been most commonly used due to its simplicity and use of minimum sample size to achieve an acceptable consumer’s risk level. However, this test can often result in unacceptably high risk for producers as well as a low probability of passing the test even when the product has good reliability. This paper explicitly explores the interrelationship between multiple objectives that are commonly of interest when planning a demonstration test andmore » proposes structured decision-making procedures using a Pareto front approach for selecting an optimal test plan based on simultaneously balancing multiple criteria. Different strategies are suggested for scenarios with different user priorities and graphical tools are developed to help quantify the trade-offs between choices and to facilitate informed decision making. As a result, potential impacts of some subjective user inputs on the final decision are studied to offer insights and useful guidance for general applications.« less

The Federal Forest Stewardship Program and its implications for sustainable forestry on private forest ownerships in the United States

Treesearch

Robert J. Moulton; J. Dixon Esseks

2002-01-01

A 72 percent response rate was achieved in 1998 and 1999 national survey of 1,238 participants in the USDA Forest Service's Forest Stewardship Program, under which 130,000 individual multiple resource plans encompassing 16.5 million acres (6.5 million ha) of privately owned forest lands in the United States had been completed. Objectives were to determine if the...

Multiobjective Decision Making Policies and Coordination Mechanisms in Hierarchical Organizations: Results of an Agent-Based Simulation

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

This paper analyses how different coordination modes and different multiobjective decision making approaches interfere with each other in hierarchical organizations. The investigation is based on an agent-based simulation. We apply a modified NK-model in which we map multiobjective decision making as adaptive walk on multiple performance landscapes, whereby each landscape represents one objective. We find that the impact of the coordination mode on the performance and the speed of performance improvement is critically affected by the selected multiobjective decision making approach. In certain setups, the performances achieved with the more complex multiobjective decision making approaches turn out to be less sensitive to the coordination mode than the performances achieved with the less complex multiobjective decision making approaches. Furthermore, we present results on the impact of the nature of interactions among decisions on the achieved performance in multiobjective setups. Our results give guidance on how to control the performance contribution of objectives to overall performance and answer the question how effective certain multiobjective decision making approaches perform under certain circumstances (coordination mode and interdependencies among decisions). PMID:25152926

Managing multiple funding streams and agendas to achieve local and global health and research objectives: lessons from the field

PubMed Central

Holmes, Charles B.; Sikazwe, Izukanji; Raelly, Roselyne; Freeman, Bethany; Wambulawae, Inonge; Silwizya, Geoffrey; Topp, Stephanie; Chilengi, Roma; Henostroza, German; Kapambwe, Sharon; Simbeye, Darius; Sibajene, Sheila; Chi, Harmony; Godfrey, Katy; Chi, Benjamin; Moore, Carolyn Bolton

2014-01-01

Multiple funding sources provide research and program implementation organizations a broader base of funding and facilitate synergy, but also entail challenges that include varying stakeholder expectations, unaligned grant cycles, and highly variable reporting requirements. Strong governance and strategic planning are essential to ensure alignment of goals and agendas. Systems to track budgets and outputs as well as procurement and human resources are required. A major goal is to transition leadership and operations to local ownership. This article details successful approaches used by the newly independent non-governmental organization, the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ). PMID:24321983

Multiple-cycle Simulation of a Pulse Detonation Engine Ejector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yungster, S.; Perkins, H. D.

2002-01-01

This paper presents the results of a study involving single and multiple-cycle numerical simulations of various PDE-ejector configurations utilizing hydrogen-oxygen mixtures. The objective was to investigate the thrust, impulse and mass flow rate characteristics of these devices. The results indicate that ejector systems can utilize the energy stored in the strong shock wave exiting the detonation tube to augment the impulse obtained from the detonation tube alone. Impulse augmentation ratios of up to 1.9 were achieved. The axial location of the converging-diverging ejectors relative to the end of the detonation tube were shown to affect the performance of the system.

Managing multiple funding streams and agendas to achieve local and global health and research objectives: lessons from the field.

PubMed

Holmes, Charles B; Sikazwe, Izukanji; Raelly, Roselyne L; Freeman, Bethany L; Wambulawae, Inonge; Silwizya, Geoffrey; Topp, Stephanie M; Chilengi, Roma; Henostroza, German; Kapambwe, Sharon; Simbeye, Darius; Sibajene, Sheila; Chi, Harmony; Godfrey, Katy; Chi, Benjamin; Moore, Carolyn Bolton

2014-01-01

Multiple funding sources provide research and program implementation organizations a broader base of funding and facilitate synergy, but also entail challenges that include varying stakeholder expectations, unaligned grant cycles, and highly variable reporting requirements. Strong governance and strategic planning are essential to ensure alignment of goals and agendas. Systems to track budgets and outputs, as well as procurement and human resources are required. A major goal of funders is to transition leadership and operations to local ownership. This article details successful approaches used by the newly independent nongovernmental organization, the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia.

Educational achievements of children of parents with multiple sclerosis: A nationwide register-based cohort study.

PubMed

Moberg, J Y; Magyari, M; Koch-Henriksen, N; Thygesen, L C; Laursen, B; Soelberg Sørensen, P

2016-11-01

Little is known about the impact of parental multiple sclerosis (MS) on offspring's educational attainment. The objective of the study was to examine educational achievements in offspring of parents with MS compared with matched children of parents without MS in a nationwide register-based cohort study. Children of all Danish-born residents with onset between 1950 and 1986 were identified by linking the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Registry with the Civil Registration System. Twins, children with MS, and emigrated persons were excluded. The reference cohort consisted of randomly drawn individuals from the Civil Registration System without parental MS matched 8:1 to the MS offspring by sex and year of birth. Information about education was linked to the cohorts from nationwide educational registries. We included 4177 children of MS parents and 33,416 reference persons. Children of MS parents achieved statistically significant higher average grades than the reference cohort in their final exam of basic school with a mean grade difference of 0.46 (95 % CI 0.22-0.69; p = 0.0002). We found no difference in achievement of educational level above basic school (OR 1.04; 95 % CI 0.98-1.10; p = 0.20). There was a trend toward more MS offspring attaining health-related educations (OR 1.10; 95 % CI 1.00-1.21; p = 0.06). In conclusion, children of MS parents showed a small advantage in grade point average in final examinations in basic school, and they more often tended toward health-related educations. This study revealed no negative consequences of parental MS on grades and highest educational level achieved.

Resolving occlusion and segmentation errors in multiple video object tracking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Hsu-Yung; Hwang, Jenq-Neng

2009-02-01

In this work, we propose a method to integrate the Kalman filter and adaptive particle sampling for multiple video object tracking. The proposed framework is able to detect occlusion and segmentation error cases and perform adaptive particle sampling for accurate measurement selection. Compared with traditional particle filter based tracking methods, the proposed method generates particles only when necessary. With the concept of adaptive particle sampling, we can avoid degeneracy problem because the sampling position and range are dynamically determined by parameters that are updated by Kalman filters. There is no need to spend time on processing particles with very small weights. The adaptive appearance for the occluded object refers to the prediction results of Kalman filters to determine the region that should be updated and avoids the problem of using inadequate information to update the appearance under occlusion cases. The experimental results have shown that a small number of particles are sufficient to achieve high positioning and scaling accuracy. Also, the employment of adaptive appearance substantially improves the positioning and scaling accuracy on the tracking results.

Stereo vision tracking of multiple objects in complex indoor environments.

PubMed

Marrón-Romera, Marta; García, Juan C; Sotelo, Miguel A; Pizarro, Daniel; Mazo, Manuel; Cañas, José M; Losada, Cristina; Marcos, Alvaro

2010-01-01

This paper presents a novel system capable of solving the problem of tracking multiple targets in a crowded, complex and dynamic indoor environment, like those typical of mobile robot applications. The proposed solution is based on a stereo vision set in the acquisition step and a probabilistic algorithm in the obstacles position estimation process. The system obtains 3D position and speed information related to each object in the robot's environment; then it achieves a classification between building elements (ceiling, walls, columns and so on) and the rest of items in robot surroundings. All objects in robot surroundings, both dynamic and static, are considered to be obstacles but the structure of the environment itself. A combination of a Bayesian algorithm and a deterministic clustering process is used in order to obtain a multimodal representation of speed and position of detected obstacles. Performance of the final system has been tested against state of the art proposals; test results validate the authors' proposal. The designed algorithms and procedures provide a solution to those applications where similar multimodal data structures are found.

A modified discrete algebraic reconstruction technique for multiple grey image reconstruction for limited angle range tomography.

PubMed

Liang, Zhiting; Guan, Yong; Liu, Gang; Chen, Xiangyu; Li, Fahu; Guo, Pengfei; Tian, Yangchao

2016-03-01

The `missing wedge', which is due to a restricted rotation range, is a major challenge for quantitative analysis of an object using tomography. With prior knowledge of the grey levels, the discrete algebraic reconstruction technique (DART) is able to reconstruct objects accurately with projections in a limited angle range. However, the quality of the reconstructions declines as the number of grey levels increases. In this paper, a modified DART (MDART) was proposed, in which each independent region of homogeneous material was chosen as a research object, instead of the grey values. The grey values of each discrete region were estimated according to the solution of the linear projection equations. The iterative process of boundary pixels updating and correcting the grey values of each region was executed alternately. Simulation experiments of binary phantoms as well as multiple grey phantoms show that MDART is capable of achieving high-quality reconstructions with projections in a limited angle range. The interesting advancement of MDART is that neither prior knowledge of the grey values nor the number of grey levels is necessary.

Refractive multiple optical tweezers for parallel biochemical analysis in micro-fluidics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merenda, Fabrice; Rohner, Johann; Pascoal, Pedro; Fournier, Jean-Marc; Vogel, Horst; Salathé, René-Paul

2007-02-01

We present a multiple laser tweezers system based on refractive optics. The system produces an array of 100 optical traps thanks to a refractive microlens array, whose focal plane is imaged into the focal plane of a high-NA microscope objective. This refractive multi-tweezers system is combined to micro-fluidics, aiming at performing simultaneous biochemical reactions on ensembles of free floating objects. Micro-fluidics allows both transporting the particles to the trapping area, and conveying biochemical reagents to the trapped particles. Parallel trapping in micro-fluidics is achieved with polystyrene beads as well as with native vesicles produced from mammalian cells. The traps can hold objects against fluid flows exceeding 100 micrometers per second. Parallel fluorescence excitation and detection on the ensemble of trapped particles is also demonstrated. Additionally, the system is capable of selectively and individually releasing particles from the tweezers array using a complementary steerable laser beam. Strategies for high-yield particle capture and individual particle release in a micro-fluidic environment are discussed. A comparison with diffractive optical tweezers enhances the pros and cons of refractive systems.

Real-time electroholography using a multiple-graphics processing unit cluster system with a single spatial light modulator and the InfiniBand network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niwase, Hiroaki; Takada, Naoki; Araki, Hiromitsu; Maeda, Yuki; Fujiwara, Masato; Nakayama, Hirotaka; Kakue, Takashi; Shimobaba, Tomoyoshi; Ito, Tomoyoshi

2016-09-01

Parallel calculations of large-pixel-count computer-generated holograms (CGHs) are suitable for multiple-graphics processing unit (multi-GPU) cluster systems. However, it is not easy for a multi-GPU cluster system to accomplish fast CGH calculations when CGH transfers between PCs are required. In these cases, the CGH transfer between the PCs becomes a bottleneck. Usually, this problem occurs only in multi-GPU cluster systems with a single spatial light modulator. To overcome this problem, we propose a simple method using the InfiniBand network. The computational speed of the proposed method using 13 GPUs (NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X) was more than 3000 times faster than that of a CPU (Intel Core i7 4770) when the number of three-dimensional (3-D) object points exceeded 20,480. In practice, we achieved ˜40 tera floating point operations per second (TFLOPS) when the number of 3-D object points exceeded 40,960. Our proposed method was able to reconstruct a real-time movie of a 3-D object comprising 95,949 points.

Efficient and equitable design of marine protected areas in Fiji through inclusion of stakeholder-specific objectives in conservation planning.

PubMed

Gurney, Georgina G; Pressey, Robert L; Ban, Natalie C; Álvarez-Romero, Jorge G; Jupiter, Stacy; Adams, Vanessa M

2015-10-01

The efficacy of protected areas varies, partly because socioeconomic factors are not sufficiently considered in planning and management. Although integrating socioeconomic factors into systematic conservation planning is increasingly advocated, research is needed to progress from recognition of these factors to incorporating them effectively in spatial prioritization of protected areas. We evaluated 2 key aspects of incorporating socioeconomic factors into spatial prioritization: treatment of socioeconomic factors as costs or objectives and treatment of stakeholders as a single group or multiple groups. Using as a case study the design of a system of no-take marine protected areas (MPAs) in Kubulau, Fiji, we assessed how these aspects affected the configuration of no-take MPAs in terms of trade-offs between biodiversity objectives, fisheries objectives, and equity in catch losses among fisher stakeholder groups. The achievement of fisheries objectives and equity tended to trade-off concavely with increasing biodiversity objectives, indicating that it is possible to achieve low to mid-range biodiversity objectives with relatively small losses to fisheries and equity. Importantly, the extent of trade-offs depended on the method used to incorporate socioeconomic data and was least severe when objectives were set for each fisher stakeholder group explicitly. We found that using different methods to incorporate socioeconomic factors that require similar data and expertise can result in plans with very different impacts on local stakeholders. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

True Color Holography with Three Wavelengths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swearingen, Jeremy R.

2006-12-01

Single wavelength holography provides a three-dimensional snapshot of an object?s size, shape, and position relative to the holographic medium. However, single wavelength holography is limited because it does not preserve the integrity of the original object?s color. When the hologram is played back, the object in the hologram will appear to be the color of the wavelength used to record the hologram. This can be remedied by employing multiple wavelengths, namely three: red, blue, and green as to create a ?pseudo white? laser beam. To achieve this pseudo white beam, the red, blue, and green lasers must be merged with the appropriate dichroic filters and passed through the same spatial filter to expose the hologram as if the light was all coming from the same source. I will discuss the setup used to record these ?true color? holograms and the difficulties in developing them.

Music therapy research and applications in pediatric oncology treatment.

PubMed

Standley, J M; Hanser, S B

1995-01-01

Music therapy is a profession which meets multiple physical, social, and psychological needs. Music therapists can facilitate health objectives by reducing the intensity or duration of pain, alleviating anxiety, and decreasing the amount of analgesic medication needed. Rehabilitative objectives can include activities which incorporate exercise, range of motion therapy, or gait training. Reduction of fear, anxiety, stress, or grief are common psychological objectives. Music therapy is particularly effective in promoting social objectives such as increased interaction, verbalization, independence, and cooperation; enhanced relationships with health care personnel and family members; and increased stimulation during long-term hospitalization or isolation. Counseling techniques are often paired with music to achieve emotional objectives such as expression, adjustment, stability, or locus of control. The purpose of this article is to synthesize the extant music/medical research literature and clarify how music therapy can provide a quintessential combination of physical, social, and psychological benefits to enhance the health care of pediatric oncology patients.

Multilateral Telecoordinated Control of Multiple Robots With Uncertain Kinematics.

PubMed

Zhai, Di-Hua; Xia, Yuanqing

2017-06-06

This paper addresses the telecoordinated control of multiple robots in the simultaneous presence of asymmetric time-varying delays, nonpassive external forces, and uncertain kinematics/dynamics. To achieve the control objective, a neuroadaptive controller with utilizing prescribed performance control and switching control technique is developed, where the basic idea is to employ the concept of motion synchronization in each pair of master-slave robots and among all slave robots. By using the multiple Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals method, the state-independent input-to-output practical stability of the closed-loop system is established. Compared with the previous approaches, the new design is straightforward and easier to implement and is applicable to a wider area. Simulation results on three pairs of three degrees-of-freedom robots confirm the theoretical findings.

Optical Associative Processors For Visual Perception"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casasent, David; Telfer, Brian

1988-05-01

We consider various associative processor modifications required to allow these systems to be used for visual perception, scene analysis, and object recognition. For these applications, decisions on the class of the objects present in the input image are required and thus heteroassociative memories are necessary (rather than the autoassociative memories that have been given most attention). We analyze the performance of both associative processors and note that there is considerable difference between heteroassociative and autoassociative memories. We describe associative processors suitable for realizing functions such as: distortion invariance (using linear discriminant function memory synthesis techniques), noise and image processing performance (using autoassociative memories in cascade with with a heteroassociative processor and with a finite number of autoassociative memory iterations employed), shift invariance (achieved through the use of associative processors operating on feature space data), and the analysis of multiple objects in high noise (which is achieved using associative processing of the output from symbolic correlators). We detail and provide initial demonstrations of the use of associative processors operating on iconic, feature space and symbolic data, as well as adaptive associative processors.

Time-resolved non-sequential ray-tracing modelling of non-line-of-sight picosecond pulse LIDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sroka, Adam; Chan, Susan; Warburton, Ryan; Gariepy, Genevieve; Henderson, Robert; Leach, Jonathan; Faccio, Daniele; Lee, Stephen T.

2016-05-01

The ability to detect motion and to track a moving object that is hidden around a corner or behind a wall provides a crucial advantage when physically going around the obstacle is impossible or dangerous. One recently demonstrated approach to achieving this goal makes use of non-line-of-sight picosecond pulse laser ranging. This approach has recently become interesting due to the availability of single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) receivers with picosecond time resolution. We present a time-resolved non-sequential ray-tracing model and its application to indirect line-of-sight detection of moving targets. The model makes use of the Zemax optical design programme's capabilities in stray light analysis where it traces large numbers of rays through multiple random scattering events in a 3D non-sequential environment. Our model then reconstructs the generated multi-segment ray paths and adds temporal analysis. Validation of this model against experimental results is shown. We then exercise the model to explore the limits placed on system design by available laser sources and detectors. In particular we detail the requirements on the laser's pulse energy, duration and repetition rate, and on the receiver's temporal response and sensitivity. These are discussed in terms of the resulting implications for achievable range, resolution and measurement time while retaining eye-safety with this technique. Finally, the model is used to examine potential extensions to the experimental system that may allow for increased localisation of the position of the detected moving object, such as the inclusion of multiple detectors and/or multiple emitters.

Development and implementation of a balanced scorecard in an academic hospitalist group.

PubMed

Hwa, Michael; Sharpe, Bradley A; Wachter, Robert M

2013-03-01

Academic hospitalist groups (AHGs) are often expected to excel in multiple domains: quality improvement, patient safety, education, research, administration, and clinical care. To be successful, AHGs must develop strategies to balance their energies, resources, and performance. The balanced scorecard (BSC) is a strategic management system that enables organizations to translate their mission and vision into specific objectives and metrics across multiple domains. To date, no hospitalist group has reported on BSC implementation. We set out to develop a BSC as part of a strategic planning initiative. Based on a needs assessment of the University of California, San Francisco, Division of Hospital Medicine, mission and vision statements were developed. We engaged representative faculty to develop strategic objectives and determine performance metrics across 4 BSC perspectives. There were 41 metrics identified, and 16 were chosen for the initial BSC. It allowed us to achieve several goals: 1) present a broad view of performance, 2) create transparency and accountability, 3) communicate goals and engage faculty, and 4) ensure we use data to guide strategic decisions. Several lessons were learned, including the need to build faculty consensus, establish metrics with reliable measureable data, and the power of the BSC to drive goals across the division. We successfully developed and implemented a BSC in an AHG as part of a strategic planning initiative. The BSC has been instrumental in allowing us to achieve balanced success in multiple domains. Academic groups should consider employing the BSC as it allows for a data-driven strategic planning and assessment process. Copyright © 2013 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Research pressure instrumentation for NASA space shuttle main engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, P. J.; Nussbaum, P.; Gustafson, G.

1985-01-01

The breadboard feasibility model of a silicon piezoresistive pressure transducer suitable for space shuttle main engine (SSME) applications was demonstrated. The development of pressure instrumentation for the SSME was examined. The objective is to develop prototype pressure transducers which are targeted to meet the SSME performance design goals and to fabricate, test and deliver a total of 10 prototype units. Effective utilization of the many advantages of silicon piezoresistive strain sensing technology to achieve the objectives of advanced state-of-the-art pressure sensors for reliability, accuracy and ease of manufacture is analyzed. Integration of multiple functions on a single chip is the key attribute of the technology.

Grayscale inhomogeneity correction method for multiple mosaicked electron microscope images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Fangxu; Chen, Xi; Sun, Rong; Han, Hua

2018-04-01

Electron microscope image stitching is highly desired to acquire microscopic resolution images of large target scenes in neuroscience. However, the result of multiple Mosaicked electron microscope images may exist severe gray scale inhomogeneity due to the instability of the electron microscope system and registration errors, which degrade the visual effect of the mosaicked EM images and aggravate the difficulty of follow-up treatment, such as automatic object recognition. Consequently, the grayscale correction method for multiple mosaicked electron microscope images is indispensable in these areas. Different from most previous grayscale correction methods, this paper designs a grayscale correction process for multiple EM images which tackles the difficulty of the multiple images monochrome correction and achieves the consistency of grayscale in the overlap regions. We adjust overall grayscale of the mosaicked images with the location and grayscale information of manual selected seed images, and then fuse local overlap regions between adjacent images using Poisson image editing. Experimental result demonstrates the effectiveness of our proposed method.

Object Detection and Classification by Decision-Level Fusion for Intelligent Vehicle Systems.

PubMed

Oh, Sang-Il; Kang, Hang-Bong

2017-01-22

To understand driving environments effectively, it is important to achieve accurate detection and classification of objects detected by sensor-based intelligent vehicle systems, which are significantly important tasks. Object detection is performed for the localization of objects, whereas object classification recognizes object classes from detected object regions. For accurate object detection and classification, fusing multiple sensor information into a key component of the representation and perception processes is necessary. In this paper, we propose a new object-detection and classification method using decision-level fusion. We fuse the classification outputs from independent unary classifiers, such as 3D point clouds and image data using a convolutional neural network (CNN). The unary classifiers for the two sensors are the CNN with five layers, which use more than two pre-trained convolutional layers to consider local to global features as data representation. To represent data using convolutional layers, we apply region of interest (ROI) pooling to the outputs of each layer on the object candidate regions generated using object proposal generation to realize color flattening and semantic grouping for charge-coupled device and Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) sensors. We evaluate our proposed method on a KITTI benchmark dataset to detect and classify three object classes: cars, pedestrians and cyclists. The evaluation results show that the proposed method achieves better performance than the previous methods. Our proposed method extracted approximately 500 proposals on a 1226 × 370 image, whereas the original selective search method extracted approximately 10 6 × n proposals. We obtained classification performance with 77.72% mean average precision over the entirety of the classes in the moderate detection level of the KITTI benchmark dataset.

Object Detection and Classification by Decision-Level Fusion for Intelligent Vehicle Systems

PubMed Central

Oh, Sang-Il; Kang, Hang-Bong

2017-01-01

To understand driving environments effectively, it is important to achieve accurate detection and classification of objects detected by sensor-based intelligent vehicle systems, which are significantly important tasks. Object detection is performed for the localization of objects, whereas object classification recognizes object classes from detected object regions. For accurate object detection and classification, fusing multiple sensor information into a key component of the representation and perception processes is necessary. In this paper, we propose a new object-detection and classification method using decision-level fusion. We fuse the classification outputs from independent unary classifiers, such as 3D point clouds and image data using a convolutional neural network (CNN). The unary classifiers for the two sensors are the CNN with five layers, which use more than two pre-trained convolutional layers to consider local to global features as data representation. To represent data using convolutional layers, we apply region of interest (ROI) pooling to the outputs of each layer on the object candidate regions generated using object proposal generation to realize color flattening and semantic grouping for charge-coupled device and Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) sensors. We evaluate our proposed method on a KITTI benchmark dataset to detect and classify three object classes: cars, pedestrians and cyclists. The evaluation results show that the proposed method achieves better performance than the previous methods. Our proposed method extracted approximately 500 proposals on a 1226×370 image, whereas the original selective search method extracted approximately 106×n proposals. We obtained classification performance with 77.72% mean average precision over the entirety of the classes in the moderate detection level of the KITTI benchmark dataset. PMID:28117742

Treatment planning with intensity modulated particle therapy for multiple targets in stage IV non-small cell lung cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderle, Kristjan; Stroom, Joep; Vieira, Sandra; Pimentel, Nuno; Greco, Carlo; Durante, Marco; Graeff, Christian

2018-01-01

Intensity modulated particle therapy (IMPT) can produce highly conformal plans, but is limited in advanced lung cancer patients with multiple lesions due to motion and planning complexity. A 4D IMPT optimization including all motion states was expanded to include multiple targets, where each target (isocenter) is designated to specific field(s). Furthermore, to achieve stereotactic treatment planning objectives, target and OAR weights plus objective doses were automatically iteratively adapted. Finally, 4D doses were calculated for different motion scenarios. The results from our algorithm were compared to clinical stereotactic body radiation treatment (SBRT) plans. The study included eight patients with 24 lesions in total. Intended dose regimen for SBRT was 24 Gy in one fraction, but lower fractionated doses had to be delivered in three cases due to OAR constraints or failed plan quality assurance. The resulting IMPT treatment plans had no significant difference in target coverage compared to SBRT treatment plans. Average maximum point dose and dose to specific volume in OARs were on average 65% and 22% smaller with IMPT. IMPT could also deliver 24 Gy in one fraction in a patient where SBRT was limited due to the OAR vicinity. The developed algorithm shows the potential of IMPT in treatment of multiple moving targets in a complex geometry.

Stem Cell Sciences plc.

PubMed

Daniels, Sebnem

2006-09-01

Stem Cell Sciences' core objective is to develop safe and effective stem cell-based therapies for currently incurable diseases. In order to achieve this goal, Stem Cell Sciences recognizes the need for multiple technologies and a globally integrated stem cell initiative. The key challenges for the successful application of stem cells in the clinic is the need for a reproducible supply of pure, fully characterized stem cells that have been grown in suitable conditions for use in the clinic.

Quality quandaries: Understanding aspects influencing different types of multiple response optimization

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

Anderson-Cook, Christine M.; Cao, Yongtao; Lu, Lu

In this study, optimizing with several responses can benefit from an objective approach of eliminating non-contenders, understanding trade-offs between competing responses, and then identifying a final choice that matches optimization priorities. To offer insights that help guide thoughtful decisions, we explore and summarize different patterns of solution sets and their trade-offs for different types of optimization with responses that are to be maximized and/or to achieve a target.

Quality quandaries: Understanding aspects influencing different types of multiple response optimization

DOE PAGES

Anderson-Cook, Christine M.; Cao, Yongtao; Lu, Lu

2016-08-26

In this study, optimizing with several responses can benefit from an objective approach of eliminating non-contenders, understanding trade-offs between competing responses, and then identifying a final choice that matches optimization priorities. To offer insights that help guide thoughtful decisions, we explore and summarize different patterns of solution sets and their trade-offs for different types of optimization with responses that are to be maximized and/or to achieve a target.

Bioinspired, Mobile Robots With High Stability, Functionality and Low Cost

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-02-19

actuators with complex actuating modes (e.g., extending and multiple bending modes; Figure 5-3). Figure 5-1. (left panel) 3D printed molds...failure (e.g., cellulose , KevlarTM, polystyrene). We designed a two part mold (Figure 6-a) to pattern the exterior and interior pleating and then...variety of objects. The 3D molding technique used to fabricate this actuator, however, limits the pneumatic channel geometry. To achieve pneu-net

A Pragmatic Path to Investigating Europa's Habitability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pappalardo; Bengenal; Bar; Bills; Blankenship; Connerney; Kurth; McGrath; Moore; Prockter;

Multi-energy method of digital radiography for imaging of biological objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryzhikov, V. D.; Naydenov, S. V.; Opolonin, O. D.; Volkov, V. G.; Smith, C. F.

2016-03-01

This work has been dedicated to the search for a new possibility to use multi-energy digital radiography (MER) for medical applications. Our work has included both theoretical and experimental investigations of 2-energy (2E) and 3- energy (3D) radiography for imaging the structure of biological objects. Using special simulation methods and digital analysis based on the X-ray interaction energy dependence for each element of importance to medical applications in the X-ray range of energy up to 150 keV, we have implemented a quasi-linear approximation for the energy dependence of the X-ray linear mass absorption coefficient μm (E) that permits us to determine the intrinsic structure of the biological objects. Our measurements utilize multiple X-ray tube voltages (50, 100, and 150 kV) with Al and Cu filters of different thicknesses to achieve 3-energy X-ray examination of objects. By doing so, we are able to achieve significantly improved imaging quality of the structure of the subject biological objects. To reconstruct and visualize the final images, we use both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) palettes of identification. The result is a 2E and/or 3E representation of the object with color coding of each pixel according to the data outputs. Following the experimental measurements and post-processing, we produce a 3D image of the biological object - in the case of our trials, fragments or parts of chicken and turkey.

Perceptions of the Coach–Athlete Relationship Predict the Attainment of Mastery Achievement Goals Six Months Later: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study among F. A. Premier League Academy Soccer Players

PubMed Central

Nicholls, Adam R.; Earle, Keith; Earle, Fiona; Madigan, Daniel J.

2017-01-01

All football teams that compete within the F. A. Premier League possess an academy, whose objective is to produce more and better home-grown players that are capable of playing professionally. These young players spend a large amount of time with their coach, but little is known about player’s perception of the coach–athlete relationship within F. A. Premier League Academies. The objectives of this study were to examine whether perceptions of the coach–athlete relationship changed over six months and if the coach–athlete relationship predicted self-reported goal achievement among F. A. Premier League academy players. This study included cross-sectional (n = 104) and longitudinal (n = 52) assessments, in which academy soccer players completed a measure of the coach–athlete relationship and goal achievement across either one or two time periods. The cross-sectional data were subjected to bivariate correlations, whereas the longitudinal data were analyzed using multiple regressions. Perceptions of the coach–athlete relationship remained stable over time. The coach–athlete relationship predicted the achievement of mastery goals six months later. Enhancing the quality of the coach–athlete relationship among elite adolescent athletes appears to be a suitable way of maximizing mastery achievement goals, particularly among developmental athletes who participate in team sports. PMID:28572775

LOGISMOS—Layered Optimal Graph Image Segmentation of Multiple Objects and Surfaces: Cartilage Segmentation in the Knee Joint

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xiangmin; Williams, Rachel; Wu, Xiaodong; Anderson, Donald D.; Sonka, Milan

2011-01-01

A novel method for simultaneous segmentation of multiple interacting surfaces belonging to multiple interacting objects, called LOGISMOS (layered optimal graph image segmentation of multiple objects and surfaces), is reported. The approach is based on the algorithmic incorporation of multiple spatial inter-relationships in a single n-dimensional graph, followed by graph optimization that yields a globally optimal solution. The LOGISMOS method’s utility and performance are demonstrated on a bone and cartilage segmentation task in the human knee joint. Although trained on only a relatively small number of nine example images, this system achieved good performance. Judged by dice similarity coefficients (DSC) using a leave-one-out test, DSC values of 0.84 ± 0.04, 0.80 ± 0.04 and 0.80 ± 0.04 were obtained for the femoral, tibial, and patellar cartilage regions, respectively. These are excellent DSC values, considering the narrow-sheet character of the cartilage regions. Similarly, low signed mean cartilage thickness errors were obtained when compared to a manually-traced independent standard in 60 randomly selected 3-D MR image datasets from the Osteoarthritis Initiative database—0.11 ± 0.24, 0.05 ± 0.23, and 0.03 ± 0.17 mm for the femoral, tibial, and patellar cartilage thickness, respectively. The average signed surface positioning errors for the six detected surfaces ranged from 0.04 ± 0.12 mm to 0.16 ± 0.22 mm. The reported LOGISMOS framework provides robust and accurate segmentation of the knee joint bone and cartilage surfaces of the femur, tibia, and patella. As a general segmentation tool, the developed framework can be applied to a broad range of multiobject multisurface segmentation problems. PMID:20643602

Roles of frequency, attitudes, and multiple intelligence modality surrounding Electricity Content-Based Reader's Theatre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosier, Julie Winchester

Integration of subjects is something elementary teachers must do to insure required objectives are covered. Science-based Reader's Theatre is one way to weave reading into science. This study examined the roles of frequency, attitudes, and Multiple Intelligence modalities surrounding Electricity Content-Based Reader's Theatre. This study used quasi-experimental, repeated measures ANOVA with time as a factor design. A convenience sample of two fifth-grade classrooms participated in the study for eighteen weeks. Five Electricity Achievement Tests were given throughout the study to assess students' growth. A Student Reader's Theatre Attitudinal Survey revealed students' attitudes before and after Electricity Content-Based Reader's Theatre treatment. The Multiple Intelligence Inventory for Kids (Faris, 2007) examined whether Multiple Intelligence modality played a role in achievement on Electricity Test 4, the post-treatment test. Analysis using repeated measures ANOVA and an independent t-test found that students in the experimental group, which practiced its student-created Electricity Content-Based Reader's Theatre skits ten times versus two times for the for control group, did significantly better on Electricity Achievement Test 4, t(76) = 3.018, p = 0.003. Dependent t-tests did not find statistically significant differences between students' attitudes about Electricity Content-Based Reader's Theatre before and after treatment. A Kruskal-Wallis test found no statistically significant difference between the various Multiple Intelligence modalities score mean ranks (x2 = 5.57, df = 2, alpha = .062). Qualitative data do, however, indicate students had strong positive feelings about Electricity Content-Based Reader's Theatre after treatment. Students indicated it to be motivating, confidence-building, and a fun way to learn about science; however, they disliked writing their own scripts. Examining the frequency, attitudes, and Multiple Intelligence modalities lead to the conclusion that the role of frequency had the greatest impact on the success of Electricity Content-Based Reader's Theatre. The participating teachers, students, and research found integrating science and reading through Electricity Content-Based Reader's Theatre beneficial.

Object Oriented Modeling and Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaykhian, Gholam Ali

2007-01-01

The Object Oriented Modeling and Design seminar is intended for software professionals and students, it covers the concepts and a language-independent graphical notation that can be used to analyze problem requirements, and design a solution to the problem. The seminar discusses the three kinds of object-oriented models class, state, and interaction. The class model represents the static structure of a system, the state model describes the aspects of a system that change over time as well as control behavior and the interaction model describes how objects collaborate to achieve overall results. Existing knowledge of object oriented programming may benefit the learning of modeling and good design. Specific expectations are: Create a class model, Read, recognize, and describe a class model, Describe association and link, Show abstract classes used with multiple inheritance, Explain metadata, reification and constraints, Group classes into a package, Read, recognize, and describe a state model, Explain states and transitions, Read, recognize, and describe interaction model, Explain Use cases and use case relationships, Show concurrency in activity diagram, Object interactions in sequence diagram.

A Distributed Trajectory-Oriented Approach to Managing Traffic Complexity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Idris, Husni; Wing, David J.; Vivona, Robert; Garcia-Chico, Jose-Luis

2007-01-01

In order to handle the expected increase in air traffic volume, the next generation air transportation system is moving towards a distributed control architecture, in which ground-based service providers such as controllers and traffic managers and air-based users such as pilots share responsibility for aircraft trajectory generation and management. While its architecture becomes more distributed, the goal of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system remains to achieve objectives such as maintaining safety and efficiency. It is, therefore, critical to design appropriate control elements to ensure that aircraft and groundbased actions result in achieving these objectives without unduly restricting user-preferred trajectories. This paper presents a trajectory-oriented approach containing two such elements. One is a trajectory flexibility preservation function, by which aircraft plan their trajectories to preserve flexibility to accommodate unforeseen events. And the other is a trajectory constraint minimization function by which ground-based agents, in collaboration with air-based agents, impose just-enough restrictions on trajectories to achieve ATM objectives, such as separation assurance and flow management. The underlying hypothesis is that preserving trajectory flexibility of each individual aircraft naturally achieves the aggregate objective of avoiding excessive traffic complexity, and that trajectory flexibility is increased by minimizing constraints without jeopardizing the intended ATM objectives. The paper presents conceptually how the two functions operate in a distributed control architecture that includes self separation. The paper illustrates the concept through hypothetical scenarios involving conflict resolution and flow management. It presents a functional analysis of the interaction and information flow between the functions. It also presents an analytical framework for defining metrics and developing methods to preserve trajectory flexibility and minimize its constraints. In this framework flexibility is defined in terms of robustness and adaptability to disturbances and the impact of constraints is illustrated through analysis of a trajectory solution space with limited degrees of freedom and in simple constraint situations involving meeting multiple times of arrival and resolving a conflict.

A regression technique for evaluation and quantification for water quality parameters from remote sensing data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitlock, C. H.; Kuo, C. Y.

1979-01-01

The objective of this paper is to define optical physics and/or environmental conditions under which the linear multiple-regression should be applicable. An investigation of the signal-response equations is conducted and the concept is tested by application to actual remote sensing data from a laboratory experiment performed under controlled conditions. Investigation of the signal-response equations shows that the exact solution for a number of optical physics conditions is of the same form as a linearized multiple-regression equation, even if nonlinear contributions from surface reflections, atmospheric constituents, or other water pollutants are included. Limitations on achieving this type of solution are defined.

Global Optimization of N-Maneuver, High-Thrust Trajectories Using Direct Multiple Shooting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vavrina, Matthew A.; Englander, Jacob A.; Ellison, Donald H.

2016-01-01

The performance of impulsive, gravity-assist trajectories often improves with the inclusion of one or more maneuvers between flybys. However, grid-based scans over the entire design space can become computationally intractable for even one deep-space maneuver, and few global search routines are capable of an arbitrary number of maneuvers. To address this difficulty a trajectory transcription allowing for any number of maneuvers is developed within a multi-objective, global optimization framework for constrained, multiple gravity-assist trajectories. The formulation exploits a robust shooting scheme and analytic derivatives for computational efficiency. The approach is applied to several complex, interplanetary problems, achieving notable performance without a user-supplied initial guess.

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

Jia, Feng

The main objective of this project is to design novel nano-structured carriers and strategies to co-localize multiple enzymes to mimic the functionalities of MECs. In order to achieve this goal, distinct approaches for enzyme co-localization were developed and evaluated. Specifically, we investigated different polymeric nano-carriers, both flexible and rigid, as platforms for co-localization, as well as distinct enzyme attachment techniques using model enzyme systems using glucose oxidase and horseradish peroxidase to control the spatial arrangement of the multiple enzymes on the nanocarriers. This platform technology can be potentially used to co-localize various enzyme systems and its broad applicability will bemore » tested using the sclareol biosynthesis process to control the formation of products through the formation of MECs with multiple enzymes NgCPS and sSsSS to regulate the pathway of reactive intermediate to enhance the final product conversion rate.« less

Integrating Land Cover Modeling and Adaptive Management to Conserve Endangered Species and Reduce Catastrophic Fire Risk

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Breininger, David; Duncan, Brean; Eaton, Mitchell; Johnson, Fred; Nichols, James

2014-01-01

Land cover modeling is used to inform land management, but most often via a two-step process where science informs how management alternatives can influence resources and then decision makers can use this to make decisions. A more efficient process is to directly integrate science and decision making, where science allows us to learn to better accomplish management objectives and is developed to address specific decisions. Co-development of management and science is especially productive when decisions are complicated by multiple objectives and impeded by uncertainty. Multiple objectives can be met by specification of tradeoffs, and relevant uncertainty can be addressed through targeted science (i.e., models and monitoring). We describe how to integrate habitat and fuels monitoring with decision making focused on dual objectives of managing for endangered species and minimizing catastrophic fire risk. Under certain conditions, both objectives might be achieved by a similar management policy, but habitat trajectories suggest tradeoffs. Knowledge about system responses to actions can be informed by applying competing management actions to different land units in the same system state and by ideas about fire behavior. Monitoring and management integration is important to optimize state-specific management decisions and increase knowledge about system responses. We believe this approach has broad utility for and cover modeling programs intended to inform decision making.

Practical Strategies for Integrating Final Ecosystem Goods and ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The concept of Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS) explicitly connects ecosystem services to the people that benefit from them. This report presents a number of practical strategies for incorporating FEGS, and more broadly ecosystem services, into the decision-making process. Whether a decision process is in early or late stages, or whether a process includes informal or formal decision analysis, there are multiple points where ecosystem services concepts can be integrated. This report uses Structured Decision Making (SDM) as an organizing framework to illustrate the role ecosystem services can play in a values-focused decision-process, including: • Clarifying the decision context: Ecosystem services can help clarify the potential impacts of an issue on natural resources together with their spatial and temporal extent based on supply and delivery of those services, and help identify beneficiaries for inclusion as stakeholders in the deliberative process. • Defining objectives and performance measures: Ecosystem services may directly represent stakeholder objectives, or may be means toward achieving other objectives. • Creating alternatives: Ecosystem services can bring to light creative alternatives for achieving other social, economic, health, or general well-being objectives. • Estimating consequences: Ecosystem services assessments can implement ecological production functions (EPFs) and ecological benefits functions (EBFs) to link decision alt

Learning Sequences of Actions in Collectives of Autonomous Agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, Kagan; Agogino, Adrian K.; Wolpert, David H.; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In this paper we focus on the problem of designing a collective of autonomous agents that individually learn sequences of actions such that the resultant sequence of joint actions achieves a predetermined global objective. We are particularly interested in instances of this problem where centralized control is either impossible or impractical. For single agent systems in similar domains, machine learning methods (e.g., reinforcement learners) have been successfully used. However, applying such solutions directly to multi-agent systems often proves problematic, as agents may work at cross-purposes, or have difficulty in evaluating their contribution to achievement of the global objective, or both. Accordingly, the crucial design step in multiagent systems centers on determining the private objectives of each agent so that as the agents strive for those objectives, the system reaches a good global solution. In this work we consider a version of this problem involving multiple autonomous agents in a grid world. We use concepts from collective intelligence to design goals for the agents that are 'aligned' with the global goal, and are 'learnable' in that agents can readily see how their behavior affects their utility. We show that reinforcement learning agents using those goals outperform both 'natural' extensions of single agent algorithms and global reinforcement, learning solutions based on 'team games'.

Object-Based Random Forest Classification of Land Cover from Remotely Sensed Imagery for Industrial and Mining Reclamation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Luo, M.; Xu, L.; Zhou, X.; Ren, J.; Zhou, J.

2018-04-01

The RF method based on grid-search parameter optimization could achieve a classification accuracy of 88.16 % in the classification of images with multiple feature variables. This classification accuracy was higher than that of SVM and ANN under the same feature variables. In terms of efficiency, the RF classification method performs better than SVM and ANN, it is more capable of handling multidimensional feature variables. The RF method combined with object-based analysis approach could highlight the classification accuracy further. The multiresolution segmentation approach on the basis of ESP scale parameter optimization was used for obtaining six scales to execute image segmentation, when the segmentation scale was 49, the classification accuracy reached the highest value of 89.58 %. The classification accuracy of object-based RF classification was 1.42 % higher than that of pixel-based classification (88.16 %), and the classification accuracy was further improved. Therefore, the RF classification method combined with object-based analysis approach could achieve relatively high accuracy in the classification and extraction of land use information for industrial and mining reclamation areas. Moreover, the interpretation of remotely sensed imagery using the proposed method could provide technical support and theoretical reference for remotely sensed monitoring land reclamation.

Tactical resource allocation and elective patient admission planning in care processes.

PubMed

Hulshof, Peter J H; Boucherie, Richard J; Hans, Erwin W; Hurink, Johann L

2013-06-01

Tactical planning of resources in hospitals concerns elective patient admission planning and the intermediate term allocation of resource capacities. Its main objectives are to achieve equitable access for patients, to meet production targets/to serve the strategically agreed number of patients, and to use resources efficiently. This paper proposes a method to develop a tactical resource allocation and elective patient admission plan. These tactical plans allocate available resources to various care processes and determine the selection of patients to be served that are at a particular stage of their care process. Our method is developed in a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) framework and copes with multiple resources, multiple time periods and multiple patient groups with various uncertain treatment paths through the hospital, thereby integrating decision making for a chain of hospital resources. Computational results indicate that our method leads to a more equitable distribution of resources and provides control of patient access times, the number of patients served and the fraction of allocated resource capacity. Our approach is generic, as the base MILP and the solution approach allow for including various extensions to both the objective criteria and the constraints. Consequently, the proposed method is applicable in various settings of tactical hospital management.

Motion and force control of multiple robotic manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wen, John T.; Kreutz-Delgado, Kenneth

1992-01-01

This paper addresses the motion and force control problem of multiple robot arms manipulating a cooperatively held object. A general control paradigm is introduced which decouples the motion and force control problems. For motion control, different control strategies are constructed based on the variables used as the control input in the controller design. There are three natural choices; acceleration of a generalized coordinate, arm tip force vectors, and the joint torques. The first two choices require full model information but produce simple models for the control design problem. The last choice results in a class of relatively model independent control laws by exploiting the Hamiltonian structure of the open loop system. The motion control only determines the joint torque to within a manifold, due to the multiple-arm kinematic constraint. To resolve the nonuniqueness of the joint torques, two methods are introduced. If the arm and object models are available, an optimization can be performed to best allocate the desired and effector control force to the joint actuators. The other possibility is to control the internal force about some set point. It is shown that effective force regulation can be achieved even if little model information is available.

Research pressure instrumentation for NASA Space Shuttle main engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, P. J.; Nussbaum, P.; Gustafson, G.

1984-01-01

The development of prototype pressure transducers which are targeted to meet the Space Shuttle Main Engine SSME performance design goals is discussed. The fabrication, testing and delivery of 10 prototype units is examined. Silicon piezoresistive strain sensing technology is used to achieve the objectives of advanced state-of-the-art pressure sensors in terms of reliability, accuracy and ease of manufacture. Integration of multiple functions on a single chip is the key attribute of this technology.

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

Agalgaonkar, Yashodhan P.; Hammerstrom, Donald J.

The Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration (PNWSGD) was a smart grid technology performance evaluation project that included multiple U.S. states and cooperation from multiple electric utilities in the northwest region. One of the local objectives for the project was to achieve improved distribution system reliability. Toward this end, some PNWSGD utilities automated their distribution systems, including the application of fault detection, isolation, and restoration and advanced metering infrastructure. In light of this investment, a major challenge was to establish a correlation between implementation of these smart grid technologies and actual improvements of distribution system reliability. This paper proposes using Welch’smore » t-test to objectively determine and quantify whether distribution system reliability is improving over time. The proposed methodology is generic, and it can be implemented by any utility after calculation of the standard reliability indices. The effectiveness of the proposed hypothesis testing approach is demonstrated through comprehensive practical results. It is believed that wider adoption of the proposed approach can help utilities to evaluate a realistic long-term performance of smart grid technologies.« less

Integrating land cover modeling and adaptive management to conserve endangered species and reduce catastrophic fire risk

USGS Publications Warehouse

Breininger, David; Duncan, Brean; Eaton, Mitchell J.; Johnson, Fred; Nichols, James

2014-01-01

Land cover modeling is used to inform land management, but most often via a two-step process, where science informs how management alternatives can influence resources, and then, decision makers can use this information to make decisions. A more efficient process is to directly integrate science and decision-making, where science allows us to learn in order to better accomplish management objectives and is developed to address specific decisions. Co-development of management and science is especially productive when decisions are complicated by multiple objectives and impeded by uncertainty. Multiple objectives can be met by the specification of tradeoffs, and relevant uncertainty can be addressed through targeted science (i.e., models and monitoring). We describe how to integrate habitat and fuel monitoring with decision-making focused on the dual objectives of managing for endangered species and minimizing catastrophic fire risk. Under certain conditions, both objectives might be achieved by a similar management policy; other conditions require tradeoffs between objectives. Knowledge about system responses to actions can be informed by developing hypotheses based on ideas about fire behavior and then applying competing management actions to different land units in the same system state. Monitoring and management integration is important to optimize state-specific management decisions and to increase knowledge about system responses. We believe this approach has broad utility and identifies a clear role for land cover modeling programs intended to inform decision-making.

The Impact of School Climate and School Identification on Academic Achievement: Multilevel Modeling with Student and Teacher Data

PubMed Central

Maxwell, Sophie; Reynolds, Katherine J.; Lee, Eunro; Subasic, Emina; Bromhead, David

2017-01-01

School climate is a leading factor in explaining student learning and achievement. Less work has explored the impact of both staff and student perceptions of school climate raising interesting questions about whether staff school climate experiences can add “value” to students' achievement. In the current research, multiple sources were integrated into a multilevel model, including staff self-reports, student self-reports, objective school records of academic achievement, and socio-economic demographics. Achievement was assessed using a national literacy and numeracy tests (N = 760 staff and 2,257 students from 17 secondary schools). In addition, guided by the “social identity approach,” school identification is investigated as a possible psychological mechanism to explain the relationship between school climate and achievement. In line with predictions, results show that students' perceptions of school climate significantly explain writing and numeracy achievement and this effect is mediated by students' psychological identification with the school. Furthermore, staff perceptions of school climate explain students' achievement on numeracy, writing and reading tests (while accounting for students' responses). However, staff's school identification did not play a significant role. Implications of these findings for organizational, social, and educational research are discussed. PMID:29259564

The Impact of School Climate and School Identification on Academic Achievement: Multilevel Modeling with Student and Teacher Data.

PubMed

Maxwell, Sophie; Reynolds, Katherine J; Lee, Eunro; Subasic, Emina; Bromhead, David

2017-01-01

School climate is a leading factor in explaining student learning and achievement. Less work has explored the impact of both staff and student perceptions of school climate raising interesting questions about whether staff school climate experiences can add "value" to students' achievement. In the current research, multiple sources were integrated into a multilevel model, including staff self-reports, student self-reports, objective school records of academic achievement, and socio-economic demographics. Achievement was assessed using a national literacy and numeracy tests ( N = 760 staff and 2,257 students from 17 secondary schools). In addition, guided by the "social identity approach," school identification is investigated as a possible psychological mechanism to explain the relationship between school climate and achievement. In line with predictions, results show that students' perceptions of school climate significantly explain writing and numeracy achievement and this effect is mediated by students' psychological identification with the school. Furthermore, staff perceptions of school climate explain students' achievement on numeracy, writing and reading tests (while accounting for students' responses). However, staff's school identification did not play a significant role. Implications of these findings for organizational, social, and educational research are discussed.

Preschool Predictors of School-Age Academic Achievement in Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Miller, Lauren E.; Burke, Jeffrey D.; Troyb, Eva; Knoch, Kelley; Herlihy, Lauren E.; Fein, Deborah A.

2017-01-01

Objective Characterization of academic functioning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), particularly predictors of achievement, may have important implications for intervention. The current study aimed to characterize achievement profiles, confirm associations between academic ability and concurrent intellectual and social skills, and explore preschool predictors of school-age academic achievement in a sample of children with ASD. Method Children with ASD (N = 26) were evaluated at the approximate ages of two, four, and ten years. Multiple regression was used to predict school-age academic achievement in reading and mathematics from both concurrent (i.e., school-age) and preschool variables. Results Children with ASD demonstrated a weakness in reading comprehension relative to word reading. There was a smaller difference between mathematics skills; math reasoning was lower than numerical operations, but this did not quite reach trend level significance. Concurrent IQ and social skills were associated with school-age academic achievement across domains. Preschool verbal abilities significantly predicted school-age reading comprehension, above and beyond concurrent IQ, and early motor functioning predicted later math skills. Conclusions Specific developmental features of early ASD predict specific aspects of school-age achievement. Early intervention targeting language and motor skills may improve later achievement in this population. PMID:27705180

Comparison of two paradigms for distributed shared memory

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

Levelt, W.G.; Kaashoek, M.F.; Bal, H.E.

