A new parallel-vector finite element analysis software on distributed-memory computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Qin, Jiangning; Nguyen, Duc T.

1993-01-01

A new parallel-vector finite element analysis software package MPFEA (Massively Parallel-vector Finite Element Analysis) is developed for large-scale structural analysis on massively parallel computers with distributed-memory. MPFEA is designed for parallel generation and assembly of the global finite element stiffness matrices as well as parallel solution of the simultaneous linear equations, since these are often the major time-consuming parts of a finite element analysis. Block-skyline storage scheme along with vector-unrolling techniques are used to enhance the vector performance. Communications among processors are carried out concurrently with arithmetic operations to reduce the total execution time. Numerical results on the Intel iPSC/860 computers (such as the Intel Gamma with 128 processors and the Intel Touchstone Delta with 512 processors) are presented, including an aircraft structure and some very large truss structures, to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of MPFEA.

Automated Classification of Heritage Buildings for As-Built Bim Using Machine Learning Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bassier, M.; Vergauwen, M.; Van Genechten, B.

2017-08-01

Semantically rich three dimensional models such as Building Information Models (BIMs) are increasingly used in digital heritage. They provide the required information to varying stakeholders during the different stages of the historic buildings life cyle which is crucial in the conservation process. The creation of as-built BIM models is based on point cloud data. However, manually interpreting this data is labour intensive and often leads to misinterpretations. By automatically classifying the point cloud, the information can be proccesed more effeciently. A key aspect in this automated scan-to-BIM process is the classification of building objects. In this research we look to automatically recognise elements in existing buildings to create compact semantic information models. Our algorithm efficiently extracts the main structural components such as floors, ceilings, roofs, walls and beams despite the presence of significant clutter and occlusions. More specifically, Support Vector Machines (SVM) are proposed for the classification. The algorithm is evaluated using real data of a variety of existing buildings. The results prove that the used classifier recognizes the objects with both high precision and recall. As a result, entire data sets are reliably labelled at once. The approach enables experts to better document and process heritage assets.

Alphavirus replicon approach to promoterless analysis of IRES elements.

PubMed

Kamrud, K I; Custer, M; Dudek, J M; Owens, G; Alterson, K D; Lee, J S; Groebner, J L; Smith, J F

2007-04-10

Here we describe a system for promoterless analysis of putative internal ribosome entry site (IRES) elements using an alphavirus (family Togaviridae) replicon vector. The system uses the alphavirus subgenomic promoter to produce transcripts that, when modified to contain a spacer region upstream of an IRES element, allow analysis of cap-independent translation of genes of interest (GOI). If the IRES element is removed, translation of the subgenomic transcript can be reduced >95% compared to the same transcript containing a functional IRES element. Alphavirus replicons, used in this manner, offer an alternative to standard dicistronic DNA vectors or in vitro translation systems currently used to analyze putative IRES elements. In addition, protein expression levels varied depending on the spacer element located upstream of each IRES. The ability to modulate the level of expression from alphavirus vectors should extend the utility of these vectors in vaccine development.

Alphavirus Replicon Approach to Promoterless Analysis of IRES Elements

PubMed Central

Kamrud, K.I.; Custer, M.; Dudek, J.M.; Owens, G.; Alterson, K.D.; Lee, J.S.; Groebner, J.L.; Smith, J.F.

2007-01-01

Here we describe a system for promoterless analysis of putative internal ribosome entry site (IRES) elements using an alphavirus (Family Togaviridae) replicon vector. The system uses the alphavirus subgenomic promoter to produce transcripts that, when modified to contain a spacer region upstream of an IRES element, allow analysis of cap-independent translation of genes of interest (GOI). If the IRES element is removed, translation of the subgenomic transcript can be reduced > 95 % compared to the same transcript containing a functional IRES element. Alphavirus replicons, used in this manner, offer an alternative to standard dicistronic DNA vectors or in-vitro translation systems currently used to analyze putative IRES elements. In addition, protein expression levels varied depending on the spacer element located upstream of each IRES. The ability to modulate the level of expression from alphavirus vectors should extend the utility of these vectors in vaccine development. PMID:17156813

Using a multifrontal sparse solver in a high performance, finite element code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

King, Scott D.; Lucas, Robert; Raefsky, Arthur

1990-01-01

We consider the performance of the finite element method on a vector supercomputer. The computationally intensive parts of the finite element method are typically the individual element forms and the solution of the global stiffness matrix both of which are vectorized in high performance codes. To further increase throughput, new algorithms are needed. We compare a multifrontal sparse solver to a traditional skyline solver in a finite element code on a vector supercomputer. The multifrontal solver uses the Multiple-Minimum Degree reordering heuristic to reduce the number of operations required to factor a sparse matrix and full matrix computational kernels (e.g., BLAS3) to enhance vector performance. The net result in an order-of-magnitude reduction in run time for a finite element application on one processor of a Cray X-MP.

The Use of Sparse Direct Solver in Vector Finite Element Modeling for Calculating Two Dimensional (2-D) Magnetotelluric Responses in Transverse Electric (TE) Mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yihaa Roodhiyah, Lisa’; Tjong, Tiffany; Nurhasan; Sutarno, D.

2018-04-01

The late research, linear matrices of vector finite element in two dimensional(2-D) magnetotelluric (MT) responses modeling was solved by non-sparse direct solver in TE mode. Nevertheless, there is some weakness which have to be improved especially accuracy in the low frequency (10-3 Hz-10-5 Hz) which is not achieved yet and high cost computation in dense mesh. In this work, the solver which is used is sparse direct solver instead of non-sparse direct solverto overcome the weaknesses of solving linear matrices of vector finite element metod using non-sparse direct solver. Sparse direct solver will be advantageous in solving linear matrices of vector finite element method because of the matrix properties which is symmetrical and sparse. The validation of sparse direct solver in solving linear matrices of vector finite element has been done for a homogen half-space model and vertical contact model by analytical solution. Thevalidation result of sparse direct solver in solving linear matrices of vector finite element shows that sparse direct solver is more stable than non-sparse direct solver in computing linear problem of vector finite element method especially in low frequency. In the end, the accuracy of 2D MT responses modelling in low frequency (10-3 Hz-10-5 Hz) has been reached out under the efficient allocation memory of array and less computational time consuming.

A simple map-based localization strategy using range measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Kevin L.; Kutiyanawala, Aliasgar; Chandrasekharan, Madhumita

2005-05-01

In this paper we present a map-based approach to localization. We consider indoor navigation in known environments based on the idea of a "vector cloud" by observing that any point in a building has an associated vector defining its distance to the key structural components (e.g., walls, ceilings, etc.) of the building in any direction. Given a building blueprint we can derive the "ideal" vector cloud at any point in space. Then, given measurements from sensors on the robot we can compare the measured vector cloud to the possible vector clouds cataloged from the blueprint, thus determining location. We present algorithms for implementing this approach to localization, using the Hamming norm, the 1-norm, and the 2-norm. The effectiveness of the approach is verified by experiments on a 2-D testbed using a mobile robot with a 360° laser range-finder and through simulation analysis of robustness.

Finite element area and line integral transforms for generalization of aperture function and geometry in Kirchhoff scalar diffraction theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraus, Hal G.

1993-02-01

Two finite element-based methods for calculating Fresnel region and near-field region intensities resulting from diffraction of light by two-dimensional apertures are presented. The first is derived using the Kirchhoff area diffraction integral and the second is derived using a displaced vector potential to achieve a line integral transformation. The specific form of each of these formulations is presented for incident spherical waves and for Gaussian laser beams. The geometry of the two-dimensional diffracting aperture(s) is based on biquadratic isoparametric elements, which are used to define apertures of complex geometry. These elements are also used to build complex amplitude and phase functions across the aperture(s), which may be of continuous or discontinuous form. The finite element transform integrals are accurately and efficiently integrated numerically using Gaussian quadrature. The power of these methods is illustrated in several examples which include secondary obstructions, secondary spider supports, multiple mirror arrays, synthetic aperture arrays, apertures covered by screens, apodization, phase plates, and off-axis apertures. Typically, the finite element line integral transform results in significant gains in computational efficiency over the finite element Kirchhoff transform method, but is also subject to some loss in generality.

Remote Sensing as a Landscape Epidemiologic Tool to Identify Villages at High Risk for Malaria Transmission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beck, Louisa R.; Rodriquez, Mario H.; Dister, Sheri W.; Rodriquez, Americo D.; Rejmankova, Eliska; Ulloa, Armando; Meza, Rosa A.; Roberts, Donald R.; Paris, Jack F.; Spanner, Michael A.;

Assessment of hypoxia and TNF-alpha response by a vector with HRE and NF-kappaB response elements.

PubMed

Chen, Zhilin; Eadie, Ashley L; Hall, Sean R; Ballantyne, Laurel; Ademidun, David; Tse, M Yat; Pang, Stephen C; Melo, Luis G; Ward, Christopher A; Brunt, Keith R

2017-01-01

Hypoxia and inflammatory cytokine activation (H&I) are common processes in many acute and chronic diseases. Thus, a single vector that responds to both hypoxia and inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-alpha, is useful for assesing the severity of such diseases. Adaptation to hypoxia is regulated primarily by hypoxia inducible transcription factor (HIF alpha) nuclear proteins that engage genes containing a hypoxia response element (HRE). Inflammation activates a multitude of cytokines, including TNF-alpha, that invariably modulate activation of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) transcription factor. We constructed a vector that encompassed both a hypoxia response element (HRE), and a NF-kappaB responsive element. We show that this vector was functionally responsive to both hypoxia and TNF-alpha, in vitro and in vivo . Thus, this vector might be suitable for the detection and assessment of hypoxia or TNF-alpha.

Complex matrix multiplication operations with data pre-conditioning in a high performance computing architecture

DOEpatents

Eichenberger, Alexandre E; Gschwind, Michael K; Gunnels, John A

2014-02-11

Mechanisms for performing a complex matrix multiplication operation are provided. A vector load operation is performed to load a first vector operand of the complex matrix multiplication operation to a first target vector register. The first vector operand comprises a real and imaginary part of a first complex vector value. A complex load and splat operation is performed to load a second complex vector value of a second vector operand and replicate the second complex vector value within a second target vector register. The second complex vector value has a real and imaginary part. A cross multiply add operation is performed on elements of the first target vector register and elements of the second target vector register to generate a partial product of the complex matrix multiplication operation. The partial product is accumulated with other partial products and a resulting accumulated partial product is stored in a result vector register.

Supercomputer implementation of finite element algorithms for high speed compressible flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thornton, E. A.; Ramakrishnan, R.

1986-01-01

Prediction of compressible flow phenomena using the finite element method is of recent origin and considerable interest. Two shock capturing finite element formulations for high speed compressible flows are described. A Taylor-Galerkin formulation uses a Taylor series expansion in time coupled with a Galerkin weighted residual statement. The Taylor-Galerkin algorithms use explicit artificial dissipation, and the performance of three dissipation models are compared. A Petrov-Galerkin algorithm has as its basis the concepts of streamline upwinding. Vectorization strategies are developed to implement the finite element formulations on the NASA Langley VPS-32. The vectorization scheme results in finite element programs that use vectors of length of the order of the number of nodes or elements. The use of the vectorization procedure speeds up processing rates by over two orders of magnitude. The Taylor-Galerkin and Petrov-Galerkin algorithms are evaluated for 2D inviscid flows on criteria such as solution accuracy, shock resolution, computational speed and storage requirements. The convergence rates for both algorithms are enhanced by local time-stepping schemes. Extension of the vectorization procedure for predicting 2D viscous and 3D inviscid flows are demonstrated. Conclusions are drawn regarding the applicability of the finite element procedures for realistic problems that require hundreds of thousands of nodes.

Parallel processors and nonlinear structural dynamics algorithms and software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belytschko, Ted

1990-01-01

Techniques are discussed for the implementation and improvement of vectorization and concurrency in nonlinear explicit structural finite element codes. In explicit integration methods, the computation of the element internal force vector consumes the bulk of the computer time. The program can be efficiently vectorized by subdividing the elements into blocks and executing all computations in vector mode. The structuring of elements into blocks also provides a convenient way to implement concurrency by creating tasks which can be assigned to available processors for evaluation. The techniques were implemented in a 3-D nonlinear program with one-point quadrature shell elements. Concurrency and vectorization were first implemented in a single time step version of the program. Techniques were developed to minimize processor idle time and to select the optimal vector length. A comparison of run times between the program executed in scalar, serial mode and the fully vectorized code executed concurrently using eight processors shows speed-ups of over 25. Conjugate gradient methods for solving nonlinear algebraic equations are also readily adapted to a parallel environment. A new technique for improving convergence properties of conjugate gradients in nonlinear problems is developed in conjunction with other techniques such as diagonal scaling. A significant reduction in the number of iterations required for convergence is shown for a statically loaded rigid bar suspended by three equally spaced springs.

QuickMap: a public tool for large-scale gene therapy vector insertion site mapping and analysis.

PubMed

Appelt, J-U; Giordano, F A; Ecker, M; Roeder, I; Grund, N; Hotz-Wagenblatt, A; Opelz, G; Zeller, W J; Allgayer, H; Fruehauf, S; Laufs, S

2009-07-01

Several events of insertional mutagenesis in pre-clinical and clinical gene therapy studies have created intense interest in assessing the genomic insertion profiles of gene therapy vectors. For the construction of such profiles, vector-flanking sequences detected by inverse PCR, linear amplification-mediated-PCR or ligation-mediated-PCR need to be mapped to the host cell's genome and compared to a reference set. Although remarkable progress has been achieved in mapping gene therapy vector insertion sites, public reference sets are lacking, as are the possibilities to quickly detect non-random patterns in experimental data. We developed a tool termed QuickMap, which uniformly maps and analyzes human and murine vector-flanking sequences within seconds (available at www.gtsg.org). Besides information about hits in chromosomes and fragile sites, QuickMap automatically determines insertion frequencies in +/- 250 kb adjacency to genes, cancer genes, pseudogenes, transcription factor and (post-transcriptional) miRNA binding sites, CpG islands and repetitive elements (short interspersed nuclear elements (SINE), long interspersed nuclear elements (LINE), Type II elements and LTR elements). Additionally, all experimental frequencies are compared with the data obtained from a reference set, containing 1 000 000 random integrations ('random set'). Thus, for the first time a tool allowing high-throughput profiling of gene therapy vector insertion sites is available. It provides a basis for large-scale insertion site analyses, which is now urgently needed to discover novel gene therapy vectors with 'safe' insertion profiles.

Graph-theoretic quantum system modelling for neuronal microtubules as hierarchical clustered quantum Hopfield networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, D. P.; Sahni, V.; Satsangi, P. S.

2014-08-01

Graph-theoretic quantum system modelling (GTQSM) is facilitated by considering the fundamental unit of quantum computation and information, viz. a quantum bit or qubit as a basic building block. Unit directional vectors "ket 0" and "ket 1" constitute two distinct fundamental quantum across variable orthonormal basis vectors, for the Hilbert space, specifying the direction of propagation of information, or computation data, while complementary fundamental quantum through, or flow rate, variables specify probability parameters, or amplitudes, as surrogates for scalar quantum information measure (von Neumann entropy). This paper applies GTQSM in continuum of protein heterodimer tubulin molecules of self-assembling polymers, viz. microtubules in the brain as a holistic system of interacting components representing hierarchical clustered quantum Hopfield network, hQHN, of networks. The quantum input/output ports of the constituent elemental interaction components, or processes, of tunnelling interactions and Coulombic bidirectional interactions are in cascade and parallel interconnections with each other, while the classical output ports of all elemental components are interconnected in parallel to accumulate micro-energy functions generated in the system as Hamiltonian, or Lyapunov, energy function. The paper presents an insight, otherwise difficult to gain, for the complex system of systems represented by clustered quantum Hopfield network, hQHN, through the application of GTQSM construct.

A Distributed-Memory Package for Dense Hierarchically Semi-Separable Matrix Computations Using Randomization

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

Rouet, François-Henry; Li, Xiaoye S.; Ghysels, Pieter

In this paper, we present a distributed-memory library for computations with dense structured matrices. A matrix is considered structured if its off-diagonal blocks can be approximated by a rank-deficient matrix with low numerical rank. Here, we use Hierarchically Semi-Separable (HSS) representations. Such matrices appear in many applications, for example, finite-element methods, boundary element methods, and so on. Exploiting this structure allows for fast solution of linear systems and/or fast computation of matrix-vector products, which are the two main building blocks of matrix computations. The compression algorithm that we use, that computes the HSS form of an input dense matrix, reliesmore » on randomized sampling with a novel adaptive sampling mechanism. We discuss the parallelization of this algorithm and also present the parallelization of structured matrix-vector product, structured factorization, and solution routines. The efficiency of the approach is demonstrated on large problems from different academic and industrial applications, on up to 8,000 cores. Finally, this work is part of a more global effort, the STRUctured Matrices PACKage (STRUMPACK) software package for computations with sparse and dense structured matrices. Hence, although useful on their own right, the routines also represent a step in the direction of a distributed-memory sparse solver.« less

A Distributed-Memory Package for Dense Hierarchically Semi-Separable Matrix Computations Using Randomization

DOE PAGES

Rouet, François-Henry; Li, Xiaoye S.; Ghysels, Pieter; ...

2016-06-30

In this paper, we present a distributed-memory library for computations with dense structured matrices. A matrix is considered structured if its off-diagonal blocks can be approximated by a rank-deficient matrix with low numerical rank. Here, we use Hierarchically Semi-Separable (HSS) representations. Such matrices appear in many applications, for example, finite-element methods, boundary element methods, and so on. Exploiting this structure allows for fast solution of linear systems and/or fast computation of matrix-vector products, which are the two main building blocks of matrix computations. The compression algorithm that we use, that computes the HSS form of an input dense matrix, reliesmore » on randomized sampling with a novel adaptive sampling mechanism. We discuss the parallelization of this algorithm and also present the parallelization of structured matrix-vector product, structured factorization, and solution routines. The efficiency of the approach is demonstrated on large problems from different academic and industrial applications, on up to 8,000 cores. Finally, this work is part of a more global effort, the STRUctured Matrices PACKage (STRUMPACK) software package for computations with sparse and dense structured matrices. Hence, although useful on their own right, the routines also represent a step in the direction of a distributed-memory sparse solver.« less

Integrated vector management for malaria control

PubMed Central

Beier, John C; Keating, Joseph; Githure, John I; Macdonald, Michael B; Impoinvil, Daniel E; Novak, Robert J

2008-01-01

Integrated vector management (IVM) is defined as "a rational decision-making process for the optimal use of resources for vector control" and includes five key elements: 1) evidence-based decision-making, 2) integrated approaches 3), collaboration within the health sector and with other sectors, 4) advocacy, social mobilization, and legislation, and 5) capacity-building. In 2004, the WHO adopted IVM globally for the control of all vector-borne diseases. Important recent progress has been made in developing and promoting IVM for national malaria control programmes in Africa at a time when successful malaria control programmes are scaling-up with insecticide-treated nets (ITN) and/or indoor residual spraying (IRS) coverage. While interventions using only ITNs and/or IRS successfully reduce transmission intensity and the burden of malaria in many situations, it is not clear if these interventions alone will achieve those critical low levels that result in malaria elimination. Despite the successful employment of comprehensive integrated malaria control programmes, further strengthening of vector control components through IVM is relevant, especially during the "end-game" where control is successful and further efforts are required to go from low transmission situations to sustained local and country-wide malaria elimination. To meet this need and to ensure sustainability of control efforts, malaria control programmes should strengthen their capacity to use data for decision-making with respect to evaluation of current vector control programmes, employment of additional vector control tools in conjunction with ITN/IRS tactics, case-detection and treatment strategies, and determine how much and what types of vector control and interdisciplinary input are required to achieve malaria elimination. Similarly, on a global scale, there is a need for continued research to identify and evaluate new tools for vector control that can be integrated with existing biomedical strategies within national malaria control programmes. This review provides an overview of how IVM programmes are being implemented, and provides recommendations for further development of IVM to meet the goals of national malaria control programmes in Africa. PMID:19091038

Matrix multiplication operations using pair-wise load and splat operations

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

Eichenberger, Alexandre E.; Gschwind, Michael K.; Gunnels, John A.

Mechanisms for performing a matrix multiplication operation are provided. A vector load operation is performed to load a first vector operand of the matrix multiplication operation to a first target vector register. A pair-wise load and splat operation is performed to load a pair of scalar values of a second vector operand and replicate the pair of scalar values within a second target vector register. An operation is performed on elements of the first target vector register and elements of the second target vector register to generate a partial product of the matrix multiplication operation. The partial product is accumulatedmore » with other partial products and a resulting accumulated partial product is stored. This operation may be repeated for a second pair of scalar values of the second vector operand.« less

Clouding tracing: Visualization of the mixing of fluid elements in convection-diffusion systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ma, Kwan-Liu; Smith, Philip J.

1993-01-01

This paper describes a highly interactive method for computer visualization of the basic physical process of dispersion and mixing of fluid elements in convection-diffusion systems. It is based on transforming the vector field from a traditionally Eulerian reference frame into a Lagrangian reference frame. Fluid elements are traced through the vector field for the mean path as well as the statistical dispersion of the fluid elements about the mean position by using added scalar information about the root mean square value of the vector field and its Lagrangian time scale. In this way, clouds of fluid elements are traced and are not just mean paths. We have used this method to visualize the simulation of an industrial incinerator to help identify mechanisms for poor mixing.

The impact of cHS4 insulators on DNA transposon vector mobilization and silencing in retinal pigment epithelium cells.

PubMed

Sharma, Nynne; Hollensen, Anne Kruse; Bak, Rasmus O; Staunstrup, Nicklas Heine; Schrøder, Lisbeth Dahl; Mikkelsen, Jacob Giehm

2012-01-01

DNA transposons have become important vectors for efficient non-viral integration of transgenes into genomic DNA. The Sleeping Beauty (SB), piggyBac (PB), and Tol2 transposable elements have distinct biological properties and currently represent the most promising transposon systems for animal transgenesis and gene therapy. A potential obstacle, however, for persistent function of integrating vectors is transcriptional repression of the element and its genetic cargo. In this study we analyze the insulating effect of the 1.2-kb 5'-HS4 chicken β-globin (cHS4) insulator element in the context of SB, PB, and Tol2 transposon vectors. By examining transgene expression from genomically inserted transposon vectors encoding a marker gene driven by a silencing-prone promoter, we detect variable levels of transcriptional silencing for the three transposon systems in retinal pigment epithelium cells. Notably, the PB system seems less vulnerable to silencing. Incorporation of cHS4 insulator sequences into the transposon vectors results in 2.2-fold and 1.5-fold increased transgene expression levels for insulated SB and PB vectors, respectively, but an improved persistency of expression was not obtained for insulated transgenes. Colony formation assays and quantitative excision assays unveil enhanced SB transposition efficiencies by the inclusion of the cHS4 element, resulting in a significant increase in the stable transfection rate for insulated SB transposon vectors in human cell lines. Our findings reveal a positive impact of cHS4 insulator inclusion for SB and PB vectors in terms of increased transgene expression levels and improved SB stable transfection rates, but also the lack of a long-term protective effect of the cHS4 insulator against progressive transgene silencing in retinal pigment epithelium cells.

The Impact of cHS4 Insulators on DNA Transposon Vector Mobilization and Silencing in Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells

PubMed Central

Sharma, Nynne; Hollensen, Anne Kruse; Bak, Rasmus O.; Staunstrup, Nicklas Heine; Schrøder, Lisbeth Dahl; Mikkelsen, Jacob Giehm

2012-01-01

DNA transposons have become important vectors for efficient non-viral integration of transgenes into genomic DNA. The Sleeping Beauty (SB), piggyBac (PB), and Tol2 transposable elements have distinct biological properties and currently represent the most promising transposon systems for animal transgenesis and gene therapy. A potential obstacle, however, for persistent function of integrating vectors is transcriptional repression of the element and its genetic cargo. In this study we analyze the insulating effect of the 1.2-kb 5′-HS4 chicken β-globin (cHS4) insulator element in the context of SB, PB, and Tol2 transposon vectors. By examining transgene expression from genomically inserted transposon vectors encoding a marker gene driven by a silencing-prone promoter, we detect variable levels of transcriptional silencing for the three transposon systems in retinal pigment epithelium cells. Notably, the PB system seems less vulnerable to silencing. Incorporation of cHS4 insulator sequences into the transposon vectors results in 2.2-fold and 1.5-fold increased transgene expression levels for insulated SB and PB vectors, respectively, but an improved persistency of expression was not obtained for insulated transgenes. Colony formation assays and quantitative excision assays unveil enhanced SB transposition efficiencies by the inclusion of the cHS4 element, resulting in a significant increase in the stable transfection rate for insulated SB transposon vectors in human cell lines. Our findings reveal a positive impact of cHS4 insulator inclusion for SB and PB vectors in terms of increased transgene expression levels and improved SB stable transfection rates, but also the lack of a long-term protective effect of the cHS4 insulator against progressive transgene silencing in retinal pigment epithelium cells. PMID:23110238

Functional analysis of the sea urchin-derived arylsulfatase (Ars)-element in mammalian cells.

PubMed

Watanabe, Satoshi; Watanabe, Sachiko; Sakamoto, Naoaki; Sato, Masahiro; Akasaka, Koji

2006-09-01

An insulator is a DNA sequence that has both enhancer-blocking activity, through its ability to modify the influence of neighboring cis-acting elements, and a barrier function that protects a transgene from being silenced by surrounding chromatin. Previously, we isolated and characterized a 582-bp-long element from the sea urchin arylsulfatase gene (Ars). This Ars-element was effective in sea urchin and Drosophila embryos and in plant cells. To investigate Ars-element activity in mammalian cells, we placed the element between the cytomegalovirus enhancer and a luciferase (luc) expression cassette. In contrast to controls lacking the Ars-element, NIH3T3 and 293T cells transfected with the element-containing construct displayed reduced luciferase activities. The Ars-element therefore acts as an enhancer-blocking element in mammalian cells. We assessed the barrier activity of the Ars-element using vectors in which a luc expression cassette was placed between two elements. Transfection experiments demonstrated that luc activity in these vectors was approximately ten-fold higher than in vectors lacking elements. Luc activities were well maintained even after 12 weeks in culture. Our observations demonstrate that the Ars-element has also a barrier activity. These results indicated that the Ars-element act as an insulator in mammalian cells.

Assembly and Functional Analysis of an S/MAR Based Episome with the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Gene.

PubMed

De Rocco, Davide; Pompili, Barbara; Castellani, Stefano; Morini, Elena; Cavinato, Luca; Cimino, Giuseppe; Mariggiò, Maria A; Guarnieri, Simone; Conese, Massimo; Del Porto, Paola; Ascenzioni, Fiorentina

2018-04-17

Improving the efficacy of gene therapy vectors is still an important goal toward the development of safe and efficient gene therapy treatments. S/MAR (scaffold/matrix attached region)-based vectors are maintained extra-chromosomally in numerous cell types, which is similar to viral-based vectors. Additionally, when established as an episome, they show a very high mitotic stability. In the present study we tested the idea that addition of an S/MAR element to a CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) expression vector, may allow the establishment of a CFTR episome in bronchial epithelial cells. Starting from the observation that the S/MAR vector pEPI-EGFP (enhanced green fluorescence protein) is maintained as an episome in human bronchial epithelial cells, we assembled the CFTR vector pBQ-S/MAR. This vector, transfected in bronchial epithelial cells with mutated CFTR , supported long term wt CFTR expression and activity, which in turn positively impacted on the assembly of tight junctions in polarized epithelial cells. Additionally, the recovery of intact pBQ-S/MAR, but not the parental vector lacking the S/MAR element, from transfected cells after extensive proliferation, strongly suggested that pBQ-S/MAR was established as an episome. These results add a new element, the S/MAR, that can be considered to improve the persistence and safety of gene therapy vectors for cystic fibrosis pulmonary disease.

Building Damage Assessment after Earthquake Using Post-Event LiDAR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rastiveis, H.; Eslamizade, F.; Hosseini-Zirdoo, E.

2015-12-01

After an earthquake, damage assessment plays an important role in leading rescue team to help people and decrease the number of mortality. Damage map is a map that demonstrates collapsed buildings with their degree of damage. With this map, finding destructive buildings can be quickly possible. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for automatic damage map generation after an earthquake using post-event LiDAR Data and pre-event vector map. The framework of the proposed approach has four main steps. To find the location of all buildings on LiDAR data, in the first step, LiDAR data and vector map are registered by using a few number of ground control points. Then, building layer, selected from vector map, are mapped on the LiDAR data and all pixels which belong to the buildings are extracted. After that, through a powerful classifier all the extracted pixels are classified into three classes of "debris", "intact building" and "unclassified". Since textural information make better difference between "debris" and "intact building" classes, different textural features are applied during the classification. After that, damage degree for each candidate building is estimated based on the relation between the numbers of pixels labelled as "debris" class to the whole building area. Calculating the damage degree for each candidate building, finally, building damage map is generated. To evaluate the ability proposed method in generating damage map, a data set from Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital after the 2010 Haiti earthquake was used. In this case, after calculating of all buildings in the test area using the proposed method, the results were compared to the damage degree which estimated through visual interpretation of post-event satellite image. Obtained results were proved the reliability of the proposed method in damage map generation using LiDAR data.

Malaria vector control at a crossroads: public health entomology and the drive to elimination.

PubMed

Mnzava, Abraham P; Macdonald, Michael B; Knox, Tessa B; Temu, Emmanuel A; Shiff, Clive J

2014-09-01

Vector control has been at the core of successful malaria control. However, a dearth of field-oriented vector biologists threatens to undermine global reductions in malaria burden. Skilled cadres are needed to manage insecticide resistance, to maintain coverage with current interventions, to develop new paradigms for tackling 'residual' transmission and to target interventions as transmission becomes increasingly heterogeneous. Recognising this human resource crisis, in September 2013, WHO Global Malaria Programme issued guidance for capacity building in entomology and vector control, including recommendations for countries and implementing partners. Ministries were urged to develop long-range strategic plans for building human resources for public health entomology and vector control (including skills in epidemiology, geographic information systems, operational research and programme management) and to set in place the requisite professional posts and career opportunities. Capacity building and national ownership in all partner projects and a clear exit strategy to sustain human and technical resources after project completion were emphasised. Implementing partners were urged to support global and regional efforts to enhance public health entomology capacity. While the challenges inherent in such capacity building are great, so too are the opportunities to establish the next generation of public health entomologists that will enable programmes to continue on the path to malaria elimination. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Rapid evolution of regulatory element libraries for tunable transcriptional and translational control of gene expression.

PubMed

Jin, Erqing; Wong, Lynn; Jiao, Yun; Engel, Jake; Holdridge, Benjamin; Xu, Peng

2017-12-01

Engineering cell factories for producing biofuels and pharmaceuticals has spurred great interests to develop rapid and efficient synthetic biology tools customized for modular pathway engineering. Along the way, combinatorial gene expression control through modification of regulatory element offered tremendous opportunity for fine-tuning gene expression and generating digital-like genetic circuits. In this report, we present an efficient evolutionary approach to build a range of regulatory control elements. The reported method allows for rapid construction of promoter, 5'UTR, terminator and trans -activating RNA libraries. Synthetic overlapping oligos with high portion of degenerate nucleotides flanking the regulatory element could be efficiently assembled to a vector expressing fluorescence reporter. This approach combines high mutation rate of the synthetic DNA with the high assembly efficiency of Gibson Mix. Our constructed library demonstrates broad range of transcriptional or translational gene expression dynamics. Specifically, both the promoter library and 5'UTR library exhibits gene expression dynamics spanning across three order of magnitude. The terminator library and trans -activating RNA library displays relatively narrowed gene expression pattern. The reported study provides a versatile toolbox for rapidly constructing a large family of prokaryotic regulatory elements. These libraries also facilitate the implementation of combinatorial pathway engineering principles and the engineering of more efficient microbial cell factory for various biomanufacturing applications.

An object-oriented approach to nested data parallelism

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sheffler, Thomas J.; Chatterjee, Siddhartha

1994-01-01

This paper describes an implementation technique for integrating nested data parallelism into an object-oriented language. Data-parallel programming employs sets of data called 'collections' and expresses parallelism as operations performed over the elements of a collection. When the elements of a collection are also collections, then there is the possibility for 'nested data parallelism.' Few current programming languages support nested data parallelism however. In an object-oriented framework, a collection is a single object. Its type defines the parallel operations that may be applied to it. Our goal is to design and build an object-oriented data-parallel programming environment supporting nested data parallelism. Our initial approach is built upon three fundamental additions to C++. We add new parallel base types by implementing them as classes, and add a new parallel collection type called a 'vector' that is implemented as a template. Only one new language feature is introduced: the 'foreach' construct, which is the basis for exploiting elementwise parallelism over collections. The strength of the method lies in the compilation strategy, which translates nested data-parallel C++ into ordinary C++. Extracting the potential parallelism in nested 'foreach' constructs is called 'flattening' nested parallelism. We show how to flatten 'foreach' constructs using a simple program transformation. Our prototype system produces vector code which has been successfully run on workstations, a CM-2, and a CM-5.

jsPhyloSVG: a javascript library for visualizing interactive and vector-based phylogenetic trees on the web.

PubMed

Smits, Samuel A; Ouverney, Cleber C

2010-08-18

Many software packages have been developed to address the need for generating phylogenetic trees intended for print. With an increased use of the web to disseminate scientific literature, there is a need for phylogenetic trees to be viewable across many types of devices and feature some of the interactive elements that are integral to the browsing experience. We propose a novel approach for publishing interactive phylogenetic trees. We present a javascript library, jsPhyloSVG, which facilitates constructing interactive phylogenetic trees from raw Newick or phyloXML formats directly within the browser in Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format. It is designed to work across all major browsers and renders an alternative format for those browsers that do not support SVG. The library provides tools for building rectangular and circular phylograms with integrated charting. Interactive features may be integrated and made to respond to events such as clicks on any element of the tree, including labels. jsPhyloSVG is an open-source solution for rendering dynamic phylogenetic trees. It is capable of generating complex and interactive phylogenetic trees across all major browsers without the need for plugins. It is novel in supporting the ability to interpret the tree inference formats directly, exposing the underlying markup to data-mining services. The library source code, extensive documentation and live examples are freely accessible at www.jsphylosvg.com.

MIDAS: A Modular DNA Assembly System for Synthetic Biology.

PubMed

van Dolleweerd, Craig J; Kessans, Sarah A; Van de Bittner, Kyle C; Bustamante, Leyla Y; Bundela, Rudranuj; Scott, Barry; Nicholson, Matthew J; Parker, Emily J

2018-04-20

A modular and hierarchical DNA assembly platform for synthetic biology based on Golden Gate (Type IIS restriction enzyme) cloning is described. This enabling technology, termed MIDAS (for Modular Idempotent DNA Assembly System), can be used to precisely assemble multiple DNA fragments in a single reaction using a standardized assembly design. It can be used to build genes from libraries of sequence-verified, reusable parts and to assemble multiple genes in a single vector, with full user control over gene order and orientation, as well as control of the direction of growth (polarity) of the multigene assembly, a feature that allows genes to be nested between other genes or genetic elements. We describe the detailed design and use of MIDAS, exemplified by the reconstruction, in the filamentous fungus Penicillium paxilli, of the metabolic pathway for production of paspaline and paxilline, key intermediates in the biosynthesis of a range of indole diterpenes-a class of secondary metabolites produced by several species of filamentous fungi. MIDAS was used to efficiently assemble a 25.2 kb plasmid from 21 different modules (seven genes, each composed of three basic parts). By using a parts library-based system for construction of complex assemblies, and a unique set of vectors, MIDAS can provide a flexible route to assembling tailored combinations of genes and other genetic elements, thereby supporting synthetic biology applications in a wide range of expression hosts.

Design of a muscle cell-specific expression vector utilising human vascular smooth muscle alpha-actin regulatory elements.

PubMed

Keogh, M C; Chen, D; Schmitt, J F; Dennehy, U; Kakkar, V V; Lemoine, N R

1999-04-01

The facility to direct tissue-specific expression of therapeutic gene constructs is desirable for many gene therapy applications. We describe the creation of a muscle-selective expression vector which supports transcription in vascular smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle, while it is essentially silent in other cell types such as endothelial cells, hepatocytes and fibroblasts. Specific transcriptional regulatory elements have been identified in the human vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) alpha-actin gene, and used to create an expression vector which directs the expression of genes in cis to muscle cells. The vector contains an enhancer element we have identified in the 5' flanking region of the human VSMC alpha-actin gene involved in mediating VSMC expression. Heterologous pairing experiments have shown that the enhancer does not interact with the basal transcription complex recruited at the minimal SV40 early promoter. Such a vector has direct application in the modulation of VSMC proliferation associated with intimal hyperplasia/restenosis.

Retroviral vectors encoding ADA regulatory locus control region provide enhanced T-cell-specific transgene expression.

PubMed

Trinh, Alice T; Ball, Bret G; Weber, Erin; Gallaher, Timothy K; Gluzman-Poltorak, Zoya; Anderson, French; Basile, Lena A

2009-12-30

Murine retroviral vectors have been used in several hundred gene therapy clinical trials, but have fallen out of favor for a number of reasons. One issue is that gene expression from viral or internal promoters is highly variable and essentially unregulated. Moreover, with retroviral vectors, gene expression is usually silenced over time. Mammalian genes, in contrast, are characterized by highly regulated, precise levels of expression in both a temporal and a cell-specific manner. To ascertain if recapitulation of endogenous adenosine deaminase (ADA) expression can be achieved in a vector construct we created a new series of Moloney murine leukemia virus (MuLV) based retroviral vector that carry human regulatory elements including combinations of the ADA promoter, the ADA locus control region (LCR), ADA introns and human polyadenylation sequences in a self-inactivating vector backbone. A MuLV-based retroviral vector with a self-inactivating (SIN) backbone, the phosphoglycerate kinase promoter (PGK) and the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP), as a reporter gene, was generated. Subsequent vectors were constructed from this basic vector by deletion or addition of certain elements. The added elements that were assessed are the human ADA promoter, human ADA locus control region (LCR), introns 7, 8, and 11 from the human ADA gene, and human growth hormone polyadenylation signal. Retroviral vector particles were produced by transient three-plasmid transfection of 293T cells. Retroviral vectors encoding eGFP were titered by transducing 293A cells, and then the proportion of GFP-positive cells was determined using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Non T-cell and T-cell lines were transduced at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.1 and the yield of eGFP transgene expression was evaluated by FACS analysis using mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) detection. Vectors that contained the ADA LCR were preferentially expressed in T-cell lines. Further improvements in T-cell specific gene expression were observed with the incorporation of additional cis-regulatory elements, such as a human polyadenylation signal and intron 7 from the human ADA gene. These studies suggest that the combination of an authentically regulated ADA gene in a murine retroviral vector, together with additional locus-specific regulatory refinements, will yield a vector with a safer profile and greater efficacy in terms of high-level, therapeutic, regulated gene expression for the treatment of ADA-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency.

Lentivirus Vectors Incorporating the Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Enhancer and Matrix Attachment Regions Provide Position-Independent Expression in B Lymphocytes

PubMed Central

Lutzko, Carolyn; Senadheera, Dinithi; Skelton, Dianne; Petersen, Denise; Kohn, Donald B.

2003-01-01

In the present studies we developed lentivirus vectors with regulated, consistent transgene expression in B lymphocytes by incorporating the immunoglobulin heavy chain enhancer (Eμ) with and without associated matrix attachment regions (EμMAR) into lentivirus vectors. Incorporation of these fragments upstream of phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) or cytomegalovirus promoters resulted in a two- to threefold increase in enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) in B-lymphoid but not T-lymphoid, myeloid, fibroblast, or carcinoma cell lines. A 1-log increase in EGFP expression was observed in B-lymphoid cells (but not myeloid cells) differentiated from human CD34+ progenitors in vitro transduced with Eμ- and EμMAR-containing lentivectors. Lastly, we evaluated the expression from the EμMAR element in mice 2 to 24 weeks posttransplant with transduced hematopoietic stem cells. In mice receiving vectors with the Eμ and EμMAR elements upstream of the PGK promoter, there was a 2- to 10-fold increase in EGFP expression in B cells (but not other cell types). Evaluation of the coefficient of variation of expression among different cell types demonstrated that consistent, position-independent transgene expression was observed exclusively in B cells transduced with the EμMAR-containing vector and not other cells types or vectors. Proviral genomes with the EμMAR element had increased chromatin accessibility, which likely contributed to the position independence of expression in B lymphocytes. In summary, incorporation of the EμMAR element in lentivirus vectors resulted in enhanced, position-independent expression in primary B lymphocytes. These vectors provide a useful tool for the study of B-lymphocyte biology and the development of gene therapy for disorders affecting B lymphocytes, such as immune deficiencies. PMID:12805432

Integrated optic vector-matrix multiplier

DOEpatents

Watts, Michael R [Albuquerque, NM

2011-09-27

A vector-matrix multiplier is disclosed which uses N different wavelengths of light that are modulated with amplitudes representing elements of an N.times.1 vector and combined to form an input wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) light stream. The input WDM light stream is split into N streamlets from which each wavelength of the light is individually coupled out and modulated for a second time using an input signal representing elements of an M.times.N matrix, and is then coupled into an output waveguide for each streamlet to form an output WDM light stream which is detected to generate a product of the vector and matrix. The vector-matrix multiplier can be formed as an integrated optical circuit using either waveguide amplitude modulators or ring resonator amplitude modulators.

Quantitative relations between soil heavy metal contamination and landscape pattern in Wuxi, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Ming; Pu, Lijie; Xu, Yan

2017-04-01

Land use practices changed landscape pattern and meanwhile, brought forth numerous environmental problems including heavy metal contamination in soil. In this study, we investigated the quantitative relations between soil heavy metal contamination and its surrounding landscape pattern based on topsoil samples and land use map of Wuxi in 2009. The results of vector fitting with Redundancy analysis in R package vegan showed that Percent Coverage of build-up area (PCB) within 2500 m, Perimeter-Area Fractal Dimension (PAFD) within 2500 m, Edge Density (ED) within 2500 m, Patch Density (PD) within 200 m, Percent Coverage of wetland (PCW) within 2000 m and Patch Cohesion (PC) within 200 m significantly affected the contents of heavy metal elements. The results of Stepwise regression suggested that increase of build-up area and fragmentation would increase Cu and Zn, while increase of wetland would decrease the contents of As and Cu. PAFD was negative with Cd, Hg, Pb and Zn.

The mean-square error optimal linear discriminant function and its application to incomplete data vectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, H. F.

1979-01-01

In many pattern recognition problems, data vectors are classified although one or more of the data vector elements are missing. This problem occurs in remote sensing when the ground is obscured by clouds. Optimal linear discrimination procedures for classifying imcomplete data vectors are discussed.

Bubble vector in automatic merging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pamidi, P. R.; Butler, T. G.

1987-01-01

It is shown that it is within the capability of the DMAP language to build a set of vectors that can grow incrementally to be applied automatically and economically within a DMAP loop that serves to append sub-matrices that are generated within a loop to a core matrix. The method of constructing such vectors is explained.

Prediction of shear critical behavior of high-strength reinforced concrete columns using finite element methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alrasyid, Harun; Safi, Fahrudin; Iranata, Data; Chen-Ou, Yu

2017-11-01

This research shows the prediction of shear behavior of High-Strength Reinforced Concrete Columns using Finite-Element Method. The experimental data of nine half scale high-strength reinforced concrete were selected. These columns using specified concrete compressive strength of 70 MPa, specified yield strength of longitudinal and transverse reinforcement of 685 and 785 MPa, respectively. The VecTor2 finite element software was used to simulate the shear critical behavior of these columns. The combination axial compression load and monotonic loading were applied at this prediction. It is demonstrated that VecTor2 finite element software provides accurate prediction of load-deflection up to peak at applied load, but provide similar behavior at post peak load. The shear strength prediction provide by VecTor 2 are slightly conservative compare to test result.

Vectorized Jiles-Atherton hysteresis model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szymański, Grzegorz; Waszak, Michał

2004-01-01

This paper deals with vector hysteresis modeling. A vector model consisting of individual Jiles-Atherton components placed along principal axes is proposed. The cross-axis coupling ensures general vector model properties. Minor loops are obtained using scaling method. The model is intended for efficient finite element method computations defined in terms of magnetic vector potential. Numerical efficiency is ensured by differential susceptibility approach.

[Construction of a general AAV vector regulated by minimal and artificial hypoxic-responsive element].

PubMed

Nie, Xiao-wei; Sun, Li-jun; Hao, Yue-wen; Yang, Guang-xiao; Wang, Quan-ying

2011-03-01

To synthesize the minimal and artificial HRE, and to insert it into the anterior extremity of CMV promoter of a AAV plasmid, and then to construct the AAV regulated by hypoxic-responsive element which was introduced into 293 cell by method of Ca3(PO4)2 using three plasmids. Thus obtaining the adenoassociated virus vector regulated by hypoxic-responsive element was possibly used for gene therapy in ischemia angiocardiopathy and cerebrovascular disease. Artificially synthesize the 36 bp nucleotide sequences of four connection in series HIF-binding sites A/GCGTG(4×HBS)and a 35 bp nucleotide sequences spacing inserted into anterior extremity of CMV promoter TATA Box, then amplified by PCR. The cDNA fragment was confirmed to be right by DNA sequencing. Molecular biology routine method was used to construct a AAV vector regulated by minimal hypoxic-responsive element after the normal CMV promoter in AAV vector was replaced by the CMV promoter included minimal hypoxic-responsive element. Then, NT4-6His-PR39 fusogenic peptide was inserted into MCS of the plasmid, the recombinant AAV vector was obtained by three plasmid co-transfection in 293 cells, in which we can also investigate the expression of 6×His using immunochemistry in hypoxia environment. Artificial HRE was inserted into anterior extremity of CMV promoter and there was a correct spacing between the HRE and the TATA-box. The DNA sequencing and restriction enzyme digestion results indicated that the AAV regulated by hypoxic-responsive element was successfully constructed. Compared to the control group, the expressions of 6×His was significantly increased in the experimental groups in hypoxia environment, which confirmed that the AAV effectually regulated by the minimal HRE was inserted into anterior extremity of CMV promoter. The HRE is inserted into anterior extremity of CMV promoter to lack incision enzyme recognition site by PCR. And eukaryotic expression vector regulated by hypoxic-responsive is constructed. The AAV effectually regulated by the minimal HRE inserted into anterior extremity of CMV promoter. The vector is successfully constructed and it has important theoretical and practical value in the synteresis and therapy of ischemia angiocardiopathy and cerebrovascular disease.

Vector for IS element entrapment and functional characterization based on turning on expression of distal promoterless genes.

PubMed

Szeverényi, I; Hodel, A; Arber, W; Olasz, F

1996-09-26

We constructed and characterized a novel trap vector for rapid isolation of insertion sequences. The strategy used for the isolation of IS elements is based on the ability of many IS elements to turn on the expression of otherwise silent genes distal to some sites of insertion. The simple transposition of an IS element can sometimes cause the constitutive expression of promoterless antibiotic resistance genes resulting in selectable phenotypes. The trap vector pAW1326 is based on a pBR322 replicon, it carries ampicillin and streptomycin resistance genes, and also silenced genes that confer chloramphenicol and kanamycin resistance once activated. The trap vector pAW1326 proved to be efficient and 85 percent of all isolated mutations were insertions. The majority of IS elements resident in the studied Escherichia coli strains tested became trapped, namely IS2, IS3, IS5, IS150, IS186 and Tn1000. We also encountered an insertion sequence, called IS10L/R-2, which is a hybrid of the two IS variants IS10L and IS10R. IS10L/R-2 is absent from most E. coli strains, but it is detectable in some strains such as JM109 which had been submitted to Tn10 mutagenesis. The distribution of the insertion sequences within the trap region was not random. Rather, the integration of chromosomal mobile genetic elements into the offered target sequence occurred in element-specific clusters. This is explained both by the target specificity and by the specific requirements for the activation of gene transcription by the DNA rearrangement. The employed trap vector pAW1326 proved to be useful for the isolation of mobile genetic elements, for a demonstration of their transposition activity as well as for the further characterization of some of the functional parameters of transposition.

Ellipsoidal terrain correction based on multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection of the reference ellipsoid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ardalan, A. A.; Safari, A.

2004-09-01

An operational algorithm for computation of terrain correction (or local gravity field modeling) based on application of closed-form solution of the Newton integral in terms of Cartesian coordinates in multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection of the reference ellipsoid is presented. Multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection of the reference ellipsoid has been derived and is described in detail for the first time. Ellipsoidal mass elements with various sizes on the surface of the reference ellipsoid are selected and the gravitational potential and vector of gravitational intensity (i.e. gravitational acceleration) of the mass elements are computed via numerical solution of the Newton integral in terms of geodetic coordinates {λ,ϕ,h}. Four base- edge points of the ellipsoidal mass elements are transformed into a multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection surface to build Cartesian mass elements by associating the height of the corresponding ellipsoidal mass elements to the transformed area elements. Using the closed-form solution of the Newton integral in terms of Cartesian coordinates, the gravitational potential and vector of gravitational intensity of the transformed Cartesian mass elements are computed and compared with those of the numerical solution of the Newton integral for the ellipsoidal mass elements in terms of geodetic coordinates. Numerical tests indicate that the difference between the two computations, i.e. numerical solution of the Newton integral for ellipsoidal mass elements in terms of geodetic coordinates and closed-form solution of the Newton integral in terms of Cartesian coordinates, in a multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection, is less than 1.6×10-8 m2/s2 for a mass element with a cross section area of 10×10 m and a height of 10,000 m. For a mass element with a cross section area of 1×1 km and a height of 10,000 m the difference is less than 1.5×10-4m2/s2. Since 1.5× 10-4 m2/s2 is equivalent to 1.5×10-5m in the vertical direction, it can be concluded that a method for terrain correction (or local gravity field modeling) based on closed-form solution of the Newton integral in terms of Cartesian coordinates of a multi-cylindrical equal-area map projection of the reference ellipsoid has been developed which has the accuracy of terrain correction (or local gravity field modeling) based on the Newton integral in terms of ellipsoidal coordinates.

An experimental system for the evaluation of retroviral vector design to diminish the risk for proto-oncogene activation

PubMed Central

Ryu, Byoung Y.; Evans-Galea, Marguerite V.; Gray, John T.; Bodine, David M.; Persons, Derek A.

2008-01-01

Pathogenic activation of the LMO2 proto-oncogene by an oncoretroviral vector insertion in a clinical trial for X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (X-SCID) has prompted safety concerns. We used an adeno-associated virus vector to achieve targeted insertion of a γ-retroviral long terminal repeat (LTR) driving a GFP expression cassette with flanking loxP sites in a human T-cell line at the precise location of vector integration in one of the patients with X-SCID. The LTR-GFP cassette was inserted into the first intron of the LMO2 gene, resulting in strong activation of LMO2. Cre-mediated cassette exchange was used to replace the original LTR-GFP cassette with one flanked by insulator elements leading to a several fold reduction in LMO2 expression. The LTR-GFP cassette was also replaced with a globin gene regulatory cassette that failed to activate the LMO2 gene in lymphoid cells. A γ-retroviral vector with 2 intact LTRs resulted in activation of the LMO2 gene when inserted into the first intron, but a self-inactivating lentiviral vector with an internal cellular promoter and flanking insulator elements did not activate the LMO2 gene. Thus, this system is useful for comparing the safety profiles of vector cassettes with various regulatory elements for their potential for proto-oncogene activation. PMID:17991809

Retroviral vectors encoding ADA regulatory locus control region provide enhanced T-cell-specific transgene expression

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Murine retroviral vectors have been used in several hundred gene therapy clinical trials, but have fallen out of favor for a number of reasons. One issue is that gene expression from viral or internal promoters is highly variable and essentially unregulated. Moreover, with retroviral vectors, gene expression is usually silenced over time. Mammalian genes, in contrast, are characterized by highly regulated, precise levels of expression in both a temporal and a cell-specific manner. To ascertain if recapitulation of endogenous adenosine deaminase (ADA) expression can be achieved in a vector construct we created a new series of Moloney murine leukemia virus (MuLV) based retroviral vector that carry human regulatory elements including combinations of the ADA promoter, the ADA locus control region (LCR), ADA introns and human polyadenylation sequences in a self-inactivating vector backbone. Methods A MuLV-based retroviral vector with a self-inactivating (SIN) backbone, the phosphoglycerate kinase promoter (PGK) and the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP), as a reporter gene, was generated. Subsequent vectors were constructed from this basic vector by deletion or addition of certain elements. The added elements that were assessed are the human ADA promoter, human ADA locus control region (LCR), introns 7, 8, and 11 from the human ADA gene, and human growth hormone polyadenylation signal. Retroviral vector particles were produced by transient three-plasmid transfection of 293T cells. Retroviral vectors encoding eGFP were titered by transducing 293A cells, and then the proportion of GFP-positive cells was determined using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Non T-cell and T-cell lines were transduced at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.1 and the yield of eGFP transgene expression was evaluated by FACS analysis using mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) detection. Results Vectors that contained the ADA LCR were preferentially expressed in T-cell lines. Further improvements in T-cell specific gene expression were observed with the incorporation of additional cis-regulatory elements, such as a human polyadenylation signal and intron 7 from the human ADA gene. Conclusion These studies suggest that the combination of an authentically regulated ADA gene in a murine retroviral vector, together with additional locus-specific regulatory refinements, will yield a vector with a safer profile and greater efficacy in terms of high-level, therapeutic, regulated gene expression for the treatment of ADA-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency. PMID:20042112

Viral Determinants of Integration Site Preferences of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Based Vectors

PubMed Central

Monse, Hella; Laufs, Stephanie; Kuate, Seraphin; Zeller, W. Jens; Fruehauf, Stefan; Überla, Klaus

2006-01-01

Preferential integration into transcriptionally active regions of genomes has been observed for retroviral vectors based on gamma-retroviruses and lentiviruses. However, differences in the integration site preferences were detected, which might be explained by differences in viral components of the preintegration complexes. Viral determinants of integration site preferences have not been defined. Therefore, integration sites of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-based vectors produced in the absence of accessory genes or lacking promoter and enhancer elements were compared. Similar integration patterns for the different SIV vectors indicate that vif, vpr, vpx, nef, env, and promoter or enhancer elements are not required for preferential integration of SIV into transcriptionally active regions of genomes. PMID:16873270

New Multigrid Method Including Elimination Algolithm Based on High-Order Vector Finite Elements in Three Dimensional Magnetostatic Field Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hano, Mitsuo; Hotta, Masashi

A new multigrid method based on high-order vector finite elements is proposed in this paper. Low level discretizations in this method are obtained by using low-order vector finite elements for the same mesh. Gauss-Seidel method is used as a smoother, and a linear equation of lowest level is solved by ICCG method. But it is often found that multigrid solutions do not converge into ICCG solutions. An elimination algolithm of constant term using a null space of the coefficient matrix is also described. In three dimensional magnetostatic field analysis, convergence time and number of iteration of this multigrid method are discussed with the convectional ICCG method.

