Cylinder expansion test and gas gun experiment comparison

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

Harrier, Danielle

This is a summer internship presentation by the Hydro Working Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and goes into detail about their cylinder expansion test and gas gun experiment comparison. Specifically, the gas gun experiment is detailed along with applications, the cylinder expansion test is detailed along with applications, there is a comparison of the methods with pros and cons and limitations listed, the summer project is detailed, and future work is talked about.

High efficiency IR supercontinuum generation and applications: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Shizhuo; Ruffin, Paul; Brantley, Christina; Edwards, Eugene; Cheng, Jiping; Yao, Jimmy; Luo, Claire

2011-10-01

In this paper, we have reviewed our recent works on IR supercontinuum generation (SCG) and its applications. First, we provide a brief review on the physical mechanism of the supercontinuum generation and our previous works in this field. Second, the transmission characteristics of a new type of IR fibers is presented. Furthermore, the SCG generation in this new type of optical fiber is experimentally demonstrated. Finally, the suggestion for the future effort is discussed.

High efficiency IR supercontinuum generation and applications: a recent review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Shizhuo; Ruffin, Paul; Brantley, Christina; Edwards, Eugene; Cheng, Jiping; Luo, Claire

2012-10-01

In this paper, we have reviewed our recent works on IR supercontinuum generation (SCG) and its applications. First, we provide a brief review on the physical mechanism of the supercontinuum generation and our previous works in this field. Second, a thinner IR crystal fiber is fabricated. The supercontinuum generation in this thinner fiber is also demonstrated, which shows the enhanced performance. The suggestion for the future effort is also included.

Perspectives on Imaging: Advanced Applications. Introduction and Overview.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynch, Clifford A.; Lunin, Lois F.

1991-01-01

Provides an overview of six articles that address relationships between electronic imaging technology and information science. Articles discuss the areas of technology; applications in the fields of visual arts, medicine, and textile history; conceptual foundations; and future visions, including work in virtual reality and cyberspace. (LRW)

Breadth of Scientific Activities and Network Station Specifications in the International GPS Service (IGS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, A. W.; Neilan, R. E.; Springer, T. A.; Reigber, Ch.

2000-01-01

A strong multipurpose aspect of the International GPS Service (IGS) is revealed by a glance at the titles of current projects and working groups within the IGS: IGS/BIPM Time Transfer Project; Ionosphere Working Group; Troposphere Working Group; International GLONASS Experiment; Working Group on Low-Earth Orbiter Missions; and Tide Gauges, CGPS, and the IGS. The IGS network infrastructure, in large part originally commissioned for geodynamical investigations, has proved to be a valuable asset in developing application-oriented subnetworks whose requirements overlap the characteristics of existing IGS stations and future station upgrades. Issues encountered thus far in the development of multipurpose or multitechnique IGS projects as well as future possibilities will be reviewed.

Satellites at Work, Space in the Seventies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corliss, William R.

This publication in the "Space in the Seventies" series describes current status and future plans for "working" spacecraft, also called "application satellites." These spacecraft serve the needs of communications, meteorology, geodesy, and navigation. They also enable us to study earth resources from space. Many scientific and technical concepts…

Firing Room Remote Application Software Development & Swamp Works Laboratory Robot Software Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garcia, Janette

2016-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is creating a way to send humans beyond low Earth orbit, and later to Mars. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is working to make this possible by developing a Spaceport Command and Control System (SCCS) which will allow the launch of Space Launch System (SLS). This paper's focus is on the work performed by the author in her first and second part of the internship as a remote application software developer. During the first part of her internship, the author worked on the SCCS's software application layer by assisting multiple ground subsystems teams including Launch Accessories (LACC) and Environmental Control System (ECS) on the design, development, integration, and testing of remote control software applications. Then, on the second part of the internship, the author worked on the development of robot software at the Swamp Works Laboratory which is a research and technology development group which focuses on inventing new technology to help future In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) missions.

Building from In Vivo Research to the Future of Research on Relational Thinking and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schunn, Christian D.

2017-01-01

This concluding commentary takes the perspective of research on practicing scientists and engineers to consider what open areas and future directions on relational thinking and learning should be considered beyond the impressive research presented in the special issue. Areas for more work include (a) a need to examine educational applications of…

Graphene-based nanomaterials for nanobiotechnology and biomedical applications.

PubMed

Krishna, K Vijaya; Ménard-Moyon, Cécilia; Verma, Sandeep; Bianco, Alberto

2013-10-01

Graphene family nanomaterials are currently being extensively explored for applications in the field of nanotechnology. The unique intrinsic properties treasured in their simple molecular design and their ability to work in coherence with other existing nanomaterials make graphene family nanomaterials the most promising candidates for different types of applications. This review highlights the scope and utility of these multifaceted nanomaterials in nanobiotechnology and biomedicine. In a tandem approach, this review presents the smooth inclusion of these nanomaterials into existing designs for creating efficient working models at the nanoscale level as well as discussing their broad future possibilities.

Development of IS2100: An Information Systems Laboratory.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-03-01

systems for digital logic; hardware architecture; machine, assembly, and high order language programming; and application packages such as database... applications and limitations. They should be able to define, demonstrate and/or discuss how computers are used, how they do their work, how to use them, and...limitations. Hands on operation of the hardware and software provides experience that aids in future selection of hardware systems and applications

Computer Applications in Counselor Education: Developing Cultural Competencies through Online Collaboration of Future School Counselors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ilieva, Vessela; Erguner-Tekinalp, Bengu

2012-01-01

This study examined the applications of computer-mediated student collaboration in a graduate multicultural counseling course. The course work included a reflective cultural competency building assignment that utilized online communication and collaboration using a wiki to extend and improve students' multicultural counseling and social justice…

Smart Home and Building Systems | Energy Systems Integration Facility |

Science.gov Websites

Exploring how intelligent building systems and the dynamic grid of the future can work together evaluate them as a neighborhood Exploring functionality, applications, interoperability, and cybersecurity

The 1990 progress report and future plans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedland, Peter; Zweben, Monte; Compton, Michael

1990-01-01

This document describes the progress and plans of the Artificial Intelligence Research Branch (RIA) at ARC in 1990. Activities span a range from basic scientific research to engineering development and to fielded NASA applications, particularly those applications that are enabled by basic research carried out at RIA. Work is conducted in-house and through collaborative partners in academia and industry. Our major focus is on a limited number of research themes with a dual commitment to technical excellence and proven applicability to NASA short, medium, and long-term problems. RIA acts as the Agency's lead organization for research aspects of artificial intelligence, working closely with a second research laboratory at JPL and AI applications groups at all NASA centers.

NASA technology utilization applications. [transfer of medical sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The work is reported from September 1972 through August 1973 by the Technology Applications Group of the Science Communication Division (SCD), formerly the Biological Sciences Communication Project (BSCP) in the Department of Medical and Public Affairs of the George Washington University. The work was supportive of many aspects of the NASA Technology Utilization program but in particular those dealing with Biomedical and Technology Application Teams, Applications Engineering projects, new technology reporting and documentation and transfer activities. Of particular interest are detailed reports on the progress of various hardware projects, and suggestions and criteria for the evaluation of candidate hardware projects. Finally some observations about the future expansion of the TU program are offered.

Guidelines for children's work in agriculture: implications for the future.

PubMed

Marlenga, Barbara; Lee, Barbara C; Pickett, William

2012-01-01

The North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT) were developed to assist parents in assigning developmentally appropriate and safe farm work to their children aged 7-16 years. Since their release in 1999, a growing body of evidence has accumulated regarding the content and application of these guidelines to populations of working children on farms. The purpose of this paper is to review the scientific and programmatic evidence about the content, efficacy, application, and uptake of NAGCAT and propose key recommendations for the future. The methods for this review included a synthesis of the peer-reviewed literature and programmatic evidence gathered from safety professionals. From the review, it is clear that the NAGCAT tractor guidelines and the manual material handling guidelines need to be updated based upon the latest empirical evidence. While NAGCAT do have the potential to prevent serious injuries to working children in the correct age range (7-16 years), the highest incidence of farm related injuries and fatalities occur to children aged 1-6 years and NAGCAT are unlikely to have any direct effect on this leading injury problem. It is also clear that NAGCAT, as a voluntary educational strategy, is not sufficient by itself to protect children working on farms. Uptake of NAGCAT has been sporadic, despite being geographically widespread and has depended, almost solely, on a few interested and committed professionals. Key recommendations for the future are provided based upon this review.

The construct of resilience: Implications for interventions and social policies

PubMed Central

LUTHAR, SUNIYA S.; CICCHETTI, DANTE

2007-01-01

The focus of this article is on the interface between research on resilience—a construct representing positive adaptation despite adversity —and the applications of this work to the development of interventions and social policies. Salient defining features of research on resilience are delineated, as are various advantages, limitations, and precautions linked with the application of the resilience framework to developing interventions. For future applied efforts within this tradition, a series of guiding principles are presented along with exemplars of existing programs based on the resilience paradigm. The article concludes with discussions of directions for future work in this area, with emphases on an enhanced interface between science and practice, and a broadened scope of resilience-based interventions in terms of the types of populations, and the types of adjustment domains, that are encompassed. PMID:11202047

Geomagnetically induced currents: Science, engineering, and applications readiness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pulkkinen, A.; Bernabeu, E.; Thomson, A.; Viljanen, A.; Pirjola, R.; Boteler, D.; Eichner, J.; Cilliers, P. J.; Welling, D.; Savani, N. P.; Weigel, R. S.; Love, J. J.; Balch, C.; Ngwira, C. M.; Crowley, G.; Schultz, A.; Kataoka, R.; Anderson, B.; Fugate, D.; Simpson, J. J.; MacAlester, M.

2017-07-01

This paper is the primary deliverable of the very first NASA Living With a Star Institute Working Group, Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) Working Group. The paper provides a broad overview of the current status and future challenges pertaining to the science, engineering, and applications of the GIC problem. Science is understood here as the basic space and Earth sciences research that allows improved understanding and physics-based modeling of the physical processes behind GIC. Engineering, in turn, is understood here as the "impact" aspect of GIC. Applications are understood as the models, tools, and activities that can provide actionable information to entities such as power systems operators for mitigating the effects of GIC and government agencies for managing any potential consequences from GIC impact to critical infrastructure. Applications can be considered the ultimate goal of our GIC work. In assessing the status of the field, we quantify the readiness of various applications in the mitigation context. We use the Applications Readiness Level (ARL) concept to carry out the quantification.

Geomagnetically induced currents: Science, engineering, and applications readiness

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pulkkinen, Antti; Bernabeu, E.; Thomson, A.; Viljanen, A.; Pirjola, R.; Boteler, D.; Eichner, J.; Cilliers, P.J.; Welling, D.; Savani, N.P.; Weigel, R.S.; Love, Jeffrey J.; Balch, Christopher; Ngwira, C.M.; Crowley, G.; Schultz, Adam; Kataoka, R.; Anderson, B.; Fugate, D.; Simpson, J.J.; MacAlester, M.

2017-01-01

This paper is the primary deliverable of the very first NASA Living With a Star Institute Working Group, Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) Working Group. The paper provides a broad overview of the current status and future challenges pertaining to the science, engineering, and applications of the GIC problem. Science is understood here as the basic space and Earth sciences research that allows improved understanding and physics-based modeling of the physical processes behind GIC. Engineering, in turn, is understood here as the “impact” aspect of GIC. Applications are understood as the models, tools, and activities that can provide actionable information to entities such as power systems operators for mitigating the effects of GIC and government agencies for managing any potential consequences from GIC impact to critical infrastructure. Applications can be considered the ultimate goal of our GIC work. In assessing the status of the field, we quantify the readiness of various applications in the mitigation context. We use the Applications Readiness Level (ARL) concept to carry out the quantification.

Innovations in Labor Market Information and Their Application: Applications for Workforce Programs. A Greenways Action Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milfort, Myriam; Kelley, Jeremy

2012-01-01

With funding from the Joyce and Lumina foundations, Jobs for the Future (JFF) launched Credentials that Work to help postsecondary institutions, regions, and states align their occupational training programs to changing market demands. This initiative incorporates innovations in real-time labor market information in guiding institutions to better…

How We Make Energy Work: Grades 4, 5, 6 Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Science Teachers Association, Washington, DC.

This packet of units is designed to focus on the technological aspects of energy. Four units are presented, with from 1-4 lessons included in each unit. Units include: (1) basic concepts and applications of energy; (2) steps and processes of energy production and transmission; (3) fuel acquisition; and (4) energy futures and application of…

Applications of aerospace technology in the environmental sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

Detailed information is reported on the operations and accomplishments of the RTI Technology Application Team for the period October 11, 1971 to March 10, 1972. Mathematical models for prediction of pollutant formation during combustion are discussed along with generic areas of air pollution problems, which NASA technology offers a high potential for solving. Recommendations for future work are included.

Aircraft surface coatings study: Energy efficient transport program. [sprayed and adhesive bonded coatings for drag reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Surface coating materials for application on transport type aircraft to reduce drag, were investigated. The investigation included two basic types of materials: spray on coatings and adhesively bonded films. A cost/benefits analysis was performed, and recommendations were made for future work toward the application of this technology.

Improving Assistive Technology Service by Using 3D Printing: Three Case Studies.

PubMed

Watanabe, Takashi; Hatakeyama, Takuro; Tomiita, Mitsuru

2015-01-01

Assistive technology services are essential for adapting assistive devices to the individual needs of users with disabilities. In this study, we attempted to apply three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to three actual cases, and to study its use, effectiveness, and future applications. We assessed the usefulness of 3D printing technology by categorizing its utilization after reviewing the outcomes of these case studies. In future work, we aim to gather additional case studies and derive information on using 3D printing technology that will enable its effective application in the process of assistive technology services.

Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility: Past, Present and Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinek, Tom; Hellison, Don

2016-01-01

This article provides an overview of how the teaching for personal and social responsibility (TPSR) model has evolved. Its birthplace--a gym--is described where things were tried out, ideas tested, and learning about what worked and what did not work took place. Secondly, the present-day applications of the TPSR are examined--its use by a variety…

A Developmental Approach to Counseling Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bocknek, Gene

1976-01-01

The author enunciates basic tenets of developmental theory and shows their application to work with adults. Counseling intervention is conceptualized as mobilizing resources to facilitate growth. Implications for the future of counseling psychology are considered. (Author)

Merlot Design

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

Ahern, S D

2003-06-10

We describe Merlot, a system for delivery of digital imagery over high speed networks. We describe various use cases, the client/server interaction, and the image and network codecs. We also describe some possible applications using Merlot and future work.

Investigation of accidents within construction zones in Louisiana.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-07-01

This investigation is to analyze construction and maintenance work zone accidents by reviewing accident data to determine if deficiencies exist and recommend possible corrective measures for future traffic control applications. To accomplish this, a ...

Telecommuting (Work-At-Home) at NASA Lewis Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Srinidhi, Saragur M.

1994-01-01

This report presents a study in evaluating the viability of providing a work-at-home (telecommuting) program for Lewis Research Center's corporate employees using Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). Case studies have been presented for a range of applications from casual data access to interactive access. The network performance of telemedia applications were studied against future requirements for such level of remote connectivity. Many of the popular ISDN devices were characterized for network and service functionality. A set of recommendations to develop a telecommuting policy have been proposed.

Decision tree and ensemble learning algorithms with their applications in bioinformatics.

PubMed

Che, Dongsheng; Liu, Qi; Rasheed, Khaled; Tao, Xiuping

2011-01-01

Machine learning approaches have wide applications in bioinformatics, and decision tree is one of the successful approaches applied in this field. In this chapter, we briefly review decision tree and related ensemble algorithms and show the successful applications of such approaches on solving biological problems. We hope that by learning the algorithms of decision trees and ensemble classifiers, biologists can get the basic ideas of how machine learning algorithms work. On the other hand, by being exposed to the applications of decision trees and ensemble algorithms in bioinformatics, computer scientists can get better ideas of which bioinformatics topics they may work on in their future research directions. We aim to provide a platform to bridge the gap between biologists and computer scientists.

Using high-performance networks to enable computational aerosciences applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Marjory J.

1992-01-01

One component of the U.S. Federal High Performance Computing and Communications Program (HPCCP) is the establishment of a gigabit network to provide a communications infrastructure for researchers across the nation. This gigabit network will provide new services and capabilities, in addition to increased bandwidth, to enable future applications. An understanding of these applications is necessary to guide the development of the gigabit network and other high-performance networks of the future. In this paper we focus on computational aerosciences applications run remotely using the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) facility located at NASA Ames Research Center. We characterize these applications in terms of network-related parameters and relate user experiences that reveal limitations imposed by the current wide-area networking infrastructure. Then we investigate how the development of a nationwide gigabit network would enable users of the NAS facility to work in new, more productive ways.

Office of Space Terrestrial Applications (OSTA)/Applications Data Service (ADS) data systems standards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walton, B. A. (Editor)

1981-01-01

Standards needed to interconnect applications data service pilots for data sharing were identified. Current pilot methodologies are assessed. Recommendations for future work are made. A preliminary set of requirements for guidelines and standards for catalogues, directories, and dictionaries was identified. The user was considered to be a scientist at a terminal. Existing and emerging national and international telecommunication standards were adopted where possible in view of new and unproven standards.

Keyboarding and Computer Application. Technology Learning Activity. Teacher Edition. Technology Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This curriculum guide is designed to prepare students in grades 6-10 to work in the world of the future. The 8-day course provides exploratory, hands-on learning activities and information that can enhance the education of students of all types in an integrated curriculum that provides practical applications of academic skills. The guide contains…

DAS photonics developments for analogue and digital photonic links for intra-satellite communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blasco, Julián.; Rico, Eloy; Genovard, Pablo; Sáez, Cristina; Navasquillo, Olga; Martí, Javier

2017-11-01

During past years, special efforts have been invested to develop optical links, both digital and analogue, for space applications, such as reference signal distribution or digital communication cables. The aim of this paper is to present the current DAS developments for these applications as well as future work to increase TRL levels and flight opportunities.

Transforming consumer health informatics through a patient work framework: connecting patients to context

PubMed Central

Valdez, Rupa S; Holden, Richard J; Novak, Laurie L; Veinot, Tiffany C

2015-01-01

Designing patient-centered consumer health informatics (CHI) applications requires understanding and creating alignment with patients’ and their family members’ health-related activities, referred to here as ‘patient work’. A patient work approach to CHI draws on medical social science and human factors engineering models and simultaneously attends to patients, their family members, activities, and context. A patient work approach extends existing approaches to CHI design that are responsive to patients’ biomedical realities and personal skills and behaviors. It focuses on the embeddedness of patients’ health management in larger processes and contexts and prioritizes patients’ perspectives on illness management. Future research is required to advance (1) theories of patient work, (2) methods for assessing patient work, and (3) techniques for translating knowledge of patient work into CHI application design. Advancing a patient work approach within CHI is integral to developing and deploying consumer-facing technologies that are integrated with patients’ everyday lives. PMID:25125685

Work-life balance in an industrial setting. Focus on advocacy.

PubMed

Dow-Clarke, R Anne

2002-02-01

1. Employers have a role in assisting workers to manage conflicting priorities of work and family. 2. Management support and sensitivity to family and home life responsibilities and flexible application of policies are believed to be key factors in promoting work-life balance in the workplace. 3. Occupational health nurses have a role in advocating for revised company policies to assist employees to achieve and maintain a work-life balance. The information provided in this article can be used to guide future evaluation for the reduction of barriers to employee work-life balance.

Communication Simulations for Power System Applications

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

Fuller, Jason C.; Ciraci, Selim; Daily, Jeffrey A.

2013-05-29

New smart grid technologies and concepts, such as dynamic pricing, demand response, dynamic state estimation, and wide area monitoring, protection, and control, are expected to require considerable communication resources. As the cost of retrofit can be high, future power grids will require the integration of high-speed, secure connections with legacy communication systems, while still providing adequate system control and security. While considerable work has been performed to create co-simulators for the power domain with load models and market operations, limited work has been performed in integrating communications directly into a power domain solver. The simulation of communication and power systemsmore » will become more important as the two systems become more inter-related. This paper will discuss ongoing work at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to create a flexible, high-speed power and communication system co-simulator for smart grid applications. The framework for the software will be described, including architecture considerations for modular, high performance computing and large-scale scalability (serialization, load balancing, partitioning, cross-platform support, etc.). The current simulator supports the ns-3 (telecommunications) and GridLAB-D (distribution systems) simulators. Ongoing and future work will be described, including planned future expansions for a traditional transmission solver. A test case using the co-simulator, utilizing a transactive demand response system created for the Olympic Peninsula and AEP gridSMART demonstrations, requiring two-way communication between distributed and centralized market devices, will be used to demonstrate the value and intended purpose of the co-simulation environment.« less

Proceedings of the International Meteorological Satellite Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1962-01-01

International Meteorological Satellite Workshop, November 13-22, 1961, presented the results of the meteorological satellite program of the United States and the possibilities for the future, so that-- the weather services of other nations may acquire a working knowledge of meteorological satellite data for assistance in their future analysis programs both in research and in daily synoptic application and guidance in their national observational support efforts; the world meteorological community may become more familiar with the TIROS program.; and the present activity may be put in proper perspective relative to future operational programs.

Reliability Modeling Development and Its Applications for Ceramic Capacitors with Base-Metal Electrodes (BMEs)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang

2014-01-01

This presentation includes a summary of NEPP-funded deliverables for the Base-Metal Electrodes (BMEs) capacitor task, development of a general reliability model for BME capacitors, and a summary and future work.

Report from the MPP Working Group to the NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischer, James R.; Grosch, Chester; Mcanulty, Michael; Odonnell, John; Storey, Owen

1987-01-01

NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) gave a select group of scientists the opportunity to test and implement their computational algorithms on the Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) located at Goddard Space Flight Center, beginning in late 1985. One year later, the Working Group presented its report, which addressed the following: algorithms, programming languages, architecture, programming environments, the way theory relates, and performance measured. The findings point to a number of demonstrated computational techniques for which the MPP architecture is ideally suited. For example, besides executing much faster on the MPP than on conventional computers, systolic VLSI simulation (where distances are short), lattice simulation, neural network simulation, and image problems were found to be easier to program on the MPP's architecture than on a CYBER 205 or even a VAX. The report also makes technical recommendations covering all aspects of MPP use, and recommendations concerning the future of the MPP and machines based on similar architectures, expansion of the Working Group, and study of the role of future parallel processors for space station, EOS, and the Great Observatories era.

Gas-phase broadband spectroscopy using active sources: progress, status, and applications

PubMed Central

Cossel, Kevin C.; Waxman, Eleanor M.; Finneran, Ian A.; Blake, Geoffrey A.; Ye, Jun; Newbury, Nathan R.

2017-01-01

Broadband spectroscopy is an invaluable tool for measuring multiple gas-phase species simultaneously. In this work we review basic techniques, implementations, and current applications for broadband spectroscopy. We discuss components of broad-band spectroscopy including light sources, absorption cells, and detection methods and then discuss specific combinations of these components in commonly-used techniques. We finish this review by discussing potential future advances in techniques and applications of broad-band spectroscopy. PMID:28630530

Satellite Communications Using Commercial Protocols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ivancic, William D.; Griner, James H.; Dimond, Robert; Frantz, Brian D.; Kachmar, Brian; Shell, Dan

2000-01-01

NASA Glenn Research Center has been working with industry, academia, and other government agencies in assessing commercial communications protocols for satellite and space-based applications. In addition, NASA Glenn has been developing and advocating new satellite-friendly modifications to existing communications protocol standards. This paper summarizes recent research into the applicability of various commercial standard protocols for use over satellite and space- based communications networks as well as expectations for future protocol development. It serves as a reference point from which the detailed work can be readily accessed. Areas that will be addressed include asynchronous-transfer-mode quality of service; completed and ongoing work of the Internet Engineering Task Force; data-link-layer protocol development for unidirectional link routing; and protocols for aeronautical applications, including mobile Internet protocol routing for wireless/mobile hosts and the aeronautical telecommunications network protocol.

Applications of biomechanics for prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

PubMed

Garg, Arun; Kapellusch, Jay M

2009-01-01

This paper summarises applications of biomechanical principles and models in industry to control musculoskeletal disorders of the low back and upper extremity. Applications of 2-D and 3-D biomechanical models to estimate compressive force on the low back, the strength requirements of jobs, application of guidelines for overhead work and application of strain index and threshold limit value to address distal upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders are presented. Several case studies applied in the railroad industry, manufacturing, healthcare and warehousing are presented. Finally, future developments needed for improved biomechanical applications in industry are discussed. The information presented will be of value to practising ergonomists to recognise how biomechanics has played a significant role in identifying causes of musculoskeletal disorders and controlling them in the workplace. In particular, the information presented will help practising ergonomists with how physical stresses can be objectively quantified.

Working memory capacity does not always support future-oriented mind-wandering.

PubMed

McVay, Jennifer C; Unsworth, Nash; McMillan, Brittany D; Kane, Michael J

2013-03-01

To evaluate the claim that mind-wandering demands executive resources, and more specifically that people with better executive control will have the resources to engage in more future-oriented thought than will those with poorer executive control, we reanalyzed thought-report data from 2 independently conducted studies (J. C. McVay & M. J. Kane, 2012, Why does working memory capacity predict variation in reading comprehension? On the influence of mind wandering and executive attention, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Vol. 141, pp. 302-320; N. Unsworth & B. D. McMillan, in press, Mind-wandering and reading comprehension: Examining the roles of working memory capacity, interest, motivation, and topic experience, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition) on working memory capacity (WMC), mind-wandering, and reading comprehension. Both of these individual-differences studies assessed large samples of university subjects' WMC abilities via multiple tasks and probed their immediate thought content while reading; in reporting any task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs), subjects indicated whether those thoughts were about the future or the past, if applicable. In contrast to previously published findings indicating that higher WMC subjects mind-wandered about the future more than did lower WMC subjects (B. Baird, J. Smallwood, & J. W. Schooler, 2011, Back to the future: Autobiographical planning and the functionality of mind-wandering, Consciousness and Cognition, Vol. 20, pp. 1604-1611), we found only weak to modest negative correlations between WMC and future-oriented TUTs. If anything, our findings suggest that higher WMC subjects' TUTs were somewhat less often future-oriented than were lower WMC subjects'. Either WMC is not truly associated with mind-wandering about the future, or we have identified some important boundary conditions around that association.

Selected Topics in Overset Technology Development and Applications At NASA Ames Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, William M.; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This paper presents a general overview of overset technology development and applications at NASA Ames Research Center. The topics include: 1) Overview of overset activities at NASA Ames; 2) Recent developments in Chimera Grid Tools; 3) A general framework for multiple component dynamics; 4) A general script module for automating liquid rocket sub-systems simulations; and 5) Critical future work.

Next Generation Advanced Video Guidance Sensor: Low Risk Rendezvous and Docking Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Jimmy; Carrington, Connie; Spencer, Susan; Bryan, Thomas; Howard, Ricky T.; Johnson, Jimmie

2008-01-01

The Next Generation Advanced Video Guidance Sensor (NGAVGS) is being built and tested at MSFC. This paper provides an overview of current work on the NGAVGS, a summary of the video guidance heritage, and the AVGS performance on the Orbital Express mission. This paper also provides a discussion of applications to ISS cargo delivery vehicles, CEV, and future lunar applications.

The lead-lag relationship between stock index and stock index futures: A thermal optimal path method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Chen-Chen; Ji, Shen-Dan; Su, Li-Ling; Li, Sai-Ping; Ren, Fei

2016-02-01

The study of lead-lag relationship between stock index and stock index futures is of great importance for its wide application in hedging and portfolio investments. Previous works mainly use conventional methods like Granger causality test, GARCH model and error correction model, and focus on the causality relation between the index and futures in a certain period. By using a non-parametric approach-thermal optimal path (TOP) method, we study the lead-lag relationship between China Securities Index 300 (CSI 300), Hang Seng Index (HSI), Standard and Poor 500 (S&P 500) Index and their associated futures to reveal the variance of their relationship over time. Our finding shows evidence of pronounced futures leadership for well established index futures, namely HSI and S&P 500 index futures, while index of developing market like CSI 300 has pronounced leadership. We offer an explanation based on the measure of an indicator which quantifies the differences between spot and futures prices for the surge of lead-lag function. Our results provide new perspectives for the understanding of the dynamical evolution of lead-lag relationship between stock index and stock index futures, which is valuable for the study of market efficiency and its applications.

The Maker Movement, the Promise of Higher Education, and the Future of Work

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wigner, Aubrey

The 21st century will be the site of numerous changes in education systems in response to a rapidly evolving technological environment where existing skill sets and career structures may cease to exist or, at the very least, change dramatically. Likewise, the nature of work will also change to become more automated and more technologically intensive across all sectors, from food service to scientific research. Simply having technical expertise or the ability to process and retain facts will in no way guarantee success in higher education or a satisfying career. Instead, the future will value those educated in a way that encourages collaboration with technology, critical thinking, creativity, clear communication skills, and strong lifelong learning strategies. These changes pose a challenge for higher education's promise of employability and success post-graduation. Addressing how to prepare students for a technologically uncertain future is challenging. One possible model for education to prepare students for the future of work can be found within the Maker Movement. However, it is not fully understood what parts of this movement are most meaningful to implement in education more broadly, and higher education in particular. Through the qualitative analysis of nearly 160 interviews of adult makers, young makers and young makers' parents, this dissertation unpacks how makers are learning, what they are learning, and how these qualities are applicable to education goals and the future of work in the 21st century. This research demonstrates that makers are learning valuable skills to prepare them for the future of work in the 21st century. Makers are learning communication skills, technical skills in fabrication and design, and developing lifelong learning strategies that will help prepare them for life in an increasingly technologically integrated future. This work discusses what aspects of the Maker Movement are most important for integration into higher education.

Hopf-algebraic structure of combinatorial objects and differential operators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grossman, Robert; Larson, Richard G.

1989-01-01

A Hopf-algebraic structure on a vector space which has as basis a family of trees is described. Some applications of this structure to combinatorics and to differential operators are surveyed. Some possible future directions for this work are indicated.

Building more powerful less expensive supercomputers using Processing-In-Memory (PIM) LDRD final report.

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

Murphy, Richard C.

2009-09-01

This report details the accomplishments of the 'Building More Powerful Less Expensive Supercomputers Using Processing-In-Memory (PIM)' LDRD ('PIM LDRD', number 105809) for FY07-FY09. Latency dominates all levels of supercomputer design. Within a node, increasing memory latency, relative to processor cycle time, limits CPU performance. Between nodes, the same increase in relative latency impacts scalability. Processing-In-Memory (PIM) is an architecture that directly addresses this problem using enhanced chip fabrication technology and machine organization. PIMs combine high-speed logic and dense, low-latency, high-bandwidth DRAM, and lightweight threads that tolerate latency by performing useful work during memory transactions. This work examines the potential ofmore » PIM-based architectures to support mission critical Sandia applications and an emerging class of more data intensive informatics applications. This work has resulted in a stronger architecture/implementation collaboration between 1400 and 1700. Additionally, key technology components have impacted vendor roadmaps, and we are in the process of pursuing these new collaborations. This work has the potential to impact future supercomputer design and construction, reducing power and increasing performance. This final report is organized as follow: this summary chapter discusses the impact of the project (Section 1), provides an enumeration of publications and other public discussion of the work (Section 1), and concludes with a discussion of future work and impact from the project (Section 1). The appendix contains reprints of the refereed publications resulting from this work.« less

Selenium nanomaterials: applications in electronics, catalysis and sensors.

PubMed

Chaudhary, Savita; Mehta, S K

2014-02-01

This review provides insights into the synthesis, functionalization, and applications of selenium nanoparticles in electronics, optics, catalysis and sensors. The variation of physicochemical properties such as particle size, surface area, and shape of the selenium nanoparticles and the effect of experimental conditions has also been discussed. An overview has also been provided on the fundamental electrical and optical properties of selenium nanomaterials as well as their utilization in different research fields. The work presents an insight on selenium nanoparticles with interesting properties and their future applications.

Electromagnetic Imaging Methods for Nondestructive Evaluation Applications

PubMed Central

Deng, Yiming; Liu, Xin

2011-01-01

Electromagnetic nondestructive tests are important and widely used within the field of nondestructive evaluation (NDE). The recent advances in sensing technology, hardware and software development dedicated to imaging and image processing, and material sciences have greatly expanded the application fields, sophisticated the systems design and made the potential of electromagnetic NDE imaging seemingly unlimited. This review provides a comprehensive summary of research works on electromagnetic imaging methods for NDE applications, followed by the summary and discussions on future directions. PMID:22247693

Earth Science Applications Showcase

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-05

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden speaks with young professionals about their project during the annual DEVELOP Earth Science Application Showcase at NASA headquarters Tuesday, August 5, 2014. The Earth Science Applications Showcase highlights the work of over 150 participants in the 10-week DEVELOP program that started in June. The DEVELOP Program bridges the gap between NASA Earth science and society, building capacity in both its participants and partner organizations, to better prepare them to handle the challenges that face our society and future generations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Earth Science Applications Showcase

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-05

Michael Gao presents his project on Southeast Asian disasters during the annual DEVELOP Earth Science Application Showcase at NASA headquarters Tuesday, August 5, 2014. The Earth Science Applications Showcase highlights the work of over 150 participants in the 10-week DEVELOP program that started in June. The DEVELOP Program bridges the gap between NASA Earth science and society, building capacity in both its participants and partner organizations, to better prepare them to handle the challenges that face our society and future generations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Skylab experiments. Volume 7: Living and working in space. [Skylab mission data on human factors engineering and spacecraft components for high school level education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

Experiments conducted on the Skylab vehicle that will measure and evaluate the ability of the crew to live and work effectively in space are discussed. The methods and techniques of human engineering as they relate to the design and evaluation of work spaces, requirements, and tools are described. The application of these methods and the Skylab measurements to the design of future spacecraft are analyzed.

Communications and Intelligent Systems Division Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Emerson, Dawn

2017-01-01

This presentation provides an overview of the research and engineering work being performed in the competency fields of advanced communications and intelligent systems with emphasis on advanced technologies, architecture definition, and systems development for application in current and future aeronautics and space communications systems.

Rapid Response: D-Wave Effort Debrief Welcome, Logistics

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

Eidenbenz, Stephan Johannes

The main objects of this project is to develop a diverse and sizable workforce, community, interest within LANL for D-Wave and Quantum Computing; identify promising application areas/problems for future projects; and complement other D-Wave work at LANL (LDRD DR, ASC).

Communications and Intelligent Systems Division - Division Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miranda, Felix A.

2017-01-01

This presentation provides an overview of the research and engineering work being performed in the competency fields of advanced communications and intelligent systems with emphasis on advanced technologies, architecture definition,and systems development for application in current and future aeronautics and space communications systems.

Communications and Intelligent Systems Division - Division Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miranda, Felix A.

2017-01-01

This presentation provides an overview of the research and engineering work being performed in the competency fields of advanced communications and intelligent systems with emphasis on advanced technologies, architecture definition, and systems development for application in current and future aeronautics and space communications systems.

Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) Based Microfluidic Devices for Biomedical Applications

PubMed Central

Ashraf, Muhammad Waseem; Tayyaba, Shahzadi; Afzulpurkar, Nitin

2011-01-01

Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) based microfluidic devices have gained popularity in biomedicine field over the last few years. In this paper, a comprehensive overview of microfluidic devices such as micropumps and microneedles has been presented for biomedical applications. The aim of this paper is to present the major features and issues related to micropumps and microneedles, e.g., working principles, actuation methods, fabrication techniques, construction, performance parameters, failure analysis, testing, safety issues, applications, commercialization issues and future prospects. Based on the actuation mechanisms, the micropumps are classified into two main types, i.e., mechanical and non-mechanical micropumps. Microneedles can be categorized according to their structure, fabrication process, material, overall shape, tip shape, size, array density and application. The presented literature review on micropumps and microneedles will provide comprehensive information for researchers working on design and development of microfluidic devices for biomedical applications. PMID:21747700

Results on 3D interconnection from AIDA WP3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moser, Hans-Günther; AIDA-WP3

2016-09-01

From 2010 to 2014 the EU funded AIDA project established in one of its work packages (WP3) a network of groups working collaboratively on advanced 3D integration of electronic circuits and semiconductor sensors for applications in particle physics. The main motivation came from the severe requirements on pixel detectors for tracking and vertexing at future Particle Physics experiments at LHC, super-B factories and linear colliders. To go beyond the state-of-the-art, the main issues were studying low mass, high bandwidth applications, with radiation hardness capabilities, with low power consumption, offering complex functionality, with small pixel size and without dead regions. The interfaces and interconnects of sensors to electronic readout integrated circuits are a key challenge for new detector applications.

Structural Framework for Flight: NASA's Role in Development of Advanced Composite Materials for Aircraft and Space Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tenney, Darrel R.; Davis, John G., Jr.; Johnston, Norman J.; Pipes, R. Byron; McGuire, Jack F.

2011-01-01

This serves as a source of collated information on Composite Research over the past four decades at NASA Langley Research Center, and is a key reference for readers wishing to grasp the underlying principles and challenges associated with developing and applying advanced composite materials to new aerospace vehicle concepts. Second, it identifies the major obstacles encountered in developing and applying composites on advanced flight vehicles, as well as lessons learned in overcoming these obstacles. Third, it points out current barriers and challenges to further application of composites on future vehicles. This is extremely valuable for steering research in the future, when new breakthroughs in materials or processing science may eliminate/minimize some of the barriers that have traditionally blocked the expanded application of composite to new structural or revolutionary vehicle concepts. Finally, a review of past work and identification of future challenges will hopefully inspire new research opportunities and development of revolutionary materials and structural concepts to revolutionize future flight vehicles.

Nanostructured carbon and carbon nanocomposites for electrochemical energy storage applications.

PubMed

Su, Dang Sheng; Schlögl, Robert

2010-02-22

Electrochemical energy storage is one of the important technologies for a sustainable future of our society, in times of energy crisis. Lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors with their high energy or power densities, portability, and promising cycling life are the cores of future technologies. This Review describes some materials science aspects on nanocarbon-based materials for these applications. Nanostructuring (decreasing dimensions) and nanoarchitecturing (combining or assembling several nanometer-scale building blocks) are landmarks in the development of high-performance electrodes for with long cycle lifes and high safety. Numerous works reviewed herein have shown higher performances for such electrodes, but mostly give diverse values that show no converging tendency towards future development. The lack of knowledge about interface processes and defect dynamics of electrodes, as well as the missing cooperation between material scientists, electrochemists, and battery engineers, are reasons for the currently widespread trial-and-error strategy of experiments. A concerted action between all of these disciplines is a prerequisite for the future development of electrochemical energy storage devices.

Remote sensing applications in agriculture and forestry. Applications of aerial photography and ERTS data to agricultural, forest and water resources management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

Remote sensing techniques are being used in Minnesota to study: (1) forest disease detection and control; (2) water quality indicators; (3) forest vegetation classification and management; (4) detection of saline soils in the Red River Valley; (5) corn defoliation; and (6) alfalfa crop productivity. Results of progress, and plans for future work in these areas, are discussed.

Multidimensional modulation for next-generation transmission systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Millar, David S.; Koike-Akino, Toshiaki; Kojima, Keisuke; Parsons, Kieran

2017-01-01

Recent research in multidimensional modulation has shown great promise in long reach applications. In this work, we will investigate the origins of this gain, the different approaches to multidimensional constellation design, and different performance metrics for coded modulation. We will also discuss the reason that such coded modulation schemes seem to have limited application at shorter distances, and the potential for other coded modulation schemes in future transmission systems.

Wind Shear/Turbulence Inputs to Flight Simulation and Systems Certification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowles, Roland L. (Editor); Frost, Walter (Editor)

1987-01-01

The purpose of the workshop was to provide a forum for industry, universities, and government to assess current status and likely future requirements for application of flight simulators to aviation safety concerns and system certification issues associated with wind shear and atmospheric turbulence. Research findings presented included characterization of wind shear and turbulence hazards based on modeling efforts and quantitative results obtained from field measurement programs. Future research thrusts needed to maximally exploit flight simulators for aviation safety application involving wind shear and turbulence were identified. The conference contained sessions on: Existing wind shear data and simulator implementation initiatives; Invited papers regarding wind shear and turbulence simulation requirements; and Committee working session reports.

Reports of planetary astronomy, 1985

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

This is a compilation of abstracts of reports from Principal Investigators funded through NASA's Planetary Astronomy Program, Office of Space Science and Applications. The purpose is to provide a document which succinctly summarizes work conducted in this program for 1985. Each report contains a brief statement on the strategy of investigation and lists significant accomplishments within the area of the author's funded grant or contract, plans for future work, and publications.

Reports of planetary astronomy, 1986

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

A compilation of abstracts of reports from Principal Investigators funded through NASA's Planetary Astronomy Program, Office of Space Science and Applications, is presented. The purpose is to provide a document which succinctly summarizes work conducted in this program for 1986. Each report contains a brief statement on the strategy of investigation and lists significant accomplishments within the area of the author's funded grant or contract, plans for future work, and publications.

United States Air Force Posture Statement 2004

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-05-24

warfighting effort from planning to execution. Air, ground, maritime, and space forces worked together at the same time for the same objectives, not merely...nation, the growing nexus of radicalism and technology. As we continue our work in Afghanistan and Iraq, we stand ready to respond to flashpoints...their potential application in future threats, the mere maintenance of our aging aircraft and space systems will not suffice. Simply stated, our

Online recognition of Chinese characters: the state-of-the-art.

PubMed

Liu, Cheng-Lin; Jaeger, Stefan; Nakagawa, Masaki

2004-02-01

Online handwriting recognition is gaining renewed interest owing to the increase of pen computing applications and new pen input devices. The recognition of Chinese characters is different from western handwriting recognition and poses a special challenge. To provide an overview of the technical status and inspire future research, this paper reviews the advances in online Chinese character recognition (OLCCR), with emphasis on the research works from the 1990s. Compared to the research in the 1980s, the research efforts in the 1990s aimed to further relax the constraints of handwriting, namely, the adherence to standard stroke orders and stroke numbers and the restriction of recognition to isolated characters only. The target of recognition has shifted from regular script to fluent script in order to better meet the requirements of practical applications. The research works are reviewed in terms of pattern representation, character classification, learning/adaptation, and contextual processing. We compare important results and discuss possible directions of future research.

Nuclear Security Applications of Antineutrino Detectors: Current Capabilities and Future Prospects

DOE PAGES

Bernstein, Adam; Baldwin, George; Boyer, Brian; ...

2010-12-10

Antineutrinos are electrically neutral, nearly massless fundamental particles produced in large numbers in the cores of nuclear reactors and in nuclear explosions. In the half century since their discovery, major advances in the understanding of their properties, and in detector technology, have opened the door to a new discipline—Applied Antineutrino Physics. Because antineutrinos are inextricably linked to the process of nuclear fission, there are many applications of interest in nuclear nonproliferation. This work presents a comprehensive survey of applied antineutrino physics relevant for nonproliferation, summarizes recent advances in the field, describes the overlap of this nascent discipline with other ongoingmore » fundamental and applied antineutrino research, and charts a course for research and development for future applications. It is intended as a resource for policymakers, researchers, and the wider nuclear nonproliferation community.« less

Status of Sample Return Propulsion Technology Development Under NASA's ISPT Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, David J.; Glaab, Louis J.; Munk, Michelle M.; Pencil, Eric; Dankanich, John; Peterson, Todd T.

2012-01-01

The In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) program was tasked in 2009 to start development of propulsion technologies that would enable future sample return missions. ISPT s sample return technology development areas are diverse. Sample Return Propulsion (SRP) addresses electric propulsion for sample return and low cost Discovery-class missions, propulsion systems for Earth Return Vehicles (ERV) including transfer stages to the destination, and low technology readiness level (TRL) advanced propulsion technologies. The SRP effort continues work on HIVHAC thruster development to transition into developing a Hall-effect propulsion system for sample return (ERV and transfer stages) and low-cost missions. Previous work on the lightweight propellant-tanks continues for sample return with direct applicability to a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission with general applicability to all future planetary spacecraft. The Earth Entry Vehicle (EEV) work focuses on building a fundamental base of multi-mission technologies for Earth Entry Vehicles (MMEEV). The main focus of the Planetary Ascent Vehicles (PAV) area is technology development for the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which builds upon and leverages the past MAV analysis and technology developments from the Mars Technology Program (MTP) and previous MSR studies

Nanotoxicity prediction using computational modelling - review and future directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saini, Bhavna; Srivastava, Sumit

2018-04-01

Nanomaterials has stimulated various outlooks for future in a number of industries and scientific ventures. A number of applications such as cosmetics, medicines, and electronics are employing nanomaterials due to their various compelling properties. The unending growth of nanomaterials usage in our daily life has escalated the health and environmental risks. Early nanotoxicity recognition is a big challenge. Various researches are going on in the field of nanotoxicity, which comprised of several problems such as inadequacy of proper datasets, lack of appropriate rules and characterization of nanomaterials. Computational modelling would be beneficial asset for nanomaterials researchers because it can foresee the toxicity, rest on previous experimental data. In this study, we have reviewed sufficient work demonstrating a proper pathway to proceed with QSAR analysis of Nanomaterials for toxicity modelling. The paper aims at providing comprehensive insight of Nano QSAR, various theories, tools and approaches used, along with an outline for future research directions to work on.

Propulsion Technology Development for Sample Return Missions Under NASA's ISPT Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, David J.; Pencil, Eric J.; Vento, Daniel; Dankanich, John W.; Munk, Michelle M.; Hahne, David

2011-01-01

The In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) Program was tasked in 2009 to start development of propulsion technologies that would enable future sample return missions. Sample return missions could be quite varied, from collecting and bringing back samples of comets or asteroids, to soil, rocks, or atmosphere from planets or moons. The paper will describe the ISPT Program s propulsion technology development activities relevant to future sample return missions. The sample return propulsion technology development areas for ISPT are: 1) Sample Return Propulsion (SRP), 2) Planetary Ascent Vehicles (PAV), 3) Entry Vehicle Technologies (EVT), and 4) Systems/mission analysis and tools that focuses on sample return propulsion. The Sample Return Propulsion area is subdivided into: a) Electric propulsion for sample return and low cost Discovery-class missions, b) Propulsion systems for Earth Return Vehicles (ERV) including transfer stages to the destination, and c) Low TRL advanced propulsion technologies. The SRP effort will continue work on HIVHAC thruster development in FY2011 and then transitions into developing a HIVHAC system under future Electric Propulsion for sample return (ERV and transfer stages) and low-cost missions. Previous work on the lightweight propellant-tanks will continue under advanced propulsion technologies for sample return with direct applicability to a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission and with general applicability to all future planetary spacecraft. A major effort under the EVT area is multi-mission technologies for Earth Entry Vehicles (MMEEV), which will leverage and build upon previous work related to Earth Entry Vehicles (EEV). The major effort under the PAV area is the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). The MAV is a new development area to ISPT, and builds upon and leverages the past MAV analysis and technology developments from the Mars Technology Program (MTP) and previous MSR studies.

Student Housing Cost Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California Univ., Berkeley. Univ. Residential Building System.

Target costs for the University Residential Building System (URBS) Project of the University of California are presented. Findings depict the effectiveness of building design and material applications and should be useful in guiding future student housing design work, whether the design utilizes the URBS system or not. Ten recently constructed…

Fast Track to the Cloud: Design Patterns for 12-Factor Earth Sciences Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pawloski, Andrew; McLaughlin, Brett; Lynnes, Christopher

2016-01-01

As expanding service offerings and decreasing prices make the cloud increasingly attractive to Earth Science applications, there are nontrivial practical considerations which can hinder its meaningful use. In this talk, we will discuss architectural recommendations and lessons learned while working on EOSDIS' cloud efforts, particularly the NASA-compliant General Application Platform (NGAP) and its associated applications. Prominent in our findings is the importance of 12-factor design patterns and the powerful "wins" they enable in the cloud. We will share our strategies for "fast-tracking" applications to the cloud --whether they be legacy, planned for the future, or somewhere in between.

Power output and carrier dynamics studies of perovskite solar cells under working conditions.

PubMed

Yu, Man; Wang, Hao-Yi; Hao, Ming-Yang; Qin, Yujun; Fu, Li-Min; Zhang, Jian-Ping; Ai, Xi-Cheng

2017-08-02

Perovskite solar cells have emerged as promising photovoltaic systems with superb power conversion efficiency. For the practical application of perovskite devices, the greatest concerns are the power output density and the related dynamics under working conditions. In this study, the working conditions of planar and mesoscopic perovskite solar cells are simulated and the power output density evolutions with the working voltage are highlighted. The planar device exhibits higher capability of outputting power than the mesoscopic one. The transient photoelectric conversion dynamics are investigated under the open circuit, short circuit and working conditions. It is found that the power output and dynamic processes are correlated intrinsically, which suggests that the power output is the competitive result of the charge carrier recombination and transport. The present work offers a unique view to elucidating the relationship between the power output and the charge carrier dynamics for perovskite solar cells in a comprehensive manner, which would be beneficial to their future practical applications.

Activated Carbon Fibers For Gas Storage

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

Burchell, Timothy D; Contescu, Cristian I; Gallego, Nidia C

The advantages of Activated Carbon Fibers (ACF) over Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) are reviewed and their relationship to ACF structure and texture are discussed. These advantages make ACF very attractive for gas storage applications. Both adsorbed natural gas (ANG) and hydrogen gas adsorption performance are discussed. The predicted and actual structure and performance of lignin-derived ACF is reviewed. The manufacture and performance of ACF derived monolith for potential automotive natural gas (NG) storage applications is reported Future trends for ACF for gas storage are considered to be positive. The recent improvements in NG extraction coupled with the widespread availability ofmore » NG wells means a relatively inexpensive and abundant NG supply in the foreseeable future. This has rekindled interest in NG powered vehicles. The advantages and benefit of ANG compared to compressed NG offer the promise of accelerated use of ANG as a commuter vehicle fuel. It is to be hoped the current cost hurdle of ACF can be overcome opening ANG applications that take advantage of the favorable properties of ACF versus GAC. Lastly, suggestions are made regarding the direction of future work.« less

Cochrane Rehabilitation Methodology Committee: an international survey of priorities for future work.

PubMed

Levack, William M; Meyer, Thorsten; Negrini, Stefano; Malmivaara, Antti

2017-10-01

Cochrane Rehabilitation aims to improve the application of evidence-based practice in rehabilitation. It also aims to support Cochrane in the production of reliable, clinically meaningful syntheses of evidence related to the practice of rehabilitation, while accommodating the many methodological challenges facing the field. To this end, Cochrane Rehabilitation established a Methodology Committee to examine, explore and find solutions for the methodological challenges related to evidence synthesis and knowledge translation in rehabilitation. We conducted an international online survey via Cochrane Rehabilitation networks to canvass opinions regarding the future work priorities for this committee and to seek information on people's current capabilities to assist with this work. The survey findings indicated strongest interest in work on how reviewers have interpreted and applied Cochrane methods in reviews on rehabilitation topics in the past, and on gathering a collection of existing publications on review methods for undertaking systematic reviews relevant to rehabilitation. Many people are already interested in contributing to the work of the Methodology Committee and there is a large amount of expertise for this work in the extended Cochrane Rehabilitation network already.

[work motivation -- assessment instruments and their relevance for medical care].

PubMed

Fiedler, Rolf G; Ranft, Andreas; Greitemann, Bernhard; Heuft, Gereon

2005-11-01

The relevance of work motivation for medical research and healthcare, in particular rehabilitation, is described. Four diagnostic instruments in the German language are introduced which can assess work motivation using a scale system: AVEM, JDS, LMI and FBTM. Their possible application and potential usage for the clinical area are discussed. Apart from the FBTM, none of these instruments can be directly used as a general instrument in a normal medical clinical setting. Finally, a current model for work motivation (compensatory model of work motivation and volition) is presented that contains basis concepts, which are judged as important for future research questions concerning the development of motivation diagnostic instruments.