1990-08-01

The paper compares two paradigms for Distributed Shared Memory on loosely coupled computing systems: the shared data-object model as used in Orca, a programming language specially designed for loosely coupled computing systems and the Shared Virtual Memory model. For both paradigms the authors have implemented two systems, one using only point-to-point messages, the other using broadcasting as well. They briefly describe these two paradigms and their implementations. Then they compare their performance on four applications: the traveling salesman problem, alpha-beta search, matrix multiplication and the all pairs shortest paths problem. The measurements show that both paradigms can be used efficientlymore » for programming large-grain parallel applications. Significant speedups were obtained on all applications. The unstructured Shared Virtual Memory paradigm achieves the best absolute performance, although this is largely due to the preliminary nature of the Orca compiler used. The structured shared data-object model achieves the highest speedups and is much easier to program and to debug.« less

Implementation of the Secondary 3 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S.: observations based on the co-walker scheme.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Ma, Cecilia M S

2012-01-17

The present study was conducted to explore the implementation quality of the Secondary 3 Program of the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in the third year of the Full Implementation Phase. Classroom observations of 182 units in 129 schools were conducted. Results showed that the overall level of program adherence was 73.9%. Thirteen aspects concerning program delivery were significantly correlated. Multiple regression analyses revealed that overall implementation quality was significantly predicted by student participation and involvement, strategies to enhance student motivation, use of positive and supportive feedback, degree of achievement of the objectives, and lesson preparation. Success of implementation was significantly predicted by student participation and involvement, classroom control, use of positive and supportive feedback, opportunity for reflection, degree of achievement of the objectives and time management. The present findings generally suggest that the implementation quality of Project P.A.T.H.S. was high.

The influence of obstetric variables on school achievement, intelligence and neuropsychological development in a sample of Spanish twins at the age of six: a retrospective study.

PubMed

González-Mesa, Ernesto; Cazorla-Granados, Olga; González-Valenzuela, María José

2016-01-01

The increasing number of multiple pregnancies in recent years has raised a particular concern about the problems associated to these pregnancies. It still remains unclear whether twin deliveries, as currently conceived, provide the same future health chances to both fetuses. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the effects of obstetric and neonatal care beyond the perinatal period have not often been evaluated. The main objective of this research was to analyze the impact of obstetric and perinatal variables on postnatal neuropsychological development, intelligence and school achievement of twin children. We conducted a cross-sectional and observational study on 62 pairs of 6-year-old twins, who were on their first year of primary education. All 124 children and their mother were individually assessed and perinatal clinical data were collected. A stratified multivariate analysis was performed using multiple linear regressions. The type of birth was the best predicting variable, so that the best results were achieved in children born in spontaneous vaginal deliveries. Comparatively, however, poorer scores were seen in males second twins born by the vaginal route in spatial structuring, non-verbal development and total development areas, especially in case of delivery before 37 weeks. Our study confirms the impact of some obstetric variables on school achievement and psychological development of twins.

A novel visual saliency analysis model based on dynamic multiple feature combination strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Jing; Ye, Qi; Lv, Wen; Zhang, Libao

2017-06-01

The human visual system can quickly focus on a small number of salient objects. This process was known as visual saliency analysis and these salient objects are called focus of attention (FOA). The visual saliency analysis mechanism can be used to extract the salient regions and analyze saliency of object in an image, which is time-saving and can avoid unnecessary costs of computing resources. In this paper, a novel visual saliency analysis model based on dynamic multiple feature combination strategy is introduced. In the proposed model, we first generate multi-scale feature maps of intensity, color and orientation features using Gaussian pyramids and the center-surround difference. Then, we evaluate the contribution of all feature maps to the saliency map according to the area of salient regions and their average intensity, and attach different weights to different features according to their importance. Finally, we choose the largest salient region generated by the region growing method to perform the evaluation. Experimental results show that the proposed model cannot only achieve higher accuracy in saliency map computation compared with other traditional saliency analysis models, but also extract salient regions with arbitrary shapes, which is of great value for the image analysis and understanding.

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

Deshmukh, Ranjit; Bharvirkar, Ranjit; Gambhir, Ashwin

Although solar costs are dropping rapidly, solar power is still more expensive than conventional and other renewable energy options. The solar sector still needs continuing government policy support. These policies are driven by objectives that go beyond the goal of achieving grid parity. The need to achieve multiple objectives and ensure sufficient political support for solar power makes it diffi cult for policy makers to design the optimal solar power policy. The dynamic and uncertain nature of the solar industry, combined with the constraints offered by broader economic, political and social conditions further complicates the task of policy making. Thismore » report presents an analysis of solar promotion policies in seven countries - Germany, Spain, the United States, Japan, China, Taiwan, and India - in terms of their outlook, objectives, policy mechanisms and outcomes. The report presents key insights, primarily in qualitative terms, and recommendations for two distinct audiences. The first audience consists of global policy makers who are exploring various mechanisms to increase the penetration of solar power in markets to mitigate climate change. The second audience consists of key Indian policy makers who are developing a long-term implementation plan under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission and various state initiatives.« less

Adaptive Urban Stormwater Management Using a Two-stage Stochastic Optimization Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hung, F.; Hobbs, B. F.; McGarity, A. E.

2014-12-01

In many older cities, stormwater results in combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and consequent water quality impairments. Because of the expense of traditional approaches for controlling CSOs, cities are considering the use of green infrastructure (GI) to reduce runoff and pollutants. Examples of GI include tree trenches, rain gardens, green roofs, and rain barrels. However, the cost and effectiveness of GI are uncertain, especially at the watershed scale. We present a two-stage stochastic extension of the Stormwater Investment Strategy Evaluation (StormWISE) model (A. McGarity, JWRPM, 2012, 111-24) to explicitly model and optimize these uncertainties in an adaptive management framework. A two-stage model represents the immediate commitment of resources ("here & now") followed by later investment and adaptation decisions ("wait & see"). A case study is presented for Philadelphia, which intends to extensively deploy GI over the next two decades (PWD, "Green City, Clean Water - Implementation and Adaptive Management Plan," 2011). After first-stage decisions are made, the model updates the stochastic objective and constraints (learning). We model two types of "learning" about GI cost and performance. One assumes that learning occurs over time, is automatic, and does not depend on what has been done in stage one (basic model). The other considers learning resulting from active experimentation and learning-by-doing (advanced model). Both require expert probability elicitations, and learning from research and monitoring is modelled by Bayesian updating (as in S. Jacobi et al., JWRPM, 2013, 534-43). The model allocates limited financial resources to GI investments over time to achieve multiple objectives with a given reliability. Objectives include minimizing construction and O&M costs; achieving nutrient, sediment, and runoff volume targets; and community concerns, such as aesthetics, CO2 emissions, heat islands, and recreational values. CVaR (Conditional Value at Risk) and chance constraints are placed on the objectives to achieve desired confidence levels. By varying the budgets, reliability constraints, and priorities among other objectives, we generate a range of GI deployment strategies that represent tradeoffs among objectives as well as the confidence in achieving them.

Robust design of multiple trailing edge flaps for helicopter vibration reduction: A multi-objective bat algorithm approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallick, Rajnish; Ganguli, Ranjan; Seetharama Bhat, M.

2015-09-01

The objective of this study is to determine an optimal trailing edge flap configuration and flap location to achieve minimum hub vibration levels and flap actuation power simultaneously. An aeroelastic analysis of a soft in-plane four-bladed rotor is performed in conjunction with optimal control. A second-order polynomial response surface based on an orthogonal array (OA) with 3-level design describes both the objectives adequately. Two new orthogonal arrays called MGB2P-OA and MGB4P-OA are proposed to generate nonlinear response surfaces with all interaction terms for two and four parameters, respectively. A multi-objective bat algorithm (MOBA) approach is used to obtain the optimal design point for the mutually conflicting objectives. MOBA is a recently developed nature-inspired metaheuristic optimization algorithm that is based on the echolocation behaviour of bats. It is found that MOBA inspired Pareto optimal trailing edge flap design reduces vibration levels by 73% and flap actuation power by 27% in comparison with the baseline design.

Learning to learn causal models.

PubMed

Kemp, Charles; Goodman, Noah D; Tenenbaum, Joshua B

2010-09-01

Learning to understand a single causal system can be an achievement, but humans must learn about multiple causal systems over the course of a lifetime. We present a hierarchical Bayesian framework that helps to explain how learning about several causal systems can accelerate learning about systems that are subsequently encountered. Given experience with a set of objects, our framework learns a causal model for each object and a causal schema that captures commonalities among these causal models. The schema organizes the objects into categories and specifies the causal powers and characteristic features of these categories and the characteristic causal interactions between categories. A schema of this kind allows causal models for subsequent objects to be rapidly learned, and we explore this accelerated learning in four experiments. Our results confirm that humans learn rapidly about the causal powers of novel objects, and we show that our framework accounts better for our data than alternative models of causal learning. Copyright © 2010 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Passenger comfort during terminal-area flight maneuvers. M.S. Thesis.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schoonover, W. E., Jr.

1976-01-01

A series of flight experiments was conducted to obtain passenger subjective responses to closely controlled and repeatable flight maneuvers. In 8 test flights, reactions were obtained from 30 passenger subjects to a wide range of terminal-area maneuvers, including descents, turns, decelerations, and combinations thereof. Analysis of the passenger rating variance indicated that the objective of a repeatable flight passenger environment was achieved. Multiple linear regression models developed from the test data were used to define maneuver motion boundaries for specified degrees of passenger acceptance.

1ST International Conference on Small Satellites: New Technologies, Achievements, Problems and Prospects for International Co-Operation in the New Millenium

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-01-01

still more higher . Consequently, it is appropriate to distribute rationally the researches complex and the applied tasks between different types of...manufacturing of satellites through its spin -off company. Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. A new 350kg minisatellite (UoSAT-12) is being built at Surrey for...implement feedback from the Joint Science Team. INTRODUCTION RAMOS is a research program with multiple scientific objectives included in the dual mis

Hardware Implementation of Multiple Fan Beam Projection Technique in Optical Fibre Process Tomography

PubMed Central

Rahim, Ruzairi Abdul; Fazalul Rahiman, Mohd Hafiz; Leong, Lai Chen; Chan, Kok San; Pang, Jon Fea

2008-01-01

The main objective of this project is to implement the multiple fan beam projection technique using optical fibre sensors with the aim to achieve a high data acquisition rate. Multiple fan beam projection technique here is defined as allowing more than one emitter to transmit light at the same time using the switch-mode fan beam method. For the thirty-two pairs of sensors used, the 2-projection technique and 4-projection technique are being investigated. Sixteen sets of projections will complete one frame of light emission for the 2-projection technique while eight sets of projection will complete one frame of light emission for the 4-projection technique. In order to facilitate data acquisition process, PIC microcontroller and the sample and hold circuit are being used. This paper summarizes the hardware configuration and design for this project. PMID:27879885

Neural dynamics of object-based multifocal visual spatial attention and priming: Object cueing, useful-field-of-view, and crowding

PubMed Central

Foley, Nicholas C.; Grossberg, Stephen; Mingolla, Ennio

2015-01-01

How are spatial and object attention coordinated to achieve rapid object learning and recognition during eye movement search? How do prefrontal priming and parietal spatial mechanisms interact to determine the reaction time costs of intra-object attention shifts, inter-object attention shifts, and shifts between visible objects and covertly cued locations? What factors underlie individual differences in the timing and frequency of such attentional shifts? How do transient and sustained spatial attentional mechanisms work and interact? How can volition, mediated via the basal ganglia, influence the span of spatial attention? A neural model is developed of how spatial attention in the where cortical stream coordinates view-invariant object category learning in the what cortical stream under free viewing conditions. The model simulates psychological data about the dynamics of covert attention priming and switching requiring multifocal attention without eye movements. The model predicts how “attentional shrouds” are formed when surface representations in cortical area V4 resonate with spatial attention in posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC), while shrouds compete among themselves for dominance. Winning shrouds support invariant object category learning, and active surface-shroud resonances support conscious surface perception and recognition. Attentive competition between multiple objects and cues simulates reaction-time data from the two-object cueing paradigm. The relative strength of sustained surface-driven and fast-transient motion-driven spatial attention controls individual differences in reaction time for invalid cues. Competition between surface-driven attentional shrouds controls individual differences in detection rate of peripheral targets in useful-field-of-view tasks. The model proposes how the strength of competition can be mediated, though learning or momentary changes in volition, by the basal ganglia. A new explanation of crowding shows how the cortical magnification factor, among other variables, can cause multiple object surfaces to share a single surface-shroud resonance, thereby preventing recognition of the individual objects. PMID:22425615

Neural dynamics of object-based multifocal visual spatial attention and priming: object cueing, useful-field-of-view, and crowding.

PubMed

Foley, Nicholas C; Grossberg, Stephen; Mingolla, Ennio

2012-08-01

How are spatial and object attention coordinated to achieve rapid object learning and recognition during eye movement search? How do prefrontal priming and parietal spatial mechanisms interact to determine the reaction time costs of intra-object attention shifts, inter-object attention shifts, and shifts between visible objects and covertly cued locations? What factors underlie individual differences in the timing and frequency of such attentional shifts? How do transient and sustained spatial attentional mechanisms work and interact? How can volition, mediated via the basal ganglia, influence the span of spatial attention? A neural model is developed of how spatial attention in the where cortical stream coordinates view-invariant object category learning in the what cortical stream under free viewing conditions. The model simulates psychological data about the dynamics of covert attention priming and switching requiring multifocal attention without eye movements. The model predicts how "attentional shrouds" are formed when surface representations in cortical area V4 resonate with spatial attention in posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC), while shrouds compete among themselves for dominance. Winning shrouds support invariant object category learning, and active surface-shroud resonances support conscious surface perception and recognition. Attentive competition between multiple objects and cues simulates reaction-time data from the two-object cueing paradigm. The relative strength of sustained surface-driven and fast-transient motion-driven spatial attention controls individual differences in reaction time for invalid cues. Competition between surface-driven attentional shrouds controls individual differences in detection rate of peripheral targets in useful-field-of-view tasks. The model proposes how the strength of competition can be mediated, though learning or momentary changes in volition, by the basal ganglia. A new explanation of crowding shows how the cortical magnification factor, among other variables, can cause multiple object surfaces to share a single surface-shroud resonance, thereby preventing recognition of the individual objects. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Climate Response to Stratospheric Aerosol Geoengineering Can Be Tailored Using Multiple Injection Locations

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

MacMartin, Douglas G.; Kravitz, Ben; Tilmes, Simone

The climate response to geoengineering with stratospheric aerosols has the potential to be designed to achieve some chosen objectives. By injecting different amounts of SO2 at multiple different latitudes, the spatial pattern of aerosol optical depth (AOD) can be partially controlled. We use simulations from the fully-coupled whole-atmosphere chemistry-climate model CESM1(WACCM), to demonstrate that three spatial degrees of freedom of AOD can be achieved by appropriately combining injection at different locations: an approximately spatially-uniform AOD distribution, the relative difference in AOD between Northern and Southern hemispheres, and the relative AOD in high versus low latitudes. For forcing levels that yieldmore » 1–2°C cooling, the AOD and surface temperature response are sufficiently linear in this model so that many climate effects can be predicted from single-latitude injection simulations. Optimized injection at multiple locations is predicted to improve compensation of CO2-forced climate change, relative to a case using only equatorial aerosol injection. The additional degrees of freedom can be used, for example, to balance interhemispheric temperature differences and the equator to pole temperature difference in addition to the global mean temperature; this is projected in this model to reduce the mean-square error in temperature compensation by 30%.« less

Optimization of performance and emission characteristics of PPCCI engine fuelled with ethanol and diesel blends using grey-Taguchi method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natarajan, S.; Pitchandi, K.; Mahalakshmi, N. V.

2018-02-01

The performance and emission characteristics of a PPCCI engine fuelled with ethanol and diesel blends were carried out on a single cylinder air cooled CI engine. In order to achieve the optimal process response with a limited number of experimental cycles, multi objective grey relational analysis had been applied for solving a multiple response optimization problem. Using grey relational grade and signal-to-noise ratio as a performance index, a combination of input parameters was prefigured so as to achieve optimum response characteristics. It was observed that 20% premixed ratio of blend was most suitable for use in a PPCCI engine without significantly affecting the engine performance and emissions characteristics.

FBK Optical Data Association in a Multi-Hypothesis Framework with Maneuvers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faber, W. R.; Hussein, I. I.; Kent, J. T.; Bhattacharjee, S. Jah, M. K.

In Space Situational Awareness (SSA), one may encounter scenarios where the measurements received at a certain time do not correlate to a known Resident Space Object (RSO). Without information that uniquely assigns the measurement to a particular RSO there can be no certainty on the identity of the object. It could be that the measurement was produced by clutter or perhaps a newly birthed RSO. It is also a possibility that the measurement came from a previously known object that maneuvered away from its predicted location. Typically, tracking methods tend to associate uncorrelated measurements to new objects and wait for more information to determine the true RSO population. This can lead to the loss of object custody. The goal of this paper is to utilize a multiple hypothesis framework coupled with some knowledge of RSO maneuvers that allows the user to maintain object custody in scenarios with uncorrelated optical measurement returns. This is achieved by fitting a Fisher-Bingham-Kent type distribution to the hypothesized maneuvers for accurate data association using directional discriminant analysis.

Basic level category structure emerges gradually across human ventral visual cortex.

PubMed

Iordan, Marius Cătălin; Greene, Michelle R; Beck, Diane M; Fei-Fei, Li

2015-07-01

Objects can be simultaneously categorized at multiple levels of specificity ranging from very broad ("natural object") to very distinct ("Mr. Woof"), with a mid-level of generality (basic level: "dog") often providing the most cognitively useful distinction between categories. It is unknown, however, how this hierarchical representation is achieved in the brain. Using multivoxel pattern analyses, we examined how well each taxonomic level (superordinate, basic, and subordinate) of real-world object categories is represented across occipitotemporal cortex. We found that, although in early visual cortex objects are best represented at the subordinate level (an effect mostly driven by low-level feature overlap between objects in the same category), this advantage diminishes compared to the basic level as we move up the visual hierarchy, disappearing in object-selective regions of occipitotemporal cortex. This pattern stems from a combined increase in within-category similarity (category cohesion) and between-category dissimilarity (category distinctiveness) of neural activity patterns at the basic level, relative to both subordinate and superordinate levels, suggesting that successive visual areas may be optimizing basic level representations.

Fiber optical tweezers for microscale and nanoscale particle manipulation and force sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yuxiang

2011-12-01

Optical tweezers have been an important tool in biology and physics for studying single molecules and colloidal systems. Most of current optical tweezers are built with microscope objectives, which are: i) expensive, ii) bulky and hard to integrate, iii) sensitive to environmental fluctuations, iv) limited in terms of working distances from the substrate, and v) rigid with the requirements on the substrate (transparent substrate made with glass and with a fixed thickness). These limitations of objective-based optical tweezers prevent them from being miniaturized. Fiber optical tweezers can provide a solution for cost reduction and miniaturization, and these optical tweezers can be potentially used in microfluidic systems. However, the existing fiber optical tweezers have the following limitations: i) low trapping efficiency due to weakly focused beams, ii) lack of the ability to control the positions of multiple particles simultaneously, and iii) limited functionalities. The overall objective of this dissertation work is to further the fundamental understanding of fiber optical tweezers through experimental study and modeling, and to develop novel fiber optical tweezers systems to enhance the capability and functionalities of fiber optical tweezers as microscale and nanoscale manipulators/sensors. The contributions of this dissertation work are summarized as follows. i) An enhanced understanding of the inclined dual-fiber optical tweezers (DFOTs) system has been achieved. Stable three dimensional (3D) optical trapping of a single micron-sized particle has been experimentally demonstrated. This is the first time that the trapping efficiency has been calibrated and the stiffness of the trap has been obtained in the experiments, which has been carried out by using two methods: the drag force method and power spectrum analysis. Such calibration enables the system to be used as a picoNewton-level force sensor in addition to a particle manipulator. The influence of system parameters on the trapping performance has been carefully investigated through both experimental and numerical studies. ii) Multiple traps have been created and carefully studied with the inclined DFOTs for the first time. Three traps, one 3D trap and two 2D traps, have been experimentally created at different vertical levels with adjustable separations and positions. iii) Multiple functionalities have been achieved and studied for the first time with the inclined DFOTs. Particle separation, grouping, stacking, rod alignment, rod rotation, and optical binding have been experimentally demonstrated. The multiple functionalities allow the inclined DFOTs to find applications in the study of interaction forces in colloidal systems as well as parallel particle manipulation in drug delivery systems. iv) Far-field superfocusing effect has been investigated and successfully demonstrated with a fiber-based surface plasmonic (SP) lens for the first time. A planar SP lens with a set of concentric nanoscale rings on a fiber endface has been developed. For the first time, a focus size that is comparable to the smallest achievable focus size of high NA objective lenses has been achieved with the fiber-based SP lens. The fiber-based SP lens can bridge the nanoscale particles/systems and the macroscale power sources/detectors, which has been a long standing challenge for nanophotonics. In addition to optical trapping, the fiber-based SP lens will impact many applications including high-resolution lithography, high-resolution fluorescence detection, and sub-wavelength imaging. v) Trapping ability enhanced with the fiber-based SP lens has been successfully demonstrated. With the help of the fiber-based SP lens, the trapping efficiency of fiber optical tweezers has been significantly enhanced, which is comparable with that of objective-based optical tweezers. A submicron-sized bacterium has been successfully trapped in three dimensions for the first time with optical tweezers based on single fibers.

Phase 1/2 study of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)4/6 inhibitor palbociclib (PD-0332991) with bortezomib and dexamethasone in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

PubMed

Niesvizky, Ruben; Badros, Ashraf Z; Costa, Luciano J; Ely, Scott A; Singhal, Seema B; Stadtmauer, Edward A; Haideri, Nisreen A; Yacoub, Abdulraheem; Hess, Georg; Lentzsch, Suzanne; Spicka, Ivan; Chanan-Khan, Asher A; Raab, Marc S; Tarantolo, Stefano; Vij, Ravi; Zonder, Jeffrey A; Huang, Xiangao; Jayabalan, David; Di Liberto, Maurizio; Huang, Xin; Jiang, Yuqiu; Kim, Sindy T; Randolph, Sophia; Chen-Kiang, Selina

2015-01-01

This phase 1/2 study was the first to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6-specific inhibitor palbociclib (PD-0332991) in sequential combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The recommended phase 2 dose was palbociclib 100 mg orally once daily on days 1-12 of a 21-day cycle with bortezomib 1.0 mg/m2 (intravenous) and dexamethasone 20 mg (orally 30 min pre-bortezomib dosing) on days 8 and 11 (early G1 arrest) and days 15 and 18 (cell cycle resumed). Dose-limiting toxicities were primarily cytopenias; most other treatment-related adverse events were grade≤3. At a bortezomib dose lower than that in other combination therapy studies, antitumor activity was observed (phase 1). In phase 2, objective responses were achieved in 5 (20%) patients; 11 (44%) achieved stable disease. Biomarker and pharmacodynamic assessments demonstrated that palbociclib inhibited CDK4/6 and the cell cycle initially in most patients.

Practical Study on HVAC Control Technology Based on the Learning Function and Optimum Multiple Objective Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueda, Haruka; Dazai, Ryota; Kaseda, Chosei; Ikaga, Toshiharu; Kato, Akihiro

Demand among large office buildings for the energy-saving benefits of the HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning) System are increasing as more and more people become concerned with global environmental issues. However, immoderate measures taken in the interest of energy conservation may encroach on the thermal comfort and productivity level of office workers. Building management should satisfy both indoor thermal comfort and energy conservation while adapting to the many regulatory, social, climate, and other changes that occur during the lifespan of the building. This paper demonstrates how optimal control of the HVAC system, based on data modeling and the multi-objective optimal method, achieves an efficient equilibrium between thermal comfort and energy conservation.

Identification of Surface and Near Surface Defects and Damage Evaluation by Laser Speckle Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gowda, Chandrakanth H.

2001-01-01

As a part of the grant activity, a laboratory was established within the Department of Electrical Engineering for the study for measurements of surface defects and damage evaluation. This facility has been utilized for implementing several algorithms for accurate measurements of defects. Experiments were conducted using simulated images and multiple images were fused to achieve accurate measurements. During the nine months of the grants when the principal investigator was transferred in my name, experiments were conducted using simulated synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. This proved useful when several algorithms were used on images of smooth objects with minor deformalities. Given the time constraint, the derived algorithms could not be applied to actual images of smooth objects with minor abnormalities.

A Multi-Objective Partition Method for Marine Sensor Networks Based on Degree of Event Correlation.

PubMed

Huang, Dongmei; Xu, Chenyixuan; Zhao, Danfeng; Song, Wei; He, Qi

2017-09-21

Existing marine sensor networks acquire data from sea areas that are geographically divided, and store the data independently in their affiliated sea area data centers. In the case of marine events across multiple sea areas, the current network structure needs to retrieve data from multiple data centers, and thus severely affects real-time decision making. In this study, in order to provide a fast data retrieval service for a marine sensor network, we use all the marine sensors as the vertices, establish the edge based on marine events, and abstract the marine sensor network as a graph. Then, we construct a multi-objective balanced partition method to partition the abstract graph into multiple regions and store them in the cloud computing platform. This method effectively increases the correlation of the sensors and decreases the retrieval cost. On this basis, an incremental optimization strategy is designed to dynamically optimize existing partitions when new sensors are added into the network. Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve the optimal layout for distributed storage in the process of disaster data retrieval in the China Sea area, and effectively optimize the result of partitions when new buoys are deployed, which eventually will provide efficient data access service for marine events.

Establishing objective benchmarks in robotic virtual reality simulation at the level of a competent surgeon using the RobotiX Mentor simulator.

PubMed

Watkinson, William; Raison, Nicholas; Abe, Takashige; Harrison, Patrick; Khan, Shamim; Van der Poel, Henk; Dasgupta, Prokar; Ahmed, Kamran

2018-05-01

To establish objective benchmarks at the level of a competent robotic surgeon across different exercises and metrics for the RobotiX Mentor virtual reality (VR) simulator suitable for use within a robotic surgical training curriculum. This retrospective observational study analysed results from multiple data sources, all of which used the RobotiX Mentor VR simulator. 123 participants with varying experience from novice to expert completed the exercises. Competency was established as the 25th centile of the mean advanced intermediate score. Three basic skill exercises and two advanced skill exercises were used. King's College London. 84 Novice, 26 beginner intermediates, 9 advanced intermediates and 4 experts were used in this retrospective observational study. Objective benchmarks derived from the 25th centile of the mean scores of the advanced intermediates provided suitably challenging yet also achievable targets for training surgeons. The disparity in scores was greatest for the advanced exercises. Novice surgeons are able to achieve the benchmarks across all exercises in the majority of metrics. We have successfully created this proof-of-concept study, which requires validation in a larger cohort. Objective benchmarks obtained from the 25th centile of the mean scores of advanced intermediates provide clinically relevant benchmarks at the standard of a competent robotic surgeon that are challenging yet also attainable. That can be used within a VR training curriculum allowing participants to track and monitor their progress in a structured and progressional manner through five exercises. Providing clearly defined targets, ensuring that a universal training standard has been achieved across training surgeons. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

A novel 360-degree shape measurement using a simple setup with two mirrors and a laser MEMS scanner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Rui; Zhou, Xiang; Yang, Tao; Li, Dong; Wang, Chao

2017-09-01

There is no denying that 360-degree shape measurement technology plays an important role in the field of threedimensional optical metrology. Traditional optical 360-degree shape measurement methods are mainly two kinds: the first kind, by placing multiple scanners to achieve 360-degree measurements; the second kind, through the high-precision rotating device to get 360-degree shape model. The former increases the number of scanners and costly, while the latter using rotating devices lead to time consuming. This paper presents a low cost and fast optical 360-degree shape measurement method, which possesses the advantages of full static, fast and low cost. The measuring system consists of two mirrors with a certain angle, a laser projection system, a stereoscopic calibration block, and two cameras. And most of all, laser MEMS scanner can achieve precise movement of laser stripes without any movement mechanism, improving the measurement accuracy and efficiency. What's more, a novel stereo calibration technology presented in this paper can achieve point clouds data registration, and then get the 360-degree model of objects. A stereoscopic calibration block with special coded patterns on six sides is used in this novel stereo calibration method. Through this novel stereo calibration technology we can quickly get the 360-degree models of objects.

Multiple wavelength interferometry for distance measurements of moving objects with nanometer uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuschmierz, R.; Czarske, J.; Fischer, A.

2014-08-01

Optical measurement techniques offer great opportunities in diverse applications, such as lathe monitoring and microfluidics. Doppler-based interferometric techniques enable simultaneous measurement of the lateral velocity and axial distance of a moving object. However, there is a complementarity between the unambiguous axial measurement range and the uncertainty of the distance. Therefore, we present an extended sensor setup, which provides an unambiguous axial measurement range of 1 mm while achieving uncertainties below 100 nm. Measurements at a calibration system are performed. When using a pinhole for emulating a single scattering particle, the tumbling motion of the rotating object is resolved with a distance uncertainty of 50 nm. For measurements at the rough surface, the distance uncertainty amounts to 280 nm due to a lower signal-to-noise ratio. Both experimental results are close to the respective Cramér-Rao bound, which is derived analytically for both surface and single particle measurements.

Place preference and vocal learning rely on distinct reinforcers in songbirds.

PubMed

Murdoch, Don; Chen, Ruidong; Goldberg, Jesse H

2018-04-30

In reinforcement learning (RL) agents are typically tasked with maximizing a single objective function such as reward. But it remains poorly understood how agents might pursue distinct objectives at once. In machines, multiobjective RL can be achieved by dividing a single agent into multiple sub-agents, each of which is shaped by agent-specific reinforcement, but it remains unknown if animals adopt this strategy. Here we use songbirds to test if navigation and singing, two behaviors with distinct objectives, can be differentially reinforced. We demonstrate that strobe flashes aversively condition place preference but not song syllables. Brief noise bursts aversively condition song syllables but positively reinforce place preference. Thus distinct behavior-generating systems, or agencies, within a single animal can be shaped by correspondingly distinct reinforcement signals. Our findings suggest that spatially segregated vocal circuits can solve a credit assignment problem associated with multiobjective learning.

Time-of-Flight Microwave Camera.

PubMed

Charvat, Gregory; Temme, Andrew; Feigin, Micha; Raskar, Ramesh

2015-10-05

Microwaves can penetrate many obstructions that are opaque at visible wavelengths, however microwave imaging is challenging due to resolution limits associated with relatively small apertures and unrecoverable "stealth" regions due to the specularity of most objects at microwave frequencies. We demonstrate a multispectral time-of-flight microwave imaging system which overcomes these challenges with a large passive aperture to improve lateral resolution, multiple illumination points with a data fusion method to reduce stealth regions, and a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) receiver to achieve depth resolution. The camera captures images with a resolution of 1.5 degrees, multispectral images across the X frequency band (8 GHz-12 GHz), and a time resolution of 200 ps (6 cm optical path in free space). Images are taken of objects in free space as well as behind drywall and plywood. This architecture allows "camera-like" behavior from a microwave imaging system and is practical for imaging everyday objects in the microwave spectrum.

An Assessment of the Effectiveness of the AGATE Program Management Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warner, Timothy P. (Technical Monitor); Masson, Paul

2005-01-01

This report describes the collaborative program model chosen to implement an aeronautics research and technology program from 1994 through 2001: the Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) Program. The Program had one primary objective: to improve the ability of the General Aviation industry to adopt technology as a solution to fulfill public benefit objectives. The primary objective of this report is to assess the program s ability to meet a combination of "effectiveness measures" from multiple stakeholders. The "effectiveness" of any model forms the foundation of legitimate questions for policy makers and professional federal managers. The participants rated AGATE as achieving its primary objectives and rating well on effectiveness in most areas, with high measures for relevance, cost, speed and public benefit, but lower measures for institutional fit and flexibility at dealing with the larger NASA organizational structure. This pattern mirrors private sector surveys and represents a tradeoff between the benefits of tailoring a program using partnering, versus the changes necessary within the institutional structure to support such tailoring.

Optimization of Multiple and Multipurpose Reservoir System Operations by Using Matrix Structure (Case Study: Karun and Dez Reservoir Dams)

PubMed Central

Othman, Faridah; Taghieh, Mahmood

2016-01-01

Optimal operation of water resources in multiple and multipurpose reservoirs is very complicated. This is because of the number of dams, each dam’s location (Series and parallel), conflict in objectives and the stochastic nature of the inflow of water in the system. In this paper, performance optimization of the system of Karun and Dez reservoir dams have been studied and investigated with the purposes of hydroelectric energy generation and providing water demand in 6 dams. On the Karun River, 5 dams have been built in the series arrangements, and the Dez dam has been built parallel to those 5 dams. One of the main achievements in this research is the implementation of the structure of production of hydroelectric energy as a function of matrix in MATLAB software. The results show that the role of objective function structure for generating hydroelectric energy in weighting method algorithm is more important than water supply. Nonetheless by implementing ε- constraint method algorithm, we can both increase hydroelectric power generation and supply around 85% of agricultural and industrial demands. PMID:27248152

Intensity inhomogeneity compensation and tissue segmentation for magnetic resonance imaging with noise-suppressed multiplicative intrinsic component optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Huaipeng; Zhang, Qi; Shi, Jun

2017-12-01

Magnetic resonance (MR) images suffer from intensity inhomogeneity. Segmentation-based approaches can simultaneously achieve both intensity inhomogeneity compensation (IIC) and tissue segmentation for MR images with little noise, but they often fail for images polluted by severe noise. Here, we propose a noise-robust algorithm named noise-suppressed multiplicative intrinsic component optimization (NSMICO) for simultaneous IIC and tissue segmentation. Considering the spatial characteristics in an image, an adaptive nonlocal means filtering term is incorporated into the objective function of NSMICO to decrease image deterioration due to noise. Then, a fuzzy local factor term utilizing the spatial and gray-level relationship among local pixels is embedded into the objective function to reach a balance between noise suppression and detail preservation. Experimental results on synthetic natural and MR images with various levels of intensity inhomogeneity and noise, as well as in vivo clinical MR images, have demonstrated the effectiveness of the NSMICO and its superiority to three competing approaches. The NSMICO could be potentially valuable for MR image IIC and tissue segmentation.

Enhanced power quality based single phase photovoltaic distributed generation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panda, Aurobinda; Pathak, M. K.; Srivastava, S. P.

2016-08-01

This article presents a novel control strategy for a 1-ϕ 2-level grid-tie photovoltaic (PV) inverter to enhance the power quality (PQ) of a PV distributed generation (PVDG) system. The objective is to obtain the maximum benefits from the grid-tie PV inverter by introducing current harmonics as well as reactive power compensation schemes in its control strategy, thereby controlling the PV inverter to achieve multiple functions in the PVDG system such as: (1) active power flow control between the PV inverter and the grid, (2) reactive power compensation, and (3) grid current harmonics compensation. A PQ enhancement controller (PQEC) has been designed to achieve the aforementioned objectives. The issue of underutilisation of the PV inverter in nighttime has also been addressed in this article and for the optimal use of the system; the PV inverter is used as a shunt active power filter in nighttime. A prototype model of the proposed system is developed in the laboratory, to validate the effectiveness of the control scheme, and is tested with the help of the dSPACE DS1104 platform.

Coverage criteria for test case generation using UML state chart diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salman, Yasir Dawood; Hashim, Nor Laily; Rejab, Mawarny Md; Romli, Rohaida; Mohd, Haslina

2017-10-01

To improve the effectiveness of test data generation during the software test, many studies have focused on the automation of test data generation from UML diagrams. One of these diagrams is the UML state chart diagram. Test cases are generally evaluated according to coverage criteria. However, combinations of multiple criteria are required to achieve better coverage. Different studies used various number and types of coverage criteria in their methods and approaches. The objective of this paper to propose suitable coverage criteria for test case generation using UML state chart diagram especially in handling loops. In order to achieve this objective, this work reviewed previous studies to present the most practical coverage criteria combinations, including all-states, all-transitions, all-transition-pairs, and all-loop-free-paths coverage. Calculation to determine the coverage percentage of the proposed coverage criteria were presented together with an example has they are applied on a UML state chart diagram. This finding would be beneficial in the area of test case generating especially in handling loops in UML state chart diagram.

Videogrammetry Using Projected Circular Targets: Proof-of-Concept Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pappa, Richard S.; Black, Jonathan T.

2003-01-01

Videogrammetry is the science of calculating 3D object coordinates as a function of time from image sequences. It expands the method of photogrammetry to multiple time steps enabling the object to be characterized dynamically. Photogrammetry achieves the greatest accuracy with high contrast, solid-colored, circular targets. The high contrast is most often effected using retro-reflective targets attached to the measurement article. Knowledge of the location of each target allows those points to be tracked in a sequence of images, thus yielding dynamic characterization of the overall object. For ultra-lightweight and inflatable gossamer structures (e.g. solar sails, inflatable antennae, sun shields, etc.) where it may be desirable to avoid physically attaching retro-targets, a high-density grid of projected circular targets - called dot projection - is a viable alternative. Over time the object changes shape or position independently of the dots. Dynamic behavior, such as deployment or vibration, can be characterized by tracking the overall 3D shape of the object instead of tracking specific object points. To develop this method, an oscillating rigid object was measured using both retroreflective targets and dot projection. This paper details these tests, compares the results, and discusses the overall accuracy of dot projection videogrammetry.

Videogrammetry Using Projected Circular Targets: Proof-of-Concept Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Black, Jonathan T.; Pappa, Richard S.

2003-01-01

Videogrammetry is the science of calculating 3D object coordinates as a function of time from image sequences. It expands the method of photogrammetry to multiple time steps enabling the object to be characterized dynamically. Photogrammetry achieves the greatest accuracy with high contrast, solid-colored circular targets. The high contrast is most often effected using retro-reflective targets attached to the measurement article. Knowledge of the location of each target allows those points to be tracked in a sequence of images, thus yielding dynamic characterization of the overall object. For ultra-lightweight and inflatable gossamer structures (e.g. solar sails, inflatable antennae, sun shields, etc.) where it may be desirable to avoid physically attaching retro-targets, a high-density grid of projected circular targets - called dot projection - is a viable alternative. Over time the object changes shape or position independently of the dots. Dynamic behavior, such as deployment or vibration, can be characterized by tracking the overall 3D shape of the object instead of tracking specific object points. To develop this method, an oscillating rigid object was measured using both retro- reflective targets and dot projection. This paper details these tests, compares the results, and discusses the overall accuracy of dot projection videogrammetry.

An ecosystem services framework to support both practical conservation and economic development.

PubMed

Tallis, Heather; Kareiva, Peter; Marvier, Michelle; Chang, Amy

2008-07-15

The core idea of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is that the human condition is tightly linked to environmental condition. This assertion suggests that conservation and development projects should be able to achieve both ecological and social progress without detracting from their primary objectives. Whereas "win-win" projects that achieve both conservation and economic gains are a commendable goal, they are not easy to attain. An analysis of World Bank projects with objectives of alleviating poverty and protecting biodiversity revealed that only 16% made major progress on both objectives. Here, we provide a framework for anticipating win-win, lose-lose, and win-lose outcomes as a result of how people manage their ecosystem services. This framework emerges from detailed explorations of several case studies in which biodiversity conservation and economic development coincide and cases in which there is joint failure. We emphasize that scientific advances around ecosystem service production functions, tradeoffs among multiple ecosystem services, and the design of appropriate monitoring programs are necessary for the implementation of conservation and development projects that will successfully advance both environmental and social goals. The potentially bright future of jointly advancing ecosystem services, conservation, and human well-being will be jeopardized unless a global monitoring effort is launched that uses the many ongoing projects as a grand experiment.

An ecosystem services framework to support both practical conservation and economic development

PubMed Central

Tallis, Heather; Kareiva, Peter; Marvier, Michelle; Chang, Amy

2008-01-01

The core idea of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is that the human condition is tightly linked to environmental condition. This assertion suggests that conservation and development projects should be able to achieve both ecological and social progress without detracting from their primary objectives. Whereas “win–win” projects that achieve both conservation and economic gains are a commendable goal, they are not easy to attain. An analysis of World Bank projects with objectives of alleviating poverty and protecting biodiversity revealed that only 16% made major progress on both objectives. Here, we provide a framework for anticipating win–win, lose–lose, and win–lose outcomes as a result of how people manage their ecosystem services. This framework emerges from detailed explorations of several case studies in which biodiversity conservation and economic development coincide and cases in which there is joint failure. We emphasize that scientific advances around ecosystem service production functions, tradeoffs among multiple ecosystem services, and the design of appropriate monitoring programs are necessary for the implementation of conservation and development projects that will successfully advance both environmental and social goals. The potentially bright future of jointly advancing ecosystem services, conservation, and human well-being will be jeopardized unless a global monitoring effort is launched that uses the many ongoing projects as a grand experiment. PMID:18621702

Trace detection of explosives using an in-line high-volume sampler, preconcentrator, and Fido explosives detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ingram, Russ; Sikes, John

2010-04-01

This paper shall demonstrate the results of a prototype system to detect explosive objects and obscured contaminated targets. By combining a high volume sampling nozzle with an inline 2-stage preconcentrator and a Fido, greater standoff is achieved than with the Fido alone. The direct application of this system is on the Autonomous Mine Detection System (AMDS) but could be deployed on a large variety of robotic platforms. It is being developed under the auspices of the U.S. Army RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate, Countermine Division. This device is one of several detection tools and technologies to be used on the AMDS. These systems will have multiple, and at times, overlapping objectives. One objective is trace detection on the surface of an unknown potential target. By increasing the standoff capabilities of the detector, the fine manipulation of the robot deploying the detector is less critical. Current detectors used on robotic systems must either be directly in the vapor plume or make direct contact with the target. By increasing the standoff, detection is more easily and quickly achieved. The end result detector must overcome cross-contamination, sample throughput, and environmental issues. The paper will provide preliminary results of the prototype system to include data, and where feasible, video of testing results.

Multi-objective decoupling algorithm for active distance control of intelligent hybrid electric vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Yugong; Chen, Tao; Li, Keqiang

2015-12-01

The paper presents a novel active distance control strategy for intelligent hybrid electric vehicles (IHEV) with the purpose of guaranteeing an optimal performance in view of the driving functions, optimum safety, fuel economy and ride comfort. Considering the complexity of driving situations, the objects of safety and ride comfort are decoupled from that of fuel economy, and a hierarchical control architecture is adopted to improve the real-time performance and the adaptability. The hierarchical control structure consists of four layers: active distance control object determination, comprehensive driving and braking torque calculation, comprehensive torque distribution and torque coordination. The safety distance control and the emergency stop algorithms are designed to achieve the safety and ride comfort goals. The optimal rule-based energy management algorithm of the hybrid electric system is developed to improve the fuel economy. The torque coordination control strategy is proposed to regulate engine torque, motor torque and hydraulic braking torque to improve the ride comfort. This strategy is verified by simulation and experiment using a forward simulation platform and a prototype vehicle. The results show that the novel control strategy can achieve the integrated and coordinated control of its multiple subsystems, which guarantees top performance of the driving functions and optimum safety, fuel economy and ride comfort.

Experiences of High-Achieving High School Students Who Have Taken Multiple Concurrent Advanced Placement Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milburn, Kristine M.

2011-01-01

Problem: An increasing number of high-achieving American high school students are enrolling in multiple Advanced Placement (AP) courses. As a result, high schools face a growing need to understand the impact of taking multiple AP courses concurrently on the social-emotional lives of high-achieving students. Procedures: This phenomenological…

Surface-region context in optimal multi-object graph-based segmentation: robust delineation of pulmonary tumors.

PubMed

Song, Qi; Chen, Mingqing; Bai, Junjie; Sonka, Milan; Wu, Xiaodong

2011-01-01

Multi-object segmentation with mutual interaction is a challenging task in medical image analysis. We report a novel solution to a segmentation problem, in which target objects of arbitrary shape mutually interact with terrain-like surfaces, which widely exists in the medical imaging field. The approach incorporates context information used during simultaneous segmentation of multiple objects. The object-surface interaction information is encoded by adding weighted inter-graph arcs to our graph model. A globally optimal solution is achieved by solving a single maximum flow problem in a low-order polynomial time. The performance of the method was evaluated in robust delineation of lung tumors in megavoltage cone-beam CT images in comparison with an expert-defined independent standard. The evaluation showed that our method generated highly accurate tumor segmentations. Compared with the conventional graph-cut method, our new approach provided significantly better results (p < 0.001). The Dice coefficient obtained by the conventional graph-cut approach (0.76 +/- 0.10) was improved to 0.84 +/- 0.05 when employing our new method for pulmonary tumor segmentation.

Fluorescent probes for nanoscopy: four categories and multiple possibilities.

PubMed

Ni, Ming; Zhuo, Shuangmu; So, Peter T C; Yu, Hanry

2017-01-01

Nanoscopy enables breaking down the light diffraction limit and reveals the nanostructures of objects being studied using light. In 2014, three scientists pioneered the development of nanoscopy and won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This recognized the achievement of the past twenty years in the field of nanoscopy. However, fluorescent probes used in the field of nanoscopy are still numbered. Here, we review the currently available four categories of probes and existing methods to improve the performance of probes. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Independent motion detection with a rival penalized adaptive particle filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, Stefan; Hübner, Wolfgang; Arens, Michael

2014-10-01

Aggregation of pixel based motion detection into regions of interest, which include views of single moving objects in a scene is an essential pre-processing step in many vision systems. Motion events of this type provide significant information about the object type or build the basis for action recognition. Further, motion is an essential saliency measure, which is able to effectively support high level image analysis. When applied to static cameras, background subtraction methods achieve good results. On the other hand, motion aggregation on freely moving cameras is still a widely unsolved problem. The image flow, measured on a freely moving camera is the result from two major motion types. First the ego-motion of the camera and second object motion, that is independent from the camera motion. When capturing a scene with a camera these two motion types are adverse blended together. In this paper, we propose an approach to detect multiple moving objects from a mobile monocular camera system in an outdoor environment. The overall processing pipeline consists of a fast ego-motion compensation algorithm in the preprocessing stage. Real-time performance is achieved by using a sparse optical flow algorithm as an initial processing stage and a densely applied probabilistic filter in the post-processing stage. Thereby, we follow the idea proposed by Jung and Sukhatme. Normalized intensity differences originating from a sequence of ego-motion compensated difference images represent the probability of moving objects. Noise and registration artefacts are filtered out, using a Bayesian formulation. The resulting a posteriori distribution is located on image regions, showing strong amplitudes in the difference image which are in accordance with the motion prediction. In order to effectively estimate the a posteriori distribution, a particle filter is used. In addition to the fast ego-motion compensation, the main contribution of this paper is the design of the probabilistic filter for real-time detection and tracking of independently moving objects. The proposed approach introduces a competition scheme between particles in order to ensure an improved multi-modality. Further, the filter design helps to generate a particle distribution which is homogenous even in the presence of multiple targets showing non-rigid motion patterns. The effectiveness of the method is shown on exemplary outdoor sequences.

Compositional mining of multiple object API protocols through state abstraction.

PubMed

Dai, Ziying; Mao, Xiaoguang; Lei, Yan; Qi, Yuhua; Wang, Rui; Gu, Bin

2013-01-01

API protocols specify correct sequences of method invocations. Despite their usefulness, API protocols are often unavailable in practice because writing them is cumbersome and error prone. Multiple object API protocols are more expressive than single object API protocols. However, the huge number of objects of typical object-oriented programs poses a major challenge to the automatic mining of multiple object API protocols: besides maintaining scalability, it is important to capture various object interactions. Current approaches utilize various heuristics to focus on small sets of methods. In this paper, we present a general, scalable, multiple object API protocols mining approach that can capture all object interactions. Our approach uses abstract field values to label object states during the mining process. We first mine single object typestates as finite state automata whose transitions are annotated with states of interacting objects before and after the execution of the corresponding method and then construct multiple object API protocols by composing these annotated single object typestates. We implement our approach for Java and evaluate it through a series of experiments.

Compositional Mining of Multiple Object API Protocols through State Abstraction

PubMed Central

Mao, Xiaoguang; Qi, Yuhua; Wang, Rui; Gu, Bin

2013-01-01

API protocols specify correct sequences of method invocations. Despite their usefulness, API protocols are often unavailable in practice because writing them is cumbersome and error prone. Multiple object API protocols are more expressive than single object API protocols. However, the huge number of objects of typical object-oriented programs poses a major challenge to the automatic mining of multiple object API protocols: besides maintaining scalability, it is important to capture various object interactions. Current approaches utilize various heuristics to focus on small sets of methods. In this paper, we present a general, scalable, multiple object API protocols mining approach that can capture all object interactions. Our approach uses abstract field values to label object states during the mining process. We first mine single object typestates as finite state automata whose transitions are annotated with states of interacting objects before and after the execution of the corresponding method and then construct multiple object API protocols by composing these annotated single object typestates. We implement our approach for Java and evaluate it through a series of experiments. PMID:23844378

Real-time optical multiple object recognition and tracking system and method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chao, Tien-Hsin (Inventor); Liu, Hua Kuang (Inventor)

1987-01-01

The invention relates to an apparatus and associated methods for the optical recognition and tracking of multiple objects in real time. Multiple point spatial filters are employed that pre-define the objects to be recognized at run-time. The system takes the basic technology of a Vander Lugt filter and adds a hololens. The technique replaces time, space and cost-intensive digital techniques. In place of multiple objects, the system can also recognize multiple orientations of a single object. This later capability has potential for space applications where space and weight are at a premium.

DeepLab: Semantic Image Segmentation with Deep Convolutional Nets, Atrous Convolution, and Fully Connected CRFs.

PubMed

Chen, Liang-Chieh; Papandreou, George; Kokkinos, Iasonas; Murphy, Kevin; Yuille, Alan L

2018-04-01

In this work we address the task of semantic image segmentation with Deep Learning and make three main contributions that are experimentally shown to have substantial practical merit. First, we highlight convolution with upsampled filters, or 'atrous convolution', as a powerful tool in dense prediction tasks. Atrous convolution allows us to explicitly control the resolution at which feature responses are computed within Deep Convolutional Neural Networks. It also allows us to effectively enlarge the field of view of filters to incorporate larger context without increasing the number of parameters or the amount of computation. Second, we propose atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) to robustly segment objects at multiple scales. ASPP probes an incoming convolutional feature layer with filters at multiple sampling rates and effective fields-of-views, thus capturing objects as well as image context at multiple scales. Third, we improve the localization of object boundaries by combining methods from DCNNs and probabilistic graphical models. The commonly deployed combination of max-pooling and downsampling in DCNNs achieves invariance but has a toll on localization accuracy. We overcome this by combining the responses at the final DCNN layer with a fully connected Conditional Random Field (CRF), which is shown both qualitatively and quantitatively to improve localization performance. Our proposed "DeepLab" system sets the new state-of-art at the PASCAL VOC-2012 semantic image segmentation task, reaching 79.7 percent mIOU in the test set, and advances the results on three other datasets: PASCAL-Context, PASCAL-Person-Part, and Cityscapes. All of our code is made publicly available online.

Individuation of objects and events: a developmental study.