Apparatus, systems, and methods for ultrasound synthetic aperature focusing

DOEpatents

Schuster, George J.; Crawford, Susan L.; Doctor, Steven R.; Harris, Robert V.

2005-04-12

One form of the present invention is a technique for interrogating a sample with ultrasound which includes: generating ultrasonic energy data corresponding to a volume of a sample and performing a synthetic aperture focusing technique on the ultrasonic energy data. The synthetic aperture focusing technique includes: defining a number of hyperbolic surfaces which extend through the volume at different depths and a corresponding number of multiple element accumulation vectors, performing a focused element calculation procedure for a group of vectors which are representative of the interior of a designated aperture, performing another focused element calculation procedure for vectors corresponding to the boundary of the aperture, and providing an image corresponding to features of the sample in accordance with the synthetic aperture focusing technique.

A simple procedure for construction of the orthonormal basis vectors of irreducible representations of O(5) in the OT (3) ⊗ON (2) basis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Feng; Ding, Xiaoxue; Launey, Kristina D.; Draayer, J. P.

2018-06-01

A simple and effective algebraic isospin projection procedure for constructing orthonormal basis vectors of irreducible representations of O (5) ⊃OT (3) ⊗ON (2) from those in the canonical O (5) ⊃ SUΛ (2) ⊗ SUI (2) basis is outlined. The expansion coefficients are components of null space vectors of the projection matrix with four nonzero elements in each row in general. Explicit formulae for evaluating OT (3)-reduced matrix elements of O (5) generators are derived.

A Comparison of Nonlinear Filters for Orbit Determination and Estimation

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-06-01

Com- mand uses a nonlinear least squares filter for element set maintenance for all objects orbiting the Earth (3). These objects, including active...initial state vector is the singularly averaged classical orbital element set provided by SPACECOM/DOA. The state vector in this research consists of...GSF (G) - - 26.0 36.7 GSF(A) 32.1 77.4 38.8 59.6 The Air Force Space Command is responsible for main- taining current orbital element sets for about

Parallel-vector computation for linear structural analysis and non-linear unconstrained optimization problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, D. T.; Al-Nasra, M.; Zhang, Y.; Baddourah, M. A.; Agarwal, T. K.; Storaasli, O. O.; Carmona, E. A.

1991-01-01

Several parallel-vector computational improvements to the unconstrained optimization procedure are described which speed up the structural analysis-synthesis process. A fast parallel-vector Choleski-based equation solver, pvsolve, is incorporated into the well-known SAP-4 general-purpose finite-element code. The new code, denoted PV-SAP, is tested for static structural analysis. Initial results on a four processor CRAY 2 show that using pvsolve reduces the equation solution time by a factor of 14-16 over the original SAP-4 code. In addition, parallel-vector procedures for the Golden Block Search technique and the BFGS method are developed and tested for nonlinear unconstrained optimization. A parallel version of an iterative solver and the pvsolve direct solver are incorporated into the BFGS method. Preliminary results on nonlinear unconstrained optimization test problems, using pvsolve in the analysis, show excellent parallel-vector performance indicating that these parallel-vector algorithms can be used in a new generation of finite-element based structural design/analysis-synthesis codes.

Feature Vector Construction Method for IRIS Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odinokikh, G.; Fartukov, A.; Korobkin, M.; Yoo, J.

2017-05-01

One of the basic stages of iris recognition pipeline is iris feature vector construction procedure. The procedure represents the extraction of iris texture information relevant to its subsequent comparison. Thorough investigation of feature vectors obtained from iris showed that not all the vector elements are equally relevant. There are two characteristics which determine the vector element utility: fragility and discriminability. Conventional iris feature extraction methods consider the concept of fragility as the feature vector instability without respect to the nature of such instability appearance. This work separates sources of the instability into natural and encodinginduced which helps deeply investigate each source of instability independently. According to the separation concept, a novel approach of iris feature vector construction is proposed. The approach consists of two steps: iris feature extraction using Gabor filtering with optimal parameters and quantization with separated preliminary optimized fragility thresholds. The proposed method has been tested on two different datasets of iris images captured under changing environmental conditions. The testing results show that the proposed method surpasses all the methods considered as a prior art by recognition accuracy on both datasets.

Image search engine with selective filtering and feature-element-based classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qing; Zhang, Yujin; Dai, Shengyang

2001-12-01

With the growth of Internet and storage capability in recent years, image has become a widespread information format in World Wide Web. However, it has become increasingly harder to search for images of interest, and effective image search engine for the WWW needs to be developed. We propose in this paper a selective filtering process and a novel approach for image classification based on feature element in the image search engine we developed for the WWW. First a selective filtering process is embedded in a general web crawler to filter out the meaningless images with GIF format. Two parameters that can be obtained easily are used in the filtering process. Our classification approach first extract feature elements from images instead of feature vectors. Compared with feature vectors, feature elements can better capture visual meanings of the image according to subjective perception of human beings. Different from traditional image classification method, our classification approach based on feature element doesn't calculate the distance between two vectors in the feature space, while trying to find associations between feature element and class attribute of the image. Experiments are presented to show the efficiency of the proposed approach.

A three-dimensional nonlinear Timoshenko beam based on the core-congruential formulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crivelli, Luis A.; Felippa, Carlos A.

1992-01-01

A three-dimensional, geometrically nonlinear two-node Timoshenkoo beam element based on the total Larangrian description is derived. The element behavior is assumed to be linear elastic, but no restrictions are placed on magnitude of finite rotations. The resulting element has twelve degrees of freedom: six translational components and six rotational-vector components. The formulation uses the Green-Lagrange strains and second Piola-Kirchhoff stresses as energy-conjugate variables and accounts for the bending-stretching and bending-torsional coupling effects without special provisions. The core-congruential formulation (CCF) is used to derived the discrete equations in a staged manner. Core equations involving the internal force vector and tangent stiffness matrix are developed at the particle level. A sequence of matrix transformations carries these equations to beam cross-sections and finally to the element nodal degrees of freedom. The choice of finite rotation measure is made in the next-to-last transformation stage, and the choice of over-the-element interpolation in the last one. The tangent stiffness matrix is found to retain symmetry if the rotational vector is chosen to measure finite rotations. An extensive set of numerical examples is presented to test and validate the present element.

Dynamic analysis of suspension cable based on vector form intrinsic finite element method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Jian; Qiao, Liang; Wan, Jiancheng; Jiang, Ming; Xia, Yongjun

2017-10-01

A vector finite element method is presented for the dynamic analysis of cable structures based on the vector form intrinsic finite element (VFIFE) and mechanical properties of suspension cable. Firstly, the suspension cable is discretized into different elements by space points, the mass and external forces of suspension cable are transformed into space points. The structural form of cable is described by the space points at different time. The equations of motion for the space points are established according to the Newton’s second law. Then, the element internal forces between the space points are derived from the flexible truss structure. Finally, the motion equations of space points are solved by the central difference method with reasonable time integration step. The tangential tension of the bearing rope in a test ropeway with the moving concentrated loads is calculated and compared with the experimental data. The results show that the tangential tension of suspension cable with moving loads is consistent with the experimental data. This method has high calculated precision and meets the requirements of engineering application.

Ice Shape Characterization Using Self-Organizing Maps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McClain, Stephen T.; Tino, Peter; Kreeger, Richard E.

2011-01-01

A method for characterizing ice shapes using a self-organizing map (SOM) technique is presented. Self-organizing maps are neural-network techniques for representing noisy, multi-dimensional data aligned along a lower-dimensional and possibly nonlinear manifold. For a large set of noisy data, each element of a finite set of codebook vectors is iteratively moved in the direction of the data closest to the winner codebook vector. Through successive iterations, the codebook vectors begin to align with the trends of the higher-dimensional data. In information processing, the intent of SOM methods is to transmit the codebook vectors, which contains far fewer elements and requires much less memory or bandwidth, than the original noisy data set. When applied to airfoil ice accretion shapes, the properties of the codebook vectors and the statistical nature of the SOM methods allows for a quantitative comparison of experimentally measured mean or average ice shapes to ice shapes predicted using computer codes such as LEWICE. The nature of the codebook vectors also enables grid generation and surface roughness descriptions for use with the discrete-element roughness approach. In the present study, SOM characterizations are applied to a rime ice shape, a glaze ice shape at an angle of attack, a bi-modal glaze ice shape, and a multi-horn glaze ice shape. Improvements and future explorations will be discussed.

Elements of the quality management in the materials' industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ioana, Adrian; Semenescu, Augustin; Costoiu, Mihnea; Marcu, Dragoş

2017-12-01

The criteria function concept consists of transforming the criteria function (CF) in a quality-economical matrix math MQE. The levels of prescribing the criteria function was obtained by using a composition algorithm for three vectors: T¯ vector - technical parameters' vector (ti); Ē vector - economical parameters' vector (ej) and P¯ vector - weight vector (p1). For each product or service, the area of the circle represents the value of its sales. The BCG Matrix thus offers a very useful map of the organization's service strengths and weaknesses, at least in terms of current profitability, as well as the likely cash flows.

Pre-vector variational inequality

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

Lin, Lai-Jiu

1994-12-31

Let X be a Hausdorff topological vector space, (Y, D) be an ordered Hausdorff topological vector space ordered by convex cone D. Let L(X, Y) be the space of all bounded linear operator, E {improper_subset} X be a nonempty set, T : E {yields} L(X, Y), {eta} : E {times} E {yields} E be functions. For x, y {element_of} Y, we denote x {not_lt} y if y - x intD, where intD is the interior of D. We consider the following two problems: Find x {element_of} E such that < T(x), {eta}(y, x) > {not_lt} 0 for all y {element_of}more » E and find x {element_of} E, < T(x), {eta}(y, x) > {not_gt} 0 for all y {element_of} E and < T(x), {eta}(y, x) >{element_of} C{sub p}{sup w+} = {l_brace} {element_of} L(X, Y) {vert_bar}< l, {eta}(x, 0) >{not_lt} 0 for all x {element_of} E{r_brace} where < T(x), y > denotes linear operator T(x) at y, that is T(x), (y). We called Pre-VVIP the Pre-vector variational inequality problem and Pre-VCP complementary problem. If X = R{sup n}, Y = R, D = R{sub +} {eta}(y, x) = y - x, then our problem is the well-known variational inequality first studies by Hartman and Stampacchia. If Y = R, D = R{sub +}, {eta}(y, x) = y - x, our problem is the variational problem in infinite dimensional space. In this research, we impose different condition on T(x), {eta}, X, and < T(x), {eta}(y, x) > and investigate the existences theorem of these problems. As an application of one of our results, we establish the existence theorem of weak minimum of the problem. (P) V - min f(x) subject to x {element_of} E where f : X {yields} Y si a Frechet differentiable invex function.« less

Characterization of Hadamard vector classes in terms of least deviations of their elements from vectors of finite degree

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

Radzievski, G V

2001-12-31

Let A be a linear operator with domain D(A) in a complex Banach space X. An element g element of D{sub {infinity}}(A):=intersection{sub j=1}{sup {infinity}}D(A{sup j}) is called a vector of degree at most {xi} (>0) relative to A if ||A{sup j}g||{<=}c(g){xi}{sup j}, j=0,1,.... The set of vectors of degree at most {xi} is denoted by G{sub {xi}}(A) and the least deviation of an element f of X from the set G{sub {xi}}(A) is denoted by E{sub {xi}}(f,A). For a fixed sequence of positive numbers ({psi}{sub j}){sub j=1}{sup {infinity}} consider a function {gamma}({xi}):=min{sub j=1,2,...}({xi}{psi}{sub j}){sup 1/j}. Conditions for the sequence ({psi}{submore » j}){sub j=1}{sup {infinity}} and the operator A are found that ensure the equality lim sup{sub j{yields}}{sub {infinity}}((||A{sup j}f||)/({psi}{sub j})){sup 1/j} = lim sup{sub {xi}}{sub {yields}}{sub {infinity}}{xi}/({gamma}(E{sub {xi}}(f,A){sup -1})) for f element of D{sub {infinity}}(A). If the quantity on the left-hand side of this formula is finite, then f belongs to the Hadamard class determined by the operator A and the sequence {l_brace}{psi}{sub j}{r_brace}{sub j=1}{sup {infinity}}. One consequence of the above formula is an expression in terms of E{sub {xi}}(f,A) for the radius of holomorphy of the vector-valued function F(zA)f, where f element of D{sub {infinity}}(A), and F(z):={sigma}{sub j=1}{sup {infinity}}z{sup j}/{psi}{sub j} is an entire function.« less

An Efficient Wait-Free Vector

DOE PAGES

Feldman, Steven; Valera-Leon, Carlos; Dechev, Damian

2016-03-01

The vector is a fundamental data structure, which provides constant-time access to a dynamically-resizable range of elements. Currently, there exist no wait-free vectors. The only non-blocking version supports only a subset of the sequential vector API and exhibits significant synchronization overhead caused by supporting opposing operations. Since many applications operate in phases of execution, wherein each phase only a subset of operations are used, this overhead is unnecessary for the majority of the application. To address the limitations of the non-blocking version, we present a new design that is wait-free, supports more of the operations provided by the sequential vector,more » and provides alternative implementations of key operations. These alternatives allow the developer to balance the performance and functionality of the vector as requirements change throughout execution. Compared to the known non-blocking version and the concurrent vector found in Intel’s TBB library, our design outperforms or provides comparable performance in the majority of tested scenarios. Over all tested scenarios, the presented design performs an average of 4.97 times more operations per second than the non-blocking vector and 1.54 more than the TBB vector. In a scenario designed to simulate the filling of a vector, performance improvement increases to 13.38 and 1.16 times. This work presents the first ABA-free non-blocking vector. Finally, unlike the other non-blocking approach, all operations are wait-free and bounds-checked and elements are stored contiguously in memory.« less

Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development for DSX

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-02

AFRL-RV-HA-TR-2007-1077 Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development for DSX -- Mark B. Moldwin 0 UCLA Institute of Geophysics and Planetary...02-07-2007IScientific Report No. 2 April 2006 - April 2007 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE S. CONTRACT NUMBER Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development...SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT UCLA is building a three-axis fluxgate magnetometer for the AFRL-mission. The instrument is designed to measure the medium

On the effects of grid ill-conditioning in three dimensional finite element vector potential magnetostatic field computations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, R.; Demerdash, N. A.

1990-01-01

The effects of finite element grid geometries and associated ill-conditioning were studied in single medium and multi-media (air-iron) three dimensional magnetostatic field computation problems. The sensitivities of these 3D field computations to finite element grid geometries were investigated. It was found that in single medium applications the unconstrained magnetic vector potential curl-curl formulation in conjunction with first order finite elements produce global results which are almost totally insensitive to grid geometries. However, it was found that in multi-media (air-iron) applications first order finite element results are sensitive to grid geometries and consequent elemental shape ill-conditioning. These sensitivities were almost totally eliminated by means of the use of second order finite elements in the field computation algorithms. Practical examples are given in this paper to demonstrate these aspects mentioned above.

The new electromagnetic tetrads, infinite tetrad nesting and the non-trivial emergence of complex numbers in real theories of gravitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garat, Alcides

How complex numbers get into play in a non-trivial way in real theories of gravitation is relevant since in a unified structure they should be able to relate in a natural way with quantum theories. For a long time this issue has been lingering on both relativistic formulations and quantum theories. We will analyze this fundamental subject under the light of new group isomorphism theorems linking local internal groups of transformations and local groups of spacetime transformations. The bridge between these two kinds of transformations is represented by new tetrads introduced previously. It is precisely through these local tetrad structures that we will provide a non-trivial answer to this old issue. These new tetrads have two fundamental building components, the skeletons and the gauge vectors. It is these constructive elements that provide the mathematical support that allows to prove group isomorphism theorems. In addition to this, we will prove a unique new property, the infinite tetrad nesting, alternating the nesting with non-Abelian tetrads in the construction of the tetrad gauge vectors. As an application we will demonstrate an alternative proof of a new group isomorphism theorem.

Analytical model of tilted driver–pickup coils for eddy current nondestructive evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Bing-Hua; Li, Chao; Fan, Meng-Bao; Ye, Bo; Tian, Gui-Yun

2018-03-01

A driver-pickup probe possesses better sensitivity and flexibility due to individual optimization of a coil. It is frequently observed in an eddy current (EC) array probe. In this work, a tilted non-coaxial driver-pickup probe above a multilayered conducting plate is analytically modeled with spatial transformation for eddy current nondestructive evaluation. Basically, the core of the formulation is to obtain the projection of magnetic vector potential (MVP) from the driver coil onto the vector along the tilted pickup coil, which is divided into two key steps. The first step is to make a projection of MVP along the pickup coil onto a horizontal plane, and the second one is to build the relationship between the projected MVP and the MVP along the driver coil. Afterwards, an analytical model for the case of a layered plate is established with the reflection and transmission theory of electromagnetic fields. The calculated values from the resulting model indicate good agreement with those from the finite element model (FEM) and experiments, which validates the developed analytical model. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61701500, 51677187, and 51465024).

Vector-matrix-quaternion, array and arithmetic packages: All HAL/S functions implemented in Ada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klumpp, Allan R.; Kwong, David D.

1986-01-01

The HAL/S avionics programmers have enjoyed a variety of tools built into a language tailored to their special requirements. Ada is designed for a broader group of applications. Rather than providing built-in tools, Ada provides the elements with which users can build their own. Standard avionic packages remain to be developed. These must enable programmers to code in Ada as they have coded in HAL/S. The packages under development at JPL will provide all of the vector-matrix, array, and arithmetic functions described in the HAL/S manuals. In addition, the linear algebra package will provide all of the quaternion functions used in Shuttle steering and Galileo attitude control. Furthermore, using Ada's extensibility, many quaternion functions are being implemented as infix operations; equivalent capabilities were never implemented in HAL/S because doing so would entail modifying the compiler and expanding the language. With these packages, many HAL/S expressions will compile and execute in Ada, unchanged. Others can be converted simply by replacing the implicit HAL/S multiply operator with the Ada *. Errors will be trapped and identified. Input/output will be convenient and readable.

A Random Variable Related to the Inversion Vector of a Partial Random Permutation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laghate, Kavita; Deshpande, M. N.

2005-01-01

In this article, we define the inversion vector of a permutation of the integers 1, 2,..., n. We set up a particular kind of permutation, called a partial random permutation. The sum of the elements of the inversion vector of such a permutation is a random variable of interest.

Fractal vector optical fields.

PubMed

Pan, Yue; Gao, Xu-Zhen; Cai, Meng-Qiang; Zhang, Guan-Lin; Li, Yongnan; Tu, Chenghou; Wang, Hui-Tian

2016-07-15

We introduce the concept of a fractal, which provides an alternative approach for flexibly engineering the optical fields and their focal fields. We propose, design, and create a new family of optical fields-fractal vector optical fields, which build a bridge between the fractal and vector optical fields. The fractal vector optical fields have polarization states exhibiting fractal geometry, and may also involve the phase and/or amplitude simultaneously. The results reveal that the focal fields exhibit self-similarity, and the hierarchy of the fractal has the "weeding" role. The fractal can be used to engineer the focal field.

Singular Vectors' Subtle Secrets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, David; Lachance, Michael; Remski, Joan

2011-01-01

Social scientists use adjacency tables to discover influence networks within and among groups. Building on work by Moler and Morrison, we use ordered pairs from the components of the first and second singular vectors of adjacency matrices as tools to distinguish these groups and to identify particularly strong or weak individuals.

CONSTRUCTION OF SCALAR AND VECTOR FINITE ELEMENT FAMILIES ON POLYGONAL AND POLYHEDRAL MESHES

PubMed Central

GILLETTE, ANDREW; RAND, ALEXANDER; BAJAJ, CHANDRAJIT

2016-01-01

We combine theoretical results from polytope domain meshing, generalized barycentric coordinates, and finite element exterior calculus to construct scalar- and vector-valued basis functions for conforming finite element methods on generic convex polytope meshes in dimensions 2 and 3. Our construction recovers well-known bases for the lowest order Nédélec, Raviart-Thomas, and Brezzi-Douglas-Marini elements on simplicial meshes and generalizes the notion of Whitney forms to non-simplicial convex polygons and polyhedra. We show that our basis functions lie in the correct function space with regards to global continuity and that they reproduce the requisite polynomial differential forms described by finite element exterior calculus. We present a method to count the number of basis functions required to ensure these two key properties. PMID:28077939

CONSTRUCTION OF SCALAR AND VECTOR FINITE ELEMENT FAMILIES ON POLYGONAL AND POLYHEDRAL MESHES.

PubMed

Gillette, Andrew; Rand, Alexander; Bajaj, Chandrajit

2016-10-01

We combine theoretical results from polytope domain meshing, generalized barycentric coordinates, and finite element exterior calculus to construct scalar- and vector-valued basis functions for conforming finite element methods on generic convex polytope meshes in dimensions 2 and 3. Our construction recovers well-known bases for the lowest order Nédélec, Raviart-Thomas, and Brezzi-Douglas-Marini elements on simplicial meshes and generalizes the notion of Whitney forms to non-simplicial convex polygons and polyhedra. We show that our basis functions lie in the correct function space with regards to global continuity and that they reproduce the requisite polynomial differential forms described by finite element exterior calculus. We present a method to count the number of basis functions required to ensure these two key properties.

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

Finkelstein, J.

I construct a positive-operator-valued measure (POVM) which has 2d rank-1 elements and which is informationally complete for generic pure states in d dimensions, thus confirming a conjecture made by Flammia, Silberfarb, and Caves (e-print quant-ph/0404137). I show that if a rank-1 POVM is required to be informationally complete for all pure states in d dimensions, it must have at least 3d-2 elements. I also show that, in a POVM which is informationally complete for all pure states in d dimensions, for any vector there must be at least 2d-1 POVM elements which do not annihilate that vector.

Finite element analysis of provisional structures of implant-supported complete prostheses.

PubMed

Carneiro, Bruno Albuquerque; de Brito, Rui Barbosa; França, Fabiana Mantovani Gomes

2014-04-01

The use of provisional resin implant-supported complete dentures is a fast and safe procedure to restore mastication and esthetics of patients soon after surgery and during the adaptation phase to the new denture. This study assessed stress distribution of provisional implant-supported fixed dentures and the all-on-4 concept using self-curing acrylic resin (Tempron) and bis-acrylic resin (Luxatemp) to simulate functional loads through the three-dimensional finite element method. Solidworks software was used to build three-dimensional models using acrylic resin (Tempron, model A) and bis-acrylic resin (Luxatemp, model B) for denture captions. Two loading patterns were applied on each model: (1) right unilateral axial loading of 150 N on the occlusal surfaces of posterior teeth and (2) oblique loading vector of 150 N at 45°. The results showed that higher stress was found on the bone crest below oblique load application with a maximum value of 187.57 MPa on model A and 167.45 MPa on model B. It was concluded that model B improved stress distribution on the denture compared with model A.

Genetic exchange between endogenous and exogenous LINE-1 repetitive elements in mouse cells.

PubMed Central

Belmaaza, A; Wallenburg, J C; Brouillette, S; Gusew, N; Chartrand, P

1990-01-01

The repetitive LINE (L1) elements of the mouse, which are present at about 10(5) copies per genome and share over 80% of sequence homology, were examined for their ability to undergo genetic exchange with exogenous L1 sequences. The exogenous L1 sequences, carried by a shuttle vector, consisted of an internal fragment from L1Md-A2, a previously described member of the L1 family of the mouse. Using an assay that does not require the reconstitution of a selectable marker we found that this vector, in either circular or linear form, acquired DNA sequences from endogenous L1 elements at a frequency of 10(-3) to 10(-4) per rescued vector. Physical analysis of the acquired L1 sequences revealed that distinct endogenous L1 elements acted as donors and that different subfamilies participated. These results demonstrate that L1 elements are readily capable of genetic exchange. Apart from gene conversion events, the acquisition of L1 sequences outside the region of homology suggested that a second mechanism was also involved in the genetic exchange. A model which accounts for this mechanism is presented and its potential implication on the rearrangement of L1 elements is discussed. Images PMID:1978749

The Transposable Element Mariner Mediates Germline Transformation in Drosophila Melanogaster

PubMed Central

Lidholm, D. A.; Lohe, A. R.; Hartl, D. L.

1993-01-01

A vector for germline transformation in Drosophila melanogaster was constructed using the transposable element mariner. The vector, denoted pMlwB, contains a mariner element disrupted by an insertion containing the wild-type white gene from D. melanogaster, the β-galactosidase gene from Escherichia coli and sequences that enable plasmid replication and selection in E. coli. The white gene is controlled by the promoter of the D. melanogaster gene for heat-shock protein 70, and the β-galactosidase gene is flanked upstream by the promoter of the transposable element P as well as that of mariner. The MlwB element was introduced into the germline of D. melanogaster by co-injection into embryos with an active mariner element, Mos1, which codes for a functional transposase and serves as a helper. Two independent germline insertions were isolated and characterized. The results show that the MlwB element inserted into the genome in a mariner-dependent manner with the termini of the inverted repeats inserted at a TA dinucleotide. Both insertions exhibit an unexpected degree of germline and somatic stability, even in the presence of an active mariner element in the genetic background. These results demonstrate that the mariner transposable element, which is small (1286 bp) and relatively homogeneous in size among different copies, is nevertheless capable of promoting the insertion of the large (13.2 kb) MlwB element. Because of the widespread phylogenetic distribution of mariner among insects, these results suggest that mariner might provide a wide hostrange transformation vector for insects. PMID:8394264

Manga Vectorization and Manipulation with Procedural Simple Screentone.

PubMed

Yao, Chih-Yuan; Hung, Shih-Hsuan; Li, Guo-Wei; Chen, I-Yu; Adhitya, Reza; Lai, Yu-Chi

2017-02-01

Manga are a popular artistic form around the world, and artists use simple line drawing and screentone to create all kinds of interesting productions. Vectorization is helpful to digitally reproduce these elements for proper content and intention delivery on electronic devices. Therefore, this study aims at transforming scanned Manga to a vector representation for interactive manipulation and real-time rendering with arbitrary resolution. Our system first decomposes the patch into rough Manga elements including possible borders and shading regions using adaptive binarization and screentone detector. We classify detected screentone into simple and complex patterns: our system extracts simple screentone properties for refining screentone borders, estimating lighting, compensating missing strokes inside screentone regions, and later resolution independently rendering with our procedural shaders. Our system treats the others as complex screentone areas and vectorizes them with our proposed line tracer which aims at locating boundaries of all shading regions and polishing all shading borders with the curve-based Gaussian refiner. A user can lay down simple scribbles to cluster Manga elements intuitively for the formation of semantic components, and our system vectorizes these components into shading meshes along with embedded Bézier curves as a unified foundation for consistent manipulation including pattern manipulation, deformation, and lighting addition. Our system can real-time and resolution independently render the shading regions with our procedural shaders and drawing borders with the curve-based shader. For Manga manipulation, the proposed vector representation can be not only magnified without artifacts but also deformed easily to generate interesting results.

Partitioning strategy for efficient nonlinear finite element dynamic analysis on multiprocessor computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, Ahmed K.; Peters, Jeanne M.

1989-01-01

A computational procedure is presented for the nonlinear dynamic analysis of unsymmetric structures on vector multiprocessor systems. The procedure is based on a novel hierarchical partitioning strategy in which the response of the unsymmetric and antisymmetric response vectors (modes), each obtained by using only a fraction of the degrees of freedom of the original finite element model. The three key elements of the procedure which result in high degree of concurrency throughout the solution process are: (1) mixed (or primitive variable) formulation with independent shape functions for the different fields; (2) operator splitting or restructuring of the discrete equations at each time step to delineate the symmetric and antisymmetric vectors constituting the response; and (3) two level iterative process for generating the response of the structure. An assessment is made of the effectiveness of the procedure on the CRAY X-MP/4 computers.

An analysis of cross-coupling of a multicomponent jet engine test stand using finite element modeling techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schweikhard, W. G.; Singnoi, W. N.

1985-01-01

A two axis thrust measuring system was analyzed by using a finite a element computer program to determine the sensitivities of the thrust vectoring nozzle system to misalignment of the load cells and applied loads, and the stiffness of the structural members. Three models were evaluated: (1) the basic measuring element and its internal calibration load cells; (2) the basic measuring element and its external load calibration equipment; and (3) the basic measuring element, external calibration load frame and the altitude facility support structure. Alignment of calibration loads was the greatest source of error for multiaxis thrust measuring systems. Uniform increases or decreases in stiffness of the members, which might be caused by the selection of the materials, have little effect on the accuracy of the measurements. It is found that the POLO-FINITE program is a viable tool for designing and analyzing multiaxis thrust measurement systems. The response of the test stand to step inputs that might be encountered with thrust vectoring tests was determined. The dynamic analysis show a potential problem for measuring the dynamic response characteristics of thrust vectoring systems because of the inherently light damping of the test stand.

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

Feldman, Steven; Valera-Leon, Carlos; Dechev, Damian

The vector is a fundamental data structure, which provides constant-time access to a dynamically-resizable range of elements. Currently, there exist no wait-free vectors. The only non-blocking version supports only a subset of the sequential vector API and exhibits significant synchronization overhead caused by supporting opposing operations. Since many applications operate in phases of execution, wherein each phase only a subset of operations are used, this overhead is unnecessary for the majority of the application. To address the limitations of the non-blocking version, we present a new design that is wait-free, supports more of the operations provided by the sequential vector,more » and provides alternative implementations of key operations. These alternatives allow the developer to balance the performance and functionality of the vector as requirements change throughout execution. Compared to the known non-blocking version and the concurrent vector found in Intel’s TBB library, our design outperforms or provides comparable performance in the majority of tested scenarios. Over all tested scenarios, the presented design performs an average of 4.97 times more operations per second than the non-blocking vector and 1.54 more than the TBB vector. In a scenario designed to simulate the filling of a vector, performance improvement increases to 13.38 and 1.16 times. This work presents the first ABA-free non-blocking vector. Finally, unlike the other non-blocking approach, all operations are wait-free and bounds-checked and elements are stored contiguously in memory.« less

Turbine Engine Component Analysis: Cantilevered Composite Flat Plate Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-11-01

4/5 element which translates into the ADIN. shell element (Type 7) with thickness correction. PATADI automatically generates midsurface normal vectors...for each node referenced by a shell element. Using thickness correction, the element thickness will be oriented along the midsurface direction. If no

Operational efficiency and sustainability of vector control of malaria and dengue: descriptive case studies from the Philippines

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Analysis is lacking on the management of vector control systems in disease-endemic countries with respect to the efficiency and sustainability of operations. Methods Three locations were selected, at the scale of province, municipality and barangay (i.e. village). Data on disease incidence, programme activities, and programme management were collected on-site through meetings and focus group discussions. Results Adaptation of disease control strategies to the epidemiological situation per barangay, through micro-stratification, brings gains in efficiency, but should be accompanied by further capacity building on local situational analysis for better selection and targeting of vector control interventions within the barangay. An integrated approach to vector control, aiming to improve the rational use of resources, was evident with a multi-disease strategy for detection and response, and by the use of combinations of vector control methods. Collaboration within the health sector was apparent from the involvement of barangay health workers, re-orientation of job descriptions and the creation of a disease surveillance unit. The engagement of barangay leaders and use of existing community structures helped mobilize local resources and voluntary services for vector control. In one location, local authorities and the community were involved in the planning, implementation and evaluation of malaria control, which triggered local programme ownership. Conclusions Strategies that contributed to an improved efficiency and sustainability of vector control operations were: micro-stratification, integration of vector control within the health sector, a multi-disease approach, involvement of local authorities, and empowerment of communities. Capacity building on situational analysis and vector surveillance should be addressed through national policy and guidelines. PMID:22873707

Multigrid Equation Solvers for Large Scale Nonlinear Finite Element Simulations

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-01-01

purpose of the second partitioning phase , on each SMP, is to minimize the communication within the SMP; even if a multi - threaded matrix vector product...8.7 Comparison of model with experimental data for send phase of matrix vector product on ne grid...140 8.4 Matrix vector product phase times : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 145 9.1 Flat and

Eigenvalues of Rectangular Waveguide Using FEM With Hybrid Elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deshpande, Manohar D.; Hall, John M.

2002-01-01

A finite element analysis using hybrid triangular-rectangular elements is developed to estimate eigenvalues of a rectangular waveguide. Use of rectangular vector-edge finite elements in the vicinity of the PEC boundary and triangular elements in the interior region more accurately models the physical nature of the electromagnetic field, and consequently quicken the convergence.

Pure state consciousness and its local reduction to neuronal space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duggins, A. J.

2013-01-01

The single neuronal state can be represented as a vector in a complex space, spanned by an orthonormal basis of integer spike counts. In this model a scalar element of experience is associated with the instantaneous firing rate of a single sensory neuron over repeated stimulus presentations. Here the model is extended to composite neural systems that are tensor products of single neuronal vector spaces. Depiction of the mental state as a vector on this tensor product space is intended to capture the unity of consciousness. The density operator is introduced as its local reduction to the single neuron level, from which the firing rate can again be derived as the objective correlate of a subjective element. However, the relational structure of perceptual experience only emerges when the non-local mental state is considered. A metric of phenomenal proximity between neuronal elements of experience is proposed, based on the cross-correlation function of neurophysiology, but constrained by the association of theoretical extremes of correlation/anticorrelation in inseparable 2-neuron states with identical and opponent elements respectively.

User's guide for vectorized code EQUIL for calculating equilibrium chemistry on Control Data STAR-100 computer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kumar, A.; Graves, R. A., Jr.; Weilmuenster, K. J.

1980-01-01

A vectorized code, EQUIL, was developed for calculating the equilibrium chemistry of a reacting gas mixture on the Control Data STAR-100 computer. The code provides species mole fractions, mass fractions, and thermodynamic and transport properties of the mixture for given temperature, pressure, and elemental mass fractions. The code is set up for the electrons H, He, C, O, N system of elements. In all, 24 chemical species are included.

Exploratory Model Analysis of the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Low Global Scheduler Problem

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-12-01

solution. The non- linear least squares model is defined as Y = f{e,t) where: 0 =M-element parameter vector Y =N-element vector of all data t...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS EXPLORATORY MODEL ANALYSIS OF THE SPACE BASED INFRARED SYSTEM (SBIRS) LOW GLOBAL SCHEDULER...December 1999 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE EXPLORATORY MODEL ANALYSIS OF THE SPACE BASED INFRARED SYSTEM

Photovoltaic building sheathing element with anti-slide features

DOEpatents

Keenihan, James R.; Langmaid, Joseph A.; Lopez, Leonardo C.

2015-09-08

The present invention is premised` upon an assembly that includes at least a photovoltaic building sheathing element capable of being affixed on a building structure, the photovoltaic building sheathing element. The element including a photovoltaic cell assembly, a body portion attached to one or more portions of the photovoltaic cell assembly; and at feast a first and a second connector assembly capable of directly or indirectly electrically connecting the photovoltaic cell assembly to one or more adjoining devices; wherein the body portion includes one or more geometric features adapted to engage a vertically adjoining device before installation.

Locally connected neural network with improved feature vector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Tyson (Inventor)

2004-01-01

A pattern recognizer which uses neuromorphs with a fixed amount of energy that is distributed among the elements. The distribution of the energy is used to form a histogram which is used as a feature vector.

Construction of a New Phage Integration Vector pFIV-Val for Use in Different Francisella Species

PubMed Central

Tlapák, Hana; Köppen, Kristin; Rydzewski, Kerstin; Grunow, Roland; Heuner, Klaus

2018-01-01

We recently identified and described a putative prophage on the genomic island FhaGI-1 located within the genome of Francisella hispaniensis AS02-814 (F. tularensis subsp. novicida-like 3523). In this study, we constructed two variants of a Francisella phage integration vector, called pFIV1-Val and pFIV2-Val (Francisella Integration Vector-tRNAVal-specific), using the attL/R-sites and the site-specific integrase (FN3523_1033) of FhaGI-1, a chloramphenicol resistance cassette and a sacB gene for counter selection of transformants against the vector backbone. We inserted the respective sites and genes into vector pUC57-Kana to allow for propagation in Escherichia coli. The constructs generated a circular episomal form in E. coli which could be used to transform Francisella spp. where FIV-Val stably integrated site specifically into the tRNAVal gene of the genome, whereas pUC57-Kana is lost due to counter selection. Functionality of the new vector was demonstrated by the successfully complementation of a Francisella mutant strain. The vectors were stable in vitro and during host-cell infection without selective pressure. Thus, the vectors can be applied as a further genetic tool in Francisella research, expanding the present genetic tools by an integrative element. This new element is suitable to perform long-term experiments with different Francisella species. PMID:29594068

Geminivirus vectors for high-level expression of foreign proteins in plant cells.

PubMed

Mor, Tsafrir S; Moon, Yong-Sun; Palmer, Kenneth E; Mason, Hugh S

2003-02-20

Bean yellow dwarf virus (BeYDV) is a monopartite geminivirus that can infect dicotyledonous plants. We have developed a high-level expression system that utilizes elements of the replication machinery of this single-stranded DNA virus. The replication initiator protein (Rep) mediates release and replication of a replicon from a DNA construct ("LSL vector") that contains an expression cassette for a gene of interest flanked by cis-acting elements of the virus. We used tobacco NT1 cells and biolistic delivery of plasmid DNA for evaluation of replication and expression of reporter genes contained within an LSL vector. By codelivery of a GUS reporter-LSL vector and a Rep-supplying vector, we obtained up to 40-fold increase in expression levels compared to delivery of the reporter-LSL vectors alone. High-copy replication of the LSL vector was correlated with enhanced expression of GUS. Rep expression using a whole BeYDV clone, a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter driving either genomic rep or an intron-deleted rep gene, or 35S-rep contained in the LSL vector all achieved efficient replication and enhancement of GUS expression. We anticipate that this system can be adapted for use in transgenic plants or plant cell cultures with appropriately regulated expression of Rep, with the potential to greatly increase yield of recombinant proteins. Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 81: 430-437, 2003.

Construction of a New Phage Integration Vector pFIV-Val for Use in Different Francisella Species.

PubMed

Tlapák, Hana; Köppen, Kristin; Rydzewski, Kerstin; Grunow, Roland; Heuner, Klaus

2018-01-01

We recently identified and described a putative prophage on the genomic island FhaGI-1 located within the genome of Francisella hispaniensis AS02-814 ( F. tularensis subsp. novicida -like 3523). In this study, we constructed two variants of a Francisella phage integration vector, called pFIV1-Val and pFIV2-Val ( Francisella Integration Vector-tRNA Val -specific), using the attL/R- sites and the site-specific integrase (FN3523_1033) of FhaGI-1, a chloramphenicol resistance cassette and a sacB gene for counter selection of transformants against the vector backbone. We inserted the respective sites and genes into vector pUC57-Kana to allow for propagation in Escherichia coli . The constructs generated a circular episomal form in E. coli which could be used to transform Francisella spp . where FIV-Val stably integrated site specifically into the tRNA Val gene of the genome, whereas pUC57-Kana is lost due to counter selection. Functionality of the new vector was demonstrated by the successfully complementation of a Francisella mutant strain. The vectors were stable in vitro and during host-cell infection without selective pressure. Thus, the vectors can be applied as a further genetic tool in Francisella research, expanding the present genetic tools by an integrative element. This new element is suitable to perform long-term experiments with different Francisella species.

A GaAs vector processor based on parallel RISC microprocessors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misko, Tim A.; Rasset, Terry L.

A vector processor architecture based on the development of a 32-bit microprocessor using gallium arsenide (GaAs) technology has been developed. The McDonnell Douglas vector processor (MVP) will be fabricated completely from GaAs digital integrated circuits. The MVP architecture includes a vector memory of 1 megabyte, a parallel bus architecture with eight processing elements connected in parallel, and a control processor. The processing elements consist of a reduced instruction set CPU (RISC) with four floating-point coprocessor units and necessary memory interface functions. This architecture has been simulated for several benchmark programs including complex fast Fourier transform (FFT), complex inner product, trigonometric functions, and sort-merge routine. The results of this study indicate that the MVP can process a 1024-point complex FFT at a speed of 112 microsec (389 megaflops) while consuming approximately 618 W of power in a volume of approximately 0.1 ft-cubed.

On the use of finite difference matrix-vector products in Newton-Krylov solvers for implicit climate dynamics with spectral elements

DOE PAGES

Woodward, Carol S.; Gardner, David J.; Evans, Katherine J.

2015-01-01

Efficient solutions of global climate models require effectively handling disparate length and time scales. Implicit solution approaches allow time integration of the physical system with a step size governed by accuracy of the processes of interest rather than by stability of the fastest time scales present. Implicit approaches, however, require the solution of nonlinear systems within each time step. Usually, a Newton's method is applied to solve these systems. Each iteration of the Newton's method, in turn, requires the solution of a linear model of the nonlinear system. This model employs the Jacobian of the problem-defining nonlinear residual, but thismore » Jacobian can be costly to form. If a Krylov linear solver is used for the solution of the linear system, the action of the Jacobian matrix on a given vector is required. In the case of spectral element methods, the Jacobian is not calculated but only implemented through matrix-vector products. The matrix-vector multiply can also be approximated by a finite difference approximation which may introduce inaccuracy in the overall nonlinear solver. In this paper, we review the advantages and disadvantages of finite difference approximations of these matrix-vector products for climate dynamics within the spectral element shallow water dynamical core of the Community Atmosphere Model.« less

The upstream enhancer elements of the G6PC promoter are critical for optimal G6PC expression in murine glycogen storage disease type Ia.

PubMed

Lee, Young Mok; Pan, Chi-Jiunn; Koeberl, Dwight D; Mansfield, Brian C; Chou, Janice Y

2013-11-01

Glycogen storage disease type-Ia (GSD-Ia) patients deficient in glucose-6-phosphatase-α (G6Pase-α or G6PC) manifest impaired glucose homeostasis characterized by fasting hypoglycemia, growth retardation, hepatomegaly, nephromegaly, hyperlipidemia, hyperuricemia, and lactic acidemia. Two efficacious recombinant adeno-associated virus pseudotype 2/8 (rAAV8) vectors expressing human G6Pase-α have been independently developed. One is a single-stranded vector containing a 2864-bp of the G6PC promoter/enhancer (rAAV8-GPE) and the other is a double-stranded vector containing a shorter 382-bp minimal G6PC promoter/enhancer (rAAV8-miGPE). To identify the best construct, a direct comparison of the rAAV8-GPE and the rAAV8-miGPE vectors was initiated to determine the best vector to take forward into clinical trials. We show that the rAAV8-GPE vector directed significantly higher levels of hepatic G6Pase-α expression, achieved greater reduction in hepatic glycogen accumulation, and led to a better toleration of fasting in GSD-Ia mice than the rAAV8-miGPE vector. Our results indicated that additional control elements in the rAAV8-GPE vector outweigh the gains from the double-stranded rAAV8-miGPE transduction efficiency, and that the rAAV8-GPE vector is the current choice for clinical translation in human GSD-Ia. © 2013.

Jeddah Historical Building Information Modelling "JHBIM" - Object Library

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baik, A.; Alitany, A.; Boehm, J.; Robson, S.

2014-05-01

The theory of using Building Information Modelling "BIM" has been used in several Heritage places in the worldwide, in the case of conserving, documenting, managing, and creating full engineering drawings and information. However, one of the most serious issues that facing many experts in order to use the Historical Building Information Modelling "HBIM", is creating the complicated architectural elements of these Historical buildings. In fact, many of these outstanding architectural elements have been designed and created in the site to fit the exact location. Similarly, this issue has been faced the experts in Old Jeddah in order to use the BIM method for Old Jeddah historical Building. Moreover, The Saudi Arabian City has a long history as it contains large number of historic houses and buildings that were built since the 16th century. Furthermore, the BIM model of the historical building in Old Jeddah always take a lot of time, due to the unique of Hijazi architectural elements and no such elements library, which have been took a lot of time to be modelled. This paper will focus on building the Hijazi architectural elements library based on laser scanner and image survey data. This solution will reduce the time to complete the HBIM model and offering in depth and rich digital architectural elements library to be used in any heritage projects in Al-Balad district, Jeddah City.

A Microprocessor Development System for the Intel 8748 Microcomputer.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-12-01

their ready availability, it was decided to build the system on a 4 x 6 Vector plugboard with a 44 pin connect- or and which was predrilled for wirewrap...8748, additional sockets were provided in a 4 socket mother board. These sockets accept the standard 44 pin Vector plugboard . It is recommended that

The hopf algebra of vector fields on complex quantum groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drabant, Bernhard; Jurčo, Branislav; Schlieker, Michael; Weich, Wolfgang; Zumino, Bruno

1992-10-01

We derive the equivalence of the complex quantum enveloping algebra and the algebra of complex quantum vector fields for the Lie algebra types A n , B n , C n , and D n by factorizing the vector fields uniquely into a triangular and a unitary part and identifying them with the corresponding elements of the algebra of regular functionals.

Germ line transformation of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, mediated by transpositional insertion of a piggyBac vector.

PubMed

Lobo, N F; Hua-Van, A; Li, X; Nolen, B M; Fraser, M J

2002-04-01

Mosquito-vectored diseases such as yellow fever and dengue fever continue to have a substantial impact on human populations world-wide. Novel strategies for control of these mosquito vectored diseases can arise through the development of reliable systems for genetic manipulation of the insect vector. A piggyBac vector marked with the Drosophila melanogaster cinnabar (cn) gene was used to transform the white-eyed khw strain of Aedes aegypti. Microinjection of preblastoderm embryos resulted in four families of cinnabar transformed insects. An overall transformation frequency of 4%, with a range of 0% to as high as 13% for individual experiments, was achieved when using a heat-shock induced transposase providing helper plasmid. Southern hybridizations indicated multiple insertion events in three of four transgenic lines, while the presence of duplicated target TTAA sites at either ends of individual insertions confirmed characteristic piggyBac transposition events in these three transgenic lines. The transgenic phenotype has remained stable for more than twenty generations. The transformations effected using the piggyBac element establish the potential of this element as a germ-line transformation vector for Aedine mosquitoes.

Identification of environmental covariates of West Nile virus vector mosquito population abundance.

PubMed

Trawinski, Patricia R; Mackay, D Scott

2010-06-01

The rapid spread of West Nile virus (WNv) in North America is a major public health concern. Culex pipiens-restuans is the principle mosquito vector of WNv in the northeastern United States while Aedes vexans is an important bridge vector of the virus in this region. Vector mosquito abundance is directly dependent on physical environmental factors that provide mosquito habitats. The objective of this research is to determine landscape elements that explain the population abundance and distribution of WNv vector mosquitoes using stepwise linear regression. We developed a novel approach for examining a large set of landscape variables based on a land use and land cover classification by selecting variables in stages to minimize multicollinearity. We also investigated the distance at which landscape elements influence abundance of vector populations using buffer distances of 200, 400, and 1000 m. Results show landscape effects have a significant impact on Cx. pipiens-estuans population distribution while the effects of landscape features are less important for prediction of Ae. vexans population distributions. Cx. pipiens-restuans population abundance is positively correlated with human population density, housing unit density, and urban land use and land cover classes and negatively correlated with age of dwellings and amount of forested land.

Evolution of vector magnetic fields and the August 27 1990 X-3 flare

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Haimin

1992-01-01

Vector magnetic fields in an active region of the sun are studied by means of continuous observations of magnetic-field evolution emphasizing magnetic shear build-up. The vector magnetograms are shown to measure magnetic fields correctly based on concurrent observations and a comparison of the transverse field with the H alpha fibril structure. The morphology and velocity pattern are examined, and these data and the shear build-up suggest that the active region's two major footprints are separated by a region with flows, new flux emergence, and several neutral lines. The magnetic shear appears to be caused by the collision and shear motion of two poles of opposite polarities. The transverse field is shown to turn from potential to sheared during the process of flux cancellation, and this effect can be incorporated into existing models of magnetic flux cancellation.

Building pit dewatering: application of transient analytic elements.

PubMed

Zaadnoordijk, Willem J

2006-01-01

Analytic elements are well suited for the design of building pit dewatering. Wells and drains can be modeled accurately by analytic elements, both nearby to determine the pumping level and at some distance to verify the targeted drawdown at the building site and to estimate the consequences in the vicinity. The ability to shift locations of wells or drains easily makes the design process very flexible. The temporary pumping has transient effects, for which transient analytic elements may be used. This is illustrated using the free, open-source, object-oriented analytic element simulator Tim(SL) for the design of a building pit dewatering near a canal. Steady calculations are complemented with transient calculations. Finally, the bandwidths of the results are estimated using linear variance analysis.

High-efficiency transformation of Pichia stipitis based on its URA3 gene and a homologous autonomous replication sequence, ARS2.

PubMed Central

Yang, V W; Marks, J A; Davis, B P; Jeffries, T W

1994-01-01

This paper describes the first high-efficiency transformation system for the xylose-fermenting yeast Pichia stipitis. The system includes integrating and autonomously replicating plasmids based on the gene for orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase (URA3) and an autonomous replicating sequence (ARS) element (ARS2) isolated from P. stipitis CBS 6054. Ura- auxotrophs were obtained by selecting for resistance to 5-fluoroorotic acid and were identified as ura3 mutants by transformation with P. stipitis URA3. P. stipitis URA3 was cloned by its homology to Saccharomyces cerevisiae URA3, with which it is 69% identical in the coding region. P. stipitis ARS elements were cloned functionally through plasmid rescue. These sequences confer autonomous replication when cloned into vectors bearing the P. stipitis URA3 gene. P. stipitis ARS2 has features similar to those of the consensus ARS of S. cerevisiae and other ARS elements. Circular plasmids bearing the P. stipitis URA3 gene with various amounts of flanking sequences produced 600 to 8,600 Ura+ transformants per micrograms of DNA by electroporation. Most transformants obtained with circular vectors arose without integration of vector sequences. One vector yielded 5,200 to 12,500 Ura+ transformants per micrograms of DNA after it was linearized at various restriction enzyme sites within the P. stipitis URA3 insert. Transformants arising from linearized vectors produced stable integrants, and integration events were site specific for the genomic ura3 in 20% of the transformants examined. Plasmids bearing the P. stipitis URA3 gene and ARS2 element produced more than 30,000 transformants per micrograms of plasmid DNA. Autonomously replicating plasmids were stable for at least 50 generations in selection medium and were present at an average of 10 copies per nucleus. Images PMID:7811063

Compositional and phase relations among rare earth element minerals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burt, D. M.

1990-01-01

This paper discusses the compositional and phase relationships among minerals in which rare earth elements (REE) occur as essential constituents (e.g., bastnaesite, monazite, xenotime, aeschynite, allanite). Particular consideration is given to the vector representation of complex coupled substitutions in selected REE-bearing minerals and to the REE partitioning between minerals as related to the acid-base tendencies and mineral stabilities. It is shown that the treatment of coupled substitutions as vector quantities facilitates graphical representation of mineral composition spaces.

Nucleon matrix elements with Nf=2+1+1 maximally twisted fermions

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

Simon Dinter, Constantia Alexandrou, Martha Constantinou, Vincent Drach, Karl Jansen, Dru Renner

2010-06-01

We present the first lattice calculation of nucleon matrix elements using four dynamical flavors. We use the Nf=2+1+1 maximally twisted mass formulation. The renormalization is performed non-perturbatively in the RI'-MOM scheme and results are given for the vector and axial vector operators with up to one-derivative. Our calculation of the average momentum of the unpolarized non-singlet parton distribution is presented and compared to our previous results obtained from the Nf=2 case.