Earth Science Applications Showcase

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-05

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden poses for a selfie after a quick rap performance by some young professionals during the annual DEVELOP Earth Science Application Showcase at NASA headquarters Tuesday, August 5, 2014. The Earth Science Applications Showcase highlights the work of over 150 participants in the 10-week DEVELOP program that started in June. The DEVELOP Program bridges the gap between NASA Earth science and society, building capacity in both its participants and partner organizations, to better prepare them to handle the challenges that face our society and future generations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Earth Science Applications Showcase

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-05

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden speaks with young professionals about their project on New England water resources during the annual DEVELOP Earth Science Application Showcase at NASA headquarters Tuesday, August 5, 2014. The Earth Science Applications Showcase highlights the work of over 150 participants in the 10-week DEVELOP program that started in June. The DEVELOP Program bridges the gap between NASA Earth science and society, building capacity in both its participants and partner organizations, to better prepare them to handle the challenges that face our society and future generations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Earth Science Applications Showcase

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-05

Lisa Waldron and Justin Roberts-Pierel present their project on Texas health and air quality during the annual DEVELOP Earth Science Application Showcase at NASA headquarters Tuesday, August 5, 2014. The Earth Science Applications Showcase highlights the work of over 150 participants in the 10-week DEVELOP program that started in June. The DEVELOP Program bridges the gap between NASA Earth science and society, building capacity in both its participants and partner organizations, to better prepare them to handle the challenges that face our society and future generations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Earth Science Applications Showcase

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-05

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden asks young professionals about their projects after posing for a group photo during the annual DEVELOP Earth Science Application Showcase at NASA headquarters Tuesday, August 5, 2014. The Earth Science Applications Showcase highlights the work of over 150 participants in the 10-week DEVELOP program that started in June. The DEVELOP Program bridges the gap between NASA Earth science and society, building capacity in both its participants and partner organizations, to better prepare them to handle the challenges that face our society and future generations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Multiobjective optimization in bioinformatics and computational biology.

PubMed

Handl, Julia; Kell, Douglas B; Knowles, Joshua

2007-01-01

This paper reviews the application of multiobjective optimization in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology. A survey of existing work, organized by application area, forms the main body of the review, following an introduction to the key concepts in multiobjective optimization. An original contribution of the review is the identification of five distinct "contexts," giving rise to multiple objectives: These are used to explain the reasons behind the use of multiobjective optimization in each application area and also to point the way to potential future uses of the technique.

Personal review and justice analysis of nursing experiences in Haiti.

PubMed

Emmott, Helen

2008-08-01

Health care providers frequently struggle to develop wise applications of theoretical knowledge. As a nurse studying traditional approaches in ethics while simultaneously volunteering in Haiti, I wrestled with the notion of justice in the midst of radical material inequities. Paul Farmer, physician and anthropologist, provides an analytic perspective for health care providers who work in poor and underserved countries by expanding the liberation theology of the 1970s to include social applications. Analyzing my past experiences in Haiti using Farmer's methodology provided insight into my successes and failures and prompted me to search for personal and professional reasons to provide care for the poor in the future. This type of reflection is essential for health care providers who work with the underserved, regardless of their religion or the country in which they work.

Frontiers in poly(ionic liquid)s: syntheses and applications.

PubMed

Qian, Wenjing; Texter, John; Yan, Feng

2017-02-20

We review recent works on the synthesis and application of poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs). Novel chemical structures, different synthetic strategies and controllable morphologies are introduced as a supplement to PIL systems already reported. The primary properties determining applications, such as ionic conductivity, aqueous solubility, thermodynamic stability and electrochemical/chemical durability, are discussed. Furthermore, the near-term applications of PILs in multiple fields, such as their use in electrochemical energy materials, stimuli-responsive materials, carbon materials, and antimicrobial materials, in catalysis, in sensors, in absorption and in separation materials, as well as several special-interest applications, are described in detail. We also discuss the limitations of PIL applications, efforts to improve PIL physics, and likely future developments.

Audio gunshot detection and localization systems: History, basic design, and future possibilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graves, Jordan R.

For decades, law enforcement organizations have increasingly utilized audio detection and localization systems to identify potential gunshot incidents and to respond accordingly. These systems have grown from simple microphone configurations used to estimate location into complex arrays that seem to pinpoint gunfire to within mere feet of its actual occurrence. Such technology comes from a long and dynamic history of developing equipment dating back to the First World War. Additionally, though basic designs require little in terms of programming or engineering experience, the mere presence of this tool invokes a firestorm of debate amongst economists, law enforcement groups, and the general public, which leads to questions about future possibilities for its use. The following pages will retell the history of these systems from theoretical conception to current capabilities. This work will also dissect these systems to reveal fundamental elements of their inner workings, in order to build a basic demonstrative system. Finally, this work will discuss some legal and moral points of dissension, and will explore these systems’ roles in society now and in the future, in additional applications as well.

A comparative TCAD assessment of III-V channel materials for future high speed and low power logic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomes, U. P.; Takhar, K.; Ranjan, K.; Rathi, S.; Biswas, D.

2015-02-01

In this work, by means physics based drift-diffusion simulations, three different narrow band gap semiconductors; InAs, InSb and In0.53Ga0.47As, and their associated heterostructures have been studied for future high speed and low power logic applications. It is observed that In0.53Ga0.47As has higher immunity towards short channel effects with low DIBL and sub-threshold slope than InSb and InAs. Also it is observed that for the same device geometry InSb has the highest drive current and lower intrinsic delay but its ION/IOFF figure of merit is deteriorated due to excess leakage current.

CONTACT: An Air Force technical report on military satellite control technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weakley, Christopher K.

1993-07-01

This technical report focuses on Military Satellite Control Technologies and their application to the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN). This report is a compilation of articles that provide an overview of the AFSCN and the Advanced Technology Program, and discusses relevant technical issues and developments applicable to the AFSCN. Among the topics covered are articles on Future Technology Projections; Future AFSCN Topologies; Modeling of the AFSCN; Wide Area Communications Technology Evolution; Automating AFSCN Resource Scheduling; Health & Status Monitoring at Remote Tracking Stations; Software Metrics and Tools for Measuring AFSCN Software Performance; Human-Computer Interface Working Group; Trusted Systems Workshop; and the University Technical Interaction Program. In addition, Key Technology Area points of contact are listed in the report.

DSN model for use in strategic planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, K. C.; Lin, C. Y.; Mckenzie, M.

1981-01-01

A System Dynamics Model of the DSN to support strategic planning for the Network is addressed. Applications for the model are described, as well as the foundations of system dynamics and the methodology used to develop the model. Activities to date and plans for future work are also discussed.

Use of Software Tools in Teaching Relational Database Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIntyre, D. R.; And Others

1995-01-01

Discusses the use of state-of-the-art software tools in teaching a graduate, advanced, relational database design course. Results indicated a positive student response to the prototype of expert systems software and a willingness to utilize this new technology both in their studies and in future work applications. (JKP)

15 CFR 923.126 - Pre-application procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... the past year's work contributed to the attainment of a program change as defined in § 923.123(a) in... Strategy, to resolve any questions concerning eligibility for funding under section 309 (see § 923.121(b... the applying agency (increase or decrease over previous fiscal year), future budget projections, and...

Breast magnetic resonance elastography: a review of clinical work and future perspectives.

PubMed

Bohte, A E; Nelissen, J L; Runge, J H; Holub, O; Lambert, S A; de Graaf, L; Kolkman, S; van der Meij, S; Stoker, J; Strijkers, G J; Nederveen, A J; Sinkus, R

2018-05-30

This review on magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) of the breast provides an overview of available literature and describes current developments in the field of breast MRE, including new transducer technology for data acquisition and multi-frequency-derived power-law behaviour of tissue. Moreover, we discuss the future potential of breast MRE, which goes beyond its original application as an additional tool in differentiating benign from malignant breast lesions. These areas of ongoing and future research include MRE for pre-operative tumour delineation, staging, monitoring and predicting response to treatment, as well as prediction of the metastatic potential of primary tumours. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

NASA Lewis Research Center Futuring Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boroush, Mark; Stover, John; Thomas, Charles

1987-01-01

On October 21 and 22, 1986, the Futures Group ran a two-day Futuring Workshop on the premises of NASA Lewis Research Center. The workshop had four main goals: to acquaint participants with the general history of technology forecasting; to familiarize participants with the range of forecasting methodologies; to acquaint participants with the range of applicability, strengths, and limitations of each method; and to offer participants some hands-on experience by working through both judgmental and quantitative case studies. Among the topics addressed during this workshop were: information sources; judgmental techniques; quantitative techniques; merger of judgment with quantitative measurement; data collection methods; and dealing with uncertainty.

Transforming consumer health informatics through a patient work framework: connecting patients to context.

PubMed

Valdez, Rupa S; Holden, Richard J; Novak, Laurie L; Veinot, Tiffany C

2015-01-01

Designing patient-centered consumer health informatics (CHI) applications requires understanding and creating alignment with patients' and their family members' health-related activities, referred to here as 'patient work'. A patient work approach to CHI draws on medical social science and human factors engineering models and simultaneously attends to patients, their family members, activities, and context. A patient work approach extends existing approaches to CHI design that are responsive to patients' biomedical realities and personal skills and behaviors. It focuses on the embeddedness of patients' health management in larger processes and contexts and prioritizes patients' perspectives on illness management. Future research is required to advance (1) theories of patient work, (2) methods for assessing patient work, and (3) techniques for translating knowledge of patient work into CHI application design. Advancing a patient work approach within CHI is integral to developing and deploying consumer-facing technologies that are integrated with patients' everyday lives. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com. For numbered affiliations see end of article.

The future of almanac services --- an HMNAO perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, S.; Nelmes, S.; Prema, P.; Whittaker, J.

2015-08-01

This talk will explore the means for delivering almanac data currently under consideration by HM Nautical Almanac Office in the near to medium future. While there will be a need to continue printed almanacs, almanac data must be available in a variety of forms ranging from paper almanacs to traditional web services through to applications for mobile devices and smartphones. The supply of data using applications may call for a different philosophy in supplying ephemeris data, one that differentiates between an application that calls on a web server for its data and one that has built-in ephemerides. These ephemerides need to be of a reasonably high precision while maintaining a modest machine footprint. These services also need to provide a wide range of applications ranging from traditional sunrise/set data though to more specialized services such as celestial navigation. The work necessary to meet these goals involves efficient programming, intuitive user interfaces, compact and efficient ephemerides and a suitable range of tools to meet the user's needs.

Therapeutic synthetic gene networks.

PubMed

Karlsson, Maria; Weber, Wilfried

2012-10-01

The field of synthetic biology is rapidly expanding and has over the past years evolved from the development of simple gene networks to complex treatment-oriented circuits. The reprogramming of cell fate with open-loop or closed-loop synthetic control circuits along with biologically implemented logical functions have fostered applications spanning over a wide range of disciplines, including artificial insemination, personalized medicine and the treatment of cancer and metabolic disorders. In this review we describe several applications of interactive gene networks, a synthetic biology-based approach for future gene therapy, as well as the utilization of synthetic gene circuits as blueprints for the design of stimuli-responsive biohybrid materials. The recent progress in synthetic biology, including the rewiring of biosensing devices with the body's endogenous network as well as novel therapeutic approaches originating from interdisciplinary work, generates numerous opportunities for future biomedical applications. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Systematic review of Kinect applications in elderly care and stroke rehabilitation

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

In this paper we present a review of the most current avenues of research into Kinect-based elderly care and stroke rehabilitation systems to provide an overview of the state of the art, limitations, and issues of concern as well as suggestions for future work in this direction. The central purpose of this review was to collect all relevant study information into one place in order to support and guide current research as well as inform researchers planning to embark on similar studies or applications. The paper is structured into three main sections, each one presenting a review of the literature for a specific topic. Elderly Care section is comprised of two subsections: Fall detection and Fall risk reduction. Stroke Rehabilitation section contains studies grouped under Evaluation of Kinect’s spatial accuracy, and Kinect-based rehabilitation methods. The third section, Serious and exercise games, contains studies that are indirectly related to the first two sections and present a complete system for elderly care or stroke rehabilitation in a Kinect-based game format. Each of the three main sections conclude with a discussion of limitations of Kinect in its respective applications. The paper concludes with overall remarks regarding use of Kinect in elderly care and stroke rehabilitation applications and suggestions for future work. A concise summary with significant findings and subject demographics (when applicable) of each study included in the review is also provided in table format. PMID:24996956

Here, there and everywhere: The art and science of optics at work

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambrosini, Dario; Ferraro, Pietro

2018-05-01

Optics, the ancient science of vision and light [1-5] can look forward to a "bright" future [6,7], as its applications are now ubiquitous in fields as diverse as science, engineering, technology, medicine and everyday life. Optical methods play a crucial and often revolutionary role in non-destructive testing, biomedical applications, microscopy, cultural heritage protection, advanced imaging in medicine, development of self-driving cars, astronomy, remote sensing, and manufacturing to cite a few examples.

Analytical applications of MIPs in diagnostic assays: future perspectives.

PubMed

Bedwell, Thomas S; Whitcombe, Michael J

2016-03-01

Many efforts have been made to produce artificial materials with biomimetic properties for applications in binding assays. Among these efforts, the technique of molecular imprinting has received much attention because of the high selectivity obtainable for molecules of interest, robustness of the produced polymers, simple and short synthesis, and excellent cost efficiency. In this review, progress in the field of molecularly imprinted sorbent assays is discussed-with a focus on work conducted from 2005 to date.

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

Barbara Chapman

OpenMP was not well recognized at the beginning of the project, around year 2003, because of its limited use in DoE production applications and the inmature hardware support for an efficient implementation. Yet in the recent years, it has been graduately adopted both in HPC applications, mostly in the form of MPI+OpenMP hybrid code, and in mid-scale desktop applications for scientific and experimental studies. We have observed this trend and worked deligiently to improve our OpenMP compiler and runtimes, as well as to work with the OpenMP standard organization to make sure OpenMP are evolved in the direction close tomore » DoE missions. In the Center for Programming Models for Scalable Parallel Computing project, the HPCTools team at the University of Houston (UH), directed by Dr. Barbara Chapman, has been working with project partners, external collaborators and hardware vendors to increase the scalability and applicability of OpenMP for multi-core (and future manycore) platforms and for distributed memory systems by exploring different programming models, language extensions, compiler optimizations, as well as runtime library support.« less

Design of mobile shelters for communication purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lotens, W. A.; Leebeek, H. J.

1982-03-01

A general design for a future generation of shelters, to be used as mobile work places, is presented. Design criteria involve ergonomics, functional suitability, and air conditioning. Electronics, power supply, and personnel get their own compartments. Work space is provided for two people with room for two more. Center of mass and cable connections are considered. Air conditioning requirements are calculated with a computer program. The result is an integrated design, applicable to shelters for several purposes.

Toxin Inhibition - Deconvolution Strategies and Assay Screening of Combinatorial Peptide Libraries

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-08-01

that could serve as lead compounds in the development of drug therapies to toxins. The libraries have typical structures of X I - X2 - hinge - X3 - X4...or passive vaccines have limited efficacies. There are no drug prophylaxes or therapies available. This technical report describes research to provide...broadly applicable drug discovery methods for a wide range of toxins. Future Work: The work conducted in the TIF project raised and renewed interest in

(Photosynthesis in intact plants)

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

Not Available

Progress in the two years since the last renewal application has been excellent. We have made substantial contributions on both main fronts of the projects, and are particularly happy with the progress of our research on intact plants. The approach of basing our field work on a sound foundation of laboratory studies has enabled is to use methods which provide unambiguous assays of well characterized reactions. We have also made excellent progress in several laboratory studies which will have direct applications in future field work, and have introduced to the laboratory a range of molecular genetics techniques which will allowmore » us to explore new options in the attempt to understand function at the level of molecular structure.« less

Initiating collaboration among organ transplant professionals through Web portals and mobile applications.

PubMed

Alexander, Susan; Hoy, Haley; Maskey, Manil; Conover, Helen; Gamble, John; Fraley, Anne

2013-05-13

The knowledge base for healthcare providers working in the field of organ transplantation has grown exponentially. However, the field has no centralized 'space' dedicated to efficient access and sharing of information. The ease of use and portability of mobile applications (apps) make them ideal for subspecialists working in complex healthcare environments. In this article, the authors review the literature related to healthcare technology; describe the development of health-related technology; present their mobile app pilot project assessing the effects of a collaborative, mobile app based on a freely available content manage framework; and report their findings. They conclude by sharing both lessons learned while completing this project and future directions.

Acoustic invisibility cloaks of arbitrary shapes for complex background media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jian; Chen, Tianning; Liang, Qingxuan; Wang, Xiaopeng; Xiong, Jie; Jiang, Ping

2016-04-01

We report on the theoretical investigation of the acoustic cloaks working in complex background media in this paper. The constitutive parameters of arbitrary-shape cloaks are derived based on the transformation acoustic theory and coordinate transformation technique. The detailed analysis of boundaries conditions and potential applications of the cloaks are also presented in our work. To overcome the difficulty of achieving the materials with ideal parameters in nature, concentric alternating layered isotropic materials is adopted to approximate the required properties of the cloak. Theoretical design and excellent invisibility are demonstrated by numerical simulations. The inhomogeneous medium and arbitrary-shape acoustic cloaks grow closer to real application and may be a new hot spot in future.

Exploring plasmonic nanoantenna arrays as a platform for biosensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toussaint, Kimani C.

2017-08-01

In recent years, the PROBE Lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has made significant developments in plasmonic nanoantenna technology by more closely exploring the rich parameter space associated with these structures including geometry and material composition, as well as the optical excitation conditions. Indeed, plasmonic nanoantennas are attractive for a variety of potential applications in nanotechnology, biology, and photonics due to their ability to tightly confine and strongly enhance optical fields. This talk will discuss our work with arrays of Au bowtie nanoantennas (BNAs) with an emphasis on how their field enhancement properties could be harnessed for particle manipulation and sensing. We also present our work with pillar-supported BNAs (p-BNAs) and discuss their potential for sensing applications, particularly when adapted for response in the near-IR. The talk will conclude with a brief discussion of some of the future work pursued by the PROBE lab, including adapting BNAs for lab-on-a-chip applications.

Submucosal Tunneling Endoscopic Resection (STER) and Other Novel Applications of Submucosal Tunneling in Humans.

PubMed

Liu, Bing-Rong; Song, Ji-Tao

2016-04-01

The submucosal tunneling technique was originally developed to provide safe access to the peritoneal cavity for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery procedures. With this technique, the submucosal tunnel becomes the working space for partial myotomy and tumor resection. The submucosal space has come to represent the "third space" distinguished from gastrointestinal lumen (first space) and peritoneal cavity (second space). New applications continue to be developed and further clinical applications in the future are anticipated. This article summarizes the current applications of submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection for subepithelial tumors and describes other related uses of submucosal tunneling. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design, Construction and Test of a Supercapacitor Bank for Space Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buergler, Brandon; Simon, Evelyne; Vasina, Petr; Latif, David; Diblik, Lukas; Gineste, Valery; Simcak, Marek

2014-08-01

Electrochemical double layer capacitors also referred to as supercapacitors offer a wide range of applications for space flight. The aim of this activity was to evaluate commercial off-the-shelf supercapacitors from different manufacturers in terms of suitability for space applications. Characterisation tests, environmental tests, life tests and abuse tests were carried out. In a second step, a bank of supercapacitors was designed, constructed and subsequentially tested in similar conditions as the individual cells. Based on the results of this work, the application of supercapacitors in future spacecrafts looks promising. The impact of supercapacitors application on system level shall be discussed and a roadmap towards further development activities shall also be outlined.

Quasi-one dimensional (Q1D) nanostructures: Synthesis, integration and device application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chien, Chung-Jen

Quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) nanostructures such as nanotubes and nanowires have been widely regarded as the potential building blocks for nanoscale electronic, optoelectronic and sensing devices. In this work, the content can be divided into three categories: Nano-material synthesis and characterizations, alignment and integration, physical properties and application. The dissertation consists of seven chapters as following. Chapter 1 will give an introduction to low dimensional nano-materials. Chapter 2 explains the mechanism how Q1D nanostructure grows. Chapter 3 describes the methods how we horizontally and vertically align the Q1D nanostructure. Chapter 4 and 5 are the electrical and optical device characterization respectively. Chapter 6 demonstrates the integration of Q1D nanostructures and the device application. The last chapter will discuss the future work and conclusion of the thesis.

The Third Annual NASA Science Internet User Working Group Conference

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lev, Brian S. (Editor); Gary, J. Patrick (Editor)

1993-01-01

The NASA Science Internet (NSI) User Support Office (USO) sponsored the Third Annual NSI User Working Group (NSIUWG) Conference March 30 through April 3, 1992, in Greenbelt, MD. Approximately 130 NSI users attended to learn more about the NSI, hear from projects which use NSI, and receive updates about new networking technologies and services. This report contains material relevant to the conference; copies of the agenda, meeting summaries, presentations, and descriptions of exhibitors. Plenary sessions featured a variety of speakers, including NSI project management, scientists, and NSI user project managers whose projects and applications effectively use NSI, and notable citizens of the larger Internet community. The conference also included exhibits of advanced networking applications; tutorials on internetworking, computer security, and networking technologies; and user subgroup meetings on the future direction of the conference, networking, and user services and applications.

Introduction to the IEEE International Symposium on Applications of Ferroelectrics and International Symposium on Piezoresponse Force Microscopy and Nanoscale Phenomena in Polar Materials.

PubMed

Ye, Zuo-Guang; Tan, Xiaoli; Bokov, Alexei A

2012-09-01

The 20th IEEE International Symposium on Applications of Ferroelectrics (ISAF) was held on July 24-27, 2011, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, jointly with the International Symposium on Piezoresponse Force Microscopy and Nanoscale Phenomena in Polar Materials (PFM). Over a period of four days, approximately 400 scientists, engineers, and students from around the world presented their work and discussed the latest developments in the field of ferroelectrics, related materials, and their applications. It is particularly encouraging to see that a large number of students (115) were attracted to the joint conference and presented high-quality research works. This trend is not only important to this conference series, but more importantly, it is vital to the future of the ferroelectrics field.

CCSDS SOIS Subnetwork Services: A First Reference Implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunes-Lasnet, S.; Notebaert, O.; Farges, P.-Y.; Fowell, S.

2008-08-01

The CCSDS SOIS working groups are developing a range of standards for spacecraft onboard interfaces with the intention of promoting reuse of hardware and software designs across a range of missions while enabling interoperability of onboard systems from diverse sources. The CCSDS SOIS working groups released in June 2007 their red books for both Subnetwork and application support layers. In order to allow the verification of these recommended standards and to pave the way for future implementation onboard spacecrafts, it is essential for these standards to be prototyped on a representative spacecraft platform, to provide valuable feed back to the SOIS working group. A first reference implementation of both Subnetwork and Application Support SOIS services over SpaceWire and Mil-Std-1553 bus is thus being realised by SciSys Ltd and Astrium under an ESA contract.

Some Problems in Using Diffusion Models for New Products.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernhardt, Irwin; Mackenzie, Kenneth D.

This paper analyzes some of the problems of using diffusion models to formulate marketing strategies for new products. Though future work in this area appears justified, many unresolved problems limit its application. There is no theory for adoption and diffusion processes; such a theory is outlined in this paper. The present models are too…

Automatic speech recognition in air traffic control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karlsson, Joakim

1990-01-01

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology and its application to the Air Traffic Control system are described. The advantages of applying ASR to Air Traffic Control, as well as criteria for choosing a suitable ASR system are presented. Results from previous research and directions for future work at the Flight Transportation Laboratory are outlined.

Orbital atherectomy: device evolution and clinical data.

PubMed

Staniloae, Cezar S; Korabathina, Ravikiran

2014-05-01

A number of atherectomy devices were developed in the last few years. Among them, the DiamondBack 360° Peripheral Orbital Atherectomy System (Cardiovascular Systems, Inc) was specifically designed to work in severely calcified plaque. This article reviews the history, mechanism of action, evolution, clinical data, and future applications of this particular atherectomy device.

An Ever-Changing Meaning: A Career Constructivist Application to Working with African Refugees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierce, L. Marinn; Gibbons, Melinda M.

2012-01-01

Refugees are expected to determine how to integrate past experiences into their lives in a new culture. Constructivist approaches to counseling allow refugees opportunities to determine how to integrate these experiences into their future career choices. Refugee experiences throughout the resettlement process and a constructivist career counseling…

Putting Institutional Research to Work in the Smaller College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stivers, Earl R.

The aims of institutional research should be to: (1) provide a basis for future planning, e.g., enrollment projections and criteria for accepting applications, (2) determine the effectiveness of space utilization, such as use of each instructional room, free hours of each, comparisons of class sizes with designed room capacities, discovery of…

The Existence of Gender Biased Counseling of Female Students by High School Guidance Counselors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kane, Michael C.

Gender role stereotypes are rigid beliefs in and applications of expected roles to almost all females and males. Female gender roles often include being expressive, communal, weak, emotional, caring, dependent, and working in traditional occupations. Educationally, women's appropriate roles serve to limit their future choices. Married women are…

Learning from Leadership Work: Maine Pioneers a School Leadership Network

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donaldson, Gordon A., Jr.; Bowe, Linda M.; Marnik, Sally V. MacKenzie

2004-01-01

This article discusses how schools and school districts across the U.S. face a growing "leadership deficit." Accelerating retirements and reportedly shallow pools of applicants for administrative positions are raising alarms about future leadership. And all of this is happening just when schools will need the best leaders ever. Four…

On the Emergence of New Computer Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asaolu, Olumuyiwa Sunday

2006-01-01

This work presents a review of the development and application of computers. It traces the highlights of emergent computing technologies shaping our world. Recent trends in hardware and software deployment are chronicled as well as their impact on various segments of the society. The expectations for the future are also discussed along with…

Photography. Technology Learning Activity. Teacher Edition. Technology Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This curriculum guide provides technology learning activities designed to prepare students in grades 6-10 to work in the world of the future. The 8-day course provides exploratory, hands-on learning activities and information that can enhance the education of students of all types in an integrated curriculum that provides practical applications of…

Selected Urban Simulations and Games. IFF Working Paper WP-4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nagelberg, Mark; Little, Dennis L.

Summary descriptions of selected urban simulations and games that have been developed outside the Institute For The Future are presented. The operating characteristics and potential applications of each model are described. These include (1) the history of development, (2) model and player requirements, (3) a description of the environment being…

77 FR 45418 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Form 14145

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-31

... who may be interested in working for the IRS now, or at any time in the future (potential applicants... Number of Respondents: 16,045. Estimated Time per Respondent: 4 hours 6 minutes. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 66,085. The following paragraph applies to all of the collections of information covered by...

How a submarine returns to periscope depth: analysing complex socio-technical systems using Cognitive Work Analysis.

PubMed

Stanton, Neville A; Bessell, Kevin

2014-01-01

This paper presents the application of Cognitive Work Analysis to the description of the functions, situations, activities, decisions, strategies, and competencies of a Trafalgar class submarine when performing the function of returning to periscope depth. All five phases of Cognitive Work Analysis are presented, namely: Work Domain Analysis, Control Task Analysis, Strategies Analysis, Social Organisation and Cooperation Analysis, and Worker Competencies Analysis. Complex socio-technical systems are difficult to analyse but Cognitive Work Analysis offers an integrated way of analysing complex systems with the core of functional means-ends analysis underlying all of the other representations. The joined-up analysis offers a coherent framework for understanding how socio-technical systems work. Data were collected through observation and interviews at different sites across the UK. The resultant representations present a statement of how the work domain and current activities are configured in this complex socio-technical system. This is intended to provide a baseline, from which all future conceptions of the domain may be compared. The strength of the analysis is in the multiple representations from which the constraints acting on the work may be analysed. Future research needs to challenge the assumptions behind these constraints in order to develop new ways of working. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Digital mammography: physical principles and future applications.

PubMed

Gambaccini, Mauro; Baldelli, Paola

2003-01-01

Mammography is currently considered the best tool for the detection of breast cancer, pathology with a rate of incidence in constant increase. To produce the radiological picture a screen film combination is conventionally used. One of the inherent limitations of screen- film combination is the fact that the detection, display and storage processes are one and the same, making it impossible to separately optimize each stage. These limitations can be overcome with digital systems. In this work we evaluate the main characteristics of digital detectors available on the market and we compare the performance of digital and conventional systems. Digital mammography, due to the possibility to process images, offers many potential advantages, among these the possibility to introduce the dual-energy technique which employs the composition of two digital images obtained with two different energies to enhance the inherent contrast of pathologies by removing the uniform background. This technique was previously tested by using synchrotron monochromatic beam and a digital detector, and then the Senographe 2000D full-field digital system manufactured by GE Medical Systems. In this work we present preliminary results and the future applications of this technique.

Tele Hyper Virtuality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Terashima, Nobuyoshi

1994-01-01

In the future, remote images sent over communication lines will be reproduced in virtual reality (VR). This form of virtual telecommunications, which will allow observers to engage in an activity as though it were real, is the focus of considerable attention. Taken a step further, real and unreal objects will be placed in a single space to create an extremely realistic environment. Here, imaginary and other life forms as well as people and animals in remote locations will gather via telecommunication lines that create a common environment where life forms can work and interact together. Words, gestures, diagrams and other forms of communication will be used freely in performing work. Actual construction of a system based on this new concept will not only provide people with experiences that would have been impossible in the past, but will also inspire new applications in which people will function in environments where it would have been difficult if not impossible for them to function until now. This paper describes Tele Hyper Virtuality concept, its definition, applications, the key technologies to accomplish it and future prospects.

A review and assessment of hydrodynamic cavitation as a technology for the future.

PubMed

Gogate, Parag R; Pandit, Aniruddha B

2005-01-01

In the present work, the current status of the hydrodynamic cavitation reactors has been reviewed discussing the bubble dynamics analysis, optimum design considerations, design correlations for cavitational intensity (in terms of collapse pressure)/cavitational yield and different successful chemical synthesis applications clearly illustrating the utility of these types of reactors. The theoretical discussion based on the modeling of the bubble dynamics equations aims at understanding the design information related to the dependency of the cavitational intensity on the operating parameters and recommendations have been made for the choice of the optimized conditions of operating parameters. The design information based on the theoretical analysis has also been supported with some experimental illustrations concentrating on the chemical synthesis applications. Assessment of the hydrodynamic cavitation reactors and comparison with the sonochemical reactors has been done by citing the different industrially important reactions (oxidation of toluene, o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene, mesitylene, o-nitrotoluene, p-nitrotoluene, m-nitrotoluene, o-chlorotoluene and p-chlorotoulene, and trans-esterification reaction i.e., synthesis of bio-diesel). Some recommendations have also been made for the future work to be carried out as well as the choice of the operating conditions for realizing the dream of industrial scale applications of the cavitational reactors.

Retinal Implants for Blind Patients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rothermel, Albrecht

Recently, very promising results have been obtained in clinical trials with eye-prostheses for the blind. There is a chance that advances in surgical techniques, microelectronics design, and material science may lead to the first really useful applications of retinal implants in the near future. This chapter will focus on the actual status of subretinal surgery and implant technologies. Opportunities and limitations of the different technologies will be discussed in terms of patients benefit and technological challenges. Finally, a vision on how the devices may work and look like in the future will be given.

Support of Integrated Health Management (IHM) through Automated Analyses of Flowfield-Derived Spectrographic Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patrick, Marshall C.; Cooper, Anita E.; Powers, W. T.

2003-01-01

Flow-field analysis techniques under continuing development at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are the foundation for a new type of health monitoring instrumentation for propulsion systems and a vast range of other applications. Physics, spectroscopy, mechanics, optics, and cutting-edge computer sciences merge to make recent developments in such instrumentation possible. Issues encountered in adaptation of such a system to future space vehicles, or retrofit in existing hardware, are central to the work. This paper is an overview of the collaborative efforts results, current efforts, and future plans.

The U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship: Current Issues and How to Employ It in the Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-07

Ship: NIA Curr-ent Issues and How to Deploy It in the Future 5b. GRANT NUMBER N/A 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER N/A 6. AUTHORCSl 5d. PROJECT NUMBER...Lieutenant Commander Gregory M Zimmerman, United States Navy N/A 5e. TASK NUMBER N/A 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER NIA 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S...Launch Module, MH-60R helicopter, UAV (Fire Scout), Mission Package Application Software Module, and the optional Maritime Security Module. 27 LCS can

Technology Applications that Support Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henderson, Edward M.; Holderman, Mark L.

2011-01-01

Several enabling technologies have been identified that would provide significant benefits for future space exploration. In-Space demonstrations should be chosen so that these technologies will have a timely opportunity to improve efficiencies and reduce risks for future spaceflight. An early window exists to conduct ground and flight demonstrations that make use of existing assets that were developed for the Space Shuttle and the Constellation programs. The work could be mostly performed using residual program civil servants, existing facilities and current commercial launch capabilities. Partnering these abilities with the emerging commercial sector, along with other government agencies, academia and with international partners would provide an affordable and timely approach to get the launch costs down for these payloads, while increasing the derived benefits to a larger community. There is a wide scope of varied technologies that are being considered to help future space exploration. However, the cost and schedule would be prohibitive to demonstrate all these in the near term. Determining which technologies would yield the best return in meeting our future space needs is critical to building an achievable Space Architecture that allows exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit. The best mix of technologies is clearly to be based on our future needs, but also must take into account the availability of existing assets and supporting partners. Selecting those technologies that have complimentary applications will provide the most knowledge, with reasonable cost, for future use The plan is to develop those applications that not only mature the technology but actually perform a useful task or mission. These might include such functions as satellite servicing, a propulsion stage, processing lunar regolith, generating and transmitting solar power, cryogenic fluid transfer and storage and artificial gravity. Applications have been selected for assessment for future consideration and are addressed in this paper. These applications have been made available to the various NASA study groups that are determining the next steps the Agency must take to secure a sound foundation for future space exploration The paper also addresses how follow-on demonstrations, as launch performance grows, can build on the earlier applications to provide increased benefits for both the commercial and scientific communities. The architecture of incrementally building upon previous successes and insights dramatically lowers the overall associated risk for developing and maturing the key enabling technologies. The goal is to establish a potential business case that encourages commercial activity, thereby reducing the cost for the demonstration while using the technology maturation in developing readiness for future space exploration with overall less risk.

Issues Regarding the Future Application of Autonomous Systems to Command and Control (C2)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

working with Lockheed Martin to build a fleet of land and air drones to deliver cars and even containers of soldiers[OG13]. 5.3.4 Space Deep Space 1...Orlando Belo. Autonomous forex trading agents. In Petra Perner, editor, Advances in Data Mining. Medical Applications, E- Commerce, Marketing, and...http://pando.com/2013/04/02/ want-to-take-on-wall-street-quantopians-algorithmic-trading- platform-now-accepts-outside-data-sets/. CC05. Martin

The progress of sub-pixel imaging methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hu; Wen, Desheng

2014-02-01

This paper reviews the Sub-pixel imaging technology principles, characteristics, the current development status at home and abroad and the latest research developments. As Sub-pixel imaging technology has achieved the advantages of high resolution of optical remote sensor, flexible working ways and being miniaturized with no moving parts. The imaging system is suitable for the application of space remote sensor. Its application prospect is very extensive. It is quite possible to be the research development direction of future space optical remote sensing technology.

The Serpent Monte Carlo Code: Status, Development and Applications in 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leppänen, Jaakko; Pusa, Maria; Viitanen, Tuomas; Valtavirta, Ville; Kaltiaisenaho, Toni

2014-06-01

The Serpent Monte Carlo reactor physics burnup calculation code has been developed at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland since 2004, and is currently used in 100 universities and research organizations around the world. This paper presents the brief history of the project, together with the currently available methods and capabilities and plans for future work. Typical user applications are introduced in the form of a summary review on Serpent-related publications over the past few years.

Virtual reality for obsessive-compulsive disorder: past and the future.

PubMed

Kim, Kwanguk; Kim, Chan-Hyung; Kim, So-Yeon; Roh, Daeyoung; Kim, Sun I

2009-09-01

The use of computers, especially for virtual reality (VR), to understand, assess, and treat various mental health problems has been developed for the last decade, including application for phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficits, and schizophrenia. However, the number of VR tools addressing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is still lacking due to the heterogeneous symptoms of OCD and poor understanding of the relationship between VR and OCD. This article reviews the empirical literatures for VR tools in the future, which involve applications for both clinical work and experimental research in this area, including examining symptoms using VR according to OCD patients' individual symptoms, extending OCD research in the VR setting to also study behavioral and physiological correlations of the symptoms, and expanding the use of VR for OCD to cognitive-behavioral intervention.

Realization of Minimum and Maximum Gate Function in Ta2O5-based Memristive Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breuer, Thomas; Nielen, Lutz; Roesgen, Bernd; Waser, Rainer; Rana, Vikas; Linn, Eike

2016-04-01

Redox-based resistive switching devices (ReRAM) are considered key enablers for future non-volatile memory and logic applications. Functionally enhanced ReRAM devices could enable new hardware concepts, e.g. logic-in-memory or neuromorphic applications. In this work, we demonstrate the implementation of ReRAM-based fuzzy logic gates using Ta2O5 devices to enable analogous Minimum and Maximum operations. The realized gates consist of two anti-serially connected ReRAM cells offering two inputs and one output. The cells offer an endurance up to 106 cycles. By means of exemplary input signals, each gate functionality is verified and signal constraints are highlighted. This realization could improve the efficiency of analogous processing tasks such as sorting networks in the future.

Go for EVA!

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

In this educational video series, 'Liftoff to Learning', astronauts from the STS-37 Space Shuttle Mission (Jay Apt, Jerry Ross, Ken Cameron, Steve Nagel, and Linda Godwin) show what EVA (extravehicular activity) means, talk about the history and design of the space suits and why they are designed the way they are, describe different ways they are used (payload work, testing and maintenance of equipment, space environment experiments) in EVA work, and briefly discuss the future applications of the space suits. Computer graphics and animation is included.

Modernizing Our Industrial Base: The National Security Challenge of Our Time

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-01

situational awareness tools and applications, au- tonomy and robotics that we need to harness and fully develop for DoD missions . With this type of...to work for the DoD or its industrial base; rather they go to work in the commercial industry for companies such as Facebook, Google and Tesla . This...partnership with industry. The DoD continues talking to indus- try, communicating our vision for the future, to facilitate the best business decisions that

Health Management Applications for International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alena, Richard; Duncavage, Dan

2005-01-01

Traditional mission and vehicle management involves teams of highly trained specialists monitoring vehicle status and crew activities, responding rapidly to any anomalies encountered during operations. These teams work from the Mission Control Center and have access to engineering support teams with specialized expertise in International Space Station (ISS) subsystems. Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) applications can significantly augment these capabilities by providing enhanced monitoring, prognostic and diagnostic tools for critical decision support and mission management. The Intelligent Systems Division of NASA Ames Research Center is developing many prototype applications using model-based reasoning, data mining and simulation, working with Mission Control through the ISHM Testbed and Prototypes Project. This paper will briefly describe information technology that supports current mission management practice, and will extend this to a vision for future mission control workflow incorporating new ISHM applications. It will describe ISHM applications currently under development at NASA and will define technical approaches for implementing our vision of future human exploration mission management incorporating artificial intelligence and distributed web service architectures using specific examples. Several prototypes are under development, each highlighting a different computational approach. The ISStrider application allows in-depth analysis of Caution and Warning (C&W) events by correlating real-time telemetry with the logical fault trees used to define off-nominal events. The application uses live telemetry data and the Livingstone diagnostic inference engine to display the specific parameters and fault trees that generated the C&W event, allowing a flight controller to identify the root cause of the event from thousands of possibilities by simply navigating animated fault tree models on their workstation. SimStation models the functional power flow for the ISS Electrical Power System and can predict power balance for nominal and off-nominal conditions. SimStation uses realtime telemetry data to keep detailed computational physics models synchronized with actual ISS power system state. In the event of failure, the application can then rapidly diagnose root cause, predict future resource levels and even correlate technical documents relevant to the specific failure. These advanced computational models will allow better insight and more precise control of ISS subsystems, increasing safety margins by speeding up anomaly resolution and reducing,engineering team effort and cost. This technology will make operating ISS more efficient and is directly applicable to next-generation exploration missions and Crew Exploration Vehicles.

Will the future of knowledge work automation transform personalized medicine?

PubMed

Naik, Gauri; Bhide, Sanika S

2014-09-01

Today, we live in a world of 'information overload' which demands high level of knowledge-based work. However, advances in computer hardware and software have opened possibilities to automate 'routine cognitive tasks' for knowledge processing. Engineering intelligent software systems that can process large data sets using unstructured commands and subtle judgments and have the ability to learn 'on the fly' are a significant step towards automation of knowledge work. The applications of this technology for high throughput genomic analysis, database updating, reporting clinically significant variants, and diagnostic imaging purposes are explored using case studies.

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

Zhang, Zuocheng; Feng, Xiao; Wang, Jing

The interplay between magnetism and topology, as exemplified in the magnetic skyrmion systems, has emerged as a rich playground for finding novel quantum phenomena and applications in future information technology. Magnetic topological insulators (TI) have attracted much recent attention, especially after the experimental realization of quantum anomalous Hall effect. Future applications of magnetic TI hinge on the accurate manipulation of magnetism and topology by external perturbations, preferably with a gate electric field. In this work, we investigate the magneto transport properties of Cr doped Bi 2(Se xTe 1-x) 3 TI across the topological quantum critical point (QCP). We find thatmore » the external gate voltage has negligible effect on the magnetic order for samples far away from the topological QCP. However, for the sample near the QCP, we observe a ferromagnetic (FM) to paramagnetic (PM) phase transition driven by the gate electric field. Theoretical calculations show that a perpendicular electric field causes a shift of electronic energy levels due to the Stark effect, which induces a topological quantum phase transition and consequently a magnetic phase transition. Finally, the in situ electrical control of the topological and magnetic properties of TI shed important new lights on future topological electronic or spintronic device applications.« less

Predicting Node Degree Centrality with the Node Prominence Profile

PubMed Central

Yang, Yang; Dong, Yuxiao; Chawla, Nitesh V.

2014-01-01

Centrality of a node measures its relative importance within a network. There are a number of applications of centrality, including inferring the influence or success of an individual in a social network, and the resulting social network dynamics. While we can compute the centrality of any node in a given network snapshot, a number of applications are also interested in knowing the potential importance of an individual in the future. However, current centrality is not necessarily an effective predictor of future centrality. While there are different measures of centrality, we focus on degree centrality in this paper. We develop a method that reconciles preferential attachment and triadic closure to capture a node's prominence profile. We show that the proposed node prominence profile method is an effective predictor of degree centrality. Notably, our analysis reveals that individuals in the early stage of evolution display a distinctive and robust signature in degree centrality trend, adequately predicted by their prominence profile. We evaluate our work across four real-world social networks. Our findings have important implications for the applications that require prediction of a node's future degree centrality, as well as the study of social network dynamics. PMID:25429797

Artificial Intelligence Research Branch future plans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stewart, Helen (Editor)

1992-01-01

This report contains information on the activities of the Artificial Intelligence Research Branch (FIA) at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) in 1992, as well as planned work in 1993. These activities span a range from basic scientific research through engineering development to fielded NASA applications, particularly those applications that are enabled by basic research carried out in FIA. Work is conducted in-house and through collaborative partners in academia and industry. All of our work has research themes with a dual commitment to technical excellence and applicability to NASA short, medium, and long-term problems. FIA acts as the Agency's lead organization for research aspects of artificial intelligence, working closely with a second research laboratory at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and AI applications groups throughout all NASA centers. This report is organized along three major research themes: (1) Planning and Scheduling: deciding on a sequence of actions to achieve a set of complex goals and determining when to execute those actions and how to allocate resources to carry them out; (2) Machine Learning: techniques for forming theories about natural and man-made phenomena; and for improving the problem-solving performance of computational systems over time; and (3) Research on the acquisition, representation, and utilization of knowledge in support of diagnosis design of engineered systems and analysis of actual systems.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems engineering at Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited (VSEL)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seymour, C. M.

1992-01-01

A project, jointly funded by VSEL and CJB Developments Limited, is aimed at the development of complete power generation systems based on PEM fuel cell technology. Potential markets for such systems are seen as being very broadly based, ranging from military land and marine systems through to commercial on-site power generation and transport. From the outset the project was applications driven, the intent being to identify market requirements, in terms of system specifications and to use these to produce development targets. The two companies have based their work on the Ballard PEM stack and have focused their efforts on the development of supporting systems. This benefits all three companies as it allows Ballard to obtain applications information on which to base future research and VSEL/CJBD are able to capitalise on the advanced development of the Ballard stack. Current work is focused on the production of a 20 kW, methanol fuelled, power generation system demonstrator, although work is also in hand to address a wider range of fuels including natural gas. The demonstrator, when complete, will be used to indicate the potential benefits of such systems and to act as a design aid for the applications phase of the project. Preliminary work on this next phase is already in hand, with studies to assess both systems and fuel cell stack design requirements for specific applications and to generate concept designs. Work to date has concentrated on the development of a methanol reformer, suitable for integration into a fuel cell system and on extensive testing and evaluation of the Ballard fuel cell stacks. This testing has covered a wide range of operating parameters, including different fuel and oxidant combinations. The effect of contaminants on the performance and life of the fuel cells is also under evaluation. PEM fuel cells still require a great deal of further development if they are to gain widespread commercial acceptance. A recent study conducted by VSEL in conjunction with the UK Department of Energy has addressed the fuel cell cost and performance requirements in order to both focus future research and to aid understanding of the time-scale to reach full commercialisation.

Aeropropulsion 1987. Session 6: High-Speed Propulsion Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

NASA is conducting aeronautical research over a broad range of Mach numbers. In addition to the advanced CTOL propulsion research described in a separate session, the Lewis Research Center has intensified its efforts towards propulsion technology for selected high-speed flight applications. In a companion program, the Langley Research Center has also accomplished excellent research in Supersonic Combustion Ramjet (SCRAM) propulsion. What is presented in this session is an unclassified review of some of the propulsion research results that are applicable for supersonic to hypersonic vehicles. Not only is a review provided for several key work areas, it also presents a viewpoint on future research directions by calling attention to cycles, components, and facilities involved in this rapidly expanding field of work.

Designing projects for motivating students towards scientific exploration: application to student mentoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Awwal, Abdul A. S.

2016-09-01

Every summer in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, students are brought in to gain interesting research and development experience. In this work, we will review some case studies of past research experiences with students inside and outside NIF, that led to successful journal and conference publications. Several of these works will be reviewed to demonstrate how problems were chosen and defined so that meaningful results could be obtained within a limited time frame. It is anticipated that success with such projects will go a long way in motivating students in their future graduate career. Projects from laser measurement, optical computing and application of matched filtering in laser beam alignment will be reviewed to demonstrate this approach.

TME2/342: The Role of the EXtensible Markup Language (XML) for Future Healthcare Application Development

PubMed Central

Noelle, G; Dudeck, J

1999-01-01

Two years, since the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has published the first specification of the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) there exist some concrete tools and applications to work with XML-based data. In particular, new generation Web browsers offer great opportunities to develop new kinds of medical, web-based applications. There are several data-exchange formats in medicine, which have been established in the last years: HL-7, DICOM, EDIFACT and, in the case of Germany, xDT. Whereas communication and information exchange becomes increasingly important, the development of appropriate and necessary interfaces causes problems, rising costs and effort. It has been also recognised that it is difficult to define a standardised interchange format, for one of the major future developments in medical telematics: the electronic patient record (EPR) and its availability on the Internet. Whereas XML, especially in an industrial environment, is celebrated as a generic standard and a solution for all problems concerning e-commerce, in a medical context there are only few applications developed. Nevertheless, the medical environment is an appropriate area for building XML applications: as the information and communication management becomes increasingly important in medical businesses, the role of the Internet changes quickly from an information to a communication medium. The first XML based applications in healthcare show us the advantage for a future engagement of the healthcare industry in XML: such applications are open, easy to extend and cost-effective. Additionally, XML is much more than a simple new data interchange format: many proposals for data query (XQL), data presentation (XSL) and other extensions have been proposed to the W3C and partly realised in medical applications.

Evolving telemedicine/ehealth technology.

PubMed

Ferrante, Frank E

2005-06-01

This paper describes emerging technologies to support a rapidly changing and expanding scope of telemedicine/telehealth applications. Of primary interest here are wireless systems, emerging broadband, nanotechnology, intelligent agent applications, and grid computing. More specifically, the paper describes the changes underway in wireless designs aimed at enhancing security; some of the current work involving the development of nanotechnology applications and research into the use of intelligent agents/artificial intelligence technology to establish what are termed "Knowbots"; and a sampling of the use of Web services, such as grid computing capabilities, to support medical applications. In addition, the expansion of these technologies and the need for cost containment to sustain future health care for an increasingly mobile and aging population is discussed.

Optical application of electrowetting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Mei; Peng, Runling; Chen, Jiabi

2017-02-01

Since electrowetting has been proposed, researchers began to apply eletrowetting into different fields, such as lab-on-chip systems, display technologies, printings and optics etc. This paper mainly introduced structure, theory and application of optical devices based on electrowetting. The optical devices include liquid optical prism, liquid optical lens and display. The paper introduced their principle, specific application and many advantages in optical applications. When they are applied to optical system, production and experiment, they can reduce mechanical moving parts, simplify the structure, operate easily, decrease manufacturing cost and energy consumption, improve working efficiency, and so on. We learn and research them in detail that will contribute to research and develop optical eletrowetting in the future.

Exploring the Logic of Mobile Search

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westlund, Oscar; Gomez-Barroso, Jose-Luis; Compano, Ramon; Feijoo, Claudio

2011-01-01

After more than a decade of development work and hopes, the usage of mobile Internet has finally taken off. Now, we are witnessing the first signs of evidence of what might become the explosion of mobile content and applications that will be shaping the (mobile) Internet of the future. Similar to the wired Internet, search will become very…

Doing Phenomenology in Science Education: A Research Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

OStergaard, Edvin; Dahlin, Bo; Hugo, Aksel

2008-01-01

This article is a review of applications of phenomenology, as a philosophy of knowledge and qualitative research approach, to the field of science education (SE). The purpose is to give an overview of work that has been done as well as to assess it and discuss its possibilities of future development. We ask: what attempts for connecting…

Problem Solving. Technology Learning Activity. Teacher Edition. Technology Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This curriculum guide provides technology learning activities designed to prepare students in grades 6-10 to work in the world of the future. The 8-day course provides exploratory, hands-on learning activities and information that can enhance the education of students of all types in an integrated curriculum that provides practical applications of…

Structural Engineering. Technology Learning Activity. Teacher Edition. Technology Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This curriculum guide provides technology learning activities designed to prepare students in grades 6-10 to work in the world of the future. The 8-day course provides exploratory, hands-on learning activities and information that can enhance the education of students of all types in an integrated curriculum that provides practical applications of…

Thermal Screen Printing. Technology Learning Activity. Teacher Edition. Technology Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This curriculum guide provides technology learning activities designed to prepare students in grades 6-10 to work in the world of the future. The 8-day course provides exploratory, hands-on learning activities and information that can enhance the education of students of all types in an integrated curriculum that provides practical applications of…

Research and Design. Technology Learning Activity. Teacher Edition. Technology Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This curriculum guide provides technology learning activities designed to prepare students in grades 6-10 to work in the world of the future. The 8-day course provides exploratory, hands-on learning activities and information that can enhance the education of students of all types in an integrated curriculum that provides practical applications of…

Quality of Life: Domains for Understanding Maths Anxiety in First Year Pre-Service Teachers through Identity Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Sue

2016-01-01

Mathematics anxiety in primary pre-service teachers' affects their future teaching of mathematics and achievement of students. Data collected via Critical Incident Technique were used to investigate this anxiety as perceived and identified by first year pre-service teachers. This paper proposes the application of the Quality of Life conceptual…

76 FR 74067 - Medicare Program; Announcement of a New Application Deadline for the Advance Payment Model

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-30

.... One potential mechanism for achieving this goal is for CMS to partner with groups of health care... will test whether and how pre-paying a portion of future shared savings could increase participation in... Accountable Care Organization (ACO) through which they work together to coordinate care for a specified group...