PubMed

Wagner, Laura; Carey, Susan

2003-12-01

This study investigates children's ability to use language to guide their choice of individuation criterion in the domains of objects and events. Previous work (Shipley, E. F., & Shepperson, B. (1990). Countable entities: developmental changes. Cognition, 34, 109-136.) has shown that children have a strong bias to use a spatio-temporal individuation strategy when counting objects and that children will ignore a conflicting linguistic description in favor of this spatio-temporal bias. Experiment 1 asked children (3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) and adults to count objects and events under different linguistic descriptions. In the object task, subjects counted pictures of familiar objects split into multiple pieces (as in Shipley, E. F., & Shepperson, B. (1990). Countable entities: developmental changes. Cognition, 34, 109-136.) and described either using an appropriate kind label (e.g. "car") or the general term "thing". In the event task, subjects watched short animated movies consisting of a goal-oriented event achieved via multiple, temporally separated steps. The events were described either with an appropriate telic predicate targeting the goal (e.g. "paint a flower") or with an atelic predicate targeting the steps in the process (e.g. "paint") and the subjects' task was to count the events. Relative to adults, children preferred a spatio-temporal counting strategy in both tasks; there was no difference among the three groups of children. However, children were able to significantly change their counting strategy to follow the linguistic description in the event but not the object task. Experiment 2 extended the object task to include counting of other types of non-spatio-temporal units such as sub-parts of objects and collections. Results showed that children could use the linguistic descriptions to guide their counting strategy for these new items, though they continued to show a bias for a spatio-temporal individuation strategy with the collections. We suggest potential cognitive origins for the spatio-temporal individuation bias and how it interacts with children's developing linguistic knowledge.

Characterizing human activity induced impulse and slip-pulse excitations through structural vibration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Shijia; Mirshekari, Mostafa; Fagert, Jonathon; Ramirez, Ceferino Gabriel; Chung, Albert Jin; Hu, Chih Chi; Shen, John Paul; Zhang, Pei; Noh, Hae Young

2018-02-01

Many human activities induce excitations on ambient structures with various objects, causing the structures to vibrate. Accurate vibration excitation source detection and characterization enable human activity information inference, hence allowing human activity monitoring for various smart building applications. By utilizing structural vibrations, we can achieve sparse and non-intrusive sensing, unlike pressure- and vision-based methods. Many approaches have been presented on vibration-based source characterization, and they often either focus on one excitation type or have limited performance due to the dispersion and attenuation effects of the structures. In this paper, we present our method to characterize two main types of excitations induced by human activities (impulse and slip-pulse) on multiple structures. By understanding the physical properties of waves and their propagation, the system can achieve accurate excitation tracking on different structures without large-scale labeled training data. Specifically, our algorithm takes properties of surface waves generated by impulse and of body waves generated by slip-pulse into account to handle the dispersion and attenuation effects when different types of excitations happen on various structures. We then evaluate the algorithm through multiple scenarios. Our method achieves up to a six times improvement in impulse localization accuracy and a three times improvement in slip-pulse trajectory length estimation compared to existing methods that do not take wave properties into account.

Production of biofuels and biochemicals: in need of an ORACLE.

PubMed

Miskovic, Ljubisa; Hatzimanikatis, Vassily

2010-08-01

The engineering of cells for the production of fuels and chemicals involves simultaneous optimization of multiple objectives, such as specific productivity, extended substrate range and improved tolerance - all under a great degree of uncertainty. The achievement of these objectives under physiological and process constraints will be impossible without the use of mathematical modeling. However, the limited information and the uncertainty in the available information require new methods for modeling and simulation that will characterize the uncertainty and will quantify, in a statistical sense, the expectations of success of alternative metabolic engineering strategies. We discuss these considerations toward developing a framework for the Optimization and Risk Analysis of Complex Living Entities (ORACLE) - a computational method that integrates available information into a mathematical structure to calculate control coefficients. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tabletop computed lighting for practical digital photography.

PubMed

Mohan, Ankit; Bailey, Reynold; Waite, Jonathan; Tumblin, Jack; Grimm, Cindy; Bodenheimer, Bobby

2007-01-01

We apply simplified image-based lighting methods to reduce the equipment, cost, time, and specialized skills required for high-quality photographic lighting of desktop-sized static objects such as museum artifacts. We place the object and a computer-steered moving-head spotlight inside a simple foam-core enclosure and use a camera to record photos as the light scans the box interior. Optimization, guided by interactive user sketching, selects a small set of these photos whose weighted sum best matches the user-defined target sketch. Unlike previous image-based relighting efforts, our method requires only a single area light source, yet it can achieve high-resolution light positioning to avoid multiple sharp shadows. A reduced version uses only a handheld light and may be suitable for battery-powered field photography equipment that fits into a backpack.

Differences in motives between Millennial and Generation X medical students.

PubMed

Borges, Nicole J; Manuel, R Stephen; Elam, Carol L; Jones, Bonnie J

2010-06-01

OBJECTIVES Three domains comprise the field of human assessment: ability, motive and personality. Differences in personality and cognitive abilities between generations have been documented, but differences in motive between generations have not been explored. This study explored generational differences in medical students regarding motives using the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). METHODS Four hundred and twenty six students (97% response rate) at one medical school (Generation X = 229, Millennials = 197) who matriculated in 1995 & 1996 (Generation X) or in 2003 & 2004 (Millennials) wrote a story after being shown two TAT picture cards. Student stories for each TAT card were scored for different aspects of motives: Achievement, Affiliation, and Power. RESULTS A multiple analysis of variance (p < 0.05) showed significant differences between Millennials' and Generation X-ers' needs for Power on both TAT cards and needs for Achievement and Affiliation on one TAT card. The main effect for gender was significant for both TAT cards regarding Achievement. No main effect for ethnicity was noted. CONCLUSIONS Differences in needs for Achievement, Affiliation and Power exist between Millennial and Generation X medical students. Generation X-ers scored higher on the motive of Power, whereas Millennials scored higher on the motives of Achievement and Affiliation.

Understanding cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis: integrating a first-person perspective with neuropsychological testing, neuroimaging, and cognitive neuroscience research.

PubMed

Courtney, Susan M

2011-12-01

This paper gives perspectives on a companion article, the case history of a professional writer who has multiple sclerosis. The patient's first-person account of her illness is combined with clinical summaries about her care. The discussion of this case illustrates the value of combining such subjective and objective reports in evaluating a patient. Furthermore, considering these reports in the context of current research findings on the organization and function of cognitive neural systems can shed light on patients' seemingly contradictory clinical findings. For this patient, a deficit in the ability to select the most important information to achieve her current goals reflected her neuropsychological test results and neuroradiologic findings, and helped to explain her difficulties with her job and her activities of daily living. Because the patient's cognitive impairments have been her primary manifestations of multiple sclerosis, she illustrates the importance of physicians attending to and helping patients manage their cognitive deficits.

Metrology test object for dimensional verification in additive manufacturing of metals for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Teeter, Matthew G; Kopacz, Alexander J; Nikolov, Hristo N; Holdsworth, David W

2015-01-01

Additive manufacturing continues to increase in popularity and is being used in applications such as biomaterial ingrowth that requires sub-millimeter dimensional accuracy. The purpose of this study was to design a metrology test object for determining the capabilities of additive manufacturing systems to produce common objects, with a focus on those relevant to medical applications. The test object was designed with a variety of features of varying dimensions, including holes, cylinders, rectangles, gaps, and lattices. The object was built using selective laser melting, and the produced dimensions were compared to the target dimensions. Location of the test objects on the build plate did not affect dimensions. Features with dimensions less than 0.300 mm did not build or were overbuilt to a minimum of 0.300 mm. The mean difference between target and measured dimensions was less than 0.100 mm in all cases. The test object is applicable to multiple systems and materials, tests the effect of location on the build, uses a minimum of material, and can be measured with a variety of efficient metrology tools (including measuring microscopes and micro-CT). Investigators can use this test object to determine the limits of systems and adjust build parameters to achieve maximum accuracy. © IMechE 2014.

Combining features from ERP components in single-trial EEG for discriminating four-category visual objects.

PubMed

Wang, Changming; Xiong, Shi; Hu, Xiaoping; Yao, Li; Zhang, Jiacai

2012-10-01

Categorization of images containing visual objects can be successfully recognized using single-trial electroencephalograph (EEG) measured when subjects view images. Previous studies have shown that task-related information contained in event-related potential (ERP) components could discriminate two or three categories of object images. In this study, we investigated whether four categories of objects (human faces, buildings, cats and cars) could be mutually discriminated using single-trial EEG data. Here, the EEG waveforms acquired while subjects were viewing four categories of object images were segmented into several ERP components (P1, N1, P2a and P2b), and then Fisher linear discriminant analysis (Fisher-LDA) was used to classify EEG features extracted from ERP components. Firstly, we compared the classification results using features from single ERP components, and identified that the N1 component achieved the highest classification accuracies. Secondly, we discriminated four categories of objects using combining features from multiple ERP components, and showed that combination of ERP components improved four-category classification accuracies by utilizing the complementarity of discriminative information in ERP components. These findings confirmed that four categories of object images could be discriminated with single-trial EEG and could direct us to select effective EEG features for classifying visual objects.

Management of the Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roman, Monsi; Perry, Jay; Howard, David

2013-01-01

The Advanced Exploration Systems Program's Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM) project is working to further optimize atmosphere revitalization and environmental monitoring system architectures. This paper discusses project management strategies that tap into skill sets across multiple engineering disciplines, projects, field centers, and industry to achieve the project success. It is the project's objective to contribute to system advances that will enable sustained exploration missions beyond Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) and improve affordability by focusing on the primary goals of achieving high reliability, improving efficiency, and reducing dependence on ground-based logistics resupply. Technology demonstrations are achieved by infusing new technologies and concepts with existing developmental hardware and operating in a controlled environment simulating various crewed habitat scenarios. The ARREM project's strengths include access to a vast array of existing developmental hardware that perform all the vital atmosphere revitalization functions, exceptional test facilities to fully evaluate system performance, and a well-coordinated partnering effort among the NASA field centers and industry partners to provide the innovative expertise necessary to succeed.

Risk Assessment and Prediction of Flyrock Distance by Combined Multiple Regression Analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation of Quarry Blasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Armaghani, Danial Jahed; Mahdiyar, Amir; Hasanipanah, Mahdi; Faradonbeh, Roohollah Shirani; Khandelwal, Manoj; Amnieh, Hassan Bakhshandeh

2016-09-01

Flyrock is considered as one of the main causes of human injury, fatalities, and structural damage among all undesirable environmental impacts of blasting. Therefore, it seems that the proper prediction/simulation of flyrock is essential, especially in order to determine blast safety area. If proper control measures are taken, then the flyrock distance can be controlled, and, in return, the risk of damage can be reduced or eliminated. The first objective of this study was to develop a predictive model for flyrock estimation based on multiple regression (MR) analyses, and after that, using the developed MR model, flyrock phenomenon was simulated by the Monte Carlo (MC) approach. In order to achieve objectives of this study, 62 blasting operations were investigated in Ulu Tiram quarry, Malaysia, and some controllable and uncontrollable factors were carefully recorded/calculated. The obtained results of MC modeling indicated that this approach is capable of simulating flyrock ranges with a good level of accuracy. The mean of simulated flyrock by MC was obtained as 236.3 m, while this value was achieved as 238.6 m for the measured one. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was also conducted to investigate the effects of model inputs on the output of the system. The analysis demonstrated that powder factor is the most influential parameter on fly rock among all model inputs. It is noticeable that the proposed MR and MC models should be utilized only in the studied area and the direct use of them in the other conditions is not recommended.

Conception and realization of a semiconductor based 240 GHz full 3D MIMO imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weisenstein, Christian; Kahl, Matthias; Friederich, Fabian; Haring Bolívar, Peter

2017-02-01

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) imaging systems in the terahertz frequency range have a high potential in the field of non-destructive testing (NDT). With such systems it is possible to detect defects in composite materials, for example cracks or delaminations in fiber composites. To investigate mass-produced products it is necessary to study the objects in close to real-time on a conveyor without affecting the production cycle time. In this work we present the conception and realization of a 3D MIMO imaging system for in-line investigation of composite materials and structures. To achieve a lateral resolution of 1 mm, in order to detect such small defects in composite materials with a moderate number of elements, precise sensor design is crucial. In our approach we use the effective aperture concept. The designed sparse array consists of 32 transmitters and 30 receivers based on planar semiconductor components. High range resolution is achieved by an operating frequency between 220 GHz and 260 GHz in a stepped frequency continuous wave (SFCW) setup. A matched filter approach is used to simulate the reconstructed 3D image through the array. This allows the evaluation of the designed array geometry in regard of resolution and side lobe level. In contrast to earlier demonstrations, in which synthetic reconstruction is only performed in a 2D plane, an optics-free full 3D recon- struction has been implemented in our concept. Based on this simulation we designed an array geometry that enables to resolve objects with a resolution smaller than 1mm and moderate side lobe level.

Multiple-Objective Optimal Designs for Studying the Dose Response Function and Interesting Dose Levels

PubMed Central

Hyun, Seung Won; Wong, Weng Kee

2016-01-01

We construct an optimal design to simultaneously estimate three common interesting features in a dose-finding trial with possibly different emphasis on each feature. These features are (1) the shape of the dose-response curve, (2) the median effective dose and (3) the minimum effective dose level. A main difficulty of this task is that an optimal design for a single objective may not perform well for other objectives. There are optimal designs for dual objectives in the literature but we were unable to find optimal designs for 3 or more objectives to date with a concrete application. A reason for this is that the approach for finding a dual-objective optimal design does not work well for a 3 or more multiple-objective design problem. We propose a method for finding multiple-objective optimal designs that estimate the three features with user-specified higher efficiencies for the more important objectives. We use the flexible 4-parameter logistic model to illustrate the methodology but our approach is applicable to find multiple-objective optimal designs for other types of objectives and models. We also investigate robustness properties of multiple-objective optimal designs to mis-specification in the nominal parameter values and to a variation in the optimality criterion. We also provide computer code for generating tailor made multiple-objective optimal designs. PMID:26565557

Multiple-Objective Optimal Designs for Studying the Dose Response Function and Interesting Dose Levels.

PubMed

Hyun, Seung Won; Wong, Weng Kee

2015-11-01

We construct an optimal design to simultaneously estimate three common interesting features in a dose-finding trial with possibly different emphasis on each feature. These features are (1) the shape of the dose-response curve, (2) the median effective dose and (3) the minimum effective dose level. A main difficulty of this task is that an optimal design for a single objective may not perform well for other objectives. There are optimal designs for dual objectives in the literature but we were unable to find optimal designs for 3 or more objectives to date with a concrete application. A reason for this is that the approach for finding a dual-objective optimal design does not work well for a 3 or more multiple-objective design problem. We propose a method for finding multiple-objective optimal designs that estimate the three features with user-specified higher efficiencies for the more important objectives. We use the flexible 4-parameter logistic model to illustrate the methodology but our approach is applicable to find multiple-objective optimal designs for other types of objectives and models. We also investigate robustness properties of multiple-objective optimal designs to mis-specification in the nominal parameter values and to a variation in the optimality criterion. We also provide computer code for generating tailor made multiple-objective optimal designs.

Maximizing the performance of a multiple-stage variable-throat venturi scrubber for particle collection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muir, D. M.; Akeredolu, F.

The high collection efficiencies that are required nowadays to meet the stricter pollution control standards necessitate the use of high-energy scrubbers, such as the venturi scrubber, for the arrestment of fine particulate matter from exhaust gas streams. To achieve more energy-efficient particle collection, several venturi stages may be used in series. This paper is principally a theoretical investigation of the performance of a multiple-stage venturi scrubber, the main objective of the study being to establish the best venturi design configuration for any given set of operating conditions. A mathematical model is used to predict collection efficiency vs pressure drop relationships for particle sizes in the range 0.2-5.0 μm for one-, two-, three- and four-stage scrubbers. The theoretical predictions are borne out qualitatively by experimental work. The paper shows that the three-stage venturi produces the highest collection efficiencies over the normal operating range except for the collection of very fine particles at low pressure drops, when the single-stage venturi is best. The significant improvement in performance achieved by the three-stage venturi when compared with conventional single-stage operation increases as both the particle size and system pressure drop increase.

Robust set-point regulation for ecological models with multiple management goals.

PubMed

Guiver, Chris; Mueller, Markus; Hodgson, Dave; Townley, Stuart

2016-05-01

Population managers will often have to deal with problems of meeting multiple goals, for example, keeping at specific levels both the total population and population abundances in given stage-classes of a stratified population. In control engineering, such set-point regulation problems are commonly tackled using multi-input, multi-output proportional and integral (PI) feedback controllers. Building on our recent results for population management with single goals, we develop a PI control approach in a context of multi-objective population management. We show that robust set-point regulation is achieved by using a modified PI controller with saturation and anti-windup elements, both described in the paper, and illustrate the theory with examples. Our results apply more generally to linear control systems with positive state variables, including a class of infinite-dimensional systems, and thus have broader appeal.

Airplane detection based on fusion framework by combining saliency model with Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dou, Hao; Sun, Xiao; Li, Bin; Deng, Qianqian; Yang, Xubo; Liu, Di; Tian, Jinwen

2018-03-01

Aircraft detection from very high resolution remote sensing images, has gained more increasing interest in recent years due to the successful civil and military applications. However, several problems still exist: 1) how to extract the high-level features of aircraft; 2) locating objects within such a large image is difficult and time consuming; 3) A common problem of multiple resolutions of satellite images still exists. In this paper, inspirited by biological visual mechanism, the fusion detection framework is proposed, which fusing the top-down visual mechanism (deep CNN model) and bottom-up visual mechanism (GBVS) to detect aircraft. Besides, we use multi-scale training method for deep CNN model to solve the problem of multiple resolutions. Experimental results demonstrate that our method can achieve a better detection result than the other methods.

Creation and Delphi-method refinement of pediatric disaster triage simulations.

PubMed

Cicero, Mark X; Brown, Linda; Overly, Frank; Yarzebski, Jorge; Meckler, Garth; Fuchs, Susan; Tomassoni, Anthony; Aghababian, Richard; Chung, Sarita; Garrett, Andrew; Fagbuyi, Daniel; Adelgais, Kathleen; Goldman, Ran; Parker, James; Auerbach, Marc; Riera, Antonio; Cone, David; Baum, Carl R

2014-01-01

There is a need for rigorously designed pediatric disaster triage (PDT) training simulations for paramedics. First, we sought to design three multiple patient incidents for EMS provider training simulations. Our second objective was to determine the appropriate interventions and triage level for each victim in each of the simulations and develop evaluation instruments for each simulation. The final objective was to ensure that each simulation and evaluation tool was free of bias toward any specific PDT strategy. We created mixed-methods disaster simulation scenarios with pediatric victims: a school shooting, a school bus crash, and a multiple-victim house fire. Standardized patients, high-fidelity manikins, and low-fidelity manikins were used to portray the victims. Each simulation had similar acuity of injuries and 10 victims. Examples include children with special health-care needs, gunshot wounds, and smoke inhalation. Checklist-based evaluation tools and behaviorally anchored global assessments of function were created for each simulation. Eight physicians and paramedics from areas with differing PDT strategies were recruited as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for a modified Delphi iterative critique of the simulations and evaluation tools. The modified Delphi was managed with an online survey tool. The SMEs provided an expected triage category for each patient. The target for modified Delphi consensus was ≥85%. Using Likert scales and free text, the SMEs assessed the validity of the simulations, including instances of bias toward a specific PDT strategy, clarity of learning objectives, and the correlation of the evaluation tools to the learning objectives and scenarios. After two rounds of the modified Delphi, consensus for expected triage level was >85% for 28 of 30 victims, with the remaining two achieving >85% consensus after three Delphi iterations. To achieve consensus, we amended 11 instances of bias toward a specific PDT strategy and corrected 10 instances of noncorrelation between evaluations and simulation. The modified Delphi process, used to derive novel PDT simulation and evaluation tools, yielded a high degree of consensus among the SMEs, and eliminated biases toward specific PDT strategies in the evaluations. The simulations and evaluation tools may now be tested for reliability and validity as part of a prehospital PDT curriculum.

Comparison of different detection methods for persistent multiple hypothesis tracking in wide area motion imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartung, Christine; Spraul, Raphael; Schuchert, Tobias

2017-10-01

Wide area motion imagery (WAMI) acquired by an airborne multicamera sensor enables continuous monitoring of large urban areas. Each image can cover regions of several square kilometers and contain thousands of vehicles. Reliable vehicle tracking in this imagery is an important prerequisite for surveillance tasks, but remains challenging due to low frame rate and small object size. Most WAMI tracking approaches rely on moving object detections generated by frame differencing or background subtraction. These detection methods fail when objects slow down or stop. Recent approaches for persistent tracking compensate for missing motion detections by combining a detection-based tracker with a second tracker based on appearance or local context. In order to avoid the additional complexity introduced by combining two trackers, we employ an alternative single tracker framework that is based on multiple hypothesis tracking and recovers missing motion detections with a classifierbased detector. We integrate an appearance-based similarity measure, merge handling, vehicle-collision tests, and clutter handling to adapt the approach to the specific context of WAMI tracking. We apply the tracking framework on a region of interest of the publicly available WPAFB 2009 dataset for quantitative evaluation; a comparison to other persistent WAMI trackers demonstrates state of the art performance of the proposed approach. Furthermore, we analyze in detail the impact of different object detection methods and detector settings on the quality of the output tracking results. For this purpose, we choose four different motion-based detection methods that vary in detection performance and computation time to generate the input detections. As detector parameters can be adjusted to achieve different precision and recall performance, we combine each detection method with different detector settings that yield (1) high precision and low recall, (2) high recall and low precision, and (3) best f-score. Comparing the tracking performance achieved with all generated sets of input detections allows us to quantify the sensitivity of the tracker to different types of detector errors and to derive recommendations for detector and parameter choice.

Studying visual attention using the multiple object tracking paradigm: A tutorial review.

PubMed

Meyerhoff, Hauke S; Papenmeier, Frank; Huff, Markus

2017-07-01

Human observers are capable of tracking multiple objects among identical distractors based only on their spatiotemporal information. Since the first report of this ability in the seminal work of Pylyshyn and Storm (1988, Spatial Vision, 3, 179-197), multiple object tracking has attracted many researchers. A reason for this is that it is commonly argued that the attentional processes studied with the multiple object paradigm apparently match the attentional processing during real-world tasks such as driving or team sports. We argue that multiple object tracking provides a good mean to study the broader topic of continuous and dynamic visual attention. Indeed, several (partially contradicting) theories of attentive tracking have been proposed within the almost 30 years since its first report, and a large body of research has been conducted to test these theories. With regard to the richness and diversity of this literature, the aim of this tutorial review is to provide researchers who are new in the field of multiple object tracking with an overview over the multiple object tracking paradigm, its basic manipulations, as well as links to other paradigms investigating visual attention and working memory. Further, we aim at reviewing current theories of tracking as well as their empirical evidence. Finally, we review the state of the art in the most prominent research fields of multiple object tracking and how this research has helped to understand visual attention in dynamic settings.

Modelling marine protected areas: insights and hurdles

PubMed Central

Fulton, Elizabeth A.; Bax, Nicholas J.; Bustamante, Rodrigo H.; Dambacher, Jeffrey M.; Dichmont, Catherine; Dunstan, Piers K.; Hayes, Keith R.; Hobday, Alistair J.; Pitcher, Roland; Plagányi, Éva E.; Punt, André E.; Savina-Rolland, Marie; Smith, Anthony D. M.; Smith, David C.

2015-01-01

Models provide useful insights into conservation and resource management issues and solutions. Their use to date has highlighted conditions under which no-take marine protected areas (MPAs) may help us to achieve the goals of ecosystem-based management by reducing pressures, and where they might fail to achieve desired goals. For example, static reserve designs are unlikely to achieve desired objectives when applied to mobile species or when compromised by climate-related ecosystem restructuring and range shifts. Modelling tools allow planners to explore a range of options, such as basing MPAs on the presence of dynamic oceanic features, and to evaluate the potential future impacts of alternative interventions compared with ‘no-action’ counterfactuals, under a range of environmental and development scenarios. The modelling environment allows the analyst to test if indicators and management strategies are robust to uncertainties in how the ecosystem (and the broader human–ecosystem combination) operates, including the direct and indirect ecological effects of protection. Moreover, modelling results can be presented at multiple spatial and temporal scales, and relative to ecological, economic and social objectives. This helps to reveal potential ‘surprises', such as regime shifts, trophic cascades and bottlenecks in human responses. Using illustrative examples, this paper briefly covers the history of the use of simulation models for evaluating MPA options, and discusses their utility and limitations for informing protected area management in the marine realm. PMID:26460131

A Review of the MLAS Parachute Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Anthony P.; Kelley, Christopher; Magner, Eldred; Peterson, David; Hahn, Jeffrey; Yuchnovicz, Daniel E.

2009-01-01

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) is developing the Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) as a risk-mitigation design should problems arise with the baseline Orion spacecraft launch abort design. The Max in MLAS is dedicated to Max Faget, the renowned NASA spacecraft designer. The MLAS flight test vehicle consists of boost skirt, coast skirt and the MLAS fairing which houses a full scale boilerplate Orion Crew Module (CM). The objective of the flight test is to prove that the CM can be released from the MLAS fairing during pad abort conditions without detrimental recontact between the CM and fairing, achieving performance similar to the Orion launch abort system. The boost and coast skirts provide the necessary thrust and stability to achieve the flight test conditions and are released prior to the test -- much like the Little Joe booster was used in the Apollo Launch Escape System tests. To achieve the test objective, two parachutes are deployed from the fairing to reorient the CM/fairing to a heatshield first orientation. The parachutes then provide the force necessary to reduce the total angle of attack and body angular rates required for safe release of the CM from the fairing. A secondary test objective after CM release from the fairing is to investigate the removal of the CM forward bay cover (FBC) with CM drogue parachutes for the purpose of attempting to synchronously deploying a set of CM main parachutes. Although multiple parachute deployments are used in the MLAS flight test vehicle to complete its objective, there are only two parachute types employed in the flight test. Five of the nine parachutes used for MLAS are 27.6 ft D(sub 0) ribbon parachutes, and the remaining four are standard G-12 cargo parachutes. This paper presents an overview of the 27.6 ft D(sub 0) ribbon parachute system employed on the MLAS flight test vehicle for coast skirt separation, fairing reorientation, and as drogue parachutes for the CM after separation from the fairing. Discussion will include: the process used to select this design, previously proven as a spin/stall recovery parachute; descriptions of all components of the parachute system; the minor modifications necessary to adapt the parachute to the MLAS program; the techniques used to analyze the parachute for the multiple roles it performs; a discussion of the rigging techniques used to interface the parachute system to the vehicle; and a brief description of how the evolution of the program affected parachute usage and analysis. An overview of the Objective system, rationale for the MLAS approach and the future of the program will also be presented. We hope to have flight test results to report at the time of the Conference Presentation.

An Evidence-based Approach to Developing a Management Strategy for Medical Contingencies on the Lunar Surface: The NASA/Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) 2006 Lunar Medical Contingency Simulation at Devon Island

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scheuring, R. A.; Jones, J. A.; Lee, P.; Comtois, J. M.; Chappell, S.; Rafiq, A.; Braham, S.; Hodgson, E.; Sullivan, P.; Wilkinson, N.;

The Effect of General Objectives Defined by Behavioral Objectives on Achievement in a College Zoology Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rushin, John W.; Baller, William

1981-01-01

Tests the effect of developmental level objectives on student achievement and efficiency in a zoology course. These objectives were found to have no significant effect on achievement, but they did significantly increase student efficiency in learning the content material of the module. (Author)

An MILP-based cross-layer optimization for a multi-reader arbitration in the UHF RFID system.

PubMed

Choi, Jinchul; Lee, Chaewoo

2011-01-01

In RFID systems, the performance of each reader such as interrogation range and tag recognition rate may suffer from interferences from other readers. Since the reader interference can be mitigated by output signal power control, spectral and/or temporal separation among readers, the system performance depends on how to adapt the various reader arbitration metrics such as time, frequency, and output power to the system environment. However, complexity and difficulty of the optimization problem increase with respect to the variety of the arbitration metrics. Thus, most proposals in previous study have been suggested to primarily prevent the reader collision with consideration of one or two arbitration metrics. In this paper, we propose a novel cross-layer optimization design based on the concept of combining time division, frequency division, and power control not only to solve the reader interference problem, but also to achieve the multiple objectives such as minimum interrogation delay, maximum reader utilization, and energy efficiency. Based on the priority of the multiple objectives, our cross-layer design optimizes the system sequentially by means of the mixed-integer linear programming. In spite of the multi-stage optimization, the optimization design is formulated as a concise single mathematical form by properly assigning a weight to each objective. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization design.

An MILP-Based Cross-Layer Optimization for a Multi-Reader Arbitration in the UHF RFID System

PubMed Central

Choi, Jinchul; Lee, Chaewoo

2011-01-01

In RFID systems, the performance of each reader such as interrogation range and tag recognition rate may suffer from interferences from other readers. Since the reader interference can be mitigated by output signal power control, spectral and/or temporal separation among readers, the system performance depends on how to adapt the various reader arbitration metrics such as time, frequency, and output power to the system environment. However, complexity and difficulty of the optimization problem increase with respect to the variety of the arbitration metrics. Thus, most proposals in previous study have been suggested to primarily prevent the reader collision with consideration of one or two arbitration metrics. In this paper, we propose a novel cross-layer optimization design based on the concept of combining time division, frequency division, and power control not only to solve the reader interference problem, but also to achieve the multiple objectives such as minimum interrogation delay, maximum reader utilization, and energy efficiency. Based on the priority of the multiple objectives, our cross-layer design optimizes the system sequentially by means of the mixed-integer linear programming. In spite of the multi-stage optimization, the optimization design is formulated as a concise single mathematical form by properly assigning a weight to each objective. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization design. PMID:22163743

Efficient Spatiotemporal Clutter Rejection and Nonlinear Filtering-based Dim Resolved and Unresolved Object Tracking Algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tartakovsky, A.; Tong, M.; Brown, A. P.; Agh, C.

2013-09-01

We develop efficient spatiotemporal image processing algorithms for rejection of non-stationary clutter and tracking of multiple dim objects using non-linear track-before-detect methods. For clutter suppression, we include an innovative image alignment (registration) algorithm. The images are assumed to contain elements of the same scene, but taken at different angles, from different locations, and at different times, with substantial clutter non-stationarity. These challenges are typical for space-based and surface-based IR/EO moving sensors, e.g., highly elliptical orbit or low earth orbit scenarios. The algorithm assumes that the images are related via a planar homography, also known as the projective transformation. The parameters are estimated in an iterative manner, at each step adjusting the parameter vector so as to achieve improved alignment of the images. Operating in the parameter space rather than in the coordinate space is a new idea, which makes the algorithm more robust with respect to noise as well as to large inter-frame disturbances, while operating at real-time rates. For dim object tracking, we include new advancements to a particle non-linear filtering-based track-before-detect (TrbD) algorithm. The new TrbD algorithm includes both real-time full image search for resolved objects not yet in track and joint super-resolution and tracking of individual objects in closely spaced object (CSO) clusters. The real-time full image search provides near-optimal detection and tracking of multiple extremely dim, maneuvering objects/clusters. The super-resolution and tracking CSO TrbD algorithm provides efficient near-optimal estimation of the number of unresolved objects in a CSO cluster, as well as the locations, velocities, accelerations, and intensities of the individual objects. We demonstrate that the algorithm is able to accurately estimate the number of CSO objects and their locations when the initial uncertainty on the number of objects is large. We demonstrate performance of the TrbD algorithm both for satellite-based and surface-based EO/IR surveillance scenarios.

A Multi-Resolution Approach for an Automated Fusion of Different Low-Cost 3D Sensors

PubMed Central

Dupuis, Jan; Paulus, Stefan; Behmann, Jan; Plümer, Lutz; Kuhlmann, Heiner

2014-01-01

The 3D acquisition of object structures has become a common technique in many fields of work, e.g., industrial quality management, cultural heritage or crime scene documentation. The requirements on the measuring devices are versatile, because spacious scenes have to be imaged with a high level of detail for selected objects. Thus, the used measuring systems are expensive and require an experienced operator. With the rise of low-cost 3D imaging systems, their integration into the digital documentation process is possible. However, common low-cost sensors have the limitation of a trade-off between range and accuracy, providing either a low resolution of single objects or a limited imaging field. Therefore, the use of multiple sensors is desirable. We show the combined use of two low-cost sensors, the Microsoft Kinect and the David laserscanning system, to achieve low-resolved scans of the whole scene and a high level of detail for selected objects, respectively. Afterwards, the high-resolved David objects are automatically assigned to their corresponding Kinect object by the use of surface feature histograms and SVM-classification. The corresponding objects are fitted using an ICP-implementation to produce a multi-resolution map. The applicability is shown for a fictional crime scene and the reconstruction of a ballistic trajectory. PMID:24763255

Real-time reliability measure-driven multi-hypothesis tracking using 2D and 3D features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zúñiga, Marcos D.; Brémond, François; Thonnat, Monique

2011-12-01

We propose a new multi-target tracking approach, which is able to reliably track multiple objects even with poor segmentation results due to noisy environments. The approach takes advantage of a new dual object model combining 2D and 3D features through reliability measures. In order to obtain these 3D features, a new classifier associates an object class label to each moving region (e.g. person, vehicle), a parallelepiped model and visual reliability measures of its attributes. These reliability measures allow to properly weight the contribution of noisy, erroneous or false data in order to better maintain the integrity of the object dynamics model. Then, a new multi-target tracking algorithm uses these object descriptions to generate tracking hypotheses about the objects moving in the scene. This tracking approach is able to manage many-to-many visual target correspondences. For achieving this characteristic, the algorithm takes advantage of 3D models for merging dissociated visual evidence (moving regions) potentially corresponding to the same real object, according to previously obtained information. The tracking approach has been validated using video surveillance benchmarks publicly accessible. The obtained performance is real time and the results are competitive compared with other tracking algorithms, with minimal (or null) reconfiguration effort between different videos.

A multi-resolution approach for an automated fusion of different low-cost 3D sensors.

PubMed

Dupuis, Jan; Paulus, Stefan; Behmann, Jan; Plümer, Lutz; Kuhlmann, Heiner

2014-04-24

The 3D acquisition of object structures has become a common technique in many fields of work, e.g., industrial quality management, cultural heritage or crime scene documentation. The requirements on the measuring devices are versatile, because spacious scenes have to be imaged with a high level of detail for selected objects. Thus, the used measuring systems are expensive and require an experienced operator. With the rise of low-cost 3D imaging systems, their integration into the digital documentation process is possible. However, common low-cost sensors have the limitation of a trade-off between range and accuracy, providing either a low resolution of single objects or a limited imaging field. Therefore, the use of multiple sensors is desirable. We show the combined use of two low-cost sensors, the Microsoft Kinect and the David laserscanning system, to achieve low-resolved scans of the whole scene and a high level of detail for selected objects, respectively. Afterwards, the high-resolved David objects are automatically assigned to their corresponding Kinect object by the use of surface feature histograms and SVM-classification. The corresponding objects are fitted using an ICP-implementation to produce a multi-resolution map. The applicability is shown for a fictional crime scene and the reconstruction of a ballistic trajectory.

Multi-view and 3D deformable part models.

PubMed

Pepik, Bojan; Stark, Michael; Gehler, Peter; Schiele, Bernt

2015-11-01

As objects are inherently 3D, they have been modeled in 3D in the early days of computer vision. Due to the ambiguities arising from mapping 2D features to 3D models, 3D object representations have been neglected and 2D feature-based models are the predominant paradigm in object detection nowadays. While such models have achieved outstanding bounding box detection performance, they come with limited expressiveness, as they are clearly limited in their capability of reasoning about 3D shape or viewpoints. In this work, we bring the worlds of 3D and 2D object representations closer, by building an object detector which leverages the expressive power of 3D object representations while at the same time can be robustly matched to image evidence. To that end, we gradually extend the successful deformable part model [1] to include viewpoint information and part-level 3D geometry information, resulting in several different models with different level of expressiveness. We end up with a 3D object model, consisting of multiple object parts represented in 3D and a continuous appearance model. We experimentally verify that our models, while providing richer object hypotheses than the 2D object models, provide consistently better joint object localization and viewpoint estimation than the state-of-the-art multi-view and 3D object detectors on various benchmarks (KITTI [2] , 3D object classes [3] , Pascal3D+ [4] , Pascal VOC 2007 [5] , EPFL multi-view cars[6] ).

3D object retrieval using salient views

PubMed Central

Shapiro, Linda G.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a method for selecting salient 2D views to describe 3D objects for the purpose of retrieval. The views are obtained by first identifying salient points via a learning approach that uses shape characteristics of the 3D points (Atmosukarto and Shapiro in International workshop on structural, syntactic, and statistical pattern recognition, 2008; Atmosukarto and Shapiro in ACM multimedia information retrieval, 2008). The salient views are selected by choosing views with multiple salient points on the silhouette of the object. Silhouette-based similarity measures from Chen et al. (Comput Graph Forum 22(3):223–232, 2003) are then used to calculate the similarity between two 3D objects. Retrieval experiments were performed on three datasets: the Heads dataset, the SHREC2008 dataset, and the Princeton dataset. Experimental results show that the retrieval results using the salient views are comparable to the existing light field descriptor method (Chen et al. in Comput Graph Forum 22(3):223–232, 2003), and our method achieves a 15-fold speedup in the feature extraction computation time. PMID:23833704

A framework for sustainable invasive species management: environmental, social and economic objectives

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larson, Diane L.; Phillips-Mao, Laura; Quiram, Gina; Sharpe, Leah; Stark, Rebecca; Sugita, Shinya; Weiler, Annie

2011-01-01

Applying the concept of sustainability to invasive species management (ISM) is challenging but necessary, given the increasing rates of invasion and the high costs of invasion impacts and control. To be sustainable, ISM must address environmental, social, and economic factors (or *pillars*) that influence the causes, impacts, and control of invasive species across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Although these pillars are generally acknowledged, their implementation is often limited by insufficient control options and significant economic and political constraints. In this paper, we outline specific objectives in each of these three *pillars* that, if incorporated into a management plan, will improve the plan's likelihood of sustainability. We then examine three case studies that illustrate how these objectives can be effectively implemented. Each pillar reinforces the others, such that the inclusion of even a few of the outlined objectives will lead to more effective management that achieves ecological goals, while generating social support and long-term funding to maintain projects to completion. We encourage agency directors and policy-makers to consider sustainability principles when developing funding schemes, management agendas, and policy.

Beyond protection: Expanding "conservation opportunity" to redefine conservation planning in the 21st century.

PubMed

Liberati, Marjorie R; Rittenhouse, Chadwick D; Vokoun, Jason C

2016-12-01

The protected lands estate increased dramatically during the 20th century and forms the backbone of current fisheries and wildlife conservation in North America. However, there is increasing evidence that modern conservation goals cannot be achieved by only focusing on adding new acreage, particularly with opportunistic protection. In the 21st century, flexibility and adaptability of conservation options can be accomplished by expanding the vocabulary of conservation planning beyond protection. We suggest a conceptual framework that considers suites of objectives to translate the broad goal of "conservation" into multiple implementation-specific objectives. These objectives form the "PCRM-PI" approach: protect, connect, restore, manage, partner, and inform. We use a case study to illustrate the limitations of protection-centric planning and how expanding the definition of conservation opportunity can help planners do more on the landscape. We suggest that the PCRM-PI approach with implementation-specific objectives is an effective way to bridge planning-implementation gaps and translate broad, landscape-level conservation goals into implementable actions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

StarCAT: A Catalog of Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Ultraviolet Echelle Spectra of Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayres, Thomas R.

2010-03-01

StarCAT is a catalog of high resolution ultraviolet spectra of objects classified as "stars," recorded by Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) during its initial seven years of operations (1997-2004). StarCAT is based on 3184 echelle observations of 545 distinct targets, with a total exposure duration of 5.2 Ms. For many of the objects, broad ultraviolet coverage has been achieved by splicing echellegrams taken in two or more FUV (1150-1700 Å) and/or NUV (1600-3100 Å) settings. In cases of multiple pointings on conspicuously variable sources, spectra were separated into independent epochs. Otherwise, different epochs were combined to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). A post-facto correction to the calstis pipeline data sets compensated for subtle wavelength distortions identified in a previous study of the STIS calibration lamps. An internal "fluxing" procedure yielded coherent spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for objects with broadly overlapping wavelength coverage. The best StarCAT material achieves 300 m s-1 internal velocity precision; absolute accuracy at the 1 km s-1 level; photometric accuracy of order 4%; and relative flux precision several times better (limited mainly by knowledge of SEDs of UV standard stars). While StarCAT represents a milestone in the large-scale post-processing of STIS echellegrams, a number of potential improvements in the underlying "final" pipeline are identified.

Optimal graph search segmentation using arc-weighted graph for simultaneous surface detection of bladder and prostate.

PubMed

Song, Qi; Wu, Xiaodong; Liu, Yunlong; Smith, Mark; Buatti, John; Sonka, Milan

2009-01-01

We present a novel method for globally optimal surface segmentation of multiple mutually interacting objects, incorporating both edge and shape knowledge in a 3-D graph-theoretic approach. Hard surface interacting constraints are enforced in the interacting regions, preserving the geometric relationship of those partially interacting surfaces. The soft smoothness a priori shape compliance is introduced into the energy functional to provide shape guidance. The globally optimal surfaces can be simultaneously achieved by solving a maximum flow problem based on an arc-weighted graph representation. Representing the segmentation problem in an arc-weighted graph, one can incorporate a wider spectrum of constraints into the formulation, thus increasing segmentation accuracy and robustness in volumetric image data. To the best of our knowledge, our method is the first attempt to introduce the arc-weighted graph representation into the graph-searching approach for simultaneous segmentation of multiple partially interacting objects, which admits a globally optimal solution in a low-order polynomial time. Our new approach was applied to the simultaneous surface detection of bladder and prostate. The result was quite encouraging in spite of the low saliency of the bladder and prostate in CT images.

Multi-mounted X-ray cone-beam computed tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Jian; Wang, Jingzheng; Guo, Wei; Peng, Peng

2018-04-01

As a powerful nondestructive inspection technique, X-ray computed tomography (X-CT) has been widely applied to clinical diagnosis, industrial production and cutting-edge research. Imaging efficiency is currently one of the major obstacles for the applications of X-CT. In this paper, a multi-mounted three dimensional cone-beam X-CT (MM-CBCT) method is reported. It consists of a novel multi-mounted cone-beam scanning geometry and the corresponding three dimensional statistical iterative reconstruction algorithm. The scanning geometry is the most iconic design and significantly different from the current CBCT systems. Permitting the cone-beam scanning of multiple objects simultaneously, the proposed approach has the potential to achieve an imaging efficiency orders of magnitude greater than the conventional methods. Although multiple objects can be also bundled together and scanned simultaneously by the conventional CBCT methods, it will lead to the increased penetration thickness and signal crosstalk. In contrast, MM-CBCT avoids substantially these problems. This work comprises a numerical study of the method and its experimental verification using a dataset measured with a developed MM-CBCT prototype system. This technique will provide a possible solution for the CT inspection in a large scale.

Transaction-Based Building Controls Framework, Volume 1: Reference Guide

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

Somasundaram, Sriram; Pratt, Robert G.; Akyol, Bora A.

This document proposes a framework concept to achieve the objectives of raising buildings’ efficiency and energy savings potential benefitting building owners and operators. We call it a transaction-based framework, wherein mutually-beneficial and cost-effective market-based transactions can be enabled between multiple players across different domains. Transaction-based building controls are one part of the transactional energy framework. While these controls realize benefits by enabling automatic, market-based intra-building efficiency optimizations, the transactional energy framework provides similar benefits using the same market -based structure, yet on a larger scale and beyond just buildings, to the society at large.

Optical encryption of multiple three-dimensional objects based on multiple interferences and single-pixel digital holography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ying; Liu, Qi; Wang, Jun; Wang, Qiong-Hua

2018-03-01

We present an optical encryption method of multiple three-dimensional objects based on multiple interferences and single-pixel digital holography. By modifying the Mach–Zehnder interferometer, the interference of the multiple objects beams and the one reference beam is used to simultaneously encrypt multiple objects into a ciphertext. During decryption, each three-dimensional object can be decrypted independently without having to decrypt other objects. Since the single-pixel digital holography based on compressive sensing theory is introduced, the encrypted data of this method is effectively reduced. In addition, recording fewer encrypted data can greatly reduce the bandwidth of network transmission. Moreover, the compressive sensing essentially serves as a secret key that makes an intruder attack invalid, which means that the system is more secure than the conventional encryption method. Simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method and show that the system has good security performance. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61405130 and 61320106015).

Time-of-Flight Microwave Camera

PubMed Central

Charvat, Gregory; Temme, Andrew; Feigin, Micha; Raskar, Ramesh

2015-01-01

Microwaves can penetrate many obstructions that are opaque at visible wavelengths, however microwave imaging is challenging due to resolution limits associated with relatively small apertures and unrecoverable “stealth” regions due to the specularity of most objects at microwave frequencies. We demonstrate a multispectral time-of-flight microwave imaging system which overcomes these challenges with a large passive aperture to improve lateral resolution, multiple illumination points with a data fusion method to reduce stealth regions, and a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) receiver to achieve depth resolution. The camera captures images with a resolution of 1.5 degrees, multispectral images across the X frequency band (8 GHz–12 GHz), and a time resolution of 200 ps (6 cm optical path in free space). Images are taken of objects in free space as well as behind drywall and plywood. This architecture allows “camera-like” behavior from a microwave imaging system and is practical for imaging everyday objects in the microwave spectrum. PMID:26434598

MAIN software for density averaging, model building, structure refinement and validation

PubMed Central

Turk, Dušan

2013-01-01

MAIN is software that has been designed to interactively perform the complex tasks of macromolecular crystal structure determination and validation. Using MAIN, it is possible to perform density modification, manual and semi-automated or automated model building and rebuilding, real- and reciprocal-space structure optimization and refinement, map calculations and various types of molecular structure validation. The prompt availability of various analytical tools and the immediate visualization of molecular and map objects allow a user to efficiently progress towards the completed refined structure. The extraordinary depth perception of molecular objects in three dimensions that is provided by MAIN is achieved by the clarity and contrast of colours and the smooth rotation of the displayed objects. MAIN allows simultaneous work on several molecular models and various crystal forms. The strength of MAIN lies in its manipulation of averaged density maps and molecular models when noncrystallographic symmetry (NCS) is present. Using MAIN, it is possible to optimize NCS parameters and envelopes and to refine the structure in single or multiple crystal forms. PMID:23897458

Study of flow over object problems by a nodal discontinuous Galerkin-lattice Boltzmann method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jie; Shen, Meng; Liu, Chen

2018-04-01

The flow over object problems are studied by a nodal discontinuous Galerkin-lattice Boltzmann method (NDG-LBM) in this work. Different from the standard lattice Boltzmann method, the current method applies the nodal discontinuous Galerkin method into the streaming process in LBM to solve the resultant pure convection equation, in which the spatial discretization is completed on unstructured grids and the low-storage explicit Runge-Kutta scheme is used for time marching. The present method then overcomes the disadvantage of standard LBM for depending on the uniform meshes. Moreover, the collision process in the LBM is completed by using the multiple-relaxation-time scheme. After the validation of the NDG-LBM by simulating the lid-driven cavity flow, the simulations of flows over a fixed circular cylinder, a stationary airfoil and rotating-stationary cylinders are performed. Good agreement of present results with previous results is achieved, which indicates that the current NDG-LBM is accurate and effective for flow over object problems.

3D Power Line Extraction from Multiple Aerial Images.

PubMed

Oh, Jaehong; Lee, Changno

2017-09-29

Power lines are cables that carry electrical power from a power plant to an electrical substation. They must be connected between the tower structures in such a way that ensures minimum tension and sufficient clearance from the ground. Power lines can stretch and sag with the changing weather, eventually exceeding the planned tolerances. The excessive sags can then cause serious accidents, while hindering the durability of the power lines. We used photogrammetric techniques with a low-cost drone to achieve efficient 3D mapping of power lines that are often difficult to approach. Unlike the conventional image-to-object space approach, we used the object-to-image space approach using cubic grid points. We processed four strips of aerial images to automatically extract the power line points in the object space. Experimental results showed that the approach could successfully extract the positions of the power line points for power line generation and sag measurement with the elevation accuracy of a few centimeters.

3D Power Line Extraction from Multiple Aerial Images

PubMed Central

Lee, Changno

2017-01-01

Power lines are cables that carry electrical power from a power plant to an electrical substation. They must be connected between the tower structures in such a way that ensures minimum tension and sufficient clearance from the ground. Power lines can stretch and sag with the changing weather, eventually exceeding the planned tolerances. The excessive sags can then cause serious accidents, while hindering the durability of the power lines. We used photogrammetric techniques with a low-cost drone to achieve efficient 3D mapping of power lines that are often difficult to approach. Unlike the conventional image-to-object space approach, we used the object-to-image space approach using cubic grid points. We processed four strips of aerial images to automatically extract the power line points in the object space. Experimental results showed that the approach could successfully extract the positions of the power line points for power line generation and sag measurement with the elevation accuracy of a few centimeters. PMID:28961204

Nonlocally sensing the magnetic states of nanoscale antiferromagnets with an atomic spin sensor

PubMed Central

Yan, Shichao; Malavolti, Luigi; Burgess, Jacob A. J.; Droghetti, Andrea; Rubio, Angel; Loth, Sebastian

2017-01-01

The ability to sense the magnetic state of individual magnetic nano-objects is a key capability for powerful applications ranging from readout of ultradense magnetic memory to the measurement of spins in complex structures with nanometer precision. Magnetic nano-objects require extremely sensitive sensors and detection methods. We create an atomic spin sensor consisting of three Fe atoms and show that it can detect nanoscale antiferromagnets through minute, surface-mediated magnetic interaction. Coupling, even to an object with no net spin and having vanishing dipolar stray field, modifies the transition matrix element between two spin states of the Fe atom–based spin sensor that changes the sensor’s spin relaxation time. The sensor can detect nanoscale antiferromagnets at up to a 3-nm distance and achieves an energy resolution of 10 μeV, surpassing the thermal limit of conventional scanning probe spectroscopy. This scheme permits simultaneous sensing of multiple antiferromagnets with a single-spin sensor integrated onto the surface. PMID:28560346

Time-of-Flight Microwave Camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charvat, Gregory; Temme, Andrew; Feigin, Micha; Raskar, Ramesh

2015-10-01

Microwaves can penetrate many obstructions that are opaque at visible wavelengths, however microwave imaging is challenging due to resolution limits associated with relatively small apertures and unrecoverable “stealth” regions due to the specularity of most objects at microwave frequencies. We demonstrate a multispectral time-of-flight microwave imaging system which overcomes these challenges with a large passive aperture to improve lateral resolution, multiple illumination points with a data fusion method to reduce stealth regions, and a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) receiver to achieve depth resolution. The camera captures images with a resolution of 1.5 degrees, multispectral images across the X frequency band (8 GHz-12 GHz), and a time resolution of 200 ps (6 cm optical path in free space). Images are taken of objects in free space as well as behind drywall and plywood. This architecture allows “camera-like” behavior from a microwave imaging system and is practical for imaging everyday objects in the microwave spectrum.