Vector magnetometer design study: Analysis of a triaxial fluxgate sensor design demonstrates that all MAGSAT Vector Magnetometer specifications can be met

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, D. F.; Hartmann, U. G.; Lazarow, L. L.; Maloy, J. O.; Mohler, G. W.

1976-01-01

The design of the vector magnetometer selected for analysis is capable of exceeding the required accuracy of 5 gamma per vector field component. The principal elements that assure this performance level are very low power dissipation triaxial feedback coils surrounding ring core flux-gates and temperature control of the critical components of two-loop feedback electronics. An analysis of the calibration problem points to the need for improved test facilities.

Modeling spatial variation in risk of presence and insecticide resistance for malaria vectors in Laos

PubMed Central

Marcombe, Sébastien; Laforet, Julie; Brey, Paul T.; Corbel, Vincent; Overgaard, Hans J.

2017-01-01

Climatic, sociological and environmental conditions are known to affect the spatial distribution of malaria vectors and disease transmission. Intensive use of insecticides in the agricultural and public health sectors exerts a strong selective pressure on resistance genes in malaria vectors. Spatio-temporal models of favorable conditions for Anopheles species’ presence were developed to estimate the probability of presence of malaria vectors and insecticide resistance in Lao PDR. These models were based on environmental and meteorological conditions, and demographic factors. GIS software was used to build and manage a spatial database with data collected from various geographic information providers. GIS was also used to build and run the models. Results showed that potential insecticide use and therefore the probability of resistance to insecticide is greater in the southwestern part of the country, specifically in Champasack province and where malaria incidence is already known to be high. These findings can help national authorities to implement targeted and effective vector control strategies for malaria prevention and elimination among populations most at risk. Results can also be used to focus the insecticide resistance surveillance in Anopheles mosquito populations in more restricted area, reducing the area of surveys, and making the implementation of surveillance system for Anopheles mosquito insecticide resistance possible. PMID:28494013

DNA transposon-based gene vehicles - scenes from an evolutionary drive

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

DNA transposons are primitive genetic elements which have colonized living organisms from plants to bacteria and mammals. Through evolution such parasitic elements have shaped their host genomes by replicating and relocating between chromosomal loci in processes catalyzed by the transposase proteins encoded by the elements themselves. DNA transposable elements are constantly adapting to life in the genome, and self-suppressive regulation as well as defensive host mechanisms may assist in buffering ‘cut-and-paste’ DNA mobilization until accumulating mutations will eventually restrict events of transposition. With the reconstructed Sleeping Beauty DNA transposon as a powerful engine, a growing list of transposable elements with activity in human cells have moved into biomedical experimentation and preclinical therapy as versatile vehicles for delivery and genomic insertion of transgenes. In this review, we aim to link the mechanisms that drive transposon evolution with the realities and potential challenges we are facing when adapting DNA transposons for gene transfer. We argue that DNA transposon-derived vectors may carry inherent, and potentially limiting, traits of their mother elements. By understanding in detail the evolutionary journey of transposons, from host colonization to element multiplication and inactivation, we may better exploit the potential of distinct transposable elements. Hence, parallel efforts to investigate and develop distinct, but potent, transposon-based vector systems will benefit the broad applications of gene transfer. Insight and clever optimization have shaped new DNA transposon vectors, which recently debuted in the first DNA transposon-based clinical trial. Learning from an evolutionary drive may help us create gene vehicles that are safer, more efficient, and less prone for suppression and inactivation. PMID:24320156

A novel regulatory element (E77) isolated from CHO-K1 genomic DNA enhances stable gene expression in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

PubMed

Kang, Shin-Young; Kim, Yeon-Gu; Kang, Seunghee; Lee, Hong Weon; Lee, Eun Gyo

2016-05-01

Vectors flanked by regulatory DNA elements have been used to generate stable cell lines with high productivity and transgene stability; however, regulatory elements in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, which are the most widely used mammalian cells in biopharmaceutical production, are still poorly understood. We isolated a novel gene regulatory element from CHO-K1 cells, designated E77, which was found to enhance the stable expression of a transgene. A genomic library was constructed by combining CHO-K1 genomic DNA fragments with a CMV promoter-driven GFP expression vector, and the E77 element was isolated by screening. The incorporation of the E77 regulatory element resulted in the generation of an increased number of clones with high expression, thereby enhancing the expression level of the transgene in the stable transfectant cell pool. Interestingly, the E77 element was found to consist of two distinct fragments derived from different locations in the CHO genome shotgun sequence. High and stable transgene expression was obtained in transfected CHO cells by combining these fragments. Additionally, the function of E77 was found to be dependent on its site of insertion and specific orientation in the vector construct. Our findings demonstrate that stable gene expression mediated by the CMV promoter in CHO cells may be improved by the isolated novel gene regulatory element E77 identified in the present study. © 2016 The Authors. Biotechnology Journal published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Solution of free-boundary problems using finite-element/Newton methods and locally refined grids - Application to analysis of solidification microstructure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsiveriotis, K.; Brown, R. A.

1993-01-01

A new method is presented for the solution of free-boundary problems using Lagrangian finite element approximations defined on locally refined grids. The formulation allows for direct transition from coarse to fine grids without introducing non-conforming basis functions. The calculation of elemental stiffness matrices and residual vectors are unaffected by changes in the refinement level, which are accounted for in the loading of elemental data to the global stiffness matrix and residual vector. This technique for local mesh refinement is combined with recently developed mapping methods and Newton's method to form an efficient algorithm for the solution of free-boundary problems, as demonstrated here by sample calculations of cellular interfacial microstructure during directional solidification of a binary alloy.

Full Wave Analysis of RF Signal Attenuation in a Lossy Cave using a High Order Time Domain Vector Finite Element Method

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

Pingenot, J; Rieben, R; White, D

2004-12-06

We present a computational study of signal propagation and attenuation of a 200 MHz dipole antenna in a cave environment. The cave is modeled as a straight and lossy random rough wall. To simulate a broad frequency band, the full wave Maxwell equations are solved directly in the time domain via a high order vector finite element discretization using the massively parallel CEM code EMSolve. The simulation is performed for a series of random meshes in order to generate statistical data for the propagation and attenuation properties of the cave environment. Results for the power spectral density and phase ofmore » the electric field vector components are presented and discussed.« less

Optimal Orbit Maneuvers with Electrodynamic Tethers

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

orbital elements , which completely describe a unique orbit ; equinoctial elements are not employed but left for future iterations of the formulation...periods in the maneuver. Follow on work, uch as the transformation of this state vector from classical orbital elements to the quinoctial set of...

Analysis of a cis-Acting Element Involved in Regulation by Estrogen of Human Angiotensinogen Gene Expression.

PubMed

Zhao, Yan-Yan; Sun, Kai-Lai; Ashok, Kumar

1998-01-01

The work was aimed to identify the estrogen responsive element in the human angiotensinogen gene. The nucleotide sequence between the transcription initiation site and TATA box in angiotensinogen gene promoter was found to be strongly homologous with the consensus estrogen responsive element. This sequence was confirmed as the estrogen responsive element (HAG ERE) by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. The recombinant expression vectors were constructed in which chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene was driven by angiotensinogen core promoter with HAG ERE of by TK core promoter with multiplied HAG ERE, and were used in cotransfection with the human estrogen receptor expression vector into HepG(2) cells; CAT assays showed an increase of the CAT activity on 17beta-estradiol treatment in those transfectants. These results suggest that the human angiotensinogen gene is transcriptionally up-regulated by estrogen through the estrogen responsive element near TATA box of the promoter.

A generalized graph-theoretical matrix of heterosystems and its application to the VMV procedure.

PubMed

Mozrzymas, Anna

2011-12-14

The extensions of generalized (molecular) graph-theoretical matrix and vector-matrix-vector procedure are considered. The elements of the generalized matrix are redefined in order to describe molecules containing heteroatoms and multiple bonds. The adjacency, distance, detour and reciprocal distance matrices of heterosystems, and corresponding vectors are derived from newly defined generalized graph matrix. The topological indices, which are most widely used in predicting physicochemical and biological properties/activities of various compounds, can be calculated from the new generalized vector-matrix-vector invariant. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Explicit time integration of finite element models on a vectorized, concurrent computer with shared memory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilbertsen, Noreen D.; Belytschko, Ted

1990-01-01

The implementation of a nonlinear explicit program on a vectorized, concurrent computer with shared memory is described and studied. The conflict between vectorization and concurrency is described and some guidelines are given for optimal block sizes. Several example problems are summarized to illustrate the types of speed-ups which can be achieved by reprogramming as compared to compiler optimization.

Vector assembly of colloids on monolayer substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Lingxiang; Yang, Shenyu; Tsang, Boyce; Tu, Mei; Granick, Steve

2017-06-01

The key to spontaneous and directed assembly is to encode the desired assembly information to building blocks in a programmable and efficient way. In computer graphics, raster graphics encodes images on a single-pixel level, conferring fine details at the expense of large file sizes, whereas vector graphics encrypts shape information into vectors that allow small file sizes and operational transformations. Here, we adapt this raster/vector concept to a 2D colloidal system and realize `vector assembly' by manipulating particles on a colloidal monolayer substrate with optical tweezers. In contrast to raster assembly that assigns optical tweezers to each particle, vector assembly requires a minimal number of optical tweezers that allow operations like chain elongation and shortening. This vector approach enables simple uniform particles to form a vast collection of colloidal arenes and colloidenes, the spontaneous dissociation of which is achieved with precision and stage-by-stage complexity by simply removing the optical tweezers.

Geosynchronous Orbit Determination Using Space Surveillance Network Observations and Improved Radiative Force Modeling

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-06-01

equinoctial elements , because both sets of orbital elements reference the equinoctial coordinate system. In fact, to...spacecraft position and velocity vectors, or an element set , which represents the orbit using scalar quantities and angle measurements called orbital ...common element sets used to describe elliptical orbits (including circular orbits ) are Keplerian elements , also called classical orbital

41. Perimeter acquisition radar building radar element and coaxial display, ...

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

41. Perimeter acquisition radar building radar element and coaxial display, with drawing of typical antenna section. Drawing, from left to right, shows element, aluminum ground plane, cable connectors and hardware, cable, and back-up ring. Grey area is the concrete wall - Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Perimeter Acquisition Radar Building, Limited Access Area, between Limited Access Patrol Road & Service Road A, Nekoma, Cavalier County, ND

A feasibility study of a 3-D finite element solution scheme for aeroengine duct acoustics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abrahamson, A. L.

1980-01-01

The advantage from development of a 3-D model of aeroengine duct acoustics is the ability to analyze axial and circumferential liner segmentation simultaneously. The feasibility of a 3-D duct acoustics model was investigated using Galerkin or least squares element formulations combined with Gaussian elimination, successive over-relaxation, or conjugate gradient solution algorithms on conventional scalar computers and on a vector machine. A least squares element formulation combined with a conjugate gradient solver on a CDC Star vector computer initially appeared to have great promise, but severe difficulties were encountered with matrix ill-conditioning. These difficulties in conditioning rendered this technique impractical for realistic problems.

The impact of dissociation on transposon-mediated disease control strategies.

PubMed

Marshall, John M

2008-03-01

Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever continue to be a major health concern through much of the world. The emergence of chloroquine-resistant strains of malaria and insecticide-resistant mosquitoes emphasize the need for novel methods of disease control. Recently, there has been much interest in the use of transposable elements to drive resistance genes into vector populations as a means of disease control. One concern that must be addressed before a release is performed is the potential loss of linkage between a transposable element and a resistance gene. Transposable elements such as P and hobo have been shown to produce internal deletion derivatives at a significant rate, and there is concern that a similar process could lead to loss of the resistance gene from the drive system following a transgenic release. Additionally, transposable elements such as Himar1 have been shown to transpose significantly more frequently when free of exogenous DNA. Here, we show that any transposon-mediated gene drive strategy must have an exceptionally low rate of dissociation if it is to be effective. Additionally, the resistance gene must confer a large selective advantage to the vector to surmount the effects of a moderate dissociation rate and transpositional handicap.

Mixed models and reduction method for dynamic analysis of anisotropic shells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, A. K.; Peters, J. M.

1985-01-01

A time-domain computational procedure is presented for predicting the dynamic response of laminated anisotropic shells. The two key elements of the procedure are: (1) use of mixed finite element models having independent interpolation (shape) functions for stress resultants and generalized displacements for the spatial discretization of the shell, with the stress resultants allowed to be discontinuous at interelement boundaries; and (2) use of a dynamic reduction method, with the global approximation vectors consisting of the static solution and an orthogonal set of Lanczos vectors. The dynamic reduction is accomplished by means of successive application of the finite element method and the classical Rayleigh-Ritz technique. The finite element method is first used to generate the global approximation vectors. Then the Rayleigh-Ritz technique is used to generate a reduced system of ordinary differential equations in the amplitudes of these modes. The temporal integration of the reduced differential equations is performed by using an explicit half-station central difference scheme (Leap-frog method). The effectiveness of the proposed procedure is demonstrated by means of a numerical example and its advantages over reduction methods used with the displacement formulation are discussed.

Demand-supply gaps in human resources to combat vector-borne disease in India: capacity-building measures in medical entomology.

PubMed

Pandey, Anuja; Zodpey, Sanjay; Kumar, Raj

2015-01-01

Vector-borne diseases account for a significant proportion of the global burden of infectious disease. They are one of the greatest contributors to human mortality and morbidity in tropical settings, including India. The World Health Organization declared vector-borne diseases as theme for the year 2014, and thus called for renewed commitment to their prevention and control. Human resources are critical to support public health systems, and medical entomologists play a crucial role in public health efforts to combat vector-borne diseases. This paper aims to review the capacity-building initiatives in medical entomology in India, to understand the demand and supply of medical entomologists, and to give future direction for the initiation of need-based training in the country. A systematic, predefined approach, with three parallel strategies, was used to collect and assemble the data regarding medical entomology training in India and assess the demand-supply gap in medical entomologists in the country. The findings suggest that, considering the high burden of vector-borne diseases in the country and the growing need of health manpower specialized in medical entomology, the availability of specialized training in medical entomology is insufficient in terms of number and intake capacity. The demand analysis of medical entomologists in India suggests a wide gap in demand and supply, which needs to be addressed to cater for the burden of vector-borne diseases in the country.

Identification of Essential Genetic Baculoviral Elements for Recombinant Protein Expression by Transactivation in Sf21 Insect Cells.

PubMed

Bleckmann, Maren; Schürig, Margitta; Chen, Fang-Fang; Yen, Zen-Zen; Lindemann, Nils; Meyer, Steffen; Spehr, Johannes; van den Heuvel, Joop

2016-01-01

The Baculovirus Expression Vector System (BEVS) is widely used to produce high amounts of recombinant proteins. Nevertheless, generating recombinant baculovirus in high quality is rather time-consuming and labor-intensive. Alternatively, virus-free expression in insect cells did not achieve similar expression levels for most proteins so far. The transactivation method is a promising approach for protein expression in Sf21 cells. It combines advantages of BEVS and plasmid-based expression by activating strong virus-dependent promoters on a transfected plasmid by baculoviral coinfection. Here, we identified expression elements required for transactivation. Therefore, we designed several vectors comprising different viral promoters or promoter combinations and tested them for eGFP expression using the automated BioLector microcultivation system. Remarkably, only the combination of the very late promoter p10 together with the homologous region 5 (hr5) could boost expression during transactivation. Other elements, like p10 alone or the late viral promoter polH, did not respond to transactivation. A new combination of hr5 and p10 with the strongest immediate early OpMNPV viral promoter OpIE2 improved the yield of eGFP by ~25% in comparison to the previous applied hr5-IE1-p10 expression cassette. Furthermore, we observed a strong influence of the transcription termination sequence and vector backbone on the level of expression. Finally, the expression levels for transactivation, BEVS and solely plasmid-based expression were compared for the marker protein eGFP, underlining the potential of transactivation for fast recombinant protein expression in Sf21 cells. In conclusion, essential elements for transactivation could be identified. The optimal elements were applied to generate an improved vector applicable in virus-free plasmid-based expression, transactivation and BEVS.

Concerning the sound insulation of building elements made up of light concretes. [acoustic absorption efficiency calculations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giurgiu, I. I.

1974-01-01

The sound insulating capacity of building elements made up of light concretes is considered. Analyzing differentially the behavior of light concrete building elements under the influence of incident acoustic energy and on the basis of experimental measurements, coefficients of correction are introduced into the basic formulas for calculating the sound insulating capacity for the 100-3,2000 Hz frequency band.

Malaria Prevention by New Technology: Vectored Delivery of Antibody Genes

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-15-1-0401 TITLE: Malaria Prevention by New Technology : Vectored Delivery of Antibody Genes PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Gary...CONTRACT NUMBER Malaria Prevention by New Technology : Vectored Delivery of Antibody Genes 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-15-1-0401 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT...whole animals. Using a specific technology originally applied to expression of HIV antibodies, we demonstrated that mice can be protected from

Supervised Time Series Event Detector for Building Data

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

2016-04-13

A machine learning based approach is developed to detect events that have rarely been seen in the historical data. The data can include building energy consumption, sensor data, environmental data and any data that may affect the building's energy consumption. The algorithm is a modified nonlinear Bayesian support vector machine, which examines daily energy consumption profile, detect the days with abnormal events, and diagnose the cause of the events.

Floating point only SIMD instruction set architecture including compare, select, Boolean, and alignment operations

DOEpatents

Gschwind, Michael K [Chappaqua, NY

2011-03-01

Mechanisms for implementing a floating point only single instruction multiple data instruction set architecture are provided. A processor is provided that comprises an issue unit, an execution unit coupled to the issue unit, and a vector register file coupled to the execution unit. The execution unit has logic that implements a floating point (FP) only single instruction multiple data (SIMD) instruction set architecture (ISA). The floating point vector registers of the vector register file store both scalar and floating point values as vectors having a plurality of vector elements. The processor may be part of a data processing system.

Development of precursors recognition methods in vector signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapralov, V. G.; Elagin, V. V.; Kaveeva, E. G.; Stankevich, L. A.; Dremin, M. M.; Krylov, S. V.; Borovov, A. E.; Harfush, H. A.; Sedov, K. S.

2017-10-01

Precursor recognition methods in vector signals of plasma diagnostics are presented. Their requirements and possible options for their development are considered. In particular, the variants of using symbolic regression for building a plasma disruption prediction system are discussed. The initial data preparation using correlation analysis and symbolic regression is discussed. Special attention is paid to the possibility of using algorithms in real time.

LINEARIZATION OF EMPIRICAL RHEOLOGICAL DATA FOR USE IN COMPOSITION CONTROL OF MULTICOMPONENT FOODSTUFFS.

PubMed

Drake, Birger; Nádai, Béla

1970-03-01

An empirical measure of viscosity, which is often far from being a linear function of composition, was used together with refractive index to build up a function which bears a linear relationship to the composition of tomato paste-water-sucrose mixtures. The new function can be used directly for rapid composition control by linear vector-vector transformation.

Effective Team Practices: Interprofessional Contributions to Communication Issues With a Parent's Perspective.

PubMed

Cooper-Duffy, Karena; Eaker, Kerri

2017-05-17

This clinical focus article contains a detailed description of how to build effective teams that use interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) with special-education professionals, speech-language pathologists, and families of children with severe disabilities. This clinical focus article provides information on using the essential elements of team building and IPCP to provide quality care to families who have children with severe disabilities. The 6 essential elements for team building are described, with suggestions for including families in each: goal-setting, roles and responsibilities, effective and efficient process, communication and interpersonal relationships, collaborative problem solving, and evaluation. The 4 competency domains of IPCP are embedded into each of the team-building elements to demonstrate how teams can implement IPCP. A case study illustrates the difficulty one parent experienced working with a team across the 6 essential team-building elements when seeking communication services for her child with severe disabilities. Building teams with IPCP can be effective for including families and creating high-quality outcomes for individuals with severe disabilities.

Bundles over nearly-Kahler homogeneous spaces in heterotic string theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klaput, Michael; Lukas, Andre; Matti, Cyril

2011-09-01

We construct heterotic vacua based on six-dimensional nearly-Kahler homogeneous manifolds and non-trivial vector bundles thereon. Our examples are based on three specific group coset spaces. It is shown how to construct line bundles over these spaces, compute their properties and build up vector bundles consistent with supersymmetry and anomaly cancelation. It turns out that the most interesting coset is SU(3)/U(1)2. This space supports a large number of vector bundles which lead to consistent heterotic vacua, some of them with three chiral families.

Analysis of superconducting electromagnetic finite elements based on a magnetic vector potential variational principle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuler, James J.; Felippa, Carlos A.

1991-01-01

Electromagnetic finite elements are extended based on a variational principle that uses the electromagnetic four potential as primary variable. The variational principle is extended to include the ability to predict a nonlinear current distribution within a conductor. The extension of this theory is first done on a normal conductor and tested on two different problems. In both problems, the geometry remains the same, but the material properties are different. The geometry is that of a 1-D infinite wire. The first problem is merely a linear control case used to validate the new theory. The second problem is made up of linear conductors with varying conductivities. Both problems perform well and predict current densities that are accurate to within a few ten thousandths of a percent of the exact values. The fourth potential is then removed, leaving only the magnetic vector potential, and the variational principle is further extended to predict magnetic potentials, magnetic fields, the number of charge carriers, and the current densities within a superconductor. The new element produces good results for the mean magnetic field, the vector potential, and the number of superconducting charge carriers despite a relatively high system condition number. The element did not perform well in predicting the current density. Numerical problems inherent to this formulation are explored and possible remedies to produce better current predicting finite elements are presented.

Stable solutions of inflation driven by vector fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emami, Razieh; Mukohyama, Shinji; Namba, Ryo; Zhang, Ying-li

2017-03-01

Many models of inflation driven by vector fields alone have been known to be plagued by pathological behaviors, namely ghost and/or gradient instabilities. In this work, we seek a new class of vector-driven inflationary models that evade all of the mentioned instabilities. We build our analysis on the Generalized Proca Theory with an extension to three vector fields to realize isotropic expansion. We obtain the conditions required for quasi de-Sitter solutions to be an attractor analogous to the standard slow-roll one and those for their stability at the level of linearized perturbations. Identifying the remedy to the existing unstable models, we provide a simple example and explicitly show its stability. This significantly broadens our knowledge on vector inflationary scenarios, reviving potential phenomenological interests for this class of models.

Cast Iron in The 19th Century Building Equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwasek, Michał; Piwek, Aleksander

2017-10-01

Cast iron is a material, characteristics of which enable to receive extremely artistic elements. It maintains good strength properties at the same time. That combination of these seemingly contrary traits makes it a commodity that was widely used in the 19th century industry and architecture. These usages were not only as decorative elements, technical and structural ones. The production of new household utilities started, which made people’s lives more comfortable. Cast iron allowed for fast and cheap production while maintaining high aesthetic qualities. Useful elements, which often were ornamental parts of buildings were created. The aim of the article is to characterise elements of interior equipment of the 19th century building that are made of cast iron. As it appears from performed bibliography, archival and field studies, the ways of exploitation are very broad. Some were mounted into the building; the others were a mobile equipment. As it occurred they were most commonly used as functional items. Cast iron was used to produce the minor elements, which were only parts of the bigger wooden or stone items. Notwithstanding, there were also bigger ones casted as a whole, and frequently ones that were assembled from many elements. Nowadays, elements of an interior feature are one of the subjects of study during the restoration work of the buildings. They can provide important information about the building and the way people lived and are considered as the essential part of historical objects.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Technology to Study Vector-Pathogen-Host Interactions

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

Award Number: W81XWH-11-2-0175 TITLE: Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Technology to Study Vector-Pathogen-Host Interactions PRINCIPAL...Positioning Systems (GPS) Technology to Study Vector-Pathogen-Host Interactions 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-11-2-0175 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S...objective of this project is to examine the evolutionary consequences of introducing a tetravalent live- attenuated dengue virus vaccine into children in

Refractive index inversion based on Mueller matrix method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Huaxi; Wu, Wenyuan; Huang, Yanhua; Li, Zhaozhao

2016-03-01

Based on Stokes vector and Jones vector, the correlation between Mueller matrix elements and refractive index was studied with the result simplified, and through Mueller matrix way, the expression of refractive index inversion was deduced. The Mueller matrix elements, under different incident angle, are simulated through the expression of specular reflection so as to analyze the influence of the angle of incidence and refractive index on it, which is verified through the measure of the Mueller matrix elements of polished metal surface. Research shows that, under the condition of specular reflection, the result of Mueller matrix inversion is consistent with the experiment and can be used as an index of refraction of inversion method, and it provides a new way for target detection and recognition technology.

Orientation Modeling for Amateur Cameras by Matching Image Line Features and Building Vector Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hung, C. H.; Chang, W. C.; Chen, L. C.

2016-06-01

With the popularity of geospatial applications, database updating is getting important due to the environmental changes over time. Imagery provides a lower cost and efficient way to update the database. Three dimensional objects can be measured by space intersection using conjugate image points and orientation parameters of cameras. However, precise orientation parameters of light amateur cameras are not always available due to their costliness and heaviness of precision GPS and IMU. To automatize data updating, the correspondence of object vector data and image may be built to improve the accuracy of direct georeferencing. This study contains four major parts, (1) back-projection of object vector data, (2) extraction of image feature lines, (3) object-image feature line matching, and (4) line-based orientation modeling. In order to construct the correspondence of features between an image and a building model, the building vector features were back-projected onto the image using the initial camera orientation from GPS and IMU. Image line features were extracted from the imagery. Afterwards, the matching procedure was done by assessing the similarity between the extracted image features and the back-projected ones. Then, the fourth part utilized line features in orientation modeling. The line-based orientation modeling was performed by the integration of line parametric equations into collinearity condition equations. The experiment data included images with 0.06 m resolution acquired by Canon EOS Mark 5D II camera on a Microdrones MD4-1000 UAV. Experimental results indicate that 2.1 pixel accuracy may be reached, which is equivalent to 0.12 m in the object space.

On the Milankovitch orbital elements for perturbed Keplerian motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosengren, Aaron J.; Scheeres, Daniel J.

2014-03-01

We consider sets of natural vectorial orbital elements of the Milankovitch type for perturbed Keplerian motion. These elements are closely related to the two vectorial first integrals of the unperturbed two-body problem; namely, the angular momentum vector and the Laplace-Runge-Lenz vector. After a detailed historical discussion of the origin and development of such elements, nonsingular equations for the time variations of these sets of elements under perturbations are established, both in Lagrangian and Gaussian form. After averaging, a compact, elegant, and symmetrical form of secular Milankovitch-like equations is obtained, which reminds of the structure of canonical systems of equations in Hamiltonian mechanics. As an application of this vectorial formulation, we analyze the motion of an object orbiting about a planet (idealized as a point mass moving in a heliocentric elliptical orbit) and subject to solar radiation pressure acceleration (obeying an inverse-square law). We show that the corresponding secular problem is integrable and we give an explicit closed-form solution.

An international survey of building energy codes and their implementation

DOE PAGES

Evans, Meredydd; Roshchanka, Volha; Graham, Peter

2017-08-01

Buildings are key to low-carbon development everywhere, and many countries have introduced building energy codes to improve energy efficiency in buildings. Yet, building energy codes can only deliver results when the codes are implemented. For this reason, studies of building energy codes need to consider implementation of building energy codes in a consistent and comprehensive way. This research identifies elements and practices in implementing building energy codes, covering codes in 22 countries that account for 70% of global energy use in buildings. These elements and practices include: comprehensive coverage of buildings by type, age, size, and geographic location; an implementationmore » framework that involves a certified agency to inspect construction at critical stages; and building materials that are independently tested, rated, and labeled. Training and supporting tools are another element of successful code implementation. Some countries have also introduced compliance evaluation studies, which suggested that tightening energy requirements would only be meaningful when also addressing gaps in implementation (Pitt&Sherry, 2014; U.S. DOE, 2016b). Here, this article provides examples of practices that countries have adopted to assist with implementation of building energy codes.« less

An international survey of building energy codes and their implementation

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

Evans, Meredydd; Roshchanka, Volha; Graham, Peter

Buildings are key to low-carbon development everywhere, and many countries have introduced building energy codes to improve energy efficiency in buildings. Yet, building energy codes can only deliver results when the codes are implemented. For this reason, studies of building energy codes need to consider implementation of building energy codes in a consistent and comprehensive way. This research identifies elements and practices in implementing building energy codes, covering codes in 22 countries that account for 70% of global energy use in buildings. These elements and practices include: comprehensive coverage of buildings by type, age, size, and geographic location; an implementationmore » framework that involves a certified agency to inspect construction at critical stages; and building materials that are independently tested, rated, and labeled. Training and supporting tools are another element of successful code implementation. Some countries have also introduced compliance evaluation studies, which suggested that tightening energy requirements would only be meaningful when also addressing gaps in implementation (Pitt&Sherry, 2014; U.S. DOE, 2016b). Here, this article provides examples of practices that countries have adopted to assist with implementation of building energy codes.« less

Polarimetric signatures of a canopy of dielectric cylinders based on first and second order vector radiative transfer theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsang, Leung; Chan, Chi Hou; Kong, Jin AU; Joseph, James

1992-01-01

Complete polarimetric signatures of a canopy of dielectric cylinders overlying a homogeneous half space are studied with the first and second order solutions of the vector radiative transfer theory. The vector radiative transfer equations contain a general nondiagonal extinction matrix and a phase matrix. The energy conservation issue is addressed by calculating the elements of the extinction matrix and the elements of the phase matrix in a manner that is consistent with energy conservation. Two methods are used. In the first method, the surface fields and the internal fields of the dielectric cylinder are calculated by using the fields of an infinite cylinder. The phase matrix is calculated and the extinction matrix is calculated by summing the absorption and scattering to ensure energy conservation. In the second method, the method of moments is used to calculate the elements of the extinction and phase matrices. The Mueller matrix based on the first order and second order multiple scattering solutions of the vector radiative transfer equation are calculated. Results from the two methods are compared. The vector radiative transfer equations, combined with the solution based on method of moments, obey both energy conservation and reciprocity. The polarimetric signatures, copolarized and depolarized return, degree of polarization, and phase differences are studied as a function of the orientation, sizes, and dielectric properties of the cylinders. It is shown that second order scattering is generally important for vegetation canopy at C band and can be important at L band for some cases.

Generation of a Lineage II Powassan Virus (Deer Tick Virus) cDNA Clone: Assessment of Flaviviral Genetic Determinants of Tick and Mosquito Vector Competence.

PubMed

Kenney, Joan L; Anishchenko, Michael; Hermance, Meghan; Romo, Hannah; Chen, Ching-I; Thangamani, Saravanan; Brault, Aaron C

2018-05-21

The Flavivirus genus comprises a diverse group of viruses that utilize a wide range of vertebrate hosts and arthropod vectors. The genus includes viruses that are transmitted solely by mosquitoes or vertebrate hosts as well as viruses that alternate transmission between mosquitoes or ticks and vertebrates. Nevertheless, the viral genetic determinants that dictate these unique flaviviral host and vector specificities have been poorly characterized. In this report, a cDNA clone of a flavivirus that is transmitted between ticks and vertebrates (Powassan lineage II, deer tick virus [DTV]) was generated and chimeric viruses between the mosquito/vertebrate flavivirus, West Nile virus (WNV), were constructed. These chimeric viruses expressed the prM and E genes of either WNV or DTV in the heterologous nonstructural (NS) backbone. Recombinant chimeric viruses rescued from cDNAs were characterized for their capacity to grow in vertebrate and arthropod (mosquito and tick) cells as well as for in vivo vector competence in mosquitoes and ticks. Results demonstrated that the NS elements were insufficient to impart the complete mosquito or tick growth phenotypes of parental viruses; however, these NS genetic elements did contribute to a 100- and 100,000-fold increase in viral growth in vitro in tick and mosquito cells, respectively. Mosquito competence was observed only with parental WNV, while infection and transmission potential by ticks were observed with both DTV and WNV-prME/DTV chimeric viruses. These data indicate that NS genetic elements play a significant, but not exclusive, role for vector usage of mosquito- and tick-borne flaviviruses.

SAPNEW: Parallel finite element code for thin shell structures on the Alliant FX/80

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamat, Manohar P.; Watson, Brian C.

1992-02-01

The results of a research activity aimed at providing a finite element capability for analyzing turbo-machinery bladed-disk assemblies in a vector/parallel processing environment are summarized. Analysis of aircraft turbofan engines is very computationally intensive. The performance limit of modern day computers with a single processing unit was estimated at 3 billions of floating point operations per second (3 gigaflops). In view of this limit of a sequential unit, performance rates higher than 3 gigaflops can be achieved only through vectorization and/or parallelization as on Alliant FX/80. Accordingly, the efforts of this critically needed research were geared towards developing and evaluating parallel finite element methods for static and vibration analysis. A special purpose code, named with the acronym SAPNEW, performs static and eigen analysis of multi-degree-of-freedom blade models built-up from flat thin shell elements.

Identification of germline transcriptional regulatory elements in Aedes aegypti.

PubMed

Akbari, Omar S; Papathanos, Philippos A; Sandler, Jeremy E; Kennedy, Katie; Hay, Bruce A

2014-02-04

The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the principal vector for the yellow fever and dengue viruses, and is also responsible for recent outbreaks of the alphavirus chikungunya. Vector control strategies utilizing engineered gene drive systems are being developed as a means of replacing wild, pathogen transmitting mosquitoes with individuals refractory to disease transmission, or bringing about population suppression. Several of these systems, including Medea, UD(MEL), and site-specific nucleases, which can be used to drive genes into populations or bring about population suppression, utilize transcriptional regulatory elements that drive germline-specific expression. Here we report the identification of multiple regulatory elements able to drive gene expression specifically in the female germline, or in the male and female germline, in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. These elements can also be used as tools with which to probe the roles of specific genes in germline function and in the early embryo, through overexpression or RNA interference.

Identification of germline transcriptional regulatory elements in Aedes aegypti

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbari, Omar S.; Papathanos, Philippos A.; Sandler, Jeremy E.; Kennedy, Katie; Hay, Bruce A.

2014-02-01

The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the principal vector for the yellow fever and dengue viruses, and is also responsible for recent outbreaks of the alphavirus chikungunya. Vector control strategies utilizing engineered gene drive systems are being developed as a means of replacing wild, pathogen transmitting mosquitoes with individuals refractory to disease transmission, or bringing about population suppression. Several of these systems, including Medea, UDMEL, and site-specific nucleases, which can be used to drive genes into populations or bring about population suppression, utilize transcriptional regulatory elements that drive germline-specific expression. Here we report the identification of multiple regulatory elements able to drive gene expression specifically in the female germline, or in the male and female germline, in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. These elements can also be used as tools with which to probe the roles of specific genes in germline function and in the early embryo, through overexpression or RNA interference.

SAPNEW: Parallel finite element code for thin shell structures on the Alliant FX/80

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamat, Manohar P.; Watson, Brian C.

1992-01-01

The results of a research activity aimed at providing a finite element capability for analyzing turbo-machinery bladed-disk assemblies in a vector/parallel processing environment are summarized. Analysis of aircraft turbofan engines is very computationally intensive. The performance limit of modern day computers with a single processing unit was estimated at 3 billions of floating point operations per second (3 gigaflops). In view of this limit of a sequential unit, performance rates higher than 3 gigaflops can be achieved only through vectorization and/or parallelization as on Alliant FX/80. Accordingly, the efforts of this critically needed research were geared towards developing and evaluating parallel finite element methods for static and vibration analysis. A special purpose code, named with the acronym SAPNEW, performs static and eigen analysis of multi-degree-of-freedom blade models built-up from flat thin shell elements.

Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development for DSX

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-19

AFRL-RV-HA-TR-2008-1108 Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development for DSX Mark B. Moldwin Q. O O O I- UCLA Q Institute of...for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited. 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT UCLA is building a three-axis fluxgate magnetometer for the Air... fluxgate magnetometer provides the necessary data to support both the Space Weather (SWx) specification and mapping requirements and the WPIx

Vector and Raster Data Storage Based on Morton Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, G.; Pan, Q.; Yue, T.; Wang, Q.; Sha, H.; Huang, S.; Liu, X.

2018-05-01

Even though geomatique is so developed nowadays, the integration of spatial data in vector and raster formats is still a very tricky problem in geographic information system environment. And there is still not a proper way to solve the problem. This article proposes a method to interpret vector data and raster data. In this paper, we saved the image data and building vector data of Guilin University of Technology to Oracle database. Then we use ADO interface to connect database to Visual C++ and convert row and column numbers of raster data and X Y of vector data to Morton code in Visual C++ environment. This method stores vector and raster data to Oracle Database and uses Morton code instead of row and column and X Y to mark the position information of vector and raster data. Using Morton code to mark geographic information enables storage of data make full use of storage space, simultaneous analysis of vector and raster data more efficient and visualization of vector and raster more intuitive. This method is very helpful for some situations that need to analyse or display vector data and raster data at the same time.

Gain in computational efficiency by vectorization in the dynamic simulation of multi-body systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amirouche, F. M. L.; Shareef, N. H.

1991-01-01

An improved technique for the identification and extraction of the exact quantities associated with the degrees of freedom at the element as well as the flexible body level is presented. It is implemented in the dynamic equations of motions based on the recursive formulation of Kane et al. (1987) and presented in a matrix form, integrating the concepts of strain energy, the finite-element approach, modal analysis, and reduction of equations. This technique eliminates the CPU intensive matrix multiplication operations in the code's hot spots for the dynamic simulation of the interconnected rigid and flexible bodies. A study of a simple robot with flexible links is presented by comparing the execution times on a scalar machine and a vector-processor with and without vector options. Performance figures demonstrating the substantial gains achieved by the technique are plotted.

Prototype Automatic Target Screener.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-05-19

JLIST OF TABLES I Table Page 1 PATS Modules 4 2 Vector Read/Write Command Format ( SEL4 ) 29 1 3 Read Vector Data Command Format ( SEL4 ) 30 J 4 Use Matrix...VECTOR READ/WRITE COMMAND FORMAT ( SEL4 ) S 1,4A Output 15 14 1:3 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Da taI To VNUM VDIR V LEN InterfaceIT TNT = 1 Intensify...elements ! | 29 I TABLE 3. READ VECTOR DATA COMMAND FORMAT ( SEL4 ) SEL4 Read Vector Data Input 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Da ta D D V To 0 A D

Large Electroweak Corrections to Vector-Boson Scattering at the Large Hadron Collider.

PubMed

Biedermann, Benedikt; Denner, Ansgar; Pellen, Mathieu

2017-06-30

For the first time full next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections to off-shell vector-boson scattering are presented. The computation features the complete matrix elements, including all nonresonant and off-shell contributions, to the electroweak process pp→μ^{+}ν_{μ}e^{+}ν_{e}jj and is fully differential. We find surprisingly large corrections, reaching -16% for the fiducial cross section, as an intrinsic feature of the vector-boson-scattering processes. We elucidate the origin of these large electroweak corrections upon using the double-pole approximation and the effective vector-boson approximation along with leading-logarithmic corrections.

Molecular design for recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector production.

PubMed

Aponte-Ubillus, Juan Jose; Barajas, Daniel; Peltier, Joseph; Bardliving, Cameron; Shamlou, Parviz; Gold, Daniel

2018-02-01

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors are increasingly popular tools for gene therapy applications. Their non-pathogenic status, low inflammatory potential, availability of viral serotypes with different tissue tropisms, and prospective long-lasting gene expression are important attributes that make rAAVs safe and efficient therapeutic options. Over the last three decades, several groups have engineered recombinant AAV-producing platforms, yielding high titers of transducing vector particles. Current specific productivity yields from different platforms range from 10 3 to 10 5 vector genomes (vg) per cell, and there is an ongoing effort to improve vector yields in order to satisfy high product demands required for clinical trials and future commercialization.Crucial aspects of vector production include the molecular design of the rAAV-producing host cell line along with the design of AAV genes, promoters, and regulatory elements. Appropriately, configuring and balancing the expression of these elements not only contributes toward high productivity, it also improves process robustness and product quality. In this mini-review, the rational design of rAAV-producing expression systems is discussed, with special attention to molecular strategies that contribute to high-yielding, biomanufacturing-amenable rAAV production processes. Details on molecular optimization from four rAAV expression systems are covered: adenovirus, herpesvirus, and baculovirus complementation systems, as well as a recently explored yeast expression system.

Design automation of load-bearing arched structures of roofs of tall buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulikov, Vladimir

2018-03-01

The article considers aspects of the possible use of arched roofs in the construction of skyscrapers. Tall buildings experience large load from various environmental factors. Skyscrapers are subject to various and complex types of deformation of its structural elements. The paper discusses issues related to the aerodynamics of various structural elements of tall buildings. The technique of solving systems of equations state method of Simpson. The article describes the optimization of geometric parameters of bearing elements of the arched roofs of skyscrapers.

Role Assessment of GIS Analysis and its Reliability while Ranking Urban Sustainability Using Scenarios Specific to Regional Climate, Community and Culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salmi, H. Al; Abdulmuttalib, H. M.

2012-07-01

Urban Sustainability expresses the level of conservation of a city while living a town or consuming its urban resources, but the measurement of urban sustainability depends on what are considered important indicators of conservation besides the permitted levels of consumption in accordance with adopted criteria. This criterion should have common factors that are shared for all the members tested or cities to be evaluated as in this particular case for Abu Dhabi, but also have specific factors that are related to the geographic place, community and culture, that is the measures of urban sustainability specific to a middle east climate, community and culture where GIS Vector and Raster analysis have a role or add a value in urban sustainability measurements or grading are considered herein. Scenarios were tested using various GIS data types to replicate urban history (ten years period), current status and expected future of Abu Dhabi City setting factors to climate, community needs and culture. The useful Vector or Raster GIS data sets that are related to every scenario where selected and analysed in the sense of how and how much it can benefit the urban sustainability ranking in quantity and quality tests, this besides assessing the suitable data nature, type and format, the important topology rules to be considered, the useful attributes to be added, the relationships which should be maintained between data types of a geo- database, and specify its usage in a specific scenario test, then setting weights to each and every data type representing some elements of a phenomenon related to urban suitability factor. The results of assessing the role of GIS analysis provided data collection specifications such as the measures of accuracy reliable to a certain type of GIS functional analysis used in an urban sustainability ranking scenario tests. This paper reflects the prior results of the research that is conducted to test the multidiscipline evaluation of urban sustainability using different indicator metrics, that implement vector GIS Analysis and Raster GIS analysis as basic tools to assist the evaluation and increase of its reliability besides assessing and decomposing it, after which a hypothetical implementation of the chosen evaluation model represented by various scenarios was implemented on the planned urban sustainability factors for a certain period of time to appraise the expected future grade of urban sustainability and come out with advises associated with scenarios for assuring gap filling and relative high urban future sustainability. The results this paper is reflecting are concentrating on the elements of vector and raster GIS analysis that assists the proper urban sustainability grading within the chosen model, the reliability of spatial data collected; analysis selected and resulted spatial information. Starting from selecting some important indicators to comprise the model which include regional culture, climate and community needs an example of what was used is Energy Demand & Consumption (Cooling systems). Thus, this factor is related to the climate and it's regional specific as the temperature varies around 30-45 degrees centigrade in city areas, GIS 3D Polygons of building data used to analyse the volume of buildings, attributes "building heights", estimate the number of floors from the equation, following energy demand was calculated and consumption for the unit volume, and compared it in scenario with possible sustainable energy supply or using different environmental friendly cooling systems this is followed by calculating the cooling system effects on an area unit selected to be 1 sq. km, combined with the level of greenery area, and open space, as represented by parks polygons, trees polygons, empty areas, pedestrian polygons and road surface area polygons. (initial measures showed that cooling system consumption can be reduced by around 15-20% with a well-planned building distributions, proper spaces and with using environmental friendly products and building material, temperature levels were also combined in the scenario extracted from satellite images as interpreted from thermal bands 3 times during the period of assessment. Other examples of the assessment of GIS analysis to urban sustainability took place included Waste Productivity, some effects of greenhouse gases measured by the intensity of road polygons and closeness to dwelling areas, industry areas as defined from land use land cover thematic maps produced from classified satellite images then vectors were created to take part in defining their role within the scenarios. City Noise and light intensity assessment was also investigated, as the region experiences rapid development and noise is magnified due to construction activities, closeness of the airports, and highways. The assessment investigated the measures taken by urban planners to reduce degradation or properly manage it. Finally as a conclusion tables were presented to reflect the scenario results in combination with GIS data types, analysis types, and the level of GIS data reliability to measure the sustainability level of a city related to cultural and regional demands.

Content based image retrieval using local binary pattern operator and data mining techniques.

PubMed

Vatamanu, Oana Astrid; Frandeş, Mirela; Lungeanu, Diana; Mihalaş, Gheorghe-Ioan

2015-01-01

Content based image retrieval (CBIR) concerns the retrieval of similar images from image databases, using feature vectors extracted from images. These feature vectors globally define the visual content present in an image, defined by e.g., texture, colour, shape, and spatial relations between vectors. Herein, we propose the definition of feature vectors using the Local Binary Pattern (LBP) operator. A study was performed in order to determine the optimum LBP variant for the general definition of image feature vectors. The chosen LBP variant is then subsequently used to build an ultrasound image database, and a database with images obtained from Wireless Capsule Endoscopy. The image indexing process is optimized using data clustering techniques for images belonging to the same class. Finally, the proposed indexing method is compared to the classical indexing technique, which is nowadays widely used.

Weaving Knotted Vector Fields with Tunable Helicity.

PubMed

Kedia, Hridesh; Foster, David; Dennis, Mark R; Irvine, William T M

2016-12-30

We present a general construction of divergence-free knotted vector fields from complex scalar fields, whose closed field lines encode many kinds of knots and links, including torus knots, their cables, the figure-8 knot, and its generalizations. As finite-energy physical fields, they represent initial states for fields such as the magnetic field in a plasma, or the vorticity field in a fluid. We give a systematic procedure for calculating the vector potential, starting from complex scalar functions with knotted zero filaments, thus enabling an explicit computation of the helicity of these knotted fields. The construction can be used to generate isolated knotted flux tubes, filled by knots encoded in the lines of the vector field. Lastly, we give examples of manifestly knotted vector fields with vanishing helicity. Our results provide building blocks for analytical models and simulations alike.

Thermo-optic microring resonator switching elements made of dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsilipakos, Odysseas; Kriezis, Emmanouil E.; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I.

2011-04-01

Thermo-optic switching elements made of dielectric-loaded plasmonic (DLSPP) waveguides are theoretically investigated by utilizing the three-dimensional vector finite element method. The configurations considered employ microring resonators, whose resonant frequency is varied by means of thermal tuning. First, a classic add-drop filter with parallel access waveguides is examined. Such a component features very poor drop port extinction ratio (ER). We therefore extend the analysis to add-drop filters with perpendicular access waveguides, which are found to exhibit superior drop port ERs, due to interference effects associated with the drop port transmission. In the process, the performance of a DLSPP waveguide crossing is also assessed, since it is a building block of those filters whose bus waveguides intersect. An elliptic tapering scheme is proposed for minimizing cross talk and its effect on the filter performance is explored. The dual-resonator add-drop filter with perpendicular bus waveguides and an untreated waveguide crossing of Sec. V can act as an efficient 2×2 switching element (the single-resonator variant can only act as a 1×2 switch due to structure asymmetry), possessing two equivalent input ports and featuring high ERs for both output ports over a broad wavelength range. Specifically, an extinction ratio of at least 8 dB can be attained for both output ports over a wavelength range of 3.2 nm, accommodating four 100-GHz-spaced channels. Switching times are in the order of a few microseconds, rendering the aforementioned structure capable of handling real-world routing scenarios.

Principal fiber bundle description of number scaling for scalars and vectors: application to gauge theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benioff, Paul

2015-05-01

The purpose of this paper is to put the description of number scaling and its effects on physics and geometry on a firmer foundation, and to make it more understandable. A main point is that two different concepts, number and number value are combined in the usual representations of number structures. This is valid as long as just one structure of each number type is being considered. It is not valid when different structures of each number type are being considered. Elements of base sets of number structures, considered by themselves, have no meaning. They acquire meaning or value as elements of a number structure. Fiber bundles over a space or space time manifold, M, are described. The fiber consists of a collection of many real or complex number structures and vector space structures. The structures are parameterized by a real or complex scaling factor, s. A vector space at a fiber level, s, has, as scalars, real or complex number structures at the same level. Connections are described that relate scalar and vector space structures at both neighbor M locations and at neighbor scaling levels. Scalar and vector structure valued fields are described and covariant derivatives of these fields are obtained. Two complex vector fields, each with one real and one imaginary field, appear, with one complex field associated with positions in M and the other with position dependent scaling factors. A derivation of the covariant derivative for scalar and vector valued fields gives the same vector fields. The derivation shows that the complex vector field associated with scaling fiber levels is the gradient of a complex scalar field. Use of these results in gauge theory shows that the imaginary part of the vector field associated with M positions acts like the electromagnetic field. The physical relevance of the other three fields, if any, is not known.

Building HVAC control knowledge data schema – Towards a unified representation of control system knowledge

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

Chen, Yan; Treado, Stephen J.; Messner, John I.

Building control systems for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) play a key role in realizing the functionality and operation of building systems and components. Building Control Knowledge (BCK) is the logic and algorithms embedded throughout building control system. There are different methods to represent the BCK. These methods differ in the selection of BCK representing elements and the format of those elements. There is a lack of standard data schema, for storing, retrieving, and reusing structured BCK. In this study, a modular data schema is created for BCK representation. The data schema contains eleven representing elements, i.e., control modulemore » name, operation mode, system schematic, control flow diagram, data point, alarm, parameter, control sequence, function, and programming code. Each element is defined with specific attributes. This data schema is evaluated through a case study demonstration. The demonstration shows a new way to represent the BCK with standard formats.« less

Evaluation of the importance of VlsE antigenic variation for the enzootic cycle of borrelia burgdorferi

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Efficient acquisition and transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi by the tick vector, and the ability to persistently infect both vector and host, are important elements for the life cycle of the Lyme disease pathogen. Previous work has provided strong evidence implicating the significance of the vls l...

Essential and Dispensable Virus-Encoded Replication Elements Revealed by Efforts To Develop Hypoviruses as Gene Expression Vectors

PubMed Central

Suzuki, Nobuhiro; Geletka, Lynn M.; Nuss, Donald L.

2000-01-01

We have investigated whether hypoviruses, viral agents responsible for virulence attenuation (hypovirulence) of the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, could serve as gene expression vectors. The infectious cDNA clone of the prototypic hypovirus CHV1-EP713 was modified to generate 20 different vector candidates. Although transient expression was achieved for a subset of vectors that contained the green fluorescent protein gene from Aequorea victoria, long-term expression (past day 8) was not observed for any vector construct. Analysis of viral RNAs recovered from transfected fungal colonies revealed that the foreign genes were readily deleted from the replicating virus, although small portions of foreign sequences were retained by some vectors after months of replication. However, the results of vector viability and progeny characterization provided unexpected new insights into essential and dispensable elements of hypovirus replication. The N-terminal portion (codons 1 to 24) of the 5′-proximal open reading frame (ORF), ORF A, was found to be required for virus replication, while the remaining 598 codons of this ORF were completely dispensable. Substantial alterations were tolerated in the pentanucleotide UAAUG that contains the ORF A termination codon and the overlapping putative initiation codon of the second of the two hypovirus ORFs, ORF B. Replication competence was maintained following either a frameshift mutation that caused a two-codon extension of ORF A or a modification that produced a single-ORF genomic organization. These results are discussed in terms of determinants of hypovirus replication, the potential utility of hypoviruses as gene expression vectors, and possible mechanisms by which hypoviruses recognize and delete foreign sequences. PMID:10906211

Intelligent classifier for dynamic fault patterns based on hidden Markov model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Bo; Feng, Yuguang; Yu, Jinsong

2006-11-01

It's difficult to build precise mathematical models for complex engineering systems because of the complexity of the structure and dynamics characteristics. Intelligent fault diagnosis introduces artificial intelligence and works in a different way without building the analytical mathematical model of a diagnostic object, so it's a practical approach to solve diagnostic problems of complex systems. This paper presents an intelligent fault diagnosis method, an integrated fault-pattern classifier based on Hidden Markov Model (HMM). This classifier consists of dynamic time warping (DTW) algorithm, self-organizing feature mapping (SOFM) network and Hidden Markov Model. First, after dynamic observation vector in measuring space is processed by DTW, the error vector including the fault feature of being tested system is obtained. Then a SOFM network is used as a feature extractor and vector quantization processor. Finally, fault diagnosis is realized by fault patterns classifying with the Hidden Markov Model classifier. The importing of dynamic time warping solves the problem of feature extracting from dynamic process vectors of complex system such as aeroengine, and makes it come true to diagnose complex system by utilizing dynamic process information. Simulating experiments show that the diagnosis model is easy to extend, and the fault pattern classifier is efficient and is convenient to the detecting and diagnosing of new faults.

Plasmid Vectors and Molecular Building Blocks for the Development of Genetic Manipulation Tools for Trypanosoma cruzi

PubMed Central

Bouvier, León A.; Cámara, María de los Milagros; Canepa, Gaspar E.; Miranda, Mariana R.; Pereira, Claudio A.