Shaping the Library to the Life of the User: Adapting, Empowering, Partnering, Engaging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proffitt, Merrilee; Michalko, James; Renspie, Melissa

2015-01-01

What began with a few libraries' early application of ethnographic methods to learn more about user behaviors and needs has grown to become a significant body of work done across many institutions using a broad range of methods. User-centered investigations are increasingly influential in discussions about the shape and future of the research…

Progress on uncooled PbSe detectors for low-cost applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vergara, German; Gomez, Luis J.; Villamayor, Victor; Alvarez, M.; Rodrigo, Maria T.; del Carmen Torquemada, Maria; Sanchez, Fernando J.; Verdu, Marina; Diezhandino, Jorge; Rodriguez, Purificacion; Catalan, Irene; Almazan, Rosa; Plaza, Julio; Montojo, Maria T.

2004-08-01

This work reports on progress on development of polycrystalline PbSe infrared detectors at the Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo de la Armada (CIDA). Since mid nineties, the CIDA owns an innovative technology for processing uncooled MWIR detectors of polycrystalline PbSe. Based on this technology, some applications have been developed. However, future applications demand smarter, more complex, faster yet cheaper detectors. Aiming to open new perspectives to polycrystalline PbSe detectors, we are currently working on different directions: 1) Processing of 2D arrays: a) Designing and processing low density x-y addressed arrays with 16x16 and 32x32 elements, as an extension of our standard technology. b) Trying to make compatible standard CMOS and polycrystalline PbSe technologies in order to process monolithic large format arrays. 2) Adding new features to the detector such as monolithically integrated spectral discrimination.

Scanning Angle Raman spectroscopy in polymer thin film characterization

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

Nguyen, Vy H.T.

The focus of this thesis is the application of Raman spectroscopy for the characterization of thin polymer films. Chapter 1 provides background information and motivation, including the fundamentals of Raman spectroscopy for chemical analysis, scanning angle Raman scattering and scanning angle Raman scattering for applications in thin polymer film characterization. Chapter 2 represents a published manuscript that focuses on the application of scanning angle Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of submicron thin films with a description of methodology for measuring the film thickness and location of an interface between two polymer layers. Chapter 3 provides an outlook and future directionsmore » for the work outlined in this thesis. Appendix A, contains a published manuscript that outlines the use of Raman spectroscopy to aid in the synthesis of heterogeneous catalytic systems. Appendix B and C contain published manuscripts that set a foundation for the work presented in Chapter 2.« less

Application of active magnetic bearings in flexible rotordynamic systems - A state-of-the-art review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siva Srinivas, R.; Tiwari, R.; Kannababu, Ch.

2018-06-01

In this paper a critical review of literature on applications of Active Magnetic Bearings (AMBs) systems in flexible rotordynamic systems have been presented. AMBs find various applications in rotating machinery; however, this paper mainly focuses on works in vibration suppression and associated with the condition monitoring using AMBs. It briefly introduces reader to the AMB working principle, provides details of various hardware components of a typical rotor-AMB test rig, and presents a background of traditional methods of vibration suppression in flexible rotors and the condition monitoring. It then moves on to summarize the basic features of AMB integrated flexible rotor test rigs available in literature with necessary instrumentation and its main objectives. A couple of lookup tables provide summary of important information of test rigs in papers within the scope of this article. Finally, future directions in AMB research within the paper's scope have been suggested.

Design & Performance of Wearable Ultra Wide Band Textile Antenna for Medical Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Nikhil; Singh, Ashutosh Kumar; Singh, Vinod Kumar

2015-02-01

The concept of wearable products such as textile antenna are being developed which are capable of monitoring, alerting and demanding attention whenever hospital emergency is needed, hence minimizing labour and resource. In the proposed work by using textile material as a substrate the ultra wideband antenna is designed especially for medical applications.Simulated and measured results here shows that the proposed antenna design meets the requirements of wide working bandwidth and provides 13.08 GHz bandwidth with very small size, washable (if using conductive thread for conductive parts) and flexible materials. Results in terms of bandwidth, radiation pattern, return loss as well as gain and efficiency are presented to validate the usefulness of the current proposed design. The work done here has many implications for future research and it could help patients with such flexible and comfortable medical monitoring techniques.

a New Ubiquitous-Based Indoor Positioning System with Minimum Extra Hardware Using Smart Phones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassany Pazoky, S.; Chehreghan, A.; Sadeghi Niaraki, A.; Abbaspour, R. Ali

2014-10-01

Knowing the position has been an ambition in many areas such as science, military, business, etc. GPS was the realization of this wish in 1970s. Technological advances such as ubiquitous computing, as a conquering perspective, requires any service to work for any user, any place, anytime, and via any network. As GPS cannot provide services in indoor environments, many scientists began to develop indoor positioning systems (IPS). Smart phones penetrating our everyday lives were a great platform to host IPS applications. Sensors in smart phones were another big motive to develop IPS applications. Many researchers have been working on the topic developing various applications. However, the applications introduced lack simplicity. In other words, they need to install a step counter or smart phone on the ankle, which makes it awkward and inapplicable in many situations. In the current study, a new IPS methodology is introduced using only the usual embedded sensors in the smart phones. The robustness of this methodology cannot compete with those of the aforementioned approaches. The price paid for simplicity was decreasing robustness and complicating the methods and formulations. However, methods or tricks to harness the errors to an acceptable range are introduced as the future works.

GGOS working group on ground networks and communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearlman, M.; Altamimi, Z.; Beck, N.; Forsberg, R.; Gurtner, W.; Kenyon, S.; Behrend, D.; Lemoine, F. G.; Ma, C.; Noll, C. E.;

Summary of BISON Development and Validation Activities - NEAMS FY16 Report

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

Williamson, R. L.; Pastore, G.; Gamble, K. A.

This summary report contains an overview of work performed under the work package en- titled “FY2016 NEAMS INL-Engineering Scale Fuel Performance (BISON)” A first chapter identifies the specific FY-16 milestones, providing a basic description of the associated work and references to related detailed documentation. Where applicable, a representative technical result is provided. A second chapter summarizes major additional accomplishments, which in- clude: 1) publication of a journal article on solution verification and validation of BISON for LWR fuel, 2) publication of a journal article on 3D Missing Pellet Surface (MPS) analysis of BWR fuel, 3) use of BISON to designmore » a unique 3D MPS validation experiment for future in- stallation in the Halden research reactor, 4) participation in an OECD benchmark on Pellet Clad Mechanical Interaction (PCMI), 5) participation in an OECD benchmark on Reactivity Insertion Accident (RIA) analysis, 6) participation in an OECD activity on uncertainity quantification and sensitivity analysis in nuclear fuel modeling and 7) major improvements to BISON’s fission gas behavior models. A final chapter outlines FY-17 future work.« less

Aerospace Sensor Systems: From Sensor Development To Vehicle Application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Gary W.

2008-01-01

This paper presents an overview of years of sensor system development and application for aerospace systems. The emphasis of this work is on developing advanced capabilities for measurement and control of aeropropulsion and crew vehicle systems as well as monitoring the safety of those systems. Specific areas of work include chemical species sensors, thin film thermocouples and strain gages, heat flux gages, fuel gages, SiC based electronic devices and sensors, space qualified electronics, and MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) as well as integrated and multifunctional sensor systems. Each sensor type has its own technical challenges related to integration and reliability in a given application. The general approach has been to develop base sensor technology using microfabrication techniques, integrate sensors with "smart" hardware and software, and demonstrate those systems in a range of aerospace applications. Descriptions of the sensor elements, their integration into sensors systems, and examples of sensor system applications will be discussed. Finally, suggestions related to the future of sensor technology will be given. It is concluded that smart micro/nano sensor technology can revolutionize aerospace applications, but significant challenges exist in maturing the technology and demonstrating its value in real-life applications.

Applying Nyquist's method for stability determination to solar wind observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Kristopher G.; Kasper, Justin C.; Korreck, K. E.; Stevens, Michael L.

2017-10-01

The role instabilities play in governing the evolution of solar and astrophysical plasmas is a matter of considerable scientific interest. The large number of sources of free energy accessible to such nearly collisionless plasmas makes general modeling of unstable behavior, accounting for the temperatures, densities, anisotropies, and relative drifts of a large number of populations, analytically difficult. We therefore seek a general method of stability determination that may be automated for future analysis of solar wind observations. This work describes an efficient application of the Nyquist instability method to the Vlasov dispersion relation appropriate for hot, collisionless, magnetized plasmas, including the solar wind. The algorithm recovers the familiar proton temperature anisotropy instabilities, as well as instabilities that had been previously identified using fits extracted from in situ observations in Gary et al. (2016). Future proposed applications of this method are discussed.

Heterogeneous Wireless Mesh Network Technology Evaluation for Space Proximity and Surface Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeCristofaro, Michael A.; Lansdowne, Chatwin A.; Schlesinger, Adam M.

2014-01-01

NASA has identified standardized wireless mesh networking as a key technology for future human and robotic space exploration. Wireless mesh networks enable rapid deployment, provide coverage in undeveloped regions. Mesh networks are also self-healing, resilient, and extensible, qualities not found in traditional infrastructure-based networks. Mesh networks can offer lower size, weight, and power (SWaP) than overlapped infrastructure-perapplication. To better understand the maturity, characteristics and capability of the technology, we developed an 802.11 mesh network consisting of a combination of heterogeneous commercial off-the-shelf devices and opensource firmware and software packages. Various streaming applications were operated over the mesh network, including voice and video, and performance measurements were made under different operating scenarios. During the testing several issues with the currently implemented mesh network technology were identified and outlined for future work.

Analyzing the Response of Climate Perturbations to (Tropical) Cyclones using the WRF Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tewari, M.; Mittal, R.; Radhakrishnan, C.; Cipriani, J.; Watson, C.

2015-12-01

An analysis of global climate models shows considerable changes in the intensity and characteristics of future, warm climate cyclones. At regional scales, deviations in cyclone characteristics are often derived using idealized perturbations in the humidity, temperature and surface conditions. In this work, a more realistic approach is adopted by applying climate perturbations from the Community Climate System Model (CCSM4) to ERA-interim data to generate the initial and boundary conditions for future climate simulations. The climate signal perturbations are generated from the differences in 21 years of mean data from CCSM4 with representative concentration pathways (RCP8.5) for the periods: (a) 2070-2090 (future climate), (b) 2025-2045 (near-future climate) and (c) 1985-2005 (current climate). Four individual cyclone cases are simulated with and without climate perturbations using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with a nested configuration. Each cyclone is characterized by variations in intensity, landfall location, precipitation and societal damage. To calculate societal damage, we use the recently introduced Cyclone Damage Potential (CDP) index evolved from the Willis Hurricane Index (WHI). As CDP has been developed for general societal applications, this work should provide useful insights for resilience analyses and industry (e.g., re-insurance).

Real cases study through computer applications for futures Agricultural Engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moratiel, R.; Durán, J. M.; Tarquis, A. M.

2010-05-01

One of the huge concerns on the higher engineer education is the lag of real cases study that the future professionals need in the work and corporation market. This concern was reflected in Bologna higher education system including recommendations in this respect. The knowhow as why this or other methodology is one of the keys to resolve this problem. In the last courses given in Department of Crop Production, at the Agronomy Engineer School of Madrid (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, UPM) we have developed more than one hundred applications in Microsoft Excel®. Our aim was to show different real scenarios which the future Agronomic Engineers can be found in their professional life and with items related to crop production field. In order to achieve our target, each application in Excel presents a file text in which is explained the theoretical concepts and the objectives, as well as some resources used from Excel syntax. In this way, the student can understand and use of such application, even they can modify and customize it for a real case presented in their context and/or master project. This electronic monograph gives an answer to the need to manage data in several real scenarios showed in lectures, calculus resolution, information analysis and manage worksheets in a professional and student level.

Modeling and Analysis of Power Processing Systems (MAPPS). Volume 1: Technical report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, F. C.; Rahman, S.; Carter, R. A.; Wu, C. H.; Yu, Y.; Chang, R.

1980-01-01

Computer aided design and analysis techniques were applied to power processing equipment. Topics covered include: (1) discrete time domain analysis of switching regulators for performance analysis; (2) design optimization of power converters using augmented Lagrangian penalty function technique; (3) investigation of current-injected multiloop controlled switching regulators; and (4) application of optimization for Navy VSTOL energy power system. The generation of the mathematical models and the development and application of computer aided design techniques to solve the different mathematical models are discussed. Recommendations are made for future work that would enhance the application of the computer aided design techniques for power processing systems.

Silicon Carbide Monofilament Reinforced Titanium Composites For Space Structures: A New Material Option

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kyle-Henney, Stephen; Flitcroft, Stephen; Shatwell, Robert; Gibbon, David; Voss, Gary; Harkness, Patrick

2012-07-01

Silicon carbide fibre reinforced titanium composite material has been in development since the 1980s initially for high temperature structures on hypersonic vehicles (HOTOL, NASP). Since then development has focused on military and civil aircraft. Development in the European Union has reached a level of maturity where it is again being considered for space applications. Current activities include pressure vessels and studies for launch vehicles and satellite applications. The paper provides background to the technology key performance characteristics current application work and future activities. The renewed interest in hypersonic vehicles has also picked up on the potential for lightweight metallic composites.

Recent advances in terahertz technology for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Sun, Qiushuo; He, Yuezhi; Liu, Kai; Fan, Shuting; Parrott, Edward P J; Pickwell-MacPherson, Emma

2017-06-01

Terahertz instrumentation has improved significantly in recent years such that THz imaging systems have become more affordable and easier to use. THz systems can now be operated by non-THz experts greatly facilitating research into many potential applications. Due to the non-ionising nature of THz light and its high sensitivity to soft tissues, there is an increasing interest in biomedical applications including both in vivo and ex vivo studies. Additionally, research continues into understanding the origin of contrast and how to interpret terahertz biomedical images. This short review highlights some of the recent work in these areas and suggests some future research directions.

SAE Mil-1394 For Military and Aerospace Vehicle Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunga, Larry; Wroble, Mike; Kreska, Jack

2004-01-01

Unique opportunity to utilize new technology while increasing vehicle and crew member safety. Demonstration of new technology that can be utilized for Crew Exploration Vehicle and other future manned vehicles. Future work for other cameras in the vehicle that can be IEEE1394 based without major vehicle modifications. Demonstrates that LM can share information and knowledge between internal groups and NASA to assist in providing a product in support of the NASA Return to Flight Activities. This upgrade will provide a flight active data bus that is 100 times faster than any similar bus on the vehicle.

NIST Automated Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF): March 1987

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herbert, Judith E. (Editor); Kane, Richard (Editor)

1987-01-01

The completion and advances to the NIST Automated Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF) is described in this video. The six work stations: (1) horizontal machining; (2) vertical machining; (3) turning machinery; (4) cleaning and deburring; (5) materials handling; and (6) inspection are shown and uses for each workstation are cited. Visiting researchers and scientists within NIST describe the advantages of each of the workstations, what the facility is used for, future applications for the technological advancements from the AMRF, including examples of how AMRF technology is being transferred to the U.S. Navy industry and discuss future technological goals for the facility.

Utility interface issues for grid-connected photovoltaic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, D.; Key, T.; Fitzer, J.

Photovoltaic (PV) balance-of-system research and development has focused on interconnection with the utility grid as the most promising future application for photovoltaic energy production. These sysems must be compatible with the existing utility grid to be accepted. Compatibility encompasses many technical, economic and institutional issues, from lineman safety to revenue metering and power quality. This paper reviews DOE/PV sponsored research for two of the technical interconnection issues: harmonic injection, and power factor control. Explanations and rationale behind these two issues will be reviewed, and the status of current research and plans for required future work will be presented.

ART/Ada design project, phase 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

An Ada-Based Expert System Building Tool Design Research Project was conducted. The goal was to investigate various issues in the context of the design of an Ada-based expert system building tool. An attempt was made to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the potential for embedding expert systems in Ada systems for eventual application in future projects. The current status of the project is described by introducing an operational prototype, ART/Ada. How the project was conducted is explained. The performance of the prototype is analyzed and compared with other related works. Future research directions are suggested.

Associations between the Application of Signature Character Strengths, Health and Well-being of Health Professionals.

PubMed

Hausler, Melanie; Strecker, Cornelia; Huber, Alexandra; Brenner, Mirjam; Höge, Thomas; Höfer, Stefan

2017-01-01

Previous research has shown a positive relation between character strengths, well-being and health. The aim of this analysis was to identify relations between the application of signature character strengths (ASCS) at work, and well-being and health, among medical students (Study 1) and resident physicians (Study 2). We expected positive direct links between the constructs and indirect effects through emotional exhaustion. To test these hypotheses, 387 medical students in their first year and 136 resident physicians completed five scales measuring well-being, mental/physical health, character strengths, the application of their five individual signature strengths, and emotional exhaustion as an indicator of burnout. Partial correlations were examined, and mediation analyses performed. ASCS at work was positively linked with well-being and mental health but not with physical health. All links were mediated by emotional exhaustion in Study 1 and (except for mental health) also in Study 2. Future studies would therefore do well to investigate the promotion of ASCS at work of people operating in medical education and its potential in fostering well-being and preventing burnout from the outset.

Associations between the Application of Signature Character Strengths, Health and Well-being of Health Professionals

PubMed Central

Hausler, Melanie; Strecker, Cornelia; Huber, Alexandra; Brenner, Mirjam; Höge, Thomas; Höfer, Stefan

2017-01-01

Previous research has shown a positive relation between character strengths, well-being and health. The aim of this analysis was to identify relations between the application of signature character strengths (ASCS) at work, and well-being and health, among medical students (Study 1) and resident physicians (Study 2). We expected positive direct links between the constructs and indirect effects through emotional exhaustion. To test these hypotheses, 387 medical students in their first year and 136 resident physicians completed five scales measuring well-being, mental/physical health, character strengths, the application of their five individual signature strengths, and emotional exhaustion as an indicator of burnout. Partial correlations were examined, and mediation analyses performed. ASCS at work was positively linked with well-being and mental health but not with physical health. All links were mediated by emotional exhaustion in Study 1 and (except for mental health) also in Study 2. Future studies would therefore do well to investigate the promotion of ASCS at work of people operating in medical education and its potential in fostering well-being and preventing burnout from the outset. PMID:28824492

Development of Subspace-based Hybrid Monte Carlo-Deterministric Algorithms for Reactor Physics Calculations

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

Abdel-Khalik, Hany S.; Zhang, Qiong

2014-05-20

The development of hybrid Monte-Carlo-Deterministic (MC-DT) approaches, taking place over the past few decades, have primarily focused on shielding and detection applications where the analysis requires a small number of responses, i.e. at the detector locations(s). This work further develops a recently introduced global variance reduction approach, denoted by the SUBSPACE approach is designed to allow the use of MC simulation, currently limited to benchmarking calculations, for routine engineering calculations. By way of demonstration, the SUBSPACE approach is applied to assembly level calculations used to generate the few-group homogenized cross-sections. These models are typically expensive and need to be executedmore » in the order of 10 3 - 10 5 times to properly characterize the few-group cross-sections for downstream core-wide calculations. Applicability to k-eigenvalue core-wide models is also demonstrated in this work. Given the favorable results obtained in this work, we believe the applicability of the MC method for reactor analysis calculations could be realized in the near future.« less

Ethical Considerations and Planetary Protection for Future Space Exploration - Starting with the Basics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Race, Margaret

2012-07-01

As COSPAR scientists deliberate what types of frameworks and policy approaches may be applicable to future activities by various sectors in space exploration, it also needs to consider the challenging question of what ethical values and foundations should be used in dealing with life, objects and activities in outer space. A 2010 COSPAR Workshop Report on Ethical Considerations for Planetary Protection in Space Exploration recommended that it is appropriate to maintain the existing PP policy aimed at scientific concerns even as we begin to explore various practical approaches to future contamination avoidance policies. It is also appropriate to examine in parallel the ethical considerations applicable to potential indigenous extraterrestrial life, non-living extraterrestrial features and environments, and planned uses and activities involving diverse life from Earth. Since numerous sectors have begun to propose activities raising varied ethical concerns (e.g., protection and management on the moon, strip mining, space synthetic biology, space code of conduct, and commercial space transport), it is timely to initiate serious international discussions about the appropriate ethical foundations and questions applicable to future space exploration. Plans are underway for convening interdisciplinary work groups to explore and deliberate on the values (e.g., intrinsic and instrumental) and ethical foundations that are appropriate for use in deliberations involving potential indigenous extraterrestrial life and the different classes of target objects and environments in our solar system. More than ever, information on bioethics, environmental ethics and geoethics will provide helpful guidance and foundational approaches of relevance to future policy deliberations that seek to go beyond science protection per se.

IPAD applications to the design, analysis, and/or machining of aerospace structures. [Integrated Program for Aerospace-vehicle Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackburn, C. L.; Dovi, A. R.; Kurtze, W. L.; Storaasli, O. O.

1981-01-01

A computer software system for the processing and integration of engineering data and programs, called IPAD (Integrated Programs for Aerospace-Vehicle Design), is described. The ability of the system to relieve the engineer of the mundane task of input data preparation is demonstrated by the application of a prototype system to the design, analysis, and/or machining of three simple structures. Future work to further enhance the system's automated data handling and ability to handle larger and more varied design problems are also presented.

Evaluation of actuator energy storage and power sources for spacecraft applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simon, William E.; Young, Fred M.

1993-01-01

The objective of this evaluation is to determine an optimum energy storage/power source combination for electrical actuation systems for existing (Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), Shuttle) and future (Advanced Launch System (ALS), Shuttle Derivative) vehicles. Characteristic of these applications is the requirement for high power pulses (50-200 kW) for short times (milliseconds to seconds), coupled with longer-term base or 'housekeeping' requirements (5-16 kW). Specific study parameters (e.g., weight, volume, etc.) as stated in the proposal and specified in the Statement of Work (SOW) are included.

GPR application on construction foundation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amran, T. S. T.; Ismail, M. P.; Ismail, M. A.; Amin, M. S. M.; Ahmad, M. R.; Basri, N. S. M.

2017-11-01

Extensive researches and studies have been carried on radar system for commercialisation of ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology pioneered in construction, and thus claimed its rightful place in the vision of future. The application of ground penetrating radar in construction study is briefly reviewed. Based on previous experimentation and studies, this paper is focus on reinforcement bar (rebar) investigation on construction. The various data through previous references used to discuss and analyse the capability of ground penetrating radar for further improvement in construction projects especially in rebar placement in works.

Application of the Commission's recommendations: the 2013-2017 Committee 4 programme of work.

PubMed

Lochard, J

2015-06-01

Committee 4 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is responsible for developing principles, recommendations, and guidance on the protection of people against radiation exposure, and to consider their practical application in all exposure situations. Currently, the Committee's efforts are focused on the completion of a series of future ICRP publications on the implementation of its 2007 Recommendations to the various existing exposure situations. A report on protection against radon exposure was published recently (ICRP Publication 126), and two documents on protection against cosmic radiation in aviation, and naturally occurring radioactive material are under development. The programme of work for the forthcoming 2013-2017 period comprises the update of ICRP Publication 109 on protection of people in emergency exposure situations, and the update of ICRP Publication 111 on protection of people living in long-term contaminated areas after a nuclear accident, as well as the development of a future ICRP publication on the ethics of radiological protection. It also includes the preparation of task groups on the application of the Commission's recommendations for contaminated sites from past activities and for surface and near-surface disposal of radioactive waste. Another important task for Committee 4 will be to develop a reflection on the tolerability of risk from radiation. © The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Internet Data Delivery for Future Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rash, James; Hogie, Keith; Casasanta, Ralph; Hennessy, Joseph F. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This paper presents work being done at NASA/GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) on applying standard Internet applications and protocols to meet the technology challenge of future satellite missions. Internet protocols (IP) can provide seamless dynamic communication among heterogeneous instruments, spacecraft, ground stations, and constellations of spacecraft. A primary component of this work is to design and demonstrate automated end-to-end transport of files in a dynamic space environment using off-the-shelf, low-cost, commodity-level standard applications and protocols. These functions and capabilities will become increasingly significant in the years to come as both Earth and space science missions fly more sensors and the present labor-intensive, mission-specific techniques for processing and routing data become prohibitively expensive. This paper describes how an IP-based communication architecture can support existing operations concepts and how it will enable some new and complex communication and science concepts. The authors identify specific end-to-end file transfers all the way from instruments to control centers and scientists, and then describe how each data flow can be supported using standard Internet protocols and applications. The scenarios include normal data downlink and command uplink as well as recovery scenarios for both onboard and ground failures. The scenarios are based on an Earth orbiting spacecraft with data rates and downlink capabilities from 300 Kbps to 4 Mbps. Many examples are based on designs currently being investigated for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission.

[Robotics].

PubMed

Bier, J

2000-05-01

Content of this paper is the current state of the art of robots in surgery and the ongoing work on the field of surgical robotics at the Clinic for Maxillofacial Surgery at the Charité. Robots in surgery allows the surgeon to transform the accuracy of the imaging systems directly during the intervention and to plan an intervention beforehand. In this paper firstly the state of the art is described. Subsequently the scientific work at the clinic is described in detail. The paper closes with a outlook for future applications of robotics systems in maxillofacial surgery.

Cockpit design and evaluation using interactive graphics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, S. M.

1975-01-01

A general overview of the characteristics of an interactive graphics system which was developed to assist cockpit engineers design and evaluate work stations was presented. The manikin used in this COMputerized BIomechanical MAN-model (COMBIMAN) was described, as are provisions for generating work stations and assessing interactions between man and environment. The applications of the present system are explained, and critiques of COMBIMAN are presented. The limitations of the existing programs and the requirements of the designers necessitate future revisions and additions to the biomechanical and erogonomic properties of COMBIMAN. Some of these enhancements are discussed.

Fifty Years of Mountain Passes: A Perspective on Dan Janzen's Classic Article.

PubMed

Sheldon, Kimberly S; Huey, Raymond B; Kaspari, Michael; Sanders, Nathan J

2018-05-01

In 1967, Dan Janzen published "Why Mountain Passes Are Higher in the Tropics" in The American Naturalist. Janzen's seminal article has captured the attention of generations of biologists and continues to inspire theoretical and empirical work. The underlying assumptions and derived predictions are broadly synthetic and widely applicable. Consequently, Janzen's "seasonality hypothesis" has proven relevant to physiology, climate change, ecology, and evolution. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this highly influential article, we highlight the past, present, and future of this work and include a unique historical perspective from Janzen himself.

Parallel File System I/O Performance Testing On LANL Clusters

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

Wiens, Isaac Christian; Green, Jennifer Kathleen

2016-08-18

These are slides from a presentation on parallel file system I/O performance testing on LANL clusters. I/O is a known bottleneck for HPC applications. Performance optimization of I/O is often required. This summer project entailed integrating IOR under Pavilion and automating the results analysis. The slides cover the following topics: scope of the work, tools utilized, IOR-Pavilion test workflow, build script, IOR parameters, how parameters are passed to IOR, *run_ior: functionality, Python IOR-Output Parser, Splunk data format, Splunk dashboard and features, and future work.

Common Metaphors and Their Impact on Distance Education: What They Tell Us and What They Hide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Katrina A.

2005-01-01

This article explores some of the common metaphors used to illuminate the Web and its application to distance education. Using the work of Lakoff and Johnson (1980) as a foundation for understanding and categorizing metaphors, the advantages and disadvantages for our future of such metaphors as the "Web", "Information Highway", "virtual",…

Technology and Jobs: Computer-Aided Design. Numerical-Control Machine-Tool Operators. Office Automation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanton, Michael; And Others

1985-01-01

Three reports on the effects of high technology on the nature of work include (1) Stanton on applications and implications of computer-aided design for engineers, drafters, and architects; (2) Nardone on the outlook and training of numerical-control machine tool operators; and (3) Austin and Drake on the future of clerical occupations in automated…

From Sensor to Observation Web with environmental enablers in the Future Internet.

PubMed

Havlik, Denis; Schade, Sven; Sabeur, Zoheir A; Mazzetti, Paolo; Watson, Kym; Berre, Arne J; Mon, Jose Lorenzo

2011-01-01

This paper outlines the grand challenges in global sustainability research and the objectives of the FP7 Future Internet PPP program within the Digital Agenda for Europe. Large user communities are generating significant amounts of valuable environmental observations at local and regional scales using the devices and services of the Future Internet. These communities' environmental observations represent a wealth of information which is currently hardly used or used only in isolation and therefore in need of integration with other information sources. Indeed, this very integration will lead to a paradigm shift from a mere Sensor Web to an Observation Web with semantically enriched content emanating from sensors, environmental simulations and citizens. The paper also describes the research challenges to realize the Observation Web and the associated environmental enablers for the Future Internet. Such an environmental enabler could for instance be an electronic sensing device, a web-service application, or even a social networking group affording or facilitating the capability of the Future Internet applications to consume, produce, and use environmental observations in cross-domain applications. The term "envirofied" Future Internet is coined to describe this overall target that forms a cornerstone of work in the Environmental Usage Area within the Future Internet PPP program. Relevant trends described in the paper are the usage of ubiquitous sensors (anywhere), the provision and generation of information by citizens, and the convergence of real and virtual realities to convey understanding of environmental observations. The paper addresses the technical challenges in the Environmental Usage Area and the need for designing multi-style service oriented architecture. Key topics are the mapping of requirements to capabilities, providing scalability and robustness with implementing context aware information retrieval. Another essential research topic is handling data fusion and model based computation, and the related propagation of information uncertainty. Approaches to security, standardization and harmonization, all essential for sustainable solutions, are summarized from the perspective of the Environmental Usage Area. The paper concludes with an overview of emerging, high impact applications in the environmental areas concerning land ecosystems (biodiversity), air quality (atmospheric conditions) and water ecosystems (marine asset management).

From Sensor to Observation Web with Environmental Enablers in the Future Internet

PubMed Central

Havlik, Denis; Schade, Sven; Sabeur, Zoheir A.; Mazzetti, Paolo; Watson, Kym; Berre, Arne J.; Mon, Jose Lorenzo

2011-01-01

This paper outlines the grand challenges in global sustainability research and the objectives of the FP7 Future Internet PPP program within the Digital Agenda for Europe. Large user communities are generating significant amounts of valuable environmental observations at local and regional scales using the devices and services of the Future Internet. These communities’ environmental observations represent a wealth of information which is currently hardly used or used only in isolation and therefore in need of integration with other information sources. Indeed, this very integration will lead to a paradigm shift from a mere Sensor Web to an Observation Web with semantically enriched content emanating from sensors, environmental simulations and citizens. The paper also describes the research challenges to realize the Observation Web and the associated environmental enablers for the Future Internet. Such an environmental enabler could for instance be an electronic sensing device, a web-service application, or even a social networking group affording or facilitating the capability of the Future Internet applications to consume, produce, and use environmental observations in cross-domain applications. The term “envirofied” Future Internet is coined to describe this overall target that forms a cornerstone of work in the Environmental Usage Area within the Future Internet PPP program. Relevant trends described in the paper are the usage of ubiquitous sensors (anywhere), the provision and generation of information by citizens, and the convergence of real and virtual realities to convey understanding of environmental observations. The paper addresses the technical challenges in the Environmental Usage Area and the need for designing multi-style service oriented architecture. Key topics are the mapping of requirements to capabilities, providing scalability and robustness with implementing context aware information retrieval. Another essential research topic is handling data fusion and model based computation, and the related propagation of information uncertainty. Approaches to security, standardization and harmonization, all essential for sustainable solutions, are summarized from the perspective of the Environmental Usage Area. The paper concludes with an overview of emerging, high impact applications in the environmental areas concerning land ecosystems (biodiversity), air quality (atmospheric conditions) and water ecosystems (marine asset management). PMID:22163827

Applications of Modeling and Simulation for Flight Hardware Processing at Kennedy Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, Jennifer L.

2010-01-01

The Boeing Design Visualization Group (DVG) is responsible for the creation of highly-detailed representations of both on-site facilities and flight hardware using computer-aided design (CAD) software, with a focus on the ground support equipment (GSE) used to process and prepare the hardware for space. Throughout my ten weeks at this center, I have had the opportunity to work on several projects: the modification of the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) High Bay, weekly mapping of the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) floor layout, kinematics applications for the Orion Command Module (CM) hatches, and the design modification of the Ares I Upper Stage hatch for maintenance purposes. The main goal of each of these projects was to generate an authentic simulation or representation using DELMIA V5 software. This allowed for evaluation of facility layouts, support equipment placement, and greater process understanding once it was used to demonstrate future processes to customers and other partners. As such, I have had the opportunity to contribute to a skilled team working on diverse projects with a central goal of providing essential planning resources for future center operations.

An Investigation of Traveling-Wave Electrophoresis using a Trigonometric Potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vopal, James

Traveling-wave electrophoresis, a technique for microfluidic separations in lab-on-achip devices, is investigated using a trigonometric model that naturally incorporates the spatial periodicity of the device. Traveling-wave electrophoresis can be used to separate high-mobility ions from low-mobility ions in forensic and medical applications, with a separation threshold that can be tuned for specific applications by simply choosing the traveling wave frequency. Our simulations predict plateaus in the average ion velocity verses the mobility, plateaus that correspond to Farey fractions and yield Devil's staircases for non-zero discreteness values. The plateaus indicate that ions with different mobilities can travel with the same average velocity. To determine the conditions for chaos, Lyapunov exponents and contact maps are employed. Through the use of contact maps, the chaotic trajectories are determined to be either narrowband or broadband. Narrowband chaotic trajectories are exhibited in the plateaus of the average velocity, while broadband chaotic trajectories are exhibited where the average velocity varies nonmonotonically with the mobility. Narrowband chaos will be investigated in future work incorporating the role of diffusion. The results of this and future work can be used to develop new tools for electrophoretic separation.

Progress in the development of paper-based diagnostics for low-resource point-of-care settings

PubMed Central

Byrnes, Samantha; Thiessen, Gregory; Fu, Elain

2014-01-01

This Review focuses on recent work in the field of paper microfluidics that specifically addresses the goal of translating the multistep processes that are characteristic of gold-standard laboratory tests to low-resource point-of-care settings. A major challenge is to implement multistep processes with the robust fluid control required to achieve the necessary sensitivity and specificity of a given application in a user-friendly package that minimizes equipment. We review key work in the areas of fluidic controls for automation in paper-based devices, readout methods that minimize dedicated equipment, and power and heating methods that are compatible with low-resource point-of-care settings. We also highlight a focused set of recent applications and discuss future challenges. PMID:24256361

Python in the NERSC Exascale Science Applications Program for Data

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

Ronaghi, Zahra; Thomas, Rollin; Deslippe, Jack

We describe a new effort at the National Energy Re- search Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) in performance analysis and optimization of scientific Python applications targeting the Intel Xeon Phi (Knights Landing, KNL) many- core architecture. The Python-centered work outlined here is part of a larger effort called the NERSC Exascale Science Applications Program (NESAP) for Data. NESAP for Data focuses on applications that process and analyze high-volume, high-velocity data sets from experimental/observational science (EOS) facilities supported by the US Department of Energy Office of Science. We present three case study applications from NESAP for Data that use Python. These codesmore » vary in terms of “Python purity” from applications developed in pure Python to ones that use Python mainly as a convenience layer for scientists without expertise in lower level programming lan- guages like C, C++ or Fortran. The science case, requirements, constraints, algorithms, and initial performance optimizations for each code are discussed. Our goal with this paper is to contribute to the larger conversation around the role of Python in high-performance computing today and tomorrow, highlighting areas for future work and emerging best practices« less

Ionic Liquids and Relative Process Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, S.; Lu, X.; Zhang, Y.; Zhou, Q.; Sun, J.; Han, L.; Yue, G.; Liu, X.; Cheng, W.; Li, S.

Ionic liquids have gained increasing attention in recent years due to their significant advantages, not only as alternative solvents but also as new materials and catalysts. Until now, most research work on ionic liquids has been at the laboratory or pilot scale. In view of the multifarious applications of ionic liquids, more new knowledge is needed and more systematic work on ionic liquids should be carried out deeply and broadly in order to meet the future needs of process design. For example, knowledge of the physicochemical properties is indispensable for the design of new ionic liquids and for the development of novel processes. The synthesis and application of ionic liquids are fundamental parts of engineering science, and the toxicity and environmental assessment of ionic liquids is critical importance for their large scale applications, especially for process design. These research aspects are closely correlated to the industrial applications of ionic liquids and to sustainable processes. However, material process design in the industrial applications of ionic liquids has hardly been implemented. Therefore, this chapter reviews several essential issues that are closely related to process design, such as the synthesis, structure-property relationships, important applications, and toxicity of ionic liquids.

Minding the gaps: new insights into R&D management and operational transitions of NOAA satellite products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colton, Marie C.; Powell, Alfred M.; Jordan, Gretchen; Mote, Jonathon; Hage, Jerald; Frank, Donald

2004-10-01

The NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR), formerly ORA, Office of Research and Applications, consists of three research and applications divisions that encompass satellite meteorology, oceanography, climatology, and cooperative research with academic institutions. With such a wide background of talent, and a charter to develop operational algorithms and applications, STAR scientists develop satellite-derived land, ice, ocean, and atmospheric environmental data products in support of all of NOAA"s mission goals. In addition, in close association with the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation, STAR scientists actively work with the numerical modeling communities of NOAA, NASA, and DOD to support the development of new methods for assimilation of satellite data. In this new era of observations from many new satellite instruments, STAR aims to effectively integrate these data into multi-platform data products for utilization by the forecast and applications communities. Much of our work is conducted in close partnerships with other agencies, academic institutes, and industry. In order to support the nearly 400 current satellite-derived products for various users on a routine basis from our sister operations office, and to evolve to future systems requires an ongoing strategic planning approach that maps research and development activities from NOAA goals to user requirements. Since R&D accomplishments are not necessarily amenable to precise schedules, appropriate motivators and measures of scientific progress must be developed to assure that the product development cycle remains aligned with the other engineering segments of a satellite program. This article presents the status and results of this comprehensive effort to chart a course from the present set of operational satellites to the future.

Magnetic quantum phase transition in Cr-doped Bi 2(Se xTe 1-x) 3 driven by the Stark effect

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

Zhang, Zuocheng; Feng, Xiao; Wang, Jing

The interplay between magnetism and topology, as exemplified in the magnetic skyrmion systems, has emerged as a rich playground for finding novel quantum phenomena and applications in future information technology. Magnetic topological insulators (TI) have attracted much recent attention, especially after the experimental realization of quantum anomalous Hall effect. Future applications of magnetic TI hinge on the accurate manipulation of magnetism and topology by external perturbations, preferably with a gate electric field. In this work, we investigate the magneto transport properties of Cr doped Bi 2(Se xTe 1-x) 3 TI across the topological quantum critical point (QCP). We find thatmore » the external gate voltage has negligible effect on the magnetic order for samples far away from the topological QCP. However, for the sample near the QCP, we observe a ferromagnetic (FM) to paramagnetic (PM) phase transition driven by the gate electric field. Theoretical calculations show that a perpendicular electric field causes a shift of electronic energy levels due to the Stark effect, which induces a topological quantum phase transition and consequently a magnetic phase transition. Finally, the in situ electrical control of the topological and magnetic properties of TI shed important new lights on future topological electronic or spintronic device applications.« less

Magnetic quantum phase transition in Cr-doped Bi 2(Se xTe 1-x) 3 driven by the Stark effect

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Zuocheng; Feng, Xiao; Wang, Jing; ...

2017-08-07

The interplay between magnetism and topology, as exemplified in the magnetic skyrmion systems, has emerged as a rich playground for finding novel quantum phenomena and applications in future information technology. Magnetic topological insulators (TI) have attracted much recent attention, especially after the experimental realization of quantum anomalous Hall effect. Future applications of magnetic TI hinge on the accurate manipulation of magnetism and topology by external perturbations, preferably with a gate electric field. In this work, we investigate the magneto transport properties of Cr doped Bi 2(Se xTe 1-x) 3 TI across the topological quantum critical point (QCP). We find thatmore » the external gate voltage has negligible effect on the magnetic order for samples far away from the topological QCP. However, for the sample near the QCP, we observe a ferromagnetic (FM) to paramagnetic (PM) phase transition driven by the gate electric field. Theoretical calculations show that a perpendicular electric field causes a shift of electronic energy levels due to the Stark effect, which induces a topological quantum phase transition and consequently a magnetic phase transition. Finally, the in situ electrical control of the topological and magnetic properties of TI shed important new lights on future topological electronic or spintronic device applications.« less

Standardisation of magnetic nanoparticles in liquid suspension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wells, James; Kazakova, Olga; Posth, Oliver; Steinhoff, Uwe; Petronis, Sarunas; Bogart, Lara K.; Southern, Paul; Pankhurst, Quentin; Johansson, Christer

2017-09-01

Suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles offer diverse opportunities for technology innovation, spanning a large number of industry sectors from imaging and actuation based applications in biomedicine and biotechnology, through large-scale environmental remediation uses such as water purification, to engineering-based applications such as position-controlled lubricants and soaps. Continuous advances in their manufacture have produced an ever-growing range of products, each with their own unique properties. At the same time, the characterisation of magnetic nanoparticles is often complex, and expert knowledge is needed to correctly interpret the measurement data. In many cases, the stringent requirements of the end-user technologies dictate that magnetic nanoparticle products should be clearly defined, well characterised, consistent and safe; or to put it another way—standardised. The aims of this document are to outline the concepts and terminology necessary for discussion of magnetic nanoparticles, to examine the current state-of-the-art in characterisation methods necessary for the most prominent applications of magnetic nanoparticle suspensions, to suggest a possible structure for the future development of standardisation within the field, and to identify areas and topics which deserve to be the focus of future work items. We discuss potential roadmaps for the future standardisation of this developing industry, and the likely challenges to be encountered along the way.

From Landsat through SLI: Ball Aerospace Instrument Architecture for Earth Surface Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wamsley, P. R.; Gilmore, A. S.; Malone, K. J.; Kampe, T. U.; Good, W. S.

2017-12-01

The Landsat legacy spans more than forty years of moderate resolution, multi-spectral imaging of the Earth's surface. Applications for Landsat data include global environmental change, disaster planning and recovery, crop and natural resource management, and glaciology. In recent years, coastal water science has been greatly enhanced by the outstanding on-orbit performance of Landsat 8. Ball Aerospace designed and built the Operational Land Imager (OLI) instrument on Landsat 8, and is in the process of building OLI 2 for Landsat 9. Both of these instruments have the same design however improved performance is expected from OLI 2 due to greater image bit depth (14 bit on OLI 2 vs 12 bit on OLI). Ball Aerospace is currently working on two novel instrument architectures applicable to Sustainable Land Imaging for Landsat 10 and beyond. With increased budget constraints probable for future missions, technological improvements must be included in future instrument architectures to enable increased capabilities at lower cost. Ball presents the instrument architectures and associated capabilities enabling new science in past, current, and future Landsat missions.

Planning for the Future, a Look from Apollo to the Present

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Segrera, David

2008-01-01

Future missions out of low Earth orbit, returning to the moon and Mars, will be some of the most complicated endeavors ever attempted by mankind. It will require the wealth of nations and the dedicated efforts of thousand of individuals working in a concerted effort to take man to the moon, Mars and beyond. These missions will require new equipment and new approaches to optimize our limited resources and time in space. This daily planning and optimization which currently is being performed by scores of people in MCC Houston and around the world will need to adapt to the challenges faced far from Earth. By studying the processes, methodologies, and tools employed from Apollo, Skylab, Shuttle, ISS, and other programs such as NEEMO, we can learn from the past to plan for the future. This paper will explore the planning process used from Apollo onward and will discuss their relevancy in future applications.

Forecasting the Economic Impact of Future Space Station Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Summer, R. A.; Smolensky, S. M.; Muir, A. H.

1967-01-01

Recent manned and unmanned Earth-orbital operations have suggested great promise of improved knowledge and of substantial economic and associated benefits to be derived from services offered by a space station. Proposed application areas include agriculture, forestry, hydrology, public health, oceanography, natural disaster warning, and search/rescue operations. The need for reliable estimates of economic and related Earth-oriented benefits to be realized from Earth-orbital operations is discussed and recent work in this area is reviewed. Emphasis is given to those services based on remote sensing. Requirements for a uniform, comprehensive and flexible methodology are discussed. A brief review of the suggested methodology is presented. This methodology will be exercised through five case studies which were chosen from a gross inventory of almost 400 user candidates. The relationship of case study results to benefits in broader application areas is discussed, Some management implications of possible future program implementation are included.

Analysis of surface structures of chemically peculiar stars with modern and future interferometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shulyak, D.; Perraut, K.; Paladini, Claudia; Li Causi, G.; Sacuto, Stephane; Kochukhov, O.

2014-07-01

Interferometry is a very powerful observational technique known in astronomy for many decades. Its application to main-sequence stars, however, is still limited to only brightest objects. In this work we aim to explore the application of interferometry to a special class of main-sequence stars known as chemically peculiar (CP) stars. These stars demonstrate surface chemical abundance inhomogeneities (spots) that usually cover a considerable part of the stellar surface and induce a pronounced spectral and photometric variability. Interferometry thus has a potential to naturally resolve such spots in single stars, providing unique complementary information about spots sizes and contrasts. By means of numerical experiments we derive the actual interferometric requirements essential for the CP stars research that can be addressed in future instrument development. The first comparison between theoretical predictions and already available observations will also be discussed.

Graphical Environment Tools for Application to Gamma-Ray Energy Tracking Arrays

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

Todd, Richard A.; Radford, David C.

2013-12-30

Highly segmented, position-sensitive germanium detector systems are being developed for nuclear physics research where traditional electronic signal processing with mixed analog and digital function blocks would be enormously complex and costly. Future systems will be constructed using pipelined processing of high-speed digitized signals as is done in the telecommunications industry. Techniques which provide rapid algorithm and system development for future systems are desirable. This project has used digital signal processing concepts and existing graphical system design tools to develop a set of re-usable modular functions and libraries targeted for the nuclear physics community. Researchers working with complex nuclear detector arraysmore » such as the Gamma-Ray Energy Tracking Array (GRETA) have been able to construct advanced data processing algorithms for implementation in field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) through application of these library functions using intuitive graphical interfaces.« less

Program optimizations: The interplay between power, performance, and energy

DOE PAGES

Leon, Edgar A.; Karlin, Ian; Grant, Ryan E.; ...

2016-05-16

Practical considerations for future supercomputer designs will impose limits on both instantaneous power consumption and total energy consumption. Working within these constraints while providing the maximum possible performance, application developers will need to optimize their code for speed alongside power and energy concerns. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of several code optimizations including loop fusion, data structure transformations, and global allocations. A per component measurement and analysis of different architectures is performed, enabling the examination of code optimizations on different compute subsystems. Using an explicit hydrodynamics proxy application from the U.S. Department of Energy, LULESH, we show how code optimizationsmore » impact different computational phases of the simulation. This provides insight for simulation developers into the best optimizations to use during particular simulation compute phases when optimizing code for future supercomputing platforms. Here, we examine and contrast both x86 and Blue Gene architectures with respect to these optimizations.« less

Investigating Liquid CO2 as a Coolant for a MTSA Heat Exchanger Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paul, Heather L.; Padilla, Sebastian; Powers, Aaron; Iacomini, Christie

2009-01-01

Metabolic heat regenerated Temperature Swing Adsorption (MTSA) technology is being developed for thermal and carbon dioxide (CO 2) control for a future Portable Life Support System (PLSS), as well as water recycling. CO 2 removal and rejection is accomplished by driving a sorbent through a temperature swing of approximately 210 K to 280 K . The sorbent is cooled to these sub-freezing temperatures by a Sublimating Heat Exchanger (SHX) with liquid coolant expanded to sublimation temperatures. Water is the baseline coolant available on the moon, and if used, provides a competitive solution to the current baseline PLSS schematic. Liquid CO2 (LCO2) is another non-cryogenic coolant readily available from Martian resources which can be produced and stored using relatively low power and minimal infrastructure. LCO 2 expands from high pressure liquid (5800 kPa) to Mars ambient (0.8 kPa) to produce a gas / solid mixture at temperatures as low as 156 K. Analysis and experimental work are presented to investigate factors that drive the design of a heat exchanger to effectively use this sink. Emphasis is given to enabling efficient use of the CO 2 cooling potential and mitigation of heat exchanger clogging due to solid formation. Minimizing mass and size as well as coolant delivery are also considered. The analysis and experimental work is specifically performed in an MTSA-like application to enable higher fidelity modeling for future optimization of a SHX design. In doing so, the work also demonstrates principles and concepts so that the design can be further optimized later in integrated applications (including Lunar application where water might be a choice of coolant).

Lasers in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michaelis, M. M.; Forbes, A.; Bingham, R.; Kellett, B. J.; Mathye, A.

2008-05-01

A variety of laser applications in space, past, present, future and far future are reviewed together with the contributions of some of the scientists and engineers involved, especially those that happen to have South African connections. Historically, two of the earliest laser applications in space, were atmospheric LIDAR and lunar ranging. These applications involved atmospheric physicists, several astronauts and many of the staff recruited into the Soviet and North American lunar exploration programmes. There is a strong interest in South Africa in both LIDAR and lunar ranging. Shortly after the birth of the laser (and even just prior) theoretical work on photonic propulsion and space propulsion by laser ablation was initiated by Georgii Marx, Arthur Kantrowitz and Eugen Saenger. Present or near future experimental programs are developing in the following fields: laser ablation propulsion, possibly coupled with rail gun or gas gun propulsion; interplanetary laser transmission; laser altimetry; gravity wave detection by space based Michelson interferometry; the de-orbiting of space debris by high power lasers; atom laser interferometry in space. Far future applications of laser-photonic space-propulsion were also pioneered by Carl Sagan and Robert Forward. They envisaged means of putting Saenger's ideas into practice. Forward also invented a laser based method for manufacturing solid antimatter or SANTIM, well before the ongoing experiments at CERN with anti-hydrogen production and laser-trapping. SANTIM would be an ideal propellant for interstellar missions if it could be manufactured in sufficient quantities. It would be equally useful as a power source for the transmission of information over light year distances. We briefly mention military lasers. Last but not least, we address naturally occurring lasers in space and pose the question: "did the Big Bang lase?"

Endotracheal intubation: application of virtual reality to emergency medical services education.

PubMed

Mayrose, James; Myers, Jeffrey W

2007-01-01

Virtual reality simulation has been identified as an emerging educational tool with significant potential to enhance teaching of residents and students in emergency clinical encounters and procedures. Endotracheal intubation represents a critical procedure for emergency care providers. Current methods of training include working with cadavers and mannequins, which have limitations in their representation of reality, ethical concerns, and overall availability with access, cost, and location of models. This paper will present a human airway simulation model designed for tracheal intubation and discuss the aspects that lend itself to use as an educational tool. This realistic and dynamic model is used to teach routine intubations, while future models will include more difficult airway management scenarios. This work provides a solid foundation for future versions of the intubation simulator, which will incorporate two haptic devices to allow for simultaneous control of the laryngoscope blade and endotracheal tube.

Review of levoglucosan in glacier snow and ice studies: Recent progress and future perspectives.