Incremental Structured Dictionary Learning for Video Sensor-Based Object Tracking

PubMed Central

Xue, Ming; Yang, Hua; Zheng, Shibao; Zhou, Yi; Yu, Zhenghua

2014-01-01

To tackle robust object tracking for video sensor-based applications, an online discriminative algorithm based on incremental discriminative structured dictionary learning (IDSDL-VT) is presented. In our framework, a discriminative dictionary combining both positive, negative and trivial patches is designed to sparsely represent the overlapped target patches. Then, a local update (LU) strategy is proposed for sparse coefficient learning. To formulate the training and classification process, a multiple linear classifier group based on a K-combined voting (KCV) function is proposed. As the dictionary evolves, the models are also trained to timely adapt the target appearance variation. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations on challenging image sequences compared with state-of-the-art algorithms demonstrate that the proposed tracking algorithm achieves a more favorable performance. We also illustrate its relay application in visual sensor networks. PMID:24549252

The Correlation of Multiple Intelligences for the Achievements of Secondary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahvan, Yaghoob Raissi; Pour, Hossein Zainali

2016-01-01

The present study attempts to investigate the relationship between the multiple intelligences and the academic performance achievement levels of high school students based on Gardner's multiple intelligences theory. This was a descriptive correlation study. To accomplish this purpose, 270 students of high school of Bandar Abbas selected by…

2013 AMAOs Guide: Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs). Title III, Part A Accountability System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Education Agency, 2013

2013-01-01

Under Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the Texas Education Agency is required to establish Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) for the English language acquisition and academic achievement of limited English proficient (LEP) students. This 2013 Guide to Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives provides AMAO…

A multi-instructor, team-based, active-learning exercise to integrate basic and clinical sciences content.

PubMed

Kolluru, Srikanth; Roesch, Darren M; Akhtar de la Fuente, Ayesha

2012-03-12

To introduce a multiple-instructor, team-based, active-learning exercise to promote the integration of basic sciences (pathophysiology, pharmacology, and medicinal chemistry) and clinical sciences in a doctor of pharmacy curriculum. A team-based learning activity that involved pre-class reading assignments, individual-and team-answered multiple-choice questions, and evaluation and discussion of a clinical case, was designed, implemented, and moderated by 3 faculty members from the pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacy practice departments. Student performance was assessed using a multiple-choice examination, an individual readiness assurance test (IRAT), a team readiness assurance test (TRAT), and a subjective, objective, assessment, and plan (SOAP) note. Student attitudes were assessed using a pre- and post-exercise survey instrument. Students' understanding of possible correct treatment strategies for depression improved. Students were appreciative of this true integration of basic sciences knowledge in a pharmacotherapy course and to have faculty members from both disciplines present to answer questions. Mean student score on the on depression module for the examination was 80.4%, indicating mastery of the content. An exercise led by multiple instructors improved student perceptions of the importance of team-based teaching. Integrated teaching and learning may be achieved when instructors from multiple disciplines work together in the classroom using proven team-based, active-learning exercises.

Multiple response optimization for higher dimensions in factors and responses

DOE PAGES

Lu, Lu; Chapman, Jessica L.; Anderson-Cook, Christine M.

2016-07-19

When optimizing a product or process with multiple responses, a two-stage Pareto front approach is a useful strategy to evaluate and balance trade-offs between different estimated responses to seek optimum input locations for achieving the best outcomes. After objectively eliminating non-contenders in the first stage by looking for a Pareto front of superior solutions, graphical tools can be used to identify a final solution in the second subjective stage to compare options and match with user priorities. Until now, there have been limitations on the number of response variables and input factors that could effectively be visualized with existing graphicalmore » summaries. We present novel graphical tools that can be more easily scaled to higher dimensions, in both the input and response spaces, to facilitate informed decision making when simultaneously optimizing multiple responses. A key aspect of these graphics is that the potential solutions can be flexibly sorted to investigate specific queries, and that multiple aspects of the solutions can be simultaneously considered. As a result, recommendations are made about how to evaluate the impact of the uncertainty associated with the estimated response surfaces on decision making with higher dimensions.« less

Hierarchical image feature extraction by an irregular pyramid of polygonal partitions

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

Skurikhin, Alexei N

2008-01-01

We present an algorithmic framework for hierarchical image segmentation and feature extraction. We build a successive fine-to-coarse hierarchy of irregular polygonal partitions of the original image. This multiscale hierarchy forms the basis for object-oriented image analysis. The framework incorporates the Gestalt principles of visual perception, such as proximity and closure, and exploits spectral and textural similarities of polygonal partitions, while iteratively grouping them until dissimilarity criteria are exceeded. Seed polygons are built upon a triangular mesh composed of irregular sized triangles, whose spatial arrangement is adapted to the image content. This is achieved by building the triangular mesh on themore » top of detected spectral discontinuities (such as edges), which form a network of constraints for the Delaunay triangulation. The image is then represented as a spatial network in the form of a graph with vertices corresponding to the polygonal partitions and edges reflecting their relations. The iterative agglomeration of partitions into object-oriented segments is formulated as Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) construction. An important characteristic of the approach is that the agglomeration of polygonal partitions is constrained by the detected edges; thus the shapes of agglomerated partitions are more likely to correspond to the outlines of real-world objects. The constructed partitions and their spatial relations are characterized using spectral, textural and structural features based on proximity graphs. The framework allows searching for object-oriented features of interest across multiple levels of details of the built hierarchy and can be generalized to the multi-criteria MST to account for multiple criteria important for an application.« less

Multiple utility constrained multi-objective programs using Bayesian theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasian, Pooneh; Mahdavi-Amiri, Nezam; Fazlollahtabar, Hamed

2018-03-01

A utility function is an important tool for representing a DM's preference. We adjoin utility functions to multi-objective optimization problems. In current studies, usually one utility function is used for each objective function. Situations may arise for a goal to have multiple utility functions. Here, we consider a constrained multi-objective problem with each objective having multiple utility functions. We induce the probability of the utilities for each objective function using Bayesian theory. Illustrative examples considering dependence and independence of variables are worked through to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed model.

HD-MTL: Hierarchical Deep Multi-Task Learning for Large-Scale Visual Recognition.

PubMed

Fan, Jianping; Zhao, Tianyi; Kuang, Zhenzhong; Zheng, Yu; Zhang, Ji; Yu, Jun; Peng, Jinye

2017-02-09

In this paper, a hierarchical deep multi-task learning (HD-MTL) algorithm is developed to support large-scale visual recognition (e.g., recognizing thousands or even tens of thousands of atomic object classes automatically). First, multiple sets of multi-level deep features are extracted from different layers of deep convolutional neural networks (deep CNNs), and they are used to achieve more effective accomplishment of the coarseto- fine tasks for hierarchical visual recognition. A visual tree is then learned by assigning the visually-similar atomic object classes with similar learning complexities into the same group, which can provide a good environment for determining the interrelated learning tasks automatically. By leveraging the inter-task relatedness (inter-class similarities) to learn more discriminative group-specific deep representations, our deep multi-task learning algorithm can train more discriminative node classifiers for distinguishing the visually-similar atomic object classes effectively. Our hierarchical deep multi-task learning (HD-MTL) algorithm can integrate two discriminative regularization terms to control the inter-level error propagation effectively, and it can provide an end-to-end approach for jointly learning more representative deep CNNs (for image representation) and more discriminative tree classifier (for large-scale visual recognition) and updating them simultaneously. Our incremental deep learning algorithms can effectively adapt both the deep CNNs and the tree classifier to the new training images and the new object classes. Our experimental results have demonstrated that our HD-MTL algorithm can achieve very competitive results on improving the accuracy rates for large-scale visual recognition.

Relative Attitude Determination of Earth Orbiting Formations Using GPS Receivers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lightsey, E. Glenn

2004-01-01

Satellite formation missions require the precise determination of both the position and attitude of multiple vehicles to achieve the desired objectives. In order to support the mission requirements for these applications, it is necessary to develop techniques for representing and controlling the attitude of formations of vehicles. A generalized method for representing the attitude of a formation of vehicles has been developed. The representation may be applied to both absolute and relative formation attitude control problems. The technique is able to accommodate formations of arbitrarily large number of vehicles. To demonstrate the formation attitude problem, the method is applied to the attitude determination of a simple leader-follower along-track orbit formation. A multiplicative extended Kalman filter is employed to estimate vehicle attitude. In a simulation study using GPS receivers as the attitude sensors, the relative attitude between vehicles in the formation is determined 3 times more accurately than the absolute attitude.

Reliability model of a monopropellant auxiliary propulsion system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenberg, J. S.

1971-01-01

A mathematical model and associated computer code has been developed which computes the reliability of a monopropellant blowdown hydrazine spacecraft auxiliary propulsion system as a function of time. The propulsion system is used to adjust or modify the spacecraft orbit over an extended period of time. The multiple orbit corrections are the multiple objectives which the auxiliary propulsion system is designed to achieve. Thus the reliability model computes the probability of successfully accomplishing each of the desired orbit corrections. To accomplish this, the reliability model interfaces with a computer code that models the performance of a blowdown (unregulated) monopropellant auxiliary propulsion system. The computer code acts as a performance model and as such gives an accurate time history of the system operating parameters. The basic timing and status information is passed on to and utilized by the reliability model which establishes the probability of successfully accomplishing the orbit corrections.

Very large ground-based telescopes for optical and IR astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Angel, J. R. P.

1982-01-01

Methods for improving the light grasp by an order of magnitude for earth-based observations of astrophysical objects are reviewed. Noting that the atmosphere is opaque below 0.3 micron and that techniques have been developed to make corrections for the atmospheric distortion, fully diffraction limited IR performance at 10 microns is asserted to be practicable. The use of mirror-seeing with metal mirrors with thin faceplates and air cooling is outlined as a means to achieve subarcsec resolution. Designs are considered which involve multiple sections to gain effective large aperture viewing for spectroscopy, using Si CCD detectors, and heterodyne IR interferometry, but not for direct interferometry or certain IR measurements. The Multiple Mirror Telescope is described, including designs for four 7.5 m honeycomb glass primaries co-aligned in a single mount. Further discussion is devoted to the fabrication of mirror elements and electronic image stabilization.

Improving Global Access to New Vaccines: Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer, and Regulatory Pathways

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The 2012 World Health Assembly Global Vaccine Action Plan called for global access to new vaccines within 5 years of licensure. Current approaches have proven insufficient to achieve sustainable vaccine pricing within such a timeline. Paralleling the successful strategy of generic competition to bring down drug prices, a clear consensus is emerging that market entry of multiple suppliers is a critical factor in expeditiously bringing down prices of new vaccines. In this context, key target objectives for improving access to new vaccines include overcoming intellectual property obstacles, streamlining regulatory pathways for biosimilar vaccines, and reducing market entry timelines for developing-country vaccine manufacturers by transfer of technology and know-how. I propose an intellectual property, technology, and know-how bank as a new approach to facilitate widespread access to new vaccines in low- and middle-income countries by efficient transfer of patented vaccine technologies to multiple developing-country vaccine manufacturers. PMID:25211753

Adaptive Precoded MIMO for LTE Wireless Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nabilla, A. F.; Tiong, T. C.

2015-04-01

Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and Long Term Evolution-Advanced (ATE-A) have provided a major step forward in mobile communication capability. The objectives to be achieved are high peak data rates in high spectrum bandwidth and high spectral efficiencies. Technically, pre-coding means that multiple data streams are emitted from the transmit antenna with independent and appropriate weightings such that the link throughput is maximized at the receiver output thus increasing or equalizing the received signal to interference and noise (SINR) across the multiple receiver terminals. However, it is not reliable enough to fully utilize the information transfer rate to fit the condition of channel according to the bandwidth size. Thus, adaptive pre-coding is proposed. It applies pre-coding matrix indicator (PMI) channel state making it possible to change the pre-coding codebook accordingly thus improving the data rate higher than fixed pre-coding.

Improving global access to new vaccines: intellectual property, technology transfer, and regulatory pathways.

PubMed

Crager, Sara Eve

2014-11-01

The 2012 World Health Assembly Global Vaccine Action Plan called for global access to new vaccines within 5 years of licensure. Current approaches have proven insufficient to achieve sustainable vaccine pricing within such a timeline. Paralleling the successful strategy of generic competition to bring down drug prices, a clear consensus is emerging that market entry of multiple suppliers is a critical factor in expeditiously bringing down prices of new vaccines. In this context, key target objectives for improving access to new vaccines include overcoming intellectual property obstacles, streamlining regulatory pathways for biosimilar vaccines, and reducing market entry timelines for developing-country vaccine manufacturers by transfer of technology and know-how. I propose an intellectual property, technology, and know-how bank as a new approach to facilitate widespread access to new vaccines in low- and middle-income countries by efficient transfer of patented vaccine technologies to multiple developing-country vaccine manufacturers.

[Improving global access to new vaccines: intellectual property, technology transfer, and regulatory pathways].

PubMed

Crager, Sara Eve

2015-01-01

The 2012 World Health Assembly Global Vaccine Action Plan called for global access to new vaccines within 5 years of licensure. Current approaches have proven insufficient to achieve sustainable vaccine pricing within such a timeline. Paralleling the successful strategy of generic competition to bring down drug prices, a clear consensus is emerging that market entry of multiple suppliers is a critical factor in expeditiously bringing down prices of new vaccines. In this context, key target objectives for improving access to new vaccines include overcoming intellectual property obstacles, streamlining regulatory pathways for biosimilar vaccines, and reducing market entry timelines for developing-country vaccine manufacturers by transfer of technology and know-how. I propose an intellectual property, technology, and know-how bank as a new approach to facilitate widespread access to new vaccines in low- and middle-income countries by efficient transfer of patented vaccine technologies to multiple developing-country vaccine manufacturers.

Ecologically and economically conscious design of the injected pultrusion process via multi-objective optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srinivasagupta, Deepak; Kardos, John L.

2004-05-01

Injected pultrusion (IP) is an environmentally benign continuous process for low-cost manufacture of prismatic polymer composites. IP has been of recent regulatory interest as an option to achieve significant vapour emissions reduction. This work describes the design of the IP process with multiple design objectives. In our previous work (Srinivasagupta D et al 2003 J. Compos. Mater. at press), an algorithm for economic design using a validated three-dimensional physical model of the IP process was developed, subject to controllability considerations. In this work, this algorithm was used in a multi-objective optimization approach to simultaneously meet economic, quality related, and environmental objectives. The retrofit design of a bench-scale set-up was considered, and the concept of exergy loss in the process, as well as in vapour emission, was introduced. The multi-objective approach was able to determine the optimal values of the processing parameters such as heating zone temperatures and resin injection pressure, as well as the equipment specifications (die dimensions, heater, puller and pump ratings) that satisfy the various objectives in a weighted sense, and result in enhanced throughput rates. The economic objective did not coincide with the environmental objective, and a compromise became necessary. It was seen that most of the exergy loss is in the conversion of electric power into process heating. Vapour exergy loss was observed to be negligible for the most part.

Systems and Methods for Imaging of Falling Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fallgatter, Cale (Inventor); Garrett, Tim (Inventor)

2014-01-01

Imaging of falling objects is described. Multiple images of a falling object can be captured substantially simultaneously using multiple cameras located at multiple angles around the falling object. An epipolar geometry of the captured images can be determined. The images can be rectified to parallelize epipolar lines of the epipolar geometry. Correspondence points between the images can be identified. At least a portion of the falling object can be digitally reconstructed using the identified correspondence points to create a digital reconstruction.

Normalized Metadata Generation for Human Retrieval Using Multiple Video Surveillance Cameras.

PubMed

Jung, Jaehoon; Yoon, Inhye; Lee, Seungwon; Paik, Joonki

2016-06-24

Since it is impossible for surveillance personnel to keep monitoring videos from a multiple camera-based surveillance system, an efficient technique is needed to help recognize important situations by retrieving the metadata of an object-of-interest. In a multiple camera-based surveillance system, an object detected in a camera has a different shape in another camera, which is a critical issue of wide-range, real-time surveillance systems. In order to address the problem, this paper presents an object retrieval method by extracting the normalized metadata of an object-of-interest from multiple, heterogeneous cameras. The proposed metadata generation algorithm consists of three steps: (i) generation of a three-dimensional (3D) human model; (ii) human object-based automatic scene calibration; and (iii) metadata generation. More specifically, an appropriately-generated 3D human model provides the foot-to-head direction information that is used as the input of the automatic calibration of each camera. The normalized object information is used to retrieve an object-of-interest in a wide-range, multiple-camera surveillance system in the form of metadata. Experimental results show that the 3D human model matches the ground truth, and automatic calibration-based normalization of metadata enables a successful retrieval and tracking of a human object in the multiple-camera video surveillance system.

Normalized Metadata Generation for Human Retrieval Using Multiple Video Surveillance Cameras

PubMed Central

Jung, Jaehoon; Yoon, Inhye; Lee, Seungwon; Paik, Joonki

2016-01-01

Since it is impossible for surveillance personnel to keep monitoring videos from a multiple camera-based surveillance system, an efficient technique is needed to help recognize important situations by retrieving the metadata of an object-of-interest. In a multiple camera-based surveillance system, an object detected in a camera has a different shape in another camera, which is a critical issue of wide-range, real-time surveillance systems. In order to address the problem, this paper presents an object retrieval method by extracting the normalized metadata of an object-of-interest from multiple, heterogeneous cameras. The proposed metadata generation algorithm consists of three steps: (i) generation of a three-dimensional (3D) human model; (ii) human object-based automatic scene calibration; and (iii) metadata generation. More specifically, an appropriately-generated 3D human model provides the foot-to-head direction information that is used as the input of the automatic calibration of each camera. The normalized object information is used to retrieve an object-of-interest in a wide-range, multiple-camera surveillance system in the form of metadata. Experimental results show that the 3D human model matches the ground truth, and automatic calibration-based normalization of metadata enables a successful retrieval and tracking of a human object in the multiple-camera video surveillance system. PMID:27347961

Development open source microcontroller based temperature data logger

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, M. H.; Che Ghani, S. A.; Zaulkafilai, Z.; Tajuddin, S. N.

2017-10-01

This article discusses the development stages in designing, prototyping, testing and deploying a portable open source microcontroller based temperature data logger for use in rough industrial environment. The 5V powered prototype of data logger is equipped with open source Arduino microcontroller for integrating multiple thermocouple sensors with their module, secure digital (SD) card storage, liquid crystal display (LCD), real time clock and electronic enclosure made of acrylic. The program for the function of the datalogger is programmed so that 8 readings from the thermocouples can be acquired within 3 s interval and displayed on the LCD simultaneously. The recorded temperature readings at four different points on both hydrodistillation show similar profile pattern and highest yield of extracted oil was achieved on hydrodistillation 2 at 0.004%. From the obtained results, this study achieved the objective of developing an inexpensive, portable and robust eight channels temperature measuring module with capabilities to monitor and store real time data.

Sustained health home visiting can improve families' social support and community connectedness.

PubMed

Stubbs, Joanne M; Achat, Helen M

2016-01-01

Home visiting (HV) is a strategy used internationally to address the multiple needs of infants and families at risk of suboptimal health and developmental outcomes. Describe nursing interventions and program achievements of a pilot HV program for families living in a highly disadvantaged outer suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. A family partnership model was adopted. Follow-up is reported for 65 of the 75 clients remaining in the program for at least 6 months. Nurses most commonly provided clients with emotional support, information about health and well-being and information on infant development. Clients experienced noteworthy improvements consistent with key objectives - greater access to support services, and increased self-efficacy and social networks. Consistent with the growing body of international literature on the achievements of HV, HV programs can empower vulnerable families to better cope with daily life demands and their family.

Land-use Scene Classification in High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images by Multiscale Deeply Described Correlatons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, K.; Qingfeng, G.

2017-12-01

With the popular use of High-Resolution Satellite (HRS) images, more and more research efforts have been placed on land-use scene classification. However, it makes the task difficult with HRS images for the complex background and multiple land-cover classes or objects. This article presents a multiscale deeply described correlaton model for land-use scene classification. Specifically, the convolutional neural network is introduced to learn and characterize the local features at different scales. Then, learnt multiscale deep features are explored to generate visual words. The spatial arrangement of visual words is achieved through the introduction of adaptive vector quantized correlograms at different scales. Experiments on two publicly available land-use scene datasets demonstrate that the proposed model is compact and yet discriminative for efficient representation of land-use scene images, and achieves competitive classification results with the state-of-art methods.

Vacuum deposition of iridium on large astronomical mirrors for use in the far UV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herzig, H.; Spencer, R. S.

1982-01-01

An iridium coating has been deposited by electron-beam evaporation on a 0.91-m mirror which serves as the telescope primary of a sounding rocket instrument for far-UV spectrometry. The evaporation was carried out by applying 8 kV at 400 mA to the electron gun. Zone refined Ir of 99.99% purity was used, and the electron beam was electromagnetically swept over the surface of the evaporant. Under these conditions, deposition rates of 0.55 A/sec were achieved. The reflectance distribution achieved at a wavelength of 584 A was extremely uniform; the mean reflectance was 21.2% with a standard deviation of only 0.3%. This represents a substantial improvement over Al + MgF2 and Al + LiF coatings for applications involving multiple reflections and weak signals, as might be expected in a high-resolution spectrograph studying distant celestial objects.

Educated Parents, Educated Children: Toward a Multiple Life Cycles Education Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sticht, Thomas G.

2010-01-01

Given the important intergenerational effects of parents' education level on the achievement of their children, education policies should shift from a focus on one life cycle to a focus on "multiple life cycles". Such a policy would explicitly recognize that adults transfer their educational achievements to the achievement of their…

A Mobile Service Oriented Multiple Object Tracking Augmented Reality Architecture for Education and Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rattanarungrot, Sasithorn; White, Martin; Newbury, Paul

2014-01-01

This paper describes the design of our service-oriented architecture to support mobile multiple object tracking augmented reality applications applied to education and learning scenarios. The architecture is composed of a mobile multiple object tracking augmented reality client, a web service framework, and dynamic content providers. Tracking of…

Measuring more than we know? An examination of the motivational and situational influences in science achievement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haydel, Angela Michelle

The purpose of this dissertation was to advance theoretical understanding about fit between the personal resources of individuals and the characteristics of science achievement tasks. Testing continues to be pervasive in schools, yet we know little about how students perceive tests and what they think and feel while they are actually working on test items. This study focused on both the personal (cognitive and motivational) and situational factors that may contribute to individual differences in achievement-related outcomes. 387 eighth grade students first completed a survey including measures of science achievement goals, capability beliefs, efficacy related to multiple-choice items and performance assessments, validity beliefs about multiple-choice items and performance assessments, and other perceptions of these item formats. Students then completed science achievement tests including multiple-choice items and two performance assessments. A sample of students was asked to verbalize both thoughts and feelings as they worked through the test items. These think-alouds were transcribed and coded for evidence of cognitive, metacognitive and motivational engagement. Following each test, all students completed measures of effort, mood, energy level and strategy use during testing. Students reported that performance assessments were more challenging, authentic, interesting and valid than multiple-choice tests. They also believed that comparisons between students were easier using multiple-choice items. Overall, students tried harder, felt better, had higher levels of energy and used more strategies while working on performance assessments. Findings suggested that performance assessments might be more congruent with a mastery achievement goal orientation, while multiple-choice tests might be more congruent with a performance achievement goal orientation. A variable-centered analytic approach including regression analyses provided information about how students, on average, who differed in terms of their teachers' ratings of their science ability, achievement goals, capability beliefs and experiences with science achievement tasks perceived, engaged in, and performed on multiple-choice items and performance assessments. Person-centered analyses provided information about the perceptions, engagement and performance of subgroups of individuals who had different motivational characteristics. Generally, students' personal goals and capability beliefs related more strongly to test perceptions, but not performance, while teacher ratings of ability and test-specific beliefs related to performance.

Cortical Circuit for Binding Object Identity and Location During Multiple-Object Tracking

PubMed Central

Nummenmaa, Lauri; Oksama, Lauri; Glerean, Erico; Hyönä, Jukka

2017-01-01

Abstract Sustained multifocal attention for moving targets requires binding object identities with their locations. The brain mechanisms of identity-location binding during attentive tracking have remained unresolved. In 2 functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments, we measured participants’ hemodynamic activity during attentive tracking of multiple objects with equivalent (multiple-object tracking) versus distinct (multiple identity tracking, MIT) identities. Task load was manipulated parametrically. Both tasks activated large frontoparietal circuits. MIT led to significantly increased activity in frontoparietal and temporal systems subserving object recognition and working memory. These effects were replicated when eye movements were prohibited. MIT was associated with significantly increased functional connectivity between lateral temporal and frontal and parietal regions. We propose that coordinated activity of this network subserves identity-location binding during attentive tracking. PMID:27913430

Efficient search of multiple types of targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wosniack, M. E.; Raposo, E. P.; Viswanathan, G. M.; da Luz, M. G. E.

2015-12-01

Random searches often take place in fragmented landscapes. Also, in many instances like animal foraging, significant benefits to the searcher arise from visits to a large diversity of patches with a well-balanced distribution of targets found. Up to date, such aspects have been widely ignored in the usual single-objective analysis of search efficiency, in which one seeks to maximize just the number of targets found per distance traversed. Here we address the problem of determining the best strategies for the random search when these multiple-objective factors play a key role in the process. We consider a figure of merit (efficiency function), which properly "scores" the mentioned tasks. By considering random walk searchers with a power-law asymptotic Lévy distribution of step lengths, p (ℓ ) ˜ℓ-μ , with 1 <μ ≤3 , we show that the standard optimal strategy with μopt≈2 no longer holds universally. Instead, optimal searches with enhanced superdiffusivity emerge, including values as low as μopt≈1.3 (i.e., tending to the ballistic limit). For the general theory of random search optimization, our findings emphasize the necessity to correctly characterize the multitude of aims in any concrete metric to compare among possible candidates to efficient strategies. In the context of animal foraging, our results might explain some empirical data pointing to stronger superdiffusion (μ <2 ) in the search behavior of different animal species, conceivably associated to multiple goals to be achieved in fragmented landscapes.

Challenges of self-management when living with multiple chronic conditions

PubMed Central

Liddy, Clare; Blazkho, Valerie; Mill, Karina

2014-01-01

Abstract Objective To explore the perspectives of patients who live with multiple chronic conditions as they relate to the challenges of self-management. Data sources On September 30, 2013, we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL using relevant key words including chronic disease, comorbidity, multimorbidity, multiple chronic conditions, self-care, self-management, perspective, and perception. Study selection Three reviewers assessed and extracted the data from the included studies after study quality was rated. Qualitative thematic synthesis method was then used to identify common themes. Twenty-three articles met the inclusion criteria, with most coming from the United States. Synthesis Important themes raised by people living with multiple chronic conditions related to their ability to self-manage included living with undesirable physical and emotional symptoms, with pain and depression highlighted. Issues with conflicting knowledge, access to care, and communication with health care providers were raised. The use of cognitive strategies, including reframing, prioritizing, and changing beliefs, was reported to improve people’s ability to self-manage their multiple chronic conditions. Conclusion This study provides a unique view into patients’ perspectives of living with multiple chronic conditions, which are clearly linked to common functional challenges as opposed to specific diseases. Future policy and programming in self-management support should be better aligned with patients’ perspectives on living with multiple chronic conditions. This might be achieved by ensuring a more patient-centred approach is adopted by providers and health service organizations. PMID:25642490

Nonrigid iterative closest points for registration of 3D biomedical surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Luming; Wei, Mingqiang; Szymczak, Andrzej; Petrella, Anthony; Xie, Haoran; Qin, Jing; Wang, Jun; Wang, Fu Lee

2018-01-01

Advanced 3D optical and laser scanners bring new challenges to computer graphics. We present a novel nonrigid surface registration algorithm based on Iterative Closest Point (ICP) method with multiple correspondences. Our method, called the Nonrigid Iterative Closest Points (NICPs), can be applied to surfaces of arbitrary topology. It does not impose any restrictions on the deformation, e.g. rigidity or articulation. Finally, it does not require parametrization of input meshes. Our method is based on an objective function that combines distance and regularization terms. Unlike the standard ICP, the distance term is determined based on multiple two-way correspondences rather than single one-way correspondences between surfaces. A Laplacian-based regularization term is proposed to take full advantage of multiple two-way correspondences. This term regularizes the surface movement by enforcing vertices to move coherently with their 1-ring neighbors. The proposed method achieves good performances when no global pose differences or significant amount of bending exists in the models, for example, families of similar shapes, like human femur and vertebrae models.

Tracking multiple objects is limited only by object spacing, not by speed, time, or capacity.

PubMed

Franconeri, S L; Jonathan, S V; Scimeca, J M

2010-07-01

In dealing with a dynamic world, people have the ability to maintain selective attention on a subset of moving objects in the environment. Performance in such multiple-object tracking is limited by three primary factors-the number of objects that one can track, the speed at which one can track them, and how close together they can be. We argue that this last limit, of object spacing, is the root cause of all performance constraints in multiple-object tracking. In two experiments, we found that as long as the distribution of object spacing is held constant, tracking performance is unaffected by large changes in object speed and tracking time. These results suggest that barring object-spacing constraints, people could reliably track an unlimited number of objects as fast as they could track a single object.

Developing Inventory and Monitoring Programs Based on Multiple Objectives

Treesearch

Daniel L. Schmoldt; David L. Peterson; David G. Silsbee

1995-01-01

Resource inventory and monitoring (I&M) programs in national parks combine multiple objectives in order to create a plan of action over a finite time horizon. Because all program activities are constrained by time and money, it is critical to plan I&M activities that make the best use of available agency resources. However, multiple objectives complicate a...

Effects of sleep timing, sleep quality and sleep duration on school achievement in adolescents.

PubMed

Tonetti, Lorenzo; Fabbri, Marco; Filardi, Marco; Martoni, Monica; Natale, Vincenzo

2015-08-01

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of sleep timing, quality and duration on school achievement in adolescents. Thirty-six Italian students (mean age: 18.14 ± 0.49 years) attending their last year of high school participated in the study. They completed the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (MEQ-CA). This was used to determine their ideal sleep timing by computing the total score, with higher scores corresponding to a greater tendency toward morningness. In addition, students underwent two non-consecutive weeks of actigraphy in one-month period to objectively assess: habitual sleep timing through the midpoint of sleep (MS); habitual sleep quality through the parameter of sleep efficiency (SE); and habitual sleep duration through the parameter of total sleep time (TST). Participants also completed the Mini Sleep Questionnaire, which allowed us to assess perceived sleep quality, at the end of each actigraphic-recording week. School performance was assessed using the grades obtained by students in their school leaving exams taken at the end of the school year. A significant positive correlation was observed between SE and exam grades, as well as MEQ-CA scores and grades. Multiple regression analysis showed that only SE was significantly and positively related to the final grade. Examining objective and ecological measures, SE (indicator of sleep quality) had the strongest effect on school achievement in adolescents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Confocal laser induced fluorescence with comparable spatial localization to the conventional method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Derek S.; Henriquez, Miguel F.; Scime, Earl E.; Good, Timothy N.

2017-10-01

We present measurements of ion velocity distributions obtained by laser induced fluorescence (LIF) using a single viewport in an argon plasma. A patent pending design, which we refer to as the confocal fluorescence telescope, combines large objective lenses with a large central obscuration and a spatial filter to achieve high spatial localization along the laser injection direction. Models of the injection and collection optics of the two assemblies are used to provide a theoretical estimate of the spatial localization of the confocal arrangement, which is taken to be the full width at half maximum of the spatial optical response. The new design achieves approximately 1.4 mm localization at a focal length of 148.7 mm, improving on previously published designs by an order of magnitude and approaching the localization achieved by the conventional method. The confocal method, however, does so without requiring a pair of separated, perpendicular optical paths. The confocal technique therefore eases the two window access requirement of the conventional method, extending the application of LIF to experiments where conventional LIF measurements have been impossible or difficult, or where multiple viewports are scarce.

Multiple-object tracking while driving: the multiple-vehicle tracking task.

PubMed

Lochner, Martin J; Trick, Lana M

2014-11-01

Many contend that driving an automobile involves multiple-object tracking. At this point, no one has tested this idea, and it is unclear how multiple-object tracking would coordinate with the other activities involved in driving. To address some of the initial and most basic questions about multiple-object tracking while driving, we modified the tracking task for use in a driving simulator, creating the multiple-vehicle tracking task. In Experiment 1, we employed a dual-task methodology to determine whether there was interference between tracking and driving. Findings suggest that although it is possible to track multiple vehicles while driving, driving reduces tracking performance, and tracking compromises headway and lane position maintenance while driving. Modified change-detection paradigms were used to assess whether there were change localization advantages for tracked targets in multiple-vehicle tracking. When changes occurred during a blanking interval, drivers were more accurate (Experiment 2a) and ~250 ms faster (Experiment 2b) at locating the vehicle that changed when it was a target rather than a distractor in tracking. In a more realistic driving task where drivers had to brake in response to the sudden onset of brake lights in one of the lead vehicles, drivers were more accurate at localizing the vehicle that braked if it was a tracking target, although there was no advantage in terms of braking response time. Overall, results suggest that multiple-object tracking is possible while driving and perhaps even advantageous in some situations, but further research is required to determine whether multiple-object tracking is actually used in day-to-day driving.

Relations among Multiple Types of Peer Victimization, Reactivity to Peer Victimization, and Academic Achievement in Fifth-Grade Goys and Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrow, Michael T.; Hubbard, Julie A.; Swift, Lauren E.

2014-01-01

This study examined the relations between multiple types of peer victimization, affective reactivity to victimization, and academic achievement. Participants (179 fifth-grade boys and girls) completed repeated daily measures of peer victimization and negative affect; a standardized measure of achievement was collected concurrently. The daily…

Development of Multiple Regression Equations To Predict Fourth Graders' Achievement in Reading and Selected Content Areas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hafner, Lawrence E.

A study developed a multiple regression prediction equation for each of six selected achievement variables in a popular standardized test of achievement. Subjects, 42 fourth-grade pupils randomly selected across several classes in a large elementary school in a north Florida city, were administered several standardized tests to determine predictor…

Multiobjective evolutionary optimization of water distribution systems: Exploiting diversity with infeasible solutions.

PubMed

Tanyimboh, Tiku T; Seyoum, Alemtsehay G

2016-12-01

This article investigates the computational efficiency of constraint handling in multi-objective evolutionary optimization algorithms for water distribution systems. The methodology investigated here encourages the co-existence and simultaneous development including crossbreeding of subpopulations of cost-effective feasible and infeasible solutions based on Pareto dominance. This yields a boundary search approach that also promotes diversity in the gene pool throughout the progress of the optimization by exploiting the full spectrum of non-dominated infeasible solutions. The relative effectiveness of small and moderate population sizes with respect to the number of decision variables is investigated also. The results reveal the optimization algorithm to be efficient, stable and robust. It found optimal and near-optimal solutions reliably and efficiently. The real-world system based optimization problem involved multiple variable head supply nodes, 29 fire-fighting flows, extended period simulation and multiple demand categories including water loss. The least cost solutions found satisfied the flow and pressure requirements consistently. The best solutions achieved indicative savings of 48.1% and 48.2% based on the cost of the pipes in the existing network, for populations of 200 and 1000, respectively. The population of 1000 achieved slightly better results overall. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Single- and Multiple-Objective Optimization with Differential Evolution and Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rai, Man Mohan

2006-01-01

Genetic and evolutionary algorithms have been applied to solve numerous problems in engineering design where they have been used primarily as optimization procedures. These methods have an advantage over conventional gradient-based search procedures became they are capable of finding global optima of multi-modal functions and searching design spaces with disjoint feasible regions. They are also robust in the presence of noisy data. Another desirable feature of these methods is that they can efficiently use distributed and parallel computing resources since multiple function evaluations (flow simulations in aerodynamics design) can be performed simultaneously and independently on ultiple processors. For these reasons genetic and evolutionary algorithms are being used more frequently in design optimization. Examples include airfoil and wing design and compressor and turbine airfoil design. They are also finding increasing use in multiple-objective and multidisciplinary optimization. This lecture will focus on an evolutionary method that is a relatively new member to the general class of evolutionary methods called differential evolution (DE). This method is easy to use and program and it requires relatively few user-specified constants. These constants are easily determined for a wide class of problems. Fine-tuning the constants will off course yield the solution to the optimization problem at hand more rapidly. DE can be efficiently implemented on parallel computers and can be used for continuous, discrete and mixed discrete/continuous optimization problems. It does not require the objective function to be continuous and is noise tolerant. DE and applications to single and multiple-objective optimization will be included in the presentation and lecture notes. A method for aerodynamic design optimization that is based on neural networks will also be included as a part of this lecture. The method offers advantages over traditional optimization methods. It is more flexible than other methods in dealing with design in the context of both steady and unsteady flows, partial and complete data sets, combined experimental and numerical data, inclusion of various constraints and rules of thumb, and other issues that characterize the aerodynamic design process. Neural networks provide a natural framework within which a succession of numerical solutions of increasing fidelity, incorporating more realistic flow physics, can be represented and utilized for optimization. Neural networks also offer an excellent framework for multiple-objective and multi-disciplinary design optimization. Simulation tools from various disciplines can be integrated within this framework and rapid trade-off studies involving one or many disciplines can be performed. The prospect of combining neural network based optimization methods and evolutionary algorithms to obtain a hybrid method with the best properties of both methods will be included in this presentation. Achieving solution diversity and accurate convergence to the exact Pareto front in multiple objective optimization usually requires a significant computational effort with evolutionary algorithms. In this lecture we will also explore the possibility of using neural networks to obtain estimates of the Pareto optimal front using non-dominated solutions generated by DE as training data. Neural network estimators have the potential advantage of reducing the number of function evaluations required to obtain solution accuracy and diversity, thus reducing cost to design.

Frequent Application of the New Gelatin-Collagen Nonwoven Accelerates Wound Healing.

PubMed

Schiefer, Jennifer L; Rath, Rebekka; Held, Manuel; Petersen, Wiebke; Werner, Jan-Ole; Schaller, Hans-Eberhard; Rahmanian-Schwarz, Afshin

2016-02-01

Mortality after chronic wounds is high. Thus, proper and effective therapy is of critical importance. Adult mammalian skin cannot regenerate spontaneously. It heals under scar formation in a process of repair. In general, wound closure is achieved through a combination of contraction, scar formation, and regeneration. To enhance wound healing, research groups are continuously inventing and evaluating novel skin replacement products. A single application of a new gelatin-collagen nonwoven accelerates wound closure of full-thickness skin defects. Therefore, the authors' objective was to evaluate the effect of a higher application frequency of the nonwoven on wound closure in a minipig model. Four full-thickness skin defects were created surgically on the dorsum of 12 Göttingen minipigs. Next, 3 wounds were treated randomly with a novel gelatin-collagen nonwoven in different thicknesses, while the fourth wound was left untreated and served as the control wound. Moreover, 6 minipigs achieved multiple applications of the wound dressing. During the experimental period of 21 days, a close-up photographic documentation was performed. Finally, the areas of the initial wounds were excised and examined histologically. More frequent application of the nonwoven achieved accelerated wound healing and better epidermis quality compared with a single application. Mean time until wound closure of all wounds treated with a multiple application of the nonwoven was 11.0 (± 1.2) days, compared with a single application of the nonwoven with 12.4 (± 1.26) days and control wounds with 13.5 (± 1.19) days. Furthermore, the epidermal thickness of all wounds treated with multiple applications of the nonwoven was increased by 10.67 μm (31.89 ± 8.86 μm, P = .0007) compared with a single application of the nonwoven and by 6.53 μm (27.75 ± 7.24 μm, P = .0435) compared with the control group. Multiple applications of the gelatin-collagen nonwoven may be an appropriate treatment for chronic wounds leading to a fast wound closure through a combination of contraction and re-epithelialization.

Computational wavelength resolution for in-line lensless holography: phase-coded diffraction patterns and wavefront group-sparsity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katkovnik, Vladimir; Shevkunov, Igor; Petrov, Nikolay V.; Egiazarian, Karen

2017-06-01

In-line lensless holography is considered with a random phase modulation at the object plane. The forward wavefront propagation is modelled using the Fourier transform with the angular spectrum transfer function. The multiple intensities (holograms) recorded by the sensor are random due to the random phase modulation and noisy with Poissonian noise distribution. It is shown by computational experiments that high-accuracy reconstructions can be achieved with resolution going up to the two thirds of the wavelength. With respect to the sensor pixel size it is a super-resolution with a factor of 32. The algorithm designed for optimal superresolution phase/amplitude reconstruction from Poissonian data is based on the general methodology developed for phase retrieval with a pixel-wise resolution in V. Katkovnik, "Phase retrieval from noisy data based on sparse approximation of object phase and amplitude", http://www.cs.tut.fi/ lasip/DDT/index3.html.

Cumulative impact assessment: Application of a methodology

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

Witmer, G.W.; Bain, M.B.; Irving, J.S.

We expanded upon the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Cluster Impact Assessment Procedure (CIAP) to provide a practical methodology for assessing potential cumulative impacts from multiple hydroelectric projects within a river basin. The objectives in designing the methodology were to allow the evaluation of a large number of combinations of proposed projects and to minimize constraints on the use of ecological knowledge for planning and regulating hydroelectric development at the river basin level. Interactive workshops and evaluative matrices were used to identify preferred development scenarios in the Snohomish (Washington) and Salmon (Idaho) River Basins. Although the methodology achieved its basicmore » objectives, some difficulties were encountered. These revolved around issues of (1) data quality and quantity, (2) alternatives analysis, (3) determination of project interactions, (4) determination of cumulative impact thresholds, and (5) the use of evaluative techniques to express degrees of impact. 8 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.« less

Item analysis of university-wide multiple choice objective examinations: the experience of a Nigerian private university.

PubMed

Odukoya, Jonathan A; Adekeye, Olajide; Igbinoba, Angie O; Afolabi, A

2018-01-01

Teachers and Students worldwide often dance to the tune of tests and examinations. Assessments are powerful tools for catalyzing the achievement of educational goals, especially if done rightly. One of the tools for 'doing it rightly' is item analysis. The core objectives for this study, therefore, were: ascertaining the item difficulty and distractive indices of the university wide courses. A range of 112-1956 undergraduate students participated in this study. With the use of secondary data, the ex-post facto design was adopted for this project. In virtually all cases, majority of the items (ranging between 65% and 97% of the 70 items fielded in each course) did not meet psychometric standard in terms of difficulty and distractive indices and consequently needed to be moderated or deleted. Considering the importance of these courses, the need to apply item analyses when developing these tests was emphasized.

Parallel Domain Decomposition Formulation and Software for Large-Scale Sparse Symmetrical/Unsymmetrical Aeroacoustic Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, D. T.; Watson, Willie R. (Technical Monitor)

2005-01-01

The overall objectives of this research work are to formulate and validate efficient parallel algorithms, and to efficiently design/implement computer software for solving large-scale acoustic problems, arised from the unified frameworks of the finite element procedures. The adopted parallel Finite Element (FE) Domain Decomposition (DD) procedures should fully take advantages of multiple processing capabilities offered by most modern high performance computing platforms for efficient parallel computation. To achieve this objective. the formulation needs to integrate efficient sparse (and dense) assembly techniques, hybrid (or mixed) direct and iterative equation solvers, proper pre-conditioned strategies, unrolling strategies, and effective processors' communicating schemes. Finally, the numerical performance of the developed parallel finite element procedures will be evaluated by solving series of structural, and acoustic (symmetrical and un-symmetrical) problems (in different computing platforms). Comparisons with existing "commercialized" and/or "public domain" software are also included, whenever possible.

Research pressure instrumentation for NASA Space Shuttle main engine, modification no. 5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, P. J.; Nussbaum, P.; Gustafson, G.

1984-01-01

The purpose of Modification No. 5 of this contract is to expand the scope of work (Task C) of this research study effort to develop pressure instrumentation for the SSME. The objective of this contract (Task C) is to direct Honeywell's Solid State Electronics Division's (SSED) extensive experience and expertise in solid state sensor technology to develop prototype pressure transducers which are targeted to meet the SSME performance design goals and to fabricate, test and deliver a total of 10 prototype units. SSED's basic approach is to effectively utilize the many advantages of silicon piezoresistive strain sensing technology to achieve the objectives of advanced state-of-the-art pressure sensors in terms of reliability, accuracy and ease of manufacture. More specifically, integration of multiple functions on a single chip is the key attribute of this technology which will be exploited during this research study.

Consultation sequencing of a hospital with multiple service points using genetic programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morikawa, Katsumi; Takahashi, Katsuhiko; Nagasawa, Keisuke

2018-07-01

A hospital with one consultation room operated by a physician and several examination rooms is investigated. Scheduled patients and walk-ins arrive at the hospital, each patient goes to the consultation room first, and some of them visit other service points before consulting the physician again. The objective function consists of the sum of three weighted average waiting times. The problem of sequencing patients for consultation is focused. To alleviate the stress of waiting, the consultation sequence is displayed. A dispatching rule is used to decide the sequence, and best rules are explored by genetic programming (GP). The simulation experiments indicate that the rules produced by GP can be reduced to simple permutations of queues, and the best permutation depends on the weight used in the objective function. This implies that a balanced allocation of waiting times can be achieved by ordering the priority among three queues.

Space Debris Measurements using the Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicolls, M.

The Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR) is a modular, mobile UHF phased-array radar facility developed and used for scientific studies of the ionosphere. The radars are completely remotely operated and allow for pulse-to-pulse beam steering over the field-of-view. A satellite and debris tracking capability fully interleaved with scientific operations has been developed, and the AMISR systems are now used to routinely observe LEO space debris, with the ability to simultaneously track and detect multiple objects. The system makes use of wide-bandwidth radar pulses and coherent processing to detect objects as small as 5-10 cm in size through LEO, achieving a range resolution better than 20 meters for LEO targets. The interleaved operations allow for ionospheric effects on UHF space debris measurements, such as dispersion, to be assessed. The radar architecture, interleaved operations, and impact of space weather on the measurements will be discussed.

Reflection symmetry detection using locally affine invariant edge correspondence.

PubMed

Wang, Zhaozhong; Tang, Zesheng; Zhang, Xiao

2015-04-01

Reflection symmetry detection receives increasing attentions in recent years. The state-of-the-art algorithms mainly use the matching of intensity-based features (such as the SIFT) within a single image to find symmetry axes. This paper proposes a novel approach by establishing the correspondence of locally affine invariant edge-based features, which are superior to the intensity based in the aspects that it is insensitive to illumination variations, and applicable to textureless objects. The locally affine invariance is achieved by simple linear algebra for efficient and robust computations, making the algorithm suitable for detections under object distortions like perspective projection. Commonly used edge detectors and a voting process are, respectively, used before and after the edge description and matching steps to form a complete reflection detection pipeline. Experiments are performed using synthetic and real-world images with both multiple and single reflection symmetry axis. The test results are compared with existing algorithms to validate the proposed method.

Three-dimensional localization and optical imaging of objects in turbid media with independent component analysis.

PubMed

Xu, M; Alrubaiee, M; Gayen, S K; Alfano, R R

2005-04-01

A new approach for optical imaging and localization of objects in turbid media that makes use of the independent component analysis (ICA) from information theory is demonstrated. Experimental arrangement realizes a multisource illumination of a turbid medium with embedded objects and a multidetector acquisition of transmitted light on the medium boundary. The resulting spatial diversity and multiple angular observations provide robust data for three-dimensional localization and characterization of absorbing and scattering inhomogeneities embedded in a turbid medium. ICA of the perturbations in the spatial intensity distribution on the medium boundary sorts out the embedded objects, and their locations are obtained from Green's function analysis based on any appropriate light propagation model. Imaging experiments were carried out on two highly scattering samples of thickness approximately 50 times the transport mean-free path of the respective medium. One turbid medium had two embedded absorptive objects, and the other had four scattering objects. An independent component separation of the signal, in conjunction with diffusive photon migration theory, was used to locate the embedded inhomogeneities. In both cases, improved lateral and axial localizations of the objects over the result obtained by use of common photon migration reconstruction algorithms were achieved. The approach is applicable to different medium geometries, can be used with any suitable photon propagation model, and is amenable to near-real-time imaging applications.

Achievement Emotions as Predictors of High School Science Success Among African-American and European American Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowe, Marilyn Louise Simmons

The literature includes few studies of the interrelations of achievement goals and achievement emotions with respect to minority students and science achievement. The objective of this study was to test the control-value theory (CVT) of achievement emotions to determine if the eight discrete achievement emotions would be predictive of test scores on the High School Graduation Test (GHSGT)-Science for African-American compared to European-American science students. Convenience cluster sampling was employed to select 160 students who were all juniors in the same public high school at the time that they took the GHSGT-Science. The central research question for this study aimed to uncover whether any of the eight achievement emotions identified in CVT would contribute significantly to the predictability of science achievement as measured by GHSGT-Science scores. Data were collected using a nonexperimental, cross sectional design survey. Data were analyzed using a hierarchal, forced entry, multiple regression analysis. Key results indicated that the eight achievement emotions were predictive of GHSGT-Science score outcomes. Positive social change at the individual level could reflect a boost in confidence for African American science students and help decrease the achievement gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) endeavors between European Americans and African-American students. Educators may consider the importance of achievement emotions in science outcomes by including social emotional learning (SEL) as a part of the regular science curriculum. Future researchers should repeat the study in a school district where the population is available to support the desired cluster sample of equal parts European Americans to African Americans and male to female students.

The stellar content of 30 Doradus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walborn, N. R.

1984-01-01

The components of the supergiant H II region Tarantula are surveyed, noting that 30 Doradus is really only the most active section of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The region contains at least 40 WR stars and numerous non-H II region late spectral type supergiants. Most of the stars are centrally located and presumably feed on the nebulosity. The closeness of the population will require fine spectroscopic scans of all the members to achieve accurate typing. Although the population is mixed, the ionizing radiation emitted by the region is consistent with its classification as part of the H II region. Finally, the brightest objects within Tarantula are suspected of being multiple systems.

Results of the Air Force high efficiency cascaded multiple bandgap solar cell programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rahilly, W. P.

1980-01-01

The III-V semiconductor materials system that was selected for continued cascade cell development was the AlGaAs cell on GaAs cell structure. The tunnel junction used as transparent ohmic contact between the top cell and the bottom cell continued to be the central difficulty in achieving the program objective of 25 percent AMO efficiency at 25 C. During the tunnel junction and top cell developments it became apparent that the AlGaAs cell has potential for independent development as a single junction converter and is a logical extension of the present GaAs heteroface technology.

Error reduction by combining strapdown inertial measurement units in a baseball stitch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tracy, Leah

A poor musical performance is rarely due to an inferior instrument. When a device is under performing, the temptation is to find a better device or a new technology to achieve performance objectives; however, another solution may be improving how existing technology is used through a better understanding of device characteristics, i.e., learning to play the instrument better. This thesis explores improving position and attitude estimates of inertial navigation systems (INS) through an understanding of inertial sensor errors, manipulating inertial measurement units (IMUs) to reduce that error and multisensor fusion of multiple IMUs to reduce error in a GPS denied environment.

Use of structured decision making to identify monitoring variables and management priorities for salt marsh ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Neckles, Hilary A.; Lyons, James E.; Guntenspergen, Glenn R.; Shriver, W. Gregory; Adamowicz, Susan C.