2013-01-01

The post genomic era revealed the need for developing better performing, easier to use and more sophisticated genetic manipulation tools for the study of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. In this work a series of plasmids that allow genetic manipulation of this protozoan parasite were developed. First of all we focused on useful tools to establish selection strategies for different strains and which can be employed as expression vectors. On the other hand molecular building blocks in the form of diverse selectable markers, modifiable fluorescent protein and epitope-tag coding sequences were produced. Both types of modules were harboured in backbone molecules conceived to offer multiple construction and sub-cloning strategies. These can be used to confer new properties to already available genetic manipulation tools or as starting points for whole novel designs. The performance of each plasmid and building block was determined independently. For illustration purposes, some simple direct practical applications were conducted. PMID:24205392

Building Construction Progress Monitoring Using Unmanned Aerial System (uas), Low-Cost Photogrammetry, and Geographic Information System (gis)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bognot, J. R.; Candido, C. G.; Blanco, A. C.; Montelibano, J. R. Y.

2018-05-01

Monitoring the progress of building's construction is critical in construction management. However, measuring the building construction's progress are still manual, time consuming, error prone, and impose tedious process of analysis leading to delays, additional costings and effort. The main goal of this research is to develop a methodology for building construction progress monitoring based on 3D as-built model of the building from unmanned aerial system (UAS) images, 4D as-planned model (with construction schedule integrated) and, GIS analysis. Monitoring was done by capturing videos of the building with a camera-equipped UAS. Still images were extracted, filtered, bundle-adjusted, and 3D as-built model was generated using open source photogrammetric software. The as-planned model was generated from digitized CAD drawings using GIS. The 3D as-built model was aligned with the 4D as-planned model of building formed from extrusion of building elements, and integration of the construction's planned schedule. The construction progress is visualized via color-coding the building elements in the 3D model. The developed methodology was conducted and applied from the data obtained from an actual construction site. Accuracy in detecting `built' or `not built' building elements ranges from 82-84 % and precision of 50-72 %. Quantified progress in terms of the number of building elements are 21.31% (November 2016), 26.84 % (January 2017) and 44.19 % (March 2017). The results can be used as an input for progress monitoring performance of construction projects and improving related decision-making process.

Beta-globin LCR and intron elements cooperate and direct spatial reorganization for gene therapy.

PubMed

Buzina, Alla; Lo, Mandy Y M; Moffett, Angela; Hotta, Akitsu; Fussner, Eden; Bharadwaj, Rikki R; Pasceri, Peter; Garcia-Martinez, J Victor; Bazett-Jones, David P; Ellis, James

2008-04-11

The Locus Control Region (LCR) requires intronic elements within beta-globin transgenes to direct high level expression at all ectopic integration sites. However, these essential intronic elements cannot be transmitted through retrovirus vectors and their deletion may compromise the therapeutic potential for gene therapy. Here, we systematically regenerate functional beta-globin intron 2 elements that rescue LCR activity directed by 5'HS3. Evaluation in transgenic mice demonstrates that an Oct-1 binding site and an enhancer in the intron cooperate to increase expression levels from LCR globin transgenes. Replacement of the intronic AT-rich region with the Igmu 3'MAR rescues LCR activity in single copy transgenic mice. Importantly, a combination of the Oct-1 site, Igmu 3'MAR and intronic enhancer in the BGT158 cassette directs more consistent levels of expression in transgenic mice. By introducing intron-modified transgenes into the same genomic integration site in erythroid cells, we show that BGT158 has the greatest transcriptional induction. 3D DNA FISH establishes that induction stimulates this small 5'HS3 containing transgene and the endogenous locus to spatially reorganize towards more central locations in erythroid nuclei. Electron Spectroscopic Imaging (ESI) of chromatin fibers demonstrates that ultrastructural heterochromatin is primarily perinuclear and does not reorganize. Finally, we transmit intron-modified globin transgenes through insulated self-inactivating (SIN) lentivirus vectors into erythroid cells. We show efficient transfer and robust mRNA and protein expression by the BGT158 vector, and virus titer improvements mediated by the modified intron 2 in the presence of an LCR cassette composed of 5'HS2-4. Our results have important implications for the mechanism of LCR activity at ectopic integration sites. The modified transgenes are the first to transfer intronic elements that potentiate LCR activity and are designed to facilitate correction of hemoglobinopathies using single copy vectors.

Building Extraction Based on Openstreetmap Tags and Very High Spatial Resolution Image in Urban Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, L.; Wang, Q.; Yan, H. W.

2018-04-01

How to derive contour of buildings from VHR images is the essential problem for automatic building extraction in urban area. To solve this problem, OSM data is introduced to offer vector contour information of buildings which is hard to get from VHR images. First, we import OSM data into database. The line string data of OSM with tags of building, amenity, office etc. are selected and combined into completed contours; Second, the accuracy of contours of buildings is confirmed by comparing with the real buildings in Google Earth; Third, maximum likelihood classification is conducted with the confirmed building contours, and the result demonstrates that the proposed approach is effective and accurate. The approach offers a new way for automatic interpretation of VHR images.

Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Flight System Integration at Its Best

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, T. David; Kanner, Howard S.; Freeland, Donna M.; Olson, Derek T.

2011-01-01

The Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) element integrates all the subsystems needed for ascent flight, entry, and recovery of the combined Booster and Motor system. These include the structures, avionics, thrust vector control, pyrotechnic, range safety, deceleration, thermal protection, and retrieval systems. This represents the only human-rated, recoverable and refurbishable solid rocket ever developed and flown. Challenges included subsystem integration, thermal environments and severe loads (including water impact), sometimes resulting in hardware attrition. Several of the subsystems evolved during the program through design changes. These included the thermal protection system, range safety system, parachute/recovery system, and others. Because the system was recovered, the SRB was ideal for data and imagery acquisition, which proved essential for understanding loads, environments and system response. The three main parachutes that lower the SRBs to the ocean are the largest parachutes ever designed, and the SRBs are the largest structures ever to be lowered by parachutes. SRB recovery from the ocean was a unique process and represented a significant operational challenge; requiring personnel, facilities, transportation, and ground support equipment. The SRB element achieved reliability via extensive system testing and checkout, redundancy management, and a thorough postflight assessment process. However, the in-flight data and postflight assessment process revealed the hardware was affected much more strongly than originally anticipated. Assembly and integration of the booster subsystems required acceptance testing of reused hardware components for each build. Extensive testing was done to assure hardware functionality at each level of stage integration. Because the booster element is recoverable, subsystems were available for inspection and testing postflight, unique to the Shuttle launch vehicle. Problems were noted and corrective actions were implemented as needed. The postflight assessment process was quite detailed and a significant portion of flight operations. The SRBs provided fully redundant critical systems including thrust vector control, mission critical pyrotechnics, avionics, and parachute recovery system. The design intent was to lift off with full redundancy. On occasion, the redundancy management scheme was needed during flight operations. This paper describes some of the design challenges and technical issues, how the design evolved with time, and key areas where hardware reusability contributed to improved system level understanding.

Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) - Evolution and Lessons Learned During the Shuttle Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kanner, Howard S.; Freeland, Donna M.; Olson, Derek T.; Wood, T. David; Vaccaro, Mark V.

2011-01-01

The Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) element integrates all the subsystems needed for ascent flight, entry, and recovery of the combined Booster and Motor system. These include the structures, avionics, thrust vector control, pyrotechnic, range safety, deceleration, thermal protection, and retrieval systems. This represents the only human-rated, recoverable and refurbishable solid rocket ever developed and flown. Challenges included subsystem integration, thermal environments and severe loads (including water impact), sometimes resulting in hardware attrition. Several of the subsystems evolved during the program through design changes. These included the thermal protection system, range safety system, parachute/recovery system, and others. Obsolescence issues occasionally required component recertification. Because the system was recovered, the SRB was ideal for data and imagery acquisition, which proved essential for understanding loads and system response. The three main parachutes that lower the SRBs to the ocean are the largest parachutes ever designed, and the SRBs are the largest structures ever to be lowered by parachutes. SRB recovery from the ocean was a unique process and represented a significant operational challenge; requiring personnel, facilities, transportation, and ground support equipment. The SRB element achieved reliability via extensive system testing and checkout, redundancy management, and a thorough postflight assessment process. Assembly and integration of the booster subsystems was a unique process and acceptance testing of reused hardware components was required for each build. Extensive testing was done to assure hardware functionality at each level of stage integration. Because the booster element is recoverable, subsystems were available for inspection and testing postflight, unique to the Shuttle launch vehicle. Problems were noted and corrective actions were implemented as needed. The postflight assessment process was quite detailed and a significant portion of flight operations. The SRBs provided fully redundant critical systems including thrust vector control, mission critical pyrotechnics, avionics, and parachute recovery system. The design intent was to lift off with full redundancy. On occasion, the redundancy management scheme was needed during flight operations. This paper describes some of the design challenges, how the design evolved with time, and key areas where hardware reusability contributed to improved system level understanding.

Sound intensity probe for ultrasonic field in water using light-emitting diodes and piezoelectric elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Xi; Mizuno, Yosuke; Nakamura, Kentaro

2017-12-01

The sound intensity vector provides useful information on the state of an ultrasonic field in water, since sound intensity is a vector quantity expressing the direction and magnitude of the sound field. In the previous studies on sound intensity measurement in water, conventional piezoelectric sensors and metal cables were used, and the transmission distance was limited. A new configuration of a sound intensity probe suitable for ultrasonic measurement in water is proposed and constructed for trial in this study. The probe consists of light-emitting diodes and piezoelectric elements, and the output signals are transmitted through fiber optic cables as intensity-modulated light. Sound intensity measurements of a 26 kHz ultrasonic field in water are demonstrated. The difference in the intensity vector state between the water tank with and without sound-absorbing material on its walls was successfully observed.

Partial Automation of Requirements Tracing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayes, Jane; Dekhtyar, Alex; Sundaram, Senthil; Vadlamudi, Sravanthi

2006-01-01

Requirements Tracing on Target (RETRO) is software for after-the-fact tracing of textual requirements to support independent verification and validation of software. RETRO applies one of three user-selectable information-retrieval techniques: (1) term frequency/inverse document frequency (TF/IDF) vector retrieval, (2) TF/IDF vector retrieval with simple thesaurus, or (3) keyword extraction. One component of RETRO is the graphical user interface (GUI) for use in initiating a requirements-tracing project (a pair of artifacts to be traced to each other, such as a requirements spec and a design spec). Once the artifacts have been specified and the IR technique chosen, another component constructs a representation of the artifact elements and stores it on disk. Next, the IR technique is used to produce a first list of candidate links (potential matches between the two artifact levels). This list, encoded in Extensible Markup Language (XML), is optionally processed by a filtering component designed to make the list somewhat smaller without sacrificing accuracy. Through the GUI, the user examines a number of links and returns decisions (yes, these are links; no, these are not links). Coded in XML, these decisions are provided to a "feedback processor" component that prepares the data for the next application of the IR technique. The feedback reduces the incidence of erroneous candidate links. Unlike related prior software, RETRO does not require the user to assign keywords, and automatically builds a document index.

Complex network construction based on user group attention sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Gaowei; Xu, Lingyu; Wang, Lei

2018-04-01

In the traditional complex network construction, it is often to use the similarity between nodes, build the weight of the network, and finally build the network. However, this approach tends to focus only on the coupling between nodes, while ignoring the information transfer between nodes and the transfer of directionality. In the network public opinion space, based on the set of stock series that the network groups pay attention to within a certain period of time, we vectorize the different stocks and build a complex network.

3-D Magnetotelluric Forward Modeling And Inversion Incorporating Topography By Using Vector Finite-Element Method Combined With Divergence Corrections Based On The Magnetic Field (VFEH++)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, X.; Utada, H.; Jiaying, W.

2009-12-01

The vector finite-element method combined with divergence corrections based on the magnetic field H, referred to as VFEH++ method, is developed to simulate the magnetotelluric (MT) responses of 3-D conductivity models. The advantages of the new VFEH++ method are the use of edge-elements to eliminate the vector parasites and the divergence corrections to explicitly guarantee the divergence-free conditions in the whole modeling domain. 3-D MT topographic responses are modeling using the new VFEH++ method, and are compared with those calculated by other numerical methods. The results show that MT responses can be modeled highly accurate using the VFEH+ +method. The VFEH++ algorithm is also employed for the 3-D MT data inversion incorporating topography. The 3-D MT inverse problem is formulated as a minimization problem of the regularized misfit function. In order to avoid the huge memory requirement and very long time for computing the Jacobian sensitivity matrix for Gauss-Newton method, we employ the conjugate gradient (CG) approach to solve the inversion equation. In each iteration of CG algorithm, the cost computation is the product of the Jacobian sensitivity matrix with a model vector x or its transpose with a data vector y, which can be transformed into two pseudo-forwarding modeling. This avoids the full explicitly Jacobian matrix calculation and storage which leads to considerable savings in the memory required by the inversion program in PC computer. The performance of CG algorithm will be illustrated by several typical 3-D models with horizontal earth surface and topographic surfaces. The results show that the VFEH++ and CG algorithms can be effectively employed to 3-D MT field data inversion.

On the application of a new thermal diagnostic model: the passive elements equivalent in term of ventilation inside a room

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Khattabi, El Mehdi; Mharzi, Mohamed; Raefat, Saad; Meghari, Zouhair

2018-05-01

In this paper, the thermal equivalence of the passive elements of a room in a building located in Fez-Morocco has been studied. The possibility of replacing them with a semi-passive element such as ventilation has been appraised. For this aim a Software in Fortran taking into account the meteorological external conditions along with different parameters of the building envelope has been performed. A new computational approach is adapted to determinate the temperature distribution throughout the building multilayer walls. A novel equation gathering the internal temperature with the external conditions, and the building envelope has been deduced in transient state.

A new discrete-element approach for the assessment of the seismic resistance of composite reinforced concrete-masonry buildings

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

Calio, I.; Cannizzaro, F.; Marletta, M.

2008-07-08

In the present study a new discrete-element approach for the evaluation of the seismic resistance of composite reinforced concrete-masonry structures is presented. In the proposed model, unreinforced masonry panels are modelled by means of two-dimensional discrete-elements, conceived by the authors for modelling masonry structures, whereas the reinforced concrete elements are modelled by lumped plasticity elements interacting with the masonry panels through nonlinear interface elements. The proposed procedure was adopted for the assessment of the seismic response of a case study confined-masonry building which was conceived to be a typical representative of a wide class of residential buildings designed to themore » requirements of the 1909 issue of the Italian seismic code and widely adopted in the aftermath of the 1908 earthquake for the reconstruction of the cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria.« less

A new discrete-element approach for the assessment of the seismic resistance of composite reinforced concrete-masonry buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caliò, I.; Cannizzaro, F.; D'Amore, E.; Marletta, M.; Pantò, B.

2008-07-01

In the present study a new discrete-element approach for the evaluation of the seismic resistance of composite reinforced concrete-masonry structures is presented. In the proposed model, unreinforced masonry panels are modelled by means of two-dimensional discrete-elements, conceived by the authors for modelling masonry structures, whereas the reinforced concrete elements are modelled by lumped plasticity elements interacting with the masonry panels through nonlinear interface elements. The proposed procedure was adopted for the assessment of the seismic response of a case study confined-masonry building which was conceived to be a typical representative of a wide class of residential buildings designed to the requirements of the 1909 issue of the Italian seismic code and widely adopted in the aftermath of the 1908 earthquake for the reconstruction of the cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria.

Vector form Intrinsic Finite Element Method for the Two-Dimensional Analysis of Marine Risers with Large Deformations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaomin; Guo, Xueli; Guo, Haiyan

2018-06-01

Robust numerical models that describe the complex behaviors of risers are needed because these constitute dynamically sensitive systems. This paper presents a simple and efficient algorithm for the nonlinear static and dynamic analyses of marine risers. The proposed approach uses the vector form intrinsic finite element (VFIFE) method, which is based on vector mechanics theory and numerical calculation. In this method, the risers are described by a set of particles directly governed by Newton's second law and are connected by weightless elements that can only resist internal forces. The method does not require the integration of the stiffness matrix, nor does it need iterations to solve the governing equations. Due to these advantages, the method can easily increase or decrease the element and change the boundary conditions, thus representing an innovative concept of solving nonlinear behaviors, such as large deformation and large displacement. To prove the feasibility of the VFIFE method in the analysis of the risers, rigid and flexible risers belonging to two different categories of marine risers, which usually have differences in modeling and solving methods, are employed in the present study. In the analysis, the plane beam element is adopted in the simulation of interaction forces between the particles and the axial force, shear force, and bending moment are also considered. The results are compared with the conventional finite element method (FEM) and those reported in the related literature. The findings revealed that both the rigid and flexible risers could be modeled in a similar unified analysis model and that the VFIFE method is feasible for solving problems related to the complex behaviors of marine risers.

Elimination of secular terms from the differential equations for the elements of perturbed two-body motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bond, Victor R.; Fraietta, Michael F.

1991-01-01

In 1961, Sperling linearized and regularized the differential equations of motion of the two-body problem by changing the independent variable from time to fictitious time by Sundman's transformation (r = dt/ds) and by embedding the two-body energy integral and the Laplace vector. In 1968, Burdet developed a perturbation theory which was uniformly valid for all types of orbits using a variation of parameters approach on the elements which appeared in Sperling's equations for the two-body solution. In 1973, Bond and Hanssen improved Burdet's set of differential equations by embedding the total energy (which is a constant when the potential function is explicitly dependent upon time.) The Jacobian constant was used as an element to replace the total energy in a reformulation of the differential equations of motion. In the process, another element which is proportional to a component of the angular momentum was introduced. Recently trajectories computed during numerical studies of atmospheric entry from circular orbits and low thrust beginning in near-circular orbits exhibited numerical instability when solved by the method of Bond and Gottlieb (1989) for long time intervals. It was found that this instability was due to secular terms which appear on the righthand sides of the differential equations of some of the elements. In this paper, this instability is removed by the introduction of another vector integral called the delta integral (which replaces the Laplace Vector) and another scalar integral which removes the secular terms. The introduction of these integrals requires a new derivation of the differential equations for most of the elements. For this rederivation, the Lagrange method of variation of parameters is used, making the development more concise. Numerical examples of this improvement are presented.

Uniform Test Assembly

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belov, Dmitry I.

2008-01-01

In educational practice, a test assembly problem is formulated as a system of inequalities induced by test specifications. Each solution to the system is a test, represented by a 0-1 vector, where each element corresponds to an item included (1) or not included (0) into the test. Therefore, the size of a 0-1 vector equals the number of items "n"…

Angry Birds Mathematics: Parabolas and Vectors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamb, John H.

2013-01-01

John Lamb, a professor of mathematics education and a teacher of high school precalculus, describes how he developed a way to use the elements of the game Angry Birds® as a platform to engage his students with the concepts of parabolas and vectors. The game could be categorized as a type of microworld game in which students interact with the…

Hepatitis virus protein X-Phenylalanine Hydroxylase fusion proteins identified in PKU mice treated with AAV-WPRE vectors

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Utilizing the Pahenu2 mouse model for phenylketonuria (PKU), we developed an improved expression vector containing the Woodchuck Hepatitis Virus post-transcriptional regulatory element inserted into a rAAV-mPAH construct (rAAV-mPAH-WPRE) for treatment of PKU. Following portal vein delivery of these ...

Phagemid vectors for phage display: properties, characteristics and construction.

PubMed

Qi, Huan; Lu, Haiqin; Qiu, Hua-Ji; Petrenko, Valery; Liu, Aihua

2012-03-30

Phagemids are filamentous-phage-derived vectors containing the replication origin of a plasmid. Phagemids usually encode no or only one kind of coat proteins. Other structural and functional proteins necessary to accomplish the life cycle of phagemid are provided by the helper phage. In addition, other elements such as molecular tags and selective markers are introduced into the phagemids to facilitate the subsequent operations, such as gene manipulation and protein purification. This review summarizes the elements of the phagemids and their corresponding functions. Finally, the possible trends and future direction to improve the characteristics of the phagemids are highlighted. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High precision computing with charge domain devices and a pseudo-spectral method therefor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barhen, Jacob (Inventor); Toomarian, Nikzad (Inventor); Fijany, Amir (Inventor); Zak, Michail (Inventor)

1997-01-01

The present invention enhances the bit resolution of a CCD/CID MVM processor by storing each bit of each matrix element as a separate CCD charge packet. The bits of each input vector are separately multiplied by each bit of each matrix element in massive parallelism and the resulting products are combined appropriately to synthesize the correct product. In another aspect of the invention, such arrays are employed in a pseudo-spectral method of the invention, in which partial differential equations are solved by expressing each derivative analytically as matrices, and the state function is updated at each computation cycle by multiplying it by the matrices. The matrices are treated as synaptic arrays of a neural network and the state function vector elements are treated as neurons. In a further aspect of the invention, moving target detection is performed by driving the soliton equation with a vector of detector outputs. The neural architecture consists of two synaptic arrays corresponding to the two differential terms of the soliton-equation and an adder connected to the output thereof and to the output of the detector array to drive the soliton equation.

Using a binaural biomimetic array to identify bottom objects ensonified by echolocating dolphins

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heiweg, D.A.; Moore, P.W.; Martin, S.W.; Dankiewicz, L.A.

2006-01-01

The development of a unique dolphin biomimetic sonar produced data that were used to study signal processing methods for object identification. Echoes from four metallic objects proud on the bottom, and a substrate-only condition, were generated by bottlenose dolphins trained to ensonify the targets in very shallow water. Using the two-element ('binaural') receive array, object echo spectra were collected and submitted for identification to four neural network architectures. Identification accuracy was evaluated over two receive array configurations, and five signal processing schemes. The four neural networks included backpropagation, learning vector quantization, genetic learning and probabilistic network architectures. The processing schemes included four methods that capitalized on the binaural data, plus a monaural benchmark process. All the schemes resulted in above-chance identification accuracy when applied to learning vector quantization and backpropagation. Beam-forming or concatenation of spectra from both receive elements outperformed the monaural benchmark, with higher sensitivity and lower bias. Ultimately, best object identification performance was achieved by the learning vector quantization network supplied with beam-formed data. The advantages of multi-element signal processing for object identification are clearly demonstrated in this development of a first-ever dolphin biomimetic sonar. ?? 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Quantitative tissue polarimetry using polar decomposition of 3 x 3 Mueller matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swami, M. K.; Manhas, S.; Buddhiwant, P.; Ghosh, N.; Uppal, A.; Gupta, P. K.

2007-05-01

Polarization properties of any optical system are completely described by a sixteen-element (4 x 4) matrix called Mueller matrix, which transform the Stokes vector describing the polarization properties of incident light to the stokes vector of scattered light. Measurement of all the elements of the matrix requires a minimum of sixteen measurements involving both linear and circularly polarized light. However, for many diagnostic applications, it would be useful if all the polarization parameters of the medium (depolarization (Δ), differential attenuation of two orthogonal polarizations, that is, diattenuation (d), and differential phase retardance of two orthogonal polarizations, i.e., retardance (δ )) can be quantified with linear polarization measurements alone. In this paper we show that for a turbid medium, like biological tissue, where the depolarization of linearly polarized light arises primarily due to the randomization of the field vector's direction by multiple scattering, the polarization parameters of the medium can be obtained from the nine Mueller matrix elements involving linear polarization measurements only. Use of the approach for measurement of polarization parameters (Δ, d and δ) of normal and malignant (squamous cell carcinoma) tissues resected from human oral cavity are presented.

Technique for Solving Electrically Small to Large Structures for Broadband Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jandhyala, Vikram; Chowdhury, Indranil

2011-01-01

Fast iterative algorithms are often used for solving Method of Moments (MoM) systems, having a large number of unknowns, to determine current distribution and other parameters. The most commonly used fast methods include the fast multipole method (FMM), the precorrected fast Fourier transform (PFFT), and low-rank QR compression methods. These methods reduce the O(N) memory and time requirements to O(N log N) by compressing the dense MoM system so as to exploit the physics of Green s Function interactions. FFT-based techniques for solving such problems are efficient for spacefilling and uniform structures, but their performance substantially degrades for non-uniformly distributed structures due to the inherent need to employ a uniform global grid. FMM or QR techniques are better suited than FFT techniques; however, neither the FMM nor the QR technique can be used at all frequencies. This method has been developed to efficiently solve for a desired parameter of a system or device that can include both electrically large FMM elements, and electrically small QR elements. The system or device is set up as an oct-tree structure that can include regions of both the FMM type and the QR type. The system is enclosed with a cube at a 0- th level, splitting the cube at the 0-th level into eight child cubes. This forms cubes at a 1st level, recursively repeating the splitting process for cubes at successive levels until a desired number of levels is created. For each cube that is thus formed, neighbor lists and interaction lists are maintained. An iterative solver is then used to determine a first matrix vector product for any electrically large elements as well as a second matrix vector product for any electrically small elements that are included in the structure. These matrix vector products for the electrically large and small elements are combined, and a net delta for a combination of the matrix vector products is determined. The iteration continues until a net delta is obtained that is within the predefined limits. The matrix vector products that were last obtained are used to solve for the desired parameter. The solution for the desired parameter is then presented to a user in a tangible form; for example, on a display.

Stable Isotope Ratio and Elemental Profile Combined with Support Vector Machine for Provenance Discrimination of Oolong Tea (Wuyi-Rock Tea)

PubMed Central

Lou, Yun-xiao; Fu, Xian-shu; Yu, Xiao-ping; Zhang, Ya-fen

2017-01-01

This paper focused on an effective method to discriminate the geographical origin of Wuyi-Rock tea by the stable isotope ratio (SIR) and metallic element profiling (MEP) combined with support vector machine (SVM) analysis. Wuyi-Rock tea (n = 99) collected from nine producing areas and non-Wuyi-Rock tea (n = 33) from eleven nonproducing areas were analysed for SIR and MEP by established methods. The SVM model based on coupled data produced the best prediction accuracy (0.9773). This prediction shows that instrumental methods combined with a classification model can provide an effective and stable tool for provenance discrimination. Moreover, every feature variable in stable isotope and metallic element data was ranked by its contribution to the model. The results show that δ2H, δ18O, Cs, Cu, Ca, and Rb contents are significant indications for provenance discrimination and not all of the metallic elements improve the prediction accuracy of the SVM model. PMID:28473941

Evaluation and specification of high build and special use waterborne pavement markings.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

High build waterborne traffic paints and highly retro-reflective elements were applied at various locations to evaluate their : practicality for use by NYSDOT Maintenance forces. In addition, highly reflective elements were applied within grooved in ...

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

Emami, Razieh; Mukohyama, Shinji; Namba, Ryo

Many models of inflation driven by vector fields alone have been known to be plagued by pathological behaviors, namely ghost and/or gradient instabilities. In this work, we seek a new class of vector-driven inflationary models that evade all of the mentioned instabilities. We build our analysis on the Generalized Proca Theory with an extension to three vector fields to realize isotropic expansion. We obtain the conditions required for quasi de-Sitter solutions to be an attractor analogous to the standard slow-roll one and those for their stability at the level of linearized perturbations. Identifying the remedy to the existing unstable models,more » we provide a simple example and explicitly show its stability. This significantly broadens our knowledge on vector inflationary scenarios, reviving potential phenomenological interests for this class of models.« less

Programmable resistive-switch nanowire transistor logic circuits.

PubMed

Shim, Wooyoung; Yao, Jun; Lieber, Charles M

2014-09-10

Programmable logic arrays (PLA) constitute a promising architecture for developing increasingly complex and functional circuits through nanocomputers from nanoscale building blocks. Here we report a novel one-dimensional PLA element that incorporates resistive switch gate structures on a semiconductor nanowire and show that multiple elements can be integrated to realize functional PLAs. In our PLA element, the gate coupling to the nanowire transistor can be modulated by the memory state of the resistive switch to yield programmable active (transistor) or inactive (resistor) states within a well-defined logic window. Multiple PLA nanowire elements were integrated and programmed to yield a working 2-to-4 demultiplexer with long-term retention. The well-defined, controllable logic window and long-term retention of our new one-dimensional PLA element provide a promising route for building increasingly complex circuits with nanoscale building blocks.

VISMapper: ultra-fast exhaustive cartography of viral insertion sites for gene therapy.

PubMed

Juanes, José M; Gallego, Asunción; Tárraga, Joaquín; Chaves, Felipe J; Marín-Garcia, Pablo; Medina, Ignacio; Arnau, Vicente; Dopazo, Joaquín

2017-09-20

The possibility of integrating viral vectors to become a persistent part of the host genome makes them a crucial element of clinical gene therapy. However, viral integration has associated risks, such as the unintentional activation of oncogenes that can result in cancer. Therefore, the analysis of integration sites of retroviral vectors is a crucial step in developing safer vectors for therapeutic use. Here we present VISMapper, a vector integration site analysis web server, to analyze next-generation sequencing data for retroviral vector integration sites. VISMapper can be found at: http://vismapper.babelomics.org . Because it uses novel mapping algorithms VISMapper is remarkably faster than previous available programs. It also provides a useful graphical interface to analyze the integration sites found in the genomic context.

Vectorization and parallelization of the finite strip method for dynamic Mindlin plate problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Hsin-Chu; He, Ai-Fang

1993-01-01

The finite strip method is a semi-analytical finite element process which allows for a discrete analysis of certain types of physical problems by discretizing the domain of the problem into finite strips. This method decomposes a single large problem into m smaller independent subproblems when m harmonic functions are employed, thus yielding natural parallelism at a very high level. In this paper we address vectorization and parallelization strategies for the dynamic analysis of simply-supported Mindlin plate bending problems and show how to prevent potential conflicts in memory access during the assemblage process. The vector and parallel implementations of this method and the performance results of a test problem under scalar, vector, and vector-concurrent execution modes on the Alliant FX/80 are also presented.

From Laser Scanning to Finite Element Analysis of Complex Buildings by Using a Semi-Automatic Procedure.

PubMed

Castellazzi, Giovanni; D'Altri, Antonio Maria; Bitelli, Gabriele; Selvaggi, Ilenia; Lambertini, Alessandro

2015-07-28

In this paper, a new semi-automatic procedure to transform three-dimensional point clouds of complex objects to three-dimensional finite element models is presented and validated. The procedure conceives of the point cloud as a stacking of point sections. The complexity of the clouds is arbitrary, since the procedure is designed for terrestrial laser scanner surveys applied to buildings with irregular geometry, such as historical buildings. The procedure aims at solving the problems connected to the generation of finite element models of these complex structures by constructing a fine discretized geometry with a reduced amount of time and ready to be used with structural analysis. If the starting clouds represent the inner and outer surfaces of the structure, the resulting finite element model will accurately capture the whole three-dimensional structure, producing a complex solid made by voxel elements. A comparison analysis with a CAD-based model is carried out on a historical building damaged by a seismic event. The results indicate that the proposed procedure is effective and obtains comparable models in a shorter time, with an increased level of automation.

Energy Dissipation of Rayleigh Waves due to Absorption Along the Path by the Use of Finite Element Method

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-07-31

3 x 3 t Strain vector a ij,j Space derivative of the stress tensor Fi Force vector per unit volume o Density x CHAPTER III F Total force K Stiffness...matrix 6Vector displacements M Mass matrix B Space operating matrix DO Matrix moduli 2 x 3 DZ Operating matrix in Z direction N Matrix of shape...dissipating medium the deformation of a solid is a function of time, temperature and space . Creep phenomenon is a deformation process in which there is

Theoretical Studies of Microstrip Antennas : Volume I, General Design Techniques and Analyses of Single and Coupled Elements

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-09-01

Volume 1 of Theoretical Studies of Microstrip Antennas deals with general techniques and analyses of single and coupled radiating elements. Specifically, we review and then employ an important equivalence theorem that allows a pair of vector potentia...

Vector dissimilarity and clustering.

PubMed

Lefkovitch, L P

1991-04-01

Based on the description of objects by m attributes, an m-element vector dissimilarity function is defined that, unlike scalar functions, retains the distinction among attributes. This function, which satisfies the conditions for a metric, allows the definition of betweenness, which can then be used for clustering. Applications to the subset-generation phase of conditional clustering and to nearest-neighbor-type algorithms are described.

Vector meson photoproduction with a linearly polarized beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathieu, V.; Nys, J.; Fernández-Ramírez, C.; Jackura, A.; Pilloni, A.; Sherrill, N.; Szczepaniak, A. P.; Fox, G.; Joint Physics Analysis Center

2018-05-01

We propose a model based on Regge theory to describe photoproduction of light vector mesons. We fit the SLAC data and make predictions for the energy and momentum-transfer dependence of the spin-density matrix elements in photoproduction of ω , ρ0 and ϕ mesons at Eγ˜8.5 GeV , which are soon to be measured at Jefferson Lab.

Germ-line transformation of the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni, using a piggyBac vector in the presence of endogenous piggyBac elements

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We report the stable genetic transformation of the Queensland fruit fly Bactrocera tryoni using a piggyBac vector marked with either the fluorescent protein DsRed or EGFP.A transformation frequency of 5–10% was obtained.Inheritance of the transgenes has remained stable over eight generations despite...

Link-Based Similarity Measures Using Reachability Vectors

PubMed Central

Yoon, Seok-Ho; Kim, Ji-Soo; Ryu, Minsoo; Choi, Ho-Jin

2014-01-01

We present a novel approach for computing link-based similarities among objects accurately by utilizing the link information pertaining to the objects involved. We discuss the problems with previous link-based similarity measures and propose a novel approach for computing link based similarities that does not suffer from these problems. In the proposed approach each target object is represented by a vector. Each element of the vector corresponds to all the objects in the given data, and the value of each element denotes the weight for the corresponding object. As for this weight value, we propose to utilize the probability of reaching from the target object to the specific object, computed using the “Random Walk with Restart” strategy. Then, we define the similarity between two objects as the cosine similarity of the two vectors. In this paper, we provide examples to show that our approach does not suffer from the aforementioned problems. We also evaluate the performance of the proposed methods in comparison with existing link-based measures, qualitatively and quantitatively, with respect to two kinds of data sets, scientific papers and Web documents. Our experimental results indicate that the proposed methods significantly outperform the existing measures. PMID:24701188

Huygens' optical vector wave field synthesis via in-plane electric dipole metasurface.

PubMed

Park, Hyeonsoo; Yun, Hansik; Choi, Chulsoo; Hong, Jongwoo; Kim, Hwi; Lee, Byoungho

2018-04-16

We investigate Huygens' optical vector wave field synthesis scheme for electric dipole metasurfaces with the capability of modulating in-plane polarization and complex amplitude and discuss the practical issues involved in realizing multi-modulation metasurfaces. The proposed Huygens' vector wave field synthesis scheme identifies the vector Airy disk as a synthetic unit element and creates a designed vector optical field by integrating polarization-controlled and complex-modulated Airy disks. The metasurface structure for the proposed vector field synthesis is analyzed in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio of the synthesized field distribution. The design of practical metasurface structures with true vector modulation capability is possible through the analysis of the light field modulation characteristics of various complex modulated geometric phase metasurfaces. It is shown that the regularization of meta-atoms is a key factor that needs to be considered in field synthesis, given that it is essential for a wide range of optical field synthetic applications, including holographic displays, microscopy, and optical lithography.

Fast-Response electric drives of Mechanical Engineering objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doykina, L. A.; Bukhanov, S. S.; Gryzlov, A. A.

2018-03-01

The article gives a solution to the problem of increasing the speed in the electrical drives of machine-building enterprises due to the application of a structure with ISC control. In this case, it is possible to get rid of the speed sensors. It is noted that in this case no circulating pulsations are applied to the input of the control system, caused by a non-identical interface between the sensor and the shaft of the operating mechanism. For detailed modeling, a mathematical model of an electric drive with distributed parameters was proposed. The calculation of such system was carried out by the finite element method. Taking into account the distributed characteristic of the system parameters allowed one to take into account the discrete nature of the electric machine’s work. The simulation results showed that the response time in the control circuit is estimated at a time constant of 0.0015, which is about twice as fast as in traditional vector control schemes.

HI-STAR. Health Improvements Through Space Technologies and Resources: Final Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Finarelli, Margaret G.

2002-01-01

The purpose of this document is to describe a global strategy to integrate the use of space technology in the fight against malaria. Given the well-documented relationship between the vector and its environment, and the ability of existing space technologies to monitor environmental factors, malaria is a strong candidate for the application of space technology. The concept of a malaria early warning system has been proposed in the past' and pilot studies have been conducted. The HI-STAR project (Health Improvement through Space Technologies and Resources) seeks to build on this concept and enhance the space elements of the suggested framework. As such, the mission statement for this International Space University design project has been defined as follows: "Our mission is to develop and promote a global strategy to help combat malaria using space technology". A general overview of malaria, aspects of how space technology can be useful, and an outline of the HI-STAR strategy is presented.

Research on soundproof properties of cylindrical shells of generalized phononic crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ru; Shu, Haisheng; Wang, Xingguo

2017-04-01

Based on the previous studies, the concept of generalized phononic crystals (GPCs) is further introduced into the cylindrical shell structures in this paper. And a type of cylindrical shells of generalized phononic crystals (CS-GPCs) is constructed, the structural field and acoustic-structural coupled field of the composite cylindrical shells are examined respectively. For the structural field, the transfer matrix method of mechanical state vector is adopted to build the transfer matrix of radial waves propagating from inside to outside. For the acoustic-structural coupled field, the expressions of the acoustic transmission/reflection coefficients and the sound insulation of acoustic waves with the excitation of center line sound source are set up. And the acoustic transmission coefficient and the frequency response of sound insulation in this mode were numerical calculated. Furthermore, the theoretical analysis results are verified by using the method of combining the numerical calculation and finite element simulation. Finally, the effects of inner and outer fluid parameters on the transmission/reflection coefficients of CS-GPCs are analyzed in detail.

Evaluating the promise of recombinant transmissible vaccines

PubMed Central

Basinski, Andrew J.; Varrelman, Tanner J.; Smithson, Mark W.; May, Ryan H.; Remien, Christopher H.; Nuismer, Scott L.

2018-01-01

Transmissible vaccines have the potential to revolutionize infectious disease control by reducing the vaccination effort required to protect a population against a disease. Recent efforts to develop transmissible vaccines focus on recombinant transmissible vaccine designs (RTVs) because they pose reduced risk if intra-host evolution causes the vaccine to revert to its vector form. However, the shared antigenicity of the vaccine and vector may confer vaccine-immunity to hosts infected with the vector, thwarting the ability of the vaccine to spread through the population. We build a mathematical model to test whether a RTV can facilitate disease management in instances where reversion is likely to introduce the vector into the population or when the vector organism is already established in the host population, and the vector and vaccine share perfect cross-immunity. Our results show that a RTV can autonomously eradicate a pathogen, or protect a population from pathogen invasion, when cross-immunity between vaccine and vector is absent. If cross-immunity between vaccine and vector exists, however, our results show that a RTV can substantially reduce the vaccination effort necessary to control or eradicate a pathogen only when continuously augmented with direct manual vaccination. These results demonstrate that estimating the extent of cross-immunity between vector and vaccine is a critical step in RTV design, and that herpesvirus vectors showing facile reinfection and weak cross-immunity are promising. PMID:29279283

Effect of outside air ventilation rate on VOC concentrations and emissions in a call center

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

Hodgson, A.T.; Faulkner, D.; Sullivan, D.P.

2002-01-01

A study of the relationship between outside air ventilation rate and concentrations of VOCs generated indoors was conducted in a call center. Ventilation rates were manipulated in the building's four air handling units (AHUs). Concentrations of VOCs in the AHU returns were measured on 7 days during a 13-week period. Indoor minus outdoor concentrations and emission factors were calculated. The emission factor data was subjected to principal component analysis to identify groups of co-varying compounds based on source type. One vector represented emissions of solvents from cleaning products. Another vector identified occupant sources. Direct relationships between ventilation rate and concentrationsmore » were not observed for most of the abundant VOCs. This result emphasizes the importance of source control measures for limiting VOC concentrations in buildings.« less

Definition of Availability Index of Deformed Building Constructions Using the Finite - Element Analysis Package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shutova, M. N.; Skibin, G. M.; Evtushenko, S. I.

2017-11-01

The paper is devoted to the problem of definition of availability index of deforming building construction in atypical cases. The authors revealed a real applicability of the finite-elements analyses package, such as ANSYS, for engineering testing calculations of building constructions and determination of the sites of increased stresses. It was determined that stresses increased up to 7.75 times in the sites with mechanical defects (for steel crane girder); also, the authors revealed the convergence of the calculation results between the finite element method and a usual decision using the strength of materials (in the limits 2-14% for steel truss frame). The equivalent stresses don’t exceed the maximum permissible tension for this type of steel. The building constructions have a limited availability index.

Transcriptional Enhancers Induce Insertional Gene Deregulation Independently From the Vector Type and Design

PubMed Central

Maruggi, Giulietta; Porcellini, Simona; Facchini, Giulia; Perna, Serena K; Cattoglio, Claudia; Sartori, Daniela; Ambrosi, Alessandro; Schambach, Axel; Baum, Christopher; Bonini, Chiara; Bovolenta, Chiara; Mavilio, Fulvio; Recchia, Alessandra

2009-01-01

The integration characteristics of retroviral (RV) vectors increase the probability of interfering with the regulation of cellular genes, and account for a tangible risk of insertional mutagenesis in treated patients. To assess the potential genotoxic risk of conventional or self-inactivating (SIN) γ-RV and lentiviral (LV) vectors independently from the biological consequences of the insertion event, we developed a quantitative assay based on real-time reverse transcriptase—PCR on low-density arrays to evaluate alterations of gene expression in individual primary T-cell clones. We show that the Moloney leukemia virus long terminal repeat (LTR) enhancer has the strongest activity in both a γ-RV and a LV vector context, while an internal cellular promoter induces deregulation of gene expression less frequently, at a shorter range and to a lower extent in both vector types. Downregulation of gene expression was observed only in the context of LV vectors. This study indicates that insertional gene activation is determined by the characteristics of the transcriptional regulatory elements carried by the vector, and is largely independent from the vector type or design. PMID:19293778

The association of Triatoma maculata (Ericsson 1848) with the gecko Thecadactylus rapicauda (Houttuyn 1782) (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae): a strategy of domiciliation of the Chagas disease peridomestic vector in Venezuela?

PubMed Central

Reyes-Lugo, M; Reyes-Contreras, M; Salvi, I; Gelves, W; Avilán, A; Llavaneras, D; Navarrete, LF; Cordero, G; Sánchez, EE; Rodríguez-Acosta, A

2011-01-01

Objective To investigate the bioecological relationship between Chagas disease peridomestic vectors and reptiles as source of feeding. Methods In a three-story building, triatomines were captured by direct search and electric vacuum cleaner search in and outside the building. Then, age structure of the captured Triatoma maculata (T. maculata) were identified and recorded. Reptiles living in sympatric with the triatomines were also searched. Results T. maculata were found living sympatric with geckos (Thecadactylus rapicauda) and they bit residents of the apartment building in study. A total of 1 448 individuals of T. maculata were captured within three days, of which 74.2% (1 074 eggs) were eggs, 21.5% were nymphs at different stages, and 4.3% were adults. Conclusions The association of T. maculata and T. rapicauda is an effective strategy of colonizing dwellings located in the vicinity of the habitat where both species are present; and therefore, could have implications of high importance in the intradomiciliary transmission of Chagas disease. PMID:23569775

The association of Triatoma maculata (Ericsson 1848) with the gecko Thecadactylus rapicauda (Houttuyn 1782) (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae): a strategy of domiciliation of the Chagas disease peridomestic vector in Venezuela?

PubMed

Reyes-Lugo, M; Reyes-Contreras, M; Salvi, I; Gelves, W; Avilán, A; Llavaneras, D; Navarrete, L F; Cordero, G; Sánchez, E E; Rodríguez-Acosta, A

2011-08-01

To investigate the bioecological relationship between Chagas disease peridomestic vectors and reptiles as source of feeding. In a three-story building, triatomines were captured by direct search and electric vacuum cleaner search in and outside the building. Then, age structure of the captured Triatoma maculata (T. maculata) were identified and recorded. Reptiles living in sympatric with the triatomines were also searched. T. maculata were found living sympatric with geckos (Thecadactylus rapicauda) and they bit residents of the apartment building in study. A total of 1 448 individuals of T. maculata were captured within three days, of which 74.2% (1 074 eggs) were eggs, 21.5% were nymphs at different stages, and 4.3% were adults. The association of T. maculata and T. rapicauda is an effective strategy of colonizing dwellings located in the vicinity of the habitat where both species are present; and therefore, could have implications of high importance in the intradomiciliary transmission of Chagas disease.

Comparison of Computational-Model and Experimental-Example Trained Neural Networks for Processing Speckled Fringe Patterns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, A. J.; Fite, E. B.; Thorp, S. A.; Mehmed, O.

1998-01-01

The responses of artificial neural networks to experimental and model-generated inputs are compared for detection of damage in twisted fan blades using electronic holography. The training-set inputs, for this work, are experimentally generated characteristic patterns of the vibrating blades. The outputs are damage-flag indicators or second derivatives of the sensitivity-vector-projected displacement vectors from a finite element model. Artificial neural networks have been trained in the past with computational-model-generated training sets. This approach avoids the difficult inverse calculations traditionally used to compare interference fringes with the models. But the high modeling standards are hard to achieve, even with fan-blade finite-element models.

Comparison of Computational, Model and Experimental, Example Trained Neural Networks for Processing Speckled Fringe Patterns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, A. J.; Fite, E. B.; Thorp, S. A.; Mehmed, O.

1998-01-01

The responses of artificial neural networks to experimental and model-generated inputs are compared for detection of damage in twisted fan blades using electronic holography. The training-set inputs, for this work, are experimentally generated characteristic patterns of the vibrating blades. The outputs are damage-flag indicators or second derivatives of the sensitivity-vector-projected displacement vectors from a finite element model. Artificial neural networks have been trained in the past with computational-model- generated training sets. This approach avoids the difficult inverse calculations traditionally used to compare interference fringes with the models. But the high modeling standards are hard to achieve, even with fan-blade finite-element models.

Supercomputers for engineering analysis

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

Goudreau, G.L.; Benson, D.J.; Hallquist, J.O.

1986-07-01

The Cray-1 and Cray X-MP/48 experience in engineering computations at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is surveyed. The fully vectorized explicit DYNA and implicit NIKE finite element codes are discussed with respect to solid and structural mechanics. The main efficiencies for production analyses are currently obtained by simple CFT compiler exploitation of pipeline architecture for inner do-loop optimization. Current developmet of outer-loop multitasking is also discussed. Applications emphasis will be on 3D examples spanning earth penetrator loads analysis, target lethality assessment, and crashworthiness. The use of a vectorized large deformation shell element in both DYNA and NIKE has substantially expandedmore » 3D nonlinear capability. 25 refs., 7 figs.« less

The effects of tunnel horizontal distance on the vertical deformations of an adjacent building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balkaya, Müge

2015-12-01

Due to the rapid development of urbanization and the need for effective transportation, it became a common application to construct subway tunnels in modern cities. However, these construction activities may lead to undesirable deformations on the adjacent buildings. In this study, the effect of tunnel horizontal distance on the deformations of an adjacent building is investigated using 2D finite element analysis. The results of the finite element analysis showed that, although high settlement values were not observed for the cases investigated in this study, the vertical deformations of the building decreased as the tunnel moved away from the building.

Gardening as vector of a humanization of high-rise building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lekareva, Nina; Zaslavskaya, Anna

2018-03-01

Article is devoted to issue of integration of vertical gardening into structure of high-rise building in the conditions of the constrained town-planning situation. On the basis of the analysis of the existing experience of design and building of "biopositive" high-rise building ecological, town-planning, social and constructive advantages of the organization of gardens on roofs and vertical gardens are considered [1]. As the main mechanism of increase in investment appeal of high-rise building the principle of a humanization due to gardening of high-rise building taking into account requirements of ecology, energy efficiency of buildings and improvement of quality of construction with minimization of expenses and maximizing comfort moves forward. The National Standards of Green construction designed to adapt the international requirements of architecture and construction of the energy efficient, eco-friendly and comfortable building or a complex to local conditions are considered [2,3].

Self-regulation of 70-kilodalton heat shock proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

PubMed Central

Stone, D E; Craig, E A

1990-01-01

To determine whether the 70-kilodalton heat shock proteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae play a role in regulating their own synthesis, we studied the effect of overexpressing the SSA1 protein on the activity of the SSA1 5'-regulatory region. The constitutive level of Ssa1p was increased by fusing the SSA1 structural gene to the GAL1 promoter. A reporter vector consisting of an SSA1-lacZ translational fusion was used to assess SSA1 promoter activity. In a strain producing approximately 10-fold the normal heat shock level of Ssa1p, induction of beta-galactosidase activity by heat shock was almost entirely blocked. Expression of a transcriptional fusion vector in which the CYC1 upstream activating sequence of a CYC1-lacZ chimera was replaced by a sequence containing a heat shock upstream activating sequence (heat shock element 2) from the 5'-regulatory region of SSA1 was inhibited by excess Ssa1p. The repression of an SSA1 upstream activating sequence by the SSA1 protein indicates that SSA1 self-regulation is at least partially mediated at the transcriptional level. The expression of another transcriptional fusion vector, containing heat shock element 2 and a lesser amount of flanking sequence, is not inhibited when Ssa1p is overexpressed. This suggests the existence of an element, proximal to or overlapping heat shock element 2, that confers sensitivity to the SSA1 protein. Images PMID:2181281

Computational Aspects of Sensitivity Calculations in Linear Transient Structural Analysis. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greene, William H.

1989-01-01

A study has been performed focusing on the calculation of sensitivities of displacements, velocities, accelerations, and stresses in linear, structural, transient response problems. One significant goal was to develop and evaluate sensitivity calculation techniques suitable for large-order finite element analyses. Accordingly, approximation vectors such as vibration mode shapes are used to reduce the dimensionality of the finite element model. Much of the research focused on the accuracy of both response quantities and sensitivities as a function of number of vectors used. Two types of sensitivity calculation techniques were developed and evaluated. The first type of technique is an overall finite difference method where the analysis is repeated for perturbed designs. The second type of technique is termed semianalytical because it involves direct, analytical differentiation of the equations of motion with finite difference approximation of the coefficient matrices. To be computationally practical in large-order problems, the overall finite difference methods must use the approximation vectors from the original design in the analyses of the perturbed models.

Anopheline Reproductive Biology: Impacts on Vectorial Capacity and Potential Avenues for Malaria Control.

PubMed

Mitchell, Sara N; Catteruccia, Flaminia

2017-12-01

Vectorial capacity is a mathematical approximation of the efficiency of vector-borne disease transmission, measured as the number of new infections disseminated per case per day by an insect vector. Multiple elements of mosquito biology govern their vectorial capacity, including survival, population densities, feeding preferences, and vector competence. Intriguingly, biological pathways essential to mosquito reproductive fitness directly or indirectly influence a number of these elements. Here, we explore this complex interaction, focusing on how the interplay between mating and blood feeding in female Anopheles not only shapes their reproductive success but also influences their ability to sustain Plasmodium parasite development. Central to malaria transmission, mosquito reproductive biology has recently become the focus of research strategies aimed at malaria control, and we discuss promising new methods based on the manipulation of key reproductive steps. In light of widespread resistance to all public health-approved insecticides targeting mosquito reproduction may prove crucial to the success of malaria-eradication campaigns. Copyright © 2017 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

Amino acid "little Big Bang": representing amino acid substitution matrices as dot products of Euclidian vectors.

PubMed

Zimmermann, Karel; Gibrat, Jean-François

2010-01-04

Sequence comparisons make use of a one-letter representation for amino acids, the necessary quantitative information being supplied by the substitution matrices. This paper deals with the problem of finding a representation that provides a comprehensive description of amino acid intrinsic properties consistent with the substitution matrices. We present a Euclidian vector representation of the amino acids, obtained by the singular value decomposition of the substitution matrices. The substitution matrix entries correspond to the dot product of amino acid vectors. We apply this vector encoding to the study of the relative importance of various amino acid physicochemical properties upon the substitution matrices. We also characterize and compare the PAM and BLOSUM series substitution matrices. This vector encoding introduces a Euclidian metric in the amino acid space, consistent with substitution matrices. Such a numerical description of the amino acid is useful when intrinsic properties of amino acids are necessary, for instance, building sequence profiles or finding consensus sequences, using machine learning algorithms such as Support Vector Machine and Neural Networks algorithms.

Enabling heterogenous multi-scale database for emergency service functions through geoinformation technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhanumurthy, V.; Venugopala Rao, K.; Srinivasa Rao, S.; Ram Mohan Rao, K.; Chandra, P. Satya; Vidhyasagar, J.; Diwakar, P. G.; Dadhwal, V. K.