PubMed

You, Chao; Xu, Chao

2018-03-01

Levoglucosan (LEV) in glacier snow and ice layers provides a fingerprint of fire activity, ranging from modern air pollution to ancient fire emissions. In this study, we review recent progress in our understanding and application of LEV in glaciers, including analytical methods, transport and post-depositional processes, and historical records. We firstly summarize progress in analytical methods for determination of LEV in glacier snow and ice. Then, we discuss the processes influencing the records of LEV in snow and ice layers. Finally, we make some recommendations for future work, such as assessing the stability of LEV and obtaining continuous records, to increase reliability of the reconstructed ancient fire activity. This review provides an update for researchers working with LEV and will facilitate the further use of LEV as a biomarker in paleo-fire studies based on ice core records. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

What is the problem in problem-based learning in higher education mathematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahl, Bettina

2018-01-01

Problem and Project-Based Learning (PBL) emphasise collaborate work on problems relevant to society and emphases the relation between theory and practice. PBL fits engineering students as preparation for their future professions but what about mathematics? Mathematics is not just applied mathematics, but it is also a body of abstract knowledge where the application in society is not always obvious. Does mathematics, including pure mathematics, fit into a PBL curriculum? This paper argues that it does for two reasons: (1) PBL resembles the working methods of research mathematicians. (2) The concept of society includes the society of researchers to whom theoretical mathematics is relevant. The paper describes two cases of university PBL projects in mathematics; one in pure mathematics and the other in applied mathematics. The paper also discusses that future engineers need to understand the world of mathematics as well as how engineers fit into a process of fundamental-research-turned-into-applied-science.

Future of Space Astronomy: A Global Road Map for the Next Decades

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ubertini, Pietro; Gehrels, Neil; Corbett, Ian; DeBernardis, Paolo; Machado, Marcos; Griffin, Matt; Hauser, Michael; Manchanda, Ravinder K.; Kawai, Nobuyuki; Zhang, Shuang-Nan;

On the present and future of dissolution-DNP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ardenkjaer-Larsen, Jan Henrik

2016-03-01

Dissolution-DNP is a method to create solutions of molecules with nuclear spin polarization close to unity. The many orders of magnitude signal enhancement have enabled many new applications, in particular in vivo MR metabolic imaging. The method relies on solid state dynamic nuclear polarization at low temperature followed by a dissolution to produce the room temperature solution of highly polarized spins. This work describes the present and future of dissolution-DNP in the mind of the author. The article describes some of the current trends in the field as well as outlines some of the areas where new ideas will make an impact. Most certainly, the future will take unpredicted directions, but hopefully the thoughts presented here will stimulate new ideas that can further advance the field.

Biological responses to M13 bacteriophage modified titanium surfaces in vitro.

PubMed

Sun, Yuhua; Li, Yiting; Wu, Baohua; Wang, Jianxin; Lu, Xiong; Qu, Shuxin; Weng, Jie; Feng, Bo

2017-08-01

Phage-based materials have showed great potential in tissue engineering application. However, it is unknown what inflammation response will happen to this kind of materials. This work is to explore the biological responses to M13 bacteriophage (phage) modified titanium surfaces in vitro from the aspects of their interaction with macrophages, osteoblasts and mineralization behavior. Pretreated Ti surface, Ti surfaces with noncrosslinked phage film (APP) and crosslinked phage film (APPG) were compared. Phage films could limit the macrophage adhesion and activity due to inducing adherent-cell apoptosis. The initial inflammatory activity (24h) caused by phage films was relatively high with more production of TNF-α, but in the later stage (7-10days) inflammatory response was reduced with lower TNF-α, IL-6 and higher IL-10. In addition, phage films improved osteoblast adhesion, differentiation, and hydroapatite (HA)-forming via a combination of topographical and biochemcial cues. The noncrosslinked phage film displayed the best immunomodulatory property, osteogenic activity and HA mineralization ability. This work provides better understanding of inflammatory and osteogenetic activity of phage-based materials and contributes to their future application in tissue engineering. In vivo, the bone and immune cells share a common microenvironment, and are being affected by similar cytokines, signaling molecules, transcription factors and membrane receptors. Ideal implants should cause positive biological response, including adequate and appropriate inflammatory reaction, well-balanced bone formation and absorption. Phage-based materials have showed great potential in tissue engineering application. However, at present it is unknown what inflammation response will happen to this kind of materials. A good understanding of the immune response possibly induced by phage-based materials is needed. This work studied the osteoimmunomodulation property of phage films on titanium surface, involving inflammatory response, osteogenic activity and biomineralization ability. It provides more understanding of the phage-based materials and contributes to their future application in tissue engineering. Copyright © 2017 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Technology and future ways of thinking related to work from ergonomics points of views in moments of global crisis].

PubMed

Puentes-Lagos, David E; García-Acosta, Gabriel

2012-06-01

Is it possible to establish (at short, medium and long term) future work conditions or expected work conditions for Colombian people considering upcoming work technologies? Is it possible to anticipate future work desirable work conditions for Colombian people in order to plan (foresee?) work technologies? These questions guided this research and they point to an action thesis and to a reaction one in this context of work crisis. Even though a work technology establishes where, when, how, who, who with, and using what element work is done, it also establishes certain work conditions. Besides, multiple forms of considering and deconstructing past have been created from many disciplines. However, in order to foresee or construct work technologies requires a different perspective for looking further. This research has been carried out considering other disciplines points of view regarding Future Studies and Future Thinking Studies. This research has the purpose of finding future paths for Future Thinking Studies from ergonomics point of view in this moment of global work crisis we are going through.

Preparation, characteristics, convection and applications of magnetic nanofluids: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Aditya; Subudhi, Sudhakar

2018-02-01

Magnetic nanofluids (MNfs), the colloidal suspension of ferromagnetic nanomaterial, have been taken into research fascinatingly. After contemplating its distinctive interesting properties and unique eximious features it offers innumerous application not only in heat transfer field but also immensely prevalent in medical, biological, aerospace, electronics and solar sciences. This review paper epitomizes and perusing the research work done on heat transfer application of MNfs and encapsulate it for the future research support. Moreover, numerical and experimental, both the approaches has been included for the insightful analysis of phenomenon to apprehend augmentation in heat transfer by MNfs. This article first underlines the importance of appropriate methods of preparation of MNfs as well as its effects on the thermophysical properties of MNfs. Subsequently, the paper comprehended the descriptive analysis of augmentation of convection heat transfer and the effect of magnetic field on the behavior MNfs. Additionally, the effect of magnetic field intensity has been taken as a pertinent parameter and correlations have been developed for thermal conductivity, viscosity and heat transfer coefficient based on the reviewed data. The paper concluded with the tremendous applications of the MNfs and the futuristic plan to support the potential areas for future research.

Using Formal Grammars to Predict I/O Behaviors in HPC: The Omnisc'IO Approach

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

Dorier, Matthieu; Ibrahim, Shadi; Antoniu, Gabriel

2016-08-01

The increasing gap between the computation performance of post-petascale machines and the performance of their I/O subsystem has motivated many I/O optimizations including prefetching, caching, and scheduling. In order to further improve these techniques, modeling and predicting spatial and temporal I/O patterns of HPC applications as they run has become crucial. In this paper we present Omnisc'IO, an approach that builds a grammar-based model of the I/O behavior of HPC applications and uses it to predict when future I/O operations will occur, and where and how much data will be accessed. To infer grammars, Omnisc'IO is based on StarSequitur, amore » novel algorithm extending Nevill-Manning's Sequitur algorithm. Omnisc'IO is transparently integrated into the POSIX and MPI I/O stacks and does not require any modification in applications or higher-level I/O libraries. It works without any prior knowledge of the application and converges to accurate predictions of any N future I/O operations within a couple of iterations. Its implementation is efficient in both computation time and memory footprint.« less

Metal Nanoparticle Catalysts for Carbon Nanotube Growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierce, Benjamin F.

2003-01-01

Work this summer involved and new and unique process for producing the metal nanoparticle catalysts needed for carbon nanotube (CNT) growth. There are many applications attributed to CNT's, and their properties have deemed them to be a hot spot in research today. Many groups have demonstrated the versatility in CNT's by exploring a wide spectrum of roles that these nanotubes are able to fill. A short list of such promising applications are: nanoscaled electronic circuitry, storage media, chemical sensors, microscope enhancement, and coating reinforcement. Different methods have been used to grow these CNT's. Some examples are laser ablation, flame synthesis, or furnace synthesis. Every single approach requires the presence of a metal catalyst (Fe, Co, and Ni are among the best) that is small enough to produce a CNT. Herein lies the uniqueness of this work. Microemulsions (containing inverse micelles) were used to generate these metal particles for subsequent CNT growth. The goal of this summer work was basically to accomplish as much preliminary work as possible. I strived to pinpoint which variable (experimental process, metal product, substrate, method of application, CVD conditions, etc.) was the determining factor in the results. The resulting SEM images were sufficient for the appropriate comparisons to be made. The future work of this project consists of the optimization of the more promising experimental procedures and further exploration onto what exactly dictated the results.

Micro and nanotechnology for biological and biomedical applications.

PubMed

Lim, Chwee Teck; Han, Jongyoon; Guck, Jochen; Espinosa, Horacio

2010-10-01

This special issue contains some of the current state-of-the-art development and use of micro and nanotechnological tools, devices and techniques for both biological and biomedical research and applications. These include nanoparticles for bioimaging and biosensing, optical and biophotonic techniques for probing diseases at the nanoscale, micro and nano-fabricated tools for elucidating molecular mechanisms of mechanotransduction in cell and molecular biology and cell separation microdevices and techniques for isolating and enriching targeted cells for disease detection and diagnosis. Although some of these works are still at the research stage, there is no doubt that some of the important outcomes will eventually see actual biomedical applications in the not too distant future.

Nanoparticles functionalized with supramolecular host-guest systems for nanomedicine and healthcare.

PubMed

Wu, Zilong; Song, Nan; Menz, Ryan; Pingali, Bharadwaj; Yang, Ying-Wei; Zheng, Yuebing

2015-05-01

Synthetic macrocyclic host compounds can interact with suitable guest molecules via noncovalent interactions to form functional supramolecular systems. With the synergistic integration of the response of molecules and the unique properties at the nanoscale, nanoparticles functionalized with the host-guest supramolecular systems have shown great potentials for a broad range of applications in the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology. In this review article, we focus on the applications of the nanoparticles functionalized with supramolecular host-guest systems in nanomedicine and healthcare, including therapeutic delivery, imaging, sensing and removal of harmful substances. A large number of examples are included to elucidate the working mechanisms, advantages, limitations and future developments of the nanoparticle-supramolecule systems in these applications.

Photocurable Polymers for Ion Selective Field Effect Transistors. 20 Years of Applications

PubMed Central

Abramova, Natalia; Bratov, Andrei

2009-01-01

Application of photocurable polymers for encapsulation of ion selective field effect transistors (ISFET) and for membrane formation in chemical sensitive field effect transistors (ChemFET) during the last 20 years is discussed. From a technological point of view these materials are quite interesting because they allow the use of standard photo-lithographic processes, which reduces significantly the time required for sensor encapsulation and membrane deposition and the amount of manual work required for this, all items of importance for sensor mass production. Problems associated with the application of this kind of polymers in sensors are analysed and estimation of future trends in this field of research are presented. PMID:22399988

In the palm of your hand.

PubMed

Monteverdi, B

2001-01-01

The explosive growth of handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) in health care has been nothing short of amazing. What applications--business and clinical--do these devices have in medicine, and what is their potential? PDAs are simple and intuitive; their applications require minimal interaction time, so they have minimal impact on work flow: the investment is small; and the lightweight form is relatively nonintrusive during a patient encounter. The devices are being used to capture charges for medical services at the point of care. Encounter capture, online prescription writing and other applications will soon come on the scene. This article discusses current and possible future uses for PDAs in health care, interfaces with other technologies and security concerns.

LANL LDRD-funded project: Test particle simulations of energetic ions in natural and artificial radiation belts

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

Cowee, Misa; Liu, Kaijun; Friedel, Reinhard H.

2012-07-17

We summarize the scientific problem and work plan for the LANL LDRD-funded project to use a test particle code to study the sudden de-trapping of inner belt protons and possible cross-L transport of debris ions after a high altitude nuclear explosion (HANE). We also discuss future application of the code for other HANE-related problems.

Mobile Social Networking Health (MSNet-Health): beyond the mHealth frontier.

PubMed

Househ, Mowafa

2012-01-01

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to introduce the concept of Mobile Social Networking Healthcare (MSNet-Health). The paper defines MSNet-Health and provides a working scenario of MSNet-Health. The paper suggests various potential domain area applications for MSNet-Health, such as diabetes, antenatal education, smoking cessation, weight loss, and arthritis. Challenges and future research areas are also discussed.

Why and Whither Hypersonics Research in the US Air Force

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-12-01

of strong interest in high supersonic and hypersonic flight. Actual flight achievements—notably the first supersonic flight by the XS - 1 on 14...Air Force is sponsoring Future Strike Aircraft studies with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman . Under these studies, subsonic, supersonic...SMC/XRD) MSE Technology Applications, Inc. Northrop Grumman Air Combat Systems Orbital Sciences Corporation Boeing Phantom Works 18 May 2000

Optical Processing.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-06-01

Further improvements are clearly necessary. 2.2.2 Future Work It would appear that transverse cross-talk is a serious problem in thermally based bistable... manufacturing purposes except under an agreement or with the consent in writing of Ferranti pic and then only on the condition that this notice is...applications which might: (a) appear to benefit from the advantages offered by optical processing (such as large parallelism and dense global inter

Bioinspired Intelligent Algorithm and Its Applications for Mobile Robot Control: A Survey.

PubMed

Ni, Jianjun; Wu, Liuying; Fan, Xinnan; Yang, Simon X

2016-01-01

Bioinspired intelligent algorithm (BIA) is a kind of intelligent computing method, which is with a more lifelike biological working mechanism than other types. BIAs have made significant progress in both understanding of the neuroscience and biological systems and applying to various fields. Mobile robot control is one of the main application fields of BIAs which has attracted more and more attention, because mobile robots can be used widely and general artificial intelligent algorithms meet a development bottleneck in this field, such as complex computing and the dependence on high-precision sensors. This paper presents a survey of recent research in BIAs, which focuses on the research in the realization of various BIAs based on different working mechanisms and the applications for mobile robot control, to help in understanding BIAs comprehensively and clearly. The survey has four primary parts: a classification of BIAs from the biomimetic mechanism, a summary of several typical BIAs from different levels, an overview of current applications of BIAs in mobile robot control, and a description of some possible future directions for research.

Advanced valve-regulated lead-acid batteries for hybrid vehicle applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soria, M. L.; Trinidad, F.; Lacadena, J. M.; Sánchez, A.; Valenciano, J.

Future vehicle applications require the development of reliable and long life batteries operating under high-rate partial-state-of-charge (HRPSoC) working conditions. Work presented in this paper deals with the study of different design parameters, manufacturing process and charging conditions of spiral wound valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries, in order to improve their reliability and cycle life for hybrid vehicle applications. Test results show that both electrolyte saturation and charge conditions have a strong effect on cycle life at HRPSoC performance, presumably because water loss finally accelerates battery failure, which is linked to irreversible sulphation in the upper part of the negative electrodes. By adding expanded graphite to the negative active mass formulation, increasing the electrolyte saturation degree (>95%) and controlling overcharge during regenerative braking periods (voltage limitation and occasional boosting) it is possible to achieve up to 220,000 cycles at 2.5% DOD, equivalent to 5500 capacity throughput. These results could make lead acid batteries a strong competitor for HEV applications versus other advanced systems such as Ni-MH or Li-ion batteries.

Bioinspired Intelligent Algorithm and Its Applications for Mobile Robot Control: A Survey

PubMed Central

Ni, Jianjun; Wu, Liuying; Fan, Xinnan; Yang, Simon X.

2016-01-01

Bioinspired intelligent algorithm (BIA) is a kind of intelligent computing method, which is with a more lifelike biological working mechanism than other types. BIAs have made significant progress in both understanding of the neuroscience and biological systems and applying to various fields. Mobile robot control is one of the main application fields of BIAs which has attracted more and more attention, because mobile robots can be used widely and general artificial intelligent algorithms meet a development bottleneck in this field, such as complex computing and the dependence on high-precision sensors. This paper presents a survey of recent research in BIAs, which focuses on the research in the realization of various BIAs based on different working mechanisms and the applications for mobile robot control, to help in understanding BIAs comprehensively and clearly. The survey has four primary parts: a classification of BIAs from the biomimetic mechanism, a summary of several typical BIAs from different levels, an overview of current applications of BIAs in mobile robot control, and a description of some possible future directions for research. PMID:26819582

Manual wheeled mobility--current and future developments from the human engineering research laboratories.

PubMed

Cooper, Rory A; Koontz, Alicia M; Ding, Dan; Kelleher, Annmarie; Rice, Ian; Cooper, Rosemarie

2010-01-01

Medical rehabilitation and assistive technology are immersed in a world transitioning to a basis in evidence-based practice. Fortunately, there is a growing body of knowledge related to manual wheelchair mobility to form a basis for clinical decision making. The results from research studies are useful for designing better wheelchairs, fitting and training people appropriately, contributing to evidence-based-medicine and guiding future research. This review describes some of the work related to manual wheelchairs that has and is being conducted within the University of Pittsburgh and the Human Engineering Research Laboratories of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and its application.

MS&T'13 Symposium Preview: Metal and Polymer Matrix Composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Nikhil; Paramsothy, Muralidharan

2013-08-01

The Metal and Polymer Matrix Composites symposium at Materials Science & Technology 2013 (MS&T'13) conference is planned to provide a platform to researchers working on various aspects of composite materials and capture the state of the art in this area. The dialogue among leading researchers is expected to provide insight into the future of this field and identify the future directions in terms of research, development, and applications of composite materials. In the 2 day program, the symposium includes 34 presentations, including 10 invited presentations. The contributions have come from 16 different countries including USA, Mexico, Switzerland, India, Egypt, and Singapore.

A combined system for 3D printing cybersecurity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Straub, Jeremy

2017-06-01

Previous work has discussed the impact of cybersecurity breaches on 3D printed objects. Multiple attack types that could weaken objects, make them unsuitable for certain applications and even create safety hazards have been presented. This paper considers a visible light sensing-based verification system's efficacy as a means of thwarting cybersecurity threats to 3D printing. This system detects discrepancies between expected and actual printed objects (based on an independent pristine CAD model). Whether reliance on an independent CAD model is appropriate is also considered. The future of 3D printing is projected and the importance of cybersecurity in this future is discussed.

Metal matrix composites: History, status, factors and future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cyriac, Ajith James

The history, status, and future of metal matrix composites are presented by evaluating the progression of available literature through time. The trends that existed and issues that still prevail are discussed and a prediction of the future for MMCs is presented. The factors that govern the performance of metal matrix composites are also discussed. In many developed countries and in several developing countries there exists continued interest in MMCs. Researchers tried numerous combinations of matrices and reinforcements since work strictly on MMCs began in the 1950s. This led to developments for aerospace and defense applications, but resultant commercial applications were limited. The introduction of ceramic whiskers as reinforcement and the development of 'in-situ' eutectics in the 1960s aided high temperature applications in aircraft engines. In the late 1970s the automobile industries started to take MMCs seriously. In the last 20 years, MMCs evolved from laboratories to a class of materials with numerous applications and commercial markets. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, prevailing order in the world changed drastically. This effect was evident in the progression of metal matrix composites. The internet connected the world like never before and tremendous information was available for researchers around the world. Globalization and the internet resulted in the transformation of the world to a more level playing field, and this effect is evident in the nature and source of research on metal matrix composites happening around the world.

Effects of heat stress on working populations when facing climate change.

PubMed

Lundgren, Karin; Kuklane, Kalev; Gao, Chuansi; Holmér, Ingvar

2013-01-01

It is accepted that the earth's climate is changing in an accelerating pace, with already documented implications for human health and the environment. This literature review provides an overview of existing research findings about the effects of heat stress on the working population in relation to climate change. In the light of climate change adaptation, the purpose of the literature review was to explore recent and previous research into the impacts of heat stress on humans in an occupational setting. Heat stress in the workplace has been researched extensively in the past however, in the contemporary context of climate change, information is lacking on its extent and implications. The main factors found to exacerbate heat stress in the current and future workplace are the urban 'heat island effect', physical work, individual differences, and the developing country context where technological fixes are often not applicable. There is also a lack of information on the effects on vulnerable groups such as elderly people and pregnant women. As increasing temperatures reduce work productivity, world economic productivity could be condensed, affecting developing countries in the tropical climate zone disproportionately. Future research is needed taking an interdisciplinary approach, including social, economic, environmental and technical aspects.

SEURAT: Safety Evaluation Ultimately Replacing Animal Testing--recommendations for future research in the field of predictive toxicology.

PubMed

Daston, George; Knight, Derek J; Schwarz, Michael; Gocht, Tilman; Thomas, Russell S; Mahony, Catherine; Whelan, Maurice

2015-01-01

The development of non-animal methodology to evaluate the potential for a chemical to cause systemic toxicity is one of the grand challenges of modern science. The European research programme SEURAT is active in this field and will conclude its first phase, SEURAT-1, in December 2015. Drawing on the experience gained in SEURAT-1 and appreciating international advancement in both basic and regulatory science, we reflect here on how SEURAT should evolve and propose that further research and development should be directed along two complementary and interconnecting work streams. The first work stream would focus on developing new 'paradigm' approaches for regulatory science. The goal here is the identification of 'critical biological targets' relevant for toxicity and to test their suitability to be used as anchors for predicting toxicity. The second work stream would focus on integration and application of new approach methods for hazard (and risk) assessment within the current regulatory 'paradigm', aiming for acceptance of animal-free testing strategies by regulatory authorities (i.e. translating scientific achievements into regulation). Components for both work streams are discussed and may provide a structure for a future research programme in the field of predictive toxicology.

Towards a theoretical clarification of biomimetics using conceptual tools from engineering design.

PubMed

Drack, M; Limpinsel, M; de Bruyn, G; Nebelsick, J H; Betz, O

2017-12-13

Many successful examples of biomimetic products are available, and most research efforts in this emerging field are directed towards the development of specific applications. The theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the knowledge transfer between biologists, engineers and architects are, however, poorly investigated. The present article addresses this gap. We use a 'technomorphic' approach, i.e. the application of conceptual tools derived from engineering design, to better understand the processes operating during a typical biomimetic research project. This helps to elucidate the formal connections between functions, working principles and constructions (in a broad sense)-because the 'form-function-relationship' is a recurring issue in biology and engineering. The presented schema also serves as a conceptual framework that can be implemented for future biomimetic projects. The concepts of 'function' and 'working principle' are identified as the core elements in the biomimetic knowledge transfer towards applications. This schema not only facilitates the development of a common language in the emerging science of biomimetics, but also promotes the interdisciplinary dialogue among its subdisciplines.

Metabolomics Based Dietary Biomarkers in Nutritional Epidemiology- Current Status and Future Opportunities.

PubMed

Brennan, Lorraine; Hu, Frank B

2018-04-24

The application of metabolomics in nutrition epidemiology holds great promise and there is a high expectation that it will play a leading role in deciphering the interactions between diet and health. However, while significant progress has been made in identification of putative biomarkers more work is needed to address the use of the biomarkers in dietary assessment. The aim of this review to critically evaluate progress in these areas and to identify challenges that need to be addressed going forward. The notable applications of dietary biomarkers in nutritional epidemiology include (1) Determination of food intake based on biomarkers levels and calibration equations from feeding studies (2) Classification of individuals into dietary patterns based on the urinary metabolic profile and (3) Application of metabolome-wide-association studies. Further work is needed to address some specific challenges to enable biomarkers to reach their full potential. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Development of a stereoscopic three-dimensional drawing application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carver, Donald E.; McAllister, David F.

1991-08-01

With recent advances in 3-D technology, computer users have the opportunity to work within a natural 3-D environment; a flat panel LCD computer display of this type, the DTI-100M made by Dimension Technologies, Inc., recently went on the market. In a joint venture between DTI and NCSU, an object-oriented 3-D drawing application, 3-D Draw, was developed to address some issues of human interface design for interactive stereo drawing applications. The focus of this paper is to determine some of the procedures a user would naturally expect to follow while working within a true 3-D environment. The paper discusses (1) the interface between the Macintosh II and DTI-100M during implementation of 3-D Draw, including stereo cursor development and presentation of current 2-D systems, with an additional `depth'' parameter, in the 3-D world, (2) problems in general for human interface into the 3-D environment, and (3) necessary functions and/or problems in developing future stereoscopic 3-D operating systems/tools.

How will wind and water erosion change in drylands in the future?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okin, G. S.; Sala, O.; Vivoni, E. R.

2017-12-01

Drylands are characterized as much by high spatial and temporal variability as they are by low precipitation. Cover that is patchy at multiple scales allows connectivity for wind and water transport. Vegetation dynamics at interannual scales occurs in the context of community change (including woody encroachment) at decadal scales. Periods of drought alternate with relatively wet periods. Future predictions for the world's drylands are that many will become more arid, but near all will experience greater climate variability. This work explores how future variability will affect transport by wind and water, both of which are crucial elements of biotic-abiotic feedbacks that control community change in drylands. This work is based on long-term observations from the Jornada Long Term Ecological Research (LTER), but with lessons that are applicable elsewhere. We find strong relationships between vegetation community, precipitation and aeolian transport related to changes in connectivity. We further identify strong, scale-dependent relationships between precipitation and runoff. Thus, aeolian transport decreases with increasing annual precipitation and transport by water increases with annual precipitation, with the combined effect that increased variability in annual precipitation is likely to increase both water and wind transport. The consequence of this is that feedbacks associated with community change are likely to strengthen in the future.

Putting the brain to work: neuroergonomics past, present, and future.

PubMed

Parasuraman, Raja; Wilson, Glenn F

2008-06-01

The authors describe research and applications in prominent areas of neuroergonomics. Because human factors/ergonomics examines behavior and mind at work, it should include the study of brain mechanisms underlying human performance. Neuroergonomic studies are reviewed in four areas: workload and vigilance, adaptive automation, neuroengineering, and molecular genetics and individual differences. Neuroimaging studies have helped identify the components of mental workload, workload assessment in complex tasks, and resource depletion in vigilance. Furthermore, real-time neurocognitive assessment of workload can trigger adaptive automation. Neural measures can also drive brain-computer interfaces to provide disabled users new communication channels. Finally, variants of particular genes can be associated with individual differences in specific cognitive functions. Neuroergonomics shows that considering what makes work possible - the human brain - can enrich understanding of the use of technology by humans and can inform technological design. Applications of neuroergonomics include the assessment of operator workload and vigilance, implementation of real-time adaptive automation, neuroengineering for people with disabilities, and design of selection and training methods.

Primer Vector Optimization: Survey of Theory, New Analysis and Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guzman, J. J.; Mailhe, L. M.; Schiff, C.; Hughes, S. P.; Folta, D. C.

2002-01-01

In this paper, a summary of primer vector theory is presented. The applicability of primer vector theory is examined in an effort to understand when and why the theory can fail. For example, since the Calculus of Variations is based on "small" variations, singularities in the linearized (variational) equations of motion along the arcs must be taken into account. These singularities are a recurring problem in analyse that employ small variations. Two examples, the initialization of an orbit and a line of apsides rotation, are presented. Recommendations, future work, and the possible addition of other optimization techniques are also discussed.

Design and Demonstration of a Miniature Lidar System for Rover Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, Benjamin

2010-01-01

A basic small and portable lidar system for rover applications has been designed. It uses a 20 Hz Nd:YAG pulsed laser, a 4-inch diameter telescope receiver, a custom-built power distribution unit (PDU), and a custom-built 532 nm photomultiplier tube (PMT) to measure the lidar signal. The receiving optics have been designed, but not constructed yet. LabVIEW and MATLAB programs have also been written to control the system, acquire data, and analyze data. The proposed system design, along with some measurements, is described. Future work to be completed is also discussed.

Thermionic energy conversion technology - Present and future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shimada, K.; Morris, J. F.

1977-01-01

Aerospace and terrestrial applications of thermionic direct energy conversion and advances in direct energy conversion (DEC) technology are surveyed. Electrode materials, the cesium plasma drop (the difference between the barrier index and the collector work function), DEC voltage/current characteristics, conversion efficiency, and operating temperatures are discussed. Attention is centered on nuclear reactor system thermionic DEC devices, for in-core or out-of-core operation. Thermionic fuel elements, the radiation shield, power conditions, and a waste heat rejection system are considered among the thermionic DEC system components. Terrestrial applications include topping power systems in fossil fuel and solar power generation.

Motivation for Air-Launch: Past, Present, and Future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, John W.; Rogers, Charles E.; Brierly, Gregory T.; Martin, J Campbell; Murphy, Marshall G.

2017-01-01

Air-launch is defined as two or more air-vehicles joined and working together, that eventually separate in flight, and that have a combined performance greater than the sum of the individual parts. The use of the air-launch concept has taken many forms across civil, commercial, and military contexts throughout the history of aviation. Air-launch techniques have been applied for entertainment, movement of materiel and personnel, efficient execution of aeronautical research, increasing aircraft range, and enabling flexible and efficient launch of space vehicles. For each air-launch application identified in the paper, the motivation for that application is discussed.

Autonomous Dynamically Self-Organizing and Self-Healing Distributed Hardware Architecture - the eDNA Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boesen, Michael Reibel; Madsen, Jan; Keymeulen, Didier

2011-01-01

This paper presents the current state of the autonomous dynamically self-organizing and self-healing electronic DNA (eDNA) hardware architecture (patent pending). In its current prototype state, the eDNA architecture is capable of responding to multiple injected faults by autonomously reconfiguring itself to accommodate the fault and keep the application running. This paper will also disclose advanced features currently available in the simulation model only. These features are future work and will soon be implemented in hardware. Finally we will describe step-by-step how an application is implemented on the eDNA architecture.

Recent advances in electrospun nanofibers for wound healing.

PubMed

Chen, Shixuan; Liu, Bing; Carlson, Mark A; Gombart, Adrian F; Reilly, Debra A; Xie, Jingwei

2017-06-01

Electrospun nanofibers represent a novel class of materials that show great potential in many biomedical applications including biosensing, regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, drug delivery and wound healing. In this work, we review recent advances in electrospun nanofibers for wound healing. This article begins with a brief introduction on the wound, and then discusses the unique features of electrospun nanofibers critical for wound healing. It further highlights recent studies that have used electrospun nanofibers for wound healing applications and devices, including sutures, multifunctional dressings, dermal substitutes, engineered epidermis and full-thickness skin regeneration. Finally, we finish with conclusions and future perspective in this field.

Research on Retro-reflecting Modulation in Space Optical Communication System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yifeng; Wang, Guannan

2018-01-01

Retro-reflecting modulation space optical communication is a new type of free space optical communication technology. Unlike traditional free space optical communication system, it applys asymmetric optical systems to reduce the size, weight and power consumption of the system and can effectively solve the limits of traditional free space optical communication system application, so it can achieve the information transmission. This paper introduces the composition and working principle of retro-reflecting modulation optical communication system, analyzes the link budget of this system, reviews the types of optical system and optical modulator, summarizes this technology future research direction and application prospects.

United States Air Force Summer Research Program 1991. Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP) Reports. Volume 8. Rome Laboratory, Arnold Engineering Development Center, F. J. Seiler Research Laboratory

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-09

and reliability and it concludes with a discussion of possible applications to the IMS prototype design. 1-2 AcknowledQements I would like to thank the...technologies and procedures such as cut-vertex set analysis, the results of which may lead to future applications of this work in network management. 1... mathematically as follows. If the distance between the atoms of the surface is d and the wave is scattered it an angle 9 (measured from the surface

Development and operation of the JAERI superconducting energy recovery linacs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minehara, Eisuke J.

2006-02-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute free-electron laser (JAERI FEL) group at Tokai, Ibaraki, Japan has successfully developed one of the most advanced and newest accelerator technologies named "superconducting energy recovery linacs (ERLs)" and some applications in near future using the ERLs. In the text, the current operation and high power JAERI ERL-FEL 10 kW upgrading program, ERL-light source design studies, prevention of the stainless-steel cold-worked stress-corrosion cracking failures and decommissioning of nuclear power plants in nuclear energy industries were reported and discussed briefly as a typical application of the ERL-FEL.

Investigations into the behaviour of Plasma surrounding Pulsars: DYMPHNA3D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rochford, Ronan; Mc Donald, John; Shearer, Andy

2011-08-01

We report on a new 3D fully relativistic, modular, parallel and scalable Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code currently being developed at the Computational Astrophysics Laboratory in the National University of Ireland, Galway and its initial test applications to the plasma distribution in the vicinity of a rapidly rotating neutron star. We find that Plasma remains confined by trapping surfaces close to the star as opposed to propagating to a significant portion of the light-cylinder distance as predicted in this early work. We discuss planned future modifications and applications of the developed code.

An Overview of Phytoconstituents, Biotechnological Applications, and Nutritive Aspects of Coconut (Cocos nucifera).

PubMed

Roopan, Selvaraj Mohana

2016-08-01

Cocos nucifera is one of the highest nutritional and medicinal value plants with various fractions of proteins which play a major role in several biological applications such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-neoplastic, anti-parasitic, insecticidal, and leishmanicidal activities. This review is focused on several biotechnological, biomedical aspects of various solvent extracts collected from different parts of coconut and the phytochemical constituents which are present in it. The results obtained from this source will facilitate most of the researchers to focus their work toward the process of diagnosing diseases in future.

Nurses' use of mobile instant messaging applications: A uses and gratifications perspective.

PubMed

Bautista, John Robert; Lin, Trisha T C

2017-10-01

To explore how and why mobile instant messaging applications are used by Filipino nurses as part of their work. Guided by the uses and gratifications theory, in-depth interviews with 20 staff nurses working in 9 hospitals (ie, 4 private and 5 public hospitals) in the Philippines were conducted in July 2015. Interview data were analysed through a phenomenological perspective to thematic analysis. Results show that mobile instant messaging applications such as Facebook Messenger and Viber were mostly used by staff nurses and these were accessed using their own smartphones. Thematic analysis indicates that they were used to meet staff nurses' need for information exchange, socialization, and catharsis. Moreover, user interactions vary depending on members within a chat group. For instance, communication via mobile instant messaging applications are much formal when superiors are included in a chat group. In general, the results show that mobile instant messaging applications are routinely used by Filipino staff nurses not only for clinical purposes (ie, information exchange) but also for non-clinical purposes (ie, socialization and catharsis). This paper ends with several practical and theoretical implications including future research directions. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

A review of wearable sensors and systems with application in rehabilitation

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The aim of this review paper is to summarize recent developments in the field of wearable sensors and systems that are relevant to the field of rehabilitation. The growing body of work focused on the application of wearable technology to monitor older adults and subjects with chronic conditions in the home and community settings justifies the emphasis of this review paper on summarizing clinical applications of wearable technology currently undergoing assessment rather than describing the development of new wearable sensors and systems. A short description of key enabling technologies (i.e. sensor technology, communication technology, and data analysis techniques) that have allowed researchers to implement wearable systems is followed by a detailed description of major areas of application of wearable technology. Applications described in this review paper include those that focus on health and wellness, safety, home rehabilitation, assessment of treatment efficacy, and early detection of disorders. The integration of wearable and ambient sensors is discussed in the context of achieving home monitoring of older adults and subjects with chronic conditions. Future work required to advance the field toward clinical deployment of wearable sensors and systems is discussed. PMID:22520559

Thermostable microbial xylanases for pulp and paper industries: trends, applications and further perspectives.

PubMed

Kumar, Vishal; Marín-Navarro, Julia; Shukla, Pratyoosh

2016-02-01

Xylanases are enzymes with biotechnological relevance in a number of fields, including food, feed, biofuel, and textile industries. Their most significant application is in the paper and pulp industry, where they are used as a biobleaching agent, showing clear economic and environmental advantages over chemical alternatives. Since this process requires high temperatures and alkali media, the identification of thermostable and alkali stable xylanases represents a major biotechnological goal in this field. Moreover, thermostability is a desirable property for many other applications of xylanases. The review makes an overview of xylanase producing microorganisms and their current implementation in paper biobleaching. Future perspectives are analyzed focusing in the efforts carried out to generate thermostable enzymes by means of modern biotechnological tools, including metagenomic analysis, enzyme molecular engineering and nanotechnology. Furthermore, structural and mutagenesis studies have revealed critical sites for stability of xylanases from glycoside hydrolase families GH10 and GH11, which constitute the main classes of these enzymes. The overall conclusions of these works are summarized here and provide relevant information about putative weak spots within xylanase structures to be targeted in future protein engineering approaches.

Proteomics Standards Initiative: Fifteen Years of Progress and Future Work

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The Proteomics Standards Initiative (PSI) of the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) has now been developing and promoting open community standards and software tools in the field of proteomics for 15 years. Under the guidance of the chair, cochairs, and other leadership positions, the PSI working groups are tasked with the development and maintenance of community standards via special workshops and ongoing work. Among the existing ratified standards, the PSI working groups continue to update PSI-MI XML, MITAB, mzML, mzIdentML, mzQuantML, mzTab, and the MIAPE (Minimum Information About a Proteomics Experiment) guidelines with the advance of new technologies and techniques. Furthermore, new standards are currently either in the final stages of completion (proBed and proBAM for proteogenomics results as well as PEFF) or in early stages of design (a spectral library standard format, a universal spectrum identifier, the qcML quality control format, and the Protein Expression Interface (PROXI) web services Application Programming Interface). In this work we review the current status of all of these aspects of the PSI, describe synergies with other efforts such as the ProteomeXchange Consortium, the Human Proteome Project, and the metabolomics community, and provide a look at future directions of the PSI. PMID:28849660

Proteomics Standards Initiative: Fifteen Years of Progress and Future Work.

PubMed

Deutsch, Eric W; Orchard, Sandra; Binz, Pierre-Alain; Bittremieux, Wout; Eisenacher, Martin; Hermjakob, Henning; Kawano, Shin; Lam, Henry; Mayer, Gerhard; Menschaert, Gerben; Perez-Riverol, Yasset; Salek, Reza M; Tabb, David L; Tenzer, Stefan; Vizcaíno, Juan Antonio; Walzer, Mathias; Jones, Andrew R

2017-12-01

The Proteomics Standards Initiative (PSI) of the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) has now been developing and promoting open community standards and software tools in the field of proteomics for 15 years. Under the guidance of the chair, cochairs, and other leadership positions, the PSI working groups are tasked with the development and maintenance of community standards via special workshops and ongoing work. Among the existing ratified standards, the PSI working groups continue to update PSI-MI XML, MITAB, mzML, mzIdentML, mzQuantML, mzTab, and the MIAPE (Minimum Information About a Proteomics Experiment) guidelines with the advance of new technologies and techniques. Furthermore, new standards are currently either in the final stages of completion (proBed and proBAM for proteogenomics results as well as PEFF) or in early stages of design (a spectral library standard format, a universal spectrum identifier, the qcML quality control format, and the Protein Expression Interface (PROXI) web services Application Programming Interface). In this work we review the current status of all of these aspects of the PSI, describe synergies with other efforts such as the ProteomeXchange Consortium, the Human Proteome Project, and the metabolomics community, and provide a look at future directions of the PSI.

Integrated Multidisciplinary Optimization Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alston, Katherine

2014-01-01

OpenMDAO is an open-source MDAO framework. It is used to develop an integrated analysis and design environment for engineering challenges. This Phase II project integrated additional modules and design tools into OpenMDAO to perform discipline-specific analysis across multiple flight regimes at varying levels of fidelity. It also showcased a refined system architecture that allows the system to be less customized to a specific configuration (i.e., system and configuration separation). By delivering a capable and validated MDAO system along with a set of example applications to be used as a template for future users, this work greatly expands NASA's high-fidelity, physics-based MDAO capabilities and enables the design of revolutionary vehicles in a cost-effective manner. This proposed work complements M4 Engineering's expertise in developing modeling and simulation toolsets that solve relevant subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic demonstration applications.

Application of the AMPLE cluster-and-truncate approach to NMR structures for molecular replacement

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

Bibby, Jaclyn; Keegan, Ronan M.; Mayans, Olga

2013-11-01

Processing of NMR structures for molecular replacement by AMPLE works well. AMPLE is a program developed for clustering and truncating ab initio protein structure predictions into search models for molecular replacement. Here, it is shown that its core cluster-and-truncate methods also work well for processing NMR ensembles into search models. Rosetta remodelling helps to extend success to NMR structures bearing low sequence identity or high structural divergence from the target protein. Potential future routes to improved performance are considered and practical, general guidelines on using AMPLE are provided.

Case studies of the use of biometrics technologies to reduce fraud in governmental and industrial environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bordes, Roy N.

1998-12-01

The purpose of this presentation is to enlighten the reader on the advancements that have been made in the field of biometrics technology as it relates to government and industrial-type applications. The term 'biometrics' is defined as, 'Any technology that uses electronically scanned graphical information for identification purposes.' Biometric technology was for a long time in the experimental stages, with many BETA test projects that were really not applicable to industrial markets. During the course of this presentation, we will show that biometrics applications do work, can develop positive returns on investment, but from a security standpoint have some major application problems that still need to be overcome. We will also address which biometric technologies have a better future in the security world than others.

View of Soviet ionospheric modification research

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

Duncan, L.M.; Showen, R.L.

1990-10-01

We have reviewed and provided a technical assessment of Soviet research of the past five to ten years in ionospheric modification by high-power radio waves. This review includes a comprehensive survey of Soviet published literature, conference proceedings, and direct discussions with the involved Soviet researchers. The current state of the art for Soviet research in this field is evaluated, identifying areas of potential breakthrough discoveries, and discussing implications of this work for emerging technologies and future applications. This assessment is divided into the categories of basic research, advanced research, and applications. Basic research is further subdivided into studies of themore » modified natural geophysical environment, nonlinear plasma physics, and polar geophysical studies. Advanced research topics include the generation of artificial ionization mirrors and high-power oblique propagation effects. A separate comparative assessment of Soviet theoretical work also is included in this analysis. Our evaluation of practical and potential applications of this research discusses the utility of ionospheric modification in creating disturbed radio wave propagation environments, and its role in current and future remote-sensing and telecommunications systems. This technical assessment does not include consideration of ionospheric modification by means other than high-power radio waves. The Soviet effort in ionospheric modification sustains theoretical and experimental research at activity levels considerably greater than that found in comparable programs in the West. Notable strengths of the Soviet program are its breadth of coverage, large numbers of scientific participation, theoretical creativity and insight, and its powerful radio wave transmitting facilities.« less

Challenges in scaling NLO generators to leadership computers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benjamin, D.; Childers, JT; Hoeche, S.; LeCompte, T.; Uram, T.

2017-10-01

Exascale computing resources are roughly a decade away and will be capable of 100 times more computing than current supercomputers. In the last year, Energy Frontier experiments crossed a milestone of 100 million core-hours used at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, and NERSC. The Fortran-based leading-order parton generator called Alpgen was successfully scaled to millions of threads to achieve this level of usage on Mira. Sherpa and MadGraph are next-to-leading order generators used heavily by LHC experiments for simulation. Integration times for high-multiplicity or rare processes can take a week or more on standard Grid machines, even using all 16-cores. We will describe our ongoing work to scale the Sherpa generator to thousands of threads on leadership-class machines and reduce run-times to less than a day. This work allows the experiments to leverage large-scale parallel supercomputers for event generation today, freeing tens of millions of grid hours for other work, and paving the way for future applications (simulation, reconstruction) on these and future supercomputers.

Can smartwatches replace smartphones for posture tracking?

PubMed

Mortazavi, Bobak; Nemati, Ebrahim; VanderWall, Kristina; Flores-Rodriguez, Hector G; Cai, Jun Yu Jacinta; Lucier, Jessica; Naeim, Arash; Sarrafzadeh, Majid

2015-10-22

This paper introduces a human posture tracking platform to identify the human postures of sitting, standing or lying down, based on a smartwatch. This work develops such a system as a proof-of-concept study to investigate a smartwatch's ability to be used in future remote health monitoring systems and applications. This work validates the smartwatches' ability to track the posture of users accurately in a laboratory setting while reducing the sampling rate to potentially improve battery life, the first steps in verifying that such a system would work in future clinical settings. The algorithm developed classifies the transitions between three posture states of sitting, standing and lying down, by identifying these transition movements, as well as other movements that might be mistaken for these transitions. The system is trained and developed on a Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch, and the algorithm was validated through a leave-one-subject-out cross-validation of 20 subjects. The system can identify the appropriate transitions at only 10 Hz with an F-score of 0.930, indicating its ability to effectively replace smart phones, if needed.

Tuning of Kalman filter parameters via genetic algorithm for state-of-charge estimation in battery management system.

PubMed

Ting, T O; Man, Ka Lok; Lim, Eng Gee; Leach, Mark

2014-01-01

In this work, a state-space battery model is derived mathematically to estimate the state-of-charge (SoC) of a battery system. Subsequently, Kalman filter (KF) is applied to predict the dynamical behavior of the battery model. Results show an accurate prediction as the accumulated error, in terms of root-mean-square (RMS), is a very small value. From this work, it is found that different sets of Q and R values (KF's parameters) can be applied for better performance and hence lower RMS error. This is the motivation for the application of a metaheuristic algorithm. Hence, the result is further improved by applying a genetic algorithm (GA) to tune Q and R parameters of the KF. In an online application, a GA can be applied to obtain the optimal parameters of the KF before its application to a real plant (system). This simply means that the instantaneous response of the KF is not affected by the time consuming GA as this approach is applied only once to obtain the optimal parameters. The relevant workable MATLAB source codes are given in the appendix to ease future work and analysis in this area.

Tuning of Kalman Filter Parameters via Genetic Algorithm for State-of-Charge Estimation in Battery Management System

PubMed Central

Ting, T. O.; Lim, Eng Gee

2014-01-01

In this work, a state-space battery model is derived mathematically to estimate the state-of-charge (SoC) of a battery system. Subsequently, Kalman filter (KF) is applied to predict the dynamical behavior of the battery model. Results show an accurate prediction as the accumulated error, in terms of root-mean-square (RMS), is a very small value. From this work, it is found that different sets of Q and R values (KF's parameters) can be applied for better performance and hence lower RMS error. This is the motivation for the application of a metaheuristic algorithm. Hence, the result is further improved by applying a genetic algorithm (GA) to tune Q and R parameters of the KF. In an online application, a GA can be applied to obtain the optimal parameters of the KF before its application to a real plant (system). This simply means that the instantaneous response of the KF is not affected by the time consuming GA as this approach is applied only once to obtain the optimal parameters. The relevant workable MATLAB source codes are given in the appendix to ease future work and analysis in this area. PMID:25162041

Workshop on advanced technologies for planetary instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Appleby, J. (Editor)

1993-01-01

NASA's robotic solar system exploration program requires a new generation of science instruments. Design concepts are now judged against stringent mass, power, and size constraints--yet future instruments must be highly capable, reliable, and, in some applications, they must operate for many years. The most important single constraint, however, is cost: new instruments must be developed in a tightly controlled design-to-cost environment. Technical innovation is the key to success and will enable the sophisticated measurements needed for future scientific exploration. As a fundamental benefit, the incorporation of breakthrough technologies in planetary flight hardware will contribute to U.S. industrial competitiveness and will strengthen the U.S. technology base. The Workshop on Advanced Technologies for Planetary Instruments was conceived to address these challenges, to provide an open forum in which the NASA and DoD space communities could become better acquainted at the working level, and to assess future collaborative efforts. Over 300 space scientists and engineers participated in the two-and-a-half-day meeting held April 28-30, 1993, in Fairfax, Virginia. It was jointly sponsored by NASA's Solar System Exploration Division (SSED), within the Office of Space Science (OSS); NASA's Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology (OACT); DoD's Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO), now called the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO); and the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI). The meeting included invited oral and contributed poster presentations, working group sessions in four sub-disciplines, and a wrap-up panel discussion. On the first day, the planetary science community described instrumentation needed for missions that may go into development during the next 5 to 10 years. Most of the second day was set aside for the DoD community to inform their counterparts in planetary science about their interests and capabilities, and to describe the BMDO technology base, flight programs, and future directions. The working group sessions and the panel discussion synthesized technical and programmatic issues from all the presentations, with a specific goal of assessing the applicability of BMDO technologies to science instrumentation for planetary exploration.

Final Progress Report: Internship at Los Alamos National Laboratory

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

Dunham, Ryan Q.

2012-08-10

Originally I was tasked fluidized bed modeling, however, I changed projects. While still working with ANSYS Fluent, I performed a study of particle tracks in glove boxes. This is useful from a Health-Physics perspective, dealing respirable particles that can be hazardous to the human body. I iteratively tested different amounts of turbulent particles in a steady-state flow. The goal of this testing was to discover how Fluent handles built-in Rosin-Rammler distributions for particle injections. I worked on the health physics flow problems and distribution analysis under the direction of two mentors, Bruce Letellier and Dave Decroix. I set up andmore » ran particle injection calculations using Fluent. I tried different combinations of input parameters to produce sets of 500,000, 1 million, and 1.5 million particles to determine what a good test case would be for future experiments. I performed a variety of tasks in my work as an Undergraduate Student Intern at LANL this summer, and learned how to use a powerful CFD application in addition to expanding my skills in MATLAB. I enjoyed my work at LANL and hope to be able to use the experience here to further my career in the future working in a security-conscious environment. My mentors provided guidance and help with all of my projects and I am grateful for the opportunity to work at Los Alamos National Laboratory.« less

Incorporating Polymer Science Lecture Topics into the Beginning Organic Chemistry Course to Engage Students' Interest in Current and Future Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howell, Bob A.

2017-01-01

The impact of polymeric materials on the well-being of citizens of the modern world is enormous. These materials enhance virtually every facet of life--from clothing and personal care items to housing and transportation. Yet despite this, and the fact that most chemists work in a polymer or polymer-related area, polymeric materials have…

Generation of THz Wave with Orbital Angular Momentum by Graphene Patch Reflectarray

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-01

potential to significantly increase spectral efficiency and channel capacity for wireless communication [1]. A few techniques have been reported to...plane wave. The graphene-based OAM generation is very promising for future applications in THz wireless communication . ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work is... Dyadic Green’s functions and guided surface waves for a surface conductivity model of graphene,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 103, no. 6, pp

Application of Intrusion Tolerance Technology to Joint Battlespace Infosphere (JBI)

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-02-01

performance, scalability and Security Issues and Requirements for Internet-Scale Publish-Subscribe Systems Chenxi Wang, Antonio Carzaniga, David ...by the Defense Advanced Research Agency, under the agreement number F30602-96-1-0314. The work of David Evans was supported by in part by the...Future Generations of Computer Science. October 1998. [10]. D. Chaum , C. Crepeau, and I. Damgard. “Multiparty Unconditionally Secure Protocols,” In

Novel Directional Solidification Processing of Hypermonotectic Alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaukler, William; Fedoseyev, Alex

2002-01-01

A model has been developed that determines the size of Liquid (sub 11) droplets generated during application of ultrasonic energy (as a function of amplitude) to immiscible alloys. The initial results are in accordance with experimental results based on Succinonitrile - Glycerol "alloys" and pure tin dispersions. Future work will take into account the importance of other effects, e.g., thermo-vibrational convection, sound attenuation, viscosity variations, and compositional changes.

Advanced development for space robotics with emphasis on fault tolerance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tesar, D.; Chladek, J.; Hooper, R.; Sreevijayan, D.; Kapoor, C.; Geisinger, J.; Meaney, M.; Browning, G.; Rackers, K.

1995-01-01

This paper describes the ongoing work in fault tolerance at the University of Texas at Austin. The paper describes the technical goals the group is striving to achieve and includes a brief description of the individual projects focusing on fault tolerance. The ultimate goal is to develop and test technology applicable to all future missions of NASA (lunar base, Mars exploration, planetary surveillance, space station, etc.).