2015-01-01

Most salt marshes in the USA have been degraded by human activities, and coastal managers are faced with complex choices among possible actions to restore or enhance ecosystem integrity. We applied structured decision making (SDM) to guide selection of monitoring variables and management priorities for salt marshes within the National Wildlife Refuge System in the northeastern USA. In general, SDM is a systematic process for decomposing a decision into its essential elements. We first engaged stakeholders in clarifying regional salt marsh decision problems, defining objectives and attributes to evaluate whether objectives are achieved, and developing a pool of alternative management actions for achieving objectives. Through this process, we identified salt marsh attributes that were applicable to monitoring National Wildlife Refuges on a regional scale and that targeted management needs. We then analyzed management decisions within three salt marsh units at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, coastal Delaware, as a case example of prioritizing management alternatives. Values for salt marsh attributes were estimated from 2 years of baseline monitoring data and expert opinion. We used linear value modeling to aggregate multiple attributes into a single performance score for each alternative, constrained optimization to identify alternatives that maximized total management benefits subject to refuge-wide cost constraints, and used graphical analysis to identify the optimal set of alternatives for the refuge. SDM offers an efficient, transparent approach for integrating monitoring into management practice and improving the quality of management decisions.

Optimal visual-haptic integration with articulated tools.

PubMed

Takahashi, Chie; Watt, Simon J

2017-05-01

When we feel and see an object, the nervous system integrates visual and haptic information optimally, exploiting the redundancy in multiple signals to estimate properties more precisely than is possible from either signal alone. We examined whether optimal integration is similarly achieved when using articulated tools. Such tools (tongs, pliers, etc) are a defining characteristic of human hand function, but complicate the classical sensory 'correspondence problem' underlying multisensory integration. Optimal integration requires establishing the relationship between signals acquired by different sensors (hand and eye) and, therefore, in fundamentally unrelated units. The system must also determine when signals refer to the same property of the world-seeing and feeling the same thing-and only integrate those that do. This could be achieved by comparing the pattern of current visual and haptic input to known statistics of their normal relationship. Articulated tools disrupt this relationship, however, by altering the geometrical relationship between object properties and hand posture (the haptic signal). We examined whether different tool configurations are taken into account in visual-haptic integration. We indexed integration by measuring the precision of size estimates, and compared our results to optimal predictions from a maximum-likelihood integrator. Integration was near optimal, independent of tool configuration/hand posture, provided that visual and haptic signals referred to the same object in the world. Thus, sensory correspondence was determined correctly (trial-by-trial), taking tool configuration into account. This reveals highly flexible multisensory integration underlying tool use, consistent with the brain constructing internal models of tools' properties.

Informed multi-objective decision-making in environmental management using Pareto optimality

Treesearch

Maureen C. Kennedy; E. David Ford; Peter Singleton; Mark Finney; James K. Agee

2008-01-01

Effective decisionmaking in environmental management requires the consideration of multiple objectives that may conflict. Common optimization methods use weights on the multiple objectives to aggregate them into a single value, neglecting valuable insight into the relationships among the objectives in the management problem.

Developing Achievement Test: A Research for Assessment of 5th Grade Biology Subject

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sener, Nilay; Tas, Erol

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to prepare a multiple-choice achievement test with high reliability and validity for the "Let's Solve the Puzzle of Our Body" unit. For this purpose, a multiple choice achievement test consisting of 46 items was applied to 178 fifth grade students in total. As a result of the test and material analysis…

Using the Theory of Multiple Intelligences to Increase Fourth-Grade Students' Academic Achievement in Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Linda

2004-01-01

This applied dissertation was designed to increase the academic achievement of 4th-grade students in science. The problem to be solved was that 4th-grade students in a rural elementary school exhibited low academic achievement in science. The researcher utilized the multiple intelligences (MI) theory and brain-based learning to develop the IMPACT…

Linking Metal Ions via Inorganic Click (iClick) Reactions

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

Veige, Adam

2015-11-17

This final report discusses the major objectives of the project, a discussion of the objectives achieved, a discussion of the objectives that failed, and finally, a discussion of future directions given the new knowledge obtained. This one-year seed project (with one year no-cost extension) contained three objectives: A) Expand the scope of iClick synthesis beyond AuI/AuI reactions. B) Elucidate a CuI-catalyzed iClick reaction. C) Synthesize and characterize tri- and tetra-metallic complexes as models for metallopolymers. Objectives A and C were achieved, whereas only parts of objective B were achieved.

Bayesian Multiscale Modeling of Closed Curves in Point Clouds

PubMed Central

Gu, Kelvin; Pati, Debdeep; Dunson, David B.

2014-01-01

Modeling object boundaries based on image or point cloud data is frequently necessary in medical and scientific applications ranging from detecting tumor contours for targeted radiation therapy, to the classification of organisms based on their structural information. In low-contrast images or sparse and noisy point clouds, there is often insufficient data to recover local segments of the boundary in isolation. Thus, it becomes critical to model the entire boundary in the form of a closed curve. To achieve this, we develop a Bayesian hierarchical model that expresses highly diverse 2D objects in the form of closed curves. The model is based on a novel multiscale deformation process. By relating multiple objects through a hierarchical formulation, we can successfully recover missing boundaries by borrowing structural information from similar objects at the appropriate scale. Furthermore, the model’s latent parameters help interpret the population, indicating dimensions of significant structural variability and also specifying a ‘central curve’ that summarizes the collection. Theoretical properties of our prior are studied in specific cases and efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo methods are developed, evaluated through simulation examples and applied to panorex teeth images for modeling teeth contours and also to a brain tumor contour detection problem. PMID:25544786

Logarithmic Compression of Sensory Signals within the Dendritic Tree of a Collision-Sensitive Neuron

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Neurons in a variety of species, both vertebrate and invertebrate, encode the kinematics of objects approaching on a collision course through a time-varying firing rate profile that initially increases, then peaks, and eventually decays as collision becomes imminent. In this temporal profile, the peak firing rate signals when the approaching object's subtended size reaches an angular threshold, an event which has been related to the timing of escape behaviors. In a locust neuron called the lobula giant motion detector (LGMD), the biophysical basis of this angular threshold computation relies on a multiplicative combination of the object's angular size and speed, achieved through a logarithmic-exponential transform. To understand how this transform is implemented, we modeled the encoding of angular velocity along the pathway leading to the LGMD based on the experimentally determined activation pattern of its presynaptic neurons. These simulations show that the logarithmic transform of angular speed occurs between the synaptic conductances activated by the approaching object onto the LGMD's dendritic tree and its membrane potential at the spike initiation zone. Thus, we demonstrate an example of how a single neuron's dendritic tree implements a mathematical step in a neural computation important for natural behavior. PMID:22492048

A Reduced-Order Model For Zero-Mass Synthetic Jet Actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yamaleev, Nail K.; Carpenter, Mark H.; Vatsa, Veer S.

2007-01-01

Accurate details of the general performance of fluid actuators is desirable over a range of flow conditions, within some predetermined error tolerance. Designers typically model actuators with different levels of fidelity depending on the acceptable level of error in each circumstance. Crude properties of the actuator (e.g., peak mass rate and frequency) may be sufficient for some designs, while detailed information is needed for other applications (e.g., multiple actuator interactions). This work attempts to address two primary objectives. The first objective is to develop a systematic methodology for approximating realistic 3-D fluid actuators, using quasi-1-D reduced-order models. Near full fidelity can be achieved with this approach at a fraction of the cost of full simulation and only a modest increase in cost relative to most actuator models used today. The second objective, which is a direct consequence of the first, is to determine the approximate magnitude of errors committed by actuator model approximations of various fidelities. This objective attempts to identify which model (ranging from simple orifice exit boundary conditions to full numerical simulations of the actuator) is appropriate for a given error tolerance.

Characterizing Student Perceptions of and Buy-In toward Common Formative Assessment Techniques

PubMed Central

Brazeal, Kathleen R.; Brown, Tanya L.; Couch, Brian A.

2016-01-01

Formative assessments (FAs) can occur as preclass assignments, in-class activities, or postclass homework. FAs aim to promote student learning by accomplishing key objectives, including clarifying learning expectations, revealing student thinking to the instructor, providing feedback to the student that promotes learning, facilitating peer interactions, and activating student ownership of learning. While FAs have gained prominence within the education community, we have limited knowledge regarding student perceptions of these activities. We used a mixed-methods approach to determine whether students recognize and value the role of FAs in their learning and how students perceive course activities to align with five key FA objectives. To address these questions, we administered a midsemester survey in seven introductory biology course sections that were using multiple FA techniques. Overall, responses to both open-ended and closed-ended questions revealed that the majority of students held positive perceptions of FAs and perceived FAs to facilitate their learning in a variety of ways. Students consistently considered FA activities to have accomplished particular objectives, but there was greater variation among FAs in how students perceived the achievement of other objectives. We further discuss potential sources of student resistance and implications of these results for instructor practice. PMID:27909023

Electric field theory based approach to search-direction line definition in image segmentation: application to optimal femur-tibia cartilage segmentation in knee-joint 3-D MR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Y.; Sonka, M.

2010-03-01

A novel method is presented for definition of search lines in a variety of surface segmentation approaches. The method is inspired by properties of electric field direction lines and is applicable to general-purpose n-D shapebased image segmentation tasks. Its utility is demonstrated in graph construction and optimal segmentation of multiple mutually interacting objects. The properties of the electric field-based graph construction guarantee that inter-object graph connecting lines are non-intersecting and inherently covering the entire object-interaction space. When applied to inter-object cross-surface mapping, our approach generates one-to-one and all-to-all vertex correspondent pairs between the regions of mutual interaction. We demonstrate the benefits of the electric field approach in several examples ranging from relatively simple single-surface segmentation to complex multiobject multi-surface segmentation of femur-tibia cartilage. The performance of our approach is demonstrated in 60 MR images from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), in which our approach achieved a very good performance as judged by surface positioning errors (average of 0.29 and 0.59 mm for signed and unsigned cartilage positioning errors, respectively).

One Shot Detection with Laplacian Object and Fast Matrix Cosine Similarity.

PubMed

Biswas, Sujoy Kumar; Milanfar, Peyman

2016-03-01

One shot, generic object detection involves searching for a single query object in a larger target image. Relevant approaches have benefited from features that typically model the local similarity patterns. In this paper, we combine local similarity (encoded by local descriptors) with a global context (i.e., a graph structure) of pairwise affinities among the local descriptors, embedding the query descriptors into a low dimensional but discriminatory subspace. Unlike principal components that preserve global structure of feature space, we actually seek a linear approximation to the Laplacian eigenmap that permits us a locality preserving embedding of high dimensional region descriptors. Our second contribution is an accelerated but exact computation of matrix cosine similarity as the decision rule for detection, obviating the computationally expensive sliding window search. We leverage the power of Fourier transform combined with integral image to achieve superior runtime efficiency that allows us to test multiple hypotheses (for pose estimation) within a reasonably short time. Our approach to one shot detection is training-free, and experiments on the standard data sets confirm the efficacy of our model. Besides, low computation cost of the proposed (codebook-free) object detector facilitates rather straightforward query detection in large data sets including movie videos.

Multiple and mixed methods in formative evaluation: Is more better? Reflections from a South African study.

PubMed

Odendaal, Willem; Atkins, Salla; Lewin, Simon

2016-12-15

Formative programme evaluations assess intervention implementation processes, and are seen widely as a way of unlocking the 'black box' of any programme in order to explore and understand why a programme functions as it does. However, few critical assessments of the methods used in such evaluations are available, and there are especially few that reflect on how well the evaluation achieved its objectives. This paper describes a formative evaluation of a community-based lay health worker programme for TB and HIV/AIDS clients across three low-income communities in South Africa. It assesses each of the methods used in relation to the evaluation objectives, and offers suggestions on ways of optimising the use of multiple, mixed-methods within formative evaluations of complex health system interventions. The evaluation's qualitative methods comprised interviews, focus groups, observations and diary keeping. Quantitative methods included a time-and-motion study of the lay health workers' scope of practice and a client survey. The authors conceptualised and conducted the evaluation, and through iterative discussions, assessed the methods used and their results. Overall, the evaluation highlighted programme issues and insights beyond the reach of traditional single methods evaluations. The strengths of the multiple, mixed-methods in this evaluation included a detailed description and nuanced understanding of the programme and its implementation, and triangulation of the perspectives and experiences of clients, lay health workers, and programme managers. However, the use of multiple methods needs to be carefully planned and implemented as this approach can overstretch the logistic and analytic resources of an evaluation. For complex interventions, formative evaluation designs including multiple qualitative and quantitative methods hold distinct advantages over single method evaluations. However, their value is not in the number of methods used, but in how each method matches the evaluation questions and the scientific integrity with which the methods are selected and implemented.

Robustness analysis of a green chemistry-based model for the ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This paper proposes a robustness analysis based on Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA). The ensuing model was used to assess the implementation of green chemistry principles in the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Its recommendations were also compared to an earlier developed model for the same purpose to investigate concordance between the models and potential decision support synergies. A three-phase procedure was adopted to achieve the research objectives. Firstly, an ordinal ranking of the evaluation criteria used to characterize the implementation of green chemistry principles was identified through relative ranking analysis. Secondly, a structured selection process for an MCDA classification method was conducted, which ensued in the identification of Stochastic Multi-Criteria Acceptability Analysis (SMAA). Lastly, the agreement of the classifications by the two MCDA models and the resulting synergistic role of decision recommendations were studied. This comparison showed that the results of the two models agree between 76% and 93% of the simulation set-ups and it confirmed that different MCDA models provide a more inclusive and transparent set of recommendations. This integrative research confirmed the beneficial complementary use of MCDA methods to aid responsible development of nanosynthesis, by accounting for multiple objectives and helping communication of complex information in a comprehensive and traceable format, suitable for stakeholders and

An Efficient Method for Automatic Road Extraction Based on Multiple Features from LiDAR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.; Hu, X.; Guan, H.; Liu, P.

2016-06-01

The road extraction in urban areas is difficult task due to the complicated patterns and many contextual objects. LiDAR data directly provides three dimensional (3D) points with less occlusions and smaller shadows. The elevation information and surface roughness are distinguishing features to separate roads. However, LiDAR data has some disadvantages are not beneficial to object extraction, such as the irregular distribution of point clouds and lack of clear edges of roads. For these problems, this paper proposes an automatic road centerlines extraction method which has three major steps: (1) road center point detection based on multiple feature spatial clustering for separating road points from ground points, (2) local principal component analysis with least squares fitting for extracting the primitives of road centerlines, and (3) hierarchical grouping for connecting primitives into complete roads network. Compared with MTH (consist of Mean shift algorithm, Tensor voting, and Hough transform) proposed in our previous article, this method greatly reduced the computational cost. To evaluate the proposed method, the Vaihingen data set, a benchmark testing data provided by ISPRS for "Urban Classification and 3D Building Reconstruction" project, was selected. The experimental results show that our method achieve the same performance by less time in road extraction using LiDAR data.

Policy challenges and approaches for the conservation of mangrove forests in Southeast Asia.

PubMed

Friess, Daniel A; Thompson, Benjamin S; Brown, Ben; Amir, A Aldrie; Cameron, Clint; Koldewey, Heather J; Sasmito, Sigit D; Sidik, Frida

2016-10-01

Many drivers of mangrove forest loss operate over large scales and are most effectively addressed by policy interventions. However, conflicting or unclear policy objectives exist at multiple tiers of government, resulting in contradictory management decisions. To address this, we considered four approaches that are being used increasingly or could be deployed in Southeast Asia to ensure sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. First, a stronger incorporation of mangroves into marine protected areas (that currently focus largely on reefs and fisheries) could resolve some policy conflicts and ensure that mangroves do not fall through a policy gap. Second, examples of community and government comanagement exist, but achieving comanagement at scale will be important in reconciling stakeholders and addressing conflicting policy objectives. Third, private-sector initiatives could protect mangroves through existing and novel mechanisms in degraded areas and areas under future threat. Finally, payments for ecosystem services (PES) hold great promise for mangrove conservation, with carbon PES schemes (known as blue carbon) attracting attention. Although barriers remain to the implementation of PES, the potential to implement them at multiple scales exists. Closing the gap between mangrove conservation policies and action is crucial to the improved protection and management of this imperiled coastal ecosystem and to the livelihoods that depend on them. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Hierarchical representation of shapes in visual cortex—from localized features to figural shape segregation

PubMed Central

Tschechne, Stephan; Neumann, Heiko

2014-01-01

Visual structures in the environment are segmented into image regions and those combined to a representation of surfaces and prototypical objects. Such a perceptual organization is performed by complex neural mechanisms in the visual cortex of primates. Multiple mutually connected areas in the ventral cortical pathway receive visual input and extract local form features that are subsequently grouped into increasingly complex, more meaningful image elements. Such a distributed network of processing must be capable to make accessible highly articulated changes in shape boundary as well as very subtle curvature changes that contribute to the perception of an object. We propose a recurrent computational network architecture that utilizes hierarchical distributed representations of shape features to encode surface and object boundary over different scales of resolution. Our model makes use of neural mechanisms that model the processing capabilities of early and intermediate stages in visual cortex, namely areas V1–V4 and IT. We suggest that multiple specialized component representations interact by feedforward hierarchical processing that is combined with feedback signals driven by representations generated at higher stages. Based on this, global configurational as well as local information is made available to distinguish changes in the object's contour. Once the outline of a shape has been established, contextual contour configurations are used to assign border ownership directions and thus achieve segregation of figure and ground. The model, thus, proposes how separate mechanisms contribute to distributed hierarchical cortical shape representation and combine with processes of figure-ground segregation. Our model is probed with a selection of stimuli to illustrate processing results at different processing stages. We especially highlight how modulatory feedback connections contribute to the processing of visual input at various stages in the processing hierarchy. PMID:25157228

Hierarchical representation of shapes in visual cortex-from localized features to figural shape segregation.

PubMed

Tschechne, Stephan; Neumann, Heiko

2014-01-01

Visual structures in the environment are segmented into image regions and those combined to a representation of surfaces and prototypical objects. Such a perceptual organization is performed by complex neural mechanisms in the visual cortex of primates. Multiple mutually connected areas in the ventral cortical pathway receive visual input and extract local form features that are subsequently grouped into increasingly complex, more meaningful image elements. Such a distributed network of processing must be capable to make accessible highly articulated changes in shape boundary as well as very subtle curvature changes that contribute to the perception of an object. We propose a recurrent computational network architecture that utilizes hierarchical distributed representations of shape features to encode surface and object boundary over different scales of resolution. Our model makes use of neural mechanisms that model the processing capabilities of early and intermediate stages in visual cortex, namely areas V1-V4 and IT. We suggest that multiple specialized component representations interact by feedforward hierarchical processing that is combined with feedback signals driven by representations generated at higher stages. Based on this, global configurational as well as local information is made available to distinguish changes in the object's contour. Once the outline of a shape has been established, contextual contour configurations are used to assign border ownership directions and thus achieve segregation of figure and ground. The model, thus, proposes how separate mechanisms contribute to distributed hierarchical cortical shape representation and combine with processes of figure-ground segregation. Our model is probed with a selection of stimuli to illustrate processing results at different processing stages. We especially highlight how modulatory feedback connections contribute to the processing of visual input at various stages in the processing hierarchy.

Haughton-Mars Project (HMP)/NASA 2006 Lunar Medical Contingency Simulation: An Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scheuring, R. A.; Jones, J. A.; Lee, P.; Comtois, J. M.; Chappell, S.; Rafiq, A.; Braham, S.; Hodgson, E.; Sullivan, P.; Wilkinson, N.

2006-01-01

Medical requirements are currently being developed for NASA's space exploration program. Lunar surface operations for crews returning to the moon will be performed on a daily basis to conduct scientific research and construct a lunar habitat. Inherent to aggressive surface activities is the potential risk of injury to crew members. To develop an evidence-base for handling medical contingencies on the lunar surface, a simulation project was conducted using the moon-Mars analog environment at Devon Island, Nunavut, high Canadian Arctic. A review of the Apollo lunar surface activities and personal communications with Apollo lunar crew members provided a knowledge base of plausible scenarios that could potentially injure an astronaut during a lunar extravehicular activity. Objectives were established to 1) demonstrate stabilization, field extraction and transfer an injured crew member to the habitat and 2) evaluate audio, visual and biomedical communication capabilities with ground controllers at multiple mission control centers. The simulation project s objectives were achieved. Among these objectives were 1) extracting a crew member from a sloped terrain by a two-member team in a 1-g analog environment, 2) establishing real-time communication to multiple space centers, 3) providing biomedical data to flight controllers and crew members, and 4) establishing a medical diagnosis and treatment plan from a remote site. The simulation project provided evidence for the types of equipment and methods needed for planetary space exploration. During the project, the crew members were confronted with a number of unexpected scenarios including environmental, communications, EVA suit, and navigation challenges. These trials provided insight into the challenges of carrying out a medical contingency in an austere environment. The knowledge gained from completing the objectives of this project will be incorporated into the exploration medical requirements involving an incapacited astronaut on the lunar surface.

An integrative view of storage of low- and high-level visual dimensions in visual short-term memory.

PubMed

Magen, Hagit

2017-03-01

Efficient performance in an environment filled with complex objects is often achieved through the temporal maintenance of conjunctions of features from multiple dimensions. The most striking finding in the study of binding in visual short-term memory (VSTM) is equal memory performance for single features and for integrated multi-feature objects, a finding that has been central to several theories of VSTM. Nevertheless, research on binding in VSTM focused almost exclusively on low-level features, and little is known about how items from low- and high-level visual dimensions (e.g., colored manmade objects) are maintained simultaneously in VSTM. The present study tested memory for combinations of low-level features and high-level representations. In agreement with previous findings, Experiments 1 and 2 showed decrements in memory performance when non-integrated low- and high-level stimuli were maintained simultaneously compared to maintaining each dimension in isolation. However, contrary to previous findings the results of Experiments 3 and 4 showed decrements in memory performance even when integrated objects of low- and high-level stimuli were maintained in memory, compared to maintaining single-dimension objects. Overall, the results demonstrate that low- and high-level visual dimensions compete for the same limited memory capacity, and offer a more comprehensive view of VSTM.

Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking.

PubMed

Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Bensmail, Halima; Gao, Xin

2012-11-19

Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods. To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods. The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications.

[Feasibility of device closure for multiple atrial septal defects using 3D printing and ultrasound-guided intervention technique].

PubMed

Qiu, X; Lü, B; Xu, N; Yan, C W; Ouyang, W B; Liu, Y; Zhang, F W; Yue, Z Q; Pang, K J; Pan, X B

2017-04-25

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of trans-catheter closure of multiple atrial septal defects (ASD) monitored by trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE) under the guidance of 3D printing heart model. Methods: Between April and August 2016, a total of 21 patients (8 male and 13 female) with multiple ASD in Fuwai Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences underwent CT scan and 3-dimensional echocardiography for heart disease model produced by 3D printing technique. The best occlusion program was determined through the simulation test on the model. Percutaneous device closure of multiple ASD was performed follow the predetermined program guided by TTE. Clinical follow-up including electrocardiogram and TTE was arranged at 1 month after the procedure. Results: The trans-catheter procedure was successful in all 21 patients using a single atrial septal occluder. Mild residual shunt was found in 5 patient in the immediate postoperative period, 3 of them were disappeared during postoperative follow-up. There was no death, vascular damage, arrhythmia, device migration, thromboembolism, valvular dysfunction during the follow-up period. Conclusion: The use of 3D printing heart model provides a useful reference for transcatheter device closure of multiple ASD achieving through ultrasound-guided intervention technique, which appears to be safe and feasible with good outcomes of short-term follow-up.

Effect of cytokinins on in vitro multiplication of Sophora tonkinensis

PubMed Central

Jana, Sonali; Sivanesan, Iyyakkannu; Jeong, Byoung Ryong

2013-01-01

Objective To determine the effects of different cytokinins at various concentrations on in vitro shoot multiplication of an important medicinal plant. Methods Nodal explants (1.5-2.0 cm) of Sophora tonkinensis were used. Multiple shoots were induced from nodal explants cultured on the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, or 16.0 µmol 2-isopentyladenine (2iP), N6 benzyladenine, kinetin or thiadiazuron. Results Among the four investigated cytokinins, 2iP showed the best response for shoot multiplication. Maximum shoot induction (75%) was achieved on the MS medium supplemented with 2.0 µmol 2iP, with a mean number of 5.0 shoots per explant. In comparison to other cytokinins tried, 2iP showed the highest shoot elongation with a mean shoot length of 4.8 cm. Root initiation was observed within 15 d within the transfer of shoots onto the MS basal medium, and the rooting percentage was 100% with a mean number of 5.4 roots per shoot and root length of 6.2 cm over a period of 4 weeks. The healthy plants, hardened and transferred to a greenhouse for proper acclimatization, exhibited 100% survival. Conclusions It can be summarized that 2iP is the optimal plant growth regulator for Sophora multiplication. PMID:23836310

Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods. Results To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods. Conclusion The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications. PMID:23157331

Achieving realistic performance and decison-making capabilities in computer-generated air forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banks, Sheila B.; Stytz, Martin R.; Santos, Eugene, Jr.; Zurita, Vincent B.; Benslay, James L., Jr.

1997-07-01

For a computer-generated force (CGF) system to be useful in training environments, it must be able to operate at multiple skill levels, exhibit competency at assigned missions, and comply with current doctrine. Because of the rapid rate of change in distributed interactive simulation (DIS) and the expanding set of performance objectives for any computer- generated force, the system must also be modifiable at reasonable cost and incorporate mechanisms for learning. Therefore, CGF applications must have adaptable decision mechanisms and behaviors and perform automated incorporation of past reasoning and experience into its decision process. The CGF must also possess multiple skill levels for classes of entities, gracefully degrade its reasoning capability in response to system stress, possess an expandable modular knowledge structure, and perform adaptive mission planning. Furthermore, correctly performing individual entity behaviors is not sufficient. Issues related to complex inter-entity behavioral interactions, such as the need to maintain formation and share information, must also be considered. The CGF must also be able to acceptably respond to unforeseen circumstances and be able to make decisions in spite of uncertain information. Because of the need for increased complexity in the virtual battlespace, the CGF should exhibit complex, realistic behavior patterns within the battlespace. To achieve these necessary capabilities, an extensible software architecture, an expandable knowledge base, and an adaptable decision making mechanism are required. Our lab has addressed these issues in detail. The resulting DIS-compliant system is called the automated wingman (AW). The AW is based on fuzzy logic, the common object database (CODB) software architecture, and a hierarchical knowledge structure. We describe the techniques we used to enable us to make progress toward a CGF entity that satisfies the requirements presented above. We present our design and implementation of an adaptable decision making mechanism that uses multi-layered, fuzzy logic controlled situational analysis. Because our research indicates that fuzzy logic can perform poorly under certain circumstances, we combine fuzzy logic inferencing with adversarial game tree techniques for decision making in strategic and tactical engagements. We describe the approach we employed to achieve this fusion. We also describe the automated wingman's system architecture and knowledge base architecture.

Using game theory for perceptual tuned rate control algorithm in video coding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Jiancong; Ahmad, Ishfaq

2005-03-01

This paper proposes a game theoretical rate control technique for video compression. Using a cooperative gaming approach, which has been utilized in several branches of natural and social sciences because of its enormous potential for solving constrained optimization problems, we propose a dual-level scheme to optimize the perceptual quality while guaranteeing "fairness" in bit allocation among macroblocks. At the frame level, the algorithm allocates target bits to frames based on their coding complexity. At the macroblock level, the algorithm distributes bits to macroblocks by defining a bargaining game. Macroblocks play cooperatively to compete for shares of resources (bits) to optimize their quantization scales while considering the Human Visual System"s perceptual property. Since the whole frame is an entity perceived by viewers, macroblocks compete cooperatively under a global objective of achieving the best quality with the given bit constraint. The major advantage of the proposed approach is that the cooperative game leads to an optimal and fair bit allocation strategy based on the Nash Bargaining Solution. Another advantage is that it allows multi-objective optimization with multiple decision makers (macroblocks). The simulation results testify the algorithm"s ability to achieve accurate bit rate with good perceptual quality, and to maintain a stable buffer level.

Parallel Object Activation and Attentional Gating of Information: Evidence from Eye Movements in the Multiple Object Naming Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schotter, Elizabeth R.; Ferreira, Victor S.; Rayner, Keith

2013-01-01

Do we access information from any object we can see, or do we access information only from objects that we intend to name? In 3 experiments using a modified multiple object naming paradigm, subjects were required to name several objects in succession when previews appeared briefly and simultaneously in the same location as the target as well as at…

Objective and subjective quality assessment of geometry compression of reconstructed 3D humans in a 3D virtual room

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mekuria, Rufael; Cesar, Pablo; Doumanis, Ioannis; Frisiello, Antonella

2015-09-01

Compression of 3D object based video is relevant for 3D Immersive applications. Nevertheless, the perceptual aspects of the degradation introduced by codecs for meshes and point clouds are not well understood. In this paper we evaluate the subjective and objective degradations introduced by such codecs in a state of art 3D immersive virtual room. In the 3D immersive virtual room, users are captured with multiple cameras, and their surfaces are reconstructed as photorealistic colored/textured 3D meshes or point clouds. To test the perceptual effect of compression and transmission, we render degraded versions with different frame rates in different contexts (near/far) in the scene. A quantitative subjective study with 16 users shows that negligible distortion of decoded surfaces compared to the original reconstructions can be achieved in the 3D virtual room. In addition, a qualitative task based analysis in a full prototype field trial shows increased presence, emotion, user and state recognition of the reconstructed 3D Human representation compared to animated computer avatars.

A robust approach towards unknown transformation, regional adjacency graphs, multigraph matching, segmentation video frames from unnamed aerial vehicles (UAV)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gohatre, Umakant Bhaskar; Patil, Venkat P.

2018-04-01

In computer vision application, the multiple object detection and tracking, in real-time operation is one of the important research field, that have gained a lot of attentions, in last few years for finding non stationary entities in the field of image sequence. The detection of object is advance towards following the moving object in video and then representation of object is step to track. The multiple object recognition proof is one of the testing assignment from detection multiple objects from video sequence. The picture enrollment has been for quite some time utilized as a reason for the location the detection of moving multiple objects. The technique of registration to discover correspondence between back to back casing sets in view of picture appearance under inflexible and relative change. The picture enrollment is not appropriate to deal with event occasion that can be result in potential missed objects. In this paper, for address such problems, designs propose novel approach. The divided video outlines utilizing area adjancy diagram of visual appearance and geometric properties. Then it performed between graph sequences by using multi graph matching, then getting matching region labeling by a proposed graph coloring algorithms which assign foreground label to respective region. The plan design is robust to unknown transformation with significant improvement in overall existing work which is related to moving multiple objects detection in real time parameters.

Techniques for assessing relative values for multiple objective management on private forests

Treesearch

Donald F. Dennis; Thomas H. Stevens; David B. Kittredge; Mark G. Rickenbach

2003-01-01

Decision models for assessing multiple objective management of private lands will require estimates of the relative values of various nonmarket outputs or objectives that have become increasingly important. In this study, conjoint techniques are used to assess the relative values and acceptable trade-offs (marginal rates of substitution) among various objectives...

Confronting and resolving competing values behind conservation objectives.

PubMed

Karp, Daniel S; Mendenhall, Chase D; Callaway, Elizabeth; Frishkoff, Luke O; Kareiva, Peter M; Ehrlich, Paul R; Daily, Gretchen C

2015-09-01

Diverse motivations for preserving nature both inspire and hinder its conservation. Optimal conservation strategies may differ radically depending on the objective. For example, creating nature reserves may prevent extinctions through protecting severely threatened species, whereas incentivizing farmland hedgerows may benefit people through bolstering pest-eating or pollinating species. Win-win interventions that satisfy multiple objectives are alluring, but can also be elusive. To achieve better outcomes, we developed and implemented a practical typology of nature conservation framed around seven common conservation objectives. Using an intensively studied bird assemblage in southern Costa Rica as a case study, we applied the typology in the context of biodiversity's most pervasive threat: habitat conversion. We found that rural habitats in a varied tropical landscape, comprising small farms, villages, forest fragments, and forest reserves, provided biodiversity-driven processes that benefit people, such as pollination, seed dispersal, and pest consumption. However, species valued for their rarity, endemism, and evolutionary distinctness declined in farmland. Conserving tropical forest on farmland increased species that international tourists value, but not species discussed in Costa Rican newspapers. Despite these observed trade-offs, our analyses also revealed promising synergies. For example, we found that maintaining forest cover surrounding farms in our study region would likely enhance most conservation objectives at minimal expense to others. Overall, our typology provides a framework for resolving the competing objectives of modern conservation.

Confronting and resolving competing values behind conservation objectives

PubMed Central

Karp, Daniel S.; Mendenhall, Chase D.; Callaway, Elizabeth; Frishkoff, Luke O.; Kareiva, Peter M.; Ehrlich, Paul R.; Daily, Gretchen C.

2015-01-01

Diverse motivations for preserving nature both inspire and hinder its conservation. Optimal conservation strategies may differ radically depending on the objective. For example, creating nature reserves may prevent extinctions through protecting severely threatened species, whereas incentivizing farmland hedgerows may benefit people through bolstering pest-eating or pollinating species. Win-win interventions that satisfy multiple objectives are alluring, but can also be elusive. To achieve better outcomes, we developed and implemented a practical typology of nature conservation framed around seven common conservation objectives. Using an intensively studied bird assemblage in southern Costa Rica as a case study, we applied the typology in the context of biodiversity’s most pervasive threat: habitat conversion. We found that rural habitats in a varied tropical landscape, comprising small farms, villages, forest fragments, and forest reserves, provided biodiversity-driven processes that benefit people, such as pollination, seed dispersal, and pest consumption. However, species valued for their rarity, endemism, and evolutionary distinctness declined in farmland. Conserving tropical forest on farmland increased species that international tourists value, but not species discussed in Costa Rican newspapers. Despite these observed trade-offs, our analyses also revealed promising synergies. For example, we found that maintaining forest cover surrounding farms in our study region would likely enhance most conservation objectives at minimal expense to others. Overall, our typology provides a framework for resolving the competing objectives of modern conservation. PMID:26283400

Object detection system using SPAD proximity detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stark, Laurence; Raynor, Jeffrey M.; Henderson, Robert K.

2011-10-01

This paper presents an object detection system based upon the use of multiple single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) proximity sensors operating upon the time-of-flight (ToF) principle, whereby the co-ordinates of a target object in a coordinate system relative to the assembly are calculated. The system is similar to a touch screen system in form and operation except that the lack of requirement of a physical sensing surface provides a novel advantage over most existing touch screen technologies. The sensors are controlled by FPGA-based firmware and each proximity sensor in the system measures the range from the sensor to the target object. A software algorithm is implemented to calculate the x-y coordinates of the target object based on the distance measurements from at least two separate sensors and the known relative positions of these sensors. Existing proximity sensors were capable of determining the distance to an object with centimetric accuracy and were modified to obtain a wide field of view in the x-y axes with low beam angle in z in order to provide a detection area as large as possible. Design and implementation of the firmware, electronic hardware, mechanics and optics are covered in the paper. Possible future work would include characterisation with alternative designs of proximity sensors, as this is the component which determines the highest achievable accur1acy of the system.

Distributed Representation of Visual Objects by Single Neurons in the Human Brain

PubMed Central

Valdez, André B.; Papesh, Megan H.; Treiman, David M.; Smith, Kris A.; Goldinger, Stephen D.

2015-01-01

It remains unclear how single neurons in the human brain represent whole-object visual stimuli. While recordings in both human and nonhuman primates have shown distributed representations of objects (many neurons encoding multiple objects), recordings of single neurons in the human medial temporal lobe, taken as subjects' discriminated objects during multiple presentations, have shown gnostic representations (single neurons encoding one object). Because some studies suggest that repeated viewing may enhance neural selectivity for objects, we had human subjects discriminate objects in a single, more naturalistic viewing session. We found that, across 432 well isolated neurons recorded in the hippocampus and amygdala, the average fraction of objects encoded was 26%. We also found that more neurons encoded several objects versus only one object in the hippocampus (28 vs 18%, p < 0.001) and in the amygdala (30 vs 19%, p < 0.001). Thus, during realistic viewing experiences, typical neurons in the human medial temporal lobe code for a considerable range of objects, across multiple semantic categories. PMID:25834044

Evaluation of Achievement of Universal Basic Education (UBE) in Delta State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osadebe, P. U.

2014-01-01

The study evaluated the objectives of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme in Delta State. It considered the extent to which each objective was achieved. A research question on the extent to which the UBE objectives were achieved guided the study. Two hypotheses were tested. A sample of 300 students was randomly drawn through the use of…

The Achievement of Therapeutic Objectives Scale: Interrater Reliability and Sensitivity to Change in Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy and Cognitive Therapy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valen, Jakob; Ryum, Truls; Svartberg, Martin; Stiles, Tore C.; McCullough, Leigh

2011-01-01

This study examined interrater reliability and sensitivity to change of the Achievement of Therapeutic Objectives Scale (ATOS; McCullough, Larsen, et al., 2003) in short-term dynamic psychotherapy (STDP) and cognitive therapy (CT). The ATOS is a process scale originally developed to assess patients' achievements of treatment objectives in STDP,…

The Effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning Approach Based on Multiple Intelligences in Terms of Student’s Achievement, Mathematical Connection Ability, and Self-Esteem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kartikasari, A.; Widjajanti, D. B.

2017-02-01

The aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness of learning approach using problem-based learning based on multiple intelligences in developing student’s achievement, mathematical connection ability, and self-esteem. This study is experimental research with research sample was 30 of Grade X students of MIA III MAN Yogyakarta III. Learning materials that were implemented consisting of trigonometry and geometry. For the purpose of this study, researchers designed an achievement test made up of 44 multiple choice questions with respectively 24 questions on the concept of trigonometry and 20 questions for geometry. The researcher also designed a connection mathematical test and self-esteem questionnaire that consisted of 7 essay questions on mathematical connection test and 30 items of self-esteem questionnaire. The learning approach said that to be effective if the proportion of students who achieved KKM on achievement test, the proportion of students who achieved a minimum score of high category on the results of both mathematical connection test and self-esteem questionnaire were greater than or equal to 70%. Based on the hypothesis testing at the significance level of 5%, it can be concluded that the learning approach using problem-based learning based on multiple intelligences was effective in terms of student’s achievement, mathematical connection ability, and self-esteem.

The Effectiveness of Multiple Intelligence Applications on Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis=Çoklu Zekâ Ögretim Uygulamalarinin Akademik Basari Üzerindeki Etkisi: Bir Meta-Analiz Çalismasi

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yurt, Eyüp; Polat, Seyat

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of multiple intelligence applications on academic achievement in Turkey. Accordingly, findings of independent research studies aimed to find out effectiveness of multiple intelligence applications are gathered in a meta-analysis. Total of 71 studies, 66 dissertations and 7 articles were…

WE-AB-209-12: Quasi Constrained Multi-Criteria Optimization for Automated Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning

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

Watkins, W.T.; Siebers, J.V.

Purpose: To introduce quasi-constrained Multi-Criteria Optimization (qcMCO) for unsupervised radiation therapy optimization which generates alternative patient-specific plans emphasizing dosimetric tradeoffs and conformance to clinical constraints for multiple delivery techniques. Methods: For N Organs At Risk (OARs) and M delivery techniques, qcMCO generates M(N+1) alternative treatment plans per patient. Objective weight variations for OARs and targets are used to generate alternative qcMCO plans. For 30 locally advanced lung cancer patients, qcMCO plans were generated for dosimetric tradeoffs to four OARs: each lung, heart, and esophagus (N=4) and 4 delivery techniques (simple 4-field arrangements, 9-field coplanar IMRT, 27-field non-coplanar IMRT, and non-coplanarmore » Arc IMRT). Quasi-constrained objectives included target prescription isodose to 95% (PTV-D95), maximum PTV dose (PTV-Dmax)< 110% of prescription, and spinal cord Dmax<45 Gy. The algorithm’s ability to meet these constraints while simultaneously revealing dosimetric tradeoffs was investigated. Statistically significant dosimetric tradeoffs were defined such that the coefficient of determination between dosimetric indices which varied by at least 5 Gy between different plans was >0.8. Results: The qcMCO plans varied mean dose by >5 Gy to ipsilateral lung for 24/30 patients, contralateral lung for 29/30 patients, esophagus for 29/30 patients, and heart for 19/30 patients. In the 600 plans computed without human interaction, average PTV-D95=67.4±3.3 Gy, PTV-Dmax=79.2±5.3 Gy, and spinal cord Dmax was >45 Gy in 93 plans (>50 Gy in 2/600 plans). Statistically significant dosimetric tradeoffs were evident in 19/30 plans, including multiple tradeoffs of at least 5 Gy between multiple OARs in 7/30 cases. The most common statistically significant tradeoff was increasing PTV-Dmax to reduce OAR dose (15/30 patients). Conclusion: The qcMCO method can conform to quasi-constrained objectives while revealing significant variations in OAR doses including mean dose reductions >5 Gy. Clinical implementation will facilitate patient-specific decision making based on achievable dosimetry as opposed to accept/reject models based on population derived objectives.« less

Temporally-Constrained Group Sparse Learning for Longitudinal Data Analysis in Alzheimer’s Disease

PubMed Central

Jie, Biao; Liu, Mingxia; Liu, Jun

2016-01-01

Sparse learning has been widely investigated for analysis of brain images to assist the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its prodromal stage, i.e., mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, most existing sparse learning-based studies only adopt cross-sectional analysis methods, where the sparse model is learned using data from a single time-point. Actually, multiple time-points of data are often available in brain imaging applications, which can be used in some longitudinal analysis methods to better uncover the disease progression patterns. Accordingly, in this paper we propose a novel temporally-constrained group sparse learning method aiming for longitudinal analysis with multiple time-points of data. Specifically, we learn a sparse linear regression model by using the imaging data from multiple time-points, where a group regularization term is first employed to group the weights for the same brain region across different time-points together. Furthermore, to reflect the smooth changes between data derived from adjacent time-points, we incorporate two smoothness regularization terms into the objective function, i.e., one fused smoothness term which requires that the differences between two successive weight vectors from adjacent time-points should be small, and another output smoothness term which requires the differences between outputs of two successive models from adjacent time-points should also be small. We develop an efficient optimization algorithm to solve the proposed objective function. Experimental results on ADNI database demonstrate that, compared with conventional sparse learning-based methods, our proposed method can achieve improved regression performance and also help in discovering disease-related biomarkers. PMID:27093313

Long-range and depth-selective imaging of macroscopic targets using low-coherence and wide-field interferometry (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woo, Sungsoo; Kang, Sungsam; Yoon, Changhyeong; Choi, Wonshik

2016-03-01

With the advancement of 3D display technology, 3D imaging of macroscopic objects has drawn much attention as they provide the contents to display. The most widely used imaging methods include a depth camera, which measures time of flight for the depth discrimination, and various structured illumination techniques. However, these existing methods have poor depth resolution, which makes imaging complicated structures a difficult task. In order to resolve this issue, we propose an imaging system based upon low-coherence interferometry and off-axis digital holographic imaging. By using light source with coherence length of 200 micro, we achieved the depth resolution of 100 micro. In order to map the macroscopic objects with this high axial resolution, we installed a pair of prisms in the reference beam path for the long-range scanning of the optical path length. Specifically, one prism was fixed in position, and the other prism was mounted on a translation stage and translated in parallel to the first prism. Due to the multiple internal reflections between the two prisms, the overall path length was elongated by a factor of 50. In this way, we could cover a depth range more than 1 meter. In addition, we employed multiple speckle illuminations and incoherent averaging of the acquired holographic images for reducing the specular reflections from the target surface. Using this newly developed system, we performed imaging targets with multiple different layers and demonstrated imaging targets hidden behind the scattering layers. The method was also applied to imaging targets located around the corner.

A SYSTEMATIC PROCEDURE FOR DESIGNING PROCESSES WITH MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIVES

EPA Science Inventory

Evaluation and analysis of multiple objectives are very important in designing environmentally benign processes. They require a systematic procedure for solving multi-objective decision-making problems due to the complex nature of the problems and the need for complex assessment....

Simultaneous segmentation of the bone and cartilage surfaces of a knee joint in 3D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Y.; Zhang, X.; Anderson, D. D.; Brown, T. D.; Hofwegen, C. Van; Sonka, M.

2009-02-01

We present a novel framework for the simultaneous segmentation of multiple interacting surfaces belonging to multiple mutually interacting objects. The method is a non-trivial extension of our previously reported optimal multi-surface segmentation. Considering an example application of knee-cartilage segmentation, the framework consists of the following main steps: 1) Shape model construction: Building a mean shape for each bone of the joint (femur, tibia, patella) from interactively segmented volumetric datasets. Using the resulting mean-shape model - identification of cartilage, non-cartilage, and transition areas on the mean-shape bone model surfaces. 2) Presegmentation: Employment of iterative optimal surface detection method to achieve approximate segmentation of individual bone surfaces. 3) Cross-object surface mapping: Detection of inter-bone equidistant separating sheets to help identify corresponding vertex pairs for all interacting surfaces. 4) Multi-object, multi-surface graph construction and final segmentation: Construction of a single multi-bone, multi-surface graph so that two surfaces (bone and cartilage) with zero and non-zero intervening distances can be detected for each bone of the joint, according to whether or not cartilage can be locally absent or present on the bone. To define inter-object relationships, corresponding vertex pairs identified using the separating sheets were interlinked in the graph. The graph optimization algorithm acted on the entire multiobject, multi-surface graph to yield a globally optimal solution. The segmentation framework was tested on 16 MR-DESS knee-joint datasets from the Osteoarthritis Initiative database. The average signed surface positioning error for the 6 detected surfaces ranged from 0.00 to 0.12 mm. When independently initialized, the signed reproducibility error of bone and cartilage segmentation ranged from 0.00 to 0.26 mm. The results showed that this framework provides robust, accurate, and reproducible segmentation of the knee joint bone and cartilage surfaces of the femur, tibia, and patella. As a general segmentation tool, the developed framework can be applied to a broad range of multi-object segmentation problems.

Patient-specific optimisation of administered activity and acquisition times for 18F-FDG PET imaging.

PubMed

Wickham, Fred; McMeekin, Helena; Burniston, Maria; McCool, Daniel; Pencharz, Deborah; Skillen, Annah; Wagner, Thomas

2017-12-01

The purpose of this study is to identify a method for optimising the administered activity and acquisition time for 18 F-FDG PET imaging, yielding images of consistent quality for patients with varying body sizes and compositions, while limiting radiation doses to patients and staff. Patients referred for FDG scans had bioimpedance measurements. They were injected with 3 MBq/kg of 18 F up to 370 MBq and scanned on a Siemens Biograph mCT at 3 or 4 min per bed position. Data were rebinned to simulate 2- and 1-min acquisitions. Subjective assessments of image quality made by an experienced physician were compared with objective measurements based on signal-to-noise ratio and noise equivalent counts (NEC). A target objective measure of image quality was identified. The activity and acquisition time required to achieve this were calculated for each subject. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify expressions for the activity and acquisition time required in terms of easily measurable patient characteristics. One hundred and eleven patients were recruited, and subjective and objective assessments of image quality were compared for 321 full and reduced time scans. NEC-per-metre was identified as the objective measure which best correlated with the subjective assessment (Spearman rank correlation coefficient 0.77) and the best discriminator for images with a subjective assessment of "definitely adequate" (area under the ROC curve 0.94). A target of 37 Mcount/m was identified. Expressions were identified in terms of patient sex, height and weight for the activity and acquisition time required to achieve this target. Including measurements of body composition in these expressions was not useful. Using these expressions would reduce the mean activity administered to this patient group by 66 MBq compared to the current protocol. Expressions have been identified for the activity and acquisition times required to achieve consistent image quality in FDG imaging with reduced patient and staff doses. These expressions might need to be adapted for other systems and reconstruction protocols.

Multi-view video segmentation and tracking for video surveillance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadi, Gelareh; Dufaux, Frederic; Minh, Thien Ha; Ebrahimi, Touradj

2009-05-01

Tracking moving objects is a critical step for smart video surveillance systems. Despite the complexity increase, multiple camera systems exhibit the undoubted advantages of covering wide areas and handling the occurrence of occlusions by exploiting the different viewpoints. The technical problems in multiple camera systems are several: installation, calibration, objects matching, switching, data fusion, and occlusion handling. In this paper, we address the issue of tracking moving objects in an environment covered by multiple un-calibrated cameras with overlapping fields of view, typical of most surveillance setups. Our main objective is to create a framework that can be used to integrate objecttracking information from multiple video sources. Basically, the proposed technique consists of the following steps. We first perform a single-view tracking algorithm on each camera view, and then apply a consistent object labeling algorithm on all views. In the next step, we verify objects in each view separately for inconsistencies. Correspondent objects are extracted through a Homography transform from one view to the other and vice versa. Having found the correspondent objects of different views, we partition each object into homogeneous regions. In the last step, we apply the Homography transform to find the region map of first view in the second view and vice versa. For each region (in the main frame and mapped frame) a set of descriptors are extracted to find the best match between two views based on region descriptors similarity. This method is able to deal with multiple objects. Track management issues such as occlusion, appearance and disappearance of objects are resolved using information from all views. This method is capable of tracking rigid and deformable objects and this versatility lets it to be suitable for different application scenarios.

Real-time multiple-objective path search for in-vehicle route guidance systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

The application of multiple-objective route choice for in-vehicle route guidance systems is discussed. A bi-objective path search algorithm is presented and its use demonstrated. A concept of trip quality is introduced that is composed of two objecti...

Detecting objects in radiographs for homeland security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasad, Lakshman; Snyder, Hans

2005-05-01

We present a general scheme for segmenting a radiographic image into polygons that correspond to visual features. This decomposition provides a vectorized representation that is a high-level description of the image. The polygons correspond to objects or object parts present in the image. This characterization of radiographs allows the direct application of several shape recognition algorithms to identify objects. In this paper we describe the use of constrained Delaunay triangulations as a uniform foundational tool to achieve multiple visual tasks, namely image segmentation, shape decomposition, and parts-based shape matching. Shape decomposition yields parts that serve as tokens representing local shape characteristics. Parts-based shape matching enables the recognition of objects in the presence of occlusions, which commonly occur in radiographs. The polygonal representation of image features affords the efficient design and application of sophisticated geometric filtering methods to detect large-scale structural properties of objects in images. Finally, the representation of radiographs via polygons results in significant reduction of image file sizes and permits the scalable graphical representation of images, along with annotations of detected objects, in the SVG (scalable vector graphics) format that is proposed by the world wide web consortium (W3C). This is a textual representation that can be compressed and encrypted for efficient and secure transmission of information over wireless channels and on the Internet. In particular, our methods described here provide an algorithmic framework for developing image analysis tools for screening cargo at ports of entry for homeland security.

Multiple Object Based RFID System Using Security Level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jiyeon; Jung, Jongjin; Ryu, Ukjae; Ko, Hoon; Joe, Susan; Lee, Yongjun; Kim, Boyeon; Chang, Yunseok; Lee, Kyoonha

2007-12-01

RFID systems are increasingly applied for operational convenience in wide range of industries and individual life. However, it is uneasy for a person to control many tags because common RFID systems have the restriction that a tag used to identify just a single object. In addition, RFID systems can make some serious problems in violation of privacy and security because of their radio frequency communication. In this paper, we propose a multiple object RFID tag which can keep multiple object identifiers for different applications in a same tag. The proposed tag allows simultaneous access for their pair applications. We also propose an authentication protocol for multiple object tag to prevent serious problems of security and privacy in RFID applications. Especially, we focus on efficiency of the authentication protocol by considering security levels of applications. In the proposed protocol, the applications go through different authentication procedures according to security level of the object identifier stored in the tag. We implemented the proposed RFID scheme and made experimental results about efficiency and stability for the scheme.