2014-11-01

Geographical Information Science (GIS) is now graduated from traditional desktop system to Internet system. Internet GIS is emerging as one of the most promising technologies for addressing Emergency Management. Web services with different privileges are playing an important role in dissemination of the emergency services to the decision makers. Spatial database is one of the most important components in the successful implementation of Emergency Management. It contains spatial data in the form of raster, vector, linked with non-spatial information. Comprehensive data is required to handle emergency situation in different phases. These database elements comprise core data, hazard specific data, corresponding attribute data, and live data coming from the remote locations. Core data sets are minimum required data including base, thematic, infrastructure layers to handle disasters. Disaster specific information is required to handle a particular disaster situation like flood, cyclone, forest fire, earth quake, land slide, drought. In addition to this Emergency Management require many types of data with spatial and temporal attributes that should be made available to the key players in the right format at right time. The vector database needs to be complemented with required resolution satellite imagery for visualisation and analysis in disaster management. Therefore, the database is interconnected and comprehensive to meet the requirement of an Emergency Management. This kind of integrated, comprehensive and structured database with appropriate information is required to obtain right information at right time for the right people. However, building spatial database for Emergency Management is a challenging task because of the key issues such as availability of data, sharing policies, compatible geospatial standards, data interoperability etc. Therefore, to facilitate using, sharing, and integrating the spatial data, there is a need to define standards to build emergency database systems. These include aspects such as i) data integration procedures namely standard coding scheme, schema, meta data format, spatial format ii) database organisation mechanism covering data management, catalogues, data models iii) database dissemination through a suitable environment, as a standard service for effective service dissemination. National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM) is such a comprehensive database for addressing disasters in India at the national level. This paper explains standards for integrating, organising the multi-scale and multi-source data with effective emergency response using customized user interfaces for NDEM. It presents standard procedure for building comprehensive emergency information systems for enabling emergency specific functions through geospatial technologies.

School Building Finishing and Economy. The School Building Economy Series, No. 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connecticut State Dept. of Education, Hartford.

Materials, elements, and methods of economical school construction are illustrated through explanatory outlines and accompany photographs and diagrams. Finishing elements covered include--(1) finished floorings, (2) ceilings and acoustical finishes, (3) carpentry and millwork, (4) chalkboards and tackboards, (5) toilet partitions, (6) finishing…

Modeling Interferometric Structures with Birefringent Elements: A Linear Vector-Space Formalism

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-12

Annapolis, Maryland ViNceNt J. Urick FraNk BUcholtz Photonics Technology Branch Optical Sciences Division i REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form...a Linear Vector-Space Formalism Nicholas J. Frigo,1 Vincent J. Urick , and Frank Bucholtz Naval Research Laboratory, Code 5650 4555 Overlook Avenue, SW...Annapolis, MD Unclassified Unlimited Unclassified Unlimited Unclassified Unlimited Unclassified Unlimited 29 Vincent J. Urick (202) 767-9352 Coupled mode

Information-efficient spectral imaging sensor

DOEpatents

Sweatt, William C.; Gentry, Stephen M.; Boye, Clinton A.; Grotbeck, Carter L.; Stallard, Brian R.; Descour, Michael R.

2003-01-01

A programmable optical filter for use in multispectral and hyperspectral imaging. The filter splits the light collected by an optical telescope into two channels for each of the pixels in a row in a scanned image, one channel to handle the positive elements of a spectral basis filter and one for the negative elements of the spectral basis filter. Each channel for each pixel disperses its light into n spectral bins, with the light in each bin being attenuated in accordance with the value of the associated positive or negative element of the spectral basis vector. The spectral basis vector is constructed so that its positive elements emphasize the presence of a target and its negative elements emphasize the presence of the constituents of the background of the imaged scene. The attenuated light in the channels is re-imaged onto separate detectors for each pixel and then the signals from the detectors are combined to give an indication of the presence or not of the target in each pixel of the scanned scene. This system provides for a very efficient optical determination of the presence of the target, as opposed to the very data intensive data manipulations that are required in conventional hyperspectral imaging systems.

A Memetic Algorithm for Global Optimization of Multimodal Nonseparable Problems.

PubMed

Zhang, Geng; Li, Yangmin

2016-06-01

It is a big challenging issue of avoiding falling into local optimum especially when facing high-dimensional nonseparable problems where the interdependencies among vector elements are unknown. In order to improve the performance of optimization algorithm, a novel memetic algorithm (MA) called cooperative particle swarm optimizer-modified harmony search (CPSO-MHS) is proposed in this paper, where the CPSO is used for local search and the MHS for global search. The CPSO, as a local search method, uses 1-D swarm to search each dimension separately and thus converges fast. Besides, it can obtain global optimum elements according to our experimental results and analyses. MHS implements the global search by recombining different vector elements and extracting global optimum elements. The interaction between local search and global search creates a set of local search zones, where global optimum elements reside within the search space. The CPSO-MHS algorithm is tested and compared with seven other optimization algorithms on a set of 28 standard benchmarks. Meanwhile, some MAs are also compared according to the results derived directly from their corresponding references. The experimental results demonstrate a good performance of the proposed CPSO-MHS algorithm in solving multimodal nonseparable problems.

Right-Brain/Left-Brain Integrated Associative Processor Employing Convertible Multiple-Instruction-Stream Multiple-Data-Stream Elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayakawa, Hitoshi; Ogawa, Makoto; Shibata, Tadashi

2005-04-01

A very large scale integrated circuit (VLSI) architecture for a multiple-instruction-stream multiple-data-stream (MIMD) associative processor has been proposed. The processor employs an architecture that enables seamless switching from associative operations to arithmetic operations. The MIMD element is convertible to a regular central processing unit (CPU) while maintaining its high performance as an associative processor. Therefore, the MIMD associative processor can perform not only on-chip perception, i.e., searching for the vector most similar to an input vector throughout the on-chip cache memory, but also arithmetic and logic operations similar to those in ordinary CPUs, both simultaneously in parallel processing. Three key technologies have been developed to generate the MIMD element: associative-operation-and-arithmetic-operation switchable calculation units, a versatile register control scheme within the MIMD element for flexible operations, and a short instruction set for minimizing the memory size for program storage. Key circuit blocks were designed and fabricated using 0.18 μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. As a result, the full-featured MIMD element is estimated to be 3 mm2, showing the feasibility of an 8-parallel-MIMD-element associative processor in a single chip of 5 mm× 5 mm.

D → π and D → K semileptonic form factors with Nf = 2 + 1 + 1 twisted mass fermions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubicz, Vittorio; Riggio, Lorenzo; Salerno, Giorgio; Simula, Silvano; Tarantino, Cecilia

2018-03-01

We present a lattice determination of the vector and scalar form factors of the D → π(K)lv semileptonic decays, which are relevant for the extraction of the CKM matrix elements |Vcd| and |Vcs| from experimental data. Our analysis is based on the gauge configurations produced by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with Nf = 2 + 1 +1 flavors of dynamical quarks. We simulated at three different values of the lattice spacing and with pion masses as small as 210 MeV. The matrix elements of both vector and scalar currents are determined for a plenty of kinematical conditions in which parent and child mesons are either moving or at rest. Lorentz symmetry breaking due to hypercubic effects is clearly observed in the data and included in the decomposition of the current matrix elements in terms of additional form factors. After the extrapolations to the physical pion mass and to the continuum limit the vector and scalar form factors are determined in the whole kinematical region from q2 = 0 up to qmax2 = (MD - Mπ(K))2 accessible in the experiments, obtaining a good overall agreement with experiments, except in the region at high values of q2 where some deviations are visible.

An Autonomous Star Identification Algorithm Based on One-Dimensional Vector Pattern for Star Sensors

PubMed Central

Luo, Liyan; Xu, Luping; Zhang, Hua

2015-01-01

In order to enhance the robustness and accelerate the recognition speed of star identification, an autonomous star identification algorithm for star sensors is proposed based on the one-dimensional vector pattern (one_DVP). In the proposed algorithm, the space geometry information of the observed stars is used to form the one-dimensional vector pattern of the observed star. The one-dimensional vector pattern of the same observed star remains unchanged when the stellar image rotates, so the problem of star identification is simplified as the comparison of the two feature vectors. The one-dimensional vector pattern is adopted to build the feature vector of the star pattern, which makes it possible to identify the observed stars robustly. The characteristics of the feature vector and the proposed search strategy for the matching pattern make it possible to achieve the recognition result as quickly as possible. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can effectively accelerate the star identification. Moreover, the recognition accuracy and robustness by the proposed algorithm are better than those by the pyramid algorithm, the modified grid algorithm, and the LPT algorithm. The theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the other three star identification algorithms. PMID:26198233

An Autonomous Star Identification Algorithm Based on One-Dimensional Vector Pattern for Star Sensors.

PubMed

Luo, Liyan; Xu, Luping; Zhang, Hua

2015-07-07

In order to enhance the robustness and accelerate the recognition speed of star identification, an autonomous star identification algorithm for star sensors is proposed based on the one-dimensional vector pattern (one_DVP). In the proposed algorithm, the space geometry information of the observed stars is used to form the one-dimensional vector pattern of the observed star. The one-dimensional vector pattern of the same observed star remains unchanged when the stellar image rotates, so the problem of star identification is simplified as the comparison of the two feature vectors. The one-dimensional vector pattern is adopted to build the feature vector of the star pattern, which makes it possible to identify the observed stars robustly. The characteristics of the feature vector and the proposed search strategy for the matching pattern make it possible to achieve the recognition result as quickly as possible. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can effectively accelerate the star identification. Moreover, the recognition accuracy and robustness by the proposed algorithm are better than those by the pyramid algorithm, the modified grid algorithm, and the LPT algorithm. The theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the other three star identification algorithms.

MicroRNA Silencing Improves the Tumor Specificity of Adenoviral Transgene Expression

PubMed Central

Card, Paul B.; Hogg, Richard T.; del Alcazar, Carlos Gil

2012-01-01

Adenoviral technology has been thoroughly evaluated for delivering genetic material to tumor tissue and the surrounding microenvironment. Almost any gene can be cloned into an adenovirus (Ad) vector, which when combined with strong, constitutively active promoters permit up to a million-fold amplification of the transgene in a single adenoviral particle, thus facilitating their use in cancer therapy and imaging. However, widespread infection of the liver and other non-targeted tissues by Ad vectors is a substantial problem that often results in significant liver inflammation and hepatotoxicity at doses required to achieve efficient tumor transduction. miR-122 is a highly expressed liver-specific microRNA that provides a unique opportunity for down-regulating adenoviral transgene expression in liver tissue. The binding of endogenous miRNAs to complementary miRNA targeting elements (miRTs) incorporated into the 3′ untranslated region of adenoviral transgenes interferes with message stability and/or protein translation, and miRT elements against miR-122 (miRT-122) can selectively reduce adenoviral transgene expression in the liver. Previous studies using miR-122-based regulation, with and without other types of transcriptional targeting, have yielded promising preliminary results. However, investigations to date evaluating miRT-122 elements for improving tumor specificity have used either non-tumor bearing animals or direct intratumoral injection as the mode of delivery. In the present study, we confirmed the ability of miRT-122 sequences to selectively down-regulate adenoviral luciferase expression in the liver in vitro and in vivo, and show that this strategy can improve tumor specific transgene expression in a HT1080 human fibrosarcoma model. Rapid growth and the inefficient flow of blood through tumor neovasculature often results in profound hypoxia, which provides additional opportunities for targeting solid tumors and their microenvironment using vectors incorporating hypoxia-responsive promoters to drive transgene expression. We therefore employed a combinatorial approach using miRT-122 elements with hypoxia-responsive transcriptional targeting to further improve the tumor specific expression of an adenoviral reporter gene. Results from this investigation reveal that miRT122 elements alone decrease off-target liver expression and improve tumor specificity of adenoviral vectors. Furthermore, increased tumor specificity can be achieved by combining miRT-122 elements with hypoxia-responsive promoters. PMID:22555510

A case study on the structural assessment of fire damaged building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osman, M. H.; Sarbini, N. N.; Ibrahim, I. S.; Ma, C. K.; Ismail, M.; Mohd, M. F.

2017-11-01

This paper presents a case study on the structural assessment of building damaged by fire and discussed on the site investigations and test results prior to determine the existing condition of the building. The building was on fire for about one hour before it was extinguished. In order to ascertain the integrity of the building, a visual inspection was conducted for all elements (truss, beam, column and wall), followed by non-destructive, load and material tests. The load test was conducted to determine the ability of truss to resist service load, while the material test to determine the residual strength of the material. At the end of the investigation, a structural analysis was carried out to determine the new factor of safety by considering the residual strength. The highlighted was on the truss element due to steel behaviour that is hardly been predicted. Meanwhile, reinforced concrete elements (beam, column and wall) were found externally affected and caused its strength to be considered as sufficient for further used of building. The new factor of safety is equal to 2, considered as the minimum calculated value for the truss member. Therefore, this fire damaged building was found safe and can be used for further application.

Modern alchemy: Fred Hoyle and element building by neutron capture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burbidge, E. Margaret

Fred Hoyle's fundamental work on building the chemical elements by nuclear processes in stars at various stages in their lives began with the building of elements around iron in the very dense hot interiors of stars. Later, in the paper by Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler and Hoyle, we four showed that Hoyle's "equilibrium process" is one of eight processes required to make all of the isotopes of all the elements detected in the Sun and stars. Neutron capture reactions, which Fred had not considered in his epochal 1946 paper, but for which experimental data were just becoming available in 1957, are very important, in addition to the energy-generating reactions involving hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, for building all of the elements. They are now providing clues to the late stages of stellar evolution and the earliest history of our Galaxy. I describe here our earliest observational work on neutron capture processes in evolved stars, some new work on stars showing the results of the neutron capture reactions, and data relating to processes ending in the production of lead, and I discuss where this fits into the history of stars in our own Galaxy.

From Laser Scanning to Finite Element Analysis of Complex Buildings by Using a Semi-Automatic Procedure

PubMed Central

Castellazzi, Giovanni; D’Altri, Antonio Maria; Bitelli, Gabriele; Selvaggi, Ilenia; Lambertini, Alessandro

2015-01-01

In this paper, a new semi-automatic procedure to transform three-dimensional point clouds of complex objects to three-dimensional finite element models is presented and validated. The procedure conceives of the point cloud as a stacking of point sections. The complexity of the clouds is arbitrary, since the procedure is designed for terrestrial laser scanner surveys applied to buildings with irregular geometry, such as historical buildings. The procedure aims at solving the problems connected to the generation of finite element models of these complex structures by constructing a fine discretized geometry with a reduced amount of time and ready to be used with structural analysis. If the starting clouds represent the inner and outer surfaces of the structure, the resulting finite element model will accurately capture the whole three-dimensional structure, producing a complex solid made by voxel elements. A comparison analysis with a CAD-based model is carried out on a historical building damaged by a seismic event. The results indicate that the proposed procedure is effective and obtains comparable models in a shorter time, with an increased level of automation. PMID:26225978

A proposed method for enhanced eigen-pair extraction using finite element methods: Theory and application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jara-Almonte, J.; Mitchell, L. D.

1988-01-01

The paper covers two distinct parts: theory and application. The goal of this work was the reduction of model size with an increase in eigenvalue/vector accuracy. This method is ideal for the condensation of large truss- or beam-type structures. The theoretical approach involves the conversion of a continuum transfer matrix beam element into an 'Exact' dynamic stiffness element. This formulation is implemented in a finite element environment. This results in the need to solve a transcendental eigenvalue problem. Once the eigenvalue is determined the eigenvectors can be reconstructed with any desired spatial precision. No discretization limitations are imposed on the reconstruction. The results of such a combined finite element and transfer matrix formulation is a much smaller FEM eigenvalue problem. This formulation has the ability to extract higher eigenvalues as easily and as accurately as lower eigenvalues. Moreover, one can extract many more eigenvalues/vectors from the model than the number of degrees of freedom in the FEM formulation. Typically, the number of eigenvalues accurately extractable via the 'Exact' element method are at least 8 times the number of degrees of freedom. In contrast, the FEM usually extracts one accurate (within 5 percent) eigenvalue for each 3-4 degrees of freedom. The 'Exact' element results in a 20-30 improvement in the number of accurately extractable eigenvalues and eigenvectors.

Examining Coherency Scales, Substructure, and Propagation of Whistler Mode Chorus Elements With Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, D. L.; Lee, J. H.; Claudepierre, S. G.; Fennell, J. F.; Blake, J. B.; Jaynes, A. N.; Leonard, T.; Wilder, F. D.; Ergun, R. E.; Baker, D. N.; Cohen, I. J.; Mauk, B. H.; Strangeway, R. J.; Hartley, D. P.; Kletzing, C. A.; Breuillard, H.; Le Contel, O.; Khotyaintsev, Yu. V.; Torbert, R. B.; Allen, R. C.; Burch, J. L.; Santolik, O.

2017-11-01

Whistler mode chorus waves are a naturally occurring electromagnetic emission observed in Earth's magnetosphere. Here, for the first time, data from NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission were used to analyze chorus waves in detail, including the calculation of chorus wave normal vectors, fi>k. A case study was examined from a period of substorm activity around the time of a conjunction between the MMS constellation and NASA's Van Allen Probes mission on 07 April 2016. Chorus wave activity was simultaneously observed by all six spacecraft over a broad range of L shells (5.5 < L < 8.5), magnetic local time (06:00 < MLT < 09:00), and magnetic latitude (-32° < MLAT < -15°), implying a large chorus active region. Eight chorus elements and their substructure were analyzed in detail with MMS. These chorus elements were all lower band and rising tone emissions, right-handed and nearly circularly polarized, and propagating away from the magnetic equator when they were observed at MMS (MLAT -31°). Most of the elements had "hook"-like signatures on their wave power spectra, characterized by enhanced wave power at flat or falling frequency following the peak, and all the elements exhibited complex and well-organized substructure observed consistently at all four MMS spacecraft at separations up to 70 km (60 km perpendicular and 38 km parallel to the background magnetic field). The waveforms in field-aligned coordinates also demonstrated that these waves were all phase coherent, allowing for the direct calculation of fi>k. Error estimates on calculated fi>k revealed that the plane wave approximation was valid for six of the eight elements and most of the subelements. The wave normal vectors were within 20-30° from the direction antiparallel to the background field for all elements and changed from subelement to subelement through at least two of the eight elements. The azimuthal angle of fi>k in the perpendicular plane was oriented earthward and was oblique to that of the Poynting vector, which has implications for the validity of cold plasma theory.

A Chimeric HS4-SAR Insulator (IS2) That Prevents Silencing and Enhances Expression of Lentiviral Vectors in Pluripotent Stem Cells

PubMed Central

Gutierrez-Guerrero, Alejandra; Cobo, Marién; Muñoz, Pilar

2014-01-01

Chromatin insulators, such as the chicken β-globin locus control region hypersensitive site 4 (HS4), and scaffold/matrix attachment regions (SARs/MARs) have been incorporated separately or in combination into retroviral vectors (RVs) in order to increase transgene expression levels, avoid silencing and reduce expression variability. However, their incorporation into RVs either produces a reduction on titer and/or expression levels or do not have sufficient effect on stem cells. In order to develop an improved insulator we decided to combine SAR elements with HS4 insulators. We designed several synthetic shorter SAR elements containing 4 or 5 MAR/SARs recognition signatures (MRS) and studied their effects on a lentiviral vector (LV) expressing eGFP through the SFFV promoter (SE). A 388 bp SAR element containing 5 MRS, named SAR2, was as efficient or superior to the other SARs analyzed. SAR2 enhanced transgene expression and reduced silencing and variability on human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). We next compared the effect of different HS4-based insulators, the HS4-Core (250 bp), the HS4-Ext (400 bp) and the HS4-650 (650 bp). All HS4 elements reduced silencing and expression variability but they also had a negative effect on transgene expression levels and titer. In general, the HS4-650 element had a better overall effect. Based on these data we developed a chimeric insulator, IS2, combining the SAR2 and the HS4-650. When incorporated into the 3′ LTR of the SE LV, the IS2 element was able to enhance expression, avoid silencing and reduce variability of expression on hESCs. Importantly, these effects were maintained after differentiation of the transduced hESCs toward the hematopoietic linage. Neither the HS4-650 nor the SAR2 elements had these effects. The IS2 element is therefore a novel insulator that confers expression stability and enhances expression of LVs on stem cells. PMID:24400083

Malaria vector abundance is associated with house structures in Baringo County, Kenya.

PubMed

Ondiba, Isabella M; Oyieke, Florence A; Ong'amo, George O; Olumula, Macrae M; Nyamongo, Isaac K; Estambale, Benson B A

2018-01-01

Malaria, a major cause of morbidity and mortality, is the most prevalent vector borne disease in Baringo County; a region which has varied house designs in arid and semi-arid areas. This study investigated the association between house structures and indoor-malaria vector abundance in Baringo County. The density of malaria vectors in houses with open eaves was higher than that for houses with closed eaves. Grass thatched roof houses had higher density of malaria vectors than corrugated iron sheet roofs. Similarly, mud walled houses had higher vector density than other wall types. Houses in the riverine zone were significantly associated with malaria vector abundance (p<0.000) possibly due to more varied house structures. In Kamnarok village within riverine zone, a house made of grass thatched roof and mud wall but raised on stilts with domestic animals (sheep/goats) kept at the lower level had lower mosquito density (5.8 per collection) than ordinary houses made of same materials but at ground level (30.5 mosquitoes per collection), suggestive of a change in behavior of mosquito feeding and resting. House modifications such as screening of eaves, improvement of construction material and building stilted houses can be incorporated in the integrated vector management (IVM) strategy to complement insecticide treated bed nets and indoor residual spray to reduce indoor malaria vector density.

A description of rotations for DEM models of particle systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campello, Eduardo M. B.

2015-06-01

In this work, we show how a vector parameterization of rotations can be adopted to describe the rotational motion of particles within the framework of the discrete element method (DEM). It is based on the use of a special rotation vector, called Rodrigues rotation vector, and accounts for finite rotations in a fully exact manner. The use of fictitious entities such as quaternions or complicated structures such as Euler angles is thereby circumvented. As an additional advantage, stick-slip friction models with inter-particle rolling motion are made possible in a consistent and elegant way. A few examples are provided to illustrate the applicability of the scheme. We believe that simple vector descriptions of rotations are very useful for DEM models of particle systems.

Evaluating the Existing School Plant. Educational Facilities Digest 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piele, Philip; Wright, Darrell

In general, the guides for evaluating existing school buildings list the various elements of the building and its properties. The elements commonly listed include site, which embraces the adequacy of size, location, and natural environment; internal environment, which is commonly divided into space, visual qualities, thermal qualities, and sonic…

Minimal parameter solution of the orthogonal matrix differential equation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Itzhack, Itzhack Y.; Markley, F. Landis

1990-01-01

As demonstrated in this work, all orthogonal matrices solve a first order differential equation. The straightforward solution of this equation requires n sup 2 integrations to obtain the element of the nth order matrix. There are, however, only n(n-1)/2 independent parameters which determine an orthogonal matrix. The questions of choosing them, finding their differential equation and expressing the orthogonal matrix in terms of these parameters are considered. Several possibilities which are based on attitude determination in three dimensions are examined. It is shown that not all 3-D methods have useful extensions to higher dimensions. It is also shown why the rate of change of the matrix elements, which are the elements of the angular rate vector in 3-D, are the elements of a tensor of the second rank (dyadic) in spaces other than three dimensional. It is proven that the 3-D Gibbs vector (or Cayley Parameters) are extendable to other dimensions. An algorithm is developed emplying the resulting parameters, which are termed Extended Rodrigues Parameters, and numerical results are presented of the application of the algorithm to a fourth order matrix.

Minimal parameter solution of the orthogonal matrix differential equation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baritzhack, Itzhack Y.; Markley, F. Landis

1988-01-01

As demonstrated in this work, all orthogonal matrices solve a first order differential equation. The straightforward solution of this equation requires n sup 2 integrations to obtain the element of the nth order matrix. There are, however, only n(n-1)/2 independent parameters which determine an orthogonal matrix. The questions of choosing them, finding their differential equation and expressing the orthogonal matrix in terms of these parameters are considered. Several possibilities which are based on attitude determination in three dimensions are examined. It is shown that not all 3-D methods have useful extensions to higher dimensions. It is also shown why the rate of change of the matrix elements, which are the elements of the angular rate vector in 3-D, are the elements of a tensor of the second rank (dyadic) in spaces other than three dimensional. It is proven that the 3-D Gibbs vector (or Cayley Parameters) are extendable to other dimensions. An algorithm is developed employing the resulting parameters, which are termed Extended Rodrigues Parameters, and numerical results are presented of the application of the algorithm to a fourth order matrix.

Addressing vulnerability, building resilience: community-based adaptation to vector-borne diseases in the context of global change.

PubMed

Bardosh, Kevin Louis; Ryan, Sadie J; Ebi, Kris; Welburn, Susan; Singer, Burton

2017-12-11

The threat of a rapidly changing planet - of coupled social, environmental and climatic change - pose new conceptual and practical challenges in responding to vector-borne diseases. These include non-linear and uncertain spatial-temporal change dynamics associated with climate, animals, land, water, food, settlement, conflict, ecology and human socio-cultural, economic and political-institutional systems. To date, research efforts have been dominated by disease modeling, which has provided limited practical advice to policymakers and practitioners in developing policies and programmes on the ground. In this paper, we provide an alternative biosocial perspective grounded in social science insights, drawing upon concepts of vulnerability, resilience, participation and community-based adaptation. Our analysis was informed by a realist review (provided in the Additional file 2) focused on seven major climate-sensitive vector-borne diseases: malaria, schistosomiasis, dengue, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness, chagas disease, and rift valley fever. Here, we situate our analysis of existing community-based interventions within the context of global change processes and the wider social science literature. We identify and discuss best practices and conceptual principles that should guide future community-based efforts to mitigate human vulnerability to vector-borne diseases. We argue that more focused attention and investments are needed in meaningful public participation, appropriate technologies, the strengthening of health systems, sustainable development, wider institutional changes and attention to the social determinants of health, including the drivers of co-infection. In order to respond effectively to uncertain future scenarios for vector-borne disease in a changing world, more attention needs to be given to building resilient and equitable systems in the present.

Types of homes and ways of life: a territorial analysis of the environmental determinants that factor into the proliferation of malaria vectors in the rural region of Allada in Benin.

PubMed

Lysaniuk, Benjamin; Ladsous, Roman; Tabeaud, Martine; Cottrell, Gilles; Pennetier, Cédric; Garcia, André

2015-01-01

Anthropogenic factors, as well as environmental factors, can explain fine-scale spatial differences in vector densities and seasonal variations in malaria. In this pilot study, numbers of Anopheles gambiae were quantified in concessions in a rural area of southern Benin, West Africa, in order to establish whether vector number and human factors, such as habitat and living practices, are related. The courtyard homes of 64 concessions (houses and private yards) were systematically and similarly photographed. Predefined features in the photographed items were extracted by applying an analysis grid that listed vector resting sites or potential breeding sites and also more general information about the building materials used. These data were analysed with respect to entomological data (number of mosquitoes caught per night) using the Kruskal-Wallis test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Three recurrent habitat/household types and living practices were identified that corresponded to different standards of living. These were related to the average number of mosquitoes captured per night: type I=0.88 anopheles/night; type II=0.85; and type III 0.55, but this was not statistically significant (Kruskal-Wallis test; p=0.41). There were no significant relationships between the number of potential breeding sites and number of mosquitoes caught (Pearson's correlation coefficient=-0.09, p=0.53). ANCOVA analysis of building materials and numbers of openings did not explain variation in the number of mosquitoes caught. Three dwelling types were identified by using predetermined socio-environmental characteristics but there was no association found in this study between vector number and habitat characteristics as was suspected.

Semantic Segmentation of Building Elements Using Point Cloud Hashing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chizhova, M.; Gurianov, A.; Hess, M.; Luhmann, T.; Brunn, A.; Stilla, U.

2018-05-01

For the interpretation of point clouds, the semantic definition of extracted segments from point clouds or images is a common problem. Usually, the semantic of geometrical pre-segmented point cloud elements are determined using probabilistic networks and scene databases. The proposed semantic segmentation method is based on the psychological human interpretation of geometric objects, especially on fundamental rules of primary comprehension. Starting from these rules the buildings could be quite well and simply classified by a human operator (e.g. architect) into different building types and structural elements (dome, nave, transept etc.), including particular building parts which are visually detected. The key part of the procedure is a novel method based on hashing where point cloud projections are transformed into binary pixel representations. A segmentation approach released on the example of classical Orthodox churches is suitable for other buildings and objects characterized through a particular typology in its construction (e.g. industrial objects in standardized enviroments with strict component design allowing clear semantic modelling).

Experimental data showing the thermal behavior of a flat roof with phase change material.

PubMed

Tokuç, Ayça; Başaran, Tahsin; Yesügey, S Cengiz

2015-12-01

The selection and configuration of building materials for optimal energy efficiency in a building require some assumptions and models for the thermal behavior of the utilized materials. Although the models for many materials can be considered acceptable for simulation and calculation purposes, the work for modeling the real time behavior of phase change materials is still under development. The data given in this article shows the thermal behavior of a flat roof element with a phase change material (PCM) layer. The temperature and energy given to and taken from the building element are reported. In addition the solid-liquid behavior of the PCM is tracked through images. The resulting thermal behavior of the phase change material is discussed and simulated in [1] A. Tokuç, T. Başaran, S.C. Yesügey, An experimental and numerical investigation on the use of phase change materials in building elements: the case of a flat roof in Istanbul, Build. Energy, vol. 102, 2015, pp. 91-104.

A scalable method for the production of high-titer and high-quality adeno-associated type 9 vectors using the HSV platform

PubMed Central

Adamson-Small, Laura; Potter, Mark; Falk, Darin J; Cleaver, Brian; Byrne, Barry J; Clément, Nathalie

2016-01-01

Recombinant adeno-associated vectors based on serotype 9 (rAAV9) have demonstrated highly effective gene transfer in multiple animal models of muscular dystrophies and other neurological indications. Current limitations in vector production and purification have hampered widespread implementation of clinical candidate vectors, particularly when systemic administration is considered. In this study, we describe a complete herpes simplex virus (HSV)-based production and purification process capable of generating greater than 1 × 1014 rAAV9 vector genomes per 10-layer CellSTACK of HEK 293 producer cells, or greater than 1 × 105 vector genome per cell, in a final, fully purified product. This represents a 5- to 10-fold increase over transfection-based methods. In addition, rAAV vectors produced by this method demonstrated improved biological characteristics when compared to transfection-based production, including increased infectivity as shown by higher transducing unit-to-vector genome ratios and decreased total capsid protein amounts, shown by lower empty-to-full ratios. Together, this data establishes a significant improvement in both rAAV9 yields and vector quality. Further, the method can be readily adapted to large-scale good laboratory practice (GLP) and good manufacturing practice (GMP) production of rAAV9 vectors to enable preclinical and clinical studies and provide a platform to build on toward late-phases and commercial production. PMID:27222839

From the Laboratory to the Field: Updating Capacity Building in Medical Entomology.

PubMed

Almeida, Antonio Paulo Gouveia; Fouque, Florence; Launois, Pascal; Sousa, Carla A; Silveira, Henrique

2017-09-01

Training and innovation in the field of medical entomology are essential to mitigate the burden of vector-borne diseases globally. However, there is a shortage of medical entomologists worldwide, and there are large discrepancies in capacity building in this field. In this article, we discuss the current situation, what is needed from the medical entomologist of today, and how we can bridge this gap. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Deploy Nalu/Kokkos algorithmic infrastructure with performance benchmarking.

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

Domino, Stefan P.; Ananthan, Shreyas; Knaus, Robert C.

The former Nalu interior heterogeneous algorithm design, which was originally designed to manage matrix assembly operations over all elemental topology types, has been modified to operate over homogeneous collections of mesh entities. This newly templated kernel design allows for removal of workset variable resize operations that were formerly required at each loop over a Sierra ToolKit (STK) bucket (nominally, 512 entities in size). Extensive usage of the Standard Template Library (STL) std::vector has been removed in favor of intrinsic Kokkos memory views. In this milestone effort, the transition to Kokkos as the underlying infrastructure to support performance and portability onmore » many-core architectures has been deployed for key matrix algorithmic kernels. A unit-test driven design effort has developed a homogeneous entity algorithm that employs a team-based thread parallelism construct. The STK Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) infrastructure is used to interleave data for improved vectorization. The collective algorithm design, which allows for concurrent threading and SIMD management, has been deployed for the core low-Mach element- based algorithm. Several tests to ascertain SIMD performance on Intel KNL and Haswell architectures have been carried out. The performance test matrix includes evaluation of both low- and higher-order methods. The higher-order low-Mach methodology builds on polynomial promotion of the core low-order control volume nite element method (CVFEM). Performance testing of the Kokkos-view/SIMD design indicates low-order matrix assembly kernel speed-up ranging between two and four times depending on mesh loading and node count. Better speedups are observed for higher-order meshes (currently only P=2 has been tested) especially on KNL. The increased workload per element on higher-order meshes bene ts from the wide SIMD width on KNL machines. Combining multiple threads with SIMD on KNL achieves a 4.6x speedup over the baseline, with assembly timings faster than that observed on Haswell architecture. The computational workload of higher-order meshes, therefore, seems ideally suited for the many-core architecture and justi es further exploration of higher-order on NGP platforms. A Trilinos/Tpetra-based multi-threaded GMRES preconditioned by symmetric Gauss Seidel (SGS) represents the core solver infrastructure for the low-Mach advection/diffusion implicit solves. The threaded solver stack has been tested on small problems on NREL's Peregrine system using the newly developed and deployed Kokkos-view/SIMD kernels. fforts are underway to deploy the Tpetra-based solver stack on NERSC Cori system to benchmark its performance at scale on KNL machines.« less

Conditions for success of engineered underdominance gene drive systems.

PubMed

Edgington, Matthew P; Alphey, Luke S

2017-10-07

Engineered underdominance is one of a number of different gene drive strategies that have been proposed for the genetic control of insect vectors of disease. Here we model a two-locus engineered underdominance based gene drive system that is based on the concept of mutually suppressing lethals. In such a system two genetic constructs are introduced, each possessing a lethal element and a suppressor of the lethal at the other locus. Specifically, we formulate and analyse a population genetics model of this system to assess when different combinations of release strategies (i.e. single or multiple releases of both sexes or males only) and genetic systems (i.e. bisex lethal or female-specific lethal elements and different strengths of suppressors) will give population replacement or fail to do so. We anticipate that results presented here will inform the future design of engineered underdominance gene drive systems as well as providing a point of reference regarding release strategies for those looking to test such a system. Our discussion is framed in the context of genetic control of insect vectors of disease. One of several serious threats in this context are Aedes aegypti mosquitoes as they are the primary vectors of dengue viruses. However, results are also applicable to Ae. aegypti as vectors of Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya viruses and also to the control of a number of other insect species and thereby of insect-vectored pathogens. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A small and efficient dimerization/packaging signal of rat VL30 RNA and its use in murine leukemia virus-VL30-derived vectors for gene transfer.

PubMed

Torrent, C; Gabus, C; Darlix, J L

1994-02-01

Retroviral genomes consist of two identical RNA molecules associated at their 5' ends by the dimer linkage structure located in the packaging element (Psi or E) necessary for RNA dimerization in vitro and packaging in vivo. In murine leukemia virus (MLV)-derived vectors designed for gene transfer, the Psi + sequence of 600 nucleotides directs the packaging of recombinant RNAs into MLV virions produced by helper cells. By using in vitro RNA dimerization as a screening system, a sequence of rat VL30 RNA located next to the 5' end of the Harvey mouse sarcoma virus genome and as small as 67 nucleotides was found to form stable dimeric RNA. In addition, a purine-rich sequence located at the 5' end of this VL30 RNA seems to be critical for RNA dimerization. When this VL30 element was extended by 107 nucleotides at its 3' end and inserted into an MLV-derived vector lacking MLV Psi +, it directed the efficient encapsidation of recombinant RNAs into MLV virions. Because this VL30 packaging signal is smaller and more efficient in packaging recombinant RNAs than the MLV Psi + and does not contain gag or glyco-gag coding sequences, its use in MLV-derived vectors should render even more unlikely recombinations which could generate replication-competent viruses. Therefore, utilization of the rat VL30 packaging sequence should improve the biological safety of MLV vectors for human gene transfer.

[The pigeon tick, Argas reflexus, and hazard for human health].

PubMed

Khoury, Cristina; Maroli, Michele

2004-01-01

The massive presence of the pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica) in urban areas not only is cause of serious aesthetic damages as decline of squares, of churches, of statues and buildings, but often creates many hygienic and medical problems. The pigeon, in fact, can transmit a great number of pathogenic agents and also be infested by several ectoparasites. Among these, Argas reflexus (Acari: Argasidae), the well known pigeon tick, is the most important ectoparasite that can involve also human health. Buildings infested by A. reflexus and attacks by this tick species to man are frequently reported, with an increasing interest for human health. In fact the pigeon tick bites can induce anaphylactic reactions for the presence of allergens, and as vector, the tick can also transmit some pathogens. This review deals with actual knowledge on the distribution, eco-biology, vector competence, prevention and control of A. reflexus in Italy.

Fusion PIC code performance analysis on the Cori KNL system

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

Koskela, Tuomas S.; Deslippe, Jack; Friesen, Brian

We study the attainable performance of Particle-In-Cell codes on the Cori KNL system by analyzing a miniature particle push application based on the fusion PIC code XGC1. We start from the most basic building blocks of a PIC code and build up the complexity to identify the kernels that cost the most in performance and focus optimization efforts there. Particle push kernels operate at high AI and are not likely to be memory bandwidth or even cache bandwidth bound on KNL. Therefore, we see only minor benefits from the high bandwidth memory available on KNL, and achieving good vectorization ismore » shown to be the most beneficial optimization path with theoretical yield of up to 8x speedup on KNL. In practice we are able to obtain up to a 4x gain from vectorization due to limitations set by the data layout and memory latency.« less

A Model of Gravity Vector Measurement Noise for Estimating Accelerometer Bias in Gravity Disturbance Compensation.

PubMed

Tie, Junbo; Cao, Juliang; Chang, Lubing; Cai, Shaokun; Wu, Meiping; Lian, Junxiang

2018-03-16

Compensation of gravity disturbance can improve the precision of inertial navigation, but the effect of compensation will decrease due to the accelerometer bias, and estimation of the accelerometer bias is a crucial issue in gravity disturbance compensation. This paper first investigates the effect of accelerometer bias on gravity disturbance compensation, and the situation in which the accelerometer bias should be estimated is established. The accelerometer bias is estimated from the gravity vector measurement, and a model of measurement noise in gravity vector measurement is built. Based on this model, accelerometer bias is separated from the gravity vector measurement error by the method of least squares. Horizontal gravity disturbances are calculated through EGM2008 spherical harmonic model to build the simulation scene, and the simulation results indicate that precise estimations of the accelerometer bias can be obtained with the proposed method.

A Model of Gravity Vector Measurement Noise for Estimating Accelerometer Bias in Gravity Disturbance Compensation

PubMed Central

Cao, Juliang; Cai, Shaokun; Wu, Meiping; Lian, Junxiang

2018-01-01

Compensation of gravity disturbance can improve the precision of inertial navigation, but the effect of compensation will decrease due to the accelerometer bias, and estimation of the accelerometer bias is a crucial issue in gravity disturbance compensation. This paper first investigates the effect of accelerometer bias on gravity disturbance compensation, and the situation in which the accelerometer bias should be estimated is established. The accelerometer bias is estimated from the gravity vector measurement, and a model of measurement noise in gravity vector measurement is built. Based on this model, accelerometer bias is separated from the gravity vector measurement error by the method of least squares. Horizontal gravity disturbances are calculated through EGM2008 spherical harmonic model to build the simulation scene, and the simulation results indicate that precise estimations of the accelerometer bias can be obtained with the proposed method. PMID:29547552

Vector meson photoproduction with a linearly polarized beam

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

Mathieu, V.; Nys, J.; Fernendez-Ramirez, C.

Here, we propose a model based on Regge theory to describe photoproduction of light vector mesons. We fit the SLAC data and make predictions for the energy and momentum transfer dependence of the spin-density matrix elements in photoproduction of ω,more » $$\\rho^0$$ and $$\\sigma$$ mesons at Ε γ ~ 8.5 GeV, which are soon to be measured at Jefferson Lab.« less

Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development for DSX

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-03

AFRL-RV-HA-TR-2010-1056 Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development for DSX Mark B. Moldwin UCLA Institute of Geophysics... Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development for DSX 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 62601F 6. AUTHOR(S) Mark B. Moldwin 5d. PROJECT...axis fluxgate magnetometer for the AFRL-mission. The instrument is designed to measure the medium-Earth orbit geomagnetic field with precision of 0.1

Computational mechanics analysis tools for parallel-vector supercomputers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Storaasli, Olaf O.; Nguyen, Duc T.; Baddourah, Majdi; Qin, Jiangning

1993-01-01

Computational algorithms for structural analysis on parallel-vector supercomputers are reviewed. These parallel algorithms, developed by the authors, are for the assembly of structural equations, 'out-of-core' strategies for linear equation solution, massively distributed-memory equation solution, unsymmetric equation solution, general eigensolution, geometrically nonlinear finite element analysis, design sensitivity analysis for structural dynamics, optimization search analysis and domain decomposition. The source code for many of these algorithms is available.

Vector meson photoproduction with a linearly polarized beam

DOE PAGES

Mathieu, V.; Nys, J.; Fernendez-Ramirez, C.; ...

2018-05-09

Here, we propose a model based on Regge theory to describe photoproduction of light vector mesons. We fit the SLAC data and make predictions for the energy and momentum transfer dependence of the spin-density matrix elements in photoproduction of ω,more » $$\\rho^0$$ and $$\\sigma$$ mesons at Ε γ ~ 8.5 GeV, which are soon to be measured at Jefferson Lab.« less

Vector representation of user's view using self-organizing map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ae, Tadashi; Yamaguchi, Tomohisa; Monden, Eri; Kawabata, Shunji; Kamitani, Motoki

2004-05-01

There exist various objects, such as pictures, music, texts, etc., around our environment. We have a view for these objects by looking, reading or listening. Our view is concerned with our behaviors deeply, and is very important to understand our behaviors. Therefore, we propose a method which acquires a view as a vector, and apply the vector to sequence generation. We focus on sequences of the data of which a user selects from a multimedia database containing pictures, music, movie, etc.. These data cannot be stereotyped because user's view for them changes by each user. Therefore, we represent the structure of the multimedia database as the vector representing user's view and the stereotyped vector, and acquire sequences containing the structure as elements. We demonstrate a city-sequence generation system which reflects user's intension as an application of sequence generation containing user's view. We apply the self-organizing map to this system to represent user's view.

Utilization of Virus ϕCh1 Elements To Establish a Shuttle Vector System for Halo(alkali)philic Archaea via Transformation of Natrialba magadii

PubMed Central

Mayrhofer-Iro, M.; Ladurner, A.; Meissner, C.; Derntl, C.; Reiter, M.; Haider, F.; Dimmel, K.; Rössler, N.; Klein, R.; Baranyi, U.; Scholz, H.

2013-01-01

In the study described here, we successfully developed a transformation system for halo(alkali)philic members of the Archaea. This transformation system comprises a series of Natrialba magadii/Escherichia coli shuttle vectors based on a modified method to transform halophilic members of the Archaea and genomic elements of the N. magadii virus ϕCh1. The shuttle vector pRo-5, based on the repH-containing region of ϕCh1, stably replicated in E. coli and N. magadii and in several halophilic and haloalkaliphilic members of the Archaea not transformable so far. The ϕCh1 operon ORF53/ORF54 (repH) was essential for pRo-5 replication and was thus identified as the minimal replication origin. The plasmid allowed homologous and heterologous gene expression, as exemplified by the expression of ϕCh1 ORF3452, which encodes a structural protein, and the reporter gene bgaH of Haloferax lucentense in N. magadii. The new transformation/vector system will facilitate genetic studies within N. magadii and other haloalkaliphilic archaea and will allow the detailed characterization of the gene functions of N. magadii virus ϕCh1 in their extreme environments. PMID:23416999

Reducing the cost of using collocation to compute vibrational energy levels: Results for CH2NH.

PubMed

Avila, Gustavo; Carrington, Tucker

2017-08-14

In this paper, we improve the collocation method for computing vibrational spectra that was presented in the work of Avila and Carrington, Jr. [J. Chem. Phys. 143, 214108 (2015)]. Known quadrature and collocation methods using a Smolyak grid require storing intermediate vectors with more elements than points on the Smolyak grid. This is due to the fact that grid labels are constrained among themselves and basis labels are constrained among themselves. We show that by using the so-called hierarchical basis functions, one can significantly reduce the memory required. In this paper, the intermediate vectors have only as many elements as the Smolyak grid. The ideas are tested by computing energy levels of CH 2 NH.

Three dimensional magnetic fields in extra high speed modified Lundell alternators computed by a combined vector-scalar magnetic potential finite element method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Demerdash, N. A.; Wang, R.; Secunde, R.

1992-01-01

A 3D finite element (FE) approach was developed and implemented for computation of global magnetic fields in a 14.3 kVA modified Lundell alternator. The essence of the new method is the combined use of magnetic vector and scalar potential formulations in 3D FEs. This approach makes it practical, using state of the art supercomputer resources, to globally analyze magnetic fields and operating performances of rotating machines which have truly 3D magnetic flux patterns. The 3D FE-computed fields and machine inductances as well as various machine performance simulations of the 14.3 kVA machine are presented in this paper and its two companion papers.

Dane Christensen | NREL

Science.gov Websites

-performance building simulation. Dane supports technical efforts for the Building America Program and conducts finite element modeling for building energy simulation. Prior to joining NREL, Dane worked at Atec, Inc

Insulated piggyBac vectors for insect transgenesis

PubMed Central

Sarkar, Abhimanyu; Atapattu, Asela; Belikoff, Esther J; Heinrich, Jörg C; Li, Xuelei; Horn, Carsten; Wimmer, Ernst A; Scott, Maxwell J

2006-01-01

Background Germ-line transformation of insects is now a widely used method for analyzing gene function and for the development of genetically modified strains suitable for pest control programs. The most widely used transposable element for the germ-line transformation of insects is piggyBac. The site of integration of the transgene can influence gene expression due to the effects of nearby transcription enhancers or silent heterochromatic regions. Position effects can be minimized by flanking a transgene with insulator elements. The scs/scs' and gypsy insulators from Drosophila melanogaster as well as the chicken β-globin HS4 insulator function in both Drosophila and mammalian cells. Results To minimize position effects we have created a set of piggyBac transformation vectors that contain either the scs/scs', gypsy or chicken β-globin HS4 insulators. The vectors contain either fluorescent protein or eye color marker genes and have been successfully used for germ-line transformation of Drosophila melanogaster. A set of the scs/scs' vectors contains the coral reef fluorescent protein marker genes AmCyan, ZsGreen and DsRed that have not been optimized for translation in human cells. These marker genes are controlled by a combined GMR-3xP3 enhancer/promoter that gives particularly strong expression in the eyes. This is also the first report of the use of the ZsGreen and AmCyan reef fluorescent proteins as transformation markers in insects. Conclusion The insulated piggyBac vectors should protect transgenes against position effects and thus facilitate fine control of gene expression in a wide spectrum of insect species. These vectors may also be used for transgenesis in other invertebrate species. PMID:16776846

An international survey of building energy codes and their implementation

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

Evans, Meredydd; Roshchanka, Volha; Graham, Peter

Buildings are key to low-carbon development everywhere, and many countries have introduced building energy codes to improve energy efficiency in buildings. Yet, building energy codes can only deliver results when the codes are implemented. For this reason, studies of building energy codes need to consider implementation of building energy codes in a consistent and comprehensive way. This research identifies elements and practices in implementing building energy codes, covering codes in 22 countries that account for 70% of global energy demand from buildings. Access to benefits of building energy codes depends on comprehensive coverage of buildings by type, age, size, andmore » geographic location; an implementation framework that involves a certified agency to inspect construction at critical stages; and independently tested, rated, and labeled building energy materials. Training and supporting tools are another element of successful code implementation, and their role is growing in importance, given the increasing flexibility and complexity of building energy codes. Some countries have also introduced compliance evaluation and compliance checking protocols to improve implementation. This article provides examples of practices that countries have adopted to assist with implementation of building energy codes.« less

Fast temporal neural learning using teacher forcing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toomarian, Nikzad (Inventor); Bahren, Jacob (Inventor)

1992-01-01

A neural network is trained to output a time dependent target vector defined over a predetermined time interval in response to a time dependent input vector defined over the same time interval by applying corresponding elements of the error vector, or difference between the target vector and the actual neuron output vector, to the inputs of corresponding output neurons of the network as corrective feedback. This feedback decreases the error and quickens the learning process, so that a much smaller number of training cycles are required to complete the learning process. A conventional gradient descent algorithm is employed to update the neural network parameters at the end of the predetermined time interval. The foregoing process is repeated in repetitive cycles until the actual output vector corresponds to the target vector. In the preferred embodiment, as the overall error of the neural network output decreasing during successive training cycles, the portion of the error fed back to the output neurons is decreased accordingly, allowing the network to learn with greater freedom from teacher forcing as the network parameters converge to their optimum values. The invention may also be used to train a neural network with stationary training and target vectors.

Fast temporal neural learning using teacher forcing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toomarian, Nikzad (Inventor); Bahren, Jacob (Inventor)

1995-01-01

A neural network is trained to output a time dependent target vector defined over a predetermined time interval in response to a time dependent input vector defined over the same time interval by applying corresponding elements of the error vector, or difference between the target vector and the actual neuron output vector, to the inputs of corresponding output neurons of the network as corrective feedback. This feedback decreases the error and quickens the learning process, so that a much smaller number of training cycles are required to complete the learning process. A conventional gradient descent algorithm is employed to update the neural network parameters at the end of the predetermined time interval. The foregoing process is repeated in repetitive cycles until the actual output vector corresponds to the target vector. In the preferred embodiment, as the overall error of the neural network output decreasing during successive training cycles, the portion of the error fed back to the output neurons is decreased accordingly, allowing the network to learn with greater freedom from teacher forcing as the network parameters converge to their optimum values. The invention may also be used to train a neural network with stationary training and target vectors.

5. DETAIL VIEW OF THE EGYPTIAN MOTIF DECORATIVE ELEMENTS OF ...

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

5. DETAIL VIEW OF THE EGYPTIAN MOTIF DECORATIVE ELEMENTS OF BUILDING 1'S MAIN ENTRY TOWER (INCLUDING THE ENGAGED COLUMN CAPITALS, PILASTERS & CAPITALS, CORNICES, AND TERRA COTTA EAGLES); LOOKING SW FROM THE E WING ROOF. (Ryan) - Veterans Administration Medical Center, Building No. 1, Old State Route 13 West, Marion, Williamson County, IL

Indicator-based model to assess vulnerability to landslides in urban areas. Case study of Husi city (Eastern Romania)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grozavu, Adrian; Ciprian Margarint, Mihai; Catalin Stanga, Iulian

2013-04-01

In the last three or four decades, vulnerability evolved from physical fragility meanings to a more complex concept, being a key element of risk assessment. In landslide risk assessment, there are a large series of studies regarding landslide hazard, but far fewer researches focusing on vulnerability measurement. Furthermore, there is still no unitary understanding on the methodological framework, neither any internationally agreed standard for landslide vulnerability measurements. The omnipresent common element is the existence of elements at risk, but while some approaches are limited to exposure, other focus on the degree of losses (human injuries, material damages and monetary losses, structural dysfunctions etc.). These losses are differently assessed using both absolute and relative values on qualitative or quantitative scales and they are differently integrated to provide a final vulnerability value. This study aims to assess vulnerability to landslides at local level using an indicator-based model applied to urban areas and tested for Husi town (Eastern Romania). The study region is characterized by permeable and impermeable alternating sedimentary rocks, monoclinal geological structure and hilly relief with impressive cuestas, continental temperate climate, and precipitation of about 500 mm/year, rising to 700 m and even more in some rainy years. The town is a middle size one (25000 inhabitants) and it had an ascending evolution in the last centuries, followed by an increasing human pressure on lands. Methodologically, the first step was to assess the landslide susceptibility and to identify in this way those regions within which any asset would be exposed to landslide hazards. Landslide susceptibility was assessed using the logistic regression approach, taking into account several quantitative and qualitative factors (elements of geology, morphometry, rainfall, land use etc.). The spatial background consisted in the Digital Elevation Model and all derived maps (slope, aspect, shading), realized based on the topographical plans and maps (1:1000, 1:5000). The second step was to realize the spatial inventory of elements at risk (vector format), based on the General Urban Plan (1:5000), the orthorectified aerial images (2009, resolution: 0.5 meters) and field investigations. All elements have been classified using attribute databases: residential buildings (single or multiple dwellings), other buildings according to their functionality, main and secondary roads, special transport network etc. Data about population have been added in order to assess the intrinsic value of each element and the number of potentially affected peoples. The study also took into account issues as preparedness and preventive measures (risk prevention plans, reinforcing structures, draining wells etc.), coping ability (network geometry and connectivity, emergency services accessibility) and recovering capacity (e.g. the existence of insurance policies). According to their importance and functionality, a distinct rank (ri … rn) was assigned to each element at risk (i1…in) showing the level of vulnerability. The rank values were assigned mainly on the expert knowledge and they range from 1 (limited damages, no affected people) to 5 (several households and people affected, dysfunctions in the urban system). The vulnerability index (Vi) was obtained combining the rank with the role of vulnerability factors (Fi), according to their degree of influence: the number of people that would be affected, the potential material and economic damages, the relationship with the neighboring exposed elements, the existence of the preventing, coping and recovering measures etc. Thus, the general equation of vulnerability has the form of weighted geometric mean: Vi=ri•Fi = ri•(w1F1 • w2F2 • … • wmFm). It must be noted that the weighting coefficients (wi) have subunitary or supraunitary value according to their role in diminishing or increasing the vulnerability level. The general vulnerability index (GVI) was obtained through a final transformation that was done to limit the spread of variation between zero (minimum vulnerability) and one (maximum vulnerability): GVIi = Vi/Vmax. In this form, the elements at risk are individually inventoried and spatialized in vector format as points, lines, polygons, each one having its own vulnerability value, but the results can be used only at the precise local level (both by practitioners and decision makers). To allow a more profound interpretation, the general vulnerability index was spatialized in two distinct ways: (1) creating a raster with a standard pixel size (e.g. 20 x 20 m, 50 x 50 m) and calculating the average vulnerability of the exposed elements in each pixel; (2) choosing a interpolation method (e.g. krigging) that would allow to integrate the spatial autocorrelation of the elements at risk and to obtain an output raster at the same resolution with the susceptibility map and a further risk assessment.