Two-Dimensional Signal Processing and Storage and Theory and Applications of Electromagnetic Measurements.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-06-01

system, provides a convenient, low- noise , fully parallel method of improving contrast and enhancing structural detail in an image prior to input to a...directed towards problems in deconvolution, reconstruction from projections, bandlimited extrapolation, and shift varying deblurring of images...deconvolution algorithm has been studied with promising 5 results [I] for simulated motion blurs. Future work will focus on noise effects and the extension

Improving automation standards via semantic modelling: Application to ISA88.

PubMed

Dombayci, Canan; Farreres, Javier; Rodríguez, Horacio; Espuña, Antonio; Graells, Moisès

2017-03-01

Standardization is essential for automation. Extensibility, scalability, and reusability are important features for automation software that rely in the efficient modelling of the addressed systems. The work presented here is from the ongoing development of a methodology for semi-automatic ontology construction methodology from technical documents. The main aim of this work is to systematically check the consistency of technical documents and support the improvement of technical document consistency. The formalization of conceptual models and the subsequent writing of technical standards are simultaneously analyzed, and guidelines proposed for application to future technical standards. Three paradigms are discussed for the development of domain ontologies from technical documents, starting from the current state of the art, continuing with the intermediate method presented and used in this paper, and ending with the suggested paradigm for the future. The ISA88 Standard is taken as a representative case study. Linguistic techniques from the semi-automatic ontology construction methodology is applied to the ISA88 Standard and different modelling and standardization aspects that are worth sharing with the automation community is addressed. This study discusses different paradigms for developing and sharing conceptual models for the subsequent development of automation software, along with presenting the systematic consistency checking method. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Joint Applications Pilot of the National Climate Predictions and Projections Platform and the North Central Climate Science Center: Delivering climate projections on regional scales to support adaptation planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ray, A. J.; Ojima, D. S.; Morisette, J. T.

2012-12-01

The DOI North Central Climate Science Center (NC CSC) and the NOAA/NCAR National Climate Predictions and Projections (NCPP) Platform and have initiated a joint pilot study to collaboratively explore the "best available climate information" to support key land management questions and how to provide this information. NCPP's mission is to support state of the art approaches to develop and deliver comprehensive regional climate information and facilitate its use in decision making and adaptation planning. This presentation will describe the evolving joint pilot as a tangible, real-world demonstration of linkages between climate science, ecosystem science and resource management. Our joint pilot is developing a deliberate, ongoing interaction to prototype how NCPP will work with CSCs to develop and deliver needed climate information products, including translational information to support climate data understanding and use. This pilot also will build capacity in the North Central CSC by working with NCPP to use climate information used as input to ecological modeling. We will discuss lessons to date on developing and delivering needed climate information products based on this strategic partnership. Four projects have been funded to collaborate to incorporate climate information as part of an ecological modeling project, which in turn will address key DOI stakeholder priorities in the region: Riparian Corridors: Projecting climate change effects on cottonwood and willow seed dispersal phenology, flood timing, and seedling recruitment in western riparian forests. Sage Grouse & Habitats: Integrating climate and biological data into land management decision models to assess species and habitat vulnerability Grasslands & Forests: Projecting future effects of land management, natural disturbance, and CO2 on woody encroachment in the Northern Great Plains The value of climate information: Supporting management decisions in the Plains and Prairie Potholes LCC. NCCSC's role in these projects is to provide the connections between climate data and running ecological models, and prototype these for future work. NCPP will develop capacities to provide enhanced climate information at relevant spatial and temporal scales, both for historical climate and projections of future climate, and will work to link expert guidance and understanding of modeling processes and evaluation of modeling with the use of numerical climate data. Translational information thus is a suite of information that aids in translation of numerical climate information into usable knowledge for applications, e.g. ecological response models, hydrologic risk studies. This information includes technical and scientific aspects including, but not limited to: 1) results of objective, quantitative evaluation of climate models & downscaling techniques, 2) guidance on appropriate uses and interpretation, i.e., understanding the advantages and limitations of various downscaling techniques for specific user applications, 3) characterizing and interpreting uncertainty, 4) Descriptions meaningful to applications, e.g. narratives. NCPP believes that translational information is best co-developed between climate scientists and applications scientists, such as the NC-CSC pilot.

Mammographic density and breast cancer risk: current understanding and future prospects

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Variations in percent mammographic density (PMD) reflect variations in the amounts of collagen and number of epithelial and non-epithelial cells in the breast. Extensive PMD is associated with a markedly increased risk of invasive breast cancer. The PMD phenotype is important in the context of breast cancer prevention because extensive PMD is common in the population, is strongly associated with risk of the disease, and, unlike most breast cancer risk factors, can be changed. Work now in progress makes it likely that measurement of PMD will be improved in the near future and that understanding of the genetics and biological basis of the association of PMD with breast cancer risk will also improve. Future prospects for the application of PMD include mammographic screening, risk prediction in individuals, breast cancer prevention research, and clinical decision making. PMID:22114898

NASA/Goddard Thermal Technology Overview 2014

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Daniel; Swanson, Theodore D.

2014-01-01

This presentation summarizes the current plans and efforts at NASA Goddard to develop new thermal control technology for anticipated future missions. It will also address some of the programmatic developments currently underway at NASA, especially with respect to the Technology Development Program at NASA. While funding for basic technology development is still scarce, significant efforts are being made in direct support of flight programs. New technology development continues to be driven by the needs of future missions, and applications of these technologies to current Goddard programs will be addressed. Many of these technologies also have broad applicability to DOD, DOE, and commercial programs. Partnerships have been developed with the Air Force, Navy, and various universities to promote technology development. In addition, technology development activities supported by internal research and development (IRAD) program, the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program, and the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), are reviewed in this presentation. Specific technologies addressed include; two-phase systems applications and issues on NASA missions, latest developments of electro-hydrodynamically pumped systems, development of high electrical conductivity coatings, and various other research activities. New Technology program underway at NASA, although funding is limited center dot NASA/GSFC's primary mission of science satellite development is healthy and vibrant, although new missions are scarce - now have people on overhead working new missions and proposals center dot Future mission applications promise to be thermally challenging center dot Direct technology funding is still very restricted - Projects are the best source for direct application of technology - SBIR thermal subtopic resurrected in FY 14 - Limited Technology development underway via IRAD, NESC, other sources - Administrator pushing to revive technology and educational programs at NASA - new HQ directorate established

Impact of information technology reliance and innovativeness on rural healthcare services: study of dindigul district in Tamilnadu, India.

PubMed

Lakshmi, K Bhagya; Rajaram, M

2012-06-01

The aim of this report was to analyze the influence of information technology (IT) applications and innovativeness on the acceptance of rural healthcare services. The impact of IT application, domain-specific innovativeness, and technology acceptance model (TAM) variables on future health IT (HIT) utilization intention has been tested through structural equation modeling techniques. The sample consisted of 465 rural health personnel from the Dindigul District of Tamilnadu, India, who had never had access to IT. Data analysis showed that health workers' innovativeness and IT application have a direct and positive influence on future HIT utilization intention and that the basic TAM hypotheses are fulfilled. IT application can be increased with interfaces that are easier to use, but only if perceived usefulness remains high. Health personnel's innovativeness positively influences technology exposure and the ease of use perception of the IT medium, referred to throughout this article as the "health channel." This research enables health departments to know which aspects of their communication strategies to highlight in order to get health personnel and other service providers to adopt IT. Perceived ease of use and IT application has a significant influence on health personnel's willingness to adopt HIT. This shows that health information and adoption by health personnel are key tools in the increase of future HIT. It is also recommended that health directors target some of their health campaigns to the more innovative beneficiaries. There are still too few studies that have analyzed the effects of innovativeness and IT adoption on behavior of health personnel. This work aimed to combine the influence of IT adoption, innovativeness, and the traditional TAM in order to construct an improved model for HIT acceptance. It will require an integrated model to do so.

Calculating Reuse Distance from Source Code

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

Narayanan, Sri Hari Krishna; Hovland, Paul

The efficient use of a system is of paramount importance in high-performance computing. Applications need to be engineered for future systems even before the architecture of such a system is clearly known. Static performance analysis that generates performance bounds is one way to approach the task of understanding application behavior. Performance bounds provide an upper limit on the performance of an application on a given architecture. Predicting cache hierarchy behavior and accesses to main memory is a requirement for accurate performance bounds. This work presents our static reuse distance algorithm to generate reuse distance histograms. We then use these histogramsmore » to predict cache miss rates. Experimental results for kernels studied show that the approach is accurate.« less

Mobile task management tool that improves workflow of an acute general surgical service.

PubMed

Foo, Elizabeth; McDonald, Rod; Savage, Earle; Floyd, Richard; Butler, Anthony; Rumball-Smith, Alistair; Connor, Saxon

2015-10-01

Understanding and being able to measure constraints within a health system is crucial if outcomes are to be improved. Current systems lack the ability to capture decision making with regard to tasks performed within a patient journey. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a mobile task management tool on clinical workflow within an acute general surgical service by analysing data capture and usability of the application tool. The Cortex iOS application was developed to digitize patient flow and provide real-time visibility over clinical decision making and task performance. Study outcomes measured were workflow data capture for patient and staff events. Usability was assessed using an electronic survey. There were 449 unique patient journeys tracked with a total of 3072 patient events recorded. The results repository was accessed 7792 times. The participants reported that the application sped up decision making, reduced redundancy of work and improved team communication. The mode of the estimated time the application saved participants was 5-9 min/h of work. Of the 14 respondents, nine discarded their analogue methods of tracking tasks by the end of the study period. The introduction of a mobile task management system improved the working efficiency of junior clinical staff. The application allowed capture of data not previously available to hospital systems. In the future, such data will contribute to the accurate mapping of patient journeys through the health system. © 2015 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

An international review of laser Doppler vibrometry: Making light work of vibration measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rothberg, S. J.; Allen, M. S.; Castellini, P.; Di Maio, D.; Dirckx, J. J. J.; Ewins, D. J.; Halkon, B. J.; Muyshondt, P.; Paone, N.; Ryan, T.; Steger, H.; Tomasini, E. P.; Vanlanduit, S.; Vignola, J. F.

2017-12-01

In 1964, just a few years after the invention of the laser, a fluid velocity measurement based on the frequency shift of scattered light was made and the laser Doppler technique was born. This comprehensive review paper charts advances in the development and applications of laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) since those first pioneering experiments. Consideration is first given to the challenges that continue to be posed by laser speckle. Scanning LDV is introduced and its significant influence in the field of experimental modal analysis described. Applications in structural health monitoring and MEMS serve to demonstrate LDV's applicability on structures of all sizes. Rotor vibrations and hearing are explored as examples of the classic applications. Applications in acoustics recognise the versatility of LDV as demonstrated by visualisation of sound fields. The paper concludes with thoughts on future developments, using examples of new multi-component and multi-channel instruments.

Graphene as cancer theranostic tool: progress and future challenges.

PubMed

Orecchioni, Marco; Cabizza, Roberto; Bianco, Alberto; Delogu, Lucia Gemma

2015-01-01

Nowadays cancer remains one of the main causes of death in the world. Current diagnostic techniques need to be improved to provide earlier diagnosis and treatment. Traditional therapy approaches to cancer are limited by lack of specificity and systemic toxicity. In this scenario nanomaterials could be good allies to give more specific cancer treatment effectively reducing undesired side effects and giving at the same time accurate diagnosis and successful therapy. In this context, thanks to its unique physical and chemical properties, graphene, graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene (rGO) have recently attracted tremendous interest in biomedicine including cancer therapy. Herein we analyzed all studies presented in literature related to cancer fight using graphene and graphene-based conjugates. In this context, we aimed at the full picture of the state of the art providing new inputs for future strategies in the cancer theranostic by using of graphene. We found an impressive increasing interest in the material for cancer therapy and/or diagnosis. The majority of the works (73%) have been carried out on drug and gene delivery applications, following by photothermal therapy (32%), imaging (31%) and photodynamic therapy (10%). A 27% of the studies focused on theranostic applications. Part of the works here discussed contribute to the growth of the theranostic field covering the use of imaging (i.e. ultrasonography, positron electron tomography, and fluorescent imaging) combined to one or more therapeutic modalities. We found that the use of graphene in cancer theranostics is still in an early but rapidly growing stage of investigation. Any technology based on nanomaterials can significantly enhance their possibility to became the real revolution in medicine if combines diagnosis and therapy at the same time. We performed a comprehensive summary of the latest progress of graphene cancer fight and highlighted the future challenges and the innovative possible theranostic applications.

Predicting consumer behavior with Web search.

PubMed

Goel, Sharad; Hofman, Jake M; Lahaie, Sébastien; Pennock, David M; Watts, Duncan J

2010-10-12

Recent work has demonstrated that Web search volume can "predict the present," meaning that it can be used to accurately track outcomes such as unemployment levels, auto and home sales, and disease prevalence in near real time. Here we show that what consumers are searching for online can also predict their collective future behavior days or even weeks in advance. Specifically we use search query volume to forecast the opening weekend box-office revenue for feature films, first-month sales of video games, and the rank of songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, finding in all cases that search counts are highly predictive of future outcomes. We also find that search counts generally boost the performance of baseline models fit on other publicly available data, where the boost varies from modest to dramatic, depending on the application in question. Finally, we reexamine previous work on tracking flu trends and show that, perhaps surprisingly, the utility of search data relative to a simple autoregressive model is modest. We conclude that in the absence of other data sources, or where small improvements in predictive performance are material, search queries provide a useful guide to the near future.

Predicting consumer behavior with Web search

PubMed Central

Goel, Sharad; Hofman, Jake M.; Lahaie, Sébastien; Pennock, David M.; Watts, Duncan J.

2010-01-01

Recent work has demonstrated that Web search volume can “predict the present,” meaning that it can be used to accurately track outcomes such as unemployment levels, auto and home sales, and disease prevalence in near real time. Here we show that what consumers are searching for online can also predict their collective future behavior days or even weeks in advance. Specifically we use search query volume to forecast the opening weekend box-office revenue for feature films, first-month sales of video games, and the rank of songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, finding in all cases that search counts are highly predictive of future outcomes. We also find that search counts generally boost the performance of baseline models fit on other publicly available data, where the boost varies from modest to dramatic, depending on the application in question. Finally, we reexamine previous work on tracking flu trends and show that, perhaps surprisingly, the utility of search data relative to a simple autoregressive model is modest. We conclude that in the absence of other data sources, or where small improvements in predictive performance are material, search queries provide a useful guide to the near future. PMID:20876140

Two decades of ART: improving on success through further research

PubMed Central

HOLMGREN, Christopher J.; FIGUEREDO, Márcia Cançado

2009-01-01

ABSTRACT Since the introduction of the Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) approach over twenty years ago, more than 190 research publications have appeared. The last research agenda defining research priorities for ART was published in 1999. The objective of the present work was to review existing research in the context of future research priorities for ART. Material and Methods: An internet survey was conducted amongst those who had published on ART or were known to be working on the ART approach, to solicit their views as to areas of future ART research. Three broad categories were defined, namely: 1. Basic and laboratory research; 2. Clinical research, and, 3. Community, Public Health, Health Services Research. Results: A 31% response rate was achieved. The study identified a number of new areas of research as well as areas where additional research is required. These are expressed as recommendations for future ART research. Conclusions: The ART approach is based on a robust, reliable and ever-growing evidence base concerning its clinical applications which indicates that it is a reliable and quality treatment approach. In common with all other oral health care procedures, targeted applied research is required to improve the oral health care offered. PMID:21499666

WebAL Comes of Age: A Review of the First 21 Years of Artificial Life on the Web.

PubMed

Taylor, Tim; Auerbach, Joshua E; Bongard, Josh; Clune, Jeff; Hickinbotham, Simon; Ofria, Charles; Oka, Mizuki; Risi, Sebastian; Stanley, Kenneth O; Yosinski, Jason

2016-01-01

We present a survey of the first 21 years of web-based artificial life (WebAL) research and applications, broadly construed to include the many different ways in which artificial life and web technologies might intersect. Our survey covers the period from 1994-when the first WebAL work appeared-up to the present day, together with a brief discussion of relevant precursors. We examine recent projects, from 2010-2015, in greater detail in order to highlight the current state of the art. We follow the survey with a discussion of common themes and methodologies that can be observed in recent work and identify a number of likely directions for future work in this exciting area.

Color and psychological functioning: a review of theoretical and empirical work

PubMed Central

Elliot, Andrew J.

2015-01-01

In the past decade there has been increased interest in research on color and psychological functioning. Important advances have been made in theoretical work and empirical work, but there are also important weaknesses in both areas that must be addressed for the literature to continue to develop apace. In this article, I provide brief theoretical and empirical reviews of research in this area, in each instance beginning with a historical background and recent advancements, and proceeding to an evaluation focused on weaknesses that provide guidelines for future research. I conclude by reiterating that the literature on color and psychological functioning is at a nascent stage of development, and by recommending patience and prudence regarding conclusions about theory, findings, and real-world application. PMID:25883578

A user-centered model for designing consumer mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps).

PubMed

Schnall, Rebecca; Rojas, Marlene; Bakken, Suzanne; Brown, William; Carballo-Dieguez, Alex; Carry, Monique; Gelaude, Deborah; Mosley, Jocelyn Patterson; Travers, Jasmine

2016-04-01

Mobile technologies are a useful platform for the delivery of health behavior interventions. Yet little work has been done to create a rigorous and standardized process for the design of mobile health (mHealth) apps. This project sought to explore the use of the Information Systems Research (ISR) framework as guide for the design of mHealth apps. Our work was guided by the ISR framework which is comprised of 3 cycles: Relevance, Rigor and Design. In the Relevance cycle, we conducted 5 focus groups with 33 targeted end-users. In the Rigor cycle, we performed a review to identify technology-based interventions for meeting the health prevention needs of our target population. In the Design Cycle, we employed usability evaluation methods to iteratively develop and refine mock-ups for a mHealth app. Through an iterative process, we identified barriers and facilitators to the use of mHealth technology for HIV prevention for high-risk MSM, developed 'use cases' and identified relevant functional content and features for inclusion in a design document to guide future app development. Findings from our work support the use of the ISR framework as a guide for designing future mHealth apps. Results from this work provide detailed descriptions of the user-centered design and system development and have heuristic value for those venturing into the area of technology-based intervention work. Findings from this study support the use of the ISR framework as a guide for future mHealth app development. Use of the ISR framework is a potentially useful approach for the design of a mobile app that incorporates end-users' design preferences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design aspects of harmonic drive gear and performance improvement of its by problems identification: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Routh, Bikash

2018-04-01

The present paper aims at review on different aspects of harmonic drive gear to identify literature gap for future research. The present article is started first making the comparative study of harmonic drive gear over conventional gear, highlighting its historical background, its application, limitation etc. and then describing working principle of each and every components of it with detail dimensioning and modelling. The present article is further extended to study the different design aspects i.e. synthesis of tooth profiles, lubrication, stress, strain, torque, load sharing, kinematics error and vibration in details etc., identifying problems and then suggesting future perspective for the performance improvement of harmonic drive gear.

Past, present and future of spike sorting techniques

PubMed Central

Rey, Hernan Gonzalo; Pedreira, Carlos; Quian Quiroga, Rodrigo

2015-01-01

Spike sorting is a crucial step to extract information from extracellular recordings. With new recording opportunities provided by the development of new electrodes that allow monitoring hundreds of neurons simultaneously, the scenario for the new generation of algorithms is both exciting and challenging. However, this will require a new approach to the problem and the development of a common reference framework to quickly assess the performance of new algorithms. In this work, we review the basic concepts of spike sorting, including the requirements for different applications, together with the problems faced by presently available algorithms. We conclude by proposing a roadmap stressing the crucial points to be addressed to support the neuroscientific research of the near future. PMID:25931392

2015 Summer Design Challenge: Team A&E (2241) Additively Manufactured Discriminator.

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

Miller, Sarah E.; Moore, Brandon James

Current discriminator designs are based on historical designs and traditional manufacturing methods. The goal of this project was to form non-traditional groups to create novel discriminator designs by taking advantage of additive manufacturing. These designs would expand current discriminator designs and provide insight on the applicability of additive manufacturing for future projects. Our design stretched the current abilities of additive manufacturing and noted desired improvements for the future. Through collaboration with NSC, we noted several additional technologies which work well with additive manufacturing such as topology optimization and CT scanning and determined how these technologies could be improved to bettermore » combine with additive manufacturing.« less

Vibration control by limiting the maximum axial forces in space trusses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chawla, Vikas; Utku, Senol; Wada, Ben K.

1993-01-01

Proposed here is a method of vibration control based on limiting the maximum axial forces in the active members of an adaptive truss. The actuators simulate elastic rigid-plastic behavior and consume the vibrational energy as work. The method is applicable to both statically determinate as well as indeterminate truss structures. However, for energy efficient control of statistically indeterminate trusses extra actuators may be provided on the redundant bars. An energy formulation relating the various control parameters is derived to get an estimate of the control time. Since the simulation of elastic rigid-plastic behavior requires a piecewise linear control law, a general analytical solution is not possible. Numerical simulation by step-by-step integration is performed to simulate the control of an example truss structure. The problems of application to statically indeterminate trusses and optimal actuator placement are identified for future work.

Biotechnology

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-01-22

ProVision Technologies, a NASA research partnership center at Sternis Space Center in Mississippi, has developed a new hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system that is much smaller than the original large units used aboard remote sensing aircraft and satellites. The new apparatus is about the size of a breadbox. Health-related applications of HSI include scanning chickens during processing to help prevent contaminated food from getting to the table. ProVision is working with Sanderson Farms of Mississippi and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ProVision has a record in its spectral library of the unique spectral signature of fecal contamination, so chickens can be scanned and those with a positive reading can be separated. HSI sensors can also determine the quantity of surface contamination. Research in this application is quite advanced, and ProVision is working on a licensing agreement for the technology. The potential for future use of this equipment in food processing and food safety is enormous.

Mycotoxin Determination in Foods Using Advanced Sensors Based on Antibodies or Aptamers

PubMed Central

Xu, Lin; Zhang, Zhaowei; Zhang, Qi; Li, Peiwu

2016-01-01

Mycotoxin contamination threatens health and life of humans and animals throughout the food supply chains. Many of the mycotoxins have been proven to be carcinogens, teratogens and mutagens. The reliable and sensitive sensing methods are requested to monitor mycotoxin contamination. Advanced sensors based on antibodies or aptamers boast the advantages of high sensitivity and rapidity, and have been used in the mycotoxin sensing. These sensors are miniaturized, thereby lowering costs, and are applicable to high-throughput modes. In this work, the latest developments in sensing strategies for mycotoxin determination were critically discussed. Optical and electrochemical sensing modes were compared. The sensing methods for single mycotoxin or multiple mycotoxins in food samples were reviewed, along with the challenges and the future of antibody or aptamer-based sensors. This work might promote academic studies and industrial applications for mycotoxin sensing. PMID:27529281

Fabrication of Cu2 O-based Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Zhang, Li; Li, Qinyuan; Xue, Huaiguo; Pang, Huan

2018-05-25

The improvement of the performance of advanced batteries has played a key role in the energy research community since its inception. Therefore, it is necessary to explore high-performance materials for applications in advanced batteries. Among the variety of materials applied in batteries, much research has been dedicated to examine cuprous oxide materials as working electrodes in lithium cells to check their suitability as anodes for Li-ion cells and this has revealed great working capacities because of their specific characteristics (polymorphic forms, controllable structure, high cycling capacity, etc.). Thus, cuprous oxide and its composites will be fully introduced in this Review for their applications in advanced batteries. It is believed that, in the future, both the study and the impact of cuprous oxide and its composites will be much more profound and lasting. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Road following for blindBike: an assistive bike navigation system for low vision persons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grewe, Lynne; Overell, William

2017-05-01

Road Following is a critical component of blindBike, our assistive biking application for the visually impaired. This paper talks about the overall blindBike system and goals prominently featuring Road Following, which is the task of directing the user to follow the right side of the road. This work unlike what is commonly found for self-driving cars does not depend on lane line markings. 2D computer vision techniques are explored to solve the problem of Road Following. Statistical techniques including the use of Gaussian Mixture Models are employed. blindBike is developed as an Android Application and is running on a smartphone device. Other sensors including Gyroscope and GPS are utilized. Both Urban and suburban scenarios are tested and results are given. The success and challenges faced by blindBike's Road Following module are presented along with future avenues of work.

The Development of a Remote Patient Monitoring System using Java-enabled Mobile Phones.

PubMed

Kogure, Y; Matsuoka, H; Kinouchi, Y; Akutagawa, M

2005-01-01

A remote patient monitoring system is described. This system is to monitor information of multiple patients in ICU/CCU via 3G mobile phones. Conventionally, various patient information, such as vital signs, is collected and stored on patient information systems. In proposed system, the patient information is recollected by remote information server, and transported to mobile phones. The server is worked as a gateway between hospital intranet and public networks. Provided information from the server consists of graphs and text data. Doctors can browse patient's information on their mobile phones via the server. A custom Java application software is used to browse these data. In this study, the information server and Java application are developed, and communication between the server and mobile phone in model environment is confirmed. To apply this system to practical products of patient information systems is future work.

Hyperspectral Imaging of fecal contamination on chickens

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

ProVision Technologies, a NASA research partnership center at Sternis Space Center in Mississippi, has developed a new hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system that is much smaller than the original large units used aboard remote sensing aircraft and satellites. The new apparatus is about the size of a breadbox. Health-related applications of HSI include scanning chickens during processing to help prevent contaminated food from getting to the table. ProVision is working with Sanderson Farms of Mississippi and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ProVision has a record in its spectral library of the unique spectral signature of fecal contamination, so chickens can be scanned and those with a positive reading can be separated. HSI sensors can also determine the quantity of surface contamination. Research in this application is quite advanced, and ProVision is working on a licensing agreement for the technology. The potential for future use of this equipment in food processing and food safety is enormous.

Utility of a Work Process Classification System for characterizing non-fatal injuries in the Alaskan commercial fishing industry

PubMed Central

Syron, Laura N.; Lucas, Devin L.; Bovbjerg, Viktor E.; Bethel, Jeffrey W.; Kincl, Laurel D.

2016-01-01

Background The US commercial fishing industry is hazardous, as measured by mortality data. However, research on non-fatal injuries is limited. Non-fatal injuries constitute the majority of occupational injuries and can result in workers’ lowered productivity and wages, lost quality of life, and disability. In the United States, a Work Process Classification System (WPCS) has previously been applied in Alaskan freezer-trawl and freezer-longline fleets to identify causes of injuries and specific hazards, but not to other fishing fleets. Objectives This descriptive epidemiologic study aimed to explore the application and modification of the WPCS in multiple Alaskan fleets, characterize non-fatal occupational injuries in these fleets, and identify work processes that could be targeted for further investigation and future injury prevention efforts. Design Traumatic, non-fatal injuries on-board Alaskan commercial fishing vessels were identified through United States Coast Guard investigative reports. Characteristics of injuries, as well as worker characteristics, were analysed. Injuries were coded using the WPCS. Results We successfully utilized the WPCS to code non-fatal injury cases (n = 136). The most frequent main work processes associated with non-fatal injuries included: on-board trawlers, handling frozen fish and processing the catch; on-board vessels using pot/trap gear, handling the gear and shooting/setting the gear; on-board longliners, traffic on board and hauling the gear; and on-board processor vessels, processing the catch, other work with the catch, and handling frozen fish. Conclusions The study confirmed that a WPCS can be applied to multiple Alaskan fleets to identify hazardous tasks. Hazards were unique for each vessel gear type. Future injury prevention efforts should target work processes associated with the most frequent and most severe injuries. Future studies should establish time estimates for work processes in order to determine risk estimates. Efforts to improve non-fatal injury reporting, especially on smaller commercial fishing vessels, should be undertaken. PMID:26782030

Utility of a Work Process Classification System for characterizing non-fatal injuries in the Alaskan commercial fishing industry.

PubMed

Syron, Laura N; Lucas, Devin L; Bovbjerg, Viktor E; Bethel, Jeffrey W; Kincl, Laurel D

2016-01-01

Background The US commercial fishing industry is hazardous, as measured by mortality data. However, research on non-fatal injuries is limited. Non-fatal injuries constitute the majority of occupational injuries and can result in workers' lowered productivity and wages, lost quality of life, and disability. In the United States, a Work Process Classification System (WPCS) has previously been applied in Alaskan freezer-trawl and freezer-longline fleets to identify causes of injuries and specific hazards, but not to other fishing fleets. Objectives This descriptive epidemiologic study aimed to explore the application and modification of the WPCS in multiple Alaskan fleets, characterize non-fatal occupational injuries in these fleets, and identify work processes that could be targeted for further investigation and future injury prevention efforts. Design Traumatic, non-fatal injuries on-board Alaskan commercial fishing vessels were identified through United States Coast Guard investigative reports. Characteristics of injuries, as well as worker characteristics, were analysed. Injuries were coded using the WPCS. Results We successfully utilized the WPCS to code non-fatal injury cases (n = 136). The most frequent main work processes associated with non-fatal injuries included: on-board trawlers, handling frozen fish and processing the catch; on-board vessels using pot/trap gear, handling the gear and shooting/setting the gear; on-board longliners, traffic on board and hauling the gear; and on-board processor vessels, processing the catch, other work with the catch, and handling frozen fish. Conclusions The study confirmed that a WPCS can be applied to multiple Alaskan fleets to identify hazardous tasks. Hazards were unique for each vessel gear type. Future injury prevention efforts should target work processes associated with the most frequent and most severe injuries. Future studies should establish time estimates for work processes in order to determine risk estimates. Efforts to improve non-fatal injury reporting, especially on smaller commercial fishing vessels, should be undertaken.

Utility of a Work Process Classification System for characterizing non-fatal injuries in the Alaskan commercial fishing industry.

PubMed

Syron, Laura N; Lucas, Devin L; Bovbjerg, Viktor E; Bethel, Jeffrey W; Kincl, Laurel D

2016-01-01

The US commercial fishing industry is hazardous, as measured by mortality data. However, research on non-fatal injuries is limited. Non-fatal injuries constitute the majority of occupational injuries and can result in workers' lowered productivity and wages, lost quality of life, and disability. In the United States, a Work Process Classification System (WPCS) has previously been applied in Alaskan freezer-trawl and freezer-longline fleets to identify causes of injuries and specific hazards, but not to other fishing fleets. This descriptive epidemiologic study aimed to explore the application and modification of the WPCS in multiple Alaskan fleets, characterize non-fatal occupational injuries in these fleets, and identify work processes that could be targeted for further investigation and future injury prevention efforts. Traumatic, non-fatal injuries on-board Alaskan commercial fishing vessels were identified through United States Coast Guard investigative reports. Characteristics of injuries, as well as worker characteristics, were analysed. Injuries were coded using the WPCS. We successfully utilized the WPCS to code non-fatal injury cases (n = 136). The most frequent main work processes associated with non-fatal injuries included: on-board trawlers, handling frozen fish and processing the catch; on-board vessels using pot/trap gear, handling the gear and shooting/setting the gear; on-board longliners, traffic on board and hauling the gear; and on-board processor vessels, processing the catch, other work with the catch, and handling frozen fish. The study confirmed that a WPCS can be applied to multiple Alaskan fleets to identify hazardous tasks. Hazards were unique for each vessel gear type. Future injury prevention efforts should target work processes associated with the most frequent and most severe injuries. Future studies should establish time estimates for work processes in order to determine risk estimates. Efforts to improve non-fatal injury reporting, especially on smaller commercial fishing vessels, should be undertaken.

Assessing the role of mini-applications in predicting key performance characteristics of scientific and engineering applications

DOE PAGES

Barrett, R. F.; Crozier, P. S.; Doerfler, D. W.; ...

2014-09-28

Computational science and engineering application programs are typically large, complex, and dynamic, and are often constrained by distribution limitations. As a means of making tractable rapid explorations of scientific and engineering application programs in the context of new, emerging, and future computing architectures, a suite of miniapps has been created to serve as proxies for full scale applications. Each miniapp is designed to represent a key performance characteristic that does or is expected to significantly impact the runtime performance of an application program. In this paper we introduce a methodology for assessing the ability of these miniapps to effectively representmore » these performance issues. We applied this methodology to four miniapps, examining the linkage between them and an application they are intended to represent. Herein we evaluate the fidelity of that linkage. This work represents the initial steps required to begin to answer the question, ''Under what conditions does a miniapp represent a key performance characteristic in a full app?''« less

Radioisotope Power Sources for MEMS Devices,

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

Blanchard, J.P.

2001-06-17

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) comprise a rapidly expanding research field with potential applications varying from sensors in airbags to more recent optical applications. Depending on the application, these devices often require an on-board power source for remote operation, especially in cases requiring operation for an extended period of time. Previously suggested power sources include fossil fuels and solar energy, but nuclear power sources may provide significant advantages for certain applications. Hence, the objective of this study is to establish the viability of using radioisotopes to power realistic MEMS devices. A junction-type battery was constructed using silicon and a {sup 63}Ni liquidmore » source. A source volume containing 64 {micro}Ci provided a power of {approx}0.07 nW. A more novel application of nuclear sources for MEMS applications involves the creation of a resonator that is driven by charge collection in a cantilever beam. Preliminary results have established the feasibility of this concept, and future work will optimize the design for various applications.« less

21st century trucking: A trajectory for ergonomics and road freight.

PubMed

Bedinger, M; Walker, G H; Piecyk, M; Greening, P

2016-03-01

Over the past decade there has been significant pressure to minimise emissions and safety risks related to commercial driving. This pressure to meet the triple bottom line of cost, environment, and society has often resulted in the rapid application of vehicle technologies designed to mitigate undesired effects. Often the cognitive and behavioural effects of technologies on the commercial driver have not received in-depth analysis to determine comprehensive viability. As such, this paper aims to identify a timescale for implementation for future technologies for UK road freight, and likely associated human factors issues, improving upon the currently employed 'trial-and-error' approach to implementation which may carry high economic, environmental, safety-related risk. Thought experiments are carried out to broadly explore these future systems. Furthermore, this work aims to examine whether technology alone will be enough to meet future CO2 reduction targets, and assess the role of behavioural and systems interventions for future research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Nanotechnology applications in medicine and dentistry.

PubMed

Gupta, Jyoti

2011-05-01

Nanotechnology, or nanoscience, refers to the research and development of an applied science at the atomic, molecular, or macromolecular levels (i.e. molecular engineering, manufacturing). The prefix "nano" is defined as a unit of measurement in which the characteristic dimension is one billionth of a unit. Although the nanoscale is small in size, its potential is vast. As nanotechnology expands in other fields, clinicians, scientists, and manufacturers are working to discover the uses and advances in biomedical sciences. Applications of nanotechnology in medical and dental fields have only approached the horizon with opportunities and possibilities for the future that can only be limited by our imagination. This paper provides an early glimpse of nanotechnology applications in medicine and dentistry to illustrate their potentially far-reaching impacts on clinical practice. It also narrates the safety issues concerning nanotechnology applications. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

The future of satellite remote sensing: A worldwide assessment and prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spann, G. W.

1984-01-01

A frame-work in which to assess and predict the future prospects for satellite remote sensing markets is provided. The scope of the analysis is the satellite-related market for data, equipment, and services. It encompasses both domestic and international markets and contains an examination of the various market characteristics by market segment (e.g., Federal Government, State and Local Governments, Academic Organizations, Industrial Companies, and Individuals) and primary applications areas (e.g., Geology, Forestry, Land Resource Management, Agriculture and Cartography). The forecasts are derived from an analysis of both U.S. and foreign market data. The evolution and current status of U.S. and Foreign markets to arrive at market growth rates is evaluated. Circumstances and events which are likely to affect the future market development are examined. A market growth scenario is presented that is consistent with past data sales trends and takes into account the dynamic nature of the future satellite remote sensing market. Several areas of current and future business opportunities available in this market are discussed. Specific worldwide forecasts are presented in three market sectors for the period 1980 to 1990.

Portable FAIMS: Applications and Future Perspectives.

PubMed

Costanzo, Michael T; Boock, Jared J; Kemperman, Robin H J; Wei, Michael S; Beekman, Christopher R; Yost, Richard A

2017-11-01

Miniaturized mass spectrometry (MMS) is optimal for a wide variety of applications that benefit from field-portable instrumentation. Like MMS, field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) has proven capable of providing in situ analysis, allowing researchers to bring the lab to the sample. FAIMS compliments MMS very well, but has the added benefit of operating at atmospheric pressure, unlike MS. This distinct advantage makes FAIMS uniquely suited for portability. Since its inception, FAIMS has been envisioned as a field-portable device, as it affords less expense and greater simplicity than many similar methods. Ideally, these are simple, robust devices that may be operated by non-professional personnel, yet still provide adequate data when in the field. While reducing the size and complexity tends to bring with it a loss of performance and accuracy, this is made up for by the incredibly high throughput and overall convenience of the instrument. Moreover, the FAIMS device used in the field can be brought back to the lab, and coupled to a conventional mass spectrometer to provide any necessary method development and compound validation. This work discusses the various considerations, uses, and applications for portable FAIMS instrumentation, and how the future of each applicable field may benefit from the development and acceptance of such a device.

Flexible copper-indium-diselenide films and devices for space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Armstrong, J. H.; Pistole, C. O.; Misra, M. S.; Kapur, V. K.; Basol, B. M.

1991-01-01

With the ever increasing demands on space power systems, it is imperative that low cost, lightweight, reliable photovoltaics be developed. One avenue of pursuit for future space power applications is the use of low cost, lightweight flexible PV cells and arrays. Most work in this area assumes the use of flexible amorphous silicon (a-Si), despite its inherent instability and low efficiencies. However, polycrystalline thin film PV such as copper-indium-diselenide (CIS) are inherently more stable and exhibit better performance than a-Si. Furthermore, preliminary data indicate that CIS also offers exciting properties with respect to space applications. However, CIS has only heretofore only produced on rigid substrates. The implications of flexible CIS upon present and future space power platforms was explored. Results indicate that space qualified CIS can dramatically reduce the cost of PV, and in most cases, can be substituted for silicon (Si) based on end-of-life (EOL) estimations. Furthermore, where cost is a prime consideration, CIS can become cost effective than gallium arsenide (GaAs) in some applications. Second, investigations into thin film deposition on flexible substrates were made, and data from these tests indicate that fabrication of flexible CIS devices is feasible. Finally, data is also presented on preliminary TCO/CdS/CuInSe2/Mo devices.

Elastography: current status, future prospects, and making it work for you.

PubMed

Garra, Brian S

2011-09-01

Elastography has emerged as a useful adjunct tool for ultrasound diagnosis. Elastograms are images of tissue stiffness and may be in color, grayscale, or a combination of the two. The first and most common application of elastography is for the diagnosis of breast lesions where studies have shown an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.88 to 0.95 for distinguishing cancer from benign lesions. The technique is also useful for the diagnosis of complex cysts, although different scanners may vary in how they display such lesions. Recent advances in elastography include quantification using strain ratios, acoustic radiation force impulse imaging, and shear wave velocity estimation. These are useful not only for characterizing focal masses but also for diagnosing diffuse organ diseases such as liver cirrhosis. Other near term potential applications for elastography include characterization of thyroid nodules and lymph node evaluation for metastatic disease. Prostate cancer detection is also a potential application, but obtaining high-quality elastograms may be difficult. This area is evolving. Other promising applications include atheromatous plaque and arterial wall evaluation, venous thrombus evaluation, graft rejection, and monitoring of tumor ablation therapy. When contemplating the acquisition of a system with elastography in this rapidly evolving field, a clear picture of the manufacturer's plans for future upgrades (including quantification) should be obtained.

Electronic Health Record Application Support Service Enablers.

PubMed

Neofytou, M S; Neokleous, K; Aristodemou, A; Constantinou, I; Antoniou, Z; Schiza, E C; Pattichis, C S; Schizas, C N

2015-08-01

There is a huge need for open source software solutions in the healthcare domain, given the flexibility, interoperability and resource savings characteristics they offer. In this context, this paper presents the development of three open source libraries - Specific Enablers (SEs) for eHealth applications that were developed under the European project titled "Future Internet Social and Technological Alignment Research" (FI-STAR) funded under the "Future Internet Public Private Partnership" (FI-PPP) program. The three SEs developed under the Electronic Health Record Application Support Service Enablers (EHR-EN) correspond to: a) an Electronic Health Record enabler (EHR SE), b) a patient summary enabler based on the EU project "European patient Summary Open Source services" (epSOS SE) supporting patient mobility and the offering of interoperable services, and c) a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) enabler (PACS SE) based on the dcm4che open source system for the support of medical imaging functionality. The EHR SE follows the HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) V2.0 and supports the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) profiles (recently awarded in Connectathon 2015). These three FI-STAR platform enablers are designed to facilitate the deployment of innovative applications and value added services in the health care sector. They can be downloaded from the FI-STAR cataloque website. Work in progress focuses in the validation and evaluation scenarios for the proving and demonstration of the usability, applicability and adaptability of the proposed enablers.

Urinary Sugars--A Biomarker of Total Sugars Intake.

PubMed

Tasevska, Natasha

2015-07-15

Measurement error in self-reported sugars intake may explain the lack of consistency in the epidemiologic evidence on the association between sugars and disease risk. This review describes the development and applications of a biomarker of sugars intake, informs its future use and recommends directions for future research. Recently, 24 h urinary sucrose and fructose were suggested as a predictive biomarker for total sugars intake, based on findings from three highly controlled feeding studies conducted in the United Kingdom. From this work, a calibration equation for the biomarker that provides an unbiased measure of sugars intake was generated that has since been used in two US-based studies with free-living individuals to assess measurement error in dietary self-reports and to develop regression calibration equations that could be used in future diet-disease analyses. Further applications of the biomarker include its use as a surrogate measure of intake in diet-disease association studies. Although this biomarker has great potential and exhibits favorable characteristics, available data come from a few controlled studies with limited sample sizes conducted in the UK. Larger feeding studies conducted in different populations are needed to further explore biomarker characteristics and stability of its biases, compare its performance, and generate a unique, or population-specific biomarker calibration equations to be applied in future studies. A validated sugars biomarker is critical for informed interpretation of sugars-disease association studies.

Urinary Sugars—A Biomarker of Total Sugars Intake

PubMed Central

Tasevska, Natasha

2015-01-01

Measurement error in self-reported sugars intake may explain the lack of consistency in the epidemiologic evidence on the association between sugars and disease risk. This review describes the development and applications of a biomarker of sugars intake, informs its future use and recommends directions for future research. Recently, 24 h urinary sucrose and fructose were suggested as a predictive biomarker for total sugars intake, based on findings from three highly controlled feeding studies conducted in the United Kingdom. From this work, a calibration equation for the biomarker that provides an unbiased measure of sugars intake was generated that has since been used in two US-based studies with free-living individuals to assess measurement error in dietary self-reports and to develop regression calibration equations that could be used in future diet-disease analyses. Further applications of the biomarker include its use as a surrogate measure of intake in diet-disease association studies. Although this biomarker has great potential and exhibits favorable characteristics, available data come from a few controlled studies with limited sample sizes conducted in the UK. Larger feeding studies conducted in different populations are needed to further explore biomarker characteristics and stability of its biases, compare its performance, and generate a unique, or population-specific biomarker calibration equations to be applied in future studies. A validated sugars biomarker is critical for informed interpretation of sugars-disease association studies. PMID:26184307

Impact of infrasound atmospheric noise on gravity detectors used for astrophysical and geophysical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiorucci, Donatella; Harms, Jan; Barsuglia, Matteo; Fiori, Irene; Paoletti, Federico

2018-03-01

Density changes in the atmosphere produce a fluctuating gravity field that affects gravity strainmeters or gravity gradiometers used for the detection of gravitational waves and for geophysical applications. This work addresses the impact of the atmospheric local gravity noise on such detectors, extending previous analyses. In particular we present the effect introduced by the building housing the detectors, and we analyze local gravity-noise suppression by constructing the detector underground. We present also new sound spectra and correlation measurements. The results obtained are important for the design of future gravitational-wave detectors and gravity gradiometers used to detect prompt gravity perturbations from earthquakes.

Interfaces in heterogeneous catalytic reactions: Ambient pressure XPS as a tool to unravel surface chemistry

DOE PAGES

Palomino, Robert M.; Hamlyn, Rebecca; Liu, Zongyuan; ...

2017-04-27

In this paper we provide a summary of the recent development of ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) and its application to catalytic surface chemistry. The methodology as well as significant advantages and challenges associated with this novel technique are described. Details about specific examples of using AP-XPS to probe surface chemistry under working reaction conditions for a number of reactions are explained: CO oxidation, water-gas shift (WGS), CO 2 hydrogenation, dry reforming of methane (DRM) and ethanol steam reforming (ESR). In conclusion, we discuss insights into the future development of the AP-XPS technique and its applications.

Interfaces in heterogeneous catalytic reactions: Ambient pressure XPS as a tool to unravel surface chemistry

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

Palomino, Robert M.; Hamlyn, Rebecca; Liu, Zongyuan

In this paper we provide a summary of the recent development of ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) and its application to catalytic surface chemistry. The methodology as well as significant advantages and challenges associated with this novel technique are described. Details about specific examples of using AP-XPS to probe surface chemistry under working reaction conditions for a number of reactions are explained: CO oxidation, water-gas shift (WGS), CO 2 hydrogenation, dry reforming of methane (DRM) and ethanol steam reforming (ESR). In conclusion, we discuss insights into the future development of the AP-XPS technique and its applications.

Computational predictions of zinc oxide hollow structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuoc, Vu Ngoc; Huan, Tran Doan; Thao, Nguyen Thi

2018-03-01

Nanoporous materials are emerging as potential candidates for a wide range of technological applications in environment, electronic, and optoelectronics, to name just a few. Within this active research area, experimental works are predominant while theoretical/computational prediction and study of these materials face some intrinsic challenges, one of them is how to predict porous structures. We propose a computationally and technically feasible approach for predicting zinc oxide structures with hollows at the nano scale. The designed zinc oxide hollow structures are studied with computations using the density functional tight binding and conventional density functional theory methods, revealing a variety of promising mechanical and electronic properties, which can potentially find future realistic applications.

Field Effect Transistor Behavior in Electrospun Polyaniline/Polyethylene Oxide Nanofibers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miranda, Felix A.; Theofylaktos, Noulle; Robinson, Daryl C.; Mueller, Carl H.; Pinto, Nicholas J.

2004-01-01

Novel translators and logic devices based on nanotechnology concepts are under intense development. The potential for ultra-low power circuitry makes nanotechnology attractive for applications such as digital electronics and sensors. Furthermore, the ability to form devices on flexible substrates expands the range of applications where electronic circuitry can be introduced. For NASA, nonotechndogy offers opportunities for increased onboard data processing and thus autonomous decision-making ability, ad novel sensors that detect and respond to external stimuli with few oversight requirements. The goat of this work is to demonstrate transistor behavior in polyaniline/ polyethylene oxide nanofibers, thus creating a foundation for future logic devices.

Multifunctional cell therapeutics with plasmonic nanobubbles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukianova-Hleb, Ekaterina Y.; Kashinath, Shruti; Lapotko, Dmitri O.

2012-03-01

We report our new discovery of the nanophenomenon called plasmonic nanobubbles to devise faster, safer and more accurate ways of manipulating the components of human tissue grafts. The reported work facilitates future cell and gene therapies by allowing specific cell subsets to be positively or negatively selected for culture, genetic engineering or elimination. The technology will have application for a wide range of human tissues that can be used to treat a multiplicity of human diseases.

Numerical Simulations Using the Immersed Boundary Technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Piomelli, Ugo; Balaras, Elias

1997-01-01

The immersed-boundary method can be used to simulate flows around complex geometries within a Cartesian grid. This method has been used quite extensively in low Reynolds-number flows, and is now being applied to turbulent flows more frequently. The technique will be discussed, and three applications of the method will be presented, with increasing complexity. to illustrate the potential and limitations of the method, and some of the directions for future work.

Introducing Argonne’s Theta Supercomputer

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

None

Theta, the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility’s (ALCF) new Intel-Cray supercomputer, is officially open to the research community. Theta’s massively parallel, many-core architecture puts the ALCF on the path to Aurora, the facility’s future Intel-Cray system. Capable of nearly 10 quadrillion calculations per second, Theta enables researchers to break new ground in scientific investigations that range from modeling the inner workings of the brain to developing new materials for renewable energy applications.

Work ability score and future work ability as predictors of register-based disability pension and long-term sickness absence: A three-year follow-up study.

PubMed

Kinnunen, Ulla; Nätti, Jouko

2018-05-01

We investigated two single items of the Work Ability Index - work ability score, and future work ability - as predictors of register-based disability pension and long-term sickness absence over a three-year follow-up. Survey responses of 11,131 Finnish employees were linked to pension and long-term (more than 10 days) sickness absence register data by Statistics Finland. Work ability score was divided into poor (0-5), moderate (6-7) and good/excellent (8-10) and future work ability into poor (1-2) and good (3) work ability at baseline. Cox proportional hazard regressions were used in the analysis of disability pension, and a negative binomial model in the analysis of long-term sickness absence. The results were adjusted for several background, work- and health-related covariates. Compared with those with good/excellent work ability scores, the hazard ratios of disability pension after adjusting for all covariates were 9.84 (95% CI 6.68-14.49) for poor and 2.25 (CI 95% 1.51-3.35) for moderate work ability score. For future work ability, the hazard ratio was 8.19 (95% CI 4.71-14.23) among those with poor future work ability. The incidence rate ratios of accumulated long-term sickness absence days were 3.08 (95% CI 2.19-4.32) and 1.59 (95% CI 1.32-1.92) for poor and moderate work ability scores, and 1.51 (95% CI 0.97-2.36) for poor future work ability. The single items of work ability score and future work ability predicted register-based disability pension equally well, but work ability score was a better predictor of register-based long-term sickness absence days than future work ability in a three-year follow-up. Both items seem to be of use especially when examining the risk of poor work ability for disability but also for long sick leave.

Problems in particle theory. Technical report - 1993--1994

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

Adler, S.L.; Wilczek, F.

This report is a progress report on the work of two principal investigators in the broad area of particle physics theory, covering their personal work, that of their coworkers, and their proposed work for the future. One author has worked in the past on various topics in field theory and particle physics, among them current algebras, the physics of neutrino induced reactions, quantum electrodynamics (including strong magnetic field processes), the theory of the axial-vector current anomaly, topics in quantum gravity, and nonlinear models for quark confinement. While much of his work has been analytical, all of the projects listed abovemore » (except for the work on gravity) had phases which required considerable computer work as well. Over the next several years, he proposes to continue or initiate research on the following problems: (1) Acceleration algorithms for the Monte Carlo analysis of lattice field and gauge theories, and more generally, new research in computational neuroscience and pattern recognition. (2) Construction of quaternionic generalizations of complex quantum mechanics and field theory, and their application to composite models of quarks and leptons, and to the problem of unifying quantum theories of matter with general relativity. One author has worked on problems in exotic quantum statistics and its applications to condensed matter systems. His work has also continued on the quantum theory of black holes. This has evolved toward understanding properties of quantum field theory and string theory in incomplete regions of flat space.« less

Applications for detection of acute kidney injury using electronic medical records and clinical information systems: workgroup statements from the 15(th) ADQI Consensus Conference.

PubMed

James, Matthew T; Hobson, Charles E; Darmon, Michael; Mohan, Sumit; Hudson, Darren; Goldstein, Stuart L; Ronco, Claudio; Kellum, John A; Bagshaw, Sean M

2016-01-01

Electronic medical records and clinical information systems are increasingly used in hospitals and can be leveraged to improve recognition and care for acute kidney injury. This Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative (ADQI) workgroup was convened to develop consensus around principles for the design of automated AKI detection systems to produce real-time AKI alerts using electronic systems. AKI alerts were recognized by the workgroup as an opportunity to prompt earlier clinical evaluation, further testing and ultimately intervention, rather than as a diagnostic label. Workgroup members agreed with designing AKI alert systems to align with the existing KDIGO classification system, but recommended future work to further refine the appropriateness of AKI alerts and to link these alerts to actionable recommendations for AKI care. The consensus statements developed in this review can be used as a roadmap for development of future electronic applications for automated detection and reporting of AKI.

Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion: An Aerodynamics, Aerothermodynamics, and Acoustics Competency White Paper

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drummond, J. Philip; Cockrell, Charles E., Jr.; Pellett, Gerald L.; Diskin, Glenn S.; Auslender, Aaron H.; Exton, Reginald J.; Guy, R. Wayne; Hoppe, John C.; Puster, Richard L.; Rogers, R. Clayton

2002-01-01

This White Paper examines the current state of Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion at the NASA Langley Research Center and the factors influencing this area of work and its personnel. Using this knowledge, the paper explores beyond the present day and suggests future directions and strategies for the field. Broad views are first taken regarding potential missions and applications of hypersonic propulsion. Then, candidate propulsion systems that may be applicable to these missions are suggested and discussed. Design tools and experimental techniques for developing these propulsion systems are then described, and approaches for applying them in the design process are considered. In each case, current strategies are reviewed and future approaches that may improve the techniques are considered. Finally, the paper concentrates on the needs to be addressed in each of these areas to take advantage of the opportunities that lay ahead for both the NASA Langley Research Center and the Aerodynamic Aerothermodynamic, and Aeroacoustics Competency. Recommendations are then provided so that the goals set forth in the paper may be achieved.

Clinical trial perspective for adult and juvenile Huntington's disease using genetically-engineered mesenchymal stem cells

PubMed Central

Deng, Peter; Torrest, Audrey; Pollock, Kari; Dahlenburg, Heather; Annett, Geralyn; Nolta, Jan A.; Fink, Kyle D.

2016-01-01

Progress to date from our group and others indicate that using genetically-engineered mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) to secrete brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) supports our plan to submit an Investigational New Drug application to the Food and Drug Administration for the future planned Phase 1 safety and tolerability trial of MSC/BDNF in patients with Huntington's disease (HD). There are also potential applications of this approach beyond HD. Our biological delivery system for BDNF sets the precedent for adult stem cell therapy in the brain and could potentially be modified for other neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), Alzheimer's disease, and some forms of Parkinson's disease. The MSC/BDNF product could also be considered for studies of regeneration in traumatic brain injury, spinal cord and peripheral nerve injury. This work also provides a platform for our future gene editing studies, since we will again use MSCs to deliver the needed molecules into the central nervous system. PMID:27335539

Generic Module for Collecting Data in Smart Cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, A.; Ramirez, F.; Estrada, H.; Torres, L. A.

2017-09-01

The Future Internet brings new technologies to the common life of people, such as Internet of Things, Cloud Computing or Big Data. All this technologies have change the way people communicate and also the way the devices interact with the context, giving rise to new paradigms, as the case of smart cities. Currently, the mobile devices represent one of main sources of information for new applications that take into account the user context, such as apps for mobility, health, of security. Several platforms have been proposed that consider the development of Future Internet applications, however, no generic modules can be found that implement the collection of context data from smartphones. In this research work we present a generic module to collect data from different sensors of the mobile devices and also to send, in a standard manner, this data to the Open FIWARE Cloud to be stored or analyzed by software tools. The proposed module enables the human-as-a-sensor approach for FIWARE Platform.

Biophotonics: the big picture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcu, Laura; Boppart, Stephen A.; Hutchinson, Mark R.; Popp, Jürgen; Wilson, Brian C.

2018-02-01

The 5th International Conference on Biophotonics (ICOB) held April 30 to May 1, 2017, in Fremantle, Western Australia, brought together opinion leaders to discuss future directions for the field and opportunities to consider. The first session of the conference, "How to Set a Big Picture Biophotonics Agenda," was focused on setting the stage for developing a vision and strategies for translation and impact on society of biophotonic technologies. The invited speakers, panelists, and attendees engaged in discussions that focused on opportunities and promising applications for biophotonic techniques, challenges when working at the confluence of the physical and biological sciences, driving factors for advances of biophotonic technologies, and educational opportunities. We share a summary of the presentations and discussions. Three main themes from the conference are presented in this position paper that capture the current status, opportunities, challenges, and future directions of biophotonics research and key areas of applications: (1) biophotonics at the nano- to microscale level; (2) biophotonics at meso- to macroscale level; and (3) biophotonics and the clinical translation conundrum.

Carbon nanomaterials-based electrochemical aptasensors.

PubMed

Wang, Zonghua; Yu, Jianbo; Gui, Rijun; Jin, Hui; Xia, Yanzhi

2016-05-15

Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) have attracted increasing attention due to their unique electrical, optical, thermal, mechanical and chemical properties. CNMs are extensively applied in electronic, optoelectronic, photovoltaic and sensing devices fields, especially in bioassay technology. These excellent properties significantly depend on not only the functional atomic structures of CNMs, but also the interactions with other materials, such as gold nanoparticles, SiO2, chitosan, etc. This review systematically summarizes applications of CNMs in electrochemical aptasensors (ECASs). Firstly, definition and development of ECASs are introduced. Secondly, different ways of ECASs about working principles, classification and construction of CNMs are illustrated. Thirdly, the applications of different CNMs used in ECASs are discussed. In this review, different types of CNMs are involved such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphene oxide, etc. Besides, the newly emerging CNMs and CNMs-based composites are also discoursed. Finally, we demonstrate the future prospects of CNMs-based ECASs, and some suggestions about the near future development of CNMs-based ECASs are highlighted. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of AI techniques to blast furnace operations

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

Iida, Osamu; Ushijima, Yuichi; Sawada, Toshiro

1995-10-01

It was during the first stages of application of artificial intelligence (AI) to industrial fields, that the ironmaking division of Mizushima works at Kawasaki Steel recognized its potential. Since that time, the division has sought applications for these techniques to solve various problems. AI techniques applied to control the No. 3 blast furnace operations at the Mizushima works include: Blast furnace control by a diagnostic type of expert system that gives guidance to the actions required for blast furnace operation as well as control of furnace heat by automatically setting blast temperature; Hot stove combustion control by a combination ofmore » fuzzy inference and a physical model to insure good thermal efficiency of the stove; and blast furnace burden control using neural networks makes it possible to connect the pattern of gas flow distribution with the condition of the furnace. Experience of AI to control the blast furnace and other ironmaking operations has proved its capability for achieving automation and increased operating efficiency. The benefits are very high. For these reasons, the applications of AI techniques will be extended in the future and new techniques studied to further improve the power of AI.« less

1st International Nuclear Science and Technology Conference 2014 (INST2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2015-04-01

Nuclear technology has played an important role in many aspects of our lives, including agriculture, energy, materials, medicine, environment, forensics, healthcare, and frontier research. The International Nuclear Science and Technology Conference (INST) aims to bring together scientists, engineers, academics, and students to share knowledge and experiences about all aspects of nuclear sciences. INST has evolved from a series of national conferences in Thailand called Nuclear Science and Technology (NST) Conference, which has been held for 11 times, the first being in 1986. INST2014 was held in August 2014 and hosted by Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology (TINT). The theme was "Driving the future with nuclear technology". The conference working language was English. The proceedings were peer reviewed and considered for publication. The topics covered in the conference were: • Agricultural and food applications [AGR] • Environmental applications [ENV] • Radiation processing and industrial applications [IND] • Medical and nutritional applications [MED] • Nuclear physics and engineering [PHY] • Nuclear and radiation safety [SAF] • Other related topics [OTH] • Device and instrument presentation [DEV] Awards for outstanding oral and poster presentations will be given to qualified students who present their work during the conference.

FCS Technology Investigation Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Budinger, James; Gilbert, Tricia

2007-01-01

This working paper provides an overview of the Future Communication Study (FCS) technology investigation progress. It includes a description of the methodology applied to technology evaluation; evaluation criteria; and technology screening (down select) results. A comparison of screening results with other similar technology screening activities is provided. Additional information included in this working paper is a description of in-depth studies (including characterization of the L-band aeronautical channel; L-band deployment cost assessment; and performance assessments of candidate technologies in the applicable aeronautical channel) that have been conducted to support technology evaluations. The paper concludes with a description on-going activities leading to conclusion of the technology investigation and the development of technology recommendations.

Measuring System for Growth Control of the Spirulina Aquaculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponce S., Claudio; Ponce L., Ernesto; Bernardo S., Barraza

2008-11-01

It describes the workings of a data-logging instrument that measures growth levels of the Spirulina aquaculture. The Spirulina is a very delicate algae and its culture may be suddenly lost due to overgrowth. This kind of instrument is not at present available in the market. The transduction is a submergible laser device whose measuring margin of error is near to 0.28%. The advantage of this new instrument is the improvement in the measurement and the low cost. The future application of this work is related to the industrial production of food and fuel from micro algae culture, for the growing world population.

Spectral measurements of alpha-induced radioluminescence in various gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brett, Jaclyn; Koehler, Katrina E.; Bischak, Michael; Famiano, Michael; Jenkins, Jared; Klankowski, Levi; Niraula, Prashantamani; Pancella, Paul; Lakis, Rollin

2017-12-01

Radioluminescent emission in Ar, N2, O2, and dry air at P = 1 atm was observed induced by 5 MeV α particles. The wavelength range with a single detector spanned 250-1100 nm, extending the range well into the UV and IR bands with a single detector. Measured spectral lines for alpha-induced luminescence were corrected for detector transmission and intensities compared to previous work. The exploration of multiple gases over a wide frequency range opens the door to security and remote sensing applications, where different environments are routinely encountered. This work provides spectra that can be used in guiding future filter development focusing on remote alpha detection.

[Rural work and health risks: a review into de "safe use" of pesticides in Brazil].

PubMed

de Abreu, Pedro Henrique Barbosa; Alonzo, Herling Gregorio Aguilar

2014-10-01

The paradigm of the "safe use" of pesticides is based on measures to control risks in the handling of these products. However, studies carried out in various regions of Brazil reveal a situation of widespread exposure and health damages among rural workers, revealing the ineffectiveness of this paradigm. This work presents a critical review of the "safe use" approach for pesticides in scientific papers published in Brazil in the past 15 years. Results indicate that these studies do not address, simultaneously, all the work activities that involve exposure and risk of intoxication (acquisition, transportation, storage, preparation and application, final disposal of empty containers and sanitization of contaminated clothes/ PPEs), nor do they comprehensively address the "safe use" measures recommended in safety manuals, which are mandatory for each activity. A total of 25 studies were selected and analyzed, revealing a high number of results and analyses regarding activities of preparation and application and final disposal of empty containers. The range of the approaches was seen to be timely in the six work activities. For future studies, a broader approach of the "safe use" of pesticides is recommended, seeking to reveal the complete infeasibility of this safety paradigm.

Astronomy New Media Outreach & Research: Moving Beyond IYA 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gay, Pamela L.

2010-01-01

In January 2009 we entered a brave new world of online astronomy content distribution. From our first gasp of bandwidth through to today, we have worked to reach people one tweet, podcast, blogpost, and Second Life adventure at a time. Driven by our desire to get astronomy content to the world in all the online places that people go to work, socialize, and play, we have created a suite of applications that we now look to carry into the future. In this talk, we outline all the projects we created: Astronomy2009 Island in Second Life, the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, the OverTwitter project, and more. We are hoping to carry these projects into the future and invite you to join us in building an online legacy of IYA. We will present basic audience statistics and preliminary feedback from online surveys. We also present continuation plans and introduce Astrosphere New Media, our new home for new media beyond IYA.

Schottky Barrier Height of Pd/MoS2 Contact by Large Area Photoemission Spectroscopy.

PubMed

Dong, Hong; Gong, Cheng; Addou, Rafik; McDonnell, Stephen; Azcatl, Angelica; Qin, Xiaoye; Wang, Weichao; Wang, Weihua; Hinkle, Christopher L; Wallace, Robert M

2017-11-08

MoS 2 , as a model transition metal dichalcogenide, is viewed as a potential channel material in future nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices. Minimizing the contact resistance of the metal/MoS 2 junction is critical to realizing the potential of MoS 2 -based devices. In this work, the Schottky barrier height (SBH) and the band structure of high work function Pd metal on MoS 2 have been studied by in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The analytical spot diameter of the XPS spectrometer is about 400 μm, and the XPS signal is proportional to the detection area, so the influence of defect-mediated parallel conduction paths on the SBH does not affect the measurement. The charge redistribution by Pd on MoS 2 is detected by XPS characterization, which gives insight into metal contact physics to MoS 2 and suggests that interface engineering is necessary to lower the contact resistance for the future generation electronic applications.

Novel active signal compression in low-noise analog readout at future X-ray FEL facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manghisoni, M.; Comotti, D.; Gaioni, L.; Lodola, L.; Ratti, L.; Re, V.; Traversi, G.; Vacchi, C.

2015-04-01

This work presents the design of a low-noise front-end implementing a novel active signal compression technique. This feature can be exploited in the design of analog readout channels for application to the next generation free electron laser (FEL) experiments. The readout architecture includes the low-noise charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) with dynamic signal compression, a time variant shaper used to process the signal at the preamplifier output and a 10-bit successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The channel will be operated in such a way to cope with the high frame rate (exceeding 1 MHz) foreseen for future XFEL machines. The choice of a 65 nm CMOS technology has been made in order to include all the building blocks in the target pixel pitch of 100 μm. This work has been carried out in the frame of the PixFEL Project funded by the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Italy.

Mechanical model development of rolling bearing-rotor systems: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Hongrui; Niu, Linkai; Xi, Songtao; Chen, Xuefeng

2018-03-01

The rolling bearing rotor (RBR) system is the kernel of many rotating machines, which affects the performance of the whole machine. Over the past decades, extensive research work has been carried out to investigate the dynamic behavior of RBR systems. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no comprehensive review on RBR modelling has been reported yet. To address this gap in the literature, this paper reviews and critically discusses the current progress of mechanical model development of RBR systems, and identifies future trends for research. Firstly, five kinds of rolling bearing models, i.e., the lumped-parameter model, the quasi-static model, the quasi-dynamic model, the dynamic model, and the finite element (FE) model are summarized. Then, the coupled modelling between bearing models and various rotor models including De Laval/Jeffcott rotor, rigid rotor, transfer matrix method (TMM) models and FE models are presented. Finally, the paper discusses the key challenges of previous works and provides new insights into understanding of RBR systems for their advanced future engineering applications.

Understanding the Convolutional Neural Networks with Gradient Descent and Backpropagation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, XueFei

2018-04-01

With the development of computer technology, the applications of machine learning are more and more extensive. And machine learning is providing endless opportunities to develop new applications. One of those applications is image recognition by using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). CNN is one of the most common algorithms in image recognition. It is significant to understand its theory and structure for every scholar who is interested in this field. CNN is mainly used in computer identification, especially in voice, text recognition and other aspects of the application. It utilizes hierarchical structure with different layers to accelerate computing speed. In addition, the greatest features of CNNs are the weight sharing and dimension reduction. And all of these consolidate the high effectiveness and efficiency of CNNs with idea computing speed and error rate. With the help of other learning altruisms, CNNs could be used in several scenarios for machine learning, especially for deep learning. Based on the general introduction to the background and the core solution CNN, this paper is going to focus on summarizing how Gradient Descent and Backpropagation work, and how they contribute to the high performances of CNNs. Also, some practical applications will be discussed in the following parts. The last section exhibits the conclusion and some perspectives of future work.

A short working distance multiple crystal x-ray spectrometer

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dickinson, B.; Seidler, G.T.; Webb, Z.W.; Bradley, J.A.; Nagle, K.P.; Heald, S.M.; Gordon, R.A.; Chou, I.-Ming

2008-01-01

For x-ray spot sizes of a few tens of microns or smaller, a millimeter-sized flat analyzer crystal placed ???1 cm from the sample will exhibit high energy resolution while subtending a collection solid angle comparable to that of a typical spherically bent crystal analyzer (SBCA) at much larger working distances. Based on this observation and a nonfocusing geometry for the analyzer optic, we have constructed and tested a short working distance (SWD) multicrystal x-ray spectrometer. This prototype instrument has a maximum effective collection solid angle of 0.14 sr, comparable to that of 17 SBCA at 1 m working distance. We find good agreement with prior work for measurements of the Mn K?? x-ray emission and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering for MnO, and also for measurements of the x-ray absorption near-edge structure for Dy metal using L??2 partial-fluorescence yield detection. We discuss future applications at third- and fourth-generation light sources. For concentrated samples, the extremely large collection angle of SWD spectrometers will permit collection of high-resolution x-ray emission spectra with a single pulse of the Linac Coherent Light Source. The range of applications of SWD spectrometers and traditional multi-SBCA instruments has some overlap, but also is significantly complementary. ?? 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Bullet Impact Safety Study of PBX-9502

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferranti, Louis

2013-06-01

A new small arms capability for performing bullet impact testing into energetic materials has recently been activated at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory located in the High Explosives Applications Facility (HEAF). The initial capability includes 0.223, 0.30, and 0.50 testing calibers with the flexibility to add other barrels in the near future. An initial test series has been performed using the 0.50 caliber barrel shooting bullets into targets using the TATB based explosive PBX-9502 and shows an expected non-violent reaction. Future experiments to evaluate the safety of new explosive formulations to bullet impact are planned. A highlight of the new capability along with discussion of the initial experiments to date will be presented including future areas of research. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

The future is no longer what it used to be. Managing health telematics projects.

PubMed

Demeester, M; Beuscart, R

1997-09-01

Future used to mean global progress and convergence of science and technology and society. Today, we observe the decoupling of the two poles of knowledge formation and application (i.e. science and technology, and culture and society, respectively) and also fierce confrontation between them. The key issue to reconcile the two poles is to re-invent the link between them. The new future lies in the development of mental and technical capacities for change and the creation of new forms of solidarity. We propose, as a general attitude, to reactivate and develop the four principles of efficacy-effectiveness-efficiency, hospitality, responsibility and pertinence. Translated into driving forces for the development of health care telematic projects, they amount to the acceptance of and capacity for enterprise-wide solutions, hospitality and capacity to acquire outside knowledge, self-managed, multi-functional team work spirit, reengineering mentality to achieve pertinent technico-cultural solutions.

Recent improvements in oily wastewater treatment: Progress, challenges, and future opportunities.

PubMed

Jamaly, Sanaa; Giwa, Adewale; Hasan, Shadi Wajih

2015-11-01

Oily wastewater poses significant threats to the soil, water, air and human beings because of the hazardous nature of its oil contents. The objective of this review paper is to highlight the current and recently developed methods for oily wastewater treatment through which contaminants such as oil, fats, grease, and inorganics can be removed for safe applications. These include electrochemical treatment, membrane filtration, biological treatment, hybrid technologies, use of biosurfactants, treatment via vacuum ultraviolet radiation, and destabilization of emulsions through the use of zeolites and other natural minerals. This review encompasses innovative and novel approaches to oily wastewater treatment and provides scientific background for future work that will be aimed at reducing the adverse impact of the discharge of oily wastewater into the environment. The current challenges affecting the optimal performance of oily wastewater treatment methods and opportunities for future research development in this field are also discussed. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Economics of fabricating plastic preforms by robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundgren, E. M.

1985-08-01

A robotic work cell consisting of a process robot, an automatic weigh feeder, and an existing plastic pill making machine was developed. This work cell was released September 13, 1983, for production use. Although the work cell was designed and planned for operation in an operator-unattended mode, renovation and rearrangement of the work area made it necessary to assemble the work cell in the Robot Application Center Annex and to implement its initial use in production as an operator-attended work cell. Because the work cell is located in an area distant from the normal work area, an operator cannot monitor this and other equipment conveniently. As of September 1, 1984, the plastic pill making robot work cell has produced 80,428 pills in 752.8 hours, a reduction of 683.4 hours from the 1436.2 hours manual operation would have required. The next step in the development of automated pill making will occur when the work cell is relocated into the production department with a new pill press. Projections for future savings of $20,866 annually are based on a reduction of 1448 labor hours.

Defining the methodological challenges and opportunities for an effective science of sociotechnical systems and safety.

PubMed

Waterson, Patrick; Robertson, Michelle M; Cooke, Nancy J; Militello, Laura; Roth, Emilie; Stanton, Neville A

2015-01-01

An important part of the application of sociotechnical systems theory (STS) is the development of methods, tools and techniques to assess human factors and ergonomics workplace requirements. We focus in this paper on describing and evaluating current STS methods for workplace safety, as well as outlining a set of six case studies covering the application of these methods to a range of safety contexts. We also describe an evaluation of the methods in terms of ratings of their ability to address a set of theoretical and practical questions (e.g. the degree to which methods capture static/dynamic aspects of tasks and interactions between system levels). The outcomes from the evaluation highlight a set of gaps relating to the coverage and applicability of current methods for STS and safety (e.g. coverage of external influences on system functioning; method usability). The final sections of the paper describe a set of future challenges, as well as some practical suggestions for tackling these. We provide an up-to-date review of STS methods, a set of case studies illustrating their use and an evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. The paper concludes with a 'roadmap' for future work.

Partial discharge characteristics of polymer nanocomposite materials in electrical insulation: a review of sample preparation techniques, analysis methods, potential applications, and future trends.

PubMed

Izzati, Wan Akmal; Arief, Yanuar Z; Adzis, Zuraimy; Shafanizam, Mohd

2014-01-01

Polymer nanocomposites have recently been attracting attention among researchers in electrical insulating applications from energy storage to power delivery. However, partial discharge has always been a predecessor to major faults and problems in this field. In addition, there is a lot more to explore, as neither the partial discharge characteristic in nanocomposites nor their electrical properties are clearly understood. By adding a small amount of weight percentage (wt%) of nanofillers, the physical, mechanical, and electrical properties of polymers can be greatly enhanced. For instance, nanofillers in nanocomposites such as silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3) and titania (TiO2) play a big role in providing a good approach to increasing the dielectric breakdown strength and partial discharge resistance of nanocomposites. Such polymer nanocomposites will be reviewed thoroughly in this paper, with the different experimental and analytical techniques used in previous studies. This paper also provides an academic review about partial discharge in polymer nanocomposites used as electrical insulating material from previous research, covering aspects of preparation, characteristics of the nanocomposite based on experimental works, application in power systems, methods and techniques of experiment and analysis, and future trends.

[Exploration of Recent Mobile Technologies Applied in Nursing Education].

PubMed

Wu, Ting-Ting; Lu, Yi-Chen; Chang, Lei

2017-12-01

The development of science and technology has fundamentally changed people's lives and the way that medical systems function. Increasingly, mobile technologies are being introduced and integrated into classroom teaching and clinical applications, resulting in healthcare providers introducing innovative applications into health education. These applications enhance the clinical, education, and research expertise of medical staffs and nurses, while improving quality of care and providing new experiences for patients. In order to understand the current situation and trends in nursing education, the present study adopted literature analysis to explore the influence and effect of mobile technologies that have been introduced into nursing education from the school and clinical environments. The results found that students hold positive attitudes toward introducing these technologies into their curricula. Although these technologies may increase the work efficiency of nurses in the workplace, questions remain user perceptions and professional expression. Therefore, securing patient agreement and healthcare system approval were major turning points in the introduction of mobile technologies into nursing education. In the future, adapting mobile technologies for use in teaching materials and courses may be further developed. Moreover, empirical studies may be used in future research in order to facilitate the increasingly successful integration of relevant technologies into nursing education.

Plasmonic Biosensor Based on Vertical Arrays of Gold Nanoantennas.

PubMed

Klinghammer, Stephanie; Uhlig, Tino; Patrovsky, Fabian; Böhm, Matthias; Schütt, Julian; Pütz, Nils; Baraban, Larysa; Eng, Lukas M; Cuniberti, Gianaurelio

2018-06-25

Implementing large arrays of gold nanowires as functional elements of a plasmonic biosensor is an important task for future medical diagnostic applications. Here we present a microfluidic-channel-integrated sensor for the label-free detection of biomolecules, relying on localized surface plasmon resonances. Large arrays (∼1 cm 2 ) of vertically aligned and densely packed gold nanorods to receive, locally confine, and amplify the external optical signal are used to allow for reliable biosensing. We accomplish this by monitoring the change of the optical nanostructure resonance in the presence of biomolecules within the tight focus area above the nanoantennas, combined with a surface treatment of the nanowires for a specific binding of the target molecules. As a first application, we detect the binding kinetics of two distinct DNA strands as well as the following hybridization of two complementary strands (cDNA) with different lengths (25 and 100 bp). Upon immobilization, a redshift of 1 nm was detected; further backfilling and hybridization led to a peak shift of additional 2 and 5 nm for 25 and 100 bp, respectively. We believe that this work gives deeper insight into the functional understanding and technical implementation of a large array of gold nanowires for future medical applications.

Space Infrared Extragalactic Surveys : Results from ISO and Future Prospects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaccari, Mattia

2004-02-01

This Thesis deals with the exploitation of space infrared extragalactic surveys as a powerful tool for astronomical investigation. More precisely, it deals with the development of a new method (LARI Method) for the reduction and analysis of data obtained by an infrared satellite (ISO), the application of this method to data obtained within the most ambitious extragalactic survey carried out with this satellite (ELAIS), the first scientific results obtained through this application, and finally the possible applications of such technical and scientific contributions to an infrared satellite which has recently started operations (Spitzer) as well as to future infrared missions. As a testimony to the particularly heterogeneous nature of the skills that are necessary in order to realize a successful space project, the Thesis stands at the boundary between several significantly different disciplines, such as detector physics, signal analysis and image processing, software engineering, galaxy formation and evolution and observational cosmology. Although focusing on a particular mission (ISO), throughout an attempt was made at putting the work into an "historical" perspective, with a keen eye both for the efforts of the "pioneers" of infrared astronomy and for the exciting prospects that space missions will offer to this dicipline in the years to come.

Dramatically Enhanced Spin Dynamo with Plasmonic Diabolo Cavity.

PubMed

Gou, Peng; Qian, Jie; Xi, Fuchun; Zou, Yuexin; Cao, Jun; Yu, Haochi; Zhao, Ziyi; Yang, Le; Xu, Jie; Wang, Hengliang; Zhang, Lijian; An, Zhenghua

2017-07-13

The applications of spin dynamos, which could potentially power complex nanoscopic devices, have so far been limited owing to their extremely low energy conversion efficiencies. Here, we present a unique plasmonic diabolo cavity (PDC) that dramatically improves the spin rectification signal (enhancement of more than three orders of magnitude) under microwave excitation; further, it enables an energy conversion efficiency of up to ~0.69 mV/mW, compared with ~0.27 μV/mW without a PDC. This remarkable improvement arises from the simultaneous enhancement of the microwave electric field (~13-fold) and the magnetic field (~195-fold), which cooperate in the spin precession process generates photovoltage (PV) efficiently under ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) conditions. The interplay of the microwave electromagnetic resonance and the ferromagnetic resonance originates from a hybridized mode based on the plasmonic resonance of the diabolo structure and Fabry-Perot-like modes in the PDC. Our work sheds light on how more efficient spin dynamo devices for practical applications could be realized and paves the way for future studies utilizing both artificial and natural magnetism for applications in many disciplines, such as for the design of future efficient wireless energy conversion devices, high frequent resonant spintronic devices, and magnonic metamaterials.

Humanisation and soft qualities in emergency rooms.

PubMed

Buffoli, Maddalena; Bellini, Eva; Dell'Ovo, Marta; Gola, Marco; Nachiero, Dario; Rebecchi, Andrea; Capolongo, Stefano

2016-01-01

Scenario. Currently, there are few evaluation methods that analyse social aspects in healthcare issues, especially humanisation and well-being, as perceived by users in emergency departments which are places in which patients' psycho-physical well-being is decisive. For this reason, research was conducted to create a tool to improve the quality of these areas. In order to conduct the research, the work was structured in three phases: the first, based on the analysis of State-of-the-Art and the current studies on the interactions established between the physical and emotional conditions of the structure and the users; the second, through the definition of a questionnaire which explores humanisation and comfort aspects; the third, through the application of the instrument. The paper presents and analyses data collected from the application on a case study in Milan, analysing the responses and proposing design suggestions for increasing the quality of emergency environments. In anticipation of future works, the application of such a tool can provide the opportunity to improve and enhance quality and staff efficiency in emergency department spaces.

Compiling knowledge-based systems from KEE to Ada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Filman, Robert E.; Bock, Conrad; Feldman, Roy

1990-01-01

The dominant technology for developing AI applications is to work in a multi-mechanism, integrated, knowledge-based system (KBS) development environment. Unfortunately, systems developed in such environments are inappropriate for delivering many applications - most importantly, they carry the baggage of the entire Lisp environment and are not written in conventional languages. One resolution of this problem would be to compile applications from complex environments to conventional languages. Here the first efforts to develop a system for compiling KBS developed in KEE to Ada (trademark). This system is called KATYDID, for KEE/Ada Translation Yields Development Into Delivery. KATYDID includes early prototypes of a run-time KEE core (object-structure) library module for Ada, and translation mechanisms for knowledge structures, rules, and Lisp code to Ada. Using these tools, part of a simple expert system was compiled (not quite automatically) to run in a purely Ada environment. This experience has given us various insights on Ada as an artificial intelligence programming language, potential solutions of some of the engineering difficulties encountered in early work, and inspiration on future system development.

A precipitation-hardened high-entropy alloy with outstanding tensile properties

DOE PAGES

He, J. Y.; Wang, H.; Huang, H. L.; ...

2015-09-29

Recent studies indicated that high-entropy alloys (HEAs) possess unusual structural and thermal features, which could greatly affect dislocation motion and contribute to the mechanical performance, however, a HEA matrix alone is insufficiently strong for engineering applications and other strengthening mechanisms are urgently needed to be incorporated. In this work, we demonstrate the possibility to precipitate nanosized coherent reinforcing phase, i.e., L1 2-Ni 3(Ti,Al), in a fcc-FeCoNiCr HEA matrix using minor additions of Ti and Al. Through thermomechanical processing and microstructure controlling, extraordinary balanced tensile properties at room temperature were achieved, which is due to a well combination of various hardeningmore » mechanisms, particularly precipitation hardening. The applicability and validity of the conventional strengthening theories are also discussed. In conclusion, the current work is a successful demonstration of using integrated strengthening approaches to manipulate the properties of fcc-HEA systems, and the resulting findings are important not only for understanding the strengthening mechanisms of metallic materials in general, but also for the future development of high-performance HEAs for industrial applications.« less

Transforming exoelectrogens for biotechnology using synthetic biology.

PubMed

TerAvest, Michaela A; Ajo-Franklin, Caroline M

2016-04-01

Extracellular electron transfer pathways allow certain bacteria to transfer energy between intracellular chemical energy stores and extracellular solids through redox reactions. Microorganisms containing these pathways, exoelectrogens, are a critical part of microbial electrochemical technologies that aim to impact applications in bioenergy, biosensing, and biocomputing. However, there are not yet any examples of economically viable microbial electrochemical technologies due to the limitations of naturally occurring exoelectrogens. Here we first briefly summarize recent discoveries in understanding extracellular electron transfer pathways, then review in-depth the creation of customized and novel exoelectrogens for biotechnological applications. We analyze engineering efforts to increase current production in native exoelectrogens, which reveals that modulating certain processes within extracellular electron transfer are more effective than others. We also review efforts to create new exoelectrogens and highlight common challenges in this work. Lastly, we summarize work utilizing engineered exoelectrogens for biotechnological applications and the key obstacles to their future development. Fueled by the development of genetic tools, these approaches will continue to expand and genetically modified organisms will continue to improve the outlook for microbial electrochemical technologies. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

NIR photocleavage of the Si-C bond in axial Si-phthalocyanines.

PubMed

Doane, Tennyson; Cheng, Yu; Sodhi, Nipun; Burda, Clemens

2014-11-13

The use of light-triggered photolysis provides a powerful tool for unique syntheses and for applications that require remote operation such as drug delivery or molecular switches. Here, we describe the photochemistry of a recently developed alkylsilicon phthalocyanine Pc 227, which undergoes an exchange of the alkyl ligand for a ligand derived from the solvent when the axial Si-C bond is photolyzed in a solvent with low-energy visible light. In this work with methanol as the solvent, we investigate the formation of the methoxy analogue of the therapeutic drug Pc 4, (termed Pc 233) upon irradiation. Using steady-state spectroscopy and characterization of the photoproducts, the competing pathways between direct ligand exchange on the central silicon atom and delocalization of the radical produced by homolysis on the phthalocyanine ring is observed. The delocalized radical intermediate is quite long-lived. At long times this intermediate decomposes without significant formation of Pc 233. The results of this investigation provide insights into recent work utilizing Pc 227 for drug delivery applications and for future work on the use of phthalocyanines as long-wavelength phototriggers.

Dentists' self assessment of burnout: an internet feedback tool.

PubMed

te Brake, Hans; Eijkman, Michiel; Hoogstraten, Johan; Gorter, Ronald

2005-06-01

The Stress Thermometer is an easily accessible Internet-based instrument for feedback on work stress and burnout. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of this instrument and to determine its applicability within the dental practice. The Stress Thermometer was made accessible to all members of the Dutch Dental Association, of which 77% of all Dutch dentists are members. Frequency of use was determined, and descriptive data was collected. During an evaluation period of 5 months at least 12% of all possible respondents made use of the Stress Thermometer. Descriptive characteristics of the response group, as well as levels of burnout and work stress, corresponded with those found in the Dutch dentist population. However, some deviations were also present. Results indicate the applicability of the Stress Thermometer to a representative variety of dentists. Although the deviations found should not be ignored in future use, the Stress Thermometer was successful in reaching a population that is difficult to reach. It effectively calls attention to sensitive personal issues concerning work-related stress and burnout.

Ngi and Internet2: accelerating the creation of tomorrow's internet.

PubMed

Kratz, M; Ackerman, M; Hanss, T; Corbato, S

2001-01-01

Internet2 is a consortium of leading U.S. universities working in partnership with industry and the U.S. government's Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative to develop a faster, more reliable Internet for research and education including enhanced, high-performance networking services and the advanced applications that are enabled by those services [1]. By facilitating and coordinating the development, deployment, operation, and technology transfer of advanced, network-based applications and network services, Internet2 and NGI are working together to fundamentally change the way scientists, engineers, clinicians, and others work together. [http://www.internet2.edu] The NGI Program has three tracks: research, network testbeds, and applications. The aim of the research track is to promote experimentation with the next generation of network technologies. The network testbed track aims to develop next generation network testbeds to connect universities and federal research institutions at speeds that are sufficient to demonstrate new technologies and support future research. The aim of the applications track is to demonstrate new applications, enabled by the NGI networks, to meet important national goals and missions [2]. [http://www.ngi.gov/] The Internet2/NGI backbone networks, Abilene and vBNS (very high performance Backbone Network Service), provide the basis of collaboration and development for a new breed of advanced medical applications. Academic medical centers leverage the resources available throughout the Internet2 high-performance networking community for high-capacity broadband and selectable quality of service to make effective use of national repositories. The Internet2 Health Sciences Initiative enables a new generation of emerging medical applications whose architecture and development have been restricted by or are beyond the constraints of traditional Internet environments. These initiatives facilitate a variety of activities to foster the development and deployment of emerging applications that meet the requirements of clinical practice, medical and related biological research, education, and medical awareness throughout the public sector. Medical applications that work with high performance networks and supercomputing capabilities offer exciting new solutions for the medical industry. Internet2 and NGI,strive to combine the expertise of their constituents to establish a distributed knowledge system for achieving innovation in research, teaching, learning, and clinical care.

Characteristics of Early Work Experiences and Their Association with Future Employment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonnall, Michele Capella; O'Mally, Jamie

2012-01-01

Introduction: Early work experiences are a key predictor of future employment for transition-age youths with visual impairments. We investigated how specific characteristics of early work experiences influence future employment and whether the receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is associated with early work experiences among…

Drive to miniaturization: integrated optical networks on mobile platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salour, Michael M.; Batayneh, Marwan; Figueroa, Luis

2011-11-01

With rapid growth of the Internet, bandwidth demand for data traffic is continuing to explode. In addition, emerging and future applications are becoming more and more network centric. With the proliferation of data communication platforms and data-intensive applications (e.g. cloud computing), high-bandwidth materials such as video clips dominating the Internet, and social networking tools, a networking technology is very desirable which can scale the Internet's capability (particularly its bandwidth) by two to three orders of magnitude. As the limits of Moore's law are approached, optical mesh networks based on wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) have the ability to satisfy the large- and scalable-bandwidth requirements of our future backbone telecommunication networks. In addition, this trend is also affecting other special-purpose systems in applications such as mobile platforms, automobiles, aircraft, ships, tanks, and micro unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) which are becoming independent systems roaming the sky while sensing data, processing, making decisions, and even communicating and networking with other heterogeneous systems. Recently, WDM optical technologies have seen advances in its transmission speeds, switching technologies, routing protocols, and control systems. Such advances have made WDM optical technology an appealing choice for the design of future Internet architectures. Along these lines, scientists across the entire spectrum of the network architectures from physical layer to applications have been working on developing devices and communication protocols which can take full advantage of the rapid advances in WDM technology. Nevertheless, the focus has always been on large-scale telecommunication networks that span hundreds and even thousands of miles. Given these advances, we investigate the vision and applicability of integrating the traditionally large-scale WDM optical networks into miniaturized mobile platforms such as UAVs. We explain the benefits of WDM optical technology for these applications. We also describe some of the limitations of WDM optical networks as the size of a vehicle gets smaller, such as in micro-UAVs, and study the miniaturization and communication system limitations in such environments.

Analysis of Big Data from Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, J.; Osborne, B.

2017-09-01

Massive data have been collected through various space mission. To maximize the investment, the data need to be exploited to the fullest. In this paper, we address key topics on big data from space about the status and future development using the system engineering method. First, we summarized space data including operation data and mission data, on their sources, access way, characteristics of 5Vs and application models based on the concept of big data, as well as the challenges they faced in application. Second, we gave proposals on platform design and architecture to meet the demand and challenges on space data application. It has taken into account of features of space data and their application models. It emphasizes high scalability and flexibility in the aspects of storage, computing and data mining. Thirdly, we suggested typical and promising practices for space data application, that showed valuable methodologies for improving intelligence on space application, engineering, and science. Our work will give an interdisciplinary knowledge to space engineers and information engineers.

Superhydrophobic Materials for Biomedical Applications

PubMed Central

Colson, Yolonda L.; Grinstaff, Mark W.

2016-01-01

Superhydrophobic surfaces are actively studied across a wide range of applications and industries, and are now finding increased use in the biomedical arena as substrates to control protein adsorption, cellular interaction, and bacterial growth, as well as platforms for drug delivery devices and for diagnostic tools. The commonality in the design of these materials is to create a stable or metastable air state at the material surface, which lends itself to a number of unique properties. These activities are catalyzing the development of new materials, applications, and fabrication techniques, as well as collaborations across material science, chemistry, engineering, and medicine given the interdisciplinary nature of this work. The review begins with a discussion of superhydrophobicity, and then explores biomedical applications that are utilizing superhydrophobicity in depth including material selection characteristics, in vitro performance, and in vivo performance. General trends are offered for each application in addition to discussion of conflicting data in the literature, and the review concludes with the authors’ future perspectives on the utility of superhydrophobic surfaces for biomedical applications. PMID:27449946

Automated Generation of Message-Passing Programs: An Evaluation Using CAPTools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hribar, Michelle R.; Jin, Haoqiang; Yan, Jerry C.; Saini, Subhash (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

Scientists at NASA Ames Research Center have been developing computational aeroscience applications on highly parallel architectures over the past ten years. During that same time period, a steady transition of hardware and system software also occurred, forcing us to expend great efforts into migrating and re-coding our applications. As applications and machine architectures become increasingly complex, the cost and time required for this process will become prohibitive. In this paper, we present the first set of results in our evaluation of interactive parallelization tools. In particular, we evaluate CAPTool's ability to parallelize computational aeroscience applications. CAPTools was tested on serial versions of the NAS Parallel Benchmarks and ARC3D, a computational fluid dynamics application, on two platforms: the SGI Origin 2000 and the Cray T3E. This evaluation includes performance, amount of user interaction required, limitations and portability. Based on these results, a discussion on the feasibility of computer aided parallelization of aerospace applications is presented along with suggestions for future work.

Governing the quality and safety of healthcare: A conceptual framework.

PubMed

Brown, Alison; Dickinson, Helen; Kelaher, Margaret

2018-04-01

Recent research has advanced understanding of corporate governance of healthcare quality, highlighting the need for future empirical work to develop beyond a focus on board composition to a more detailed exploration of the internal workings of governance that influence board engagement and activities. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to guide empirical research examining the work of board and senior management in governing healthcare quality. To generate this framework, existing conceptual approaches and key constructs influencing effectiveness are identified in the governance literature. Commonalities between governance and team effectiveness literature are mapped and suggest a number of key constructs in the team effectiveness literature are applicable to, but not yet fully explored, within the governance literature. From these we develop a healthcare governance conceptual framework encompassing both literatures, that outlines input and mediating factors influencing governance. The mapping process highlights gaps in research related to board dynamics and external influences that require further investigation. Organizing the multiple complex factors that influence governance of healthcare quality in a conceptual framework brings a new perspective to structuring theory-led research and informing future policy initiatives. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interim report of the Advisory Committee on human radiation experiments

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

Not Available

The Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments was created by President Clinton to advise the Human Radiation Interagency Working Group on the ethical and scientific criteria applicable to human radiation experiments carried out or sponsored by the U.S. Government. The Committee seeks to answer several fundamental question: What ethics criteria should be used to evaluate human radiation experiments? What was the Federal Government`s role in human radiation experiments? What are the criteria for determining appropriate Federal responses where wrongs or harms have occurred? What lessons learned from studying past and present research standards and practices should be applied to themore » future? The Committee has been gathering vast amounts of information and working to render it orderly and accessible. In the next six months, the Committee will continue with the tasks of data gathering and organizing. The focus of the work, however, will be developing criteria for judging historical and contemporary experiments, policies, and procedures, as well as criteria for remedies that may be appropriate where harms or wrongs have ocurred. Based on findings, the Committee will make specific recommendations regarding policies for the future.« less

Utilizing the EUVE Innovative Technology Testbed to Reduce Operations Cost for Present and Future Orbiting Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

This report summarizes work done under Cooperative Agreement (CA) on the following testbed projects: TERRIERS - The development of the ground systems to support the TERRIERS satellite mission at Boston University (BU). HSTS - The application of ARC's Heuristic Scheduling Testbed System (HSTS) to the EUVE satellite mission. SELMON - The application of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Selective Monitoring (SELMON) system to the EUVE satellite mission. EVE - The development of the EUVE Virtual Environment (EVE), a prototype three-dimensional (3-D) visualization environment for the EUVE satellite and its sensors, instruments, and communications antennae. FIDO - The development of the Fault-Induced Document Officer (FIDO) system, a prototype application to respond to anomalous conditions by automatically searching for, retrieving, and displaying relevant documentation for an operators use.

Application of Satellite Based Augmentation Systems to Altitude Separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magny, Jean Pierre

This paper presents the application of GNSS1, or more precisely of Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS), to vertical separation for en-route, approach and landing operations. Potential improvements in terms of operational benefit and of safety are described for two main applications. First, vertical separation between en-route aircraft, which requires a system available across wide areas. SBAS (EGNOS, WAAS, and MSAS) are very well suited for this purpose before GNSS2 becomes available. And secondly, vertical separation from the ground during approach and landing, for which preliminary design principles of instrument approach procedures and safety issues are presented. Approach and landing phases are the subject of discussions within ICAO GNSS-P. En-route phases have been listed as GNSS-P future work and by RTCA for development of new equipments.

The uses of the smartphone for doctors: an empirical study from samsung medical center.

PubMed

Choi, Jong Soo; Yi, Byoungkee; Park, Jong Hwan; Choi, Kyesook; Jung, Jaegon; Park, Seung Woo; Rhee, Poong-Lyul

2011-06-01

In healthcare, mobile computing made possible by smartphones is becoming an important tool among healthcare professionals. However, currently there is very little research into the effectiveness of such applications of technology. This study aims to present a framework for a smartphone application to give doctors mobile access to patient information, then review the consequences of its use and discuss its future direction. Since 2003 when Samsung Medical Center introduced its first mobile application, a need to develop a new application targeting the latest smartphone technology was identified. To that end, an application named Dr. SMART S was officially launched on December 22nd, 2010. We analyzed the usage data of the application for a month until April 25th, 2011. On average, 170 doctors (13% of the entire body of doctors) logged on 2.4 times per day and that number keeps growing. The number was uniformly distributed across all working hours, with exceptions of heavy accesses around 6-8 AM and 4-6 PM when doctors do their regular rounds to see the patients. The most commonly accessed content was inpatient information, this constituted 78.6% of all accesses, within this 50% was to accesses lab results. Looking at the usage data, we can see the use of Dr. SMART S by doctors is growing in sync with the popularity of smartphones. Since u-Health seem an inevitable future trend, a more rigorous study needs to be conducted on how such mobile applications as Dr. SMART S affect the quality of care and patient safety to derive directions for further improvements.

Building Quantitative Hydrologic Storylines from Process-based Models for Managing Water Resources in the U.S. Under Climate-changed Futures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, J.; Gutmann, E. D.; Clark, M. P.; Nijssen, B.; Vano, J. A.; Addor, N.; Wood, A.; Newman, A. J.; Mizukami, N.; Brekke, L. D.; Rasmussen, R.; Mendoza, P. A.

2016-12-01

Climate change narratives for water-resource applications must represent the change signals contextualized by hydroclimatic process variability and uncertainty at multiple scales. Building narratives of plausible change includes assessing uncertainties across GCM structure, internal climate variability, climate downscaling methods, and hydrologic models. Work with this linked modeling chain has dealt mostly with GCM sampling directed separately to either model fidelity (does the model correctly reproduce the physical processes in the world?) or sensitivity (of different model responses to CO2 forcings) or diversity (of model type, structure, and complexity). This leaves unaddressed any interactions among those measures and with other components in the modeling chain used to identify water-resource vulnerabilities to specific climate threats. However, time-sensitive, real-world vulnerability studies typically cannot accommodate a full uncertainty ensemble across the whole modeling chain, so a gap has opened between current scientific knowledge and most routine applications for climate-changed hydrology. To close that gap, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research are working on techniques to subsample uncertainties objectively across modeling chain components and to integrate results into quantitative hydrologic storylines of climate-changed futures. Importantly, these quantitative storylines are not drawn from a small sample of models or components. Rather, they stem from the more comprehensive characterization of the full uncertainty space for each component. Equally important from the perspective of water-resource practitioners, these quantitative hydrologic storylines are anchored in actual design and operations decisions potentially affected by climate change. This talk will describe part of our work characterizing variability and uncertainty across modeling chain components and their interactions using newly developed observational data, models and model outputs, and post-processing tools for making the resulting quantitative storylines most useful in practical hydrology applications.

Internet Technology for Future Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hennessy, Joseph F. (Technical Monitor); Rash, James; Casasanta, Ralph; Hogie, Keith

2002-01-01

Ongoing work at National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), seeks to apply standard Internet applications and protocols to meet the technology challenge of future satellite missions. Internet protocols and technologies are under study as a future means to provide seamless dynamic communication among heterogeneous instruments, spacecraft, ground stations, constellations of spacecraft, and science investigators. The primary objective is to design and demonstrate in the laboratory the automated end-to-end transport of files in a simulated dynamic space environment using off-the-shelf, low-cost, commodity-level standard applications and protocols. The demonstrated functions and capabilities will become increasingly significant in the years to come as both earth and space science missions fly more sensors and the present labor-intensive, mission-specific techniques for processing and routing data become prohibitively. This paper describes how an IP-based communication architecture can support all existing operations concepts and how it will enable some new and complex communication and science concepts. The authors identify specific end-to-end data flows from the instruments to the control centers and scientists, and then describe how each data flow can be supported using standard Internet protocols and applications. The scenarios include normal data downlink and command uplink as well as recovery scenarios for both onboard and ground failures. The scenarios are based on an Earth orbiting spacecraft with downlink data rates from 300 Kbps to 4 Mbps. Included examples are based on designs currently being investigated for potential use by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission.

Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials and Molecular Dielectrics for Radiation-Hard Electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMorrow, Julian

The electronic materials research driving Moore's law has provided several decades of increasingly powerful yet simultaneously miniaturized computer technologies. As we approach the physical and practical limits of what can be accomplished with silicon electronics, we look to new materials to drive innovation in future electronic applications. New materials paradigms require the development of understanding from first principles to the demonstration of applications that comes with mature technologies. Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), single- and few-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and self-assembled nanodielectric (SAND) gate materials have all made significant impacts in the research field of unconventional electronic materials. The materials selection, interfaces between materials, processing steps to assemble them, and their interaction with their environment all have significant bearing on the operation of the overall device. Operating in harsh radiation environments, like those of satellites orbiting the Earth, present unique challenges to the functionality and reliability of electronic devices. Because the future of space-bound electronics is often informed by the technology of terrestrial devices, a proactive approach is adopted to identify and understand the radiation response of new materials systems as they emerge and develop. The work discussed here drives the innovation and development of multiple nanomaterial based electronic technologies while simultaneously exploring their relevant radiation response mechanisms. First, collaborative efforts result in the demonstration of a SWCNT-based circuit technology that is solution processed, large-area, and compatible with flexible substrates. The statistical characterization of SWCNT transistors enables the development of robust doping and encapsulation schemes, which make the SWCNT circuits stable, scalable, and low-power. These SWCNTs are then integrated into static random access memory (SRAM) cells, an accomplishment that illustrates the technological relevance of this work by implementing a highly utilized component of modern day computing. Next, these SRAM devices demonstrate functionality as true random number generators (TRNGs), which are critical components in cryptography and encryption. The randomness of these SWCNT TRNGs is verified by a suite of statistical tests. This achievement has implications for securing data and communication in future solution-processed, large-area, flexible electronics. The unprecedented integration achieved by the underlying SWCNT doping and encapsulation motivates the study of this technology in a radiation environment. Doing so results in an understanding of the fundamental charge trapping mechanisms responsible for the radiation response in this system. The integrated nature of these devices enables, for the first time, the observation of system-level effects in a SWCNT integrated circuit technology. This technology is found to be total ionizing dose-hard, a promising result for the adoption of SWCNTs in future space-bound applications. Compared to SWCNTs, the field of MoS2 electronics is relatively nascent. As a result, studies of radiation effects in MoS2 devices focus on the fundamental mechanisms at play in the materials system. Here, we reveal the critical role of atmospheric adsorbates in the radiation effects of MoS2 transistors by measuring their response to vacuum ultraviolet radiation. These results highlight the importance of controlling the atmosphere of MoS2 devices during irradiation. Furthermore, we make recommendations for radiation-hard MoS2-based devices in the future as the technology continues to mature. One such recommendation is the incorporation of specialized dielectrics with proven radiation hardness. To this end, we address the materials integration challenge of incorporating SAND gate dielectrics on arbitrary substrates. We explore a novel approach for preparing metal substrates for SAND deposition, supporting the SAND superlattice structure and its superlative electronic properties on a metal surface. This result is critical for conducting fundamental transport studies when integrating SAND with novel semiconductor materials, as well as enabling complex circuit integration and SAND on flexible substrates. Altogether, these works drive the integration of novel nanoelectronic materials for future electronics while providing an understanding of their varying radiation response mechanisms to enable their adoption in future space-bound applications.