Self-motion impairs multiple-object tracking.

PubMed

Thomas, Laura E; Seiffert, Adriane E

2010-10-01

Investigations of multiple-object tracking aim to further our understanding of how people perform common activities such as driving in traffic. However, tracking tasks in the laboratory have overlooked a crucial component of much real-world object tracking: self-motion. We investigated the hypothesis that keeping track of one's own movement impairs the ability to keep track of other moving objects. Participants attempted to track multiple targets while either moving around the tracking area or remaining in a fixed location. Participants' tracking performance was impaired when they moved to a new location during tracking, even when they were passively moved and when they did not see a shift in viewpoint. Self-motion impaired multiple-object tracking in both an immersive virtual environment and a real-world analog, but did not interfere with a difficult non-spatial tracking task. These results suggest that people use a common mechanism to track changes both to the location of moving objects around them and to keep track of their own location. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiple-object permanence tracking: limitation in maintenance and transformation of perceptual objects.

PubMed

Saiki, Jun

2002-01-01

Research on change blindness and transsaccadic memory revealed that a limited amount of information is retained across visual disruptions in visual working memory. It has been proposed that visual working memory can hold four to five coherent object representations. To investigate their maintenance and transformation in dynamic situations, I devised an experimental paradigm called multiple-object permanence tracking (MOPT) that measures memory for multiple feature-location bindings in dynamic situations. Observers were asked to detect any color switch in the middle of a regular rotation of a pattern with multiple colored disks behind an occluder. The color-switch detection performance dramatically declined as the pattern rotation velocity increased, and this effect of object motion was independent of the number of targets. The MOPT task with various shapes and colors showed that color-shape conjunctions are not available in the MOPT task. These results suggest that even completely predictable motion severely reduces our capacity of object representations, from four to only one or two.

Multiple NEO Rendezvous, Reconnaissance and In Situ Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klaus, K.; Elsperman, M. S.; Cook, T.; Smith, D.

2010-12-01

We propose a two spacecraft mission (Mother Ship and Small Body Lander) rendezvous with multiple Near Earth Objects (NEO). This two spacecraft mission mimics the likely architecture approach that human explorers will use: a “mother ship”(MS) designed to get from Earth to the NEO and a “Small Body Lander”(SBL) that performs in situ investigation on or close to the NEO’s surface. The MS carries the SBL to the target NEO. Once at the target NEO, the MS conducts an initial reconnaissance in order to produce a high resolution map of the surface. This map is used to identify coordinates of interest which are sent to the SBL. The SBL un-docks from the MS to rendezvous with the NEO and collect data. Landings are possible, though the challenges of anchoring to the NEO surface are significant. The SBL design is flexible and adaptable, enabling science data collection on or near the surface. After surface investigations are completed on the first NEO, the SBL will return and autonomously rendezvous and dock with the MS. The MS then goes to the next NEO target. During transit to the next NEO, the SBL could be refueled by the MS, a TRL8 capability demonstrated on the DARPA/NASA Orbital Express mission in 2007, or alternately sized to operate without requiring refueling depending on the mission profile. The mission goals are to identify surface hazards; quantify engineering boundary conditions for future human visits, and identify resources for future exploitation. The mission goals will be accomplished through the execution of key mission objectives: (1) high-resolution surface topography; (2) surface composition and mineralogy; (3) radiation environment near NEO; and (4) mechanical properties of the surface. Essential SBL instruments include: a) LIDAR (Obj. 1); b) 3D, high- resolution hyperspectral imaging cameras (Obj. 2); c) radiation sensor package (Obj. 3); and d) strain gauges (Obj. 4). Additional or alternative instruments could include: e) x-ray fluorescence or laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) sensor package (Obj. 2); f) gamma ray/neutron spectrometry package (Obj. 2); and g) radiometer package (to address variations in thermal environment). The ability to reach, survey, sample, and analyze multiple NEOs at close proximity is an enormous capability that can enable NASA to rapidly achieve the primary Exploration Precursor Robotic Mission (xPRM) Program goal of characterizing NEOs for future human exploration. Instead of launching multiple dedicated missions to each NEO of interest, a multi-NEO sortie mission can be planned and executed to achieve the same mission objectives with one launch, dramatically reducing the cost of NEO exploration. Collectively, our NEO Exploration System Architecture provides solutions for a wide variety of exploration activities using a common spacecraft bus and common core instrumentation for the spacecraft. This engineering consistency will substantially improve the probability of mission success, increase the likelihood of maintaining an aggressive launch schedule, and decrease the total cost of multiple missions. NASA successfully used this approach with the robotic precursors leading up to the Apollo missions, and we see significant benefits from this same programmatic approach for the xPRM program.

Invariance of visual operations at the level of receptive fields

PubMed Central

Lindeberg, Tony

2013-01-01

The brain is able to maintain a stable perception although the visual stimuli vary substantially on the retina due to geometric transformations and lighting variations in the environment. This paper presents a theory for achieving basic invariance properties already at the level of receptive fields. Specifically, the presented framework comprises (i) local scaling transformations caused by objects of different size and at different distances to the observer, (ii) locally linearized image deformations caused by variations in the viewing direction in relation to the object, (iii) locally linearized relative motions between the object and the observer and (iv) local multiplicative intensity transformations caused by illumination variations. The receptive field model can be derived by necessity from symmetry properties of the environment and leads to predictions about receptive field profiles in good agreement with receptive field profiles measured by cell recordings in mammalian vision. Indeed, the receptive field profiles in the retina, LGN and V1 are close to ideal to what is motivated by the idealized requirements. By complementing receptive field measurements with selection mechanisms over the parameters in the receptive field families, it is shown how true invariance of receptive field responses can be obtained under scaling transformations, affine transformations and Galilean transformations. Thereby, the framework provides a mathematically well-founded and biologically plausible model for how basic invariance properties can be achieved already at the level of receptive fields and support invariant recognition of objects and events under variations in viewpoint, retinal size, object motion and illumination. The theory can explain the different shapes of receptive field profiles found in biological vision, which are tuned to different sizes and orientations in the image domain as well as to different image velocities in space-time, from a requirement that the visual system should be invariant to the natural types of image transformations that occur in its environment. PMID:23894283

Simultaneous Calibration: A Joint Optimization Approach for Multiple Kinect and External Cameras.

PubMed

Liao, Yajie; Sun, Ying; Li, Gongfa; Kong, Jianyi; Jiang, Guozhang; Jiang, Du; Cai, Haibin; Ju, Zhaojie; Yu, Hui; Liu, Honghai

2017-06-24

Camera calibration is a crucial problem in many applications, such as 3D reconstruction, structure from motion, object tracking and face alignment. Numerous methods have been proposed to solve the above problem with good performance in the last few decades. However, few methods are targeted at joint calibration of multi-sensors (more than four devices), which normally is a practical issue in the real-time systems. In this paper, we propose a novel method and a corresponding workflow framework to simultaneously calibrate relative poses of a Kinect and three external cameras. By optimizing the final cost function and adding corresponding weights to the external cameras in different locations, an effective joint calibration of multiple devices is constructed. Furthermore, the method is tested in a practical platform, and experiment results show that the proposed joint calibration method can achieve a satisfactory performance in a project real-time system and its accuracy is higher than the manufacturer's calibration.

Simultaneous Calibration: A Joint Optimization Approach for Multiple Kinect and External Cameras

PubMed Central

Liao, Yajie; Sun, Ying; Li, Gongfa; Kong, Jianyi; Jiang, Guozhang; Jiang, Du; Cai, Haibin; Ju, Zhaojie; Yu, Hui; Liu, Honghai

2017-01-01

Camera calibration is a crucial problem in many applications, such as 3D reconstruction, structure from motion, object tracking and face alignment. Numerous methods have been proposed to solve the above problem with good performance in the last few decades. However, few methods are targeted at joint calibration of multi-sensors (more than four devices), which normally is a practical issue in the real-time systems. In this paper, we propose a novel method and a corresponding workflow framework to simultaneously calibrate relative poses of a Kinect and three external cameras. By optimizing the final cost function and adding corresponding weights to the external cameras in different locations, an effective joint calibration of multiple devices is constructed. Furthermore, the method is tested in a practical platform, and experiment results show that the proposed joint calibration method can achieve a satisfactory performance in a project real-time system and its accuracy is higher than the manufacturer’s calibration. PMID:28672823

Design of dual multiple aperture devices for dynamical fluence field modulated CT.

PubMed

Mathews, Aswin John; Tilley, Steven; Gang, Grace; Kawamoto, Satomi; Zbijewski, Wojciech; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H; Levinson, Reuven; Webster Stayman, J

2016-07-01

A Multiple Aperture Device (MAD) is a novel x-ray beam modulator that uses binary filtration on a fine scale to spatially modulate an x-ray beam. Using two MADs in series enables a large variety of fluence profiles by shifting the MADS relative to each other. This work details the design and control of dual MADs for a specific class of desired fluence patterns. Specifically, models of MAD operation are integrated into a best fit objective followed by CMA-ES optimization. To illustrate this framework we demonstrate the design process for an abdominal phantom with the goal of uniform detected signal. Achievable fluence profiles show good agreement with target fluence profiles, and the ability to flatten projections when a phantom is scanned is demonstrated. Simulated data reconstruction using traditional tube current modulation (TCM) and MAD filtering with TCM are investigated with the dual MAD system demonstrating more uniformity in noise and illustrating the potential for dose reduction under a maximum noise level constraint.

Combining multiple features for color texture classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cusano, Claudio; Napoletano, Paolo; Schettini, Raimondo

2016-11-01

The analysis of color and texture has a long history in image analysis and computer vision. These two properties are often considered as independent, even though they are strongly related in images of natural objects and materials. Correlation between color and texture information is especially relevant in the case of variable illumination, a condition that has a crucial impact on the effectiveness of most visual descriptors. We propose an ensemble of hand-crafted image descriptors designed to capture different aspects of color textures. We show that the use of these descriptors in a multiple classifiers framework makes it possible to achieve a very high classification accuracy in classifying texture images acquired under different lighting conditions. A powerful alternative to hand-crafted descriptors is represented by features obtained with deep learning methods. We also show how the proposed combining strategy hand-crafted and convolutional neural networks features can be used together to further improve the classification accuracy. Experimental results on a food database (raw food texture) demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Web-Based Problem-Solving Assignment and Grading System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brereton, Giles; Rosenberg, Ronald

2014-11-01

In engineering courses with very specific learning objectives, such as fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, it is conventional to reinforce concepts and principles with problem-solving assignments and to measure success in problem solving as an indicator of student achievement. While the modern-day ease of copying and searching for online solutions can undermine the value of traditional assignments, web-based technologies also provide opportunities to generate individualized well-posed problems with an infinite number of different combinations of initial/final/boundary conditions, so that the probability of any two students being assigned identical problems in a course is vanishingly small. Such problems can be designed and programmed to be: single or multiple-step, self-grading, allow students single or multiple attempts; provide feedback when incorrect; selectable according to difficulty; incorporated within gaming packages; etc. In this talk, we discuss the use of a homework/exam generating program of this kind in a single-semester course, within a web-based client-server system that ensures secure operation.

Quadrupole ion traps and trap arrays: geometry, material, scale, performance.

PubMed

Ouyang, Z; Gao, L; Fico, M; Chappell, W J; Noll, R J; Cooks, R G

2007-01-01

Quadrupole ion traps are reviewed, emphasizing recent developments, especially the investigation of new geometries, guided by multiple particle simulations such as the ITSIM program. These geometries include linear ion traps (LITs) and the simplified rectilinear ion trap (RIT). Various methods of fabrication are described, including the use of rapid prototyping apparatus (RPA), in which 3D objects are generated through point-by-point laser polymerization. Fabrication in silicon using multilayer semi-conductor fabrication techniques has been used to construct arrays of micro-traps. The performance of instruments containing individual traps as well as arrays of traps of various sizes and geometries is reviewed. Two types of array are differentiated. In the first type, trap arrays constitute fully multiplexed mass spectrometers in which multiple samples are examined using multiple sources, analyzers and detectors, to achieve high throughput analysis. In the second, an array of individual traps acts collectively as a composite trap to increase trapping capacity and performance for a single sample. Much progress has been made in building miniaturized mass spectrometers; a specific example is a 10 kg hand-held tandem mass spectrometer based on the RIT mass analyzer. The performance of this instrument in air and water analysis, using membrane sampling, is described.

Quantitative analysis of multiple fatty acid ethanolamides using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Lin, Lin; Yang, Haifeng; Jones, Peter J H

2012-12-01

Fatty acid ethanolamides (FAE) represent a group of lipid signaling molecules associated with many physiological and pharmacological actions; however, low FAE tissue levels pose challenges in terms of analytical characterization. The objective was to develop a competent ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for analysis of multiple FAE in animal and human tissue samples. Analytes were extracted using lipid-phase and solid-phase extraction procedures. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a gradient elution in 8 min. FAE were quantified by MS/MS in positive electrospray ionization mode. Linearity was shown in lower and higher FAE concentration ranges, with a limit of quantification (LOQ) ≤0.2 ng/ml for FAE including alpha-linolenoylethanolamide (ALEA), arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA), docosahexaenoylethanolamide (DHEA), linoleoylethanolamide (LEA), oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). Accuracy was shown to be between 92.4% and 108.8%, and precision was <10% for all FAE species. In sum, this sensitive and reproducible method can be used to simultaneously determine multiple FAE at low concentrations in order to facilitate further study of the role of FAE on physiological state. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fining of Red Wine Monitored by Multiple Light Scattering.

PubMed

Ferrentino, Giovanna; Ramezani, Mohsen; Morozova, Ksenia; Hafner, Daniela; Pedri, Ulrich; Pixner, Konrad; Scampicchio, Matteo

2017-07-12

This work describes a new approach based on multiple light scattering to study red wine clarification processes. The whole spectral signal (1933 backscattering points along the length of each sample vial) were fitted by a multivariate kinetic model that was built with a three-step mechanism, implying (1) adsorption of wine colloids to fining agents, (2) aggregation into larger particles, and (3) sedimentation. Each step is characterized by a reaction rate constant. According to the first reaction, the results showed that gelatin was the most efficient fining agent, concerning the main objective, which was the clarification of the wine, and consequently the increase in its limpidity. Such a trend was also discussed in relation to the results achieved by nephelometry, total phenols, ζ-potential, color, sensory, and electronic nose analyses. Also, higher concentrations of the fining agent (from 5 to 30 g/100 L) or higher temperatures (from 10 to 20 °C) sped up the process. Finally, the advantage of using the whole spectral signal vs classical univariate approaches was demonstrated by comparing the uncertainty associated with the rate constants of the proposed kinetic model. Overall, multiple light scattering technique showed a great potential for studying fining processes compared to classical univariate approaches.

PFLOTRAN: Reactive Flow & Transport Code for Use on Laptops to Leadership-Class Supercomputers

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

Hammond, Glenn E.; Lichtner, Peter C.; Lu, Chuan

PFLOTRAN, a next-generation reactive flow and transport code for modeling subsurface processes, has been designed from the ground up to run efficiently on machines ranging from leadership-class supercomputers to laptops. Based on an object-oriented design, the code is easily extensible to incorporate additional processes. It can interface seamlessly with Fortran 9X, C and C++ codes. Domain decomposition parallelism is employed, with the PETSc parallel framework used to manage parallel solvers, data structures and communication. Features of the code include a modular input file, implementation of high-performance I/O using parallel HDF5, ability to perform multiple realization simulations with multiple processors permore » realization in a seamless manner, and multiple modes for multiphase flow and multicomponent geochemical transport. Chemical reactions currently implemented in the code include homogeneous aqueous complexing reactions and heterogeneous mineral precipitation/dissolution, ion exchange, surface complexation and a multirate kinetic sorption model. PFLOTRAN has demonstrated petascale performance using 2{sup 17} processor cores with over 2 billion degrees of freedom. Accomplishments achieved to date include applications to the Hanford 300 Area and modeling CO{sub 2} sequestration in deep geologic formations.« less

Multiple access capacity trade-offs for a Ka-band personal access satellite system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dessouky, Khaled; Motamedi, Masoud

1990-01-01

System capability is critical to the economic viability of a personal satellite communication system. Ka band has significant potential to support a high capacity multiple access system because of the availability of bandwidth. System design tradeoffs are performed and multiple access schemes are compared with the design goal of achieving the highest capacity and efficiency. Conclusions regarding the efficiency of the different schemes and the achievable capacities are given.

Systems and Methods for Peak-Seeking Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryan, John J (Inventor); Speyer, Jason L (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A computerized system and method for peak-seeking-control that uses a unique Kalman filter design to optimize a control loop, in real time, to either maximize or minimize a performance function of a physical object ("plant"). The system and method achieves more accurate and efficient peak-seeking-control by using a time-varying Kalman filter to estimate both the performance function gradient (slope) and Hessian (curvature) based on direct position measurements of the plant, and does not rely upon modeling the plant response to persistent excitation. The system and method can be naturally applied in various applications in which plant performance functions have multiple independent parameters, and it does not depend upon frequency separation to distinguish between system dimensions.

Business process modeling in healthcare.

PubMed

Ruiz, Francisco; Garcia, Felix; Calahorra, Luis; Llorente, César; Gonçalves, Luis; Daniel, Christel; Blobel, Bernd

2012-01-01

The importance of the process point of view is not restricted to a specific enterprise sector. In the field of health, as a result of the nature of the service offered, health institutions' processes are also the basis for decision making which is focused on achieving their objective of providing quality medical assistance. In this chapter the application of business process modelling - using the Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) standard is described. Main challenges of business process modelling in healthcare are the definition of healthcare processes, the multi-disciplinary nature of healthcare, the flexibility and variability of the activities involved in health care processes, the need of interoperability between multiple information systems, and the continuous updating of scientific knowledge in healthcare.

Design and Performance of a 1 ms High-Speed Vision Chip with 3D-Stacked 140 GOPS Column-Parallel PEs †.

PubMed

Nose, Atsushi; Yamazaki, Tomohiro; Katayama, Hironobu; Uehara, Shuji; Kobayashi, Masatsugu; Shida, Sayaka; Odahara, Masaki; Takamiya, Kenichi; Matsumoto, Shizunori; Miyashita, Leo; Watanabe, Yoshihiro; Izawa, Takashi; Muramatsu, Yoshinori; Nitta, Yoshikazu; Ishikawa, Masatoshi

2018-04-24

We have developed a high-speed vision chip using 3D stacking technology to address the increasing demand for high-speed vision chips in diverse applications. The chip comprises a 1/3.2-inch, 1.27 Mpixel, 500 fps (0.31 Mpixel, 1000 fps, 2 × 2 binning) vision chip with 3D-stacked column-parallel Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) and 140 Giga Operation per Second (GOPS) programmable Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) column-parallel PEs for new sensing applications. The 3D-stacked structure and column parallel processing architecture achieve high sensitivity, high resolution, and high-accuracy object positioning.

Management of Brain Metastases.

PubMed

Jeyapalan, Suriya A.; Batchelor, Tracy

2004-07-01

Advances in neurosurgery and the development of stereotactic radiosurgery have expanded treatment options available for patients with brain metastases. However, despite several randomized clinical trials and multiple uncontrolled studies, there is not a uniform consensus on the best treatment strategy for all patients with brain metastases. The heterogeneity of this patient population in terms of functional status, types of underlying cancers, status of systemic disease control, and number and location of brain metastases make such consensus difficult. Nevertheless, in certain situations, there is Class I evidence that supports one approach or another. The primary objectives in the management of this patient population include improved duration and quality of survival. Very few patients achieve long-term survival after the diagnosis of a brain metastasis.

AURP: An AUV-Aided Underwater Routing Protocol for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Yoon, Seokhoon; Azad, Abul K.; Oh, Hoon; Kim, Sunghwan

2012-01-01

Deploying a multi-hop underwater acoustic sensor network (UASN) in a large area brings about new challenges in reliable data transmissions and survivability of network due to the limited underwater communication range/bandwidth and the limited energy of underwater sensor nodes. In order to address those challenges and achieve the objectives of maximization of data delivery ratio and minimization of energy consumption of underwater sensor nodes, this paper proposes a new underwater routing scheme, namely AURP (AUV-aided underwater routing protocol), which uses not only heterogeneous acoustic communication channels but also controlled mobility of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). In AURP, the total data transmissions are minimized by using AUVs as relay nodes, which collect sensed data from gateway nodes and then forward to the sink. Moreover, controlled mobility of AUVs makes it possible to apply a short-range high data rate underwater channel for transmissions of a large amount of data. To the best to our knowledge, this work is the first attempt to employ multiple AUVs as relay nodes in a multi-hop UASN to improve the network performance in terms of data delivery ratio and energy consumption. Simulations, which are incorporated with a realistic underwater acoustic communication channel model, are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme, and the results indicate that a high delivery ratio and low energy consumption can be achieved. PMID:22438740

AURP: an AUV-aided underwater routing protocol for underwater acoustic sensor networks.

PubMed

Yoon, Seokhoon; Azad, Abul K; Oh, Hoon; Kim, Sunghwan

2012-01-01

Deploying a multi-hop underwater acoustic sensor network (UASN) in a large area brings about new challenges in reliable data transmissions and survivability of network due to the limited underwater communication range/bandwidth and the limited energy of underwater sensor nodes. In order to address those challenges and achieve the objectives of maximization of data delivery ratio and minimization of energy consumption of underwater sensor nodes, this paper proposes a new underwater routing scheme, namely AURP (AUV-aided underwater routing protocol), which uses not only heterogeneous acoustic communication channels but also controlled mobility of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). In AURP, the total data transmissions are minimized by using AUVs as relay nodes, which collect sensed data from gateway nodes and then forward to the sink. Moreover, controlled mobility of AUVs makes it possible to apply a short-range high data rate underwater channel for transmissions of a large amount of data. To the best to our knowledge, this work is the first attempt to employ multiple AUVs as relay nodes in a multi-hop UASN to improve the network performance in terms of data delivery ratio and energy consumption. Simulations, which are incorporated with a realistic underwater acoustic communication channel model, are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme, and the results indicate that a high delivery ratio and low energy consumption can be achieved.

Multiple Object Tracking Reveals Object-Based Grouping Interference in Children with ASD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van der Hallen, Ruth; Evers, Kris; de-Wit, Lee; Steyaert, Jean; Noens, Ilse; Wagemans, Johan

2018-01-01

The multiple object tracking (MOT) paradigm has proven its value in targeting a number of aspects of visual cognition. This study used MOT to investigate the effect of object-based grouping, both in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A modified MOT task was administered to both groups, who had to track and distinguish four…

Calculation of Pareto-optimal solutions to multiple-objective problems using threshold-of-acceptability constraints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giesy, D. P.

1978-01-01

A technique is presented for the calculation of Pareto-optimal solutions to a multiple-objective constrained optimization problem by solving a series of single-objective problems. Threshold-of-acceptability constraints are placed on the objective functions at each stage to both limit the area of search and to mathematically guarantee convergence to a Pareto optimum.

A PDP model of the simultaneous perception of multiple objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, Cynthia M.; McClelland, James L.

2011-06-01

Illusory conjunctions in normal and simultanagnosic subjects are two instances where the visual features of multiple objects are incorrectly 'bound' together. A connectionist model explores how multiple objects could be perceived correctly in normal subjects given sufficient time, but could give rise to illusory conjunctions with damage or time pressure. In this model, perception of two objects benefits from lateral connections between hidden layers modelling aspects of the ventral and dorsal visual pathways. As with simultanagnosia, simulations of dorsal lesions impair multi-object recognition. In contrast, a large ventral lesion has minimal effect on dorsal functioning, akin to dissociations between simple object manipulation (retained in visual form agnosia and semantic dementia) and object discrimination (impaired in these disorders) [Hodges, J.R., Bozeat, S., Lambon Ralph, M.A., Patterson, K., and Spatt, J. (2000), 'The Role of Conceptual Knowledge: Evidence from Semantic Dementia', Brain, 123, 1913-1925; Milner, A.D., and Goodale, M.A. (2006), The Visual Brain in Action (2nd ed.), New York: Oxford]. It is hoped that the functioning of this model might suggest potential processes underlying dorsal and ventral contributions to the correct perception of multiple objects.

Active space debris charging for contactless electrostatic disposal maneuvers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaub, Hanspeter; Sternovsky, Zoltán

2014-01-01

The remote charging of a passive object using an electron beam enables touchless re-orbiting of large space debris from geosynchronous orbit (GEO) using electrostatic forces. The advantage of this method is that it can operate with a separation distance of multiple craft radii, thus reducing the risk of collision. The charging of the tug-debris system to high potentials is achieved by active charge transfer using a directed electron beam. Optimal potential distributions using isolated- and coupled-sphere models are discussed. A simple charging model takes into account the primary electron beam current, ultra-violet radiation induced photoelectron emission, collection of plasma particles, secondary electron emission and the recapture of emitted particles. The results show that through active charging in a GEO space environment high potentials can be both achieved and maintained with about a 75% transfer efficiency. Further, the maximum electrostatic tractor force is shown to be insensitive to beam current levels. This latter later result is important when considering debris with unknown properties.

Final Technical Report

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

Stoessel, Chris

2013-11-13

This project developed a new high-performance R-10/high SHGC window design, reviewed market positioning and evaluated manufacturing solutions required for broad market adoption. The project objectives were accomplished by: identifying viable technical solutions based on modeling of modern and potential coating stacks and IGU designs; development of new coating material sets for HM thin film stacks, as well as improved HM IGU designs to accept multiple layers of HM films; matching promising new coating designs with new HM IGU designs to demonstrate performance gains; and, in cooperation with a window manufacturer, assess the potential for high-volume manufacturing and cost efficiency ofmore » a HM-based R-10 window with improved solar heat gain characteristics. A broad view of available materials and design options was applied to achieve the desired improvements. Gated engineering methodologies were employed to guide the development process from concept generation to a window demonstration. The project determined that a slightly de-rated window performance allows formulation of a path to achieve the desired cost reductions to support end consumer adoption.« less

High Accuracy Monocular SFM and Scale Correction for Autonomous Driving.

PubMed

Song, Shiyu; Chandraker, Manmohan; Guest, Clark C

2016-04-01

We present a real-time monocular visual odometry system that achieves high accuracy in real-world autonomous driving applications. First, we demonstrate robust monocular SFM that exploits multithreading to handle driving scenes with large motions and rapidly changing imagery. To correct for scale drift, we use known height of the camera from the ground plane. Our second contribution is a novel data-driven mechanism for cue combination that allows highly accurate ground plane estimation by adapting observation covariances of multiple cues, such as sparse feature matching and dense inter-frame stereo, based on their relative confidences inferred from visual data on a per-frame basis. Finally, we demonstrate extensive benchmark performance and comparisons on the challenging KITTI dataset, achieving accuracy comparable to stereo and exceeding prior monocular systems. Our SFM system is optimized to output pose within 50 ms in the worst case, while average case operation is over 30 fps. Our framework also significantly boosts the accuracy of applications like object localization that rely on the ground plane.

Reactive power optimization strategy considering analytical impedance ratio

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Zhongchao; Shen, Weibing; Liu, Jinming; Guo, Maoran; Zhang, Shoulin; Xu, Keqiang; Wang, Wanjun; Sui, Jinlong

2017-05-01

In this paper, considering the traditional reactive power optimization cannot realize the continuous voltage adjustment and voltage stability, a dynamic reactive power optimization strategy is proposed in order to achieve both the minimization of network loss and high voltage stability with wind power. Due to the fact that wind power generation is fluctuant and uncertain, electrical equipments such as transformers and shunt capacitors may be operated frequently in order to achieve minimization of network loss, which affect the lives of these devices. In order to solve this problem, this paper introduces the derivation process of analytical impedance ratio based on Thevenin equivalent. Thus, the multiple objective function is proposed to minimize the network loss and analytical impedance ratio. Finally, taking the improved IEEE 33-bus distribution system as example, the result shows that the movement of voltage control equipment has been reduced and network loss increment is controlled at the same time, which proves the applicable value of this strategy.

Behavioral Modeling of Adversaries with Multiple Objectives in Counterterrorism.

PubMed

Mazicioglu, Dogucan; Merrick, Jason R W

2018-05-01

Attacker/defender models have primarily assumed that each decisionmaker optimizes the cost of the damage inflicted and its economic repercussions from their own perspective. Two streams of recent research have sought to extend such models. One stream suggests that it is more realistic to consider attackers with multiple objectives, but this research has not included the adaption of the terrorist with multiple objectives to defender actions. The other stream builds off experimental studies that show that decisionmakers deviate from optimal rational behavior. In this article, we extend attacker/defender models to incorporate multiple objectives that a terrorist might consider in planning an attack. This includes the tradeoffs that a terrorist might consider and their adaption to defender actions. However, we must also consider experimental evidence of deviations from the rationality assumed in the commonly used expected utility model in determining such adaption. Thus, we model the attacker's behavior using multiattribute prospect theory to account for the attacker's multiple objectives and deviations from rationality. We evaluate our approach by considering an attacker with multiple objectives who wishes to smuggle radioactive material into the United States and a defender who has the option to implement a screening process to hinder the attacker. We discuss the problems with implementing such an approach, but argue that research in this area must continue to avoid misrepresenting terrorist behavior in determining optimal defensive actions. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Behavioural integration of auditory and antennal stimulation during phonotaxis in the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus.

PubMed

Haberkern, Hannah; Hedwig, Berthold

2016-11-15

Animals need to flexibly respond to stimuli from their environment without compromising behavioural consistency. For example, female crickets orienting toward a conspecific male's calling song in search of a mating partner need to stay responsive to other signals that provide information about obstacles and predators. Here, we investigate how spontaneously walking crickets and crickets engaging in acoustically guided goal-directed navigation, i.e. phonotaxis, respond to mechanosensory stimuli detected by their long antennae. We monitored walking behaviour of female crickets on a trackball during lateral antennal stimulation, which was achieved by moving a wire mesh transiently into reach of one antenna. During antennal stimulation alone, females reduced their walking speed, oriented toward the object and actively explored it with antennal movements. Additionally, some crickets initially turned away from the approaching object. Females responded in a similar way when the antennal stimulus was presented during ongoing phonotaxis: forward velocity was reduced and phonotactic steering was suppressed while the females turned toward and explored the object. Further, rapid steering bouts to individual chirps, typical for female phonotaxis, no longer occurred. Our data reveal that in this experimental situation, antennal stimulation overrides phonotaxis for extended time periods. Phonotaxis in natural environments, which require the integration of multiple sensory cues, may therefore be more variable than phonotaxis measured under ideal laboratory conditions. Combining this new behavioural paradigm with neurophysiological methods will show where the sensory-motor integration of antennal and acoustic stimulation occurs and how this is achieved on a mechanistic level. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

The Effect of Multiple Intelligences Strategies on EFL Ninth Graders' Achievement in Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jallad, Nasreen Y.; Bani Abdelrahman, Abdallah A.

2008-01-01

This study aimed at investigating the effect of multiple intelligences strategies comprising logical-mathematical intelligence, verbal-linguistic intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence and interpersonal intelligence on ninth grade students' reading comprehension achievement in an EFL setting. The population of the study consisted of all ninth…

Distributed representation of visual objects by single neurons in the human brain.

PubMed

Valdez, André B; Papesh, Megan H; Treiman, David M; Smith, Kris A; Goldinger, Stephen D; Steinmetz, Peter N

2015-04-01

It remains unclear how single neurons in the human brain represent whole-object visual stimuli. While recordings in both human and nonhuman primates have shown distributed representations of objects (many neurons encoding multiple objects), recordings of single neurons in the human medial temporal lobe, taken as subjects' discriminated objects during multiple presentations, have shown gnostic representations (single neurons encoding one object). Because some studies suggest that repeated viewing may enhance neural selectivity for objects, we had human subjects discriminate objects in a single, more naturalistic viewing session. We found that, across 432 well isolated neurons recorded in the hippocampus and amygdala, the average fraction of objects encoded was 26%. We also found that more neurons encoded several objects versus only one object in the hippocampus (28 vs 18%, p < 0.001) and in the amygdala (30 vs 19%, p < 0.001). Thus, during realistic viewing experiences, typical neurons in the human medial temporal lobe code for a considerable range of objects, across multiple semantic categories. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/355180-07$15.00/0.

Integration at the round table: marine spatial planning in multi-stakeholder settings.

PubMed

Olsen, Erik; Fluharty, David; Hoel, Alf Håkon; Hostens, Kristian; Maes, Frank; Pecceu, Ellen

2014-01-01

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is often considered as a pragmatic approach to implement an ecosystem based management in order to manage marine space in a sustainable way. This requires the involvement of multiple actors and stakeholders at various governmental and societal levels. Several factors affect how well the integrated management of marine waters will be achieved, such as different governance settings (division of power between central and local governments), economic activities (and related priorities), external drivers, spatial scales, incentives and objectives, varying approaches to legislation and political will. We compared MSP in Belgium, Norway and the US to illustrate how the integration of stakeholders and governmental levels differs among these countries along the factors mentioned above. Horizontal integration (between sectors) is successful in all three countries, achieved through the use of neutral 'round-table' meeting places for all actors. Vertical integration between government levels varies, with Belgium and Norway having achieved full integration while the US lacks integration of the legislature due to sharp disagreements among stakeholders and unsuccessful partisan leadership. Success factors include political will and leadership, process transparency and stakeholder participation, and should be considered in all MSP development processes.

Integration at the Round Table: Marine Spatial Planning in Multi-Stakeholder Settings

PubMed Central

Olsen, Erik; Fluharty, David; Hoel, Alf Håkon; Hostens, Kristian; Maes, Frank; Pecceu, Ellen

2014-01-01

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is often considered as a pragmatic approach to implement an ecosystem based management in order to manage marine space in a sustainable way. This requires the involvement of multiple actors and stakeholders at various governmental and societal levels. Several factors affect how well the integrated management of marine waters will be achieved, such as different governance settings (division of power between central and local governments), economic activities (and related priorities), external drivers, spatial scales, incentives and objectives, varying approaches to legislation and political will. We compared MSP in Belgium, Norway and the US to illustrate how the integration of stakeholders and governmental levels differs among these countries along the factors mentioned above. Horizontal integration (between sectors) is successful in all three countries, achieved through the use of neutral ‘round-table’ meeting places for all actors. Vertical integration between government levels varies, with Belgium and Norway having achieved full integration while the US lacks integration of the legislature due to sharp disagreements among stakeholders and unsuccessful partisan leadership. Success factors include political will and leadership, process transparency and stakeholder participation, and should be considered in all MSP development processes. PMID:25299595

Multiple-3D-object secure information system based on phase shifting method and single interference.

PubMed

Li, Wei-Na; Shi, Chen-Xiao; Piao, Mei-Lan; Kim, Nam

2016-05-20

We propose a multiple-3D-object secure information system for encrypting multiple three-dimensional (3D) objects based on the three-step phase shifting method. During the decryption procedure, five phase functions (PFs) are decreased to three PFs, in comparison with our previous method, which implies that one cross beam splitter is utilized to implement the single decryption interference. Moreover, the advantages of the proposed scheme also include: each 3D object can be decrypted discretionarily without decrypting a series of other objects earlier; the quality of the decrypted slice image of each object is high according to the correlation coefficient values, none of which is lower than 0.95; no iterative algorithm is involved. The feasibility of the proposed scheme is demonstrated by computer simulation results.

Phase discriminating capacitive array sensor system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vranish, John M. (Inventor); Rahim, Wadi (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A phase discriminating capacitive sensor array system which provides multiple sensor elements which are maintained at a phase and amplitude based on a frequency reference provided by a single frequency stabilized oscillator. Sensor signals provided by the multiple sensor elements are controlled by multiple phase control units, which correspond to the multiple sensor elements, to adjust the sensor signals from the multiple sensor elements based on the frequency reference. The adjustment made to the sensor signals is indicated by output signals which indicate the proximity of the object. The output signals may also indicate the closing speed of the object based on the rate of change of the adjustment made, and the edges of the object based on a sudden decrease in the adjustment made.

Self-Motion Impairs Multiple-Object Tracking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Laura E.; Seiffert, Adriane E.

2010-01-01

Investigations of multiple-object tracking aim to further our understanding of how people perform common activities such as driving in traffic. However, tracking tasks in the laboratory have overlooked a crucial component of much real-world object tracking: self-motion. We investigated the hypothesis that keeping track of one's own movement…

Evaluation of accelerometer based multi-sensor versus single-sensor activity recognition systems.

PubMed

Gao, Lei; Bourke, A K; Nelson, John

2014-06-01

Physical activity has a positive impact on people's well-being and it had been shown to decrease the occurrence of chronic diseases in the older adult population. To date, a substantial amount of research studies exist, which focus on activity recognition using inertial sensors. Many of these studies adopt a single sensor approach and focus on proposing novel features combined with complex classifiers to improve the overall recognition accuracy. In addition, the implementation of the advanced feature extraction algorithms and the complex classifiers exceed the computing ability of most current wearable sensor platforms. This paper proposes a method to adopt multiple sensors on distributed body locations to overcome this problem. The objective of the proposed system is to achieve higher recognition accuracy with "light-weight" signal processing algorithms, which run on a distributed computing based sensor system comprised of computationally efficient nodes. For analysing and evaluating the multi-sensor system, eight subjects were recruited to perform eight normal scripted activities in different life scenarios, each repeated three times. Thus a total of 192 activities were recorded resulting in 864 separate annotated activity states. The methods for designing such a multi-sensor system required consideration of the following: signal pre-processing algorithms, sampling rate, feature selection and classifier selection. Each has been investigated and the most appropriate approach is selected to achieve a trade-off between recognition accuracy and computing execution time. A comparison of six different systems, which employ single or multiple sensors, is presented. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed multi-sensor system can achieve an overall recognition accuracy of 96.4% by adopting the mean and variance features, using the Decision Tree classifier. The results demonstrate that elaborate classifiers and feature sets are not required to achieve high recognition accuracies on a multi-sensor system. Copyright © 2014 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impediments to the success of management actions for species recovery.

PubMed

Ng, Chooi Fei; Possingham, Hugh P; McAlpine, Clive A; de Villiers, Deidré L; Preece, Harriet J; Rhodes, Jonathan R

2014-01-01

Finding cost-effective management strategies to recover species declining due to multiple threats is challenging, especially when there are limited resources. Recent studies offer insights into how costs and threats can influence the best choice of management actions. However, when implementing management actions in the real-world, a range of impediments to management success often exist that can be driven by social, technological and land-use factors. These impediments may limit the extent to which we can achieve recovery objectives and influence the optimal choice of management actions. Nonetheless, the implications of these impediments are not well understood, especially for recovery planning involving multiple actions. We used decision theory to assess the impact of these types of impediments for allocating resources among recovery actions to mitigate multiple threats. We applied this to a declining koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) population threatened by habitat loss, vehicle collisions, dog attacks and disease. We found that the unwillingness of dog owners to restrain their dogs at night (a social impediment), the effectiveness of wildlife crossings to reduce vehicle collisions (a technological impediment) and the unavailability of areas for restoration (a land-use impediment) significantly reduced the effectiveness of our actions. In the presence of these impediments, achieving successful recovery may be unlikely. Further, these impediments influenced the optimal choice of recovery actions, but the extent to which this was true depended on the target koala population growth rate. Given that species recovery is an important strategy for preserving biodiversity, it is critical that we consider how impediments to the success of recovery actions modify our choice of actions. In some cases, it may also be worth considering whether investing in reducing or removing impediments may be a cost-effective course of action.

Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation with Multiple Electrodes for Medium-Sized Hepatocellular Carcinomas

PubMed Central

Lee, Jung; Yoon, Jung-Hwan; Lee, Jae Young; Kim, Se Hyung; Lee, Jeong Eun; Han, Joon Koo; Choi, Byung Ihn

2012-01-01

Objective To prospectively evaluate the safety and short-term therapeutic efficacy of switching monopolar radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with multiple electrodes to treat medium-sized (3.1-5.0 cm), hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). Materials and Methods In this prospective study, 30 patients with single medium-sized HCCs (mean, 3.5 cm; range, 3.1-4.4 cm) were enrolled. The patients were treated under ultrasonographic guidance by percutaneous switching monopolar RFA with a multichannel RF generator and two or three internally cooled electrodes. Contrast-enhanced CT scans were obtained immediately after RFA, and the diameters and volume of the ablation zones were then measured. Follow-up CT scans were performed at the first month after ablation and every three months thereafter. Technical effectiveness, local progression and remote recurrence of HCCs were determined. Results There were no major immediate or periprocedural complications. However, there was one bile duct stricture during the follow-up period. Technical effectiveness was achieved in 29 of 30 patients (97%). The total ablation time of the procedures was 25.4 ± 8.9 minutes. The mean ablation volume was 73.8 ± 56.4 cm3 and the minimum diameter was 4.1 ± 7.3 cm. During the follow-up period (mean, 12.5 months), local tumor progression occurred in three of 29 patients (10%) with technical effectiveness, while new HCCs were detected in six of 29 patients (21%). Conclusion Switching monopolar RFA with multiple electrodes in order to achieve a sufficient ablation volume is safe and efficient. This method also showed relatively successful therapeutic effectiveness on short-term follow up for the treatment of medium-sized HCCs. PMID:22247634

Development of learning objectives for neurology in a veterinary curriculum: part I: undergraduates.

PubMed

Lin, Yu-Wei; Volk, Holger A; Penderis, Jacques; Tipold, Andrea; Ehlers, Jan P

2015-01-13

With an increasing caseload of veterinary neurology patients in first opinion practice, there is a requirement to establish relevant learning objectives for veterinary neurology encompassing knowledge, skills and attitudes for veterinary undergraduate students in Europe. With help of experts in veterinary neurology from the European College of Veterinary Neurology (ECVN) and the European Society of Veterinary Neurology (ESVN) a survey of veterinary neurologic learning objectives using a modified Delphi method was conducted. The first phase comprised the development of a draft job description and learning objectives by a working group established by the ECVN. In the second phase, a quantitative questionnaire (multiple choice, Likert scale and free text) covering 140 learning objectives and subdivided into 8 categories was sent to 341 ESVN and ECVN members and a return rate of 62% (n = 213/341) was achieved. Of these 140 learning objectives ECVN Diplomates and ESVN members considered 42 (30%) objectives as not necessary for standard clinical veterinary neurology training, 94 (67%) were graded to be learned at a beginner level and 4 (3%) at an advanced level. The following objectives were interpreted as the most important day one skills: interpret laboratory tests, perform a neurological examination and establish a neuroanatomical localization. In this survey the three most important diseases of the central nervous system included epilepsy, intervertebral disc disease and inflammatory diseases. The three most important diseases of the peripheral nervous system included polyradiculoneuritis, myasthenia gravis and toxic neuropathies. The results of this study should help to reform the veterinary curriculum regarding neurology and may reduce the phenomenon of "Neurophobia".

Attentional Signatures of Perception: Multiple Object Tracking Reveals the Automaticity of Contour Interpolation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keane, Brian P.; Mettler, Everett; Tsoi, Vicky; Kellman, Philip J.

2011-01-01

Multiple object tracking (MOT) is an attentional task wherein observers attempt to track multiple targets among moving distractors. Contour interpolation is a perceptual process that fills-in nonvisible edges on the basis of how surrounding edges (inducers) are spatiotemporally related. In five experiments, we explored the automaticity of…

Salient object detection based on multi-scale contrast.

PubMed

Wang, Hai; Dai, Lei; Cai, Yingfeng; Sun, Xiaoqiang; Chen, Long

2018-05-01

Due to the development of deep learning networks, a salient object detection based on deep learning networks, which are used to extract the features, has made a great breakthrough compared to the traditional methods. At present, the salient object detection mainly relies on very deep convolutional network, which is used to extract the features. In deep learning networks, an dramatic increase of network depth may cause more training errors instead. In this paper, we use the residual network to increase network depth and to mitigate the errors caused by depth increase simultaneously. Inspired by image simplification, we use color and texture features to obtain simplified image with multiple scales by means of region assimilation on the basis of super-pixels in order to reduce the complexity of images and to improve the accuracy of salient target detection. We refine the feature on pixel level by the multi-scale feature correction method to avoid the feature error when the image is simplified at the above-mentioned region level. The final full connection layer not only integrates features of multi-scale and multi-level but also works as classifier of salient targets. The experimental results show that proposed model achieves better results than other salient object detection models based on original deep learning networks. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Slow feature analysis: unsupervised learning of invariances.

PubMed

Wiskott, Laurenz; Sejnowski, Terrence J

2002-04-01

Invariant features of temporally varying signals are useful for analysis and classification. Slow feature analysis (SFA) is a new method for learning invariant or slowly varying features from a vectorial input signal. It is based on a nonlinear expansion of the input signal and application of principal component analysis to this expanded signal and its time derivative. It is guaranteed to find the optimal solution within a family of functions directly and can learn to extract a large number of decorrelated features, which are ordered by their degree of invariance. SFA can be applied hierarchically to process high-dimensional input signals and extract complex features. SFA is applied first to complex cell tuning properties based on simple cell output, including disparity and motion. Then more complicated input-output functions are learned by repeated application of SFA. Finally, a hierarchical network of SFA modules is presented as a simple model of the visual system. The same unstructured network can learn translation, size, rotation, contrast, or, to a lesser degree, illumination invariance for one-dimensional objects, depending on only the training stimulus. Surprisingly, only a few training objects suffice to achieve good generalization to new objects. The generated representation is suitable for object recognition. Performance degrades if the network is trained to learn multiple invariances simultaneously.

Training medical students in human rights: a fifteen-year experience in Geneva

PubMed Central

Chastonay, Philippe; Zesiger, Véronique; Ferreira, Jackeline; Mpinga, Emmanuel Kabengele

2012-01-01

Background Training health professionals in the field of human rights has long been advocated by the United Nations. Over the past decade some medical schools have introduced health and human rights courses, yet by far not all. This paper describes the objectives and the content of the Health and Human Rights program developed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva. Methods The health and human rights program was developed through the identification of the course objectives, contents, and educational modalities using consensus techniques, and through a step by step implementation procedure integrating multiple evaluation processes. Results Defined objectives included the familiarization with the concepts, instruments and mechanisms of human rights, the links between health and human rights, and the role of health professionals in promoting human rights. The content ultimately adopted focused on the typology of human rights, their mechanisms of protection, their instruments, as well as social inequalities and vulnerable groups of the population. The implementation proceeded through a step by step approach. Evaluation showed high satisfaction of students, good achievement of learning objectives, and some academic and community impact. Conclusions High interest of students for a human rights course is encouraging. Furthermore, the community projects initiated and implemented by students may contribute to the social responsibility of the academic institution. PMID:26451186

Venous hemostasis postcatheter ablation of atrial fibrillation while under therapeutic levels of oral and intravenous anticoagulation.

PubMed

Issa, Ziad F; Amr, Bashar S

2015-11-01

Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) requires utilizing multiple venous femoral sheaths in conjunction with aggressive periprocedural anticoagulation, which can lead to increased risk of vascular access complications. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the "figure-of-eight" ("F-8") suture technique for femoral venous hemostasis while on therapeutic doses of intravenous anticoagulation at the time of sheath removal. In this case-control analysis, 376 consecutive patients underwent AF ablation while on uninterrupted oral anticoagulation and received intraprocedural heparin. In the first 253 patients (the control group), manual pressure was used for femoral venous hemostasis after reversal of heparin effects. The subsequent 123 patients (the F-8 group) had femoral venous hemostasis using the F-8 suture technique and while under therapeutic heparin effects. The F-8 subcutaneous suture technique achieved adequate venous hemostasis in 98.4% of patients. As compared to the control group, there was significantly less frequent utilization of the FemoStop compression assist device (1.2 vs. 16.8%, p < 0.0001) and in a significantly shorter interval (6.8 ± 5.7 vs. 50.7 ± 12.2 min, p < 0.0001). Vascular access complications and thromboembolic events occurred in 9.8% in the F-8 group vs. 13.0% in the control group (p = 0.678). Immediate hemostasis of the femoral venous access sites after insertion of multiple sheaths for AF ablation in the presence of anticoagulation can be safely and effectively achieved using the F-8 suture technique. This technique helps minimize the period of inadequate anticoagulation immediately following ablation and shortens the time required to achieve adequate hemostasis.

Neuropsychological status at seizure onset in children

PubMed Central

Fastenau, P S.; Johnson, C S.; Perkins, S M.; Byars, A W.; deGrauw, T J.; Austin, J K.; Dunn, D W.