Object-Based Change Detection Using High-Resolution Remotely Sensed Data and GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sofina, N.; Ehlers, M.

2012-08-01

High resolution remotely sensed images provide current, detailed, and accurate information for large areas of the earth surface which can be used for change detection analyses. Conventional methods of image processing permit detection of changes by comparing remotely sensed multitemporal images. However, for performing a successful analysis it is desirable to take images from the same sensor which should be acquired at the same time of season, at the same time of a day, and - for electro-optical sensors - in cloudless conditions. Thus, a change detection analysis could be problematic especially for sudden catastrophic events. A promising alternative is the use of vector-based maps containing information about the original urban layout which can be related to a single image obtained after the catastrophe. The paper describes a methodology for an object-based search of destroyed buildings as a consequence of a natural or man-made catastrophe (e.g., earthquakes, flooding, civil war). The analysis is based on remotely sensed and vector GIS data. It includes three main steps: (i) generation of features describing the state of buildings; (ii) classification of building conditions; and (iii) data import into a GIS. One of the proposed features is a newly developed 'Detected Part of Contour' (DPC). Additionally, several features based on the analysis of textural information corresponding to the investigated vector objects are calculated. The method is applied to remotely sensed images of areas that have been subjected to an earthquake. The results show the high reliability of the DPC feature as an indicator for change.

The targeting expression of the vascular endothelial growth factor gene in endothelial cells regulated by HRE.ppET-1.

PubMed

Zheng, Xiangrong; Zhang, Shangshang; Yang, Yujia; Wang, Xia; Zhong, Le; Yu, Xiaohe

2008-11-01

The success of gene therapy depends largely on the efficacy of gene delivery vector systems that can deliver genes to target organs or cells selectively and efficiently with minimal toxicity. Here, we show that by using the HRE.ppET-1 regulatory element, we were able to restrict expression of the transgene of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to endothelial cells exclusively in hypoxic conditions. Eukaryotic expression vectors such as pEGFP-HRE.ppET-1, pcDNA3.1-VEGF+Pa, pcDNA3.1-ppET-1+ EGF+Pa, and pcDNA3.1-HRE.ppET-1+VEGF+Pa were constructed by using a series of nuclear molecule handling methods like PCR, enzyme digestion. The recombinant vectors were transfected into HUVEC cells and HL7702 cells by the lipofectin method. GFP expression was observed with a fluorescence microscope to validate the specificity of expression in endothelial cells under the regulation of HRE.ppET-1 element. Cobalt chloride (final concentration 100 mumol/L) was added to the medium to mimic hypoxia in vitro. After transfection of vectors, the expression of VEGF mRNA was detected by RT-PCR, and the expression of VEGF was detected by Western blotting and ELISA methods under normoxia and hypoxia, respectively. The cell proliferation rate was detected by the MTT test. The expression of GFP revealed that the exterior gene was transcripted effectively in endothelial cells regulated by the HRE.ppET-1 element, while the expression of GFP was very weak in nonendothelial cells. The results of RT-PCR, Western blotting and ELISA showed that VEGF gene expression in the pcDNA3.1-HRE.ppET-1+VEGF+Pa group and in the pcDNA3.1-ppET-1+VEGF+Pa group was higher in hypoxia than it was in normoxia (P<0.05). The MTT test showed that the proliferation rate of HUVEC transfected with HPVA under hypoxia exceeded that of the control group. We conclude that the HRE.ppET-1 element was expressed specifically in endothelial cells, and can increase the expression of VEGF in hypoxia and stimulate proliferation of endothelial cells. Taking advantage of these facts could greatly improve the efficiency of gene therapy. The vector would be valuable for various gene transfer studies targeting endothelial cells.

A Performance Evaluation of the Cray X1 for Scientific Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliker, Leonid; Biswas, Rupak; Borrill, Julian; Canning, Andrew; Carter, Jonathan; Djomehri, M. Jahed; Shan, Hongzhang; Skinner, David

2004-01-01

The last decade has witnessed a rapid proliferation of superscalar cache-based microprocessors to build high-end capability and cost effectiveness. However, the recent development of massively parallel vector systems is having a significant effect on the supercomputing landscape. In this paper, we compare the performance of the recently released Cray X1 vector system with that of the cacheless NEC SX-6 vector machine, and the superscalar cache-based IBM Power3 and Power4 architectures for scientific applications. Overall results demonstrate that the X1 is quite promising, but performance improvements are expected as the hardware, systems software, and numerical libraries mature. Code reengineering to effectively utilize the complex architecture may also lead to significant efficiency enhancements.

7. Historic American Buildings Survey, Robert E. Cooper, Photographer January, ...

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

7. Historic American Buildings Survey, Robert E. Cooper, Photographer January, 1961 DEMOLITION, SHOWING STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS. - American Life Insurance Company Building, 330-336 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

A Vectorial Model to Compute Terrain Parameters, Local and Remote Sheltering, Scattering and Albedo using TIN Domains for Hydrologic Modeling.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno, H. A.; Ogden, F. L.; Steinke, R. C.; Alvarez, L. V.

2015-12-01

Triangulated Irregular Networks (TINs) are increasingly popular for terrain representation in high performance surface and hydrologic modeling by their skill to capture significant changes in surface forms such as topographical summits, slope breaks, ridges, valley floors, pits and cols. This work presents a methodology for estimating slope, aspect and the components of the incoming solar radiation by using a vectorial approach within a topocentric coordinate system by establishing geometric relations between groups of TIN elements and the sun position. A normal vector to the surface of each TIN element describes slope and aspect while spherical trigonometry allows computing a unit vector defining the position of the sun at each hour and DOY. Thus, a dot product determines the radiation flux at each TIN element. Remote shading is computed by scanning the projection of groups of TIN elements in the direction of the closest perpendicular plane to the sun vector. Sky view fractions are computed by a simplified scanning algorithm in prescribed directions and are useful to determine diffuse radiation. Finally, remote radiation scattering is computed from the sky view factor complementary functions for prescribed albedo values of the surrounding terrain only for significant angles above the horizon. This methodology represents an improvement on the current algorithms to compute terrain and radiation parameters on TINs in an efficient manner. All terrain features (e.g. slope, aspect, sky view factors and remote sheltering) can be pre-computed and stored for easy access for a subsequent ground surface or hydrologic simulation.

A Versatile Transposon-Based Activation Tag Vector System for Functional Genomics in Cereals and Other Monocot Plants1[OA

PubMed Central

Qu, Shaohong; Desai, Aparna; Wing, Rod; Sundaresan, Venkatesan

2008-01-01

Transposon insertional mutagenesis is an effective alternative to T-DNA mutagenesis when transformation through tissue culture is inefficient as is the case for many crop species. When used as activation tags, transposons can be exploited to generate novel gain-of-function phenotypes without transformation and are of particular value in the study of polyploid plants where gene knockouts will not have phenotypes. We have developed an in cis-activation-tagging Ac-Ds transposon system in which a T-DNA vector carries a Dissociation (Ds) element containing 4× cauliflower mosaic virus enhancers along with the Activator (Ac) transposase gene. Stable Ds insertions were selected using green fluorescent protein and red fluorescent protein genes driven by promoters that are functional in maize (Zea mays) and rice (Oryza sativa). The system has been tested in rice, where 638 stable Ds insertions were selected from an initial set of 26 primary transformants. By analysis of 311 flanking sequences mapped to the rice genome, we could demonstrate the wide distribution of the elements over the rice chromosomes. Enhanced expression of rice genes adjacent to Ds insertions was detected in the insertion lines using semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR method. The in cis-two-element vector system requires minimal number of primary transformants and eliminates the need for crossing, while the use of fluorescent markers instead of antibiotic or herbicide resistance increases the applicability to other plants and eliminates problems with escapes. Because Ac-Ds has been shown to transpose widely in the plant kingdom, the activation vector system developed in this study should be of utility more generally to other monocots. PMID:17993541

Using relative velocity vectors to reveal axial rotation about the medial and lateral compartment of the knee.

PubMed

Anderst, William J; Tashman, Scott

2010-03-22

A new technique is presented that utilizes relative velocity vectors between articulating surfaces to characterize internal/external rotation of the tibio-femoral joint during dynamic loading. Precise tibio-femoral motion was determined by tracking the movement of implanted tantalum beads in high-speed biplane X-rays. Three-dimensional, subject-specific CT reconstructions of the femur and tibia, consisting of triangular mesh elements, were positioned in each analyzed frame. The minimum distance between subchondral bone surfaces was recorded for each mesh element comprising each bone surface, and the relative velocity between these opposing closest surface elements was determined in each frame. Internal/external rotation was visualized by superimposing tangential relative velocity vectors onto bone surfaces at each instant. Rotation about medial and lateral compartments was quantified by calculating the angle between these tangential relative vectors within each compartment. Results acquired from 68 test sessions involving 23 dogs indicated a consistent pattern of sequential rotation about the lateral condyle (approximately 60 ms after paw strike) followed by rotation about the medial condyle (approximately 100 ms after paw strike). These results imply that axial knee rotation follows a repeatable pattern within and among subjects. This pattern involves rotation about both the lateral and medial compartments. The technique described can be easily applied to study human knee internal/external rotation during a variety of activities. This information may be useful to define normal and pathologic conditions, to confirm post-surgical restoration of knee mechanics, and to design more realistic prosthetic devices. Furthermore, analysis of joint arthrokinematics, such as those described, may identify changes in joint mechanics associated with joint degeneration. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a Nonlinear Finite Element Program - ABAQUS.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-03-15

anisotropic properties. * MATEXP - Linearly elastic thermal expansions with isotropic, orthotropic and anisotropic properties. * MATELG - Linearly...elastic materials for general sections (options available for beam and shell elements). • MATEXG - Linearly elastic thermal expansions for general...decomposition of a matrix. * Q-R algorithm • Vector normalization, etc. Obviously, by consolidating all the utility subroutines in a library, ABAQUS has

40 CFR 61.121 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Elemental Phosphorus Plants § 61.121 Definitions. (a) Elemental phosphorus plant or plant means any facility that processes phosphate rock to produce elemental phosphorus. A plant includes all buildings...

40 CFR 61.121 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Elemental Phosphorus Plants § 61.121 Definitions. (a) Elemental phosphorus plant or plant means any facility that processes phosphate rock to produce elemental phosphorus. A plant includes all buildings...

The 10 building blocks of high-performing primary care.

PubMed

Bodenheimer, Thomas; Ghorob, Amireh; Willard-Grace, Rachel; Grumbach, Kevin

2014-01-01

Our experiences studying exemplar primary care practices, and our work assisting other practices to become more patient centered, led to a formulation of the essential elements of primary care, which we call the 10 building blocks of high-performing primary care. The building blocks include 4 foundational elements-engaged leadership, data-driven improvement, empanelment, and team-based care-that assist the implementation of the other 6 building blocks-patient-team partnership, population management, continuity of care, prompt access to care, comprehensiveness and care coordination, and a template of the future. The building blocks, which represent a synthesis of the innovative thinking that is transforming primary care in the United States, are both a description of existing high-performing practices and a model for improvement.

Multiscale asymmetric orthogonal wavelet kernel for linear programming support vector learning and nonlinear dynamic systems identification.

PubMed

Lu, Zhao; Sun, Jing; Butts, Kenneth

2014-05-01

Support vector regression for approximating nonlinear dynamic systems is more delicate than the approximation of indicator functions in support vector classification, particularly for systems that involve multitudes of time scales in their sampled data. The kernel used for support vector learning determines the class of functions from which a support vector machine can draw its solution, and the choice of kernel significantly influences the performance of a support vector machine. In this paper, to bridge the gap between wavelet multiresolution analysis and kernel learning, the closed-form orthogonal wavelet is exploited to construct new multiscale asymmetric orthogonal wavelet kernels for linear programming support vector learning. The closed-form multiscale orthogonal wavelet kernel provides a systematic framework to implement multiscale kernel learning via dyadic dilations and also enables us to represent complex nonlinear dynamics effectively. To demonstrate the superiority of the proposed multiscale wavelet kernel in identifying complex nonlinear dynamic systems, two case studies are presented that aim at building parallel models on benchmark datasets. The development of parallel models that address the long-term/mid-term prediction issue is more intricate and challenging than the identification of series-parallel models where only one-step ahead prediction is required. Simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed multiscale kernel learning.

Typological diversity of tall buildings and complexes in relation to their functional structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Generalov, Viktor P.; Generalova, Elena M.; Kalinkina, Nadezhda A.; Zhdanova, Irina V.

2018-03-01

The paper focuses on peculiarities of tall buildings and complexes, their typology and its formation in relation to their functional structure. The research is based on the analysis of tall buildings and complexes and identifies the following main functional elements of their formation: residential, administrative (office), hotel elements. The paper also considers the following services as «disseminated» in the space-planning structure: shops, medicine, entertainment, kids and sports facilities, etc., their location in the structure of the total bulk of the building and their impact on typological diversity. Research results include suggestions to add such concepts as «single-function tall buildings» and «mixed-use tall buildings and complexes» into the classification of tall buildings. In addition, if a single-function building or complex performs serving functions, it is proposed to add such concepts as «a residential tall building (complex) with provision of services», «an administrative (public) tall building (complex) with provision of services» into the classification of tall buildings. For mixed-use buildings and complexes the following terms are suggested: «a mixed-use tall building with provision of services», «a mixed-use tall complex with provision of services».

NASA Ares I Launch Vehicle Roll and Reaction Control Systems Lessons Learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butt, Adam; Popp, Chris G.; Jernigan, Frankie R.; Paseur, Lila F.; Pitts, Hank M.

2011-01-01

On April 15, 2010 President Barak Obama made the official announcement that the Constellation Program, which included the Ares I launch vehicle, would be canceled. NASA s Ares I launch vehicle was being designed to launch the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, returning humans to the moon, Mars, and beyond. It consisted of a First Stage (FS) five segment solid rocket booster and a liquid J-2X Upper Stage (US) engine. Roll control for the FS was planned to be handled by a dedicated Roll Control System (RoCS), located on the connecting interstage. Induced yaw or pitch moments experienced during FS ascent would have been handled by vectoring of the booster nozzle. After FS booster separation, the US Reaction Control System (ReCS) would have provided the US Element with three degrees of freedom control as needed. The lessons learned documented in this paper will be focused on the technical designs and producibility of both systems along with the partnership between NASA and Boeing, who was on contract to build the Ares I US Element, which included the FS RoCS and US ReCS. In regards to partnership, focus will be placed on integration along with technical work accomplished by Boeing with special emphasis on each task order. In summary, this paper attempts to capture key lessons learned that should be helpful in the development of future launch vehicle RCS designs.

Design of a mixer for the thrust-vectoring system on the high-alpha research vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pahle, Joseph W.; Bundick, W. Thomas; Yeager, Jessie C.; Beissner, Fred L., Jr.

1996-01-01

One of the advanced control concepts being investigated on the High-Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) is multi-axis thrust vectoring using an experimental thrust-vectoring (TV) system consisting of three hydraulically actuated vanes per engine. A mixer is used to translate the pitch-, roll-, and yaw-TV commands into the appropriate TV-vane commands for distribution to the vane actuators. A computer-aided optimization process was developed to perform the inversion of the thrust-vectoring effectiveness data for use by the mixer in performing this command translation. Using this process a new mixer was designed for the HARV and evaluated in simulation and flight. An important element of the Mixer is the priority logic, which determines priority among the pitch-, roll-, and yaw-TV commands.

Nucleon form factors from quenched lattice QCD with domain wall fermions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasaki, Shoichi; Yamazaki, Takeshi

2008-07-01

We present a quenched lattice calculation of the weak nucleon form factors: vector [FV(q2)], induced tensor [FT(q2)], axial vector [FA(q2)] and induced pseudoscalar [FP(q2)] form factors. Our simulations are performed on three different lattice sizes L3×T=243×32, 163×32, and 123×32 with a lattice cutoff of a-1≈1.3GeV and light quark masses down to about 1/4 the strange quark mass (mπ≈390MeV) using a combination of the DBW2 gauge action and domain wall fermions. The physical volume of our largest lattice is about (3.6fm)3, where the finite volume effects on form factors become negligible and the lower momentum transfers (q2≈0.1GeV2) are accessible. The q2 dependences of form factors in the low q2 region are examined. It is found that the vector, induced tensor, and axial-vector form factors are well described by the dipole form, while the induced pseudoscalar form factor is consistent with pion-pole dominance. We obtain the ratio of axial to vector coupling gA/gV=FA(0)/FV(0)=1.219(38) and the pseudoscalar coupling gP=mμFP(0.88mμ2)=8.15(54), where the errors are statistical errors only. These values agree with experimental values from neutron β decay and muon capture on the proton. However, the root mean-squared radii of the vector, induced tensor, and axial vector underestimate the known experimental values by about 20%. We also calculate the pseudoscalar nucleon matrix element in order to verify the axial Ward-Takahashi identity in terms of the nucleon matrix elements, which may be called as the generalized Goldberger-Treiman relation.

The combined geodetic network adjusted on the reference ellipsoid - a comparison of three functional models for GNSS observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadaj, Roman

2016-12-01

The adjustment problem of the so-called combined (hybrid, integrated) network created with GNSS vectors and terrestrial observations has been the subject of many theoretical and applied works. The network adjustment in various mathematical spaces was considered: in the Cartesian geocentric system on a reference ellipsoid and on a mapping plane. For practical reasons, it often takes a geodetic coordinate system associated with the reference ellipsoid. In this case, the Cartesian GNSS vectors are converted, for example, into geodesic parameters (azimuth and length) on the ellipsoid, but the simple form of converted pseudo-observations are the direct differences of the geodetic coordinates. Unfortunately, such an approach may be essentially distorted by a systematic error resulting from the position error of the GNSS vector, before its projection on the ellipsoid surface. In this paper, an analysis of the impact of this error on the determined measures of geometric ellipsoid elements, including the differences of geodetic coordinates or geodesic parameters is presented. Assuming that the adjustment of a combined network on the ellipsoid shows that the optimal functional approach in relation to the satellite observation, is to create the observational equations directly for the original GNSS Cartesian vector components, writing them directly as a function of the geodetic coordinates (in numerical applications, we use the linearized forms of observational equations with explicitly specified coefficients). While retaining the original character of the Cartesian vector, one avoids any systematic errors that may occur in the conversion of the original GNSS vectors to ellipsoid elements, for example the vector of the geodesic parameters. The problem is theoretically developed and numerically tested. An example of the adjustment of a subnet loaded from the database of reference stations of the ASG-EUPOS system was considered for the preferred functional model of the GNSS observations.

A robust variant of block Jacobi-Davidson for extracting a large number of eigenpairs: Application to grid-based real-space density functional theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, M.; Leiter, K.; Eisner, C.; Breuer, A.; Wang, X.

2017-09-01

In this work, we investigate a block Jacobi-Davidson (J-D) variant suitable for sparse symmetric eigenproblems where a substantial number of extremal eigenvalues are desired (e.g., ground-state real-space quantum chemistry). Most J-D algorithm variations tend to slow down as the number of desired eigenpairs increases due to frequent orthogonalization against a growing list of solved eigenvectors. In our specification of block J-D, all of the steps of the algorithm are performed in clusters, including the linear solves, which allows us to greatly reduce computational effort with blocked matrix-vector multiplies. In addition, we move orthogonalization against locked eigenvectors and working eigenvectors outside of the inner loop but retain the single Ritz vector projection corresponding to the index of the correction vector. Furthermore, we minimize the computational effort by constraining the working subspace to the current vectors being updated and the latest set of corresponding correction vectors. Finally, we incorporate accuracy thresholds based on the precision required by the Fermi-Dirac distribution. The net result is a significant reduction in the computational effort against most previous block J-D implementations, especially as the number of wanted eigenpairs grows. We compare our approach with another robust implementation of block J-D (JDQMR) and the state-of-the-art Chebyshev filter subspace (CheFSI) method for various real-space density functional theory systems. Versus CheFSI, for first-row elements, our method yields competitive timings for valence-only systems and 4-6× speedups for all-electron systems with up to 10× reduced matrix-vector multiplies. For all-electron calculations on larger elements (e.g., gold) where the wanted spectrum is quite narrow compared to the full spectrum, we observe 60× speedup with 200× fewer matrix-vector multiples vs. CheFSI.

A robust variant of block Jacobi-Davidson for extracting a large number of eigenpairs: Application to grid-based real-space density functional theory.

PubMed

Lee, M; Leiter, K; Eisner, C; Breuer, A; Wang, X

2017-09-21

In this work, we investigate a block Jacobi-Davidson (J-D) variant suitable for sparse symmetric eigenproblems where a substantial number of extremal eigenvalues are desired (e.g., ground-state real-space quantum chemistry). Most J-D algorithm variations tend to slow down as the number of desired eigenpairs increases due to frequent orthogonalization against a growing list of solved eigenvectors. In our specification of block J-D, all of the steps of the algorithm are performed in clusters, including the linear solves, which allows us to greatly reduce computational effort with blocked matrix-vector multiplies. In addition, we move orthogonalization against locked eigenvectors and working eigenvectors outside of the inner loop but retain the single Ritz vector projection corresponding to the index of the correction vector. Furthermore, we minimize the computational effort by constraining the working subspace to the current vectors being updated and the latest set of corresponding correction vectors. Finally, we incorporate accuracy thresholds based on the precision required by the Fermi-Dirac distribution. The net result is a significant reduction in the computational effort against most previous block J-D implementations, especially as the number of wanted eigenpairs grows. We compare our approach with another robust implementation of block J-D (JDQMR) and the state-of-the-art Chebyshev filter subspace (CheFSI) method for various real-space density functional theory systems. Versus CheFSI, for first-row elements, our method yields competitive timings for valence-only systems and 4-6× speedups for all-electron systems with up to 10× reduced matrix-vector multiplies. For all-electron calculations on larger elements (e.g., gold) where the wanted spectrum is quite narrow compared to the full spectrum, we observe 60× speedup with 200× fewer matrix-vector multiples vs. CheFSI.

UMG Lenti: novel lentiviral vectors for efficient transgene- and reporter gene expression in human early hematopoietic progenitors.

PubMed

Chiarella, Emanuela; Carrà, Giovanna; Scicchitano, Stefania; Codispoti, Bruna; Mega, Tiziana; Lupia, Michela; Pelaggi, Daniela; Marafioti, Maria G; Aloisio, Annamaria; Giordano, Marco; Nappo, Giovanna; Spoleti, Cristina B; Grillone, Teresa; Giovannone, Emilia D; Spina, Raffaella; Bernaudo, Francesca; Moore, Malcolm A S; Bond, Heather M; Mesuraca, Maria; Morrone, Giovanni

2014-01-01

Lentiviral vectors are widely used to investigate the biological properties of regulatory proteins and/or of leukaemia-associated oncogenes by stably enforcing their expression in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. In these studies it is critical to be able to monitor and/or sort the infected cells, typically via fluorescent proteins encoded by the modified viral genome. The most popular strategy to ensure co-expression of transgene and reporter gene is to insert between these cDNAs an IRES element, thus generating bi-cistronic mRNAs whose transcription is driven by a single promoter. However, while the product of the gene located upstream of the IRES is generally abundantly expressed, the translation of the downstream cDNA (typically encoding the reporter protein) is often inconsistent, which hinders the detection and the isolation of transduced cells. To overcome these limitations, we developed novel lentiviral dual-promoter vectors (named UMG-LV5 and -LV6) where transgene expression is driven by the potent UBC promoter and that of the reporter protein, EGFP, by the minimal regulatory element of the WASP gene. These vectors, harboring two distinct transgenes, were tested in a variety of human haematopoietic cell lines as well as in primary human CD34+ cells in comparison with the FUIGW vector that contains the expression cassette UBC-transgene-IRES-EGFP. In these experiments both UMG-LV5 and UMG-LV6 yielded moderately lower transgene expression than FUIGW, but dramatically higher levels of EGFP, thereby allowing the easy distinction between transduced and non-transduced cells. An additional construct was produced, in which the cDNA encoding the reporter protein is upstream, and the transgene downstream of the IRES sequence. This vector, named UMG-LV11, proved able to promote abundant expression of both transgene product and EGFP in all cells tested. The UMG-LVs represent therefore useful vectors for gene transfer-based studies in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, as well as in non-hematopoietic cells.

A multicolor panel of novel lentiviral "gene ontology" (LeGO) vectors for functional gene analysis.

PubMed

Weber, Kristoffer; Bartsch, Udo; Stocking, Carol; Fehse, Boris

2008-04-01

Functional gene analysis requires the possibility of overexpression, as well as downregulation of one, or ideally several, potentially interacting genes. Lentiviral vectors are well suited for this purpose as they ensure stable expression of complementary DNAs (cDNAs), as well as short-hairpin RNAs (shRNAs), and can efficiently transduce a wide spectrum of cell targets when packaged within the coat proteins of other viruses. Here we introduce a multicolor panel of novel lentiviral "gene ontology" (LeGO) vectors designed according to the "building blocks" principle. Using a wide spectrum of different fluorescent markers, including drug-selectable enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP)- and dTomato-blasticidin-S resistance fusion proteins, LeGO vectors allow simultaneous analysis of multiple genes and shRNAs of interest within single, easily identifiable cells. Furthermore, each functional module is flanked by unique cloning sites, ensuring flexibility and individual optimization. The efficacy of these vectors for analyzing multiple genes in a single cell was demonstrated in several different cell types, including hematopoietic, endothelial, and neural stem and progenitor cells, as well as hepatocytes. LeGO vectors thus represent a valuable tool for investigating gene networks using conditional ectopic expression and knock-down approaches simultaneously.

Granular support vector machines with association rules mining for protein homology prediction.

PubMed

Tang, Yuchun; Jin, Bo; Zhang, Yan-Qing

2005-01-01

Protein homology prediction between protein sequences is one of critical problems in computational biology. Such a complex classification problem is common in medical or biological information processing applications. How to build a model with superior generalization capability from training samples is an essential issue for mining knowledge to accurately predict/classify unseen new samples and to effectively support human experts to make correct decisions. A new learning model called granular support vector machines (GSVM) is proposed based on our previous work. GSVM systematically and formally combines the principles from statistical learning theory and granular computing theory and thus provides an interesting new mechanism to address complex classification problems. It works by building a sequence of information granules and then building support vector machines (SVM) in some of these information granules on demand. A good granulation method to find suitable granules is crucial for modeling a GSVM with good performance. In this paper, we also propose an association rules-based granulation method. For the granules induced by association rules with high enough confidence and significant support, we leave them as they are because of their high "purity" and significant effect on simplifying the classification task. For every other granule, a SVM is modeled to discriminate the corresponding data. In this way, a complex classification problem is divided into multiple smaller problems so that the learning task is simplified. The proposed algorithm, here named GSVM-AR, is compared with SVM by KDDCUP04 protein homology prediction data. The experimental results show that finding the splitting hyperplane is not a trivial task (we should be careful to select the association rules to avoid overfitting) and GSVM-AR does show significant improvement compared to building one single SVM in the whole feature space. Another advantage is that the utility of GSVM-AR is very good because it is easy to be implemented. More importantly and more interestingly, GSVM provides a new mechanism to address complex classification problems.

Malaria Capacity Building in Liberia: The US Navy Joins Forces to Defeat a Deadly Foe

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 (NAMRU-3) and the Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research (LIBR) to deliver a two-week Public Health and Vector...3. This facilitated maneu- vering throughout the buildings, Figure 3: Liberians living on EBK military barracks removed their furniture and...with Liberia over four years ago, there have been enormous strides by the Liberians to turn the tide against malaria after long and brutal civil wars

Spacecraft Pointing and Position Control,

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-01

GEOSTATIONARY ELEMENTS As the classical set of Keplerian elements (a,e,i,a,Q, M ) is inappropriate for geosta- tionary orbits because the angular...instead of E., the set E + AE (34) - a - -LP(t 0 is obtained. Since the orbital element vector has to be computed for each measurement time, a simple orbit ...depends on the stiffness terms effected by kinematic coupling with the orbit rate 0o and the set gain K The x-component of the disturbance torque, this

Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Sandwich Composites.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-03-01

to the element midsurface z - z(x,y) at all points. An additional coordinate r is used to describe the distance away from the midsurface at any point...It is assumed that on the element level, the shell is shallow, so that z2 2 (56) ,y everywhere. The unit vector normal to the shell midsurface at a...relations above do not involve the orientation of the displaced midsurface normal, and, therefore, apply to arbitrarily large displacements and rotations

A high-accuracy optical linear algebra processor for finite element applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casasent, D.; Taylor, B. K.

1984-01-01

Optical linear processors are computationally efficient computers for solving matrix-matrix and matrix-vector oriented problems. Optical system errors limit their dynamic range to 30-40 dB, which limits their accuray to 9-12 bits. Large problems, such as the finite element problem in structural mechanics (with tens or hundreds of thousands of variables) which can exploit the speed of optical processors, require the 32 bit accuracy obtainable from digital machines. To obtain this required 32 bit accuracy with an optical processor, the data can be digitally encoded, thereby reducing the dynamic range requirements of the optical system (i.e., decreasing the effect of optical errors on the data) while providing increased accuracy. This report describes a new digitally encoded optical linear algebra processor architecture for solving finite element and banded matrix-vector problems. A linear static plate bending case study is described which quantities the processor requirements. Multiplication by digital convolution is explained, and the digitally encoded optical processor architecture is advanced.

Polarized Kink Waves in Magnetic Elements: Evidence for Chromospheric Helical Waves

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

Stangalini, M.; Giannattasio, F.; Erdélyi, R.

In recent years, new high spatial resolution observations of the Sun's atmosphere have revealed the presence of a plethora of small-scale magnetic elements down to the resolution limit of the current cohort of solar telescopes (∼100–120 km on the solar photosphere). These small magnetic field concentrations, due to the granular buffeting, can support and guide several magnetohydrodynamic wave modes that would eventually contribute to the energy budget of the upper layers of the atmosphere. In this work, exploiting the high spatial and temporal resolution chromospheric data acquired with the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope, and applying the empirical mode decompositionmore » technique to the tracking of the solar magnetic features, we analyze the perturbations of the horizontal velocity vector of a set of chromospheric magnetic elements. We find observational evidence that suggests a phase relation between the two components of the velocity vector itself, resulting in its helical motion.« less

Vector vortex beam generation with dolphin-shaped cell meta-surface.

PubMed

Yang, Zhuo; Kuang, Deng-Feng; Cheng, Fang

2017-09-18

We present a dolphin-shaped cell meta-surface, which is a combination of dolphin-shaped metallic cells and dielectric substrate, for vector vortex beam generation with the illumination of linearly polarized light. Surface plasmon polaritons are excited at the boundary of the metallic cells, then guided by the metallic structures, and finally squeezed to the tips to form highly localized strong electromagnetic fields, which generate the intensity of vector vortex beams at z component. Synchronously, the abrupt phase change produced by the meta-surface is utilized to explain the vortex phase generated by elements. The new kind of structure can be utilized for communication, bioscience, and materiality.

[Progress in application of targeting viral vector regulated by microRNA in gene therapy: a review].

PubMed

Zhang, Guohai; Wang, Qizhao; Zhang, Jinghong; Xu, Ruian

2010-06-01

A safe and effective targeting viral vector is the key factor for successful clinical gene therapy. microRNA, a class of small, single-stranded endogenous RNAs, act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. The discovery of these kind regulatory elements provides a new approach to regulate gene expression more accurately. In this review, we elucidated the principle of microRNA in regulation of targeting viral vector. The applications of microRNA in the fields of elimination contamination from replication competent virus, reduction of transgene-specific immunity, promotion of cancer-targeted gene therapy and development of live attenuated vaccines were also discussed.

Computational mechanics analysis tools for parallel-vector supercomputers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Storaasli, O. O.; Nguyen, D. T.; Baddourah, M. A.; Qin, J.

1993-01-01

Computational algorithms for structural analysis on parallel-vector supercomputers are reviewed. These parallel algorithms, developed by the authors, are for the assembly of structural equations, 'out-of-core' strategies for linear equation solution, massively distributed-memory equation solution, unsymmetric equation solution, general eigen-solution, geometrically nonlinear finite element analysis, design sensitivity analysis for structural dynamics, optimization algorithm and domain decomposition. The source code for many of these algorithms is available from NASA Langley.

Analytical/Experimental Investigation of Corpuscular Radiation Detectors

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-15

exchange of charged intermediate vector bosons but he could only speculate that neutral vector bosons might also contribute. Today we know from high energy...large value of the neutral-current cross section due to coherence indicates a detector would be relatively light and suggests the possibility of a...more PC (best IBM compatible with STD bus). An important element in the UBC program is possibility to use facilities of Canadian Meson Factory - Triumf

Automatic differentiation for design sensitivity analysis of structural systems using multiple processors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Duc T.; Storaasli, Olaf O.; Qin, Jiangning; Qamar, Ramzi

1994-01-01

An automatic differentiation tool (ADIFOR) is incorporated into a finite element based structural analysis program for shape and non-shape design sensitivity analysis of structural systems. The entire analysis and sensitivity procedures are parallelized and vectorized for high performance computation. Small scale examples to verify the accuracy of the proposed program and a medium scale example to demonstrate the parallel vector performance on multiple CRAY C90 processors are included.

Correction of murine Rag2 severe combined immunodeficiency by lentiviral gene therapy using a codon-optimized RAG2 therapeutic transgene.

PubMed

van Til, Niek P; de Boer, Helen; Mashamba, Nomusa; Wabik, Agnieszka; Huston, Marshall; Visser, Trudi P; Fontana, Elena; Poliani, Pietro Luigi; Cassani, Barbara; Zhang, Fang; Thrasher, Adrian J; Villa, Anna; Wagemaker, Gerard

2012-10-01

Recombination activating gene 2 (RAG2) deficiency results in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) with complete lack of T and B lymphocytes. Initial gammaretroviral gene therapy trials for other types of SCID proved effective, but also revealed the necessity of safe vector design. We report the development of lentiviral vectors with the spleen focus forming virus (SF) promoter driving codon-optimized human RAG2 (RAG2co), which improved phenotype amelioration compared to native RAG2 in Rag2(-/-) mice. With the RAG2co therapeutic transgene, T-cell receptor (TCR) and immunoglobulin repertoire, T-cell mitogen responses, plasma immunoglobulin levels and T-cell dependent and independent specific antibody responses were restored. However, the thymus double positive T-cell population remained subnormal, possibly due to the SF virus derived element being sensitive to methylation/silencing in the thymus, which was prevented by replacing the SF promoter by the previously reported silencing resistant element (ubiquitous chromatin opening element (UCOE)), and also improved B-cell reconstitution to eventually near normal levels. Weak cellular promoters were effective in T-cell reconstitution, but deficient in B-cell reconstitution. We conclude that immune functions are corrected in Rag2(-/-) mice by genetic modification of stem cells using the UCOE driven codon-optimized RAG2, providing a valid optional vector for clinical implementation.

Useful Bicistronic Reporter System for Studying Poly(A) Site-Defining cis Elements and Regulation of Alternative Polyadenylation.

PubMed

Deng, Zhongyuan; Zhang, Shen; Gu, Shaohua; Ni, Xinzhi; Zeng, Wenxian; Li, Xianchun

2018-01-17

The link between polyadenylation (pA) and various biological, behavioral, and pathological events of eukaryotes underlines the need to develop in vivo polyadenylation assay methods for characterization of the cis -acting elements, trans -acting factors and environmental stimuli that affect polyadenylation efficiency and/or relative usage of two alternative polyadenylation (APA) sites. The current protein-based CAT or luciferase reporter systems can measure the polyadenylation efficiency of a single pA site or candidate cis element but not the choice of two APA sites. To address this issue, we developed a set of four new bicistronic reporter vectors that harbor either two luciferase or fluorescence protein open reading frames connected with one Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES). Transfection of single or dual insertion constructs of these vectors into mammalian cells demonstrated that they could be utilized not only to quantify the strength of a single candidate pA site or cis element, but also to accurately measure the relative usage of two APA sites at both the mRNA (qRT-PCR) and protein levels. This represents the first reporter system that can study polyadenylation efficiency of a single pA site or element and regulation of two APA sites at both the mRNA and protein levels.

Monoclonal antibodies expression improvement in CHO cells by PiggyBac transposition regarding vectors ratios and design.

PubMed

Ahmadi, Samira; Davami, Fatemeh; Davoudi, Noushin; Nematpour, Fatemeh; Ahmadi, Maryam; Ebadat, Saeedeh; Azadmanesh, Kayhan; Barkhordari, Farzaneh; Mahboudi, Fereidoun

2017-01-01

Establishing stable Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) usually pass through the random integration of vectors to the cell genome, which is sensitive to gene silencing. One approach to overcome this issue is to target a highly transcribed region in the genome. Transposons are useful devices to target active parts of genomes, and PiggyBac (PB) transposon can be considered as a good option. In the present study, three PB transposon donor vectors containing both heavy and light chains were constructed, one contained independent expression cassettes while the others utilized either an Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) or 2A element to express mAb. Conventional cell pools were created by transferring donor vectors into the CHO cells, whereas transposon-based cells were generated by transfecting the cells with donor vectors with a companion of a transposase-encoding helper vector, with 1:2.5 helper/donor vectors ratio. To evaluate the influence of helper/donor vectors ratio on expression, the second transposon-based cell pools were generated with 1:5 helper/donor ratio. Expression levels in the transposon-based cells were two to five -folds more than those created by conventional method except for the IRES-mediated ones, in which the observed difference increased more than 100-fold. The results were dependent on both donor vector design and vectors ratios.

Monoclonal antibodies expression improvement in CHO cells by PiggyBac transposition regarding vectors ratios and design

PubMed Central

Ahmadi, Samira; Davami, Fatemeh; Davoudi, Noushin; Nematpour, Fatemeh; Ahmadi, Maryam; Ebadat, Saeedeh; Azadmanesh, Kayhan; Barkhordari, Farzaneh

2017-01-01

Establishing stable Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) usually pass through the random integration of vectors to the cell genome, which is sensitive to gene silencing. One approach to overcome this issue is to target a highly transcribed region in the genome. Transposons are useful devices to target active parts of genomes, and PiggyBac (PB) transposon can be considered as a good option. In the present study, three PB transposon donor vectors containing both heavy and light chains were constructed, one contained independent expression cassettes while the others utilized either an Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) or 2A element to express mAb. Conventional cell pools were created by transferring donor vectors into the CHO cells, whereas transposon-based cells were generated by transfecting the cells with donor vectors with a companion of a transposase-encoding helper vector, with 1:2.5 helper/donor vectors ratio. To evaluate the influence of helper/donor vectors ratio on expression, the second transposon-based cell pools were generated with 1:5 helper/donor ratio. Expression levels in the transposon-based cells were two to five -folds more than those created by conventional method except for the IRES-mediated ones, in which the observed difference increased more than 100-fold. The results were dependent on both donor vector design and vectors ratios. PMID:28662065

Lack of Humoral Immune Response to the Tetracycline (Tet) Activator in Rats Injected Intracranially with Tet-off rAAV Vectors

PubMed Central

Han, Ye; Chang, Qin A.; Virag, Tamas; West, Neva C.; George, David; Castro, Maria G.; Bohn, Martha C.

2010-01-01

The ability to safely control transgene expression from viral vectors is a long-term goal in the gene therapy field. We have previously reported tight regulation of GFP expression in rat brain using a self-regulating tet-off rAAV vector. The immune responses against tet regulatory elements observed by other groups in nonhuman primates after intramuscular injection of tet-on encoding vectors raise concerns about the clinical value of tet-regulated vectors. However, previous studies have not examined immune responses following injection of AAV vectors into brain. Therefore, rat striatum was injected with tet-off rAAV harboring a therapeutic gene for Parkinson's disease, either hAADC or hGDNF. The expression of each gene was tightly controlled by the tet-off regulatory system. Using an ELISA developed with purified GST-tTA protein, no detectable immunogenicity against tTA was observed in sera of rats that received an intrastriatal injection of either vector. In contrast, sera from rats intradermally injected with an adenovirus containing either tTA or rtTA, as positive controls, had readily detectable antibodies. These observations suggest that tet-off rAAV vectors do not elicit an immune response when injected into rat brain and that these may offer safer vectors for Parkinson's disease than vectors with constitutive expression. PMID:20164859

HFEM3D

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

Weiss, Chester J

Software solves the three-dimensional Poisson equation div(k(grad(u)) = f, by the finite element method for the case when material properties, k, are distributed over hierarchy of edges, facets and tetrahedra in the finite element mesh. Method is described in Weiss, CJ, Finite element analysis for model parameters distributed on a hierarchy of geometric simplices, Geophysics, v82, E155-167, doi:10.1190/GEO2017-0058.1 (2017). A standard finite element method for solving Poisson’s equation is augmented by including in the 3D stiffness matrix additional 2D and 1D stiffness matrices representing the contributions from material properties associated with mesh faces and edges, respectively. The resulting linear systemmore » is solved iteratively using the conjugate gradient method with Jacobi preconditioning. To minimize computer storage for program execution, the linear solver computes matrix-vector contractions element-by-element over the mesh, without explicit storage of the global stiffness matrix. Program output vtk compliant for visualization and rendering by 3rd party software. Program uses dynamic memory allocation and as such there are no hard limits on problem size outside of those imposed by the operating system and configuration on which the software is run. Dimension, N, of the finite element solution vector is constrained by the the addressable space in 32-vs-64 bit operating systems. Total storage requirements for the problem. Total working space required for the program is approximately 13*N double precision words.« less

Time-variant analysis of rotorcraft systems dynamics - An exploitation of vector processors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amirouche, F. M. L.; Xie, M.; Shareef, N. H.

1993-01-01

In this paper a generalized algorithmic procedure is presented for handling constraints in mechanical transmissions. The latter are treated as multibody systems of interconnected rigid/flexible bodies. The constraint Jacobian matrices are generated automatically and suitably updated in time, depending on the geometrical and kinematical constraint conditions describing the interconnection between shafts or gears. The type of constraints are classified based on the interconnection of the bodies by assuming that one or more points of contact exist between them. The effects due to elastic deformation of the flexible bodies are included by allowing each body element to undergo small deformations. The procedure is based on recursively formulated Kane's dynamical equations of motion and the finite element method, including the concept of geometrical stiffening effects. The method is implemented on an IBM-3090-600j vector processor with pipe-lining capabilities. A significant increase in the speed of execution is achieved by vectorizing the developed code in computationally intensive areas. An example consisting of two meshing disks rotating at high angular velocity is presented. Applications are intended for the study of the dynamic behavior of helicopter transmissions.

Outcome of capacity building intervention for malaria vector surveillance, control and research in Nigerian higher institutions.

PubMed

Oduola, Adedayo O; Obembe, Abiodun; Adelaja, Olukayode J; Adeneye, Adeniyi K; Akilah, Joel; Awolola, Taiwo S

2018-05-15

Despite the availability of effective malaria vector control intervention tools, implementation of control programmes in Nigeria is challenged by inadequate entomological surveillance data. This study was designed to assess and build the existing capacity for malaria vector surveillance, control and research (MVSC&R) in Nigerian institutions. Application call to select qualified candidates for the capacity building (CB) intervention training programme was advertised in a widely read newspaper and online platforms of national and international professional bodies. Two trainings were organized to train selected applicants on field activities, laboratory tools and techniques relevant to malaria vector surveillance and control research. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics of participants, knowledge and access of participants to field and laboratory techniques in MVSC&R. Similarly, pre and post-intervention tests were conducted to assess the performance and improvement in knowledge of the participants. Mentoring activities to sustain CB activities after the training were also carried out. A total of 23 suitable applicants were shortlisted out of the 89 applications received. The South West, South East and North Central geopolitical zones of the country had the highest applications and the highest selected number of qualified applicants compared to the South South and North East geopolitical zones. The distribution with respect to gender indicated that males (72.7%) were more than females (27.3%). Mean score of participants' knowledge of field techniques was 27.8 (± 10.8) before training and 67.7 (± 9.8) after the training. Similarly, participants' knowledge on laboratory techniques also improved from 37.4 (± 5.6) to 77.2 (± 10.8). The difference in the mean scores at pre and post-test was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Access of participants to laboratory and field tools used in MVSC&R was generally low with insecticide susceptibility bioassays and pyrethrum spray collection methods being the most significant (p < 0.05). The capacity available for vector control research and surveillance at institutional level in Nigeria is weak and require further strengthening. Increased training and access of personnel to relevant tools for MVSC&R is required in higher institutions in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Examining the impact of lahars on buildings using numerical modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mead, Stuart R.; Magill, Christina; Lemiale, Vincent; Thouret, Jean-Claude; Prakash, Mahesh

2017-05-01

Lahars are volcanic flows containing a mixture of fluid and sediment which have the potential to cause significant damage to buildings, critical infrastructure and human life. The extent of this damage is controlled by properties of the lahar, location of elements at risk and susceptibility of these elements to the lahar. Here we focus on understanding lahar-induced building damage. Quantification of building damage can be difficult due to the complexity of lahar behaviour (hazard), varying number and type of buildings exposed to the lahar (exposure) and the uncertain susceptibility of buildings to lahar impacts (vulnerability). In this paper, we quantify and examine the importance of lahar hazard, exposure and vulnerability in determining building damage with reference to a case study in the city of Arequipa, Peru. Numerical modelling is used to investigate lahar properties that are important in determining the inundation area and forces applied to buildings. Building vulnerability is quantified through the development of critical depth-pressure curves based on the ultimate bending moment of masonry structures. In the case study area, results suggest that building strength plays a minor role in determining overall building losses in comparison to the effects of building exposure and hydraulic characteristics of the lahar.

Peripheral infrastructure vectors and an extended set of plant parts for the Modular Cloning system

PubMed Central

Kretschmer, Carola; Gruetzner, Ramona; Löfke, Christian; Dagdas, Yasin; Bürstenbinder, Katharina; Marillonnet, Sylvestre

2018-01-01

Standardized DNA assembly strategies facilitate the generation of multigene constructs from collections of building blocks in plant synthetic biology. A common syntax for hierarchical DNA assembly following the Golden Gate principle employing Type IIs restriction endonucleases was recently developed, and underlies the Modular Cloning and GoldenBraid systems. In these systems, transcriptional units and/or multigene constructs are assembled from libraries of standardized building blocks, also referred to as phytobricks, in several hierarchical levels and by iterative Golden Gate reactions. Here, a toolkit containing further modules for the novel DNA assembly standards was developed. Intended for use with Modular Cloning, most modules are also compatible with GoldenBraid. Firstly, a collection of approximately 80 additional phytobricks is provided, comprising e.g. modules for inducible expression systems, promoters or epitope tags. Furthermore, DNA modules were developed for connecting Modular Cloning and Gateway cloning, either for toggling between systems or for standardized Gateway destination vector assembly. Finally, first instances of a “peripheral infrastructure” around Modular Cloning are presented: While available toolkits are designed for the assembly of plant transformation constructs, vectors were created to also use coding sequence-containing phytobricks directly in yeast two hybrid interaction or bacterial infection assays. The presented material will further enhance versatility of hierarchical DNA assembly strategies. PMID:29847550

An algorithm for targeting finite burn maneuvers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barbieri, R. W.; Wyatt, G. H.

1972-01-01

An algorithm was developed to solve the following problem: given the characteristics of the engine to be used to make a finite burn maneuver and given the desired orbit, when must the engine be ignited and what must be the orientation of the thrust vector so as to obtain the desired orbit? The desired orbit is characterized by classical elements and functions of these elements whereas the control parameters are characterized by the time to initiate the maneuver and three direction cosines which locate the thrust vector. The algorithm was built with a Monte Carlo capability whereby samples are taken from the distribution of errors associated with the estimate of the state and from the distribution of errors associated with the engine to be used to make the maneuver.

Combined group ECC protection and subgroup parity protection

DOEpatents

Gara, Alan G.; Chen, Dong; Heidelberger, Philip; Ohmacht, Martin

2013-06-18

A method and system are disclosed for providing combined error code protection and subgroup parity protection for a given group of n bits. The method comprises the steps of identifying a number, m, of redundant bits for said error protection; and constructing a matrix P, wherein multiplying said given group of n bits with P produces m redundant error correction code (ECC) protection bits, and two columns of P provide parity protection for subgroups of said given group of n bits. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the matrix P is constructed by generating permutations of m bit wide vectors with three or more, but an odd number of, elements with value one and the other elements with value zero; and assigning said vectors to rows of the matrix P.

Squaring the circle. Social and environmental implications of pre-pottery neolithic building technology at Tell Qarassa (South Syria).

PubMed

Balbo, Andrea L; Iriarte, Eneko; Arranz, Amaia; Zapata, Lydia; Lancelotti, Carla; Madella, Marco; Teira, Luis; Jiménez, Miguel; Braemer, Frank; Ibáñez, Juan José

2012-01-01

We present the results of the microstratigraphic, phytolith and wood charcoal study of the remains of a 10.5 ka roof. The roof is part of a building excavated at Tell Qarassa (South Syria), assigned to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period (PPNB). The Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) period in the Levant coincides with the emergence of farming. This fundamental change in subsistence strategy implied the shift from mobile to settled aggregated life, and from tents and huts to hard buildings. As settled life spread across the Levant, a generalised transition from round to square buildings occurred, that is a trademark of the PPNB period. The study of these buildings is fundamental for the understanding of the ever-stronger reciprocal socio-ecological relationship humans developed with the local environment since the introduction of sedentism and domestication. Descriptions of buildings in PPN archaeological contexts are usually restricted to the macroscopic observation of wooden elements (posts and beams) and mineral components (daub, plaster and stone elements). Reconstructions of microscopic and organic components are frequently based on ethnographic analogy. The direct study of macroscopic and microscopic, organic and mineral, building components performed at Tell Qarassa provides new insights on building conception, maintenance, use and destruction. These elements reflect new emerging paradigms in the relationship between Neolithic societies and the environment. A square building was possibly covered here with a radial roof, providing a glance into a topologic shift in the conception and understanding of volumes, from round-based to square-based geometries. Macroscopic and microscopic roof components indicate buildings were conceived for year-round residence rather than seasonal mobility. This implied performing maintenance and restoration of partially damaged buildings, as well as their adaptation to seasonal variability.

Squaring the Circle. Social and Environmental Implications of Pre-Pottery Neolithic Building Technology at Tell Qarassa (South Syria)

PubMed Central

Balbo, Andrea L.; Iriarte, Eneko; Arranz, Amaia; Zapata, Lydia; Lancelotti, Carla; Madella, Marco; Teira, Luis; Jiménez, Miguel; Braemer, Frank; Ibáñez, Juan José

2012-01-01

We present the results of the microstratigraphic, phytolith and wood charcoal study of the remains of a 10.5 ka roof. The roof is part of a building excavated at Tell Qarassa (South Syria), assigned to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period (PPNB). The Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) period in the Levant coincides with the emergence of farming. This fundamental change in subsistence strategy implied the shift from mobile to settled aggregated life, and from tents and huts to hard buildings. As settled life spread across the Levant, a generalised transition from round to square buildings occurred, that is a trademark of the PPNB period. The study of these buildings is fundamental for the understanding of the ever-stronger reciprocal socio-ecological relationship humans developed with the local environment since the introduction of sedentism and domestication. Descriptions of buildings in PPN archaeological contexts are usually restricted to the macroscopic observation of wooden elements (posts and beams) and mineral components (daub, plaster and stone elements). Reconstructions of microscopic and organic components are frequently based on ethnographic analogy. The direct study of macroscopic and microscopic, organic and mineral, building components performed at Tell Qarassa provides new insights on building conception, maintenance, use and destruction. These elements reflect new emerging paradigms in the relationship between Neolithic societies and the environment. A square building was possibly covered here with a radial roof, providing a glance into a topologic shift in the conception and understanding of volumes, from round-based to square-based geometries. Macroscopic and microscopic roof components indicate buildings were conceived for year-round residence rather than seasonal mobility. This implied performing maintenance and restoration of partially damaged buildings, as well as their adaptation to seasonal variability. PMID:22848723

Urbanization breaks up host-parasite interactions: a case study on parasite community ecology of rufous-bellied thrushes (Turdus rufiventris) along a rural-urban gradient.