Large space antennas: A systems analysis case history

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keafer, Lloyd S. (Compiler); Lovelace, U. M. (Compiler)

1987-01-01

The value of systems analysis and engineering is aptly demonstrated by the work on Large Space Antennas (LSA) by the NASA Langley Spacecraft Analysis Branch. This work was accomplished over the last half-decade by augmenting traditional system engineering, analysis, and design techniques with computer-aided engineering (CAE) techniques using the Langley-developed Interactive Design and Evaluation of Advanced Spacecraft (IDEAS) system. This report chronicles the research highlights and special systems analyses that focused the LSA work on deployable truss antennas. It notes developmental trends toward greater use of CAE techniques in their design and analysis. A look to the future envisions the application of improved systems analysis capabilities to advanced space systems such as an advanced space station or to lunar and Martian missions and human habitats.

Investigating Non-Invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring Devices Using Severe Dengue as a Surrogate for Trauma-Induced Shock

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

dengue hemorrhagic fever. In future work we will continue to evaluate the use of pulse wave forms to predict shock and will assess other...Index Three laboratory Phase I clinical trials have been completed to support a 510(k) application for FDA approval of the first prototype Pulse ... Oximeter with the CRI algorithm and capability for real-time continuous collection of photoplethymographic (PPG) analog signals. An FDA-cleared

Qubit-Based Memcapacitors and Meminductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shevchenko, Sergey N.; Pershin, Yuriy V.; Nori, Franco

2016-07-01

It is shown that superconducting charge and flux quantum bits (qubits) can be classified as memory capacitive and inductive systems, respectively. We demonstrate that such memcapacitive and meminductive devices offer remarkable and rich response functionalities. In particular, when subjected to periodic input, qubit-based memcapacitors and meminductors exhibit unusual hysteresis curves. Our work not only extends the set of known memcapacitive and meminductive systems to qubit-based devices, but also highlights their unique properties potentially useful for future technological applications.

Validation of Afterbody Aeroheating Predictions for Planetary Probes: Status and Future Work

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Michael J.; Brown, James L.; Sinha, Krishnendu; Candler, Graham V.; Milos, Frank S.; Prabhu, DInesh K.

2005-01-01

A review of the relevant flight conditions and physical models for planetary probe afterbody aeroheating calculations is given. Readily available sources of afterbody flight data and published attempts to computationally simulate those flights are summarized. A current status of the application of turbulence models to afterbody flows is presented. Finally, recommendations for additional analysis and testing that would reduce our uncertainties in our ability to accurately predict base heating levels are given.

Model-Based Systems Engineering With the Architecture Analysis and Design Language (AADL) Applied to NASA Mission Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munoz Fernandez, Michela Miche

2014-01-01

The potential of Model Model Systems Engineering (MBSE) using the Architecture Analysis and Design Language (AADL) applied to space systems will be described. AADL modeling is applicable to real-time embedded systems- the types of systems NASA builds. A case study with the Juno mission to Jupiter showcases how this work would enable future missions to benefit from using these models throughout their life cycle from design to flight operations.

Diode Laser Measurements of Concentration and Temperature in Microgravity Combustion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silver, Joel A.; Kane, Daniel J.

1999-01-01

Diode laser absorption spectroscopy provides a direct method of determinating species concentration and local gas temperature in combustion flames. Under microgravity conditions, diode lasers are particularly suitable, given their compact size, low mass and low power requirements. The development of diode laser-based sensors for gas detection in microgravity is presented, detailing measurements of molecular oxygen. Current progress of this work and future application possibilities for these methods on the International Space Station are discussed.

Analysis and Evaluation of the Dynamic Performance of SMA Actuators for Prosthetic Hand Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Toole, Kevin T.; McGrath, Mark M.; Coyle, Eugene

2009-08-01

It is widely acknowledged within the biomedical engineering community that shape memory alloys (SMAs) exhibit great potential for application in the actuation of upper limb prosthesis designs. These lightweight actuators are particularly suitable for prosthetic hand solutions. A four-fingered, 12 degree-of-freedom prosthetic hand has been developed featuring SMA bundle actuators embedded within the palmar structure. Joule heating of the SMA bundle actuators generates sufficient torque at the fingers to allow a wide range of everyday tasks to be carried out. Transient characterization of SMA bundles has shown that performance/response during heating and cooling differs substantially. Natural convection is insufficient to provide for adequate cooling during elongation of the actuators. An experimental test-bed has been developed to facilitate analysis of the heat transfer characteristics of the appropriately sized SMA bundle actuators for use within the prosthetic hand design. Various modes of heat sinking are evaluated so that the most effective wire-cooling solution can be ascertained. SMA bundles of varying size will be used so that a generalized model of the SMA displacement performance under natural and forced cooling conditions can be obtained. The optimum cooling solution will be implemented onto the mechanical hand framework in future work. These results, coupled with phenomenological models of SMA behavior, will be used in the development of an effective control strategy for this application in future work.

Electrospinning as a powerful technique for biomedical applications: a critically selected survey.

PubMed

Villarreal-Gómez, Luis Jesús; Cornejo-Bravo, José Manuel; Vera-Graziano, Ricardo; Grande, Daniel

2016-01-01

Nowadays, electrospinning has become one of the most versatile, easy, and cost-effective techniques to engineer advanced materials used for many applications, especially in the biomedical and environmental areas. Like the numerous patents around the world, the increasing number of papers witnesses the huge potential of this simple process, and many companies have been emerged during the last years to exploit its innumerable applications. This article presents a critically selected overview of polymers that can be used to produce nanofibers, along with the biomedical applications of the resulting electrospun scaffolds. We have focused on about seven natural and synthetic polymers, but many more can be found in the literature, either as their pristine state or as composites with ceramics, metals, and other polymers. The description of some strategies for nanofiber production, and the characterization used to evaluate their optimization, has been discussed. Finally, several polymers have been recognized as highlights for future work.

Applied Computational Fluid Dynamics at NASA Ames Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holst, Terry L.; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

The field of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has advanced to the point where it can now be used for many applications in fluid mechanics research and aerospace vehicle design. A few applications being explored at NASA Ames Research Center will be presented and discussed. The examples presented will range in speed from hypersonic to low speed incompressible flow applications. Most of the results will be from numerical solutions of the Navier-Stokes or Euler equations in three space dimensions for general geometry applications. Computational results will be used to highlight the presentation as appropriate. Advances in computational facilities including those associated with NASA's CAS (Computational Aerosciences) Project of the Federal HPCC (High Performance Computing and Communications) Program will be discussed. Finally, opportunities for future research will be presented and discussed. All material will be taken from non-sensitive, previously-published and widely-disseminated work.

Emerging technology: applications of Raman spectroscopy for prostate cancer.

PubMed

Kast, Rachel E; Tucker, Stephanie C; Killian, Kevin; Trexler, Micaela; Honn, Kenneth V; Auner, Gregory W

2014-09-01

There is a need in prostate cancer diagnostics and research for a label-free imaging methodology that is nondestructive, rapid, objective, and uninfluenced by water. Raman spectroscopy provides a molecular signature, which can be scaled from micron-level regions of interest in cells to macroscopic areas of tissue. It can be used for applications ranging from in vivo or in vitro diagnostics to basic science laboratory testing. This work describes the fundamentals of Raman spectroscopy and complementary techniques including surface enhanced Raman scattering, resonance Raman spectroscopy, coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, confocal Raman spectroscopy, stimulated Raman scattering, and spatially offset Raman spectroscopy. Clinical applications of Raman spectroscopy to prostate cancer will be discussed, including screening, biopsy, margin assessment, and monitoring of treatment efficacy. Laboratory applications including cell identification, culture monitoring, therapeutics development, and live imaging of cellular processes are discussed. Potential future avenues of research are described, with emphasis on multiplexing Raman spectroscopy with other modalities.

Fiberoptics technology and its application to propulsion control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baumbick, R. J.

1983-01-01

Electro-optical systems have many advantages over conventional electrical systems. Among these are optics' insensitivity to electro-magnetic interference, good electrical isolation and the ability to make measurements in highly explosive areas without risk. These advantages promise to help improve the reliability of future aircraft engine control systems which will be entirely electronic digital. To improve the reliability of these systems, especially against lightning strikes, passive, optical, sensors and fiberoptic transmission lines are being considered for use in future engine systems. Also under consideration are actuators which receive their command signals over fiber optic cables. This paper reviews concepts used for optical instrumentation and actuation systems and discusses work being done by NASA Lewis Research Center in this area.

Silicon-Germanium Fast Packet Switch Developed for Communications Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quintana, Jorge A.

1999-01-01

Emerging multimedia applications and future satellite systems will require high-speed switching networks to accommodate high data-rate traffic among thousands of potential users. This will require advanced switching devices to enable communication between satellites. The NASA Lewis Research Center has been working closely with industry to develop a state-of-the-art fast packet switch (FPS) to fulfill this requirement. Recently, the Satellite Industry Task Force identified the need for high-capacity onboard processing switching components as one of the "grand challenges" for the satellite industry in the 21st century. In response to this challenge, future generations of onboard processing satellites will require low power and low mass components to enable transmission of services in the 100 gigabit (1011 bits) per second (Gbps) range.

Applications of Human Factors in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajulu, Sudhakar; Margerum, Sarah

2008-01-01

The main question for human factors practitioners is to determine if the user population can be accommodated within a design. Given the wide range of variables feeding into a design, just one of which is human factors, oftentimes designers will have restrictions that may potentially impact the level of accommodation. This paper focuses on two case studies where there have been impacts at the design level that may be detrimental to the ability of the design to meet certain criteria. The studies use novel approaches to determine what, if any, changes in population accommodation levels have occurred and what factors are important when manipulating the design in the future. The results of these studies provide a backbone for future analyses when working with design considerations.

Safety Issues with Hydrogen as a Vehicle Fuel

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

Cadwallader, Lee Charles; Herring, James Stephen

1999-10-01

This report is an initial effort to identify and evaluate safety issues associated with the use of hydrogen as a vehicle fuel in automobiles. Several forms of hydrogen have been considered: gas, liquid, slush, and hydrides. The safety issues have been discussed, beginning with properties of hydrogen and the phenomenology of hydrogen combustion. Safety-related operating experiences with hydrogen vehicles have been summarized to identify concerns that must be addressed in future design activities and to support probabilistic risk assessment. Also, applicable codes, standards, and regulations pertaining to hydrogen usage and refueling have been identified and are briefly discussed. This reportmore » serves as a safety foundation for any future hydrogen safety work, such as a safety analysis or a probabilistic risk assessment.« less

Safety Issues with Hydrogen as a Vehicle Fuel

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

L. C. Cadwallader; J. S. Herring

1999-09-01

This report is an initial effort to identify and evaluate safety issues associated with the use of hydrogen as a vehicle fuel in automobiles. Several forms of hydrogen have been considered: gas, liquid, slush, and hydrides. The safety issues have been discussed, beginning with properties of hydrogen and the phenomenology of hydrogen combustion. Safety-related operating experiences with hydrogen vehicles have been summarized to identify concerns that must be addressed in future design activities and to support probabilistic risk assessment. Also, applicable codes, standards, and regulations pertaining to hydrogen usage and refueling have been identified and are briefly discussed. This reportmore » serves as a safety foundation for any future hydrogen safety work, such as a safety analysis or a probabilistic risk assessment.« less

Numerical Methods for Forward and Inverse Problems in Discontinuous Media

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

Chartier, Timothy P.

The research emphasis under this grant's funding is in the area of algebraic multigrid methods. The research has two main branches: 1) exploring interdisciplinary applications in which algebraic multigrid can make an impact and 2) extending the scope of algebraic multigrid methods with algorithmic improvements that are based in strong analysis.The work in interdisciplinary applications falls primarily in the field of biomedical imaging. Work under this grant demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of multigrid for solving linear systems that result from highly heterogeneous finite element method models of the human head. The results in this work also give promise tomore » medical advances possible with software that may be developed. Research to extend the scope of algebraic multigrid has been focused in several areas. In collaboration with researchers at the University of Colorado, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the PI developed an adaptive multigrid with subcycling via complementary grids. This method has very cheap computing costs per iterate and is showing promise as a preconditioner for conjugate gradient. Recent work with Los Alamos National Laboratory concentrates on developing algorithms that take advantage of the recent advances in adaptive multigrid research. The results of the various efforts in this research could ultimately have direct use and impact to researchers for a wide variety of applications, including, astrophysics, neuroscience, contaminant transport in porous media, bi-domain heart modeling, modeling of tumor growth, and flow in heterogeneous porous media. This work has already led to basic advances in computational mathematics and numerical linear algebra and will continue to do so into the future.« less

An Overview of the CNES Propulsion Program for Spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadiou, A.; Darnon, F.; Gibek, I.; Jolivet, L.; Pillet, N.

2004-10-01

This paper presents an overview of the CNES spacecraft propulsion activities. The main existing and future projects corresponding to low earth orbit and geostationary platforms are described. These projects cover various types of propulsion subsystems: monopropellant, bipropellant and electric. Monopropellant is mainly used for low earth orbit applications such as earth observation (SPOT/Helios, PLEIADES) or scientific applications (minisatellite PROTEUS line and micro satellites MYRIADE line). Bipropellant is used for geostationary telecommunications satellites (@BUS). The field of application of electric propulsion is the station keeping of geostationary telecommunication satellites (@BUS), main propulsion for specific probes (SMART 1) and fine attitude control for dedicated micro satellites (MICROSCOPE). The preparation of the future and the associated Research and Technology program are also described in the paper. The future developments are mainly dedicated to the performance improvements of electric propulsion which leads to the development of thrusters with higher thrust and higher specific impulse than those existing today, the evaluation of the different low thrust technologies for formation flying applications, the development of new systems to pressurize the propellants (volatile liquid, micro pump), the research on green propellants and different actions concerning components such as over wrapped pressure vessels, valves, micro propulsion. A constant effort is also put on plume effect in chemical and electrical propulsion area (improvement of tools and test activities) in the continuity of the previous work. These different R &T activities are described in detail after a presentation of the different projects and of their propulsion subsystems. The scientific activity supporting the development of Hall thrusters is going on in the frame of the GDR (Groupement de Recherche) CNRS / Universities / CNES / SNECMA on Plasma Propulsion.

[Evaluation of residual osteomuscular function using computerised movement analysis for building sector workers: specificity and technical problem].

PubMed

D'Orso, M I; Centemeri, R; Latocca, R; Riva, M; Cesana, G

2012-01-01

Occupational Health Doctors active in building sector firms frequently have to evaluate residual workers' osteomuscular function in patients coming back to work after an accident happened during work time or free time. Definition of their specific individual work suitability is usually carried out utilizing semeiotic tests in which subjective evaluation of every single Medical Doctor is real important in definition of final results and this fact can cause legal controversies. In our research we describe the application of computerised movement analysis on 10 workers of building sector. In every patient examined this technical method has been able to study objectively the tridimensional ranges of motion of most important osteomuscular districts. The possibility to have an objective evaluation of residual osteomuscular function has a relevant importance both in definition of workers' work suitability at the moment in which they start again their activities and in possible future legal conflicts.

Presenteeism in nursing: An evolutionary concept analysis.

PubMed

Rainbow, Jessica G; Steege, Linsey M

Presenteeism is an emerging concept in nursing that has been linked to increased health care costs, patient medication errors and falls, and negative nurse well-being. However, prior work has utilized various definitions and antecedents. Clarity on the significance, development, and consequences of presenteeism in nursing is needed. This concept analysis seeks to understand the application of presenteeism within nursing workforce literature and in the broader workforce context. Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis method was used. The proposed definition of presenteeism as the act of being physically present at work with reduced performance can be attributed to multiple antecedents. These include nurse health, professional identity, work-life balance, and work environment. The prevalence of these antecedents with high rates of presenteeism among nurses and consequences point to the need for interventions. These findings can guide development of future interventions and policies that address the broader context of factors leading to presenteeism. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The future of cerebral surgery: a kaleidoscope of opportunities.

PubMed

Elder, James B; Hoh, Daniel J; Oh, Bryan C; Heller, A Chris; Liu, Charles Y; Apuzzo, Michael L J

2008-06-01

The emerging future of cerebral surgery will witness the refined evolution of current techniques, as well as the introduction of numerous novel concepts. Clinical practice and basic science research will benefit greatly from their application. The sum of these efforts will result in continued minimalism and improved accuracy and efficiency of neurosurgical diagnostic and therapeutic methodologies.Initially, the refinement of current technologies will further enhance various aspects of cerebral surgery. Advances in computing power and information technology will speed data acquisition, storage, and transfer. Miniaturization of current devices will impact diverse areas, such as modulation of endoscopy and endovascular techniques. The increased penetrance of surgical technologies such as stereotactic radiosurgery, neuronavigation, intraoperative imaging, and implantable electrodes for neurodegenerative disorders and epilepsy will enhance the knowledge and experience in these areas and facilitate refinements and advances in these technologies. Further into the future, technologies that are currently relatively remote to surgical events will fundamentally alter the complexity and scale at which a neurological disease may be treated or investigated. Seemingly futuristic concepts will become ubiquitous in the daily experience of the neurosurgeon. These include diverse fields such as nanotechnology, virtual reality, and robotics. Ultimately, combining advances in multiple fields will yield progress in diverse realms such as brain tumor therapy, neuromodulation for psychiatric diseases, and neuroprosthetics. Operating room equipment and design will benefit from each of the aforementioned advances. In this work, we discuss new developments in three parts. In Part I, concepts in minimalism important for future cerebral surgery are discussed. These include concrete and abstract ideas in miniaturization, as well as recent and future work in microelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology. Part II presents advances in computational sciences and technological fields dependent on these developments. Future breakthroughs in the components of the "computer," including data storage, electrical circuitry, and computing hardware and techniques, are discussed. Additionally, important concepts in the refinement of virtual environments and the brain-machine interface are presented, as their incorporation into cerebral surgery is closely linked to advances in computing and electronics. Finally, Part III offers insights into the future evolution of surgical and nonsurgical diagnostic and therapeutic modalities that are important for the future cerebral surgeon. A number of topics relevant to cerebral surgery are discussed, including the operative environment, imaging technologies, endoscopy, robotics, neuromodulation, stem cell therapy, radiosurgery, and technical methods of restoration of neural function. Cerebral surgery in the near and distant future will reflect the application of these emerging technologies. As this article indicates, the key to maximizing the impact of these advancements in the clinical arena is continued collaboration between scientists and neurosurgeons, as well as the emergence of a neurosurgeon whose scientific grounding and technical focus are far removed from those of his predecessors.

Women Shaping the Future. The Future of Work Discussion Kit.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pine, Janet; Jackson, Sue; MacNeill, Kate

Designed to inform and empower women to participate in debates and decisions about the future of work in Australia, this kit provides everything needed to run a discussion session on the future of work with women in the community. It consists of a guide for users, workshop guide, topic sheets, and background reading. The guide for users introduces…

Surface Generated Acoustic Wave Biosensors for the Detection of Pathogens: A Review

PubMed Central

Rocha-Gaso, María-Isabel; March-Iborra, Carmen; Montoya-Baides, Ángel; Arnau-Vives, Antonio

2009-01-01

This review presents a deep insight into the Surface Generated Acoustic Wave (SGAW) technology for biosensing applications, based on more than 40 years of technological and scientific developments. In the last 20 years, SGAWs have been attracting the attention of the biochemical scientific community, due to the fact that some of these devices - Shear Horizontal Surface Acoustic Wave (SH-SAW), Surface Transverse Wave (STW), Love Wave (LW), Flexural Plate Wave (FPW), Shear Horizontal Acoustic Plate Mode (SH-APM) and Layered Guided Acoustic Plate Mode (LG-APM) - have demonstrated a high sensitivity in the detection of biorelevant molecules in liquid media. In addition, complementary efforts to improve the sensing films have been done during these years. All these developments have been made with the aim of achieving, in a future, a highly sensitive, low cost, small size, multi-channel, portable, reliable and commercially established SGAW biosensor. A setup with these features could significantly contribute to future developments in the health, food and environmental industries. The second purpose of this work is to describe the state-of-the-art of SGAW biosensors for the detection of pathogens, being this topic an issue of extremely importance for the human health. Finally, the review discuses the commercial availability, trends and future challenges of the SGAW biosensors for such applications. PMID:22346725

Associations between Otolaryngology Applicant Characteristics and Future Performance in Residency or Practice: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Bowe, Sarah N; Laury, Adrienne M; Gray, Stacey T

2017-06-01

Objective This systematic review aims to evaluate which applicant characteristics available to an otolaryngology selection committee are associated with future performance in residency or practice. Data Sources PubMed, Scopus, ERIC, Health Business, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and SocINDEX. Review Methods Study eligibility was performed by 2 independent investigators in accordance with the PRISMA protocol (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses). Data obtained from each article included research questions, study design, predictors, outcomes, statistical analysis, and results/findings. Study bias was assessed with the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. Results The initial search identified 439 abstracts. Six articles fulfilled all inclusion and exclusion criteria. All studies were retrospective cohort studies (level 4). Overall, the studies yielded relatively few criteria that correlated with residency success, with generally conflicting results. Most studies were found to have a high risk of bias. Conclusion Previous resident selection research has lacked a theoretical background, thus predisposing this work to inconsistent results and high risk of bias. The included studies provide historical insight into the predictors and criteria (eg, outcomes) previously deemed pertinent by the otolaryngology field. Additional research is needed, possibly integrating aspects of personnel selection, to engage in an evidence-based approach to identify highly qualified candidates who will succeed as future otolaryngologists.

The Value of Biomedical Simulation Environments to Future Human Space Flight Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mulugeta, Lealem; Myers, Jerry G.; Skytland, Nicholas G.; Platts, Steven H.

2010-01-01

With the ambitious goals to send manned missions to asteroids and onto Mars, substantial work will be required to ensure the well being of the men and women who will undertake these difficult missions. Unlike current International Space Station or Shuttle missions, astronauts will be required to endure long-term exposure to higher levels of radiation, isolation and reduced gravity. These new operation conditions will pose health risks that are currently not well understood and perhaps unanticipated. Therefore, it is essential to develop and apply advanced tools to predict, assess and mitigate potential hazards to astronaut health. NASA s Digital Astronaut Project (DAP) is working to develop and apply computational models of physiologic response to space flight operation conditions over various time periods and environmental circumstances. The collective application and integration of well vetted models assessing the physiology, biomechanics and anatomy is referred to as the Digital Astronaut. The Digital Astronaut simulation environment will serve as a practical working tool for use by NASA in operational activities such as the prediction of biomedical risks and functional capabilities of astronauts. In additional to space flight operation conditions, DAP s work has direct applicability to terrestrial biomedical research by providing virtual environments for hypothesis testing, experiment design, and to reduce animal/human testing. A practical application of the DA to assess pre and post flight responses to exercise is illustrated and the difficulty in matching true physiological responses is discussed.

Scaling induced performance challenges/limitations of on-chip metal interconnects and comparisons with optical interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapur, Pawan

The miniaturization paradigm for silicon integrated circuits has resulted in a tremendous cost and performance advantage. Aggressive shrinking of devices provides faster transistors and a greater functionality for circuit design. However, scaling induced smaller wire cross-sections coupled with longer lengths owing to larger chip areas, result in a steady deterioration of interconnects. This degradation in interconnect trends threatens to slow down the rapid growth along Moore's law. This work predicts that the situation is worse than anticipated. It shows that in the light of technology and reliability constraints, scaling induced increase in electron surface scattering, fractional cross section area occupied by the highly resistive barrier, and realistic interconnect operation temperature will lead to a significant rise in effective resistivity of modern copper based interconnects. We start by discussing various technology factors affecting copper resistivity. We, next, develop simulation tools to model these effects. Using these tools, we quantify the increase in realistic copper resistivity as a function of future technology nodes, under various technology assumptions. Subsequently, we evaluate the impact of these technology effects on delay and power dissipation of global signaling interconnects. Modern long on-chip wires use repeaters, which dramatically improves their delay and bandwidth. We quantify the repeated wire delays and power dissipation using realistic resistance trends at future nodes. With the motivation of reducing power, we formalize a methodology, which trades power with delay very efficiently for repeated wires. Using this method, we find that although the repeater power comes down, the total power dissipation due to wires is still found to be very large at future nodes. Finally, we explore optical interconnects as a possible substitute, for specific interconnect applications. We model an optical receiver and waveguides. Using this we assess future optical system performance. Finally, we compare the delay and power of future metal interconnects with that of optical interconnects for global signaling application. We also compare the power dissipation of the two approaches for an upper level clock distribution application. We find that for long on-chip communication links, optical interconnects have lower latencies than future metal interconnects at comparable levels of power dissipation.

Rayleigh Scattering Diagnostics Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seasholtz, Richard (Compiler)

1996-01-01

The Rayleigh Scattering Diagnostics Workshop was held July 25-26, 1995 at the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The purpose of the workshop was to foster timely exchange of information and expertise acquired by researchers and users of laser based Rayleigh scattering diagnostics for aerospace flow facilities and other applications. This Conference Publication includes the 12 technical presentations and transcriptions of the two panel discussions. The first panel was made up of 'users' of optical diagnostics, mainly in aerospace test facilities, and its purpose was to assess areas of potential applications of Rayleigh scattering diagnostics. The second panel was made up of active researchers in Rayleigh scattering diagnostics, and its purpose was to discuss the direction of future work.

Super-resolution from single photon emission: toward biological application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreva, E.; Traina, P.; Forneris, J.; Ditalia Tchernij, S.; Guarina, L.; Franchino, C.; Picollo, F.; Ruo Berchera, I.; Brida, G.; Degiovanni, I. P.; Carabelli, V.; Olivero, P.; Genovese, M.

2017-08-01

Properties of quantum light represent a tool for overcoming limits of classical optics. Several experiments have demonstrated this advantage ranging from quantum enhanced imaging to quantum illumination. In this work, experimental demonstration of quantum-enhanced resolution in confocal fluorescence microscopy will be presented. This is achieved by exploiting the non-classical photon statistics of fluorescence emission of single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond. By developing a general model of super-resolution based on the direct sampling of the kth-order autocorrelation function of the photoluminescence signal, we show the possibility to resolve, in principle, arbitrarily close emitting centers. Finally, possible applications of NV-based fluorescent nanodiamonds in biosensing and future developments will be presented.

Fluid Mechanics and Homeland Security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Settles, Gary S.

2006-01-01

Homeland security involves many applications of fluid mechanics and offers many opportunities for research and development. This review explores a wide selection of fluids topics in counterterrorism and suggests future directions. Broad topics range from preparedness and deterrence of impending terrorist attacks to detection, response, and recovery. Specific topics include aircraft hardening, blast mitigation, sensors and sampling, explosive detection, microfluidics and labs-on-a-chip, chemical plume dispersal in urban settings, and building ventilation. Also discussed are vapor plumes and standoff detection, nonlethal weapons, airborne disease spread, personal protective equipment, and decontamination. Involvement in these applications requires fluid dynamicists to think across the traditional boundaries of the field and to work with related disciplines, especially chemistry, biology, aerosol science, and atmospheric science.

On the superposition principle in interference experiments.

PubMed

Sinha, Aninda; H Vijay, Aravind; Sinha, Urbasi

2015-05-14

The superposition principle is usually incorrectly applied in interference experiments. This has recently been investigated through numerics based on Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) methods as well as the Feynman path integral formalism. In the current work, we have derived an analytic formula for the Sorkin parameter which can be used to determine the deviation from the application of the principle. We have found excellent agreement between the analytic distribution and those that have been earlier estimated by numerical integration as well as resource intensive FDTD simulations. The analytic handle would be useful for comparing theory with future experiments. It is applicable both to physics based on classical wave equations as well as the non-relativistic Schrödinger equation.

Tubular nanostructured materials for bioapplications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Jining; Chen, Linfeng; Srivatsan, Malathi; Varadan, Vijay K.

2009-03-01

Tubular nanomaterials possess hollow structures as well as high aspect ratios. In addition to their unique physical and chemical properties induced by their nanoscale dimensions, their inner voids and outer surfaces make them ideal candidates for a number of biomedical applications. In this work, three types of tubular nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes, hematite nanotubes, and maghemite nanotubes, were synthesized by different chemical techniques. Their structural and crystalline properties were characterized. For potential bioapplications of tubular nanomaterials, experimental investigations were carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of using carbon nanotubes, hematite nanotubes, and maghemite nanotubes in glucose sensing, neuronal growth, and drug delivery, respectively. Preliminary results show the promise of tubular nanomaterials in future biomedical applications.

Solving the Integral of Quadratic Forms of Covariance Matrices for Applications in Polarimetric Radar Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marino, Armando; Hajnsek, Irena

2015-04-01

In this work, the solution of quadratic forms with special application to polarimetric and interferometric covariance matrices is investigated. An analytical solution for the integral of a single quadratic form is derived. Additionally, the integral of the Pol-InSAR coherence (expressed as combination of quadratic forms) is investigated. An approximation for such integral is proposed and defined as Trace coherence. Such approximation is tested on real data to verify that the error is acceptable. The trace coherence can be used for tackle problems related to change detection. Moreover, the use of the Trace coherence in model inversion (as for the RVoG three stage inversion) will be investigated in the future.

A study of the current group evaporation/combustion theories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shen, Hayley H.

1990-01-01

Liquid fuel combustion can be greatly enhanced by disintegrating the liquid fuel into droplets, an effect achieved by various configurations. A number of experiments carried out in the seventies showed that combustion of droplet arrays and sprays do not form individual flames. Moreover, the rate of burning in spray combustion greatly deviates from that of the single combustion rate. Such observations naturally challenge its applicability to spray combustion. A number of mathematical models were developed to evaluate 'group combustion' and the related 'group evaporation' phenomena. This study investigates the similarity and difference of these models and their applicability to spray combustion. Future work that should be carried out in this area is indicated.

Graphene-based flexible and stretchable thin film transistors.

PubMed

Yan, Chao; Cho, Jeong Ho; Ahn, Jong-Hyun

2012-08-21

Graphene has been attracting wide attention owing to its superb electronic, thermal and mechanical properties. These properties allow great applications in the next generation of optoelectronics, where flexibility and stretchability are essential. In this context, the recent development of graphene growth/transfer and its applications in field-effect transistors are involved. In particular, we provide a detailed review on the state-of-the-art of graphene-based flexible and stretchable thin film transistors. We address the principles of fabricating high-speed graphene analog transistors and the key issues of producing an array of graphene-based transistors on flexible and stretchable substrates. It provides a platform for future work to focus on understanding and realizing high-performance graphene-based transistors.

Classical dense matter physics: some basic methods and results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Čelebonović, Vladan

2002-07-01

This is an introduction to the basic notions, some methods and open problems of dense matter physics and their applications in astrophysics. Experimental topics cover the range from the work of P. W. Bridgman to the discovery and basic results of use of the diamond anvil cell. On the theoretical side, the semiclassical method of P. Savić and R. Kašanin is described. The choice of these topics is conditioned by their applicability in astrophysics and the author's research experience. At the end of the paper is presented a list of some unsolved problems in dense matter physics and astrophysics, some (or all) of which could form a basis of future collaborations.

NASA thrusts in high-speed aeropropulsion research and development: An overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ziemianski, Joseph A.

1990-01-01

NASA is conducting aeronautical research over a broad range of Mach numbers. In addition to the advanced conventional takeoff or landing (CTOL) propulsion research described elsewhere, NASA Lewis has intensified its efforts towards propulsion technology for selected high speed flight applications. In a companion program, NASA Langley has also accomplished significant research in supersonic combustion ramjet (SCRAM) propulsion. An unclassified review is presented of the propulsion research results that are applicable for supersonic to hypersonic vehicles. This overview not only provides a preview of the more detailed presentations which follow, it also presents a viewpoint on future research directions by calling attention to the unique cycles, components, and facilities involved in this expanding area of work.

Understanding the Sea Ice Zone: Scientists and Communities Partnering to Archive, Analyze and Disseminate Local Ice Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, J. A.; Oldenburg, J.; Liu, M.; Pulsifer, P. L.; Kaufman, M.; Eicken, H.; Parsons, M. A.

2012-12-01

Knowledge of sea ice is critical to the hunting, whaling, and cultural activities of many Indigenous communities in Northern and Western Alaska. Experienced hunters have monitored seasonal changes of the sea ice over many years, giving them a unique expertise in assessing the current state of the sea ice as well as any anomalies in seasonal sea ice conditions. The Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network (SIZONet), in collaboration with the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA), has developed an online application for collecting, storing, and analyzing sea ice observations contributed by local experts from coastal Alaskan communities. Here we present the current iteration of the application, outline future plans and discuss how the development process and resulting system have improved our collective understanding of sea ice processes and changes. The SIZONet application design is based on the needs of the research scientists responsible for entering observation data into the database, the needs of local sea ice experts contributing their observations and knowledge, and the information needs of Alaska coastal communities. Entry forms provide a variety of input methods, including menus, check boxes, and free text input. Input options strive to balance flexibility in capturing concepts and details with the need for analytical consistency. Currently, research staff at the University of Alaska Fairbanks use the application to enter observations received via written or electronic communications from local sea ice experts. Observation data include current weather conditions, snow and ice quantity and quality, and wildlife sighted or taken. Future plans call for direct use of the SIZONet interface by local sea ice experts as well as students, both as contributors to the data collection and as users seeking meaning in the data. This functionality is currently available to a limited number of community members as we extend the application to support specific roles for particular users (or groups of users); this role-based access will be necessary to support a diverse user population while maintaining the integrity of the data and protecting personal information, or the location of sensitive sites, captured in the data records. Additionally, future improvements to the interface will include the ability to upload photos and videos to capture visual records of the environment. The SIZONet application was developed to provide a robust interface for working with observational data. The contributed nature of the data, however, presents a unique set of collaborative benefits and challenges as we work towards the final implementation of the application. The successful partnership supporting the observation network is a direct function of the long-term relationships established between university-based researchers and community members.

The new generation of family physicians--career motivation, life goals and work-life balance.

PubMed

Buddeberg-Fischer, Barbara; Stamm, Martina; Buddeberg, Claus; Klaghofer, Richard

2008-05-31

The present study aimed to investigate the differences between future family physicians, and physicians aspiring to other medical specialities, in terms of sociodemographic factors and variables concerning personality factors, career motivation, career success, importance of life goals and work-life balance; further, the stability in career choice of family physicians from medical school through to residency was evaluated. Data reported are from four assessments of the Swiss physicians' longitudinal career development study, begun in 2001 (T1). At T4, in 2007, 543 residents (76% of the initial sample at T1) completed a questionnaire concerning their personal and professional goals. The difference between family physicians and specialists was studied by multivariate analyses of covariance adjusted for gender. Of the study sample, 84 (17%) decided on family medicine, 66% of them as early as medical school or at the beginning of residency. Compared to specialists, more family physicians are married and more have children. Their intrinsic and extrinsic career motivation is lower, their extraprofessional concerns are greater and they rate their objective and subjective career success lower. The favoured models of work-family and work-life balance respectively are part-time oriented. Future family physicians, both females and males, are less career-oriented. The results suggest that the waning reputation of family medicine and the uncertain development of this medical discipline in the Swiss healthcare system attract less career-oriented applicants. A well-balanced integration of professional and private life is an essential goal for the new generation of doctors; this applies even more to female doctors and family physicians. Considering this trend, the question arises whether the current number of medical school graduates is sufficient to ensure the population's healthcare provision in the future.

Biomedical Scientific and Professional Social Networks in the Service of the Development of Modern Scientific Publishing.

PubMed

Masic, Izet; Begic, Edin

2016-12-01

Information technologies have found their application in virtually every branch of health care. In recent years they have demonstrated their potential in the development of online library, where scientists and researchers can share their latest findings. Academia.edu, ResearchGate, Mendeley, Kudos, with the support of platform GoogleScholar, have indeed increased the visibility of scientific work of one author, and enable a much greater availability of the scientific work to the broader audience. Online libraries have allowed free access to the scientific content to the countries that could not follow the economic costs of getting access to certain scientific bases. Especially great benefit occurred in countries in transition and developing countries. Online libraries have great potential in terms of expanding knowledge, but they also present a major problem for many publishers, because their rights can be violated, which are signed by the author when publishing the paper. In the future it will lead to a major conflict of the author, the editorial board and online database, about the right to scientific content This question certainly represents one of the most pressing issues of publishing, whose future in printed form is already in the past, and the future of the online editions will be a problem of large-scale.

Biomedical Scientific and Professional Social Networks in the Service of the Development of Modern Scientific Publishing

PubMed Central

Masic, Izet; Begic, Edin

2016-01-01

Information technologies have found their application in virtually every branch of health care. In recent years they have demonstrated their potential in the development of online library, where scientists and researchers can share their latest findings. Academia.edu, ResearchGate, Mendeley, Kudos, with the support of platform GoogleScholar, have indeed increased the visibility of scientific work of one author, and enable a much greater availability of the scientific work to the broader audience. Online libraries have allowed free access to the scientific content to the countries that could not follow the economic costs of getting access to certain scientific bases. Especially great benefit occurred in countries in transition and developing countries. Online libraries have great potential in terms of expanding knowledge, but they also present a major problem for many publishers, because their rights can be violated, which are signed by the author when publishing the paper. In the future it will lead to a major conflict of the author, the editorial board and online database, about the right to scientific content This question certainly represents one of the most pressing issues of publishing, whose future in printed form is already in the past, and the future of the online editions will be a problem of large-scale. PMID:28077905

Simultaneous Solid Phase Extraction and Derivatization of Aliphatic Primary Amines Prior to Separation and UV-Absorbance Detection

PubMed Central

Felhofer, Jessica L.; Scida, Karen; Penick, Mark; Willis, Peter A.; Garcia, Carlos D.

2013-01-01

To overcome the problem of poor sensitivity of capillary electrophoresis-UV absorbance for the detection of aliphatic amines, a solid phase extraction and derivatization scheme was developed. This work demonstrates successful coupling of amines to a chromophore immobilized on a solid phase and subsequent cleavage and analysis. Although the analysis of many types of amines is relevant for myriad applications, this paper focuses on the derivatization and separation of amines with environmental relevance. This work aims to provide the foundations for future developments of an integrated sample preparation microreactor capable of performing simultaneous derivatization, preconcentration, and sample cleanup for sensitive analysis of primary amines. PMID:24054648

High-Temperature Piezoelectric Sensing

PubMed Central

Jiang, Xiaoning; Kim, Kyungrim; Zhang, Shujun; Johnson, Joseph; Salazar, Giovanni

2014-01-01

Piezoelectric sensing is of increasing interest for high-temperature applications in aerospace, automotive, power plants and material processing due to its low cost, compact sensor size and simple signal conditioning, in comparison with other high-temperature sensing techniques. This paper presented an overview of high-temperature piezoelectric sensing techniques. Firstly, different types of high-temperature piezoelectric single crystals, electrode materials, and their pros and cons are discussed. Secondly, recent work on high-temperature piezoelectric sensors including accelerometer, surface acoustic wave sensor, ultrasound transducer, acoustic emission sensor, gas sensor, and pressure sensor for temperatures up to 1,250 °C were reviewed. Finally, discussions of existing challenges and future work for high-temperature piezoelectric sensing are presented. PMID:24361928

Public health agenda setting in a global context: the International Labor Organization's decent work agenda.

PubMed

Di Ruggiero, Erica; Cohen, Joanna E; Cole, Donald C; Forman, Lisa

2015-04-01

We drew on two agenda-setting theories usually applied at the state or national level to assess their utility at the global level: Kingdon's multiple streams theory and Baumgartner and Jones's punctuated equilibrium theory. We illustrate our analysis with findings from a qualitative study of the International Labor Organization's Decent Work Agenda. We found that both theories help explain the agenda-setting mechanisms that operate in the global context, including how windows of opportunity open and what role institutions play as policy entrepreneurs. Future application of these theories could help characterize power struggles between global actors, whose voices are heard or silenced, and their impact on global policy agenda setting.

[Information and communication technologies in nursing].

PubMed

Kern, Josipa

2014-03-01

The application of information and communication technologies (ICT) in nursing is an integral part of the educational curriculum at the university graduate level of nursing, but also part of scientific and professional meetings on nursing informatics. As part of seminars, students are obliged to choose e-health topics from their working environment, to show them and discuss with colleagues. The same is happening at meeting on nursing informatics. Selected papers on the issue are chosen to cover information literacy of nurses, examples of e-nursing, ICT infrastructure, the possible future developments and organizational aspects of e-health at healthcare institutions. Among others, special attention is paid to improving the quality of work in nursing.

Traditional Uses, Chemical Constituents, and Biological Activities of Bixa orellana L.: A Review

PubMed Central

Vilar, Daniela de Araújo; Vilar, Marina Suênia de Araujo; Moura, Túlio Flávio Accioly de Lima e; Raffin, Fernanda Nervo; de Oliveira, Márcia Rosa; Franco, Camilo Flamarion de Oliveira; de Athayde-Filho, Petrônio Filgueiras; Diniz, Margareth de Fátima Formiga Melo; Barbosa-Filho, José Maria

2014-01-01

Bixa orellana L., popularly known as “urucum,” has been used by indigenous communities in Brazil and other tropical countries for several biological applications, which indicates its potential use as an active ingredient in pharmaceutical products. The aim of this work was to report the main evidence found in the literature, concerning the ethnopharmacology, the biological activity, and the phytochemistry studies related to Bixa orellana L. Therefore, this work comprises a systematic review about the use of Bixa orellana in the American continent and analysis of the data collected. This study shows the well-characterized pharmacological actions that may be considered relevant for the future development of an innovative therapeutic agent. PMID:25050404

Nanophase and Composite Optical Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

This talk will focus on accomplishments, current developments, and future directions of our work on composite optical materials for microgravity science and space exploration. This research spans the order parameter from quasi-fractal structures such as sol-gels and other aggregated or porous media, to statistically random cluster media such as metal colloids, to highly ordered materials such as layered media and photonic bandgap materials. The common focus is on flexible materials that can be used to produce composite or artificial materials with superior optical properties that could not be achieved with homogeneous materials. Applications of this work to NASA exploration goals such as terraforming, biosensors, solar sails, solar cells, and vehicle health monitoring, will be discussed.

Evaluation of Future Internet Technologies for Processing and Distribution of Satellite Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becedas, J.; Perez, R.; Gonzalez, G.; Alvarez, J.; Garcia, F.; Maldonado, F.; Sucari, A.; Garcia, J.

2015-04-01

Satellite imagery data centres are designed to operate a defined number of satellites. For instance, difficulties when new satellites have to be incorporated in the system appear. This occurs because traditional infrastructures are neither flexible nor scalable. With the appearance of Future Internet technologies new solutions can be provided to manage large and variable amounts of data on demand. These technologies optimize resources and facilitate the appearance of new applications and services in the traditional Earth Observation (EO) market. The use of Future Internet technologies for the EO sector were validated with the GEO-Cloud experiment, part of the Fed4FIRE FP7 European project. This work presents the final results of the project, in which a constellation of satellites records the whole Earth surface on a daily basis. The satellite imagery is downloaded into a distributed network of ground stations and ingested in a cloud infrastructure, where the data is processed, stored, archived and distributed to the end users. The processing and transfer times inside the cloud, workload of the processors, automatic cataloguing and accessibility through the Internet are evaluated to validate if Future Internet technologies present advantages over traditional methods. Applicability of these technologies is evaluated to provide high added value services. Finally, the advantages of using federated testbeds to carry out large scale, industry driven experiments are analysed evaluating the feasibility of an experiment developed in the European infrastructure Fed4FIRE and its migration to a commercial cloud: SoftLayer, an IBM Company.

Climate Twins - a tool to explore future climate impacts by assessing real world conditions: Exploration principles, underlying data, similarity conditions and uncertainty ranges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loibl, Wolfgang; Peters-Anders, Jan; Züger, Johann

2010-05-01

To achieve public awareness and thorough understanding about expected climate changes and their future implications, ways have to be found to communicate model outputs to the public in a scientifically sound and easily understandable way. The newly developed Climate Twins tool tries to fulfil these requirements via an intuitively usable web application, which compares spatial patterns of current climate with future climate patterns, derived from regional climate model results. To get a picture of the implications of future climate in an area of interest, users may click on a certain location within an interactive map with underlying future climate information. A second map depicts the matching Climate Twin areas according to current climate conditions. In this way scientific output can be communicated to the public which allows for experiencing climate change through comparison with well-known real world conditions. To identify climatic coincidence seems to be a simple exercise, but the accuracy and applicability of the similarity identification depends very much on the selection of climate indicators, similarity conditions and uncertainty ranges. Too many indicators representing various climate characteristics and too narrow uncertainty ranges will judge little or no area as regions with similar climate, while too little indicators and too wide uncertainty ranges will address too large regions as those with similar climate which may not be correct. Similarity cannot be just explored by comparing mean values or by calculating correlation coefficients. As climate change triggers an alteration of various indicators, like maxima, minima, variation magnitude, frequency of extreme events etc., the identification of appropriate similarity conditions is a crucial question to be solved. For Climate Twins identification, it is necessary to find a right balance of indicators, similarity conditions and uncertainty ranges, unless the results will be too vague conducting a useful Climate Twins regions search. The Climate Twins tool works actually comparing future climate conditions of a certain source area in the Greater Alpine Region with current climate conditions of entire Europe and the neighbouring southern as well south-eastern areas as target regions. A next version will integrate web crawling features for searching information about climate-related local adaptations observed today in the target region which may turn out as appropriate solution for the source region under future climate conditions. The contribution will present the current tool functionally and will discuss which indicator sets, similarity conditions and uncertainty ranges work best to deliver scientifically sound climate comparisons and distinct mapping results.

Endodontic applications of 3D printing.

PubMed

Anderson, J; Wealleans, J; Ray, J

2018-02-27

Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technologies can leverage cone beam computed tomography data for production of objects used in surgical and nonsurgical endodontics and in educational settings. The aim of this article was to review all current applications of 3D printing in endodontics and to speculate upon future directions for research and clinical use within the specialty. A literature search of PubMed, Ovid and Scopus was conducted using the following terms: stereolithography, 3D printing, computer aided rapid prototyping, surgical guide, guided endodontic surgery, guided endodontic access, additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, autotransplantation rapid prototyping, CAD, CAM. Inclusion criteria were articles in the English language documenting endodontic applications of 3D printing. Fifty-one articles met inclusion criteria and were utilized. The endodontic literature on 3D printing is generally limited to case reports and pre-clinical studies. Documented solutions to endodontic challenges include: guided access with pulp canal obliteration, applications in autotransplantation, pre-surgical planning and educational modelling and accurate location of osteotomy perforation sites. Acquisition of technical expertise and equipment within endodontic practices present formidable obstacles to widespread deployment within the endodontic specialty. As knowledge advances, endodontic postgraduate programmes should consider implementing 3D printing into their curriculums. Future research directions should include clinical outcomes assessments of treatments employing 3D printed objects. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Workplace Outcomes in Work-Disability Prevention Research: A Review with Recommendations for Future Research.

PubMed

Young, Amanda E; Viikari-Juntura, Eira; Boot, Cécile R L; Chan, Chetwyn; de Porras, David Gimeno Ruiz; Linton, Steven J

2016-12-01

Introduction Outcome assessment is a central issue in work disability prevention research. The goal of this paper was to (1) ascertain the most salient workplace outcomes; (2) evaluate the congruence between business and science perspectives; (3) illustrate new perspectives on assessing longitudinal outcomes; and (4) provide recommendations for advancing outcome evaluation in this area of research. Methods The authors participated in a year-long collaboration that culminated in a sponsored 3-day conference, "Improving Research of Employer Practices to Prevent Disability", held October 14-16, 2015, in Hopkinton, MA, USA. The collaboration included a topical review of the literature, group conference calls to identify key areas and challenges, drafting of initial documents, review of industry publications, and a conference presentation that included feedback from peer researchers and a question/answer session with a special panel of knowledge experts with direct employer experience. Results Numerous workplace work-disability prevention outcome measures were identified. Analysis indicated that their applicability varied depending on the type of work disability the worker was experiencing. For those who were working, but with health-related work limitations (Type 1), predominant outcomes were measures of productivity, presenteeism, and work-related limitations. For those who were off work due to a health condition (Type 2), predominant outcomes were measures of time off work, supervisor/employee interactions, and return-to-work (RTW) preparation. For those who had returned to work (Type 3), predominant outcomes were measures of presenteeism, time until RTW, percentage of work resumption, employment characteristics, stigma, work engagement, co-worker interactions, and sustained or durable RTW. For those who had withdrawn from the labor force (Type 4), predominant outcomes were cost and vocational status. Discussion Currently available measures provide a good basis to use more consistent outcomes in disability prevention in the future. The research area would also benefit from more involvement of employers as stakeholders, and multilevel conceptualizations of disability outcomes.

Emerging Needs for Pervasive Passive Wireless Sensor Networks on Aerospace Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, William C.; Juarez, Peter D.

2014-01-01

NASA is investigating passive wireless sensor technology to reduce instrumentation mass and volume in ground testing, air flight, and space exploration applications. Vehicle health monitoring systems (VHMS) are desired on all aerospace programs to ensure the safety of the crew and the vehicles. Pervasive passive wireless sensor networks facilitate VHMS on aerospace vehicles. Future wireless sensor networks on board aerospace vehicles will be heterogeneous and will require active and passive network systems. Since much has been published on active wireless sensor networks, this work will focus on the need for passive wireless sensor networks on aerospace vehicles. Several passive wireless technologies such as microelectromechanical systems MEMS, SAW, backscatter, and chipless RFID techniques, have all shown potential to meet the pervasive sensing needs for aerospace VHMS applications. A SAW VHMS application will be presented. In addition, application areas including ground testing, hypersonic aircraft and spacecraft will be explored along with some of the harsh environments found in aerospace applications.

Tethers in space: Birth and growth of a new avenue to space utilization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vontiesenhausen, G.

1984-01-01

The evolution of the ideas of tether applications in space are traced from its origin in the last century past a dormant period of sixty-five years to the mid-seventies. At that time as a consequence of major revival efforts, NASA entered into serious investigations of the theoretical and practical feasibility of a large number of tethered concepts in space. These efforts culminated in the establishment of the Tethered Satellite System Project now at NASA in the advanced development phase. Extensive planning efforts are described, first, through a Tether Applications in Space Workshop which generated additional concepts and provided overall assessments and recommendations to NASA, and then through a NASA inter-center Tether Applications in Space Task Group which generated a four year program plan in the areas of further studies, technology, work and science and applications of tethers in space. An outlook into the future of tether applications that approaches some of the goals of the early visionaries is offered.

Web Application Software for Ground Operations Planning Database (GOPDb) Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lanham, Clifton; Kallner, Shawn; Gernand, Jeffrey

2013-01-01

A Web application facilitates collaborative development of the ground operations planning document. This will reduce costs and development time for new programs by incorporating the data governance, access control, and revision tracking of the ground operations planning data. Ground Operations Planning requires the creation and maintenance of detailed timelines and documentation. The GOPDb Web application was created using state-of-the-art Web 2.0 technologies, and was deployed as SaaS (Software as a Service), with an emphasis on data governance and security needs. Application access is managed using two-factor authentication, with data write permissions tied to user roles and responsibilities. Multiple instances of the application can be deployed on a Web server to meet the robust needs for multiple, future programs with minimal additional cost. This innovation features high availability and scalability, with no additional software that needs to be bought or installed. For data governance and security (data quality, management, business process management, and risk management for data handling), the software uses NAMS. No local copy/cloning of data is permitted. Data change log/tracking is addressed, as well as collaboration, work flow, and process standardization. The software provides on-line documentation and detailed Web-based help. There are multiple ways that this software can be deployed on a Web server to meet ground operations planning needs for future programs. The software could be used to support commercial crew ground operations planning, as well as commercial payload/satellite ground operations planning. The application source code and database schema are owned by NASA.

Scientific and technical services directed toward the development of planetary quarantine measures for automated spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The work is reported, which was performed in the specific tasks of the Planetary Quarantine research program for developing parameter specifications of unmanned scientific missions to the planets. The effort was directed principally toward the advancement of the quarantine technology, applicable to all future missions to planets of biological interest. The emphasis of the research was on coordinated evaluation, analysis, documentation, and presentation of PQ requirements for flight projects such as Viking and Pioneer.