2009-01-01

Objective: This large, prospective, community-based study characterized neuropsychological functioning and academic achievement at the time of the first recognized seizure and identified risk factors for cognitive deficits. Methods: We compared 282 children (ages 6–14 years, IQ ≥70) with a first recognized seizure to 147 healthy siblings on a battery of well-standardized and widely used neuropsychological and academic achievement tests and examined relationships with demographic and clinical variables. Results: In this intellectually normal cohort, 27% with just one seizure and up to 40% of those with risk factors exhibited neuropsychological deficits at or near onset. Risk factors associated with neuropsychological deficits included multiple seizures (i.e., second unprovoked seizure; odds ratio [OR] = 1.96), use of antiepileptic drugs (OR = 2.27), symptomatic/cryptogenic etiology (OR = 2.15), and epileptiform activity on the initial EEG (OR = 1.90); a child with all 4 risks is 3.00 times more likely than healthy siblings to experience neuropsychological deficits by the first clinic visit. Absence epilepsy carried increased odds for neuropsychological impairment (OR = 2.00). Conclusions: A subgroup of intellectually normal children with seizures showed neuropsychological deficits at onset. Academic achievement was unaffected, suggesting that there is a window early in the disorder for intervention to ameliorate the impact on school performance. Therefore, the risk factors identified here (especially if multiple risks are present) warrant swift referral for neuropsychological evaluation early in the course of the condition. GLOSSARY AED = antiepileptic drug; ANOVA = analysis of variance; CELF = Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals; CI = confidence interval; CTOPP = Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing; OR = odds ratio; PURS = prior unrecognized seizure; WCST = Wisconsin Card Sorting Test; WRAML = Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning. PMID:19675309

Multiple Objects Fusion Tracker Using a Matching Network for Adaptively Represented Instance Pairs

PubMed Central

Oh, Sang-Il; Kang, Hang-Bong

2017-01-01

Multiple-object tracking is affected by various sources of distortion, such as occlusion, illumination variations and motion changes. Overcoming these distortions by tracking on RGB frames, such as shifting, has limitations because of material distortions caused by RGB frames. To overcome these distortions, we propose a multiple-object fusion tracker (MOFT), which uses a combination of 3D point clouds and corresponding RGB frames. The MOFT uses a matching function initialized on large-scale external sequences to determine which candidates in the current frame match with the target object in the previous frame. After conducting tracking on a few frames, the initialized matching function is fine-tuned according to the appearance models of target objects. The fine-tuning process of the matching function is constructed as a structured form with diverse matching function branches. In general multiple object tracking situations, scale variations for a scene occur depending on the distance between the target objects and the sensors. If the target objects in various scales are equally represented with the same strategy, information losses will occur for any representation of the target objects. In this paper, the output map of the convolutional layer obtained from a pre-trained convolutional neural network is used to adaptively represent instances without information loss. In addition, MOFT fuses the tracking results obtained from each modality at the decision level to compensate the tracking failures of each modality using basic belief assignment, rather than fusing modalities by selectively using the features of each modality. Experimental results indicate that the proposed tracker provides state-of-the-art performance considering multiple objects tracking (MOT) and KITTIbenchmarks. PMID:28420194

Low- and High-Achieving Sixth-Grade Students' Access to Participation during Mathematics Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lack, Brian; Swars, Susan Lee; Meyers, Barbara

2014-01-01

A descriptive, holistic, multiple-case methodology was applied to examine the nature of participation in discourse of two low- and two high-achieving grade 6 students while solving mathematical tasks in a standards-based classroom. Data collected via classroom observations and student interviews were analyzed through a multiple-cycle coding…

The Effects of Multiple Intelligence Teaching Strategies on Achievement in Reading and Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harriman, Vanessa

2010-01-01

Today's educators must use research-based teaching strategies that increase achievement levels of students. Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences is scientifically-based. The current model suggests eight different areas in which a person can demonstrate intelligence. This study compared reading and math assessments score of elementary…

Update On The Development, Testing, And Manufacture Of High Density LEU-Foil Targets For The Production Of Mo-99

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

Creasy, John T

2015-05-12

This project has the objective to reduce and/or eliminate the use of HEU in commerce. Steps in the process include developing a target testing methodology that is bounding for all Mo-99 target irradiators, establishing a maximum target LEU-foil mass, developing a LEU-foil target qualification document, developing a bounding target failure analysis methodology (failure in reactor containment), optimizing safety vs. economics (goal is to manufacture a safe, but relatively inexpensive target to offset the inherent economic disadvantage of using LEU in place of HEU), and developing target material specifications and manufacturing QC test criteria. The slide presentation is organized under themore » following topics: Objective, Process Overview, Background, Team Structure, Key Achievements, Experiment and Activity Descriptions, and Conclusions. The High Density Target project has demonstrated: approx. 50 targets irradiated through domestic and international partners; proof of concept for two front end processing methods; fabrication of uranium foils for target manufacture; quality control procedures and steps for manufacture; multiple target assembly techniques; multiple target disassembly devices; welding of targets; thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical modeling; robust target assembly parametric studies; and target qualification analysis for insertion into very high flux environment. The High Density Target project has tested and proven several technologies that will benefit current and future Mo-99 producers.« less

Searching Across the International Space Station Databases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maluf, David A.; McDermott, William J.; Smith, Ernest E.; Bell, David G.; Gurram, Mohana

2007-01-01

Data access in the enterprise generally requires us to combine data from different sources and different formats. It is advantageous thus to focus on the intersection of the knowledge across sources and domains; keeping irrelevant knowledge around only serves to make the integration more unwieldy and more complicated than necessary. A context search over multiple domain is proposed in this paper to use context sensitive queries to support disciplined manipulation of domain knowledge resources. The objective of a context search is to provide the capability for interrogating many domain knowledge resources, which are largely semantically disjoint. The search supports formally the tasks of selecting, combining, extending, specializing, and modifying components from a diverse set of domains. This paper demonstrates a new paradigm in composition of information for enterprise applications. In particular, it discusses an approach to achieving data integration across multiple sources, in a manner that does not require heavy investment in database and middleware maintenance. This lean approach to integration leads to cost-effectiveness and scalability of data integration with an underlying schemaless object-relational database management system. This highly scalable, information on demand system framework, called NX-Search, which is an implementation of an information system built on NETMARK. NETMARK is a flexible, high-throughput open database integration framework for managing, storing, and searching unstructured or semi-structured arbitrary XML and HTML used widely at the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) and industry.

High-quality slab-based intermixing method for fusion rendering of multiple medical objects.

PubMed

Kim, Dong-Joon; Kim, Bohyoung; Lee, Jeongjin; Shin, Juneseuk; Kim, Kyoung Won; Shin, Yeong-Gil

2016-01-01

The visualization of multiple 3D objects has been increasingly required for recent applications in medical fields. Due to the heterogeneity in data representation or data configuration, it is difficult to efficiently render multiple medical objects in high quality. In this paper, we present a novel intermixing scheme for fusion rendering of multiple medical objects while preserving the real-time performance. First, we present an in-slab visibility interpolation method for the representation of subdivided slabs. Second, we introduce virtual zSlab, which extends an infinitely thin boundary (such as polygonal objects) into a slab with a finite thickness. Finally, based on virtual zSlab and in-slab visibility interpolation, we propose a slab-based visibility intermixing method with the newly proposed rendering pipeline. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method delivers more effective multiple-object renderings in terms of rendering quality, compared to conventional approaches. And proposed intermixing scheme provides high-quality intermixing results for the visualization of intersecting and overlapping surfaces by resolving aliasing and z-fighting problems. Moreover, two case studies are presented that apply the proposed method to the real clinical applications. These case studies manifest that the proposed method has the outstanding advantages of the rendering independency and reusability. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A submerged singularity method for calculating potential flow velocities at arbitrary near-field points

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maskew, B.

1976-01-01

A discrete singularity method has been developed for calculating the potential flow around two-dimensional airfoils. The objective was to calculate velocities at any arbitrary point in the flow field, including points that approach the airfoil surface. That objective was achieved and is demonstrated here on a Joukowski airfoil. The method used combined vortices and sources ''submerged'' a small distance below the airfoil surface and incorporated a near-field subvortex technique developed earlier. When a velocity calculation point approached the airfoil surface, the number of discrete singularities effectively increased (but only locally) to keep the point just outside the error region of the submerged singularity discretization. The method could be extended to three dimensions, and should improve nonlinear methods, which calculate interference effects between multiple wings, and which include the effects of force-free trailing vortex sheets. The capability demonstrated here would extend the scope of such calculations to allow the close approach of wings and vortex sheets (or vortices).

Study on dynamic multi-objective approach considering coal and water conflict in large scale coal group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Qing; Lu, Li

2018-01-01

In the process of coal mining, destruction and pollution of groundwater in has reached an imminent time, and groundwater is not only related to the ecological environment, but also affect the health of human life. Similarly, coal and water conflict is still one of the world's problems in large scale coal mining regions. Based on this, this paper presents a dynamic multi-objective optimization model to deal with the conflict of the coal and water in the coal group with multiple subordinate collieries and arrive at a comprehensive arrangement to achieve environmentally friendly coal mining strategy. Through calculation, this paper draws the output of each subordinate coal mine. And on this basis, we continue to adjust the environmental protection parameters to compare the coal production at different collieries at different stages under different attitude of the government. At last, the paper conclude that, in either case, it is the first arrangement to give priority to the production of low-drainage, high-yield coal mines.

Space shuttle main engine: Interactive design challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccarty, J. P.; Wood, B. K.

1985-01-01

The operating requirements established by NASA for the SSME were considerably more demanding than those for earlier rocket engines used in the military launch vehicles or Apollo program. The SSME, in order to achieve the high performance, low weight, long life, reusable objectives, embodied technical demands far in excess of its predecessor rocket engines. The requirements dictated the use of high combustion pressure and the staged combustion cycle which maximizes performance through total use of all propellants in the main combustion process. This approach presented a myriad of technical challenges for maximization of performance within attainable state of the art capabilities for operating pressures, operating temperatures and rotating machinery efficiencies. Controlling uniformity of the high pressure turbomachinery turbine temperature environment was a key challenge for thrust level and life capability demanding innovative engineering. New approaches in the design of the components were necessary to accommodate the multiple use, minimum maintenance objectives. Included were the use of line replaceable units to facilitate field maintenance automatic checkout and internal inspection capabilities.

Communicating with sentences: A multi-word naming game model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lou, Yang; Chen, Guanrong; Hu, Jianwei

2018-01-01

Naming game simulates the process of naming an object by a single word, in which a population of communicating agents can reach global consensus asymptotically through iteratively pair-wise conversations. We propose an extension of the single-word model to a multi-word naming game (MWNG), simulating the case of describing a complex object by a sentence (multiple words). Words are defined in categories, and then organized as sentences by combining them from different categories. We refer to a formatted combination of several words as a pattern. In such an MWNG, through a pair-wise conversation, it requires the hearer to achieve consensus with the speaker with respect to both every single word in the sentence as well as the sentence pattern, so as to guarantee the correct meaning of the saying; otherwise, they fail reaching consensus in the interaction. We validate the model in three typical topologies as the underlying communication network, and employ both conventional and man-designed patterns in performing the MWNG.

[Systemic learning planification for medical students during oncology clinical rotation].

PubMed

Gonçalves, Anthony; Viens, Patrice; Gilabert, Marine; Turrini, Olivier; Lambaudie, Eric; Prebet, Thomas; Farnault, Bertrand; Eisinger, François; Gorincour, Guillaume; Bertucci, François

2011-12-01

The expected increase in cancer incidence emphasizes the need for specific training in this area, including either family physician or specialized oncologists. In France, the fourth to sixth years of medical teaching include both theoretical classes at the university and daily actual practice at the hospital. Thus, clinical rotations are thought to play a major role in the training of medical students and also largely participate to the choice of the student of his/her final specialty. Pedagogic quality of these rotations is dependent on multiple parameters, including a rigorous planification of the expected learning. Here, we reported a systemic planification of learning activities for medical students during an oncology rotation at the Paoli-Calmettes Institute in Marseille, France, a regional comprehensive cancer center. This planification includes an evaluation of learning requirements, definition of learning objectives, selection of learning methods and choice of methods of assessment of the students' achievement of these objectives as well as the learning activity itself.

Distributed intelligent control and management (DICAM) applications and support for semi-automated development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayes-Roth, Frederick; Erman, Lee D.; Terry, Allan; Hayes-Roth, Barbara

1992-01-01

We have recently begun a 4-year effort to develop a new technology foundation and associated methodology for the rapid development of high-performance intelligent controllers. Our objective in this work is to enable system developers to create effective real-time systems for control of multiple, coordinated entities in much less time than is currently required. Our technical strategy for achieving this objective is like that in other domain-specific software efforts: analyze the domain and task underlying effective performance, construct parametric or model-based generic components and overall solutions to the task, and provide excellent means for specifying, selecting, tailoring or automatically generating the solution elements particularly appropriate for the problem at hand. In this paper, we first present our specific domain focus, briefly describe the methodology and environment we are developing to provide a more regular approach to software development, and then later describe the issues this raises for the research community and this specific workshop.

Axial movement of the dual-optic accommodating intraocular lens for the correction of the presbyopia: optical performance and clinical outcomes.

PubMed

Tomás-Juan, Javier; Murueta-Goyena Larrañaga, Ane

2015-01-01

Presbyopia occurs in the aging eye due to changes in the ciliary muscle, zonular fibers, crystalline lens, and an increased lens sclerosis. As a consequence, the capacity of accommodation decreases, which hampers to focus near objects. With the aim of restoring near vision, different devices that produce multiple focuses have been developed and introduced. However, these devices are still unable to restore accommodation. In order to achieve that goal, dual-optic accommodating Intraocular Lenses have been designed, whose anterior optic displaces axially to increase ocular power, and focus near objects. Although dual-optic accommodating IOLs are relatively new, their outcomes are promising, as they provide large amplitudes of accommodation and a greater IOL displacement than single-optic accommodating IOLs. The outcomes show comfortable near vision, higher patients' satisfaction rates, and minimal postoperative complications like Posterior Capsular Opacification and Anterior Capsular Opacification, due to their design and material. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Espana.

Multi-Objective Control Optimization for Greenhouse Environment Using Evolutionary Algorithms

PubMed Central

Hu, Haigen; Xu, Lihong; Wei, Ruihua; Zhu, Bingkun

2011-01-01

This paper investigates the issue of tuning the Proportional Integral and Derivative (PID) controller parameters for a greenhouse climate control system using an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) based on multiple performance measures such as good static-dynamic performance specifications and the smooth process of control. A model of nonlinear thermodynamic laws between numerous system variables affecting the greenhouse climate is formulated. The proposed tuning scheme is tested for greenhouse climate control by minimizing the integrated time square error (ITSE) and the control increment or rate in a simulation experiment. The results show that by tuning the gain parameters the controllers can achieve good control performance through step responses such as small overshoot, fast settling time, and less rise time and steady state error. Besides, it can be applied to tuning the system with different properties, such as strong interactions among variables, nonlinearities and conflicting performance criteria. The results implicate that it is a quite effective and promising tuning method using multi-objective optimization algorithms in the complex greenhouse production. PMID:22163927

Single-trial laser-evoked potentials feature extraction for prediction of pain perception.

PubMed

Huang, Gan; Xiao, Ping; Hu, Li; Hung, Yeung Sam; Zhang, Zhiguo

2013-01-01

Pain is a highly subjective experience, and the availability of an objective assessment of pain perception would be of great importance for both basic and clinical applications. The objective of the present study is to develop a novel approach to extract pain-related features from single-trial laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) for classification of pain perception. The single-trial LEP feature extraction approach combines a spatial filtering using common spatial pattern (CSP) and a multiple linear regression (MLR). The CSP method is effective in separating laser-evoked EEG response from ongoing EEG activity, while MLR is capable of automatically estimating the amplitudes and latencies of N2 and P2 from single-trial LEP waveforms. The extracted single-trial LEP features are used in a Naïve Bayes classifier to classify different levels of pain perceived by the subjects. The experimental results show that the proposed single-trial LEP feature extraction approach can effectively extract pain-related LEP features for achieving high classification accuracy.

Surgical Management of Carney Complex–Associated Pituitary Pathology

PubMed Central

Mehta, Gautam U.; Kindzelski, Bogdan A.; Ray-Chaudhury, Abhik; Vortmeyer, Alexander O.; Dickerman, Robert; Oldfield, Edward H.

2017-01-01

Abstract BACKGROUND: Carney complex (CNC) is a familial neoplasia syndrome that is associated with pituitary-associated hypersecretion of growth hormone (GH) (acromegaly). The underlying cause of pituitary GH hypersecretion and its management have been incompletely defined. OBJECTIVE: To provide biological insight into CNC-associated pituitary pathology and improve management, we analyzed findings in CNC patients who underwent transsphenoidal surgery. METHODS: Consecutive CNC patients at the National Institutes of Health with acromegaly and imaging evidence of a pituitary adenoma(s) who underwent transsphenoidal resection of tumor(s) were included. Prospectively acquired magnetic resonance imaging and biochemical, surgical, and histological data were analyzed. RESULTS: Seven acromegalic CNC patients (2 male, 5 female) were included. The mean age at surgery was 29.7 years (range, 18-44 years). The mean follow-up was 4.7 years (range, 0.2-129 months). Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a single pituitary adenoma in 4 patients and multiple pituitary adenomas in 3 patients. Whereas patients with single discrete pituitary adenomas underwent selective adenomectomy, patients with multiple adenomas underwent selective adenomectomy of multiple tumors, as well as partial or total hypophysectomy. All adenomas were either GH and prolactin positive or exclusively prolactin positive. Pituitary tissue surrounding the adenomas in patients with multiple adenomas revealed hyperplastic GH- and prolactin-positive tissue. CONCLUSION: CNC-associated acromegaly results from variable pituitary pathology, including a single GH-secreting adenoma or multiple GH-secreting adenomas and/or GH hypersecretion of the pituitary gland surrounding multiple adenomas. Although selective adenomectomy is the preferred treatment for cases of GH-secreting adenomas, multiple adenomas with associated pituitary gland GH hypersecretion may require partial or complete hypophysectomy to achieve biochemical remission. PMID:27509071

An Appraisal of Some Energy Films.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dowling, John

1979-01-01

Discusses problems of achieving balance and objectivity in dealing with the energy crisis, and describes ten instructional films that might be useful in achieving objective, unbiased instruction. (CMV)

Thinking in Terms of Sensors: Personification of Self as an Object in Physics Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabor-Morris, A. E.

2015-01-01

How can physics teachers help students develop consistent problem solving techniques for both simple and complicated physics problems, such as those that encompass objects undergoing multiple forces (mechanical or electrical) as individually portrayed in free-body diagrams and/or phenomenon involving multiple objects, such as Doppler effect…

Multiple Object Retrieval in Image Databases Using Hierarchical Segmentation Tree

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Wei-Bang

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research is to develop a new visual information analysis, representation, and retrieval framework for automatic discovery of salient objects of user's interest in large-scale image databases. In particular, this dissertation describes a content-based image retrieval framework which supports multiple-object retrieval. The…

Heterocyclic Salt Synthesis and Rational Properties Tailoring (PREPRINT)

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-23

performance behavior can be tailored in a controlled manner, defines the objective of a pertinent synthesis effort. Achieving this objective by...the structure of the anion. To illustrate this premise, four general synthesis methods to synthesize heterocyclic salts, including several new binary...manner, defines the objective of a pertinent synthesis effort. Achieving this objective by introducing structural alterations in a neutral covalent

Logarithmic r-θ mapping for hybrid optical neural network filter for multiple objects recognition within cluttered scenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kypraios, Ioannis; Young, Rupert C. D.; Chatwin, Chris R.; Birch, Phil M.

2009-04-01

θThe window unit in the design of the complex logarithmic r-θ mapping for hybrid optical neural network filter can allow multiple objects of the same class to be detected within the input image. Additionally, the architecture of the neural network unit of the complex logarithmic r-θ mapping for hybrid optical neural network filter becomes attractive for accommodating the recognition of multiple objects of different classes within the input image by modifying the output layer of the unit. We test the overall filter for multiple objects of the same and of different classes' recognition within cluttered input images and video sequences of cluttered scenes. Logarithmic r-θ mapping for hybrid optical neural network filter is shown to exhibit with a single pass over the input data simultaneously in-plane rotation, out-of-plane rotation, scale, log r-θ map translation and shift invariance, and good clutter tolerance by recognizing correctly the different objects within the cluttered scenes. We record in our results additional extracted information from the cluttered scenes about the objects' relative position, scale and in-plane rotation.

Symmetric caging formation for convex polygonal object transportation by multiple mobile robots based on fuzzy sliding mode control.

PubMed

Dai, Yanyan; Kim, YoonGu; Wee, SungGil; Lee, DongHa; Lee, SukGyu

2016-01-01

In this paper, the problem of object caging and transporting is considered for multiple mobile robots. With the consideration of minimizing the number of robots and decreasing the rotation of the object, the proper points are calculated and assigned to the multiple mobile robots to allow them to form a symmetric caging formation. The caging formation guarantees that all of the Euclidean distances between any two adjacent robots are smaller than the minimal width of the polygonal object so that the object cannot escape. In order to avoid collision among robots, the parameter of the robots radius is utilized to design the caging formation, and the A⁎ algorithm is used so that mobile robots can move to the proper points. In order to avoid obstacles, the robots and the object are regarded as a rigid body to apply artificial potential field method. The fuzzy sliding mode control method is applied for tracking control of the nonholonomic mobile robots. Finally, the simulation and experimental results show that multiple mobile robots are able to cage and transport the polygonal object to the goal position, avoiding obstacles. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Instructional Objectives, Learner Personality and Prediction of Academic Achievement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley, Russell Victor, Jr.

This study investigated three questions: the relationship between the use of stated instructional objectives and achievement in audio-tutorial (A-T) instruction, the relationship of learner personality and achievement under conditions of A-T, as well as determining the power of selected batteries of intellective and personality variables to…

Upward Bound. Program Objectives, Summer 1971.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wesleyan Univ., Middletown, CT.

The primary program objectives were as follows: (1) The students will achieve passing grade in the college preparation program; (2) The students will achieve one year academic growth each year as measured by the SCAT and other standardized measurements; (3) The students will achieve the minimum PSAT percentile rank as anticipated for college…

50% duty cycle may be inappropriate to achieve a sufficient chest compression depth when cardiopulmonary resuscitation is performed by female or light rescuers

PubMed Central

Lee, Chang Jae; Chung, Tae Nyoung; Bae, Jinkun; Kim, Eui Chung; Choi, Sung Wook; Kim, Ok Jun

2015-01-01

Objective Current guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation recommend chest compressions (CC) during 50% of the duty cycle (DC) in part because of the ease with which individuals may learn to achieve it with practice. However, no consideration has been given to a possible interaction between DC and depth of CC, which has been the subject of recent study. Our aim was to determine if 50% DC is inappropriate to achieve sufficient chest compression depth for female and light rescuers. Methods Previously collected CC data, performed by senior medical students guided by metronome sounds with various down-stroke patterns and rates, were included in the analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the association between average compression depth (ACD) with average compression rate (ACR), DC, and physical characteristics of the performers. Expected ACD was calculated for various settings. Results DC, ACR, body weight, male sex, and self-assessed physical strength were significantly associated with ACD in multivariate analysis. Based on our calculations, with 50% of DC, only men with ACR of 140/min or faster or body weight over 74 kg with ACR of 120/min can achieve sufficient ACD. Conclusion A shorter DC is independently correlated with deeper CC during simulated cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The optimal DC recommended in current guidelines may be inappropriate for achieving sufficient CD, especially for female or lighter-weight rescuers. PMID:27752567

Worst-Case Energy Efficiency Maximization in a 5G Massive MIMO-NOMA System.

PubMed

Chinnadurai, Sunil; Selvaprabhu, Poongundran; Jeong, Yongchae; Jiang, Xueqin; Lee, Moon Ho

2017-09-18

In this paper, we examine the robust beamforming design to tackle the energy efficiency (EE) maximization problem in a 5G massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)-non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) downlink system with imperfect channel state information (CSI) at the base station. A novel joint user pairing and dynamic power allocation (JUPDPA) algorithm is proposed to minimize the inter user interference and also to enhance the fairness between the users. This work assumes imperfect CSI by adding uncertainties to channel matrices with worst-case model, i.e., ellipsoidal uncertainty model (EUM). A fractional non-convex optimization problem is formulated to maximize the EE subject to the transmit power constraints and the minimum rate requirement for the cell edge user. The designed problem is difficult to solve due to its nonlinear fractional objective function. We firstly employ the properties of fractional programming to transform the non-convex problem into its equivalent parametric form. Then, an efficient iterative algorithm is proposed established on the constrained concave-convex procedure (CCCP) that solves and achieves convergence to a stationary point of the above problem. Finally, Dinkelbach's algorithm is employed to determine the maximum energy efficiency. Comprehensive numerical results illustrate that the proposed scheme attains higher worst-case energy efficiency as compared with the existing NOMA schemes and the conventional orthogonal multiple access (OMA) scheme.

Worst-Case Energy Efficiency Maximization in a 5G Massive MIMO-NOMA System

PubMed Central

Jeong, Yongchae; Jiang, Xueqin; Lee, Moon Ho

2017-01-01

In this paper, we examine the robust beamforming design to tackle the energy efficiency (EE) maximization problem in a 5G massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)-non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) downlink system with imperfect channel state information (CSI) at the base station. A novel joint user pairing and dynamic power allocation (JUPDPA) algorithm is proposed to minimize the inter user interference and also to enhance the fairness between the users. This work assumes imperfect CSI by adding uncertainties to channel matrices with worst-case model, i.e., ellipsoidal uncertainty model (EUM). A fractional non-convex optimization problem is formulated to maximize the EE subject to the transmit power constraints and the minimum rate requirement for the cell edge user. The designed problem is difficult to solve due to its nonlinear fractional objective function. We firstly employ the properties of fractional programming to transform the non-convex problem into its equivalent parametric form. Then, an efficient iterative algorithm is proposed established on the constrained concave-convex procedure (CCCP) that solves and achieves convergence to a stationary point of the above problem. Finally, Dinkelbach’s algorithm is employed to determine the maximum energy efficiency. Comprehensive numerical results illustrate that the proposed scheme attains higher worst-case energy efficiency as compared with the existing NOMA schemes and the conventional orthogonal multiple access (OMA) scheme. PMID:28927019

The Business Policy Course: Multiple Methods for Multiple Goals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Anisya S.

1998-01-01

Outlines the objectives of a capstone business policy and strategy course; the use of case analysis, article critiques, storytelling, and computer simulation; and contextual factors in matching objectives and methods. (SK)

Electromagnetic fasteners

DOEpatents

Crane, Randolph W.; Marts, Donna J.

1994-11-01

An electromagnetic fastener for manipulating objects in space uses the matic attraction of various metals. An end effector is attached to a robotic manipulating system having an electromagnet such that when current is supplied to the electromagnet, the object is drawn and affixed to the end effector, and when the current is withheld, the object is released. The object to be manipulated includes a multiplicity of ferromagnetic patches at various locations to provide multiple areas for the effector on the manipulator to become affixed to the object. The ferromagnetic patches are sized relative to the object's geometry and mass.

Electromagnetic fasteners

DOEpatents

Crane, Randolph W.; Marts, Donna J.

1994-01-01

An electromagnetic fastener for manipulating objects in space uses the matic attraction of various metals. An end effector is attached to a robotic manipulating system having an electromagnet such that when current is supplied to the electromagnet, the object is drawn and affixed to the end effector, and when the current is withheld, the object is released. The object to be manipulated includes a multiplicity of ferromagnetic patches at various locations to provide multiple areas for the effector on the manipulator to become affixed to the object. The ferromagnetic patches are sized relative to the object's geometry and mass.

Spectrally resolved chromatic confocal interferometry for one-shot nano-scale surface profilometry with several tens of micrometric depth range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Liang-Chia; Chen, Yi-Shiuan; Chang, Yi-Wei; Lin, Shyh-Tsong; Yeh, Sheng Lih

2013-01-01

In this research, new nano-scale measurement methodology based on spectrally-resolved chromatic confocal interferometry (SRCCI) was successfully developed by employing integration of chromatic confocal sectioning and spectrally-resolve white light interferometry (SRWLI) for microscopic three dimensional surface profilometry. The proposed chromatic confocal method (CCM) using a broad band while light in combination with a specially designed chromatic dispersion objective is capable of simultaneously acquiring multiple images at a large range of object depths to perform surface 3-D reconstruction by single image shot without vertical scanning and correspondingly achieving a high measurement depth range up to hundreds of micrometers. A Linnik-type interferometric configuration based on spectrally resolved white light interferometry is developed and integrated with the CCM to simultaneously achieve nanoscale axis resolution for the detection point. The white-light interferograms acquired at the exit plane of the spectrometer possess a continuous variation of wavelength along the chromaticity axis, in which the light intensity reaches to its peak when the optical path difference equals to zero between two optical arms. To examine the measurement accuracy of the developed system, a pre-calibrated accurate step height target with a total step height of 10.10 μm was measured. The experimental result shows that the maximum measurement error was verified to be less than 0.3% of the overall measuring height.

[Improvement and process optimization transfusion in Morocco: proposal of a new organization].

PubMed

Bennis, I; Janah, S; Benajiba, M

2013-03-01

Propose a new organization for the Moroccan blood transfusion system. Through an analysis of several aspects of the current organization, both qualitatively and quantitatively (Statistics 2011), it was found that several failures of the current system prevent them from achieving it's objectives and ensuring its responsibilities. Using multiple-criteria decision analysis (ELECTRE III), a new organization based on resources pooling is proposed. This new organization concerns the status of the National Blood Transfusion Center, donor management, the geographical location of the various regional centers, logistics, inventory management and the information system. Within the new organization proposed, the number of regional Centers for blood transfusion is reduced from 16 to 7 in accordance with the existing constraints, while redefining the roles of each site. The aspects of inventory management, the information system, increasing the number of donors, the policy communication and marketing and cycle of blood collection and distribution are also redefined. This proposed new organization will provide decision makers with the necessary assistance for decision making, whit respect to the improvement of the entire system Moroccan blood transfusion system. And so help achieving the desired objectives on ensuring blood availability and it' maximum safety. The simulation of this proposal should confirm the choice that was made. Further analysis of complementary aspects such as the financial aspect or human resources, would moreover contribute to refining this proposal. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Esthetic evaluation of single-tooth implants in the anterior maxilla following autologous bone augmentation.

PubMed

Hof, M; Pommer, B; Strbac, G D; Sütö, D; Watzek, G; Zechner, W

2013-08-01

Autologous bone augmentation to rebuild compromised alveolar ridge contour prior to implant placement allows for favorable three-dimensional implant positioning to achieve optimum implant esthetics. The aim of the present study was to evaluate peri-implant soft tissue conditions around single-tooth implants following bone grafts in the esthetic zone of the maxilla. Sixty patients underwent autologous bone augmentation of deficient maxillary sites prior to placement of 85 implants in the esthetic zone. In case of multiple implants per patient, one implant was randomly selected. Objective evaluation of 60 single-tooth implants was performed using the Pink-Esthetic-Score (PES) and Papilla Index (PI) and supplemented by subjective patient evaluation, as well as clinical and radiologic examination. Objective ratings of implant esthetics were satisfactory (median PES: 11, median PI: 2) and significantly correlated with high patient satisfaction (mean VAS score: 80%). Both esthetic indices demonstrated respectable levels of inter- as well as intra-observer agreement. Poor implant esthetics (low PES and PI ratings) were significantly associated with increased anatomic crown height, while no influence of horizontal implant-tooth distance could be found. The present investigation indicates that favorable esthetic results may be achieved in the augmented anterior maxilla. However, bony reconstruction of compromised alveolar ridges does not guarantee optimum implant esthetics. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

New technologies lead to a new frontier: cognitive multiple data representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buffat, S.; Liege, F.; Plantier, J.; Roumes, C.

2005-05-01

The increasing number and complexity of operational sensors (radar, infrared, hyperspectral...) and availability of huge amount of data, lead to more and more sophisticated information presentations. But one key element of the IMINT line cannot be improved beyond initial system specification: the operator.... In order to overcome this issue, we have to better understand human visual object representation. Object recognition theories in human vision balance between matching 2D templates representation with viewpoint-dependant information, and a viewpoint-invariant system based on structural description. Spatial frequency content is relevant due to early vision filtering. Orientation in depth is an important variable to challenge object constancy. Three objects, seen from three different points of view in a natural environment made the original images in this study. Test images were a combination of spatial frequency filtered original images and an additive contrast level of white noise. In the first experiment, the observer's task was a same versus different forced choice with spatial alternative. Test images had the same noise level in a presentation row. Discrimination threshold was determined by modifying the white noise contrast level by means of an adaptative method. In the second experiment, a repetition blindness paradigm was used to further investigate the viewpoint effect on object recognition. The results shed some light on the human visual system processing of objects displayed under different physical descriptions. This is an important achievement because targets which not always match physical properties of usual visual stimuli can increase operational workload.

Multiple-mouse MRI with multiple arrays of receive coils.

PubMed

Ramirez, Marc S; Esparza-Coss, Emilio; Bankson, James A

2010-03-01

Compared to traditional single-animal imaging methods, multiple-mouse MRI has been shown to dramatically improve imaging throughput and reduce the potentially prohibitive cost for instrument access. To date, up to a single radiofrequency coil has been dedicated to each animal being simultaneously scanned, thus limiting the sensitivity, flexibility, and ultimate throughput. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of multiple-mouse MRI with a phased-array coil dedicated to each animal. A dual-mouse imaging system, consisting of a pair of two-element phased-array coils, was developed and used to achieve acceleration factors greater than the number of animals scanned at once. By simultaneously scanning two mice with a retrospectively gated cardiac cine MRI sequence, a 3-fold acceleration was achieved with signal-to-noise ratio in the heart that is equivalent to that achieved with an unaccelerated scan using a commercial mouse birdcage coil. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Method, system, and computer-readable medium for determining performance characteristics of an object undergoing one or more arbitrary aging conditions

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

Gering, Kevin L.

A method, system, and computer-readable medium are described for characterizing performance loss of an object undergoing an arbitrary aging condition. Baseline aging data may be collected from the object for at least one known baseline aging condition over time, determining baseline multiple sigmoid model parameters from the baseline data, and performance loss of the object may be determined over time through multiple sigmoid model parameters associated with the object undergoing the arbitrary aging condition using a differential deviation-from-baseline approach from the baseline multiple sigmoid model parameters. The system may include an object, monitoring hardware configured to sample performance characteristics ofmore » the object, and a processor coupled to the monitoring hardware. The processor is configured to determine performance loss for the arbitrary aging condition from a comparison of the performance characteristics of the object deviating from baseline performance characteristics associated with a baseline aging condition.« less

Neighbourhood urban form and individual-level correlates of leisure-based screen time in Canadian adults

PubMed Central

McCormack, Gavin R; Mardinger, Cynthia

2015-01-01

Objectives Despite evidence for an association between the built environment and physical activity, less evidence exists regarding relations between the built environment and sedentary behaviour. This study investigated the extent to which objectively assessed and self-reported neighbourhood walkability, in addition to individual-level characteristics, were associated with leisure-based screen time in adults. We hypothesised that leisure-based screen time would be lower among adults residing in objectively assessed and self-reported ‘high walkable’ versus ‘low walkable’ neighbourhoods. Setting The study was undertaken in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 2007/2008. Participants A random cross-section of adults who provided complete telephone interview and postal survey data (n=1906) was included. Captured information included leisure-based screen time, moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity physical activity, perceived neighbourhood walkability, sociodemographic characteristics, self-reported health status, and self-reported height and weight. Based on objectively assessed built characteristics, participant's neighbourhoods were identified as being low, medium or high walkable. Primary and secondary outcome measures Using multiple linear regression, hours of leisure-based screen time per day was regressed on self-reported and objectively assessed walkability adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related covariates. Results Compared to others, residing in an objectively assessed high walkable neighbourhood, women, having a college education, at least one child at home, a household income ≥$120 000/year, and a registered motor vehicle at home, reporting very good-to-excellent health and healthy weight, and achieving 60 min/week of vigorous-intensity physical activity were associated (p<0.05) with less leisure-based screen time. Marital status, dog ownership, season, self-reported walkability and achieving 210 min of moderate-intensity physical activity were not significantly associated with leisure-based screen time. Conclusions Improving neighbourhood walkability could decrease leisure-based television and computer screen time. Programmes aimed at reducing sedentary behaviour may want to consider an individual's sociodemographic characteristics, physical activity level, health status and weight status, in addition to the walkability of their neighbourhood as these factors were found to be important independent correlates of leisure-based screen time. PMID:26608640

Dynamic Binding of Identity and Location Information: A Serial Model of Multiple Identity Tracking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oksama, Lauri; Hyona, Jukka

2008-01-01

Tracking of multiple moving objects is commonly assumed to be carried out by a fixed-capacity parallel mechanism. The present study proposes a serial model (MOMIT) to explain performance accuracy in the maintenance of multiple moving objects with distinct identities. A serial refresh mechanism is postulated, which makes recourse to continuous…

Attention Modulates Spatial Precision in Multiple-Object Tracking.

PubMed

Srivastava, Nisheeth; Vul, Ed

2016-01-01

We present a computational model of multiple-object tracking that makes trial-level predictions about the allocation of visual attention and the effect of this allocation on observers' ability to track multiple objects simultaneously. This model follows the intuition that increased attention to a location increases the spatial resolution of its internal representation. Using a combination of empirical and computational experiments, we demonstrate the existence of a tight coupling between cognitive and perceptual resources in this task: Low-level tracking of objects generates bottom-up predictions of error likelihood, and high-level attention allocation selectively reduces error probabilities in attended locations while increasing it at non-attended locations. Whereas earlier models of multiple-object tracking have predicted the big picture relationship between stimulus complexity and response accuracy, our approach makes accurate predictions of both the macro-scale effect of target number and velocity on tracking difficulty and micro-scale variations in difficulty across individual trials and targets arising from the idiosyncratic within-trial interactions of targets and distractors. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

The role of physical digit representation and numerical magnitude representation in children's multiplication fact retrieval.

PubMed

De Visscher, Alice; Noël, Marie-Pascale; De Smedt, Bert

2016-12-01

Arithmetic facts, in particular multiplication tables, are thought to be stored in long-term memory and to be interference prone. At least two representations underpinning these arithmetic facts have been suggested: a physical representation of the digits and a numerical magnitude representation. We hypothesized that both representations are possible sources of interference that could explain individual differences in multiplication fact performance and/or in strategy use. We investigated the specificity of these interferences on arithmetic fact retrieval and explored the relation between interference and performance on the different arithmetic operations and on general mathematics achievement. Participants were 79 fourth-grade children (M age =9.6 years) who completed a products comparison and a multiplication production task with verbal strategy reports. Performances on a speeded calculation test including the four operations and on a general mathematics achievement test were also collected. Only the interference coming from physical representations was a significant predictor of the performance across multiplications. However, both the magnitude and physical representations were unique predictors of individual differences in multiplication. The frequency of the retrieval strategy across multiplication problems and across individuals was determined only by the physical representation, which therefore is suggested as being responsible for memory storage issues. Interestingly, this impact of physical representation was not observed when predicting performance on subtraction or on general mathematical achievement. In contrast, the impact of the numerical magnitude representation was more general in that it was observed across all arithmetic operations and in general mathematics achievement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Who Should Evaluate Teachers' Performance at Schools?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabancali, Erkan

2017-01-01

Correct determination of whether or not the objectives are achieved or of the level of achievement of the objectives is vital in educational organizations. In this context, one of the indicators of how teachers serve the organizational objectives is performance evaluation. In Turkish Educational System, the evaluation of the performance of…

The Moon Village Concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Messina, Piero; Foing, Bernard H.; Hufenbach, Bernhard; Haignere, Claudie; Schrogl, Kai-Uwe

2016-07-01

The "Moon Village" concept Space exploration is anchored in the International Space Station and in the current and future automatic and planetary automatic and robotic missions that pave the way for future long-term exploration objectives. The Moon represents a prime choice for scientific, operational and programmatic reasons and could be the enterprise that federates all interested Nations. On these considerations ESA is currently elaborating the concept of a Moon Village as an ensemble where multiple users can carry out multiple activities. The Moon Village has the ambition to serve a number of objectives that have proven to be of interest (including astronomy, fundamental research, resources management, moon science, etc. ) to the space community and should be the catalyst of new alliances between public and private entities including non-space industries. Additionally the Moon Village should provide a strong inspirational and education tool for the younger generations . The Moon Village will rely both on automatic, robotic and human-tendered structures to achieve sustainable moon surface operations serving multiple purposes on an open-architecture basis. This Europe-inspired initiative should rally all communities (across scientific disciplines, nations, industries) and make it to the top of the political agendas as a the scientific and technological undertaking but also political and inspirational endeavour of the XXI century. The current reflections are of course based on the current activities and plans on board the ISS and the discussion held in international fora such as the ISECG. The paper will present the status of these reflections, also in view of the ESA Council at Ministerial Level 2016, and will give an overview of the on-going activities being carried out to enable the vision of a Moon Village.

Internet gaming disorder in Lebanon: Relationships with age, sleep habits, and academic achievement.

PubMed

Hawi, Nazir S; Samaha, Maya; Griffiths, Mark D

2018-03-01

Background and aims The latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders included Internet gaming disorder (IGD) as a disorder that needs further research among different general populations. In line with this recommendation, the primary objective of this was to explore the relationships between IGD, sleep habits, and academic achievement in Lebanese adolescents. Methods Lebanese high-school students (N = 524, 47.9% males) participated in a paper survey that included the Internet Gaming Disorder Test and demographic information. The sample's mean average age was 16.2 years (SD = 1.0). Results The pooled prevalence of IGD was 9.2% in the sample. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis demonstrated that IGD was associated with being younger, lesser sleep, and lower academic achievement. While more casual online gamers also played offline, all the gamers with IGD reported playing online only. Those with IGD slept significantly less hours per night (5 hr) compared with casual online gamers (7 hr). The school grade average of gamers with IGD was the lowest among all groups of gamers, and below the passing school grade average. Conclusions These findings shed light on sleep disturbances and poor academic achievement in relation to Lebanese adolescents identified with IGD. Students who are not performing well at schools should be monitored for their IGD when assessing the different factors behind their low academic performance.

Salient object detection based on discriminative boundary and multiple cues integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Qingzhu; Wu, Zemin; Tian, Chang; Liu, Tao; Zeng, Mingyong; Hu, Lei

2016-01-01

In recent years, many saliency models have achieved good performance by taking the image boundary as the background prior. However, if all boundaries of an image are equally and artificially selected as background, misjudgment may happen when the object touches the boundary. We propose an algorithm called weighted contrast optimization based on discriminative boundary (wCODB). First, a background estimation model is reliably constructed through discriminating each boundary via Hausdorff distance. Second, the background-only weighted contrast is improved by fore-background weighted contrast, which is optimized through weight-adjustable optimization framework. Then to objectively estimate the quality of a saliency map, a simple but effective metric called spatial distribution of saliency map and mean saliency in covered window ratio (MSR) is designed. Finally, in order to further promote the detection result using MSR as the weight, we propose a saliency fusion framework to integrate three other cues-uniqueness, distribution, and coherence from three representative methods into our wCODB model. Extensive experiments on six public datasets demonstrate that our wCODB performs favorably against most of the methods based on boundary, and the integrated result outperforms all state-of-the-art methods.

Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: The Photometric Data Set for Cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drlica-Wagner, A.; Sevilla-Noarbe, I.; Rykoff, E. S.; Gruendl, R. A.; Yanny, B.; Tucker, D. L.; Hoyle, B.; Carnero Rosell, A.; Bernstein, G. M.; Bechtol, K.; Becker, M. R.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Bertin, E.; Carrasco Kind, M.; Davis, C.; de Vicente, J.; Diehl, H. T.; Gruen, D.; Hartley, W. G.; Leistedt, B.; Li, T. S.; Marshall, J. L.; Neilsen, E.; Rau, M. M.; Sheldon, E.; Smith, J.; Troxel, M. A.; Wyatt, S.; Zhang, Y.; Abbott, T. M. C.; Abdalla, F. B.; Allam, S.; Banerji, M.; Brooks, D.; Buckley-Geer, E.; Burke, D. L.; Capozzi, D.; Carretero, J.; Cunha, C. E.; D’Andrea, C. B.; da Costa, L. N.; DePoy, D. L.; Desai, S.; Dietrich, J. P.; Doel, P.; Evrard, A. E.; Fausti Neto, A.; Flaugher, B.; Fosalba, P.; Frieman, J.; García-Bellido, J.; Gerdes, D. W.; Giannantonio, T.; Gschwend, J.; Gutierrez, G.; Honscheid, K.; James, D. J.; Jeltema, T.; Kuehn, K.; Kuhlmann, S.; Kuropatkin, N.; Lahav, O.; Lima, M.; Lin, H.; Maia, M. A. G.; Martini, P.; McMahon, R. G.; Melchior, P.; Menanteau, F.; Miquel, R.; Nichol, R. C.; Ogando, R. L. C.; Plazas, A. A.; Romer, A. K.; Roodman, A.; Sanchez, E.; Scarpine, V.; Schindler, R.; Schubnell, M.; Smith, M.; Smith, R. C.; Soares-Santos, M.; Sobreira, F.; Suchyta, E.; Tarle, G.; Vikram, V.; Walker, A. R.; Wechsler, R. H.; Zuntz, J.; DES Collaboration

2018-04-01

We describe the creation, content, and validation of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) internal year-one cosmology data set, Y1A1 GOLD, in support of upcoming cosmological analyses. The Y1A1 GOLD data set is assembled from multiple epochs of DES imaging and consists of calibrated photometric zero-points, object catalogs, and ancillary data products—e.g., maps of survey depth and observing conditions, star–galaxy classification, and photometric redshift estimates—that are necessary for accurate cosmological analyses. The Y1A1 GOLD wide-area object catalog consists of ∼ 137 million objects detected in co-added images covering ∼ 1800 {\\deg }2 in the DES grizY filters. The 10σ limiting magnitude for galaxies is g=23.4, r=23.2, i=22.5, z=21.8, and Y=20.1. Photometric calibration of Y1A1 GOLD was performed by combining nightly zero-point solutions with stellar locus regression, and the absolute calibration accuracy is better than 2% over the survey area. DES Y1A1 GOLD is the largest photometric data set at the achieved depth to date, enabling precise measurements of cosmic acceleration at z ≲ 1.

A Portable Cell Maintenance System for Rapid Toxicity Monitoring Final Report CRADA No. TC-02081-04

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

Kane, S.; Zhou, P.

The Phase I STTR research project was targeted at meeting the objectives and requirements stated in STTR solicitation A04-T028 for a Portable Cell Maintenance System for Rapid Toxicity Monitoring. In accordance with the requirements for STTR programs, collaboration was formed between a small business, Kionix, Inc., and The Regents of the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The collaboration included CytoDiscovery, Inc. (CDI) which, in collaboration with Kionix, provided access to membrane chip technology and provided program support and coordination. The objective of the overall program (excerpted from the original solicitation) was: “To develop a small, portable cellmore » maintenance system for the transport, storage, and monitoring of viable vertebrate cells and tissues.” The goal of the Phase I project was to demonstrate the feasibility of achieving the program objectives utilizing a system comprised of a small-size, microfluidic chip-based cell maintenance cartridge (CMC) and a portable cell maintenance system (CMS) capable of housing a minimum of four CMCs. The system was designed to be capable of optimally maintaining multiple vertebrate cell types while supporting a wide variety of cellular assays.« less

Semantic Image Segmentation with Contextual Hierarchical Models.

PubMed

Seyedhosseini, Mojtaba; Tasdizen, Tolga

2016-05-01

Semantic segmentation is the problem of assigning an object label to each pixel. It unifies the image segmentation and object recognition problems. The importance of using contextual information in semantic segmentation frameworks has been widely realized in the field. We propose a contextual framework, called contextual hierarchical model (CHM), which learns contextual information in a hierarchical framework for semantic segmentation. At each level of the hierarchy, a classifier is trained based on downsampled input images and outputs of previous levels. Our model then incorporates the resulting multi-resolution contextual information into a classifier to segment the input image at original resolution. This training strategy allows for optimization of a joint posterior probability at multiple resolutions through the hierarchy. Contextual hierarchical model is purely based on the input image patches and does not make use of any fragments or shape examples. Hence, it is applicable to a variety of problems such as object segmentation and edge detection. We demonstrate that CHM performs at par with state-of-the-art on Stanford background and Weizmann horse datasets. It also outperforms state-of-the-art edge detection methods on NYU depth dataset and achieves state-of-the-art on Berkeley segmentation dataset (BSDS 500).

Investigating Mathematics Students' Use of Multiple Representations when Solving Linear Equations with One Unknown

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beyranevand, Matthew L.

2010-01-01

Although it is difficult to find any current literature that does not encourage use of multiple representations in mathematics classrooms, there has been very limited research that compared such practice to student achievement level on standardized tests. This study examined the associations between students' achievement levels and their (a)…

Effects of Multiple Intelligences Supported Project-Based Learning on Students' Achievement Levels and Attitudes towards English Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bas, Gökhan; Beyhan, Ömer

2010-01-01

The aim of the research was to investigate the effects of multiple intelligences supported project-based learning and traditional foreign language-teaching environment on students' achievement and their attitude towards English lesson. The research was carried out in 2009-2010 education-instruction year in Karatli Sehit Sahin Yilmaz Elementary…

Multiple Intelligences Patterns of Students at King Saud University and Its Relationship with Mathematics' Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kandeel, Refat A. A.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the multiple intelligences patterns of students at King Saud University and its relationship with academic achievement for the courses of Mathematics. The study sample consisted of 917 students were selected a stratified random manner, the descriptive analysis method and Pearson correlation were used, the…

Singapore Primary Students' Pursuit of Multiple Achievement Goals: A Latent Profile Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ning, Hoi Kwan

2018-01-01

Based on measures of approach and avoidance mastery and performance goals delineated in the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework, this study utilized a person-centered approach to examine Singapore primary students' (N = 819) multiple goals pursuit in the general school context. Latent profile analysis identified six types of students with distinct…

Improving Students' Creative Thinking and Achievement through the Implementation of Multiple Intelligence Approach with Mind Mapping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Widiana, I. Wayan; Jampel, I. Nyoman

2016-01-01

This classroom action research aimed to improve the students' creative thinking and achievement in learning science. It conducted through the implementation of multiple intelligences with mind mapping approach and describing the students' responses. The subjects of this research were the fifth grade students of SD 8 Tianyar Barat, Kubu, and…

Adverse Impacts of Furlough Programs on Employee Work Rate and Organizational Productivity

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

interval (0, 1) os = level of satisfaction of the objective (rated on a scale of 0 to 1) oc = cost of achieving the objective (expressed in pertinent cost...basis: money, time, measurable resource, etc.) If an objective is fully achieved, its satisfaction rating will be 1. If not achieved at all, it will...1990). The effects of the compressed workweek: A review of the evidence. Australian Bulletin of Labour , 16(2), 104–127. Giachetti, R. E. (2010

Tracking Multiple Statistics: Simultaneous Learning of Object Names and Categories in English and Mandarin Speakers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Chi-hsin; Gershkoff-Stowe, Lisa; Wu, Chih-Yi; Cheung, Hintat; Yu, Chen

2017-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to examine adult learners' ability to extract multiple statistics in simultaneously presented visual and auditory input. Experiment 1 used a cross-situational learning paradigm to test whether English speakers were able to use co-occurrences to learn word-to-object mappings and concurrently form object categories…

Decomposition-Based Decision Making for Aerospace Vehicle Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borer, Nicholas K.; Mavris, DImitri N.

2005-01-01

Most practical engineering systems design problems have multiple and conflicting objectives. Furthermore, the satisfactory attainment level for each objective ( requirement ) is likely uncertain early in the design process. Systems with long design cycle times will exhibit more of this uncertainty throughout the design process. This is further complicated if the system is expected to perform for a relatively long period of time, as now it will need to grow as new requirements are identified and new technologies are introduced. These points identify a need for a systems design technique that enables decision making amongst multiple objectives in the presence of uncertainty. Traditional design techniques deal with a single objective or a small number of objectives that are often aggregates of the overarching goals sought through the generation of a new system. Other requirements, although uncertain, are viewed as static constraints to this single or multiple objective optimization problem. With either of these formulations, enabling tradeoffs between the requirements, objectives, or combinations thereof is a slow, serial process that becomes increasingly complex as more criteria are added. This research proposal outlines a technique that attempts to address these and other idiosyncrasies associated with modern aerospace systems design. The proposed formulation first recasts systems design into a multiple criteria decision making problem. The now multiple objectives are decomposed to discover the critical characteristics of the objective space. Tradeoffs between the objectives are considered amongst these critical characteristics by comparison to a probabilistic ideal tradeoff solution. The proposed formulation represents a radical departure from traditional methods. A pitfall of this technique is in the validation of the solution: in a multi-objective sense, how can a decision maker justify a choice between non-dominated alternatives? A series of examples help the reader to observe how this technique can be applied to aerospace systems design and compare the results of this so-called Decomposition-Based Decision Making to more traditional design approaches.

Multi-object detection and tracking technology based on hexagonal opto-electronic detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yong; Hao, Qun; Li, Xiang

2008-02-01

A novel multi-object detection and tracking technology based on hexagonal opto-electronic detector is proposed, in which (1) a new hexagonal detector, which is composed of 6 linear CCDs, has been firstly developed to achieve the field of view of 360 degree, (2) to achieve the detection and tracking of multi-object with high speed, the object recognition criterions of Object Signal Width Criterion (OSWC) and Horizontal Scale Ratio Criterion (HSRC) are proposed. In this paper, Simulated Experiments have been carried out to verify the validity of the proposed technology, which show that the detection and tracking of multi-object can be achieved with high speed by using the proposed hexagonal detector and the criterions of OSWC and HSRC, indicating that the technology offers significant advantages in Photo-electric Detection, Computer Vision, Virtual Reality, Augment Reality, etc.