PubMed

Calegaro-Marques, Cláudia; Amato, Suzana B

2014-01-01

Urbanization drastically alters natural ecosystems and the structure of their plant and animal communities. Whereas some species cope successfully with these environmental changes, others may go extinct. In the case of parasite communities, the expansion of urban areas has a critical effect by changing the availability of suitable substrates for the eggs or free-larval stages of those species with direct life cycles or for the range of hosts of those species with complex cycles. In this study we investigated the influence of the degree of urbanization and environmental heterogeneity on helminth richness, abundance and community structure of rufous-bellied thrushes (Turdus rufiventris) along a rural-urban gradient in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This common native bird species of southern Brazil hosts 15 endoparasite species at the study region. A total of 144 thrushes were collected with mist nets at 11 sites. The degree of urbanization and environmental heterogeneity were estimated by quantifying five landscape elements: buildings, woodlands, fields, bare lands, and water. Landscape analyses were performed at two spatial scales (10 and 100 ha) taking into account home range size and the potential dispersal distance of thrushes and their prey (intermediate hosts). Mean parasite richness showed an inverse relationship with the degree of urbanization, but a positive relationship with environmental heterogeneity. Changes in the structure of component communities along the rural-urban gradient resulted from responses to the availability of particular landscape elements that are compatible with the parasites' life cycles. We found that the replacement of natural environments with buildings breaks up host-parasite interactions, whereas a higher environmental (substrate) diversity allows the survival of a wider range of intermediate hosts and vectors and their associated parasites.

A New Suite of Plasmid Vectors for Fluorescence-Based Imaging of Root Colonizing Pseudomonads

DOE PAGES

Wilton, Rosemarie; Ahrendt, Angela J.; Shinde, Shalaka; ...

2018-02-01

In the terrestrial ecosystem, plant-microbe symbiotic associations are ecologically and economically important processes. To better understand these associations at structural and functional levels, different molecular and biochemical tools are applied. In this study, we have constructed a suite of vectors that incorporates several new elements into the rhizosphere stable, broad-host vector pME6031. The new vectors are useful for studies requiring multi-color tagging and visualization of plant-associated, Gram negative bacterial strains such as Pseudomonas plant growth promotion and biocontrol strains. A number of genetic elements, including constitutive promoters and signal peptides that target secretion to the periplasm, have been evaluated. Severalmore » next generation fluorescent proteins, namely mTurquoise2, mNeonGreen, mRuby2, DsRed-Express2 and E2-Crimson have been incorporated into the vectors for whole cell labeling or protein tagging. Secretion of mTurquoise2 and mNeonGreen into the periplasm of Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 has also been demonstrated, providing a vehicle for tagging proteins in the periplasmic compartment. A higher copy number version of select plasmids has been produced by introduction of a previously described repA mutation, affording an increase in protein expression levels. The utility of these plasmids for fluorescence-based imaging is demonstrated by root colonization of Solanum lycopersicum seedlings by P. fluorescens SBW25 in a hydroponic growth system. As a result, the plasmids are stably maintained during root colonization in the absence of selective pressure for more than two weeks.« less

A New Suite of Plasmid Vectors for Fluorescence-Based Imaging of Root Colonizing Pseudomonads

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

Wilton, Rosemarie; Ahrendt, Angela J.; Shinde, Shalaka

In the terrestrial ecosystem, plant-microbe symbiotic associations are ecologically and economically important processes. To better understand these associations at structural and functional levels, different molecular and biochemical tools are applied. In this study, we have constructed a suite of vectors that incorporates several new elements into the rhizosphere stable, broad-host vector pME6031. The new vectors are useful for studies requiring multi-color tagging and visualization of plant-associated, Gram negative bacterial strains such as Pseudomonas plant growth promotion and biocontrol strains. A number of genetic elements, including constitutive promoters and signal peptides that target secretion to the periplasm, have been evaluated. Severalmore » next generation fluorescent proteins, namely mTurquoise2, mNeonGreen, mRuby2, DsRed-Express2 and E2-Crimson have been incorporated into the vectors for whole cell labeling or protein tagging. Secretion of mTurquoise2 and mNeonGreen into the periplasm of Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 has also been demonstrated, providing a vehicle for tagging proteins in the periplasmic compartment. A higher copy number version of select plasmids has been produced by introduction of a previously described repA mutation, affording an increase in protein expression levels. The utility of these plasmids for fluorescence-based imaging is demonstrated by root colonization of Solanum lycopersicum seedlings by P. fluorescens SBW25 in a hydroponic growth system. As a result, the plasmids are stably maintained during root colonization in the absence of selective pressure for more than two weeks.« less

A small and efficient dimerization/packaging signal of rat VL30 RNA and its use in murine leukemia virus-VL30-derived vectors for gene transfer.

PubMed Central

Torrent, C; Gabus, C; Darlix, J L

1994-01-01

Retroviral genomes consist of two identical RNA molecules associated at their 5' ends by the dimer linkage structure located in the packaging element (Psi or E) necessary for RNA dimerization in vitro and packaging in vivo. In murine leukemia virus (MLV)-derived vectors designed for gene transfer, the Psi + sequence of 600 nucleotides directs the packaging of recombinant RNAs into MLV virions produced by helper cells. By using in vitro RNA dimerization as a screening system, a sequence of rat VL30 RNA located next to the 5' end of the Harvey mouse sarcoma virus genome and as small as 67 nucleotides was found to form stable dimeric RNA. In addition, a purine-rich sequence located at the 5' end of this VL30 RNA seems to be critical for RNA dimerization. When this VL30 element was extended by 107 nucleotides at its 3' end and inserted into an MLV-derived vector lacking MLV Psi +, it directed the efficient encapsidation of recombinant RNAs into MLV virions. Because this VL30 packaging signal is smaller and more efficient in packaging recombinant RNAs than the MLV Psi + and does not contain gag or glyco-gag coding sequences, its use in MLV-derived vectors should render even more unlikely recombinations which could generate replication-competent viruses. Therefore, utilization of the rat VL30 packaging sequence should improve the biological safety of MLV vectors for human gene transfer. Images PMID:8289369

Topological study of the periodic system.

PubMed

Restrepo, Guillermo; Mesa, Héber; Llanos, Eugenio J; Villaveces, José L

2004-01-01

We carried out a topological study of the Space of Chemical Elements, SCE, based on a clustering analysis of 72 elements, each one defined by a vector of 31 properties. We looked for neighborhoods, boundaries, and other topological properties of the SCE. Among the results one sees the well-known patterns of the Periodic Table and relationships such as the Singularity Principle and the Diagonal Relationship, but there appears also a robustness property of some of the better-known families of elements. Alkaline metals and Noble Gases are sets whose neighborhoods have no other elements besides themselves, whereas the topological boundary of the set of metals is formed by semimetallic elements.

Seismic performance of non-structural components and contents in buildings: an overview of NZ research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhakal, Rajesh P.; Pourali, Atefeh; Tasligedik, Ali Sahin; Yeow, Trevor; Baird, Andrew; MacRae, Gregory; Pampanin, Stefano; Palermo, Alessandro

2016-03-01

This paper summarizes the research on non-structural elements and building contents being conducted at University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Since the 2010-2011 series of Canterbury earthquakes, in which damage to non-structural components and contents contributed heavily to downtime and overall financial loss, attention to seismic performance and design of non-structural components and contents in buildings has increased exponentially in NZ. This has resulted in an increased allocation of resources to research leading to development of more resilient non-structural systems in buildings that would incur substantially less damage and cause little downtime during earthquakes. In the last few years, NZ researchers have made important developments in understanding and improving the seismic performance of secondary building elements such as partitions, facades, ceilings and contents.

Checklist of Library Building Design Considerations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sannwald, William W., Ed.; Smith, Robert S., Ed.

This checklist is designed to provide librarians, architects, and other members of a building design team with a list of questions to ask during the design phase of a new or remodeled library building project. The purpose of the questions is to make sure that no element of the building is overlooked by the building design team in their programming…

Second level semi-degenerate fields in W_3 Toda theory: matrix element and differential equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belavin, Vladimir; Cao, Xiangyu; Estienne, Benoit; Santachiara, Raoul

2017-03-01

In a recent study we considered W_3 Toda 4-point functions that involve matrix elements of a primary field with the highest-weight in the adjoint representation of sl_3 . We generalize this result by considering a semi-degenerate primary field, which has one null vector at level two. We obtain a sixth-order Fuchsian differential equation for the conformal blocks. We discuss the presence of multiplicities, the matrix elements and the fusion rules.

View of building 11180 looking southeast, showing wide eaves, eave ...

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

View of building 11180 looking southeast, showing wide eaves, eave brackets, and flared elements at sill line. - Naval Ordnance Test Station Inyokern, China Lake Pilot Plant, Office Building, Fourth Street, China Lake, Kern County, CA

BIPV: a real-time building performance study for a roof-integrated facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aaditya, Gayathri; Mani, Monto

2018-03-01

Building integrated photovoltaic system (BIPV) is a photovoltaic (PV) integration that generates energy and serves as a building envelope. A building element (e.g. roof and wall) is based on its functional performance, which could include structure, durability, maintenance, weathering, thermal insulation, acoustics, and so on. The present paper discusses the suitability of PV as a building element in terms of thermal performance based on a case study of a 5.25 kWp roof-integrated BIPV system in tropical regions. Performance of PV has been compared with conventional construction materials and various scenarios have been simulated to understand the impact on occupant comfort levels. In the current case study, PV as a roofing material has been shown to cause significant thermal discomfort to the occupants. The study has been based on real-time data monitoring supported by computer-based building simulation model.

Production and purification of lentiviral vectors generated in 293T suspension cells with baculoviral vectors.

PubMed

Lesch, H P; Laitinen, A; Peixoto, C; Vicente, T; Makkonen, K-E; Laitinen, L; Pikkarainen, J T; Samaranayake, H; Alves, P M; Carrondo, M J T; Ylä-Herttuala, S; Airenne, K J

2011-06-01

Lentivirus can be engineered to be a highly potent vector for gene therapy applications. However, generation of clinical grade vectors in enough quantities for therapeutic use is still troublesome and limits the preclinical and clinical experiments. As a first step to solve this unmet need we recently introduced a baculovirus-based production system for lentiviral vector (LV) production using adherent cells. Herein, we have adapted and optimized the production of these vectors to a suspension cell culture system using recombinant baculoviruses delivering all elements required for a safe latest generation LV preparation. High-titer LV stocks were achieved in 293T cells grown in suspension. Produced viruses were accurately characterized and the functionality was also tested in vivo. Produced viruses were compared with viruses produced by calcium phosphate transfection method in adherent cells and polyethylenimine transfection method in suspension cells. Furthermore, a scalable and cost-effective capture purification step was developed based on a diethylaminoethyl monolithic column capable of removing most of the baculoviruses from the LV pool with 65% recovery.

Project ISIAH - Experiment on the effects of micro-gravity on hornets' nest building and activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brull, Lily

1992-10-01

An Israel Space Agency Investigation About Hornets (ISIAH) aimed at determining whether hornets are capable of retaining their unique ability of orientation under microgravity conditions is described. The Oriental Hornets used in the experiment are capable of building combs in the direction of the gravitational vector and detecting minute changes in gravitational force. Data obtained may be used to facilitate human adaptation to space conditions as well as rehabilitation after returning to earth.

A Performance Evaluation of the Cray X1 for Scientific Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliker, Leonid; Biswas, Rupak; Borrill, Julian; Canning, Andrew; Carter, Jonathan; Djomehri, M. Jahed; Shan, Hongzhang; Skinner, David

2003-01-01

The last decade has witnessed a rapid proliferation of superscalar cache-based microprocessors to build high-end capability and capacity computers because of their generality, scalability, and cost effectiveness. However, the recent development of massively parallel vector systems is having a significant effect on the supercomputing landscape. In this paper, we compare the performance of the recently-released Cray X1 vector system with that of the cacheless NEC SX-6 vector machine, and the superscalar cache-based IBM Power3 and Power4 architectures for scientific applications. Overall results demonstrate that the X1 is quite promising, but performance improvements are expected as the hardware, systems software, and numerical libraries mature. Code reengineering to effectively utilize the complex architecture may also lead to significant efficiency enhancements.

Analysis of the Three-Dimensional Vector FAÇADE Model Created from Photogrammetric Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamnev, I. S.; Seredovich, V. A.

2017-12-01

The results of the accuracy assessment analysis for creation of a three-dimensional vector model of building façade are described. In the framework of the analysis, analytical comparison of three-dimensional vector façade models created by photogrammetric and terrestrial laser scanning data has been done. The three-dimensional model built from TLS point clouds was taken as the reference one. In the course of the experiment, the three-dimensional model to be analyzed was superimposed on the reference one, the coordinates were measured and deviations between the same model points were determined. The accuracy estimation of the three-dimensional model obtained by using non-metric digital camera images was carried out. Identified façade surface areas with the maximum deviations were revealed.

Students’ Relational Thinking of Impulsive and Reflective in Solving Mathematical Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satriawan, M. A.; Budiarto, M. T.; Siswono, T. Y. E.

2018-01-01

This is a descriptive research which qualitatively investigates students’ relational thinking of impulsive and reflective cognitive style in solving mathematical problem. The method used in this research are test and interview. The data analyzed by reducing, presenting and concluding the data. The results of research show that the students’ reflective cognitive style can possibly help to find out important elements in understanding a problem. Reading more than one is useful to identify what is being questioned and write the information which is known, building relation in every element and connecting information with arithmetic operation, connecting between what is being questioned with known information, making equation model to find out the value by using substitution, and building a connection on re-checking, re-reading, and re-counting. The impulsive students’ cognitive style supports important elements in understanding problems, building a connection in every element, connecting information with arithmetic operation, building a relation about a problem comprehensively by connecting between what is being questioned with known information, finding out the unknown value by using arithmetic operation without making any equation model. The result of re-checking problem solving, impulsive student was only reading at glance without re-counting the result of problem solving.

Fundamental Principles of Classical Mechanics: a Geometrical Perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lam, Kai S.

2014-07-01

Classical mechanics is the quantitative study of the laws of motion for oscopic physical systems with mass. The fundamental laws of this subject, known as Newton's Laws of Motion, are expressed in terms of second-order differential equations governing the time evolution of vectors in a so-called configuration space of a system (see Chapter 12). In an elementary setting, these are usually vectors in 3-dimensional Euclidean space, such as position vectors of point particles; but typically they can be vectors in higher dimensional and more abstract spaces. A general knowledge of the mathematical properties of vectors, not only in their most intuitive incarnations as directed arrows in physical space but as elements of abstract linear vector spaces, and those of linear operators (transformations) on vector spaces as well, is then indispensable in laying the groundwork for both the physical and the more advanced mathematical - more precisely topological and geometrical - concepts that will prove to be vital in our subject. In this beginning chapter we will review these properties, and introduce the all-important related notions of dual spaces and tensor products of vector spaces. The notational convention for vectorial and tensorial indices used for the rest of this book (except when otherwise specified) will also be established...

All-fiber polarization locked vector soliton laser using carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Mou, C; Sergeyev, S; Rozhin, A; Turistyn, S

2011-10-01

We report an all-fiber mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) employing carbon nanotube (CNT) polymer composite film. By using only standard telecom grade components, without any complex polarization control elements in the laser cavity, we have demonstrated polarization locked vector solitons generation with duration of ~583 fs, average power of ~3 mW (pulse energy of 118 pJ) at the repetition rate of ~25.7 MHz. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Methods for Gene Transfer to the Central Nervous System

PubMed Central

Kantor, Boris; Bailey, Rachel M.; Wimberly, Keon; Kalburgi, Sahana N.; Gray, Steven J.

2015-01-01

Gene transfer is an increasingly utilized approach for research and clinical applications involving the central nervous system (CNS). Vectors for gene transfer can be as simple as an unmodified plasmid, but more commonly involve complex modifications to viruses to make them suitable gene delivery vehicles. This chapter will explain how tools for CNS gene transfer have been derived from naturally occurring viruses. The current capabilities of plasmid, retroviral, adeno-associated virus, adenovirus, and herpes simplex virus vectors for CNS gene delivery will be described. These include both focal and global CNS gene transfer strategies, with short- or long-term gene expression. As is described in this chapter, an important aspect of any vector is the cis-acting regulatory elements incorporated into the vector genome that control when, where, and how the transgene is expressed. PMID:25311922

Fault Detection of Bearing Systems through EEMD and Optimization Algorithm

PubMed Central

Lee, Dong-Han; Ahn, Jong-Hyo; Koh, Bong-Hwan

2017-01-01

This study proposes a fault detection and diagnosis method for bearing systems using ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) based feature extraction, in conjunction with particle swarm optimization (PSO), principal component analysis (PCA), and Isomap. First, a mathematical model is assumed to generate vibration signals from damaged bearing components, such as the inner-race, outer-race, and rolling elements. The process of decomposing vibration signals into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and extracting statistical features is introduced to develop a damage-sensitive parameter vector. Finally, PCA and Isomap algorithm are used to classify and visualize this parameter vector, to separate damage characteristics from healthy bearing components. Moreover, the PSO-based optimization algorithm improves the classification performance by selecting proper weightings for the parameter vector, to maximize the visualization effect of separating and grouping of parameter vectors in three-dimensional space. PMID:29143772

Generating and executing programs for a floating point single instruction multiple data instruction set architecture

DOEpatents

Gschwind, Michael K

2013-04-16

Mechanisms for generating and executing programs for a floating point (FP) only single instruction multiple data (SIMD) instruction set architecture (ISA) are provided. A computer program product comprising a computer recordable medium having a computer readable program recorded thereon is provided. The computer readable program, when executed on a computing device, causes the computing device to receive one or more instructions and execute the one or more instructions using logic in an execution unit of the computing device. The logic implements a floating point (FP) only single instruction multiple data (SIMD) instruction set architecture (ISA), based on data stored in a vector register file of the computing device. The vector register file is configured to store both scalar and floating point values as vectors having a plurality of vector elements.

Stochastic landslide vulnerability modeling in space and time in a part of the northern Himalayas, India.

PubMed

Das, Iswar; Kumar, Gaurav; Stein, Alfred; Bagchi, Arunabha; Dadhwal, Vinay K

2011-07-01

Little is known about the quantitative vulnerability analysis to landslides as not many attempts have been made to assess it comprehensively. This study assesses the spatio-temporal vulnerability of elements at risk to landslides in a stochastic framework. The study includes buildings, persons inside buildings, and traffic as elements at risk to landslides. Building vulnerability is the expected damage and depends on the position of a building with respect to the landslide hazard at a given time. Population and vehicle vulnerability are the expected death toll in a building and vehicle damage in space and time respectively. The study was carried out in a road corridor in the Indian Himalayas that is highly susceptible to landslides. Results showed that 26% of the buildings fall in the high and very high vulnerability categories. Population vulnerability inside buildings showed a value >0.75 during 0800 to 1000 hours and 1600 to 1800 hours in more buildings that other times of the day. It was also observed in the study region that the vulnerability of vehicle is above 0.6 in half of the road stretches during 0800 hours to 1000 hours and 1600 to 1800 hours due to high traffic density on the road section. From this study, we conclude that the vulnerability of an element at risk to landslide is a space and time event, and can be quantified using stochastic modeling. Therefore, the stochastic vulnerability modeling forms the basis for a quantitative landslide risk analysis and assessment.

Constructive systems, load-bearing and enclosing structures of high-rise buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anatol'evna Korol', Elena; Olegovna Kustikova, Yuliya

2018-03-01

As the height of the building increases, loads on load-carrying structures increase dramatically, and as a result of the development of high-rise construction, several structural systems of such buildings have been developed: frame, frame-frame, cross-wall, barrel, box-type, box-to-wall ("pipe in pipe", "Trumpet in the farm"), etc. In turn, the barrel systems have their own versions: cantilever support of the ceilings on the trunk, suspension of the outer part of the overlap to the upper carrying console "hanging house" or its support by means of the walls on the lower bearing cantilever, intermediate position of the supporting cantilevers in height to the floor, from a part of floors. The object of the study are the structural solutions of high-rise buildings. The subject of the study is the layout of structural schemes of high-rise buildings, taking into account the main parameters - altitude (height), natural climatic conditions of construction, materials of structural elements and their physical and mechanical characteristics. The purpose of the study is to identify the features and systematization of structural systems of high-rise buildings and the corresponding structural elements. The results of the research make it possible, at the stage of making design decisions, to establish rational parameters for the correspondence between the structural systems of high-rise buildings and their individual elements.

Classifying machinery condition using oil samples and binary logistic regression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, J.; Cripps, E.; Lau, John W.; Hodkiewicz, M. R.

2015-08-01

The era of big data has resulted in an explosion of condition monitoring information. The result is an increasing motivation to automate the costly and time consuming human elements involved in the classification of machine health. When working with industry it is important to build an understanding and hence some trust in the classification scheme for those who use the analysis to initiate maintenance tasks. Typically "black box" approaches such as artificial neural networks (ANN) and support vector machines (SVM) can be difficult to provide ease of interpretability. In contrast, this paper argues that logistic regression offers easy interpretability to industry experts, providing insight to the drivers of the human classification process and to the ramifications of potential misclassification. Of course, accuracy is of foremost importance in any automated classification scheme, so we also provide a comparative study based on predictive performance of logistic regression, ANN and SVM. A real world oil analysis data set from engines on mining trucks is presented and using cross-validation we demonstrate that logistic regression out-performs the ANN and SVM approaches in terms of prediction for healthy/not healthy engines.

Learning a Mahalanobis Distance-Based Dynamic Time Warping Measure for Multivariate Time Series Classification.

PubMed

Mei, Jiangyuan; Liu, Meizhu; Wang, Yuan-Fang; Gao, Huijun

2016-06-01

Multivariate time series (MTS) datasets broadly exist in numerous fields, including health care, multimedia, finance, and biometrics. How to classify MTS accurately has become a hot research topic since it is an important element in many computer vision and pattern recognition applications. In this paper, we propose a Mahalanobis distance-based dynamic time warping (DTW) measure for MTS classification. The Mahalanobis distance builds an accurate relationship between each variable and its corresponding category. It is utilized to calculate the local distance between vectors in MTS. Then we use DTW to align those MTS which are out of synchronization or with different lengths. After that, how to learn an accurate Mahalanobis distance function becomes another key problem. This paper establishes a LogDet divergence-based metric learning with triplet constraint model which can learn Mahalanobis matrix with high precision and robustness. Furthermore, the proposed method is applied on nine MTS datasets selected from the University of California, Irvine machine learning repository and Robert T. Olszewski's homepage, and the results demonstrate the improved performance of the proposed approach.

Eckart frame vibration-rotation Hamiltonians: Contravariant metric tensor

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

Pesonen, Janne, E-mail: janne.pesonen@helsinki.fi

2014-02-21

Eckart frame is a unique embedding in the theory of molecular vibrations and rotations. It is defined by the condition that the Coriolis coupling of the reference structure of the molecule is zero for every choice of the shape coordinates. It is far from trivial to set up Eckart kinetic energy operators (KEOs), when the shape of the molecule is described by curvilinear coordinates. In order to obtain the KEO, one needs to set up the corresponding contravariant metric tensor. Here, I derive explicitly the Eckart frame rotational measuring vectors. Their inner products with themselves give the rotational elements, andmore » their inner products with the vibrational measuring vectors (which, in the absence of constraints, are the mass-weighted gradients of the shape coordinates) give the Coriolis elements of the contravariant metric tensor. The vibrational elements are given as the inner products of the vibrational measuring vectors with themselves, and these elements do not depend on the choice of the body-frame. The present approach has the advantage that it does not depend on any particular choice of the shape coordinates, but it can be used in conjunction with all shape coordinates. Furthermore, it does not involve evaluation of covariant metric tensors, chain rules of derivation, or numerical differentiation, and it can be easily modified if there are constraints on the shape of the molecule. Both the planar and non-planar reference structures are accounted for. The present method is particular suitable for numerical work. Its computational implementation is outlined in an example, where I discuss how to evaluate vibration-rotation energies and eigenfunctions of a general N-atomic molecule, the shape of which is described by a set of local polyspherical coordinates.« less

Irregular-Mesh Terrain Analysis and Incident Solar Radiation for Continuous Hydrologic Modeling in Mountain Watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno, H. A.; Ogden, F. L.; Alvarez, L. V.

2016-12-01

This research work presents a methodology for estimating terrain slope degree, aspect (slope orientation) and total incoming solar radiation from Triangular Irregular Network (TIN) terrain models. The algorithm accounts for self shading and cast shadows, sky view fractions for diffuse radiation, remote albedo and atmospheric backscattering, by using a vectorial approach within a topocentric coordinate system and establishing geometric relations between groups of TIN elements and the sun position. A normal vector to the surface of each TIN element describes slope and aspect while spherical trigonometry allows computingunit vector defining the position of the sun at each hour and day of the year. Thus, a dot product determines the radiation flux at each TIN element. Cast shadows are computed by scanning the projection of groups of TIN elements in the direction of the closest perpendicular plane to the sun vector only in the visible horizon range. Sky view fractions are computed by a simplified scanning algorithm from the highest to the lowest triangles along prescribed directions and visible distances, useful to determine diffuse radiation. Finally, remotealbedo is computed from the sky view fraction complementary functions for prescribed albedo values of the surrounding terrain only for significant angles above the horizon. The sensitivity of the different radiative components is tested a in a moutainuous watershed in Wyoming, to seasonal changes in weather and surrounding albedo (snow). This methodology represents an improvement on the current algorithms to compute terrain and radiation values on triangular-based models in an accurate and efficient manner. All terrain-related features (e.g. slope, aspect, sky view fraction) can be pre-computed and stored for easy access for a subsequent, progressive-in-time, numerical simulation.

Curvilinear steel elements in load-bearing structures of high-rise building spatial frames

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibragimov, Alexander; Danilov, Alexander

2018-03-01

The application of curvilinear elements in load-bearing metal structures of high-rise buildings supposes ensuring of their bearing capacity and serviceability. There may exist a great variety of shapes and orientations of such structural elements. In particular, it may be various flat curves of an open or closed oval profile such as circular or parabolic arch or ellipse. The considered approach implies creating vast internal volumes without loss in the load-bearing capacity of the frame. The basic concept makes possible a wide variety of layout and design solutions. The presence of free internal spaces of large volume in "skyscraper" type buildings contributes to resolving a great number of problems, including those of communicative nature. The calculation results confirm the basic assumptions.

A linear programming manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tuey, R. C.

1972-01-01

Computer solutions of linear programming problems are outlined. Information covers vector spaces, convex sets, and matrix algebra elements for solving simultaneous linear equations. Dual problems, reduced cost analysis, ranges, and error analysis are illustrated.

A discriminative method for protein remote homology detection and fold recognition combining Top-n-grams and latent semantic analysis.

PubMed

Liu, Bin; Wang, Xiaolong; Lin, Lei; Dong, Qiwen; Wang, Xuan

2008-12-01

Protein remote homology detection and fold recognition are central problems in bioinformatics. Currently, discriminative methods based on support vector machine (SVM) are the most effective and accurate methods for solving these problems. A key step to improve the performance of the SVM-based methods is to find a suitable representation of protein sequences. In this paper, a novel building block of proteins called Top-n-grams is presented, which contains the evolutionary information extracted from the protein sequence frequency profiles. The protein sequence frequency profiles are calculated from the multiple sequence alignments outputted by PSI-BLAST and converted into Top-n-grams. The protein sequences are transformed into fixed-dimension feature vectors by the occurrence times of each Top-n-gram. The training vectors are evaluated by SVM to train classifiers which are then used to classify the test protein sequences. We demonstrate that the prediction performance of remote homology detection and fold recognition can be improved by combining Top-n-grams and latent semantic analysis (LSA), which is an efficient feature extraction technique from natural language processing. When tested on superfamily and fold benchmarks, the method combining Top-n-grams and LSA gives significantly better results compared to related methods. The method based on Top-n-grams significantly outperforms the methods based on many other building blocks including N-grams, patterns, motifs and binary profiles. Therefore, Top-n-gram is a good building block of the protein sequences and can be widely used in many tasks of the computational biology, such as the sequence alignment, the prediction of domain boundary, the designation of knowledge-based potentials and the prediction of protein binding sites.

Generation of arbitrary vector beams with liquid crystal polarization converters and vector-photoaligned q-plates

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

Chen, Peng; Ji, Wei; Wei, Bing-Yan

Arbitrary vector beams (VBs) are realized by the designed polarization converters and corresponding vector-photoaligned q-plates. The polarization converter is a specific twisted nematic cell with one substrate homogeneously aligned and the other space-variantly aligned. By combining a polarization-sensitive alignment agent with a dynamic micro-lithography system, various categories of liquid crystal polarization converters are demonstrated. Besides, traditional radially/azimuthally polarized light, high-order and multi-ringed VBs, and a VB array with different orders are generated. The obtained converters are further utilized as polarization masks to implement vector-photoaligning. The technique facilitates both the volume duplication of these converters and the generation of another promisingmore » optical element, the q-plate, which is suitable for the generation of VBs for coherent lasers. The combination of proposed polarization converters and correspondingly fabricated q-plates would drastically enhance the capability of polarization control and may bring more possibilities for the design of photonic devices.« less

Intramuscular injection of AAV8 in mice and macaques is associated with substantial hepatic targeting and transgene expression.

PubMed

Greig, Jenny A; Peng, Hui; Ohlstein, Jason; Medina-Jaszek, C Angelica; Ahonkhai, Omua; Mentzinger, Anne; Grant, Rebecca L; Roy, Soumitra; Chen, Shu-Jen; Bell, Peter; Tretiakova, Anna P; Wilson, James M

2014-01-01

Intramuscular (IM) administration of adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors has entered the early stages of clinical development with some success, including the first approved gene therapy product in the West called Glybera. In preparation for broader clinical development of IM AAV vector gene therapy, we conducted detailed pre-clinical studies in mice and macaques evaluating aspects of delivery that could affect performance. We found that following IM administration of AAV8 vectors in mice, a portion of the vector reached the liver and hepatic gene expression contributed significantly to total expression of secreted transgenes. The contribution from liver could be controlled by altering injection volume and by the use of traditional (promoter) and non-traditional (tissue-specific microRNA target sites) expression control elements. Hepatic distribution of vector following IM injection was also noted in rhesus macaques. These pre-clinical data on AAV delivery should inform safe and efficient development of future AAV products.

Electric fields and vector potentials of thin cylindrical antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, Ronold W. P.

1990-09-01

The vector potential and electric field generated by the current in a center-driven or parasitic dipole antenna that extends from z = -h to z = h are investigated for each of the several components of the current. These include sin k(h - absolute value of z), sin k (absolute value of z) - sin kh, cos kz - cos kh, and cos kz/2 - cos kh/2. Of special interest are the interactions among the variously spaced elements in parallel nonstaggered arrays. These depend on the mutual vector potentials. It is shown that at a radial distance rho approximately = h and in the range z = -h to h, the vector potentials due to all four components become alike and have an approximately plane-wave form. Simple approximate formulas for the electric fields and vector potentials generated by each of the four distributions are derived and compared with the exact results. The application of the new formulas to large arrays is discussed.

[Comparison of classical 2D measurement of scoliosis and 3D measurement using vertebral vectors; advantages for prognosis and treatment evaluation].

PubMed

Illés, Tamás

2011-03-01

The EOS system is a new medical imaging device based on low-dose X-rays, gaseous detectors and dedicated software for 3D reconstruction. It was developed by Nobel prizewinner Georges Charpak. A new concept--the vertebral vector--is used to facilitate the interpretation of EOS data, especially in the horizontal plane. We studied 95 cases of idiopathic scoliosis before and after surgery by means of classical methods and using vertebral vectors, in order to compare the accuracy of the two approaches. The vertebral vector permits simultaneous analysis of the scoliotic curvature in the frontal, sagittal and horizontal planes, as precisely as classical methods. The use of the vertebral vector simplifies and facilitates the interpretation of the mass of information provided by EOS. After analyzing the horizontal data, the first goal of corrective intervention would be to reduce the lateral vertebral deviation. The reduction in vertebral rotation seems less important. This is a new element in the therapeutic management of spinal deformations.

A 5′ Noncoding Exon Containing Engineered Intron Enhances Transgene Expression from Recombinant AAV Vectors in vivo

PubMed Central

Lu, Jiamiao; Williams, James A.; Luke, Jeremy; Zhang, Feijie; Chu, Kirk; Kay, Mark A.

2017-01-01

We previously developed a mini-intronic plasmid (MIP) expression system in which the essential bacterial elements for plasmid replication and selection are placed within an engineered intron contained within a universal 5′ UTR noncoding exon. Like minicircle DNA plasmids (devoid of bacterial backbone sequences), MIP plasmids overcome transcriptional silencing of the transgene. However, in addition MIP plasmids increase transgene expression by 2 and often >10 times higher than minicircle vectors in vivo and in vitro. Based on these findings, we examined the effects of the MIP intronic sequences in a recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector system. Recombinant AAV vectors containing an intron with a bacterial replication origin and bacterial selectable marker increased transgene expression by 40 to 100 times in vivo when compared with conventional AAV vectors. Therefore, inclusion of this noncoding exon/intron sequence upstream of the coding region can substantially enhance AAV-mediated gene expression in vivo. PMID:27903072

Design and construction of targeted AAVP vectors for mammalian cell transduction.

PubMed

Hajitou, Amin; Rangel, Roberto; Trepel, Martin; Soghomonyan, Suren; Gelovani, Juri G; Alauddin, Mian M; Pasqualini, Renata; Arap, Wadih

2007-01-01

Bacteriophage (phage) evolved as bacterial viruses, but can be adapted to transduce mammalian cells through ligand-directed targeting to a specific receptor. We have recently reported a new generation of hybrid prokaryotic-eukaryotic vectors, which are chimeras of genetic cis-elements of recombinant adeno-associated virus and phage (termed AAVP). This protocol describes the design and construction of ligand-directed AAVP vectors, production of AAVP particles and the methodology to transduce mammalian cells in vitro and to target tissues in vivo after systemic administration. Targeted AAVP particles are made in a two-step process. First, a ligand peptide of choice is displayed on the coat protein to generate a targeted backbone phage vector. Then, a recombinant AAV carrying a mammalian transgene cassette is inserted into an intergenomic region. High-titer suspensions (approximately 10(10)-10(11) transducing units per microl) can be produced within 3 days after vector construction. Transgene expression by targeted AAVP usually reaches maximum levels within 1 week.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: An Automated Procedure to Obtain Coil-specific Models for Field Calculations.

PubMed

Madsen, Kristoffer H; Ewald, Lars; Siebner, Hartwig R; Thielscher, Axel

2015-01-01

Field calculations for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are increasingly implemented online in neuronavigation systems and in more realistic offline approaches based on finite-element methods. They are often based on simplified and/or non-validated models of the magnetic vector potential of the TMS coils. To develop an approach to reconstruct the magnetic vector potential based on automated measurements. We implemented a setup that simultaneously measures the three components of the magnetic field with high spatial resolution. This is complemented by a novel approach to determine the magnetic vector potential via volume integration of the measured field. The integration approach reproduces the vector potential with very good accuracy. The vector potential distribution of a standard figure-of-eight shaped coil determined with our setup corresponds well with that calculated using a model reconstructed from x-ray images. The setup can supply validated models for existing and newly appearing TMS coils. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nonstructural damages of reinforced concrete buildings due to 2015 Ranau earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adiyanto, Mohd Irwan; Majid, Taksiah A.; Nazri, Fadzli Mohamed

2017-07-01

On 15th June 2016 a moderate earthquake with magnitude Mw5.9 was occurred in Sabah, Malaysia. Specifically, the epicentre was located at 16 km northwest of Ranau. Less than two days after the first event, a reconnaissance mission took action to investigate the damages on buildings. Since the reinforced concrete buildings in Ranau were designed based on gravity and wind load only, a lot of minor to severe damages was occurred. This paper presents the damages on the nonstructural elements of reinforced concrete buildings due to Ranau earthquake. The assessment was conducted via in-situ field investigation covering the visual observation, taking photo, and interview with local resident. Based on in-situ field investigation, there was a lot of damages occurred on the nonstructural elements like the brick walls. Such damages cannot be neglected since it can cause injury and fatality to the victims. Therefore, it can be concluded that the installation of nonstructural elements should be reviewed for the sake of safety.

Materials, used in historical buildings, analysis methods and solutions puroposals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Döndüren, M. Sami; Sişik, Ozlem

2017-10-01

Most of historical buildings are built with pressure principle and have the characteristics of masonry structures. Therefore, the structure components of buildings are constituted bearing walls, columns, buttresses, vaults and domes. Natural stone, cut stone, rubble stone brick or alternate materials were used in the bearing elements. Brick-dust and mortar with more binding feature were used as combination elements. In time, some problems were occurred in used materials and in structure as a result of various effects. Therefore, it is necessary to apply various applications in framework of repair and strengthening of buildings. In this study, restoration of historic buildings and the control of the adequacy of the bearing systems as one most important part of structure were examined. For this purpose, static analysis of Edirne-Merkez Demirtaş (Timurtaş) mosque located in Edirne was tested. Testes could give suggestions and be applied if buildings needed be revealed. The structure was modelled with finite element model of sap2000 package program and the forces generated under various loads and stresses, the occurred deformation due to that, overflow of allowable stress of this deformation and stresses were investigated. As the results of this study can be note that the maximum compressive stress at the construction is calculated as 1.1 MPa.

A Preliminary Study to Forecast Japanese Encephalitis Vector Abundance in Paddy Growing Area, with the Aid of Radar Satellite Images.

PubMed

Raju, K Hari Kishan; Sabesan, Shanmugavelu; Rajavel, Aladu Ramakrishnan; Subramanian, Swaminathan; Natarajan, Ramalingam; Thenmozhi, Velayutham; Tyagi, Brij Kishore; Jambulingam, Purushothaman

2016-02-01

Vector mosquitoes of Japanese encephalitis (JE) breed mostly in rice fields, and human cases occur scattered over extended rural rice-growing areas. From this, one may surmise an ecological connection with the irrigation facilities and paddy cultivation. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that a particular stage of paddy growth is a premonitory sign that can lead to a markedly increased population of the vector mosquitoes. The present study aimed to forecast the vector abundance by monitoring the paddy growth using remote sensing and geographical information systems. The abundance of the JE vector Culex tritaeniorhynchus peaked when the paddy crop was at its heading stage and dipped when the crop reached the maturing stage. A significant positive correlation was observed between paddy growth and adult density (r = 0.73, p < 0.008). The sigma naught values (σ0) derived from satellite images of paddy fields ranged from -18.3 (during transplantation stage) to approximately -10 (during the noncultivation period). A significant positive correlation was observed between σ0 and paddy growth stages (r = 0.87, p < 0.05) and adult vector density (r = 0.74, p = 0.04). The σ0 value observed during the vegetative and flowering stages of paddy growth ranged from -17.6 to -17.16, at which period the vector density started building up. This could be the spectral signature that denotes the "risk," following which a high vector abundance is expected during heading stage of the paddy.

Applicability and economic efficiency of earthquake retrofit measures on existing buildings in Bucharest, Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bostenaru, M.

2009-04-01

The research discussed in this contribution contains two aspects: on one side the economic efficiency of seismic retrofit measures, and on the other their applicability. The research was limited to housing buildings. Bucharest, the capital of Romania, was the object of the research. Strong earthquakes affect Bucharest about three times in a century, the damaging earthquakes of the 20th century being in 1940 and 1977. Other strong earthquakes occurred in 1986 and 1990. Since it is a broad topic, first the building type was determined, which should serve further research. For this scope the building types of the 20th century, which are common in Bucharest, Romania, were investigated. For each building type reports have been written, which comprised the earthquake resilient features, the seismic defficiencies, the damage patterns and the retrofit measures. Each of these features was listed for elements of the building. A first result of the research was an integrated system in order to include latter aspects in the planning in the first steps. So already at the building survey attention has to be paid on how a building is subdivided in order to be able to determine the economic efficiency of the planned action. So were defined the `retrofit elements`. In a first step the characteristics were defined, through which these retrofit elements (for example column, wall part between two windows) can be recognised in the building survey. In a further one, which retrofit measures can be connected to these. Diagrams were built, in order to visualise these findings. For each retrofit element and the corresponding measure the costs were calculated. Also, these retrofit elements and the measures connected to them were modelled for the simulation with the structural software, so that the benefit of the measures could be determined. In the part which regarded the economic efficiency, benefits and costs of retrofit measures had to be compared, so the improvement in the rigidity, ductility and/or strength of the structure at different retrofit measures with its costs. In order to investigate the improvement in the seismic characteristics numerous simulations of the earthquake impact on reinforced concrete frame buildings were conducted and in that context conventional strengthening measures with reinforced concrete and steel were considered. In these reinforced concrete frame buildings interwar buildings from Bucharest were modelled, as these proved to be the most vulnerable in the initial investigation. For the investigation of the economic efficiency also the damages through earthquakes were simulated. With help of a characteristic of the software used so called performance points could be set, so at the end of the simulation it could be seen how strongly was damaged the steel and respectively the concrete in the reinforced concrete element and so was conducted a classification of the strength of the damages in different retrofit elements. These simulations were done for the 1977, 1986 and 1990 earthquakes, as for these the strong motion records were digitally available. For two simple models alternatives of retrofit actions and their locations were fully simulated, while for real building models customised retrofit strategies considering more retrofit elements within the strategy were employed. To the benefit belong not only the improvement of the structural behaviour, as often assumed in earthquake engineering circles. There belong also aesthetical and sociologic aspects. In order to give these aspects their rights, a decision tree was developed, in which the actors are the engineer, the architect, the investor and the user. The retrofit measures were evaluated with two different decision systems. This was the part about the applicability. Further research would serve to see how can be used the developed method for the strategic planning, in which not only single buildings but whole urban areas build the object. The research was funded by the Research Training Network 450 "Natural Disasters" supported by the DFG (German Research Network), 2000-2004 while the result was published with support from a subsequent research project of the author, CA'REDIVIVUS, which continued the research, supported by the European Commission, in 2006.

Protein Kinase Classification with 2866 Hidden Markov Models and One Support Vector Machine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, Ryan; New, Michael H.; Fonda, Mark (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The main application considered in this paper is predicting true kinases from randomly permuted kinases that share the same length and amino acid distributions as the true kinases. Numerous methods already exist for this classification task, such as HMMs, motif-matchers, and sequence comparison algorithms. We build on some of these efforts by creating a vector from the output of thousands of structurally based HMMs, created offline with Pfam-A seed alignments using SAM-T99, which then must be combined into an overall classification for the protein. Then we use a Support Vector Machine for classifying this large ensemble Pfam-Vector, with a polynomial and chisquared kernel. In particular, the chi-squared kernel SVM performs better than the HMMs and better than the BLAST pairwise comparisons, when predicting true from false kinases in some respects, but no one algorithm is best for all purposes or in all instances so we consider the particular strengths and weaknesses of each.

Algorithms for solving large sparse systems of simultaneous linear equations on vector processors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

David, R. E.

1984-01-01

Very efficient algorithms for solving large sparse systems of simultaneous linear equations have been developed for serial processing computers. These involve a reordering of matrix rows and columns in order to obtain a near triangular pattern of nonzero elements. Then an LU factorization is developed to represent the matrix inverse in terms of a sequence of elementary Gaussian eliminations, or pivots. In this paper it is shown how these algorithms are adapted for efficient implementation on vector processors. Results obtained on the CYBER 200 Model 205 are presented for a series of large test problems which show the comparative advantages of the triangularization and vector processing algorithms.

Design of 2D time-varying vector fields.

PubMed

Chen, Guoning; Kwatra, Vivek; Wei, Li-Yi; Hansen, Charles D; Zhang, Eugene

2012-10-01

Design of time-varying vector fields, i.e., vector fields that can change over time, has a wide variety of important applications in computer graphics. Existing vector field design techniques do not address time-varying vector fields. In this paper, we present a framework for the design of time-varying vector fields, both for planar domains as well as manifold surfaces. Our system supports the creation and modification of various time-varying vector fields with desired spatial and temporal characteristics through several design metaphors, including streamlines, pathlines, singularity paths, and bifurcations. These design metaphors are integrated into an element-based design to generate the time-varying vector fields via a sequence of basis field summations or spatial constrained optimizations at the sampled times. The key-frame design and field deformation are also introduced to support other user design scenarios. Accordingly, a spatial-temporal constrained optimization and the time-varying transformation are employed to generate the desired fields for these two design scenarios, respectively. We apply the time-varying vector fields generated using our design system to a number of important computer graphics applications that require controllable dynamic effects, such as evolving surface appearance, dynamic scene design, steerable crowd movement, and painterly animation. Many of these are difficult or impossible to achieve via prior simulation-based methods. In these applications, the time-varying vector fields have been applied as either orientation fields or advection fields to control the instantaneous appearance or evolving trajectories of the dynamic effects.

Building a computer program to support children, parents, and distraction during healthcare procedures.

PubMed

Hanrahan, Kirsten; McCarthy, Ann Marie; Kleiber, Charmaine; Ataman, Kaan; Street, W Nick; Zimmerman, M Bridget; Ersig, Anne L

2012-10-01

This secondary data analysis used data mining methods to develop predictive models of child risk for distress during a healthcare procedure. Data used came from a study that predicted factors associated with children's responses to an intravenous catheter insertion while parents provided distraction coaching. From the 255 items used in the primary study, 44 predictive items were identified through automatic feature selection and used to build support vector machine regression models. Models were validated using multiple cross-validation tests and by comparing variables identified as explanatory in the traditional versus support vector machine regression. Rule-based approaches were applied to the model outputs to identify overall risk for distress. A decision tree was then applied to evidence-based instructions for tailoring distraction to characteristics and preferences of the parent and child. The resulting decision support computer application, titled Children, Parents and Distraction, is being used in research. Future use will support practitioners in deciding the level and type of distraction intervention needed by a child undergoing a healthcare procedure.

[Public health pests. Arthropods and rodents as causative disease agents as well as reservoirs and vectors of pathogens].

PubMed

Faulde, M; Freise, J

2014-05-01

Globally, infectious diseases pose the most important cause of death. Among known human pathogenic diseases, approximately 50 % are zoonoses. When considering emerging infectious diseases separately 73 % currently belong to the group of zoonoses. In Central Europe, hard ticks show by far the biggest potential as vectors of agents of human disease. Lyme borreliosis, showing an estimated annual incidence between 60,000 and 214,000 cases is by far the most frequent tick-borne disease in Germany. Continually, formerly unknown disease agents could be discovered in endemic vector species. Additionally, introduction of new arthropod vectors and/or agents of disease occur constantly. Recently, five mosquito species of the genus Aedes have been newly introduced to Europe where they are currently spreading in different regions. Uncommon autochthonous transmission of dengue and chikungunya fever viruses in Southern Europe could be directly linked to these vector species and of these Ae. albopictus and Ae. japonicus are currently reported to occur in Germany. The German Protection against Infection Act only covers the control of public health pests which are either active hematophagous vectors or mechanical transmitters of agents of diseases. Use of officially recommended biocidal products aiming to interrupt transmission cycles of vector-borne diseases, is confined to infested buildings only, including sewage systems in the case of Norway rat control. Outdoor vectors, such as hard ticks and mosquitoes, are currently not taken into consideration. Additionally, adjustments of national public health regulations, detailed arthropod vector and rodent reservoir mapping, including surveillance of vector-borne disease agents, are necessary in order to mitigate future disease risks.

FINAL REPORT "Extreme non-linear optics of plasmas" Pierre Michel (16-LW-022)

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

Michel, Pierre

2017-11-03

Large laser facilities such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) are typically limited in performance and physical scale (and thus cost) by optics damage. In this LDRD, we investigated a radically new way to manipulate light at extreme powers and energies, where “traditional” (crystal-based) optical elements are replaced by a medium that is already “broken” and thus does not suffer from optics damage: a plasma. Our method consisted in applying multiple lasers into plasmas to imprint refractive micro-structures with optical properties designed to be similar to those of crystals or dielectric structures used in optics. In particular, we focused ourmore » efforts on two elements used to manipulate the polarization of lasers (i.e. the orientation of the light’s electric field vector): i) a polarizer, which only lets a given polarization direction pass and blocks the others, and ii) a “Pockels cell”, which can “rotate” the polarization direction or convert it from linear to elliptical or circular. These two elements are essential building blocks in almost all laser systems – for example, they can be combined to design optical gates. Here, we introduced the new concepts of a “plasma polarizer” and a “plasma Pockels cell”. Both concepts were demonstrated in proof-of-principle laboratory experiments in this LDRD. We also demonstrated that such laser-plasma systems could be used to provide full control of the refractive index of plasmas as well as their dispersion (variation of the index vs. the light wavelength), which constituted the basis for a final experiment aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of “slow light” in plasmas, i.e. the capability to slow down a light pulse almost to a full stop.« less

26 CFR 1.1250-5 - Property with two or more elements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., are placed in service and that on July 1, 1972, the taxpayer disposes of the building. Assume further... buildings with common heating and plumbing systems, adds to the motel three new buildings which are... for purposes of this subparagraph the cost of the three new buildings shall be treated as an addition...

View of east elevation of Building No. 20. South Twentysixth ...

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

View of east elevation of Building No. 20. South Twenty-sixth Street in middle ground. Seen from Building No. 21. Note boulders at left as landscape element. Looking west - Easter Hill Village, Building No. 20, West side of South Twenty-sixth Street, north of Hinkley Avenue, Richmond, Contra Costa County, CA

Quantum detectors of vector potential and their modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulian, Armen; Melkonyan, Gurgen; Gulian, Ellen

Proportionality of current to vector potential is a feature not allowed in classical physics, but is one of the pillars in quantum theory. For superconductors, in particular, it allows us to describe the Meissner effect. Since the phase of the quantum wave function couples with the vector-potential, the related expressions are gauge-invariant. Is it possible to measure this gauge-invariant quantity locally? The answer is definitely ``yes'', as soon as the current is involved. Indeed, the electric current generates a magnetic field which can be measured straightforwardly. However, one can consider situations like the Aharonov-Bohm effect where the classical magnetic field is locally absent in the area occupied by the quantum object (i.e., superconductor in our case). Despite the local absence of the magnetic field, current is, nevertheless, building up. From what source is it acquiring its energy? Locally, only a vector potential is present. Is the current formation a result of a truly non-local quantum action, or does the local action of the vector potential have experimental consequences on the quantum system, which then can be considered as a detector of the vector potential? We discuss possible experimental schemes on the level of COMSOL modeling. This research is supported in part by the ONR Grant N000141612269.

Versatile Cas9-Driven Subpopulation Selection Toolbox for Lactococcus lactis.

PubMed

van der Els, Simon; James, Jennelle K; Kleerebezem, Michiel; Bron, Peter A

2018-04-15

CRISPR-Cas9 technology has been exploited for the removal or replacement of genetic elements in a wide range of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Here, we describe the extension of the Cas9 application toolbox to the industrially important dairy species Lactococcus lactis The Cas9 expression vector pLABTarget, encoding the Streptocccus pyogenes Cas9 under the control of a constitutive promoter, was constructed, allowing plug and play introduction of short guide RNA (sgRNA) sequences to target specific genetic loci. Introduction of a pepN -targeting derivative of pLABTarget into L. lactis strain MG1363 led to a strong reduction in the number of transformants obtained, which did not occur in a pepN deletion derivative of the same strain, demonstrating the specificity and lethality of the Cas9-mediated double-strand breaks in the lactococcal chromosome. Moreover, the same pLABTarget derivative allowed the selection of a pepN deletion subpopulation from its corresponding single-crossover plasmid integrant precursor, accelerating the construction and selection of gene-specific deletion derivatives in L. lactis Finally, pLABTarget, which contained sgRNAs designed to target mobile genetic elements, allowed the effective curing of plasmids, prophages, and integrative conjugative elements (ICEs). These results establish that pLABTarget enables the effective exploitation of Cas9 targeting in L. lactis , while the broad-host-range vector used suggests that this toolbox could readily be expanded to other Gram-positive bacteria. IMPORTANCE Mobile genetic elements in Lactococcus lactis and other lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play an important role in dairy fermentation, having both positive and detrimental effects during the production of fermented dairy products. The pLABTarget vector offers an efficient cloning platform for Cas9 application in lactic acid bacteria. Targeting Cas9 toward mobile genetic elements enabled their effective curing, which is of particular interest in the context of potentially problematic prophages present in a strain. Moreover, Cas9 targeting of other mobile genetic elements enables the deciphering of their contribution to dairy fermentation processes and further establishment of their importance for product characteristics. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Buildings That Teach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiebenson, John

1998-01-01

Teachers can use "built teaching aids" or elements of the school building itself to expand teaching and enhance learning. Possibilities include bulletin boards, display cases, murals painted by local artists, permanent information panels, interior windows to classrooms, flags, and bas-reliefs on building exteriors. Playground pavement…

Method and System for Temporal Filtering in Video Compression Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, Ligang; He, Drake; Jagmohan, Ashish; Sheinin, Vadim

2011-01-01

Three related innovations combine improved non-linear motion estimation, video coding, and video compression. The first system comprises a method in which side information is generated using an adaptive, non-linear motion model. This method enables extrapolating and interpolating a visual signal, including determining the first motion vector between the first pixel position in a first image to a second pixel position in a second image; determining a second motion vector between the second pixel position in the second image and a third pixel position in a third image; determining a third motion vector between the first pixel position in the first image and the second pixel position in the second image, the second pixel position in the second image, and the third pixel position in the third image using a non-linear model; and determining a position of the fourth pixel in a fourth image based upon the third motion vector. For the video compression element, the video encoder has low computational complexity and high compression efficiency. The disclosed system comprises a video encoder and a decoder. The encoder converts the source frame into a space-frequency representation, estimates the conditional statistics of at least one vector of space-frequency coefficients with similar frequencies, and is conditioned on previously encoded data. It estimates an encoding rate based on the conditional statistics and applies a Slepian-Wolf code with the computed encoding rate. The method for decoding includes generating a side-information vector of frequency coefficients based on previously decoded source data and encoder statistics and previous reconstructions of the source frequency vector. It also performs Slepian-Wolf decoding of a source frequency vector based on the generated side-information and the Slepian-Wolf code bits. The video coding element includes receiving a first reference frame having a first pixel value at a first pixel position, a second reference frame having a second pixel value at a second pixel position, and a third reference frame having a third pixel value at a third pixel position. It determines a first motion vector between the first pixel position and the second pixel position, a second motion vector between the second pixel position and the third pixel position, and a fourth pixel value for a fourth frame based upon a linear or nonlinear combination of the first pixel value, the second pixel value, and the third pixel value. A stationary filtering process determines the estimated pixel values. The parameters of the filter may be predetermined constants.