The use of virtual patients in medical school curricula

PubMed Central

Lok, Benjamin

2012-01-01

The demonstration of patient-based cases using automated technology [virtual patients (VPs)] has been available to health science educators for a number of decades. Despite the promise of VPs as an easily accessible and moldable platform, their widespread acceptance and integration into medical curricula have been slow. Here, the authors review the technological underpinnings of VPs, summarize the literature regarding the use and limitations of VPs in the healthcare curriculum, describe novel possible applications of the technology, and propose possible directions for future work. PMID:22383412

Tether Dynamics Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The proceedings of the conference are presented. The objective was to provide a forum for the discussion of the structure and status of existing computer programs which are used to simulate the dynamics of a variety of tether applications in space. A major topic was different simulation models and the process of validating them. Guidance on future work in these areas was obtained from a panel discussion; the panel was composed of resource and technical managers and dynamic analysts in the tether field. The conclusions of this panel are also presented.

Consumer-oriented social data fusion: controlled learning in social environments, social advertising, and more

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grewe, L.

2013-05-01

This paper explores the current practices in social data fusion and analysis as it applies to consumer-oriented applications in a slew of areas including business, economics, politics, sciences, medicine, education and more. A categorization of these systems is proposed and contributions to each area are explored preceded by a discussion of some special issues related to social data and networks. From this work, future paths of consumer-based social data analysis research and current outstanding problems are discovered.

Challenges and issues facing lithium metal for solid-state rechargeable batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mauger, A.; Armand, M.; Julien, C. M.; Zaghib, K.

2017-06-01

The commercial use of lithium metal batteries was delayed because of dendrite formation on the surface of the lithium electrode, and the difficulty finding a suitable electrolyte that has both the mechanical strength and ionic conductivity required for solid electrolytes. Recently, strategies have developed to overcome these difficulties, so that these batteries are currently an option for different applications, including electric cars. In this work, we review these strategies, and discuss the different routes that are promising for progress in the near future.

Watershed geomorphological characteristics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fitzpatrick, Faith A.

2016-01-01

This chapter describes commonly used geomorphological characteristics that are useful for analyzing watershed-scale hydrology and sediment dynamics. It includes calculations and measurements for stream network features and areal basin characteristics that cover a range of spatial and temporal scales and dimensions of watersheds. Construction and application of longitudinal profiles are described in terms of understanding the three-dimensional development of stream networks. A brief discussion of outstanding problems and directions for future work, particularly as they relate to water-resources management, is provided. Notations with preferred units are given.

Heterostructure solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, K. I.; Yeh, Y. C. M.; Iles, P. A.; Morris, R. K.

1987-01-01

The performance of gallium arsenide solar cells grown on Ge substrates is discussed. In some cases the substrate was thinned to reduce overall cell weight with good ruggedness. The conversion efficiency of 2 by 2 cm cells under AMO reached 17.1 percent with a cell thickness of 6 mils. The work described forms the basis for future cascade cell structures, where similar interconnecting problems between the top cell and the bottom cell must be solved. Applications of the GaAs/Ge solar cell in space and the expected payoffs are discussed.

Multiscale agent-based cancer modeling.

PubMed

Zhang, Le; Wang, Zhihui; Sagotsky, Jonathan A; Deisboeck, Thomas S

2009-04-01

Agent-based modeling (ABM) is an in silico technique that is being used in a variety of research areas such as in social sciences, economics and increasingly in biomedicine as an interdisciplinary tool to study the dynamics of complex systems. Here, we describe its applicability to integrative tumor biology research by introducing a multi-scale tumor modeling platform that understands brain cancer as a complex dynamic biosystem. We summarize significant findings of this work, and discuss both challenges and future directions for ABM in the field of cancer research.

Development of an Adaptive Kalman Target Tracking Filter and Predictor for Fire Control Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-03-01

future work in lite area of prefiltering. the author believcs that an even greater amount of data compression can be achieced by using simple data...TT~ KII~ OT’ WHE~ -TCAPNS1 7 TCKt4 ATQIx - lP.TKKI C F(N) - rTE-1jIl-rIC CO-OCING Vrf ’-Or - 1.FUT(K-1* C P(494E) - ERROP C0VT,’-C~ "ATTX - I’JPU1t-z/K

Robotics research at Canadian Space Agency

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hui, Raymond

1994-01-01

In addition to major crown projects such as the Mobile Servicing System for Space Station, the Canadian Space Agency is also engaged in internal, industrial and academic research and development activities in robotics and other space-related areas of science and technology. These activities support current and future space projects, and lead to technology development which can be spun off to terrestrial applications, thus satisfying the Agency's objective of providing economic benefits to the public at large through its space-related work.

Applications of a Wage-Turnover Model to the Shipbuilding Industry.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-02-08

wage differential leaving a firm indifferent between the two groups is 1 3 J2 Because older workers have a shorter work- life expectancy, their rate...discussion of the relationship between current and future wage rates over a worker’s life cycle, see Joanne Salop and Steven Salop, "Self Selection...existing wage scales. 24- F4or an optimal solution to the problem of life -cycle wage Fates from the perspective of the firm, Information is needed on

Imprinted magnetic graphene oxide for the mini-solid phase extraction of Eu (III) from coal mine area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patra, Santanu; Roy, Ekta; Madhuri, Rashmi; Sharma, Prashant K.

2017-05-01

The present work represents the preparation of imprinted magnetic reduced graphene oxide and applied it for the selective removal of Eu (III) from local coal mines area. A simple solid phase extraction method was used for this purpose. The material shows a very high adsorption as well as removal efficiency towards Eu (III), which suggest that the material have potential to be used in future for their real time applications in removal of Eu (III) from complex matrices.

Solar Occultation Retrieval Algorithm Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lumpe, Jerry D.

2004-01-01

This effort addresses the comparison and validation of currently operational solar occultation retrieval algorithms, and the development of generalized algorithms for future application to multiple platforms. initial development of generalized forward model algorithms capable of simulating transmission data from of the POAM II/III and SAGE II/III instruments. Work in the 2" quarter will focus on: completion of forward model algorithms, including accurate spectral characteristics for all instruments, and comparison of simulated transmission data with actual level 1 instrument data for specific occultation events.

Smart molecules at work--mimicking advanced logic operations.

PubMed

Andréasson, Joakim; Pischel, Uwe

2010-01-01

Molecular logic is an interdisciplinary research field, which has captured worldwide interest. This tutorial review gives a brief introduction into molecular logic and Boolean algebra. This serves as the basis for a discussion of the state-of-the-art and future challenges in the field. Representative examples from the most recent literature including adders/subtractors, multiplexers/demultiplexers, encoders/decoders, and sequential logic devices (keypad locks) are highlighted. Other horizons, such as the utility of molecular logic in bio-related applications, are discussed as well.

Overview of NASA Technology Development for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Linne, Diane L.; Sanders, Gerald B.; Starr, Stanley O.; Eisenman, David J.; Suzuki, Nantel H.; Anderson, Molly S.; O'Malley, Terrence F.; Araghi, Koorosh R.

2017-01-01

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) encompasses a broad range of systems that enable the production and use of extraterrestrial resources in support of future exploration missions. It has the potential to greatly reduce the dependency on resources transported from Earth (e.g., propellants, life support consumables), thereby significantly improving the ability to conduct future missions. Recognizing the critical importance of ISRU for the future, NASA is currently conducting technology development projects in two of its four mission directorates. The Advanced Exploration Systems Division in the Agency's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate has initiated a new project for ISRU Technology focused on component, subsystem, and system maturation in the areas of water volatiles resource acquisition, and water volatiles and atmospheric processing into propellants and other consumable products. The Space Technology Mission Directorate is supporting development of ISRU component technologies in the areas of Mars atmosphere acquisition, including dust management, and oxygen production from Mars atmosphere for propellant and life support consumables. Together, these two coordinated projects are working towards a common goal of demonstrating ISRU technology and systems in preparation for future flight applications.

Operational Use of Civil Space-Based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery, Donald R. (Editor)

1996-01-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a remote-sensing technology which uses the motion of the aircraft or spacecraft carrying the radar to synthesize an antenna aperture larger than the physical antenna to yield a high-spatial resolution imaging capability. SAR systems can thus obtain high-spatial resolution geophysical measurements of the Earth over wide surface areas, under all-weather, day/night conditions. This report was prepared to document the results of a six-month study by an Ad Hoc Interagency Working Group on the Operational Use of Civil (i.e., non-military) Space-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The Assistant Administrator of NOAA for Satellite and Information Services convened this working group and chaired three meetings of the group over a six-month period. This action was taken in response to a request by the Associate Administrator of NASA for Mission to Planet Earth for an assessment of operational applications of SAR to be accomplished in parallel with a separate study requested of the Committee on Earth Studies of the Space Studies Board of the National Research Council on the scientific results of SAR research missions. The representatives of participating agencies are listed following the Preface. There was no formal charter for the working group or long term plans for future meetings. However, the working group may be reconstituted in the future as a coordination body for multiagency use of operational SAR systems.

How behavioural science can contribute to health partnerships: the case of The Change Exchange.

PubMed

Byrne-Davis, Lucie M T; Bull, Eleanor R; Burton, Amy; Dharni, Nimarta; Gillison, Fiona; Maltinsky, Wendy; Mason, Corina; Sharma, Nisha; Armitage, Christopher J; Johnston, Marie; Byrne, Ged J; Hart, Jo K

2017-06-12

Health partnerships often use health professional training to change practice with the aim of improving quality of care. Interventions to change practice can learn from behavioural science and focus not only on improving the competence and capability of health professionals but also their opportunity and motivation to make changes in practice. We describe a project that used behavioural scientist volunteers to enable health partnerships to understand and use the theories, techniques and assessments of behavioural science. This paper outlines how The Change Exchange, a collective of volunteer behavioural scientists, worked with health partnerships to strengthen their projects by translating behavioural science in situ. We describe three case studies in which behavioural scientists, embedded in health partnerships in Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique, explored the behaviour change techniques used by educators, supported knowledge and skill development in behaviour change, monitored the impact of projects on psychological determinants of behaviour and made recommendations for future project developments. Challenges in the work included having time and space for behavioural science in already very busy health partnership schedules and the difficulties in using certain methods in other cultures. Future work could explore other modes of translation and further develop methods to make them more culturally applicable. Behavioural scientists could translate behavioural science which was understood and used by the health partnerships to strengthen their project work.

Present situation and prospect of medical knowledge based systems in German-speaking countries: results of an online survey.

PubMed

Spreckelsen, Cord; Spitzer, K; Honekamp, W

2012-01-01

After a decrease of interest in classical medical expert systems, the publication activity concerning the medical application of Artificial Intelligence and the interest in medical decision support have markedly increased. Nonetheless, no systematic exploratory study has yet been carried out, which directly considers the actual fields of applications, exemplary approaches, obstacles, challenges, and future prospect as seen by pioneering users and developers in a given region. This paper reports the results of an online survey designed to fill this gap with the "Knowledge Based Systems" working group of the German Society for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (GMDS) in 2010. The survey was based on an online questionnaire (5 single and multiple choice questions, 8 Likert-scaled items, 7 free text questions) consented to by the working group. The answers were analyzed by descriptive statistics and a qualitative analysis (bottom-up coding). All academic institutions of Medical Informatics in the German-speaking countries and contributors reporting KBS-related projects at the relevant scientific conferences and in a journal specialized in the field were invited to participate. The survey reached a response rate of 33.4%. The results show a gap between the reported obstacles of medical KBS (mainly low acceptance and rare use in clinical practice) and their future prospect as stated by the participants. Problems previously discussed in the literature like low acceptance, integration, and sustainability of KBS projects were confirmed. The current situation was characterized by naming exemplary existing systems and specifying promising fields of application. The field of KBS in medicine is more diversified and has evolved beyond expectations in the German-speaking countries.

MetEd Learning Resources from COMET: Assisting With User Readiness for the JPSS Era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bol, A.; Page, E. M.; Dills, P. N.; Lee, T.; Weingroff, M.; Stevermer, A.

2017-12-01

The COMET® Program (www.comet.ucar.edu) is funded by NOAA NESDIS as well as EUMETSAT and the Meteorological Service of Canada to develop and deliver education and training in satellite meteorology. COMET's self-paced online training resources are freely available 24/7/365 via the MetEd Website (meted.ucar.edu) to help learners stay current regarding new instruments, capabilities, products and applications. Experts from NOAA-NESDIS and its Cooperative Institutes, the Meteorological Service of Canada, EUMETSAT, the Naval Research Laboratory and others, work with COMET staff to create lessons that encourage greater use of current and future satellite observations and products. As of fall 2017, over 90 satellite-focused, interactive lessons are available in English via the MetEd Web site at http://meted.ucar.edu/topics/satellite. Many of these lessons are also available in Spanish and French, with some Portuguese offerings also available, making learning resources more accessible to a larger international audience. This presentation will focus on COMET's satellite training offerings that are directly applicable to helping users learn more about the capabilities of the S-NPP and JPSS satellite series just in time for JPSS-1 becoming operational. MetEd's educational offerings include lessons on the VIIRS imager and its applications, and a recently updated lesson on nighttime visible observation using the VIIRS Day-Night Band. We'll show how the lessons introduce users to the advances these systems bring to forecasting, numerical weather prediction, and environmental monitoring. We'll also highlight newly developed lessons covering various aspects of JPSS for National Weather Service forecasters, and discuss current and future work.

A short review of fecal indicator bacteria in tropical aquatic ecosystems: knowledge gaps and future directions.

PubMed

Rochelle-Newall, Emma; Nguyen, Thi Mai Huong; Le, Thi Phuong Quynh; Sengtaheuanghoung, Oloth; Ribolzi, Olivier

2015-01-01

Given the high numbers of deaths and the debilitating nature of diseases caused by the use of unclean water it is imperative that we have an understanding of the factors that control the dispersion of water borne pathogens and their respective indicators. This is all the more important in developing countries where significant proportions of the population often have little or no access to clean drinking water supplies. Moreover, and notwithstanding the importance of these bacteria in terms of public health, at present little work exists on the persistence, transfer and proliferation of these pathogens and their respective indicator organisms, e.g., fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) such as Escherichia coli and fecal coliforms in humid tropical systems, such as are found in South East Asia or in the tropical regions of Africa. Both FIB and the waterborne pathogens they are supposed to indicate are particularly susceptible to shifts in water flow and quality and the predicted increases in rainfall and floods due to climate change will only exacerbate the problems of contamination. This will be furthermore compounded by the increasing urbanization and agricultural intensification that developing regions are experiencing. Therefore, recognizing and understanding the link between human activities, natural process and microbial functioning and their ultimate impacts on human health are prerequisites for reducing the risks to the exposed populations. Most of the existing work in tropical systems has been based on the application of temperate indicator organisms, models and mechanisms regardless of their applicability or appropriateness for tropical environments. Here, we present a short review on the factors that control FIB dynamics in temperate systems and discuss their applicability to tropical environments. We then highlight some of the knowledge gaps in order to stimulate future research in this field in the tropics.

MetEd Training Resources from COMET: Assisting User Readiness for JPSS Era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevermer, A.; Jeffries, R. A.

2016-12-01

With all the new advancements, finding time to learn and stay current regarding new satellite instruments, capabilities, applications, and products can be daunting. COMET's self-paced online training resources available via the globally-renowned MetEd Website are available 24/7/365 to help meet this challenge.. UCAR's COMET® Program (www.comet.ucar.edu) has been funded for years by NOAA NESDIS as well as EUMETSAT and the Meteorological Service of Canada to support education and training in satellite meteorology. Experts from NOAA-NESDIS its Cooperative Institutes, the Meteorological Service of Canada, EUMETSAT, the Naval Research Laboratory and others work with COMET staff to create self-paced training lessons that encourage greater use of current and future satellite observations and products. As of fall 2016, nearly 90 satellite-focused, interactive materials are freely available in English via the MetEd Web site at http://meted.ucar.edu/topics/satellite. Many of these lessons are also available in Spanish and French making training more easily accessible to an international audience. This presentation will focus on COMET's satellite training offerings that are directly applicable to helping users learn more about the capabilities of the S-NPP and JPSS satellite series just in time to prepare for JPSS-1 launch! Our educational offerings include lessons on the VIIRS imager and its applications including the exciting nighttime visible observation with the VIIRS Day-Night Band. We'll show how the lessons introduce users to the advances these systems bring to forecasting, numerical weather prediction, and environmental monitoring. We'll also highlight the recently published lesson, " JPSS River Ice and Flood Products" and discuss current and future work.

A short review of fecal indicator bacteria in tropical aquatic ecosystems: knowledge gaps and future directions

PubMed Central

Rochelle-Newall, Emma; Nguyen, Thi Mai Huong; Le, Thi Phuong Quynh; Sengtaheuanghoung, Oloth; Ribolzi, Olivier

2015-01-01

Given the high numbers of deaths and the debilitating nature of diseases caused by the use of unclean water it is imperative that we have an understanding of the factors that control the dispersion of water borne pathogens and their respective indicators. This is all the more important in developing countries where significant proportions of the population often have little or no access to clean drinking water supplies. Moreover, and notwithstanding the importance of these bacteria in terms of public health, at present little work exists on the persistence, transfer and proliferation of these pathogens and their respective indicator organisms, e.g., fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) such as Escherichia coli and fecal coliforms in humid tropical systems, such as are found in South East Asia or in the tropical regions of Africa. Both FIB and the waterborne pathogens they are supposed to indicate are particularly susceptible to shifts in water flow and quality and the predicted increases in rainfall and floods due to climate change will only exacerbate the problems of contamination. This will be furthermore compounded by the increasing urbanization and agricultural intensification that developing regions are experiencing. Therefore, recognizing and understanding the link between human activities, natural process and microbial functioning and their ultimate impacts on human health are prerequisites for reducing the risks to the exposed populations. Most of the existing work in tropical systems has been based on the application of temperate indicator organisms, models and mechanisms regardless of their applicability or appropriateness for tropical environments. Here, we present a short review on the factors that control FIB dynamics in temperate systems and discuss their applicability to tropical environments. We then highlight some of the knowledge gaps in order to stimulate future research in this field in the tropics. PMID:25941519

Generalization Technique for 2D+SCALE Dhe Data Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karim, Hairi; Rahman, Alias Abdul; Boguslawski, Pawel

2016-10-01

Different users or applications need different scale model especially in computer application such as game visualization and GIS modelling. Some issues has been raised on fulfilling GIS requirement of retaining the details while minimizing the redundancy of the scale datasets. Previous researchers suggested and attempted to add another dimension such as scale or/and time into a 3D model, but the implementation of scale dimension faces some problems due to the limitations and availability of data structures and data models. Nowadays, various data structures and data models have been proposed to support variety of applications and dimensionality but lack research works has been conducted in terms of supporting scale dimension. Generally, the Dual Half Edge (DHE) data structure was designed to work with any perfect 3D spatial object such as buildings. In this paper, we attempt to expand the capability of the DHE data structure toward integration with scale dimension. The description of the concept and implementation of generating 3D-scale (2D spatial + scale dimension) for the DHE data structure forms the major discussion of this paper. We strongly believed some advantages such as local modification and topological element (navigation, query and semantic information) in scale dimension could be used for the future 3D-scale applications.

A review of bioactive glasses: Their structure, properties, fabrication and apatite formation.

PubMed

Kaur, Gurbinder; Pandey, Om P; Singh, Kulvir; Homa, Dan; Scott, Brian; Pickrell, Gary

2014-01-01

Bioactive glass and glass-ceramics are used in bone repair applications and are being developed for tissue engineering applications. Bioactive glasses/Bioglass are very attractive materials for producing scaffolds devoted to bone regeneration due to their versatile properties, which can be properly designed depending on their composition. An important feature of bioactive glasses, which enables them to work for applications in bone tissue engineering, is their ability to enhance revascularization, osteoblast adhesion, enzyme activity and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells as well as osteoprogenitor cells. An extensive amount of research work has been carried out to develop silicate, borate/borosilicate bioactive glasses and phosphate glasses. Along with this, some metallic glasses have also been investigated for biomedical and technological applications in tissue engineering. Many trace elements have also been incorporated in the glass network to obtain the desired properties, which have beneficial effects on bone remodeling and/or associated angiogenesis. The motivation of this review is to provide an overview of the general requirements, composition, structure-property relationship with hydroxyapatite formation and future perspectives of bioglasses.Attention has also been given to developments of metallic glasses and doped bioglasses along with the techniques used for their fabrication. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., a Wiley Company.

Holographic Recordings in Dye/Polymer Systems For Engineering Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lessard, Roger A.; Couture, Jean J.

1990-04-01

Since Gabor's first demonstration of reconstructed wavefronts, many holographic techniques provided interesting tools and applications. Presently the future of holography is strongly dependent upon new holographic recording thin films. Because of their excellent responses to high spatial frequency grating recordings (up to 6800 cycles/mm), photopolymers and photocrosslinking materials seem to be good candidates to overcome some limitations. Dichromated gelatin films demons-trated excellent properties for permanent recording grating applications like HOE construction but they are humidity sensitive and they need a chemical development. Today's holographic works need real-time like recording material and law cost organic materials as DYE/POLYMER systems offer some possibilities. We present a review of research works done in our holography laboratories of COPL at Universite Laval. Using an automated spatial frequency analyzer designed at COPL, DYE/POLYMER systems are characterized for transmission holography and also for applications involving real-time holography and four-wave mixing techniques. Also, most of our characterization studies consider volume polarization holograms. The second subject is devoted to polarization hologram recordings in thin colored polyvinyl alcohol films. Those AZO/WA solid films are erasable and can be used for many thousands duty cycles for polarization volume holograms. Holographic characterization studies are conducted in order to know best experimental conditions and applications that allow to use those films. Finally, sensitized PVA films will be discussed.

A game plan: Gamification design principles in mHealth applications for chronic disease management.

PubMed

Miller, Aaron S; Cafazzo, Joseph A; Seto, Emily

2016-06-01

Effective chronic disease management is essential to improve positive health outcomes, and incentive strategies are useful in promoting self-care with longevity. Gamification, applied with mHealth (mobile health) applications, has the potential to better facilitate patient self-management. This review article addresses a knowledge gap around the effective use of gamification design principles, or mechanics, in developing mHealth applications. Badges, leaderboards, points and levels, challenges and quests, social engagement loops, and onboarding are mechanics that comprise gamification. These mechanics are defined and explained from a design and development perspective. Health and fitness applications with gamification mechanics include: bant which uses points, levels, and social engagement, mySugr which uses challenges and quests, RunKeeper which uses leaderboards as well as social engagement loops and onboarding, Fitocracy which uses badges, and Mango Health, which uses points and levels. Specific design considerations are explored, an example of the efficacy of a gamified mHealth implementation in facilitating improved self-management is provided, limitations to this work are discussed, a link between the principles of gaming and gamification in health and wellness technologies is provided, and suggestions for future work are made. We conclude that gamification could be leveraged in developing applications with the potential to better facilitate self-management in persons with chronic conditions. © The Author(s) 2014.

State-of-the-art review of the applications of nanotechnology in pavement materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castillo, Luis, Jr.

The use of nanotechnology in pavement materials is one main area that shows great promise and has the potential to change commonly used materials. This will develop more effective solutions to achieve the desired performance. The overall objective of this work is to present a state-of-the-art literature review of nano-science-based principles to improve the performance and, ultimately, the life cycle of transportation construction materials. This work will be organized into two different parts. The first part will consist of six sections: applications of nanotechnology in concrete pavements, applications of nanotechnology in asphalt pavement, application of nanotechnology in general soils, cost-benefit analysis, challenges, and trends to the future. In addition, a current practice review was performed from a literature review that included a questionnaire of the knowledge and opinion about nanotechnology, which included students, general contractors, teachers, engineers, and architects. The second part will deal with the advancement of the application of nanotechnology in pavement materials for different developed countries. Because nanotechnology is relatively a young field in pavement materials, limited research has been conducted in North America, Europe, and Asia. A comparison of the advancement of nano-science-based principles, as applied to the performance and life cycle of transportation materials, for the three continents will be carried out in a summarized manner.

The use of telemedicine in pediatric psychology: research review and current applications.

PubMed

Van Allen, Jason; Davis, Ann McGrath; Lassen, Stephen

2011-01-01

Several novel technologies have long been used in pediatric psychology. From using electronic pill-count bottles to track child adherence to pill-taking regimens to using bed alarms for night time enuresis, psychologists have relied on technology in their work with children who are ill. Much of the recent technology literature in pediatric psychology has focused on the use of the Internet and other Web-based technologies. This article thoroughly reviews the literature regarding telehealth in the field of pediatric psychology, more specifically the application of televideo or teleconferencing in various populations of children and adolescents with chronic illnesses, followed by the authors' clinical and research applications of telehealth in pediatric psychology. The review concludes with a summary of study findings and future directions in the field for clinicians and researchers alike. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Use of ceramics in point-focus solar receivers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smoak, R. H.; Kudirka, A. A.

1981-01-01

One of the research and development efforts in the Solar Thermal Energy Systems Project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been focused on application of ceramic components for advanced point-focus solar receivers. The impetus for this effort is a need for high efficiency, low cost solar receivers which operate in a temperature regime where use of metal components is impractical. The current status of the work on evaluation of ceramic components at JPL and elsewhere is outlined and areas where lack of knowledge is currently slowing application of ceramics are discussed. Future developments of ceramic processing technology and reliability assurance methodology should open up applications for the point-focus solar concentrator system in fuels and chemicals production, in thermochemical energy transport and storage, in detoxification of hazardous materials and in high temperature process heat as well as for electric power generation.

Early clinical applications for imaging at microscopic detail: microfocus computed tomography (micro-CT).

PubMed

Hutchinson, J Ciaran; Shelmerdine, Susan C; Simcock, Ian C; Sebire, Neil J; Arthurs, Owen J

2017-07-01

Microfocus CT (micro-CT) has traditionally been used in industry and preclinical studies, although it may find new applicability in the routine clinical setting. It can provide high-resolution three-dimensional digital imaging data sets to the same level of detail as microscopic examination without the need for tissue dissection. Micro-CT is already enabling non-invasive detailed internal assessment of various tissue specimens, particularly in breast imaging and early gestational fetal autopsy, not previously possible from more conventional modalities such as MRI or CT. In this review, we discuss the technical aspects behind micro-CT image acquisition, how early work with small animal studies have informed our knowledge of human disease and the imaging performed so far on human tissue specimens. We conclude with potential future clinical applications of this novel and emerging technique.

Application of theoretical methods to increase succinate production in engineered strains.

PubMed

Valderrama-Gomez, M A; Kreitmayer, D; Wolf, S; Marin-Sanguino, A; Kremling, A

2017-04-01

Computational methods have enabled the discovery of non-intuitive strategies to enhance the production of a variety of target molecules. In the case of succinate production, reviews covering the topic have not yet analyzed the impact and future potential that such methods may have. In this work, we review the application of computational methods to the production of succinic acid. We found that while a total of 26 theoretical studies were published between 2002 and 2016, only 10 studies reported the successful experimental implementation of any kind of theoretical knowledge. None of the experimental studies reported an exact application of the computational predictions. However, the combination of computational analysis with complementary strategies, such as directed evolution and comparative genome analysis, serves as a proof of concept and demonstrates that successful metabolic engineering can be guided by rational computational methods.

Recruiting the future public health workforce: an analysis of prospect communication among accredited Schools of Public Health.

PubMed

Purcell, Jennifer M

2009-06-01

Schools of Public Health cannot sustain the national momentum for public health justice and human rights without recruiting and training a skilled public health workforce. With growing demand for public health workers, schools must work to increase their applicant pools. This project examined prospect communication materials from accredited Schools of Public Health and found that the vast majority of schools did not capitalize on opportunities to move prospects to applicants. Whereas most responded within a reasonable time, several schools made no communication efforts at all. Recruitment materials varied widely from institution to institution and between epidemiology and health education programs. Strategic, personalized communication strategies-the 3 Cs-are recommended to increase the pools of qualified applicants nationwide and can be utilized to increase prospect pools in a wide range of health sciences.

Work Began on Contracts for Radioisotope Power Conversion Technology Research and Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wong, Wayne A.

2005-01-01

NASA has had a history of successful space flight missions that depended on radioisotope-fueled power systems. These Radioisotope Power Systems (RPSs) converted the heat generated from the decay of radioisotope material into useful electrical power. An RPS is most attractive in applications where photovoltaics are not optimal, such as deep-space applications where the solar flux is too low or extended applications on planets such as Mars where the day/night cycle, settling of dust, and life requirements limit the usefulness of photovoltaics. NASA s Radioisotope Power Conversion Technology (RPCT) Program is developing next-generation power-conversion technologies that will enable future missions that have requirements that cannot be met by the two RPS flight systems currently being developed by the Department of Energy for NASA: the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator and the Stirling Radioisotope Generator (SRG).

Transparent Carbon Nanotube layers as cathodes in OLEDs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papadimitratos, Alexios; Nasibulin, Albert; Kauppinen, Esko; Zakhidov, Anvar; Solarno Inc Collaboration; Aalto University Collaboration; UT Dallas Collaboration

2011-03-01

Organic Light Emitting diodes (OLEDs) have attracted high interest in recent years due to their potential use in future lighting and display applications. Reported work on OLEDs traditionally utilizes low work function materials as cathodes that are expensive to fabricate because of the high vacuum processing. Transparent carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets have excellent mechanical and electrical properties. We have already shown earlier that multi-wall (MWCNT) as well as single CNT (SWCNT) sheets can be used as effective anodes in bright OLEDs [,]. The true advantage of using the CNT sheets lies in flexible devices and new architectures with CNT sheet as layers in tandem devices with parallel connection. In this work, we are investigating the possibility of using SWCNT as cathodes in OLEDs. SWCNT sheets have been reported to show lower work function compared to MWCNT. Our work attempts to demonstrate transparent OLED devices with CNT anodes and cathodes. In the process, OLEDs with CNT cathodes have been fabricated in normal and inverted configurations using inorganic oxides (MoO3,ZnO) as invertion layers.

Treatment of wastewater streams containing phenolic compounds using hybrid techniques based on cavitation: a review of the current status and the way forward.

PubMed

Gogate, Parag R

2008-01-01

Phenolic compounds, including its chloro and nitro derivatives, contribute significantly to environmental hazards due to high degree of toxicity as well as improper disposal methods. Cavitation can be used for degradation of phenolic compounds and recently Kidak and Ince [R. Kidak, N.H. Ince, Ultrason. Sonochem. 13 (2006) 195] have given an interesting review on the application of cavitation for destruction of phenolic compounds. A main finding of their work and generally accepted fact is that cavitation alone cannot be an economical technique for wastewater treatment. The present work overviews the different ways in which the cavitation phenomena can be intensified by using additives and/or combining cavitation with other oxidation processes. Hybrid methods viz. Ultrasound/H2O2 or ozone, cavitation assisted by use of catalysts/additives, sonophotocatalytic oxidation and cavitation coupled with biological oxidation have been discussed with specific reference to the principle behind the expected synergism, different reactor configurations used and optimum considerations for the operating and geometric parameters. Some of the important works evaluating the application of these processes for the destruction of phenolic compounds has been described in details. Some guidelines for the future work required to facilitate efficient large-scale operation have also been given.

Application of Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov method in implicitly solving two-fluid six-equation two-phase flow problems: Implementation, validation and benchmark

DOE PAGES

Zou, Ling; Zhao, Haihua; Zhang, Hongbin

2016-03-09

This work represents a first-of-its-kind successful application to employ advanced numerical methods in solving realistic two-phase flow problems with two-fluid six-equation two-phase flow model. These advanced numerical methods include high-resolution spatial discretization scheme with staggered grids (high-order) fully implicit time integration schemes, and Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK) method as the nonlinear solver. The computer code developed in this work has been extensively validated with existing experimental flow boiling data in vertical pipes and rod bundles, which cover wide ranges of experimental conditions, such as pressure, inlet mass flux, wall heat flux and exit void fraction. Additional code-to-code benchmark with the RELAP5-3Dmore » code further verifies the correct code implementation. The combined methods employed in this work exhibit strong robustness in solving two-phase flow problems even when phase appearance (boiling) and realistic discrete flow regimes are considered. Transitional flow regimes used in existing system analysis codes, normally introduced to overcome numerical difficulty, were completely removed in this work. As a result, this in turn provides the possibility to utilize more sophisticated flow regime maps in the future to further improve simulation accuracy.« less

Exploring Teacher Professional Learning for Future-Oriented Schooling: Working Paper 1 from the Back to the Future Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilbert, Jane; Bull, Ally

2014-01-01

This working paper sets out some of the early findings from a pilot project to explore the qualities that future-oriented teachers might need and how those qualities might be developed. The work began under a New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) project called Back to the Future and is now part of a Teaching & Learning Research…

The Future of Education and the Future of Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruce, Michael G.

1984-01-01

Observing that there is no shortage of work to be done, but rather a shortage of employment, this essay analyzes aspects of youth unemployment in Europe including school effectiveness; alienation and the work ethic; remedies, which include European Community's "social guarantee"; and some considerations for future change. (MJL)

The expansion of a plasma into a vacuum - Basic phenomena and processes and applications to space plasma physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, K. H., Jr.; Stone, N. H.; Samir, U.

1983-01-01

In this review attention is called to basic phenomena and physical processes involved in the expansion of a plasma into a vacuum, or the expansion of a plasma into a more tenuous plasma, in particular the fact that upon the expansion, ions are accelerated and reach energies well above their thermal energy. Also, in the process of the expansion a rarefaction wave propagates into the ambient plasma, an ion front moves into the expansion volume, and discontinuities in plasma parameters occur. The physical processes which cause the above phenomena are discussed, and their possible application is suggested for the case of the distribution of ions and electrons (hence plasma potential and electric fields) in the wake region behind artificial and natural obstacles moving supersonically in a rarefied space plasma. To illustrate this, some in situ results are reexamined. Directions for future work in this area via the utilization of the Space Shuttle and laboratory work are also mentioned.

A semi-implicit augmented IIM for Navier–Stokes equations with open, traction, or free boundary conditions

PubMed Central

Li, Zhilin; Xiao, Li; Cai, Qin; Zhao, Hongkai; Luo, Ray

2016-01-01

In this paper, a new Navier–Stokes solver based on a finite difference approximation is proposed to solve incompressible flows on irregular domains with open, traction, and free boundary conditions, which can be applied to simulations of fluid structure interaction, implicit solvent model for biomolecular applications and other free boundary or interface problems. For some problems of this type, the projection method and the augmented immersed interface method (IIM) do not work well or does not work at all. The proposed new Navier–Stokes solver is based on the local pressure boundary method, and a semi-implicit augmented IIM. A fast Poisson solver can be used in our algorithm which gives us the potential for developing fast overall solvers in the future. The time discretization is based on a second order multi-step method. Numerical tests with exact solutions are presented to validate the accuracy of the method. Application to fluid structure interaction between an incompressible fluid and a compressible gas bubble is also presented. PMID:27087702

A semi-implicit augmented IIM for Navier-Stokes equations with open, traction, or free boundary conditions.

PubMed

Li, Zhilin; Xiao, Li; Cai, Qin; Zhao, Hongkai; Luo, Ray

2015-08-15

In this paper, a new Navier-Stokes solver based on a finite difference approximation is proposed to solve incompressible flows on irregular domains with open, traction, and free boundary conditions, which can be applied to simulations of fluid structure interaction, implicit solvent model for biomolecular applications and other free boundary or interface problems. For some problems of this type, the projection method and the augmented immersed interface method (IIM) do not work well or does not work at all. The proposed new Navier-Stokes solver is based on the local pressure boundary method, and a semi-implicit augmented IIM. A fast Poisson solver can be used in our algorithm which gives us the potential for developing fast overall solvers in the future. The time discretization is based on a second order multi-step method. Numerical tests with exact solutions are presented to validate the accuracy of the method. Application to fluid structure interaction between an incompressible fluid and a compressible gas bubble is also presented.

SiC Fibers and SiCf/SiC Ceramic Matrix Minicomposites Damage Behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Almansour, Amjad S.

2017-01-01

Silicon Carbide based Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) are attractive materials for use in high-temperature applications in the aerospace industry. Performance and durability of CMCs depend on the properties of its constituents such as fibers and matrix. Therefore, CMCs constituents limitations and damage mechanisms are discussed and characterized in representative simulated application conditions and dominant damage mechanisms are identified at elevated temperatures. In this work, the initiation and evolution of damage in Hi-Nicalon type S fiber-reinforced minicomposites with different interphases thicknesses from different manufacturers were investigated employing several nondestructive evaluation techniques such as acoustic emission, electrical resistance and microscopy. Moreover, the tensile creep behavior of single Hi-Nicalon Type S SiC fibers were tested and characterized and creep parameters were extracted. Fibers creep tests were performed in air or vacuum at 1200-1482 C under high stresses. Creep parameters was then used in understanding load sharing and lifing of ceramic matrix minicomposites. Future work plans will be reviewed.

Astronomical Methods in Aerial Navigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beij, K Hilding

1925-01-01

The astronomical method of determining position is universally used in marine navigation and may also be of service in aerial navigation. The practical application of the method, however, must be modified and adapted to conform to the requirements of aviation. Much of this work of adaptation has already been accomplished, but being scattered through various technical journals in a number of languages, is not readily available. This report is for the purpose of collecting under one cover such previous work as appears to be of value to the aerial navigator, comparing instruments and methods, indicating the best practice, and suggesting future developments. The various methods of determining position and their application and value are outlined, and a brief resume of the theory of the astronomical method is given. Observation instruments are described in detail. A complete discussion of the reduction of observations follows, including a rapid method of finding position from the altitudes of two stars. Maps and map cases are briefly considered. A bibliography of the subject is appended.

Generalized plasma skimming model for cells and drug carriers in the microvasculature.

PubMed

Lee, Tae-Rin; Yoo, Sung Sic; Yang, Jiho

2017-04-01

In microvascular transport, where both blood and drug carriers are involved, plasma skimming has a key role on changing hematocrit level and drug carrier concentration in capillary beds after continuous vessel bifurcation in the microvasculature. While there have been numerous studies on modeling the plasma skimming of blood, previous works lacked in consideration of its interaction with drug carriers. In this paper, a generalized plasma skimming model is suggested to predict the redistributions of both the cells and drug carriers at each bifurcation. In order to examine its applicability, this new model was applied on a single bifurcation system to predict the redistribution of red blood cells and drug carriers. Furthermore, this model was tested at microvascular network level under different plasma skimming conditions for predicting the concentration of drug carriers. Based on these results, the applicability of this generalized plasma skimming model is fully discussed and future works along with the model's limitations are summarized.

Earth Science Data for a Mobile Age

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oostra, D.; Chambers, L. H.; Lewis, P. M.; Baize, R.; Oots, P.; Rogerson, T.; Crecelius, S.; Coleman, T.

2012-12-01

Earth science data access needs to be interoperable and automatic. Recently, increasingly savvy data users combined with more complex web and mobile applications have placed increasing demands on how this Earth science data is being delivered to educators and students. The MY NASA DATA (MND) and S'COOL projects are developing a strategy to interact with the education community in the age of mobile devices and platforms. How can we provide data and meaningful scientific experiences to educational users through mobile technologies? This initiative will seek out existing technologies and stakeholders within the Earth Science community to identify datasets that are relevant and appropriate for mobile application development and use by the educational community. Targeting efforts within the educational community will give the project a better understanding of the previous attempts at data/mobile application use in the classroom and its problems. In addition, we will query developers and data providers on what successes and failures they've experienced in trying to provide data for applications designed on mobile platforms. This feedback will be implemented in new websites, applications and lessons that will provide authentic scientific experiences for students and end users. We want to create tools that help sort through the vast amounts of NASA data, and deliver it to users automatically. NASA provides millions of gigabytes of data that is publicly available through a large number of services spread across the World Wide Web. Accessing and navigating this data can be time consuming and problematic with variety of file types and methods for accessing this data. The MND project, through its' Live Access Server system, provides selected datasets that are relevant and targets National Standards of Learning for educators to easily integrate into existing curricula. In the future, we want to provide desired data to users with automatic updates, anticipate future data queries/needs and generate new data combinations--targeting users with a web 3.0 methodology. We will examine applications that give users direct access to data in near real-time and find solutions for the educational community. MND and S'COOL will identify trends in the mobile and web application sectors to provide the greatest effect upon relevant audiences within the science and educational communities. Greater access is the goal, with an acute focus on educating our future explorers and scientists with tools and data that will provide the most efficacy, use, and enriching science experiences. Current trends point to cross-platform web applications as being the most effective and efficient means of delivering content, data, and ideas to end users. Universal availability of key datasets on any device will encourage users to continue to use data and attract potential data users and providers. Projected Outcomes Initially, the outcome for this work is to increase the effectiveness of the MND and S'COOL projects by learning more about our users needs and anticipating how data will be used in the future. Through our work we will increase exposure and ease of access to NASA datasets relevant to our communities. Our goal is to focus on our participants mobile usage in the classroom, thereby gaining a greater understanding on how data is being used to teach students about the Earth and begin to develop better tools and technologies.

The Uses of the Smartphone for Doctors: An Empirical Study from Samsung Medical Center

PubMed Central

Choi, Jong Soo; Yi, Byoungkee; Park, Jong Hwan; Choi, Kyesook; Jung, Jaegon; Park, Seung Woo

2011-01-01

Objectives In healthcare, mobile computing made possible by smartphones is becoming an important tool among healthcare professionals. However, currently there is very little research into the effectiveness of such applications of technology. This study aims to present a framework for a smartphone application to give doctors mobile access to patient information, then review the consequences of its use and discuss its future direction. Methods Since 2003 when Samsung Medical Center introduced its first mobile application, a need to develop a new application targeting the latest smartphone technology was identified. To that end, an application named Dr. SMART S was officially launched on December 22nd, 2010. Results We analyzed the usage data of the application for a month until April 25th, 2011. On average, 170 doctors (13% of the entire body of doctors) logged on 2.4 times per day and that number keeps growing. The number was uniformly distributed across all working hours, with exceptions of heavy accesses around 6-8 AM and 4-6 PM when doctors do their regular rounds to see the patients. The most commonly accessed content was inpatient information, this constituted 78.6% of all accesses, within this 50% was to accesses lab results. Conclusions Looking at the usage data, we can see the use of Dr. SMART S by doctors is growing in sync with the popularity of smartphones. Since u-Health seem an inevitable future trend, a more rigorous study needs to be conducted on how such mobile applications as Dr. SMART S affect the quality of care and patient safety to derive directions for further improvements. PMID:21886874

Optimization Models for Scheduling of Jobs

PubMed Central

Indika, S. H. Sathish; Shier, Douglas R.

2006-01-01

This work is motivated by a particular scheduling problem that is faced by logistics centers that perform aircraft maintenance and modification. Here we concentrate on a single facility (hangar) which is equipped with several work stations (bays). Specifically, a number of jobs have already been scheduled for processing at the facility; the starting times, durations, and work station assignments for these jobs are assumed to be known. We are interested in how best to schedule a number of new jobs that the facility will be processing in the near future. We first develop a mixed integer quadratic programming model (MIQP) for this problem. Since the exact solution of this MIQP formulation is time consuming, we develop a heuristic procedure, based on existing bin packing techniques. This heuristic is further enhanced by application of certain local optimality conditions. PMID:27274921

[An Introduction to Methods for Evaluating Health Care Technology].

PubMed

Lee, Ting-Ting

2015-06-01

The rapid and continual advance of healthcare technology makes ensuring that this technology is used effectively to achieve its original goals a critical issue. This paper presents three methods that may be applied by healthcare professionals in the evaluation of healthcare technology. These methods include: the perception/experiences of users, user work-pattern changes, and chart review or data mining. The first method includes two categories: using interviews to explore the user experience and using theory-based questionnaire surveys. The second method applies work sampling to observe the work pattern changes of users. The last method conducts chart reviews or data mining to analyze the designated variables. In conclusion, while evaluative feedback may be used to improve the design and development of healthcare technology applications, the informatics competency and informatics literacy of users may be further explored in future research.

NASA scheduling technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adair, Jerry R.

1994-01-01

This paper is a consolidated report on ten major planning and scheduling systems that have been developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A description of each system, its components, and how it could be potentially used in private industry is provided in this paper. The planning and scheduling technology represented by the systems ranges from activity based scheduling employing artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to constraint based, iterative repair scheduling. The space related application domains in which the systems have been deployed vary from Space Shuttle monitoring during launch countdown to long term Hubble Space Telescope (HST) scheduling. This paper also describes any correlation that may exist between the work done on different planning and scheduling systems. Finally, this paper documents the lessons learned from the work and research performed in planning and scheduling technology and describes the areas where future work will be conducted.

Developing a Capstone Course within a Health Informatics Program

PubMed Central

Hackbarth, Gary; Cata, Teuta; Cole, Laura

2012-01-01

This article discusses the ongoing development of a health informatics capstone program in a Midwest university from the hiring of a program coordinator to the development of a capstone course, through initial student results. University health informatics programs require a strong academic program to be successful but also require a spirited program coordinator to manage resources and organize an effective capstone course. This is particularly true of health informatics master's programs that support health industry career fields, whereby employers can locate and work with a pool of qualified applicants. The analysis of students’ logs confirms that students’ areas of focus and concern are consistent with course objectives and company work requirements during the work-study portion of the student capstone project. The article further discusses lessons learned and future improvements to be made in the health informatics capstone course. PMID:22783150

Standardization efforts of digital pathology in Europe.

PubMed

Rojo, Marcial García; Daniel, Christel; Schrader, Thomas

2012-01-01

EURO-TELEPATH is a European COST Action IC0604. It started in 2007 and will end in November 2011. Its main objectives are evaluating and validating the common technological framework and communication standards required to access, transmit, and manage digital medical records by pathologists and other medical specialties in a networked environment. Working Group 1, "Business Modelling in Pathology," has designed main pathology processes - Frozen Study, Formalin Fixed Specimen Study, Telepathology, Cytology, and Autopsy - using Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN). Working Group 2 has been dedicated to promoting the application of informatics standards in pathology, collaborating with Integrating Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), Health Level Seven (HL7), and other standardization bodies. Health terminology standardization research has become a topic of great interest. Future research work should focus on standardizing automatic image analysis and tissue microarrays imaging.

Towards the Verification of Human-Robot Teams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Michael; Pearce, Edward; Wooldridge, Mike; Sierhuis, Maarten; Visser, Willem; Bordini, Rafael H.

2005-01-01

Human-Agent collaboration is increasingly important. Not only do high-profile activities such as NASA missions to Mars intend to employ such teams, but our everyday activities involving interaction with computational devices falls into this category. In many of these scenarios, we are expected to trust that the agents will do what we expect and that the agents and humans will work together as expected. But how can we be sure? In this paper, we bring together previous work on the verification of multi-agent systems with work on the modelling of human-agent teamwork. Specifically, we target human-robot teamwork. This paper provides an outline of the way we are using formal verification techniques in order to analyse such collaborative activities. A particular application is the analysis of human-robot teams intended for use in future space exploration.

Argonne Leadership Computing Facility 2011 annual report : Shaping future supercomputing.

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

Papka, M.; Messina, P.; Coffey, R.

The ALCF's Early Science Program aims to prepare key applications for the architecture and scale of Mira and to solidify libraries and infrastructure that will pave the way for other future production applications. Two billion core-hours have been allocated to 16 Early Science projects on Mira. The projects, in addition to promising delivery of exciting new science, are all based on state-of-the-art, petascale, parallel applications. The project teams, in collaboration with ALCF staff and IBM, have undertaken intensive efforts to adapt their software to take advantage of Mira's Blue Gene/Q architecture, which, in a number of ways, is a precursormore » to future high-performance-computing architecture. The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) enables transformative science that solves some of the most difficult challenges in biology, chemistry, energy, climate, materials, physics, and other scientific realms. Users partnering with ALCF staff have reached research milestones previously unattainable, due to the ALCF's world-class supercomputing resources and expertise in computation science. In 2011, the ALCF's commitment to providing outstanding science and leadership-class resources was honored with several prestigious awards. Research on multiscale brain blood flow simulations was named a Gordon Bell Prize finalist. Intrepid, the ALCF's BG/P system, ranked No. 1 on the Graph 500 list for the second consecutive year. The next-generation BG/Q prototype again topped the Green500 list. Skilled experts at the ALCF enable researchers to conduct breakthrough science on the Blue Gene system in key ways. The Catalyst Team matches project PIs with experienced computational scientists to maximize and accelerate research in their specific scientific domains. The Performance Engineering Team facilitates the effective use of applications on the Blue Gene system by assessing and improving the algorithms used by applications and the techniques used to implement those algorithms. The Data Analytics and Visualization Team lends expertise in tools and methods for high-performance, post-processing of large datasets, interactive data exploration, batch visualization, and production visualization. The Operations Team ensures that system hardware and software work reliably and optimally; system tools are matched to the unique system architectures and scale of ALCF resources; the entire system software stack works smoothly together; and I/O performance issues, bug fixes, and requests for system software are addressed. The User Services and Outreach Team offers frontline services and support to existing and potential ALCF users. The team also provides marketing and outreach to users, DOE, and the broader community.« less

Extrusion-based 3D printing of poly(propylene fumarate) scaffolds with hydroxyapatite gradients

PubMed Central

Trachtenberg, Jordan E.; Placone, Jesse K.; Smith, Brandon T.; Fisher, John P.; Mikos, Antonios G.

2017-01-01

The primary focus of this work is to present the current challenges of printing scaffolds with concentration gradients of nanoparticles with an aim to improve the processing of these scaffolds. Furthermore, we address how print fidelity is related to material composition and emphasize the importance of considering this relationship when developing complex scaffolds for bone implants. The ability to create complex tissues is becoming increasingly relevant in the tissue engineering community. For bone tissue engineering applications, this work demonstrates the ability to use extrusion-based printing techniques to control the spatial deposition of hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles in a 3D composite scaffold. In doing so, we combined the benefits of synthetic, degradable polymers, such as poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF), with osteoconductive HA nanoparticles that provide robust compressive mechanical properties. Furthermore, the final 3D printed scaffolds consisted of well-defined layers with interconnected pores, two critical features for a successful bone implant. To demonstrate a controlled gradient of HA, thermogravimetric analysis was carried out to quantify HA on a per-layer basis. Moreover, we non-destructively evaluated the tendency of HA particles to aggregate within PPF using micro-computed tomography (µCT). This work provides insight for proper fabrication and characterization of composite scaffolds containing particle gradients and has broad applicability for future efforts in fabricating complex scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. PMID:28125380

Extrusion-based 3D printing of poly(propylene fumarate) scaffolds with hydroxyapatite gradients.

PubMed

Trachtenberg, Jordan E; Placone, Jesse K; Smith, Brandon T; Fisher, John P; Mikos, Antonios G

2017-04-01

The primary focus of this work is to present the current challenges of printing scaffolds with concentration gradients of nanoparticles with an aim to improve the processing of these scaffolds. Furthermore, we address how print fidelity is related to material composition and emphasize the importance of considering this relationship when developing complex scaffolds for bone implants. The ability to create complex tissues is becoming increasingly relevant in the tissue engineering community. For bone tissue engineering applications, this work demonstrates the ability to use extrusion-based printing techniques to control the spatial deposition of hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles in a 3D composite scaffold. In doing so, we combined the benefits of synthetic, degradable polymers, such as poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF), with osteoconductive HA nanoparticles that provide robust compressive mechanical properties. Furthermore, the final 3D printed scaffolds consisted of well-defined layers with interconnected pores, two critical features for a successful bone implant. To demonstrate a controlled gradient of HA, thermogravimetric analysis was carried out to quantify HA on a per-layer basis. Moreover, we non-destructively evaluated the tendency of HA particles to aggregate within PPF using micro-computed tomography (μCT). This work provides insight for proper fabrication and characterization of composite scaffolds containing particle gradients and has broad applicability for future efforts in fabricating complex scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.