Collaborative Data Mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moyle, Steve

Collaborative Data Mining is a setting where the Data Mining effort is distributed to multiple collaborating agents - human or software. The objective of the collaborative Data Mining effort is to produce solutions to the tackled Data Mining problem which are considered better by some metric, with respect to those solutions that would have been achieved by individual, non-collaborating agents. The solutions require evaluation, comparison, and approaches for combination. Collaboration requires communication, and implies some form of community. The human form of collaboration is a social task. Organizing communities in an effective manner is non-trivial and often requires well defined roles and processes. Data Mining, too, benefits from a standard process. This chapter explores the standard Data Mining process CRISP-DM utilized in a collaborative setting.

System optimization on coded aperture spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hua; Ding, Quanxin; Wang, Helong; Chen, Hongliang; Guo, Chunjie; Zhou, Liwei

2017-10-01

For aim to find a simple multiple configuration solution and achieve higher refractive efficiency, and based on to reduce the situation disturbed by FOV change, especially in a two-dimensional spatial expansion. Coded aperture system is designed by these special structure, which includes an objective a coded component a prism reflex system components, a compensatory plate and an imaging lens Correlative algorithms and perfect imaging methods are available to ensure this system can be corrected and optimized adequately. Simulation results show that the system can meet the application requirements in MTF, REA, RMS and other related criteria. Compared with the conventional design, the system has reduced in volume and weight significantly. Therefore, the determining factors are the prototype selection and the system configuration.

Correction of Multiple Canine Impactions by Mixed Straightwire and Cantilever Mechanics: A Case Report

PubMed Central

Iodice, Giorgio; d'Antò, Vincenzo; Riccitiello, Francesco; Pellegrino, Gioacchino; Valletta, Rosa

2014-01-01

Background. This case report describes the orthodontic treatment of a woman, aged 17 years, with a permanent dentition, brachyfacial typology, Angle Class I, with full impaction of two canines (13,33), and a severe ectopy of the maxillary left canine. Her main compliant was the position of the ectopic teeth. Methods. Straightwire fixed appliances, together with cantilever mechanics, were used to correct the impaired occlusion and to obtain an ideal torque control. Results and Conclusion. The treatment objectives were achieved in 26 months of treatment. The impactions were fully corrected with an optimal torque. The cantilever mechanics succeeded in obtaining tooth repositioning in a short lapse of time. After treatment, the dental alignment was stable. PMID:25140261

Correction of multiple canine impactions by mixed straightwire and cantilever mechanics: a case report.

PubMed

Paduano, Sergio; Cioffi, Iacopo; Iodice, Giorgio; d'Antò, Vincenzo; Riccitiello, Francesco; Pellegrino, Gioacchino; Valletta, Rosa

2014-01-01

Background. This case report describes the orthodontic treatment of a woman, aged 17 years, with a permanent dentition, brachyfacial typology, Angle Class I, with full impaction of two canines (13,33), and a severe ectopy of the maxillary left canine. Her main compliant was the position of the ectopic teeth. Methods. Straightwire fixed appliances, together with cantilever mechanics, were used to correct the impaired occlusion and to obtain an ideal torque control. Results and Conclusion. The treatment objectives were achieved in 26 months of treatment. The impactions were fully corrected with an optimal torque. The cantilever mechanics succeeded in obtaining tooth repositioning in a short lapse of time. After treatment, the dental alignment was stable.

Adaptive optics for MOSAIC: design and performance of the wide(st)-field AO system for the E-ELT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, Tim; Basden, Alastair; Buey, Tristan; Chemla, Fanny; Conan, Jean-Marc; Fitzsimons, Ewan; Fusco, Thierry; Gendron, Eric; Hammer, Francois; Jagourel, Pascal; Morel, Carine; Myers, Richard; Neichel, Benoit; Petit, Cyril; Rodrigues, Myriam; Rousset, Gérard

2016-07-01

MOSAIC is the proposed multiple-object spectrograph for the E-ELT that will utilise the widest possible field of view provided by the telescope. In terms of adaptive optics, there are two distinct operating modes required to meet the top-level science requirements. The MOSAIC High Multiplex Mode (HMM) requires either seeing-limited or GLAO correction within a 0.6 (NIR) and 0.9 (VIS) arcsecond sub-fields over the widest possible field for a few hundred objects. To achieve seeing limited operation whilst maintaining the maximum unvignetted field of view for scientific observation will require recreating some of the functionality present in the Pre-Focal Station relating to control of the E-ELT active optics. MOSAIC High Definition Mode Control (HDM) requires a 25% Ensquared Energy (EE) within 150mas in the H-band element for approximately 10 targets distributed across the full E-ELT field, implying the use of Multiple Object AO (MOAO). Initial studies have shown that to meet the EE requirements whilst maintaining high-sky coverage will require the combination of wavefront signals from both high-order NGS and LGS to provide a tomographic estimate for the correction to be applied to the open-loop MOAO DMs. In this paper we present the current MOSAIC AO design and provide the first performance estimates for the baseline instrument design. We then report on the various trade-offs that will be investigated throughout the course of the Phase A study, such as the requirement to mix NGS and LGS signals tomographically. Finally, we discuss how these will impact the AO architecture, the MOSAIC design and ultimately the scientific performance of this wide-field workhorse instrument at the E-ELT.

Connection-based and object-based grouping in multiple-object tracking: A developmental study.

PubMed

Van der Hallen, Ruth; Reusens, Julie; Evers, Kris; de-Wit, Lee; Wagemans, Johan

2018-03-30

Developmental research on Gestalt laws has previously revealed that, even as young as infancy, we are bound to group visual elements into unitary structures in accordance with a variety of organizational principles. Here, we focus on the developmental trajectory of both connection-based and object-based grouping, and investigate their impact on object formation in participants, aged 9-21 years old (N = 113), using a multiple-object tracking paradigm. Results reveal a main effect of both age and grouping type, indicating that 9- to 21-year-olds are sensitive to both connection-based and object-based grouping interference, and tracking ability increases with age. In addition to its importance for typical development, these results provide an informative baseline to understand clinical aberrations in this regard. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? The origin of the Gestalt principles is still an ongoing debate: Are they innate, learned over time, or both? Developmental research has revealed how each Gestalt principle has its own trajectory and unique relationship to visual experience. Both connectedness and object-based grouping play an important role in object formation during childhood. What does this study add? The study identifies how sensitivity to connectedness and object-based grouping evolves in individuals, aged 9-21 years old. Using multiple-object tracking, results reveal that the ability to track multiple objects increases with age. These results provide an informative baseline to understand clinical aberrations in different types of grouping. © 2018 The Authors. British Journal of Developmental Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.

Handbook for Testing in Navy Schools

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-10-01

an entire test or for groups of related objectives within a test. Remediation in this situation is only given to students who do not achieve the test...is specified in the objective(s). -5- In summary, for all training tasks and related knowledge information, tests should require achievement of the...associated with each .... STEP 2b: CATEGORIES. Categories refer to groups of similar objects, events, or ideas. They are similar, or are grouped

SYSTEMATIC PROCEDURE FOR DESIGNING PROCESSES WITH MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIVES

EPA Science Inventory

Evaluation of multiple objectives is very important in designing environmentally benign processes. It requires a systematic procedure for solving multiobjective decision-making problems, due to the complex nature of the problems, the need for complex assessments, and complicated ...

Optimal redistribution of an urban air quality monitoring network using atmospheric dispersion model and genetic algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Yufang; Xie, Shaodong

2018-03-01

Air quality monitoring networks play a significant role in identifying the spatiotemporal patterns of air pollution, and they need to be deployed efficiently, with a minimum number of sites. The revision and optimal adjustment of existing monitoring networks is crucial for cities that have undergone rapid urban expansion and experience temporal variations in pollution patterns. The approach based on the Weather Research and Forecasting-California PUFF (WRF-CALPUFF) model and genetic algorithm (GA) was developed to design an optimal monitoring network. The maximization of coverage with minimum overlap and the ability to detect violations of standards were developed as the design objectives for redistributed networks. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm was applied to optimize the network size and site locations simultaneously for Shijiazhuang city, one of the most polluted cities in China. The assessment on the current network identified the insufficient spatial coverage of SO2 and NO2 monitoring for the expanding city. The optimization results showed that significant improvements were achieved in multiple objectives by redistributing the original network. Efficient coverage of the resulting designs improved to 60.99% and 76.06% of the urban area for SO2 and NO2, respectively. The redistributing design for multi-pollutant including 8 sites was also proposed, with the spatial representation covered 52.30% of the urban area and the overlapped areas decreased by 85.87% compared with the original network. The abilities to detect violations of standards were not improved as much as the other two objectives due to the conflicting nature between the multiple objectives. Additionally, the results demonstrated that the algorithm was slightly sensitive to the parameter settings, with the number of generations presented the most significant effect. Overall, our study presents an effective and feasible procedure for air quality network optimization at a city scale.

Assessing Multiple Object Tracking in Young Children Using a Game

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryokai, Kimiko; Farzin, Faraz; Kaltman, Eric; Niemeyer, Greg

2013-01-01

Visual tracking of multiple objects in a complex scene is a critical survival skill. When we attempt to safely cross a busy street, follow a ball's position during a sporting event, or monitor children in a busy playground, we rely on our brain's capacity to selectively attend to and track the position of specific objects in a dynamic scene. This…

Green infrastructure as a climate change adaptation policy intervention: muddying the waters or clearing a path to a more secure future?

PubMed

Sussams, L W; Sheate, W R; Eales, R P

2015-01-01

As dangerous climate change looms, decision-makers are increasingly realising that societies will need to adapt to this threat as well as mitigate against it. Green infrastructure (GI) is increasingly seen as an ideal climate change adaptation policy response. However, with this research the authors identify a number of crucial knowledge gaps within GI and, consequently, call for caution and for a concerted effort to understand the concept and what it can really deliver. GI has risen to prominence in a range of policy areas in large part due to its perceived ability to produce multiple benefits simultaneously, termed 'multifunctionality'. This characteristic strengthens the political appeal of the policy in question at a time when environmental issues have slipped down political agendas. Multifunctionality, however, brings its own set of new challenges that should be evaluated fully before the policy is implemented. This research takes important first steps to developing a critical understanding of what is achievable within GI's capacity. It focuses on one of GI's single objectives, namely climate change adaptation, to focus the analysis of how current obstacles in applying GI's multifunctionality could lead to the ineffective delivery of its objective. By drawing on expert opinion from government officials and representatives from the private, non-government organisation (NGO) and academic sectors, this research questions GI's ability to be effectively 'multifunctional' with an inconsistent definition at its core, deficiencies in its understanding and conflicts within its governance. In light of these observations, the authors then reflect on the judiciousness of applying GI to achieve the other objectives it has also been charged with delivering. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

OysterFutures: Integrating Stakeholder Objectives with Natural System Models to Promote Sustainable Natural Resource Policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

North, E. W.; Blair, J.; Cornwell, J. C.; Freitag, A. E.; Gawde, R. K.; Hartley, T. W.; Hood, R. R.; Jones, R. M.; Miller, T. J.; Thomas, J. E.; Wainger, L. A.; Wilberg, M. J.

2016-02-01

Achieving effective natural resource management is challenged by multiple and often competing objectives, a restricted set of policy options, and uncertainty in the performance of those options. Yet, managers need policies that allow continued use of natural resources while ensuring access for future generations and maintenance of ecosystem services. Formal approaches are needed that will assist managers and stakeholders in choosing policy options that have a high likelihood of achieving social, ecological, and economic goals. The goal of this project, OysterFutures, is to address this need by improving the use of predictive models to support sustainable natural resource policy and management. A stakeholder-centered process will be used to build an integrated model that combines estuarine physics, oyster life history, and the ecosystem services that oysters provide (e.g., harvest, water quality) to forecast outcomes under alternative management strategies. Through a series of facilitated meetings, stakeholders will participate in a science-based collaborative process which will allow them to project how well policies are expected to meet their objectives using the integrated model. This iterative process will ensure that the model will incorporate the complex human uses of the ecosystem as well as focus on the outcomes most important to the stakeholders. In addition, a study of the socioeconomic drivers of stakeholder involvement, information flow, use and influence, and policy formation will be undertaken to improve the process, enhance implementation success of recommended policies, and provide new ideas for integrating natural and social sciences, and scientists, in sustainable resource management. In this presentation, the strategy for integrating natural system models, stakeholder views, and sociological studies as well as methods for selecting stakeholders and facilitating stakeholder meetings will be described and discussed.

Optical diffraction tomography: accuracy of an off-axis reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostencka, Julianna; Kozacki, Tomasz

2014-05-01

Optical diffraction tomography is an increasingly popular method that allows for reconstruction of three-dimensional refractive index distribution of semi-transparent samples using multiple measurements of an optical field transmitted through the sample for various illumination directions. The process of assembly of the angular measurements is usually performed with one of two methods: filtered backprojection (FBPJ) or filtered backpropagation (FBPP) tomographic reconstruction algorithm. The former approach, although conceptually very simple, provides an accurate reconstruction for the object regions located close to the plane of focus. However, since FBPJ ignores diffraction, its use for spatially extended structures is arguable. According to the theory of scattering, more precise restoration of a 3D structure shall be achieved with the FBPP algorithm, which unlike the former approach incorporates diffraction. It is believed that with this method one is allowed to obtain a high accuracy reconstruction in a large measurement volume exceeding depth of focus of an imaging system. However, some studies have suggested that a considerable improvement of the FBPP results can be achieved with prior propagation of the transmitted fields back to the centre of the object. This, supposedly, enables reduction of errors due to approximated diffraction formulas used in FBPP. In our view this finding casts doubt on quality of the FBPP reconstruction in the regions far from the rotation axis. The objective of this paper is to investigate limitation of the FBPP algorithm in terms of an off-axis reconstruction and compare its performance with the FBPJ approach. Moreover, in this work we propose some modifications to the FBPP algorithm that allow for more precise restoration of a sample structure in off-axis locations. The research is based on extensive numerical simulations supported with wave-propagation method.

Modeling and optimization of a hybrid solar combined cycle (HYCS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eter, Ahmad Adel

2011-12-01

The main objective of this thesis is to investigate the feasibility of integrating concentrated solar power (CSP) technology with the conventional combined cycle technology for electric generation in Saudi Arabia. The generated electricity can be used locally to meet the annual increasing demand. Specifically, it can be utilized to meet the demand during the hours 10 am-3 pm and prevent blackout hours, of some industrial sectors. The proposed CSP design gives flexibility in the operation system. Since, it works as a conventional combined cycle during night time and it switches to work as a hybrid solar combined cycle during day time. The first objective of the thesis is to develop a thermo-economical mathematical model that can simulate the performance of a hybrid solar-fossil fuel combined cycle. The second objective is to develop a computer simulation code that can solve the thermo-economical mathematical model using available software such as E.E.S. The developed simulation code is used to analyze the thermo-economic performance of different configurations of integrating the CSP with the conventional fossil fuel combined cycle to achieve the optimal integration configuration. This optimal integration configuration has been investigated further to achieve the optimal design of the solar field that gives the optimal solar share. Thermo-economical performance metrics which are available in the literature have been used in the present work to assess the thermo-economic performance of the investigated configurations. The economical and environmental impact of integration CSP with the conventional fossil fuel combined cycle are estimated and discussed. Finally, the optimal integration configuration is found to be solarization steam side in conventional combined cycle with solar multiple 0.38 which needs 29 hectare and LEC of HYCS is 63.17 $/MWh under Dhahran weather conditions.

A Study on Software-based Sensing Technology for Multiple Object Control in AR Video

PubMed Central

Jung, Sungmo; Song, Jae-gu; Hwang, Dae-Joon; Ahn, Jae Young; Kim, Seoksoo

2010-01-01

Researches on Augmented Reality (AR) have recently received attention. With these, the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) market has started to be active and there are numerous efforts to apply this to real life in all sectors of society. To date, the M2M market has applied the existing marker-based AR technology in entertainment, business and other industries. With the existing marker-based AR technology, a designated object can only be loaded on the screen from one marker and a marker has to be added to load on the screen the same object again. This situation creates a problem where the relevant marker’should be extracted and printed in screen so that loading of the multiple objects is enabled. However, since the distance between markers will not be measured in the process of detecting and copying markers, the markers can be overlapped and thus the objects would not be augmented. To solve this problem, a circle having the longest radius needs to be created from a focal point of a marker to be copied, so that no object is copied within the confines of the circle. In this paper, software-based sensing technology for multiple object detection and loading using PPHT has been developed and overlapping marker control according to multiple object control has been studied using the Bresenham and Mean Shift algorithms. PMID:22163444

A study on software-based sensing technology for multiple object control in AR video.

PubMed

Jung, Sungmo; Song, Jae-Gu; Hwang, Dae-Joon; Ahn, Jae Young; Kim, Seoksoo

2010-01-01

Researches on Augmented Reality (AR) have recently received attention. With these, the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) market has started to be active and there are numerous efforts to apply this to real life in all sectors of society. To date, the M2M market has applied the existing marker-based AR technology in entertainment, business and other industries. With the existing marker-based AR technology, a designated object can only be loaded on the screen from one marker and a marker has to be added to load on the screen the same object again. This situation creates a problem where the relevant marker'should be extracted and printed in screen so that loading of the multiple objects is enabled. However, since the distance between markers will not be measured in the process of detecting and copying markers, the markers can be overlapped and thus the objects would not be augmented. To solve this problem, a circle having the longest radius needs to be created from a focal point of a marker to be copied, so that no object is copied within the confines of the circle. In this paper, software-based sensing technology for multiple object detection and loading using PPHT has been developed and overlapping marker control according to multiple object control has been studied using the Bresenham and Mean Shift algorithms.

The Effect of Teaching Strategy Based on Multiple Intelligences on Students' Academic Achievement in Science Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdi, Ali; Laei, Susan; Ahmadyan, Hamze

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Teaching Strategy based on Multiple Intelligences on students' academic achievement in sciences course. Totally 40 students from two different classes (Experimental N = 20 and Control N = 20) participated in the study. They were in the fifth grade of elementary school and were selected…

The Effect of Multiple Intelligences Theory-Based Education on Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bas, Gökhan

2016-01-01

The main purpose of this study is to determine the effect of multiple intelligences theory (MIT)-based education on students' academic achievement. In this research, the meta-analytic method was adopted to determine this effect, and studies related to this subject carried out in Turkey were compiled. The effect sizes of the studies included in the…

Salient object detection method based on multiple semantic features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chunyang; Yu, Chunyan; Song, Meiping; Wang, Yulei

2018-04-01

The existing salient object detection model can only detect the approximate location of salient object, or highlight the background, to resolve the above problem, a salient object detection method was proposed based on image semantic features. First of all, three novel salient features were presented in this paper, including object edge density feature (EF), object semantic feature based on the convex hull (CF) and object lightness contrast feature (LF). Secondly, the multiple salient features were trained with random detection windows. Thirdly, Naive Bayesian model was used for combine these features for salient detection. The results on public datasets showed that our method performed well, the location of salient object can be fixed and the salient object can be accurately detected and marked by the specific window.

Selecting and perceiving multiple visual objects

PubMed Central

Xu, Yaoda; Chun, Marvin M.

2010-01-01

To explain how multiple visual objects are attended and perceived, we propose that our visual system first selects a fixed number of about four objects from a crowded scene based on their spatial information (object individuation) and then encode their details (object identification). We describe the involvement of the inferior intra-parietal sulcus (IPS) in object individuation and the superior IPS and higher visual areas in object identification. Our neural object-file theory synthesizes and extends existing ideas in visual cognition and is supported by behavioral and neuroimaging results. It provides a better understanding of the role of the different parietal areas in encoding visual objects and can explain various forms of capacity-limited processing in visual cognition such as working memory. PMID:19269882

Objectivity in psychosocial measurement: what, why, how.

PubMed

Fisher, W P

2000-01-01

This article raises and tries to answer questions concerning what objectivity in psychosocial measurement is, why it is important, and how it can be achieved. Following in the tradition of the Socratic art of maiuetics, objectivity is characterized by the separation of meaning from the geometric, metaphoric, or numeric figure carrying it, allowing an ideal and abstract entity to take on a life of its own. Examples of objective entities start from anything teachable and learnable, but for the purposes of measurement, the meter, gram, volt, and liter are paradigmatic because of their generalizability across observers, instruments, laboratories, samples, applications, etc. Objectivity is important because it is only through it that distinct conceptual entities are meaningfully distinguished. Seen from another angle, objectivity is important because it defines the conditions of the possibility of shared meaning and community. Full objectivity in psychosocial measurement can be achieved only by attending to both its methodological and its social aspects. The methodological aspect has recently achieved some notice in psychosocial measurement, especially in the form of Rasch's probabilistic conjoint models. Objectivity's social aspect has only recently been noticed by historians of science, and has not yet been systematically incorporated in any psychosocial science. An approach to achieving full objectivity in psychosocial measurement is adapted from the ASTM Standard Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine the Precision of a Test Method (ASTM Committee E-11 on Statistical Methods, 1992).

Inclusion of brain volume loss in a revised measure of 'no evidence of disease activity' (NEDA-4) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Kappos, Ludwig; De Stefano, Nicola; Freedman, Mark S; Cree, Bruce Ac; Radue, Ernst-Wilhelm; Sprenger, Till; Sormani, Maria Pia; Smith, Terence; Häring, Dieter A; Piani Meier, Daniela; Tomic, Davorka

2016-09-01

'No evidence of disease activity' (NEDA), defined as absence of magnetic resonance imaging activity (T2 and/or gadolinium-enhanced T1 lesions), relapses and disability progression ('NEDA-3'), is used as a comprehensive measure of treatment response in relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS), but is weighted towards inflammatory activity. Accelerated brain volume loss (BVL) occurs in RMS and is an objective measure of disease worsening and progression. To assess the contribution of individual components of NEDA-3 and the impact of adding BVL to NEDA-3 ('NEDA-4') METHODS: We analysed data pooled from two placebo-controlled phase 3 fingolimod trials in RMS and assessed NEDA-4 using different annual BVL mean rate thresholds (0.2%-1.2%). At 2 years, 31.0% (217/700) of patients receiving fingolimod 0.5 mg achieved NEDA-3 versus 9.9% (71/715) on placebo (odds ratio (OR) 4.07; p < 0.0001). Adding BVL (threshold of 0.4%), the respective proportions of patients achieving NEDA-4 were 19.7% (139/706) and 5.3% (38/721; OR 4.41; p < 0.0001). NEDA-4 status favoured fingolimod across all BVL thresholds tested (OR 4.01-4.41; p < 0.0001). NEDA-4 has the potential to capture the impact of therapies on both inflammation and neurodegeneration, and deserves further evaluation across different compounds and in long-term studies. © The Author(s), 2015.

School-Level Correlates of Adolescent Tobacco, Alcohol and Marijuana Use

PubMed Central

Hill, Danielle; Mrug, Sylvie

2016-01-01

Background School-level characteristics are related to students’ substance use, but little research systematically examined multiple school characteristics in relation to different types of substance use across grade levels. Objectives This study examines multiple school-level characteristics as correlates of students’ tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and combined substance use across three grade levels. Methods Students (N = 23,615) from 42 urban and suburban middle schools and 24 high schools in the U.S. reported on their tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. Students’ mean age was 14 years; 47% were male, 53% African American and 41% Caucasian. School-level data included poverty, racial composition, academic achievement, student-teacher ratio, absenteeism, and school size. Multilevel logistic and Poisson regressions tested associations between school-level predictors and adolescent substance use in middle school, early high school and late high school. Results School-level poverty, more ethnic minority students, low achievement, and higher absenteeism were related to alcohol, marijuana and combined substance use, particularly at lower grade levels. By contrast, cigarette smoking was more prevalent in more affluent high schools with more White students. After adjusting for other school characteristics, absenteeism emerged as the most consistent predictor of student substance use. Conclusions/Importance Interventions addressing absenteeism and truancy in middle and high schools may help prevent student substance use. Schools serving poor, urban, and mostly minority students may benefit from interventions targeting alcohol and marijuana use, whereas interventions focusing on tobacco use prevention may be more relevant for schools serving more affluent and predominantly White students. PMID:26584423

Advanced bulk processing of lightweight materials for utilization in the transportation sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milner, Justin L.

The overall objective of this research is to develop the microstructure of metallic lightweight materials via multiple advanced processing techniques with potentials for industrial utilization on a large scale to meet the demands of the aerospace and automotive sectors. This work focused on (i) refining the grain structure to increase the strength, (ii) controlling the texture to increase formability and (iii) directly reducing processing/production cost of lightweight material components. Advanced processing is conducted on a bulk scale by several severe plastic deformation techniques including: accumulative roll bonding, isolated shear rolling and friction stir processing to achieve the multiple targets of this research. Development and validation of the processing techniques is achieved through wide-ranging experiments along with detailed mechanical and microstructural examination of the processed material. On a broad level, this research will make advancements in processing of bulk lightweight materials facilitating industrial-scale implementation. Where accumulative roll bonding and isolated shear rolling, currently feasible on an industrial scale, processes bulk sheet materials capable of replacing more expensive grades of alloys and enabling low-temperature and high-strain-rate formability. Furthermore, friction stir processing to manufacture lightweight tubes, made from magnesium alloys, has the potential to increase the utilization of these materials in the automotive and aerospace sectors for high strength - high formability applications. With the increased utilization of these advanced processing techniques will significantly reduce the cost associated with lightweight materials for many applications in the transportation sectors.

Evolutionary Agent-based Models to design distributed water management strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giuliani, M.; Castelletti, A.; Reed, P. M.

2012-12-01

There is growing awareness in the scientific community that the traditional centralized approach to water resources management, as described in much of the water resources literature, provides an ideal optimal solution, which is certainly useful to quantify the best physically achievable performance, but is generally inapplicable. Most real world water resources management problems are indeed characterized by the presence of multiple, distributed and institutionally-independent decision-makers. Multi-Agent Systems provide a potentially more realistic alternative framework to model multiple and self-interested decision-makers in a credible context. Each decision-maker can be represented by an agent who, being self-interested, acts according to local objective functions and produces negative externalities on system level objectives. Different levels of coordination can potentially be included in the framework by designing coordination mechanisms to drive the current decision-making structure toward the global system efficiency. Yet, the identification of effective coordination strategies can be particularly complex in modern institutional contexts and current practice is dependent on largely ad-hoc coordination strategies. In this work we propose a novel Evolutionary Agent-based Modeling (EAM) framework that enables a mapping of fully uncoordinated and centrally coordinated solutions into their relative "many-objective" tradeoffs using multiobjective evolutionary algorithms. Then, by analysing the conflicts between local individual agent and global system level objectives it is possible to more fully understand the causes, consequences, and potential solution strategies for coordination failures. Game-theoretic criteria have value for identifying the most interesting alternatives from a policy making point of view as well as the coordination mechanisms that can be applied to obtain these interesting solutions. The proposed approach is numerically tested on a synthetic case study, representing a Y-shaped system composed by two regulated lakes, whose releases merge just upstream of a city. Each reservoir is operated by an agent in order to prevent floods along the lake shores (local objective). However, the optimal operation of the reservoirs with respect to the local objectives is conflicting with the minimization of floods in the city (global objective). The evolution of the Agent-based Model from individualistic management strategies of the reservoirs toward a global compromise that reduces the costs for the city is analysed.

How Many Objects are You Worth? Quantification of the Self-Motion Load on Multiple Object Tracking

PubMed Central

Thomas, Laura E.; Seiffert, Adriane E.

2011-01-01

Perhaps walking and chewing gum is effortless, but walking and tracking moving objects is not. Multiple object tracking is impaired by walking from one location to another, suggesting that updating location of the self puts demands on object tracking processes. Here, we quantified the cost of self-motion in terms of the tracking load. Participants in a virtual environment tracked a variable number of targets (1–5) among distractors while either staying in one place or moving along a path that was similar to the objects’ motion. At the end of each trial, participants decided whether a probed dot was a target or distractor. As in our previous work, self-motion significantly impaired performance in tracking multiple targets. Quantifying tracking capacity for each individual under move versus stay conditions further revealed that self-motion during tracking produced a cost to capacity of about 0.8 (±0.2) objects. Tracking your own motion is worth about one object, suggesting that updating the location of the self is similar, but perhaps slightly easier, than updating locations of objects. PMID:21991259

Introducing passive acoustic filter in acoustic based condition monitoring: Motor bike piston-bore fault identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jena, D. P.; Panigrahi, S. N.

2016-03-01

Requirement of designing a sophisticated digital band-pass filter in acoustic based condition monitoring has been eliminated by introducing a passive acoustic filter in the present work. So far, no one has attempted to explore the possibility of implementing passive acoustic filters in acoustic based condition monitoring as a pre-conditioner. In order to enhance the acoustic based condition monitoring, a passive acoustic band-pass filter has been designed and deployed. Towards achieving an efficient band-pass acoustic filter, a generalized design methodology has been proposed to design and optimize the desired acoustic filter using multiple filter components in series. An appropriate objective function has been identified for genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization technique with multiple design constraints. In addition, the sturdiness of the proposed method has been demonstrated in designing a band-pass filter by using an n-branch Quincke tube, a high pass filter and multiple Helmholtz resonators. The performance of the designed acoustic band-pass filter has been shown by investigating the piston-bore defect of a motor-bike using engine noise signature. On the introducing a passive acoustic filter in acoustic based condition monitoring reveals the enhancement in machine learning based fault identification practice significantly. This is also a first attempt of its own kind.

How Question Types Reveal Student Thinking: An Experimental Comparison of Multiple-True-False and Free-Response Formats

PubMed Central

Hubbard, Joanna K.; Potts, Macy A.; Couch, Brian A.

2017-01-01

Assessments represent an important component of undergraduate courses because they affect how students interact with course content and gauge student achievement of course objectives. To make decisions on assessment design, instructors must understand the affordances and limitations of available question formats. Here, we use a crossover experimental design to identify differences in how multiple-true-false (MTF) and free-response (FR) exam questions reveal student thinking regarding specific conceptions. We report that correct response rates correlate across the two formats but that a higher percentage of students provide correct responses for MTF questions. We find that MTF questions reveal a high prevalence of students with mixed (correct and incorrect) conceptions, while FR questions reveal a high prevalence of students with partial (correct and unclear) conceptions. These results suggest that MTF question prompts can direct students to address specific conceptions but obscure nuances in student thinking and may overestimate the frequency of particular conceptions. Conversely, FR questions provide a more authentic portrait of student thinking but may face limitations in their ability to diagnose specific, particularly incorrect, conceptions. We further discuss an intrinsic tension between question structure and diagnostic capacity and how instructors might use multiple formats or hybrid formats to overcome these obstacles. PMID:28450446

Preliminary study on X-ray fluorescence computed tomography imaging of gold nanoparticles: Acceleration of data acquisition by multiple pinholes scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasaya, Tenta; Sunaguchi, Naoki; Seo, Seung-Jum; Hyodo, Kazuyuki; Zeniya, Tsutomu; Kim, Jong-Ki; Yuasa, Tetsuya

2018-04-01

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have recently attracted attention in nanomedicine as novel contrast agents for cancer imaging. A decisive tomographic imaging technique has not yet been established to depict the 3-D distribution of GNPs in an object. An imaging technique known as pinhole-based X-ray fluorescence computed tomography (XFCT) is a promising method that can be used to reconstruct the distribution of GNPs from the X-ray fluorescence emitted by GNPs. We address the acceleration of data acquisition in pinhole-based XFCT for preclinical use using a multiple pinhole scheme. In this scheme, multiple projections are simultaneously acquired through a multi-pinhole collimator with a 2-D detector and full-field volumetric beam to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the projections; this enables fast data acquisition. To demonstrate the efficacy of this method, we performed an imaging experiment using a physical phantom with an actual multi-pinhole XFCT system that was constructed using the beamline AR-NE7A at KEK. The preliminary study showed that the multi-pinhole XFCT achieved a data acquisition time of 20 min at a theoretical detection limit of approximately 0.1 Au mg/ml and at a spatial resolution of 0.4 mm.

MFAM: Multiple Frequency Adaptive Model-Based Indoor Localization Method.

PubMed

Tuta, Jure; Juric, Matjaz B

2018-03-24

This paper presents MFAM (Multiple Frequency Adaptive Model-based localization method), a novel model-based indoor localization method that is capable of using multiple wireless signal frequencies simultaneously. It utilizes indoor architectural model and physical properties of wireless signal propagation through objects and space. The motivation for developing multiple frequency localization method lies in the future Wi-Fi standards (e.g., 802.11ah) and the growing number of various wireless signals present in the buildings (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, etc.). Current indoor localization methods mostly rely on a single wireless signal type and often require many devices to achieve the necessary accuracy. MFAM utilizes multiple wireless signal types and improves the localization accuracy over the usage of a single frequency. It continuously monitors signal propagation through space and adapts the model according to the changes indoors. Using multiple signal sources lowers the required number of access points for a specific signal type while utilizing signals, already present in the indoors. Due to the unavailability of the 802.11ah hardware, we have evaluated proposed method with similar signals; we have used 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and 868 MHz HomeMatic home automation signals. We have performed the evaluation in a modern two-bedroom apartment and measured mean localization error 2.0 to 2.3 m and median error of 2.0 to 2.2 m. Based on our evaluation results, using two different signals improves the localization accuracy by 18% in comparison to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi-only approach. Additional signals would improve the accuracy even further. We have shown that MFAM provides better accuracy than competing methods, while having several advantages for real-world usage.

MFAM: Multiple Frequency Adaptive Model-Based Indoor Localization Method

PubMed Central

Juric, Matjaz B.

2018-01-01

This paper presents MFAM (Multiple Frequency Adaptive Model-based localization method), a novel model-based indoor localization method that is capable of using multiple wireless signal frequencies simultaneously. It utilizes indoor architectural model and physical properties of wireless signal propagation through objects and space. The motivation for developing multiple frequency localization method lies in the future Wi-Fi standards (e.g., 802.11ah) and the growing number of various wireless signals present in the buildings (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, etc.). Current indoor localization methods mostly rely on a single wireless signal type and often require many devices to achieve the necessary accuracy. MFAM utilizes multiple wireless signal types and improves the localization accuracy over the usage of a single frequency. It continuously monitors signal propagation through space and adapts the model according to the changes indoors. Using multiple signal sources lowers the required number of access points for a specific signal type while utilizing signals, already present in the indoors. Due to the unavailability of the 802.11ah hardware, we have evaluated proposed method with similar signals; we have used 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and 868 MHz HomeMatic home automation signals. We have performed the evaluation in a modern two-bedroom apartment and measured mean localization error 2.0 to 2.3 m and median error of 2.0 to 2.2 m. Based on our evaluation results, using two different signals improves the localization accuracy by 18% in comparison to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi-only approach. Additional signals would improve the accuracy even further. We have shown that MFAM provides better accuracy than competing methods, while having several advantages for real-world usage. PMID:29587352

Quantitative Guidance for Stove Usage and Performance to Achieve Health and Environmental Targets

PubMed Central

Chiang, Ranyee A.

2015-01-01

Background Displacing the use of polluting and inefficient cookstoves in developing countries is necessary to achieve the potential health and environmental benefits sought through clean cooking solutions. Yet little quantitative context has been provided on how much displacement of traditional technologies is needed to achieve targets for household air pollutant concentrations or fuel savings. Objectives This paper provides instructive guidance on the usage of cooking technologies required to achieve health and environmental improvements. Methods We evaluated different scenarios of displacement of traditional stoves with use of higher performing technologies. The air quality and fuel consumption impacts were estimated for these scenarios using a single-zone box model of indoor air quality and ratios of thermal efficiency. Results Stove performance and usage should be considered together, as lower performing stoves can result in similar or greater benefits than a higher performing stove if the lower performing stove has considerably higher displacement of the baseline stove. Based on the indoor air quality model, there are multiple performance–usage scenarios for achieving modest indoor air quality improvements. To meet World Health Organization guidance levels, however, three-stone fire and basic charcoal stove usage must be nearly eliminated to achieve the particulate matter target (< 1–3 hr/week), and substantially limited to meet the carbon monoxide guideline (< 7–9 hr/week). Conclusions Moderate health gains may be achieved with various performance–usage scenarios. The greatest benefits are estimated to be achieved by near-complete displacement of traditional stoves with clean technologies, emphasizing the need to shift in the long term to near exclusive use of clean fuels and stoves. The performance–usage scenarios are also provided as a tool to guide technology selection and prioritize behavior change opportunities to maximize impact. Citation Johnson MA, Chiang RA. 2015. Quantitative guidance for stove usage and performance to achieve health and environmental targets. Environ Health Perspect 123:820–826; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408681 PMID:25816219

Multiple degree of freedom optical pattern recognition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casasent, D.

1987-01-01

Three general optical approaches to multiple degree of freedom object pattern recognition (where no stable object rest position exists) are advanced. These techniques include: feature extraction, correlation, and artificial intelligence. The details of the various processors are advanced together with initial results.

Passive levitation in alternating magnetic fields

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

Romero, Louis; Christenson, Todd; Aronson, Eugene A.

2010-09-14

Stable levitation of an object in an alternating magnetic field can be achieved by eliminating coupling between the rotational and translational forces acting on the object. Stable levitation can also be achieved by varying the coupling between the rotational and translational forces acting on the object, while maintaining one or more of the rotational and translational forces steady in time.

Passive levitation in alternating magnetic fields

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

Romero, Louis; Christenson, Todd; Aronson, Eugene A

2009-06-16

Stable levitation of an object in an alternating magnetic field can be achieved by eliminating coupling between the rotational and translational forces acting on the object. Stable levitation can also be achieved by varying the coupling between the rotational and translational forces acting on the object, while maintaining one or more of the rotational and translational forces steady in time.

Modeling the Effects of Army Advertising

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-11-01

was a multipurpose project dealing with advertising effectiveness, advertising strategy efficiency, management of the advertising program and planning...and development of new marketing strategies and segmentation. It is clearly impossible for a project with this breadth of objectives to also satisfy...achieving the broader objective. Likewise, advertising derives its objectives from marketing which when accomplished will lead to the achievement of

Effect of Direct Teaching Method on the Academic Achievement of High and Low Achievers in the Subject of English at the Secondary Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hussain, Ishtiaq; Hamdani, Syed Nisar Hussain; Quraishi, Uzma; Zeeshan, Muhammad

2010-01-01

The major objective of the study was to determine the role of the direct teaching method in the academic achievement of students in English at the secondary level. To achieve the said objective, the Solomon Four-Design pre-test/post-test equivalent group design was considered to be the most useful design for this study. The pre-test was used to…

A comparative study of the effect of student and instructor cognitive mapping on student achievement and attitudes in introductory college biology for nonmajors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dardis, Deborah J. Athas

Within a single research design, this investigation compared the effects of student and instructor cognitive mapping on student achievement and attitudes in introductory college biology for nonmajors. Subjects self-selected into either a Control Group that experienced no cognitive mapping, an Experimental Group 1 that experienced instructor cognitive mapping, or an Experimental Group 2 in which students constructed cognitive maps. Data were collected by a Students' Opinions of Teaching Poll and instructor prepared tests that included objective questions representing all levels of the cognitive domain. An ANCOVA revealed no significant differences in the academic achievement of students in the control and experimental groups. The academic performance of males and females was similar among all three groups of students and data confirmed a lack of interaction between gender and instructional strategy. This investigation confirmed that cognitive mapping will not disrupt a gender-neutral classroom environment. Students' opinions of teaching were overwhelmingly positive. A Kruskal Wallis analysis, followed by a nonparametric Tukey-type multiple comparison, revealed that students who experienced no mapping consistently rated the instructor with higher scores than did students who experienced instructor mapping. Students who cooperatively constructed cognitive maps reported the lowest scores on the opinion polls.

Three-dimensional model-based object recognition and segmentation in cluttered scenes.

PubMed

Mian, Ajmal S; Bennamoun, Mohammed; Owens, Robyn

2006-10-01

Viewpoint independent recognition of free-form objects and their segmentation in the presence of clutter and occlusions is a challenging task. We present a novel 3D model-based algorithm which performs this task automatically and efficiently. A 3D model of an object is automatically constructed offline from its multiple unordered range images (views). These views are converted into multidimensional table representations (which we refer to as tensors). Correspondences are automatically established between these views by simultaneously matching the tensors of a view with those of the remaining views using a hash table-based voting scheme. This results in a graph of relative transformations used to register the views before they are integrated into a seamless 3D model. These models and their tensor representations constitute the model library. During online recognition, a tensor from the scene is simultaneously matched with those in the library by casting votes. Similarity measures are calculated for the model tensors which receive the most votes. The model with the highest similarity is transformed to the scene and, if it aligns accurately with an object in the scene, that object is declared as recognized and is segmented. This process is repeated until the scene is completely segmented. Experiments were performed on real and synthetic data comprised of 55 models and 610 scenes and an overall recognition rate of 95 percent was achieved. Comparison with the spin images revealed that our algorithm is superior in terms of recognition rate and efficiency.

Steady state preparative multiple dual mode counter-current chromatography: Productivity and selectivity. Theory and experimental verification.

PubMed

Kostanyan, Artak E; Erastov, Andrey A

2015-08-07

In the steady state (SS) multiple dual mode (MDM) counter-current chromatography (CCC), at the beginning of the first step of every cycle the sample dissolved in one of the phases is continuously fed into a CCC device over a constant time, not exceeding the run time of the first step. After a certain number of cycles, the steady state regime is achieved, where concentrations vary over time during each cycle, however, the concentration profiles of solutes eluted with both phases remain constant in all subsequent cycles. The objective of this work was to develop analytical expressions to describe the SS MDM CCC separation processes, which can be helpful to simulate and design these processes and select a suitable compromise between the productivity and the selectivity in the preparative and production CCC separations. Experiments carried out using model mixtures of compounds from the GUESSmix with solvent system hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water demonstrated a reasonable agreement between the predictions of the theory and the experimental results. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Research on improving image recognition robustness by combining multiple features with associative memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Dongwei; Wang, Zhe

2018-05-01

Convolutional neural networks (CNN) achieve great success in computer vision, it can learn hierarchical representation from raw pixels and has outstanding performance in various image recognition tasks [1]. However, CNN is easy to be fraudulent in terms of it is possible to produce images totally unrecognizable to human eyes that CNNs believe with near certainty are familiar objects. [2]. In this paper, an associative memory model based on multiple features is proposed. Within this model, feature extraction and classification are carried out by CNN, T-SNE and exponential bidirectional associative memory neural network (EBAM). The geometric features extracted from CNN and the digital features extracted from T-SNE are associated by EBAM. Thus we ensure the recognition of robustness by a comprehensive assessment of the two features. In our model, we can get only 8% error rate with fraudulent data. In systems that require a high safety factor or some key areas, strong robustness is extremely important, if we can ensure the image recognition robustness, network security will be greatly improved and the social production efficiency will be extremely enhanced.

Artificial neural networks environmental forecasting in comparison with multiple linear regression technique: From heavy metals to organic micropollutants screening in agricultural soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonelli, Maria Grazia; Ferrini, Mauro; Manni, Andrea

2016-12-01

The assessment of metals and organic micropollutants contamination in agricultural soils is a difficult challenge due to the extensive area used to collect and analyze a very large number of samples. With Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs measurement methods and subsequent the treatment of data, the European Community advises the develop low-cost and fast methods allowing routing analysis of a great number of samples, providing rapid measurement of these compounds in the environment, feeds and food. The aim of the present work has been to find a method suitable to describe the relations occurring between organic and inorganic contaminants and use the value of the latter in order to forecast the former. In practice, the use of a metal portable soil analyzer coupled with an efficient statistical procedure enables the required objective to be achieved. Compared to Multiple Linear Regression, the Artificial Neural Networks technique has shown to be an excellent forecasting method, though there is no linear correlation between the variables to be analyzed.

Multi-Objective vs. Single Objective Calibration of a Hydrologic Model using Either Different Hydrologic Signatures or Complementary Data Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mai, J.; Cuntz, M.; Zink, M.; Schaefer, D.; Thober, S.; Samaniego, L. E.; Shafii, M.; Tolson, B.

2015-12-01

Hydrologic models are traditionally calibrated against discharge. Recent studies have shown however, that only a few global model parameters are constrained using the integral discharge measurements. It is therefore advisable to use additional information to calibrate those models. Snow pack data, for example, could improve the parametrization of snow-related processes, which might be underrepresented when using only discharge. One common approach is to combine these multiple objectives into one single objective function and allow the use of a single-objective algorithm. Another strategy is to consider the different objectives separately and apply a Pareto-optimizing algorithm. Both methods are challenging in the choice of appropriate multiple objectives with either conflicting interests or the focus on different model processes. A first aim of this study is to compare the two approaches employing the mesoscale Hydrologic Model mHM at several distinct river basins over Europe and North America. This comparison will allow the identification of the single-objective solution on the Pareto front. It is elucidated if this position is determined by the weighting and scaling of the multiple objectives when combing them to the single objective. The principal second aim is to guide the selection of proper objectives employing sensitivity analyses. These analyses are used to determine if an additional information would help to constrain additional model parameters. The additional information are either multiple data sources or multiple signatures of one measurement. It is evaluated if specific discharge signatures can inform different parts of the hydrologic model. The results show that an appropriate selection of discharge signatures increased the number of constrained parameters by more than 50% compared to using only NSE of the discharge time series. It is further assessed if the use of these signatures impose conflicting objectives on the hydrologic model. The usage of signatures is furthermore contrasted to the use of additional observations such as soil moisture or snow height. The gain of using an auxiliary dataset is determined using the parametric sensitivity on the respective modeled variable.

Evidence against a speed limit in multiple-object tracking.

PubMed

Franconeri, S L; Lin, J Y; Pylyshyn, Z W; Fisher, B; Enns, J T

2008-08-01

Everyday tasks often require us to keep track of multiple objects in dynamic scenes. Past studies show that tracking becomes more difficult as objects move faster. In the present study, we show that this trade-off may not be due to increased speed itself but may, instead, be due to the increased crowding that usually accompanies increases in speed. Here, we isolate changes in speed from variations in crowding, by projecting a tracking display either onto a small area at the center of a hemispheric projection dome or onto the entire dome. Use of the larger display increased retinal image size and object speed by a factor of 4 but did not increase interobject crowding. Results showed that tracking accuracy was equally good in the large-display condition, even when the objects traveled far into the visual periphery. Accuracy was also not reduced when we tested object speeds that limited performance in the small-display condition. These results, along with a reinterpretation of past studies, suggest that we might be able to track multiple moving objects as fast as we can a single moving object, once the effect of object crowding is eliminated.

Comparisons of mathematics achievement of grade 8 students in the United States and the Russian Federation.

PubMed

Bazarova, Saodat I; Engelhard, George

2004-01-01

Using the Mantel-Haenszel (MH) Procedure, we analyzed data for 7,087 American and 4,022 Russian Grade 8 students from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to compare mathematics achievement in the two countries on each of the 124 multiple-choice items. The results of the analyses indicate that the performance of the students on individual multiple-choice mathematics items vary by country. The results also suggest that the relationship between country and item performance differ as a function of content area. A total score of a country's achievement does not provide the whole picture of achievement dynamics; it averages out potentially important information on student achievement and the causes of their performance relative to other countries. The dynamics of achievement across countries will not be revealed unless the analyses are done at the item level.

Predicting objective function weights from patient anatomy in prostate IMRT treatment planning

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

Lee, Taewoo, E-mail: taewoo.lee@utoronto.ca; Hammad, Muhannad; Chan, Timothy C. Y.

2013-12-15

Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning typically combines multiple criteria into a single objective function by taking a weighted sum. The authors propose a statistical model that predicts objective function weights from patient anatomy for prostate IMRT treatment planning. This study provides a proof of concept for geometry-driven weight determination. Methods: A previously developed inverse optimization method (IOM) was used to generate optimal objective function weights for 24 patients using their historical treatment plans (i.e., dose distributions). These IOM weights were around 1% for each of the femoral heads, while bladder and rectum weights varied greatly between patients. Amore » regression model was developed to predict a patient's rectum weight using the ratio of the overlap volume of the rectum and bladder with the planning target volume at a 1 cm expansion as the independent variable. The femoral head weights were fixed to 1% each and the bladder weight was calculated as one minus the rectum and femoral head weights. The model was validated using leave-one-out cross validation. Objective values and dose distributions generated through inverse planning using the predicted weights were compared to those generated using the original IOM weights, as well as an average of the IOM weights across all patients. Results: The IOM weight vectors were on average six times closer to the predicted weight vectors than to the average weight vector, usingl{sub 2} distance. Likewise, the bladder and rectum objective values achieved by the predicted weights were more similar to the objective values achieved by the IOM weights. The difference in objective value performance between the predicted and average weights was statistically significant according to a one-sided sign test. For all patients, the difference in rectum V54.3 Gy, rectum V70.0 Gy, bladder V54.3 Gy, and bladder V70.0 Gy values between the dose distributions generated by the predicted weights and IOM weights was less than 5 percentage points. Similarly, the difference in femoral head V54.3 Gy values between the two dose distributions was less than 5 percentage points for all but one patient. Conclusions: This study demonstrates a proof of concept that patient anatomy can be used to predict appropriate objective function weights for treatment planning. In the long term, such geometry-driven weights may serve as a starting point for iterative treatment plan design or may provide information about the most clinically relevant region of the Pareto surface to explore.« less

Predicting objective function weights from patient anatomy in prostate IMRT treatment planning

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

Lee, Taewoo, E-mail: taewoo.lee@utoronto.ca; Hammad, Muhannad; Chan, Timothy C. Y.

Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning typically combines multiple criteria into a single objective function by taking a weighted sum. The authors propose a statistical model that predicts objective function weights from patient anatomy for prostate IMRT treatment planning. This study provides a proof of concept for geometry-driven weight determination. Methods: A previously developed inverse optimization method (IOM) was used to generate optimal objective function weights for 24 patients using their historical treatment plans (i.e., dose distributions). These IOM weights were around 1% for each of the femoral heads, while bladder and rectum weights varied greatly between patients. Amore » regression model was developed to predict a patient's rectum weight using the ratio of the overlap volume of the rectum and bladder with the planning target volume at a 1 cm expansion as the independent variable. The femoral head weights were fixed to 1% each and the bladder weight was calculated as one minus the rectum and femoral head weights. The model was validated using leave-one-out cross validation. Objective values and dose distributions generated through inverse planning using the predicted weights were compared to those generated using the original IOM weights, as well as an average of the IOM weights across all patients. Results: The IOM weight vectors were on average six times closer to the predicted weight vectors than to the average weight vector, usingl{sub 2} distance. Likewise, the bladder and rectum objective values achieved by the predicted weights were more similar to the objective values achieved by the IOM weights. The difference in objective value performance between the predicted and average weights was statistically significant according to a one-sided sign test. For all patients, the difference in rectum V54.3 Gy, rectum V70.0 Gy, bladder V54.3 Gy, and bladder V70.0 Gy values between the dose distributions generated by the predicted weights and IOM weights was less than 5 percentage points. Similarly, the difference in femoral head V54.3 Gy values between the two dose distributions was less than 5 percentage points for all but one patient. Conclusions: This study demonstrates a proof of concept that patient anatomy can be used to predict appropriate objective function weights for treatment planning. In the long term, such geometry-driven weights may serve as a starting point for iterative treatment plan design or may provide information about the most clinically relevant region of the Pareto surface to explore.« less