Parallel-Vector Algorithm For Rapid Structural Anlysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agarwal, Tarun R.; Nguyen, Duc T.; Storaasli, Olaf O.

1993-01-01

New algorithm developed to overcome deficiency of skyline storage scheme by use of variable-band storage scheme. Exploits both parallel and vector capabilities of modern high-performance computers. Gives engineers and designers opportunity to include more design variables and constraints during optimization of structures. Enables use of more refined finite-element meshes to obtain improved understanding of complex behaviors of aerospace structures leading to better, safer designs. Not only attractive for current supercomputers but also for next generation of shared-memory supercomputers.

Exploring and Making Sense of Large Graphs

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-01

and bold) are n × n ; vectors (lower-case bold) are n × 1 column vectors, and scalars (in lower-case plain font) typically correspond to strength of...graph is often denoted as |V| or n . Edges or Links: A finite set E of lines between objects in a graph. The edges represent relationships between the...Adjacency matrix of a simple, unweighted and undirected graph. Adjacency matrix: The adjacency matrix of a graph G is an n × n matrix A, whose element aij

Aerodynamic Optimization of a Supersonic Bending Body Projectile by a Vector-Evaluated Genetic Algorithm

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

Evaluated Genetic Algorithm prepared by Justin L Paul Academy of Applied Science 24 Warren Street Concord, NH 03301 under contract W911SR...Supersonic Bending Body Projectile by a Vector-Evaluated Genetic Algorithm prepared by Justin L Paul Academy of Applied Science 24 Warren Street... Genetic Algorithm 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER W199SR-15-2-001 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Justin L Paul 5d. PROJECT

Combined group ECC protection and subgroup parity protection

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

Gara, Alan; Cheng, Dong; Heidelberger, Philip

A method and system are disclosed for providing combined error code protection and subgroup parity protection for a given group of n bits. The method comprises the steps of identifying a number, m, of redundant bits for said error protection; and constructing a matrix P, wherein multiplying said given group of n bits with P produces m redundant error correction code (ECC) protection bits, and two columns of P provide parity protection for subgroups of said given group of n bits. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the matrix P is constructed by generating permutations of m bit widemore » vectors with three or more, but an odd number of, elements with value one and the other elements with value zero; and assigning said vectors to rows of the matrix P.« less

Effective implementation of wavelet Galerkin method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finěk, Václav; Šimunková, Martina

2012-11-01

It was proved by W. Dahmen et al. that an adaptive wavelet scheme is asymptotically optimal for a wide class of elliptic equations. This scheme approximates the solution u by a linear combination of N wavelets and a benchmark for its performance is the best N-term approximation, which is obtained by retaining the N largest wavelet coefficients of the unknown solution. Moreover, the number of arithmetic operations needed to compute the approximate solution is proportional to N. The most time consuming part of this scheme is the approximate matrix-vector multiplication. In this contribution, we will introduce our implementation of wavelet Galerkin method for Poisson equation -Δu = f on hypercube with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions. In our implementation, we identified nonzero elements of stiffness matrix corresponding to the above problem and we perform matrix-vector multiplication only with these nonzero elements.

Signal location using generalized linear constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffiths, Lloyd J.; Feldman, D. D.

1992-01-01

This report has presented a two-part method for estimating the directions of arrival of uncorrelated narrowband sources when there are arbitrary phase errors and angle independent gain errors. The signal steering vectors are estimated in the first part of the method; in the second part, the arrival directions are estimated. It should be noted that the second part of the method can be tailored to incorporate additional information about the nature of the phase errors. For example, if the phase errors are known to be caused solely by element misplacement, the element locations can be estimated concurrently with the DOA's by trying to match the theoretical steering vectors to the estimated ones. Simulation results suggest that, for general perturbation, the method can resolve closely spaced sources under conditions for which a standard high-resolution DOA method such as MUSIC fails.

Enhanced expression of EGFP gene in CHSE-214 cells by an ARS element from mud loach (Misgurnus mizolepis).

PubMed

Kim, Moo-Sang; Lim, Hak-Seob; Ahn, Sang Jung; Jeong, Yong-Kee; Kim, Chul Geun; Lee, Hyung Ho

2007-11-01

The origins of replication are associated with nuclear matrices or are found in close proximity to matrix attachment regions (MARs). In this report, fish MARs were cloned into an autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) cloning vector and were screened for ARS elements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sixteen clones were isolated that were able to grow on the selective plates. In particular, an ARS905 that shows high efficiency among them was selected for this study. Southern hybridization indicated the autonomous replication of the transformation vector containing the ARS905 element. DNA sequences analysis showed that the ARS905 contained two ARS consensus sequences as well as MAR motifs, such as AT tracts, ORI patterns, and ATC tracts. In vitro matrix binding analysis, major matrix binding activity and ARS function coincided in a subfragment of the ARS905. To analyze the effects of ARS905 on expression of a reporter gene, an ARS905(E1158) with ARS activity was inserted into pBaEGFP(+) containing mud loach beta-actin promoter, EGFP as a reporter gene, and SV40 poly(A) signal. The pBaEGFP(+)-ARS905(E1158) was transfected into a fish cell line, CHSE-214. The intensity of EGFP transfected cells was a 7-fold of the control at 11days post-transfection. These results indicate that ARS905 enhances the expression of the EGFP gene and that it should be as a component of expression vectors in further fish biotechnological studies.

Estimation of the size of genetic bottlenecks in cell-to-cell movement of soil-borne wheat mosaic virus and the possible role of the bottlenecks in speeding up selection of variations in trans-acting genes or elements.

PubMed

Miyashita, Shuhei; Kishino, Hirohisa

2010-02-01

Genetic bottlenecks facilitate the fixation and extinction of variants in populations, and viral populations are no exception to this theory. To examine the existence of genetic bottlenecks in cell-to-cell movement of plant RNA viruses, we prepared constructs for Soil-borne wheat mosaic virus RNA2 vectors carrying two different fluorescent proteins, yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and cyan fluorescent protein (CFP). Coinoculation of host plant leaves with the two RNA2 vectors and the wild-type RNA1 showed separation of the two vector RNA2s, mostly within seven to nine cell-to-cell movements from individual initially coinfected cells. Our statistical analysis showed that the number of viral RNA genomes establishing infection in adjacent cells after the first cell-to-cell movement from an initially infected cell was 5.97 +/- 0.22 on average and 5.02 +/- 0.29 after the second cell-to-cell movement. These results indicate that plant RNA viruses may generally face narrow genetic bottlenecks in every cell-to-cell movement. Furthermore, our model suggests that, rather than suffering from fitness losses caused by the bottlenecks, the plant RNA viruses are utilizing the repeated genetic bottlenecks as an essential element of rapid selection of their adaptive variants in trans-acting genes or elements to respond to host shifting and changes in the growth conditions of the hosts.

An inversion strategy for energy saving in smart building through wireless monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anselmi, N.; Moriyama, T.

2017-10-01

The building plants represent one of the main sources of power consumption and of greenhouse gases emission in urban scenarios. The efficiency of energy management is also related to the indoor environmental conditions that reflect on the user comfort. The constant monitoring of comfort indicators enables the accurate management of building plants with the final objective of reducing energy waste and satisfying the user needs. This paper presents an inversion methodology based on support vector regression for the reconstruction and forecasting of the thermal comfort of users starting from the indoor environmental features of the building. The environmental monitoring is performed by means of a wireless sensor network, which pervasively measures the spatial variability of indoor conditions. The proposed system has been experimentally validated in a real test-site to assess the advantages and the limitations in supporting the management of the building plants towards energy saving.

Inlining 3d Reconstruction, Multi-Source Texture Mapping and Semantic Analysis Using Oblique Aerial Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frommholz, D.; Linkiewicz, M.; Poznanska, A. M.

2016-06-01

This paper proposes an in-line method for the simplified reconstruction of city buildings from nadir and oblique aerial images that at the same time are being used for multi-source texture mapping with minimal resampling. Further, the resulting unrectified texture atlases are analyzed for façade elements like windows to be reintegrated into the original 3D models. Tests on real-world data of Heligoland/ Germany comprising more than 800 buildings exposed a median positional deviation of 0.31 m at the façades compared to the cadastral map, a correctness of 67% for the detected windows and good visual quality when being rendered with GPU-based perspective correction. As part of the process building reconstruction takes the oriented input images and transforms them into dense point clouds by semi-global matching (SGM). The point sets undergo local RANSAC-based regression and topology analysis to detect adjacent planar surfaces and determine their semantics. Based on this information the roof, wall and ground surfaces found get intersected and limited in their extension to form a closed 3D building hull. For texture mapping the hull polygons are projected into each possible input bitmap to find suitable color sources regarding the coverage and resolution. Occlusions are detected by ray-casting a full-scale digital surface model (DSM) of the scene and stored in pixel-precise visibility maps. These maps are used to derive overlap statistics and radiometric adjustment coefficients to be applied when the visible image parts for each building polygon are being copied into a compact texture atlas without resampling whenever possible. The atlas bitmap is passed to a commercial object-based image analysis (OBIA) tool running a custom rule set to identify windows on the contained façade patches. Following multi-resolution segmentation and classification based on brightness and contrast differences potential window objects are evaluated against geometric constraints and conditionally grown, fused and filtered morphologically. The output polygons are vectorized and reintegrated into the previously reconstructed buildings by sparsely ray-tracing their vertices. Finally the enhanced 3D models get stored as textured geometry for visualization and semantically annotated "LOD-2.5" CityGML objects for GIS applications.

Building damage assessment using airborne lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Axel, Colin; van Aardt, Jan

2017-10-01

The assessment of building damage following a natural disaster is a crucial step in determining the impact of the event itself and gauging reconstruction needs. Automatic methods for deriving damage maps from remotely sensed data are preferred, since they are regarded as being rapid and objective. We propose an algorithm for performing unsupervised building segmentation and damage assessment using airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) data. Local surface properties, including normal vectors and curvature, were used along with region growing to segment individual buildings in lidar point clouds. Damaged building candidates were identified based on rooftop inclination angle, and then damage was assessed using planarity and point height metrics. Validation of the building segmentation and damage assessment techniques were performed using airborne lidar data collected after the Haiti earthquake of 2010. Building segmentation and damage assessment accuracies of 93.8% and 78.9%, respectively, were obtained using lidar point clouds and expert damage assessments of 1953 buildings in heavily damaged regions. We believe this research presents an indication of the utility of airborne lidar remote sensing for increasing the efficiency and speed at which emergency response operations are performed.

Fade Measurements into Buildings from 500 to 3000 MHz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vogel, Wolfhard J.; Torrence, Geoffrey W.

1996-01-01

Slant-path fade measurements from 500 to 3000 MHz were made into six different buildings employing a vector network analyzer, a tower-mounted transmitting antenna and an automatically positioned receiving antenna. The objective of the measurements was to provide information for satellite audio broadcasting and personal communications satellite design on the correlation of fading inside buildings. Fades were measured with 5 cm spatial separation and every 0.2 percent of the frequency. Median fades ranged from 10 to 20 dB in woodframe houses with metal roofs and walls without and with an aluminum heat shield, respectively. The median decorrelation distance was from 0.5 to 1.1. m and was independent of frequency. The attenuation into the buildings increased only moderately with frequency in most of the buildings with a median slope of about 1 to 3 db/GHz, but increased fastest in the least attenuating building with a slope of 5 dB/GHz. The median decorrelation bandwidth ranged from 1.2 to 3.8 percent of frequency in five of the buildings, and was largest in the least attenuating building, with 20.2 percent of frequency.

Fade Measurements into Buildings from 500 to 3000 MHz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vogel, Wolfhard J.; Torrence, Geoffrey W.

1996-01-01

Slant-path fade measurements from 500 to 3000 MHz were made into six different buildings employing a vector network analyzer, a tower-mounted transmitting antenna and an automatically positioned receiving antenna. The objective of the measurements was to provide information for satellite audio broadcasting and personal communications satellite design on the correlation of fading inside buildings. Fades were measured with 5 cm spatial separation and every 0.2% of the frequency. Median fades ranged from 10 to 20 dB in woodframe houses with metal roofs and walls without and with an aluminum heatshield, respectively. The median decorrelation distance was from 0.5 to 1.1 m and was independent of frequency. The attenuation into the buildings increased only moderately with frequency in most of the buildings with a median slope of about 1 to 3 dB/GHz, but increased fastest in the least attenuating building with a slope of 5 dB/GHz. The median decorrelation bandwidth ranged from 1.2 to 3.8% of frequency in five of the buildings, and was largest in the least attenuating building, with 20.2% of frequency.

Effects of non-structural components and soil-structure interaction on the seismic response of framed structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ditommaso, Rocco; Auletta, Gianluca; Iacovino, Chiara; Nigro, Antonella; Carlo Ponzo, Felice

2017-04-01

In this paper, several nonlinear numerical models of reinforced concrete framed structures have been defined in order to evaluate the effects of non-structural elements and soil-structure interaction on the elastic dynamic behaviour of buildings. In the last few years, many and various studies have highlighted the significant effects derived from the interaction between structural and non-structural components on the main dynamic characteristics of a building. Usually, structural and non-structural elements act together, adding both masses and stiffness. The presence of infill panels is generally neglected in the design process of structural elements, although these elements can significantly increase the lateral stiffness of a structure leading to a modification in the dynamic properties. Particularly, at the Damage Limit State (where an elastic behaviour is expected), soil-structure interaction effects and non-structural elements may further affect the elastic natural period of buildings, changing the spectral accelerations compared with those provided by seismic codes in case of static analyses. In this work, a parametric study has been performed in order to evaluate the elastic fundamental period of vibration of buildings as a function of structural morphology (height, plan area, ratio between plan dimensions), infills presence and distribution and soil characteristics. Acknowledgements This study was partially funded by the Italian Department of Civil Protection within the project DPC-RELUIS 2016 - RS4 ''Seismic observatory of structures and health monitoring'' and by the "Centre of Integrated Geomorphology for the Mediterranean Area - CGIAM" within the Framework Agreement with the University of Basilicata "Study, Research and Experimentation in the Field of Analysis and Monitoring of Seismic Vulnerability of Strategic and Relevant Buildings for the purposes of Civil Protection and Development of Innovative Strategies of Seismic Reinforcement".

Aspects of QCD current algebra on a null plane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beane, S. R.; Hobbs, T. J.

2016-09-01

Consequences of QCD current algebra formulated on a light-like hyperplane are derived for the forward scattering of vector and axial-vector currents on an arbitrary hadronic target. It is shown that current algebra gives rise to a special class of sum rules that are direct consequences of the independent chiral symmetry that exists at every point on the two-dimensional transverse plane orthogonal to the lightlike direction. These sum rules are obtained by exploiting the closed, infinite-dimensional algebra satisfied by the transverse moments of null-plane axial-vector and vector charge distributions. In the special case of a nucleon target, this procedure leads to the Adler-Weisberger, Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn, Cabibbo-Radicati and Fubini-Furlan-Rossetti sum rules. Matching to the dispersion-theoretic language which is usually invoked in deriving these sum rules, the moment sum rules are shown to be equivalent to algebraic constraints on forward S-matrix elements in the Regge limit.

On load paths and load bearing topology from finite element analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, D.; Reidsema, C.; Lee, M.

2010-06-01

Load paths can be mapped from vector plots of 'pointing stress vectors'. They define a path along which a component of load remains constant as it traverses the solution domain. In this paper the theory for the paths is first defined. Properties of the plots that enable a designer to interpret the structural behavior from the contours are then identified. Because stress is a second order tensor defined on an orthogonal set of axes, the vector plots define separate paths for load transfer in each direction of the set of axes. An algorithm is therefore presented that combines the vectors to define a topology to carry the loads. The algorithm is shown to straighten the paths reducing bending moments and removing stress concentration. Application to a bolted joint, a racing car body and a yacht hull demonstrate the usefulness of the plots.

Complementarity of Historic Building Information Modelling and Geographic Information Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, X.; Koehl, M.; Grussenmeyer, P.; Macher, H.

2016-06-01

In this paper, we discuss the potential of integrating both semantically rich models from Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to build the detailed 3D historic model. BIM contributes to the creation of a digital representation having all physical and functional building characteristics in several dimensions, as e.g. XYZ (3D), time and non-architectural information that are necessary for construction and management of buildings. GIS has potential in handling and managing spatial data especially exploring spatial relationships and is widely used in urban modelling. However, when considering heritage modelling, the specificity of irregular historical components makes it problematic to create the enriched model according to its complex architectural elements obtained from point clouds. Therefore, some open issues limiting the historic building 3D modelling will be discussed in this paper: how to deal with the complex elements composing historic buildings in BIM and GIS environment, how to build the enriched historic model, and why to construct different levels of details? By solving these problems, conceptualization, documentation and analysis of enriched Historic Building Information Modelling are developed and compared to traditional 3D models aimed primarily for visualization.

Modelling Technology for Building Fire Scene with Virtual Geographic Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Y.; Zhao, L.; Wei, M.; Zhang, H.; Liu, W.

2017-09-01

Building fire is a risky activity that can lead to disaster and massive destruction. The management and disposal of building fire has always attracted much interest from researchers. Integrated Virtual Geographic Environment (VGE) is a good choice for building fire safety management and emergency decisions, in which a more real and rich fire process can be computed and obtained dynamically, and the results of fire simulations and analyses can be much more accurate as well. To modelling building fire scene with VGE, the application requirements and modelling objective of building fire scene were analysed in this paper. Then, the four core elements of modelling building fire scene (the building space environment, the fire event, the indoor Fire Extinguishing System (FES) and the indoor crowd) were implemented, and the relationship between the elements was discussed also. Finally, with the theory and framework of VGE, the technology of building fire scene system with VGE was designed within the data environment, the model environment, the expression environment, and the collaborative environment as well. The functions and key techniques in each environment are also analysed, which may provide a reference for further development and other research on VGE.

Finite element model for MOI applications using A-V formulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xuan, L.; Shanker, B.; Udpa, L.; Shih, W.; Fitzpatrick, G.

2001-04-01

Magneto-optic imaging (MOI) is a relatively new sensor application of an extension of bubble memory technology to NDT and produce easy-to-interpret, real time analog images. MOI systems use a magneto-optic (MO) sensor to produce analog images of magnetic flux leakage from surface and subsurface defects. The instrument's capability in detecting the relatively weak magnetic fields associated with subsurface defects depends on the sensitivity of the magneto-optic sensor. The availability of a theoretical model that can simulate the MOI system performance is extremely important for optimization of the MOI sensor and hardware system. A nodal finite element model based on magnetic vector potential formulation has been developed for simulating MOI phenomenon. This model has been used for predicting the magnetic fields in simple test geometry with corrosion dome defects. In the case of test samples with multiple discontinuities, a more robust model using the magnetic vector potential Ā and electrical scalar potential V is required. In this paper, a finite element model based on A-V formulation is developed to model complex circumferential crack under aluminum rivets in dimpled countersink.

Parallelization of the Physical-Space Statistical Analysis System (PSAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, J. W.; Guo, J.; Lyster, P. M.

1999-01-01

Atmospheric data assimilation is a method of combining observations with model forecasts to produce a more accurate description of the atmosphere than the observations or forecast alone can provide. Data assimilation plays an increasingly important role in the study of climate and atmospheric chemistry. The NASA Data Assimilation Office (DAO) has developed the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System (GEOS DAS) to create assimilated datasets. The core computational components of the GEOS DAS include the GEOS General Circulation Model (GCM) and the Physical-space Statistical Analysis System (PSAS). The need for timely validation of scientific enhancements to the data assimilation system poses computational demands that are best met by distributed parallel software. PSAS is implemented in Fortran 90 using object-based design principles. The analysis portions of the code solve two equations. The first of these is the "innovation" equation, which is solved on the unstructured observation grid using a preconditioned conjugate gradient (CG) method. The "analysis" equation is a transformation from the observation grid back to a structured grid, and is solved by a direct matrix-vector multiplication. Use of a factored-operator formulation reduces the computational complexity of both the CG solver and the matrix-vector multiplication, rendering the matrix-vector multiplications as a successive product of operators on a vector. Sparsity is introduced to these operators by partitioning the observations using an icosahedral decomposition scheme. PSAS builds a large (approx. 128MB) run-time database of parameters used in the calculation of these operators. Implementing a message passing parallel computing paradigm into an existing yet developing computational system as complex as PSAS is nontrivial. One of the technical challenges is balancing the requirements for computational reproducibility with the need for high performance. The problem of computational reproducibility is well known in the parallel computing community. It is a requirement that the parallel code perform calculations in a fashion that will yield identical results on different configurations of processing elements on the same platform. In some cases this problem can be solved by sacrificing performance. Meeting this requirement and still achieving high performance is very difficult. Topics to be discussed include: current PSAS design and parallelization strategy; reproducibility issues; load balance vs. database memory demands, possible solutions to these problems.

Platonic Symmetry and Geometric Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zsombor-Murray, Paul

2007-01-01

Cubic symmetry is used to build the other four Platonic solids and some formalism from classical geometry is introduced. Initially, the approach is via geometric construction, e.g., the "golden ratio" is necessary to construct an icosahedron with pentagonal faces. Then conventional elementary vector algebra is used to extract quantitative…

Polynomial chaos representation of databases on manifolds

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

Soize, C., E-mail: christian.soize@univ-paris-est.fr; Ghanem, R., E-mail: ghanem@usc.edu

2017-04-15

Characterizing the polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) of a vector-valued random variable with probability distribution concentrated on a manifold is a relevant problem in data-driven settings. The probability distribution of such random vectors is multimodal in general, leading to potentially very slow convergence of the PCE. In this paper, we build on a recent development for estimating and sampling from probabilities concentrated on a diffusion manifold. The proposed methodology constructs a PCE of the random vector together with an associated generator that samples from the target probability distribution which is estimated from data concentrated in the neighborhood of the manifold. Themore » method is robust and remains efficient for high dimension and large datasets. The resulting polynomial chaos construction on manifolds permits the adaptation of many uncertainty quantification and statistical tools to emerging questions motivated by data-driven queries.« less

An imaging vector magnetograph for the next solar maximum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mickey, D. L.; Labonte, B. J.; Canfield, R. C.

1989-01-01

Researchers describe the conceptual design of a new imaging vector magnetograph currently being constructed at the University of Hawaii. The instrument combines a modest solar telescope with a rotating quarter-wave plate, an acousto-optical tunable prefilter as a blocker for a servo-controlled Fabry-Perot etalon, CCD cameras, and on-line digital image processing. Its high spatial resolution (1/2 arcsec pixel size) over a large field of view (5 by 5 arcmin) will be sufficient to significantly measure, for the first time, the magnetic energy dissipated in major solar flares. Its millisecond tunability and wide spectral range (5000 to 7000 A) enable nearly simultaneous vector magnetic field measurements in the gas-pressure-dominated photosphere and magnetically-dominated chromosphere, as well as effective co-alignment with Solar-A's X ray images. Researchers expect to have the instrument in operation at Mees Solar Observatory (Haleakala) in early 1991. They have chosen to use tunable filters as wavelength-selection elements in order to emphasize the spatial relationships between magnetic field elements, and to permit construction of a compact, efficient instrument. This means that spectral information must be obtained from sequences of images, which can cause line profile distortions due to effects of atmospheric seeing.

UMG Lenti: Novel Lentiviral Vectors for Efficient Transgene- and Reporter Gene Expression in Human Early Hematopoietic Progenitors

PubMed Central

Chiarella, Emanuela; Carrà, Giovanna; Scicchitano, Stefania; Codispoti, Bruna; Mega, Tiziana; Lupia, Michela; Pelaggi, Daniela; Marafioti, Maria G.; Aloisio, Annamaria; Giordano, Marco; Nappo, Giovanna; Spoleti, Cristina B.; Grillone, Teresa; Giovannone, Emilia D.; Spina, Raffaella; Bernaudo, Francesca; Moore, Malcolm A. S.; Bond, Heather M.; Mesuraca, Maria; Morrone, Giovanni

2014-01-01

Lentiviral vectors are widely used to investigate the biological properties of regulatory proteins and/or of leukaemia-associated oncogenes by stably enforcing their expression in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. In these studies it is critical to be able to monitor and/or sort the infected cells, typically via fluorescent proteins encoded by the modified viral genome. The most popular strategy to ensure co-expression of transgene and reporter gene is to insert between these cDNAs an IRES element, thus generating bi-cistronic mRNAs whose transcription is driven by a single promoter. However, while the product of the gene located upstream of the IRES is generally abundantly expressed, the translation of the downstream cDNA (typically encoding the reporter protein) is often inconsistent, which hinders the detection and the isolation of transduced cells. To overcome these limitations, we developed novel lentiviral dual-promoter vectors (named UMG-LV5 and –LV6) where transgene expression is driven by the potent UBC promoter and that of the reporter protein, EGFP, by the minimal regulatory element of the WASP gene. These vectors, harboring two distinct transgenes, were tested in a variety of human haematopoietic cell lines as well as in primary human CD34+ cells in comparison with the FUIGW vector that contains the expression cassette UBC-transgene-IRES-EGFP. In these experiments both UMG-LV5 and UMG–LV6 yielded moderately lower transgene expression than FUIGW, but dramatically higher levels of EGFP, thereby allowing the easy distinction between transduced and non-transduced cells. An additional construct was produced, in which the cDNA encoding the reporter protein is upstream, and the transgene downstream of the IRES sequence. This vector, named UMG-LV11, proved able to promote abundant expression of both transgene product and EGFP in all cells tested. The UMG-LVs represent therefore useful vectors for gene transfer-based studies in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, as well as in non-hematopoietic cells. PMID:25502183

Point Clouds to Indoor/outdoor Accessibility Diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balado, J.; Díaz-Vilariño, L.; Arias, P.; Garrido, I.

2017-09-01

This work presents an approach to automatically detect structural floor elements such as steps or ramps in the immediate environment of buildings, elements that may affect the accessibility to buildings. The methodology is based on Mobile Laser Scanner (MLS) point cloud and trajectory information. First, the street is segmented in stretches along the trajectory of the MLS to work in regular spaces. Next, the lower region of each stretch (the ground zone) is selected as the ROI and normal, curvature and tilt are calculated for each point. With this information, points in the ROI are classified in horizontal, inclined or vertical. Points are refined and grouped in structural elements using raster process and connected components in different phases for each type of previously classified points. At last, the trajectory data is used to distinguish between road and sidewalks. Adjacency information is used to classify structural elements in steps, ramps, curbs and curb-ramps. The methodology is tested in a real case study, consisting of 100 m of an urban street. Ground elements are correctly classified in an acceptable computation time. Steps and ramps also are exported to GIS software to enrich building models from Open Street Map with information about accessible/inaccessible entrances and their locations.

Chromosome preference of disease genes and vectorization for the prediction of non-coding disease genes.

PubMed

Peng, Hui; Lan, Chaowang; Liu, Yuansheng; Liu, Tao; Blumenstein, Michael; Li, Jinyan

2017-10-03

Disease-related protein-coding genes have been widely studied, but disease-related non-coding genes remain largely unknown. This work introduces a new vector to represent diseases, and applies the newly vectorized data for a positive-unlabeled learning algorithm to predict and rank disease-related long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) genes. This novel vector representation for diseases consists of two sub-vectors, one is composed of 45 elements, characterizing the information entropies of the disease genes distribution over 45 chromosome substructures. This idea is supported by our observation that some substructures (e.g., the chromosome 6 p-arm) are highly preferred by disease-related protein coding genes, while some (e.g., the 21 p-arm) are not favored at all. The second sub-vector is 30-dimensional, characterizing the distribution of disease gene enriched KEGG pathways in comparison with our manually created pathway groups. The second sub-vector complements with the first one to differentiate between various diseases. Our prediction method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods on benchmark datasets for prioritizing disease related lncRNA genes. The method also works well when only the sequence information of an lncRNA gene is known, or even when a given disease has no currently recognized long non-coding genes.

Chromosome preference of disease genes and vectorization for the prediction of non-coding disease genes

PubMed Central

Peng, Hui; Lan, Chaowang; Liu, Yuansheng; Liu, Tao; Blumenstein, Michael; Li, Jinyan

2017-01-01

Disease-related protein-coding genes have been widely studied, but disease-related non-coding genes remain largely unknown. This work introduces a new vector to represent diseases, and applies the newly vectorized data for a positive-unlabeled learning algorithm to predict and rank disease-related long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) genes. This novel vector representation for diseases consists of two sub-vectors, one is composed of 45 elements, characterizing the information entropies of the disease genes distribution over 45 chromosome substructures. This idea is supported by our observation that some substructures (e.g., the chromosome 6 p-arm) are highly preferred by disease-related protein coding genes, while some (e.g., the 21 p-arm) are not favored at all. The second sub-vector is 30-dimensional, characterizing the distribution of disease gene enriched KEGG pathways in comparison with our manually created pathway groups. The second sub-vector complements with the first one to differentiate between various diseases. Our prediction method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods on benchmark datasets for prioritizing disease related lncRNA genes. The method also works well when only the sequence information of an lncRNA gene is known, or even when a given disease has no currently recognized long non-coding genes. PMID:29108274

Analysis of magnetic fields using variational principles and CELAS2 elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frye, J. W.; Kasper, R. G.

1977-01-01

Prospective techniques for analyzing magnetic fields using NASTRAN are reviewed. A variational principle utilizing a vector potential function is presented which has as its Euler equations, the required field equations and boundary conditions for static magnetic fields including current sources. The need for an addition to this variational principle of a constraint condition is discussed. Some results using the Lagrange multiplier method to apply the constraint and CELAS2 elements to simulate the matrices are given. Practical considerations of using large numbers of CELAS2 elements are discussed.

Automotive applications of superconductors

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

Ginsberg, M.

1987-01-01

These proceedings compile papers on supercomputers in the automobile industry. Titles include: An automotive engineer's guide to the effective use of scalar, vector, and parallel computers; fluid mechanics, finite elements, and supercomputers; and Automotive crashworthiness performance on a supercomputer.

When PV modules are becoming real building elements: White solar module, a revolution for BIPV (Presentation Recording)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perret-Aebi, Laure-Emmanuelle; Escarré, Jordi; Li, Heng-Yu; Sansonnens, Laurent; Galliano, Federico; Cattaneo, Gianluca; Heinstein, Patrick; Nicolay, Sylvain; Bailat, Julien; Eberhard, Sébastien; Ballif, Christophe

2015-09-01

The use of photovoltaic (PV) is not anymore an option but a real need in the construction of nearly zero energy buildings. To date, the lack of PV products specifically designed for building integration, considering aesthetics and architectural aspects, is one important limiting factor allowing a massive deployment of PV in the built environment. Architects are continuously asking for new solutions to customize the colour of PV elements to better integrate them into the building skin. Among these colours, white is especially attractive as it is widely used in architecture for its elegance, versatility and fresh look. Until now, white solar modules were not considered to be an option and even never been though to be a technological possibility. Nonetheless, CSEM recently developed a new technology to make white solar modules a reality. Furthermore, the new Swiss company called Solaxess is now working on the industrialisation of this very innovative technology and the first products are expecting to be on the market at the end of 2015. The technology is based on the combination of two different elements: a solar cell able to convert solar infrared light into electricity and a selective filter which reflects and diffuse the whole visible spectrum. Any PV technology based on crystalline silicon can be used as they have a good response in the infrared. Approximately 55% of the current generated under standard test conditions comes from the infrared leading to conversion efficiencies above 11%. We will demonstrate, that thanks to this very innovative technology PV modules can become attractive and real active building elements and therefore meets the requirements of any future energy management through advanced building skins.

10 CFR 434.402 - Building envelope assemblies and materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... MULTI-FAMILY HIGH RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Design Requirements-Electric Systems and Equipment... be determined with due consideration of all major series and parallel heat flow paths through the... thermal transmittance of opaque elements of assemblies shall be determined using a series path procedure...

3. N ELEVATION OF BUILDING 1'S E WING, SHOWING THE ...

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

3. N ELEVATION OF BUILDING 1'S E WING, SHOWING THE PILASTERS, TERRA COTTA PANELS, AND THE EGYPTIAN MOTIF DECORATIVE CORNICE ELEMENTS; LOOKING S. (Ryan) - Veterans Administration Medical Center, Building No. 1, Old State Route 13 West, Marion, Williamson County, IL

10 CFR 434.402 - Building envelope assemblies and materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... MULTI-FAMILY HIGH RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Design Requirements-Electric Systems and Equipment... be determined with due consideration of all major series and parallel heat flow paths through the... thermal transmittance of opaque elements of assemblies shall be determined using a series path procedure...

10 CFR 434.402 - Building envelope assemblies and materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... MULTI-FAMILY HIGH RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Design Requirements-Electric Systems and Equipment... be determined with due consideration of all major series and parallel heat flow paths through the... thermal transmittance of opaque elements of assemblies shall be determined using a series path procedure...

10 CFR 434.402 - Building envelope assemblies and materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... MULTI-FAMILY HIGH RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Design Requirements-Electric Systems and Equipment... be determined with due consideration of all major series and parallel heat flow paths through the... thermal transmittance of opaque elements of assemblies shall be determined using a series path procedure...

10 CFR 434.402 - Building envelope assemblies and materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... MULTI-FAMILY HIGH RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Design Requirements-Electric Systems and Equipment... be determined with due consideration of all major series and parallel heat flow paths through the... thermal transmittance of opaque elements of assemblies shall be determined using a series path procedure...

Two innovative solutions based on fibre concrete blocks designed for building substructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pazderka, J.; Hájek, P.

2017-09-01

Using of fibers in a high-strength concrete allows reduction of the dimensions of small precast concrete elements, which opens up new ways of solution for traditional construction details in buildings. The paper presents two innovative technical solutions for building substructure: The special shaped plinth block from fibre concrete and the fibre concrete elements for new technical solution of ventilated floor. The main advantages of plinth block from fibre concrete blocks (compared with standard plinth solutions) is: easier and faster assembly, higher durability and thanks to the air cavity between the vertical part of the block, the building substructure reduced moisture level of structures under the waterproofing layer and a comprehensive solution to the final surface of building plinth as well as the surface of adjacent terrain. The ventilated floor based on fibre concrete precast blocks is an attractive structural alternative for tackling the problem of increased moisture in masonry in older buildings, lacking a functional waterproof layer in the substructure.

Conceptual optimization using genetic algorithms for tube in tube structures

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

Pârv, Bianca Roxana; Hulea, Radu; Mojolic, Cristian

2015-03-10

The purpose of this article is to optimize the tube in tube structural systems for tall buildings under the horizontal wind loads. It is well-known that the horizontal wind loads is the main criteria when choosing the structural system, the types and the dimensions of structural elements in the majority of tall buildings. Thus, the structural response of tall buildings under the horizontal wind loads will be analyzed for 40 story buildings and a total height of 120 meters; the horizontal dimensions will be 30m × 30m for the first two optimization problems and 15m × 15m for the third.more » The optimization problems will have the following as objective function the cross section area, as restrictions the displacement of the building< the admissible displacement (H/500), and as variables the cross section dimensions of the structural elements.« less

A finite element conjugate gradient FFT method for scattering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collins, Jeffery D.; Ross, Dan; Jin, J.-M.; Chatterjee, A.; Volakis, John L.

1991-01-01

Validated results are presented for the new 3D body of revolution finite element boundary integral code. A Fourier series expansion of the vector electric and mangnetic fields is employed to reduce the dimensionality of the system, and the exact boundary condition is employed to terminate the finite element mesh. The mesh termination boundary is chosen such that is leads to convolutional boundary operatores of low O(n) memory demand. Improvements of this code are discussed along with the proposed formulation for a full 3D implementation of the finite element boundary integral method in conjunction with a conjugate gradiant fast Fourier transformation (CGFFT) solution.

Finite element based electric motor design optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, C. Warren

1993-01-01

The purpose of this effort was to develop a finite element code for the analysis and design of permanent magnet electric motors. These motors would drive electromechanical actuators in advanced rocket engines. The actuators would control fuel valves and thrust vector control systems. Refurbishing the hydraulic systems of the Space Shuttle after each flight is costly and time consuming. Electromechanical actuators could replace hydraulics, improve system reliability, and reduce down time.

Orbital operations study. Appendix A: Interactivity analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

Supplemental analyses conducted to verify that safe, feasible, design concepts exist for accomplishing the attendant interface activities of the orbital operations mission are presented. The data are primarily concerned with functions and concepts common to more than one of the interfacing activities or elements. Specific consideration is given to state vector update, payload deployment, communications links, jet plume impingement, attached element operations, docking and structural interface assessment, and propellant transfer.

Modulating ectopic gene expression levels by using retroviral vectors equipped with synthetic promoters.

PubMed

Ferreira, Joshua P; Peacock, Ryan W S; Lawhorn, Ingrid E B; Wang, Clifford L

2011-12-01

The human cytomegalovirus and elongation factor 1α promoters are constitutive promoters commonly employed by mammalian expression vectors. These promoters generally produce high levels of expression in many types of cells and tissues. To generate a library of synthetic promoters capable of generating a range of low, intermediate, and high expression levels, the TATA and CAAT box elements of these promoters were mutated. Other promoter variants were also generated by random mutagenesis. Evaluation using plasmid vectors integrated at a single site in the genome revealed that these various synthetic promoters were capable of expression levels spanning a 40-fold range. Retroviral vectors were equipped with the synthetic promoters and evaluated for their ability to reproduce the graded expression demonstrated by plasmid integration. A vector with a self-inactivating long terminal repeat could neither reproduce the full range of expression levels nor produce stable expression. Using a second vector design, the different synthetic promoters enabled stable expression over a broad range of expression levels in different cell lines. The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11693-011-9089-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A Novel Sensor for Attitude Determination Using Global Positioning System Signals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crassidis, John L.; Quinn, David A.; Markley, F. Landis; McCullough, Jon D.

1998-01-01

An entirely new sensor approach for attitude determination using Global Positioning System (GPS) signals is developed. The concept involves the use of multiple GPS antenna elements arrayed on a single sensor head to provide maximum GPS space vehicle availability. A number of sensor element configurations are discussed. In addition to the navigation function, the array is used to find which GPS space vehicles are within the field-of-view of each antenna element. Attitude determination is performed by considering the sightline vectors of the found GPS space vehicles together with the fixed boresight vectors of the individual antenna elements. This approach has clear advantages over the standard differential carrier-phase approach. First, errors induced by multipath effects can be significantly reduced or eliminated altogether. Also, integer ambiguity resolution is not required, nor do line biases need to be determined through costly and cumbersome self-surveys. Furthermore, the new sensor does not require individual antennas to be physically separated to form interferometric baselines to determine attitude. Finally, development potential of the new sensor is limited only by antenna and receiver technology development unlike the physical limitations of the current interferometric attitude determination scheme. Simulation results indicate that accuracies of about 1 degree (3 omega) are possible.

A 24-GHz portable FMCW radar with continuous beam steering phased array (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Zhengyu; Li, Changzhi

2017-05-01

A portable 24-GHz frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar with continuous beam steering phased array is presented. This board-level integrated radar system consists of a phased array antenna, a radar transceiver and a baseband. The phased array used by the receiver is a 4-element linear array. The beam of the phased array can be continuously steered with a range of ±30° on the H-plane through an array of vector controllers. The vector controller is based on the concept of vector sum with binary-phase-shift attenuators. Each vector controller is capable of independently controlling the phase and the amplitude of each element of the linear array. The radar transceiver is based on the six-port technique. A free-running voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is controlled by an analog "sawtooth" voltage generator to produce frequency-modulated chirp signal. This chirp signal is used as the transmitter signal, as well as the local oscillator (LO) signal to drive the six-port circuit. The transmitter antenna is a single patch antenna. In the baseband, the beat signal of the FMCW radar is detected by the six-port circuit and then processed by a laptop in real time. Experiments have been performed to reveal the capabilities of the proposed radar system for applications including indoor inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging, vital sign detection, and short-range navigation, etc. (This abstract is for the profiles session.)

In vitro fatigue tests and in silico finite element analysis of dental implants with different fixture/abutment joint types using computer-aided design models.

PubMed

Yamaguchi, Satoshi; Yamanishi, Yasufumi; Machado, Lucas S; Matsumoto, Shuji; Tovar, Nick; Coelho, Paulo G; Thompson, Van P; Imazato, Satoshi

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate fatigue resistance of dental fixtures with two different fixture-abutment connections by in vitro fatigue testing and in silico three-dimensional finite element analysis (3D FEA) using original computer-aided design (CAD) models. Dental implant fixtures with external connection (EX) or internal connection (IN) abutments were fabricated from original CAD models using grade IV titanium and step-stress accelerated life testing was performed. Fatigue cycles and loads were assessed by Weibull analysis, and fatigue cracking was observed by micro-computed tomography and a stereomicroscope with high dynamic range software. Using the same CAD models, displacement vectors of implant components were also analyzed by 3D FEA. Angles of the fractured line occurring at fixture platforms in vitro and of displacement vectors corresponding to the fractured line in silico were compared by two-way ANOVA. Fatigue testing showed significantly greater reliability for IN than EX (p<0.001). Fatigue crack initiation was primarily observed at implant fixture platforms. FEA demonstrated that crack lines of both implant systems in vitro were observed in the same direction as displacement vectors of the implant fixtures in silico. In silico displacement vectors in the implant fixture are insightful for geometric development of dental implants to reduce complex interactions leading to fatigue failure. Copyright © 2017 Japan Prosthodontic Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

WARP3D-Release 10.8: Dynamic Nonlinear Analysis of Solids using a Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient Software Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koppenhoefer, Kyle C.; Gullerud, Arne S.; Ruggieri, Claudio; Dodds, Robert H., Jr.; Healy, Brian E.

1998-01-01

This report describes theoretical background material and commands necessary to use the WARP3D finite element code. WARP3D is under continuing development as a research code for the solution of very large-scale, 3-D solid models subjected to static and dynamic loads. Specific features in the code oriented toward the investigation of ductile fracture in metals include a robust finite strain formulation, a general J-integral computation facility (with inertia, face loading), an element extinction facility to model crack growth, nonlinear material models including viscoplastic effects, and the Gurson-Tver-gaard dilatant plasticity model for void growth. The nonlinear, dynamic equilibrium equations are solved using an incremental-iterative, implicit formulation with full Newton iterations to eliminate residual nodal forces. The history integration of the nonlinear equations of motion is accomplished with Newmarks Beta method. A central feature of WARP3D involves the use of a linear-preconditioned conjugate gradient (LPCG) solver implemented in an element-by-element format to replace a conventional direct linear equation solver. This software architecture dramatically reduces both the memory requirements and CPU time for very large, nonlinear solid models since formation of the assembled (dynamic) stiffness matrix is avoided. Analyses thus exhibit the numerical stability for large time (load) steps provided by the implicit formulation coupled with the low memory requirements characteristic of an explicit code. In addition to the much lower memory requirements of the LPCG solver, the CPU time required for solution of the linear equations during each Newton iteration is generally one-half or less of the CPU time required for a traditional direct solver. All other computational aspects of the code (element stiffnesses, element strains, stress updating, element internal forces) are implemented in the element-by- element, blocked architecture. This greatly improves vectorization of the code on uni-processor hardware and enables straightforward parallel-vector processing of element blocks on multi-processor hardware.

Seasonal frost effects on the dynamic behavior of a twenty-story office building

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yang, Z.; Dutta, U.; Xiong, F.; Biswas, N.; Benz, H.

2008-01-01

Studies have shown that seasonal frost can significantly affect the seismic behavior of a bridge foundation system in cold regions. However, little information could be found regarding seasonal frost effects on the dynamic behavior of buildings. Based on the analysis of building vibration data recorded by a permanent strong-motion instrumentation system, the objective of this paper is to show that seasonal frost can impact the building dynamic behavior and the magnitude of impact may be different for different structures. Ambient noise and seismic data recorded on a twenty-story steel-frame building have been analyzed to examine the building dynamic characteristics in relationship to the seasonal frost and other variables including ground shaking intensity. Subsequently, Finite Element modeling of the foundation-soil system and the building superstructure was conducted to verify the seasonal frost effects. The Finite Element modeling was later extended to a reinforced-concrete (RC) type building assumed to exist at a similar site as the steel-frame building. Results show that the seasonal frost has great impact on the foundation stiffness in the horizontal direction and a clear influence on the building dynamic behavior. If other conditions remain the same, the effects of seasonal frost on structural dynamic behavior may be much more prominent for RC-type buildings than for steel-frame buildings. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bole Elementary School: A Study of the Arrangement of Information. Part 4: School Building in Early Development. International School Building News 16, No. 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghebtsawi, Tesheme

This report illustrates the method, called the "SfB System," recommended in an earlier publication by this organization, for systematization of building projects. The aim of the report is to show how to arrange information on building elements and building construction for clear definition of the parts to be built and for easy…

A combined vector potential-scalar potential method for FE computation of 3D magnetic fields in electrical devices with iron cores

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, R.; Demerdash, N. A.

1991-01-01

A method of combined use of magnetic vector potential based finite-element (FE) formulations and magnetic scalar potential (MSP) based formulations for computation of three-dimensional magnetostatic fields is introduced. In this method, the curl-component of the magnetic field intensity is computed by a reduced magnetic vector potential. This field intensity forms the basic of a forcing function for a global magnetic scalar potential solution over the entire volume of the region. This method allows one to include iron portions sandwiched in between conductors within partitioned current-carrying subregions. The method is most suited for large-scale global-type 3-D magnetostatic field computations in electrical devices, and in particular rotating electric machinery.

In vivo Assembly in Escherichia coli of Transformation Vectors for Plastid Genome Engineering

PubMed Central

Wu, Yuyong; You, Lili; Li, Shengchun; Ma, Meiqi; Wu, Mengting; Ma, Lixin; Bock, Ralph; Chang, Ling; Zhang, Jiang

2017-01-01

Plastid transformation for the expression of recombinant proteins and entire metabolic pathways has become a promising tool for plant biotechnology. However, large-scale application of this technology has been hindered by some technical bottlenecks, including lack of routine transformation protocols for agronomically important crop plants like rice or maize. Currently, there are no standard or commercial plastid transformation vectors available for the scientific community. Construction of a plastid transformation vector usually requires tedious and time-consuming cloning steps. In this study, we describe the adoption of an in vivo Escherichia coli cloning (iVEC) technology to quickly assemble a plastid transformation vector. The method enables simple and seamless build-up of a complete plastid transformation vector from five DNA fragments in a single step. The vector assembled for demonstration purposes contains an enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression cassette, in which the gfp transgene is driven by the tobacco plastid ribosomal RNA operon promoter fused to the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) from gene10 of bacteriophage T7 and the transcript-stabilizing 3′UTR from the E. coli ribosomal RNA operon rrnB. Successful transformation of the tobacco plastid genome was verified by Southern blot analysis and seed assays. High-level expression of the GFP reporter in the transplastomic plants was visualized by confocal microscopy and Coomassie staining, and GFP accumulation was ~9% of the total soluble protein. The iVEC method represents a simple and efficient approach for construction of plastid transformation vector, and offers great potential for the assembly of increasingly complex vectors for synthetic biology applications in plastids. PMID:28871270

In vivo Assembly in Escherichia coli of Transformation Vectors for Plastid Genome Engineering.

PubMed

Wu, Yuyong; You, Lili; Li, Shengchun; Ma, Meiqi; Wu, Mengting; Ma, Lixin; Bock, Ralph; Chang, Ling; Zhang, Jiang

2017-01-01

Plastid transformation for the expression of recombinant proteins and entire metabolic pathways has become a promising tool for plant biotechnology. However, large-scale application of this technology has been hindered by some technical bottlenecks, including lack of routine transformation protocols for agronomically important crop plants like rice or maize. Currently, there are no standard or commercial plastid transformation vectors available for the scientific community. Construction of a plastid transformation vector usually requires tedious and time-consuming cloning steps. In this study, we describe the adoption of an in vivo Escherichia coli cloning (iVEC) technology to quickly assemble a plastid transformation vector. The method enables simple and seamless build-up of a complete plastid transformation vector from five DNA fragments in a single step. The vector assembled for demonstration purposes contains an enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression cassette, in which the gfp transgene is driven by the tobacco plastid ribosomal RNA operon promoter fused to the 5' untranslated region (UTR) from gene10 of bacteriophage T7 and the transcript-stabilizing 3'UTR from the E. coli ribosomal RNA operon rrnB . Successful transformation of the tobacco plastid genome was verified by Southern blot analysis and seed assays. High-level expression of the GFP reporter in the transplastomic plants was visualized by confocal microscopy and Coomassie staining, and GFP accumulation was ~9% of the total soluble protein. The iVEC method represents a simple and efficient approach for construction of plastid transformation vector, and offers great potential for the assembly of increasingly complex vectors for synthetic biology applications in plastids.

SDL: A Surface Description Language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maple, Raymond C.

1992-01-01

A new interpreted language specifically designed for surface grid generation is introduced. Many unique aspects of the language are discussed, including the farray, vector, curve, and surface data types and the operators used to manipulate them. Custom subroutine libraries written in the language are used to easily build surface grids for generic missile shapes.

Local Influence Analysis of Nonlinear Structural Equation Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Sik-Yum; Tang, Nian-Sheng

2004-01-01

By regarding the latent random vectors as hypothetical missing data and based on the conditional expectation of the complete-data log-likelihood function in the EM algorithm, we investigate assessment of local influence of various perturbation schemes in a nonlinear structural equation model. The basic building blocks of local influence analysis…

Integrated Cognitive-neuroscience Architectures for Understanding Sensemaking (ICArUS): Phase 1 Test and Evaluation Development Guide

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

Integrated Cognitive-neuroscience Architectures for Understanding Sensemaking (ICArUS): Phase 1 Test and Evaluation Development Guide Craig...Self-initiated sensemaking ........................................................................................... 19 Feature Vector Format: Tasks...The Integrated Cognitive-neuroscience Architectures for Understanding Sensemaking (ICArUS) Program aimed to build computational cognitive

4. DETAIL VIEW OF NW CORNER OF BUILDING 1'S W ...

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

4. DETAIL VIEW OF NW CORNER OF BUILDING 1'S W WING, SHOWING THE PILASTERS, TERRA COTTA PANELS, AND THE EGYPTIAN MOTIF DECORATIVE CORNICE ELEMENTS; LOOKING ENE. (Harms) - Veterans Administration Medical Center, Building No. 1, Old State Route 13 West, Marion, Williamson County, IL

Lentiviral gene ontology (LeGO) vectors equipped with novel drug-selectable fluorescent proteins: new building blocks for cell marking and multi-gene analysis.

PubMed

Weber, K; Mock, U; Petrowitz, B; Bartsch, U; Fehse, B

2010-04-01

Vector-encoded fluorescent proteins (FPs) facilitate unambiguous identification or sorting of gene-modified cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Exploiting this feature, we have recently developed lentiviral gene ontology (LeGO) vectors (www.LentiGO-Vectors.de) for multi-gene analysis in different target cells. In this study, we extend the LeGO principle by introducing 10 different drug-selectable FPs created by fusing one of the five selection marker (protecting against blasticidin, hygromycin, neomycin, puromycin and zeocin) and one of the five FP genes (Cerulean, eGFP, Venus, dTomato and mCherry). All tested fusion proteins allowed both fluorescence-mediated detection and drug-mediated selection of LeGO-transduced cells. Newly generated codon-optimized hygromycin- and neomycin-resistance genes showed improved expression as compared with their ancestors. New LeGO constructs were produced at titers >10(6) per ml (for non-concentrated supernatants). We show efficient combinatorial marking and selection of various cells, including mesenchymal stem cells, simultaneously transduced with different LeGO constructs. Inclusion of the cytomegalovirus early enhancer/chicken beta-actin promoter into LeGO vectors facilitated robust transgene expression in and selection of neural stem cells and their differentiated progeny. We suppose that the new drug-selectable markers combining advantages of FACS and drug selection are well suited for numerous applications and vector systems. Their inclusion into LeGO vectors opens new possibilities for (stem) cell tracking and functional multi-gene analysis.

SOLAR FLARE PREDICTION USING SDO/HMI VECTOR MAGNETIC FIELD DATA WITH A MACHINE-LEARNING ALGORITHM

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

Bobra, M. G.; Couvidat, S., E-mail: couvidat@stanford.edu

2015-01-10

We attempt to forecast M- and X-class solar flares using a machine-learning algorithm, called support vector machine (SVM), and four years of data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, the first instrument to continuously map the full-disk photospheric vector magnetic field from space. Most flare forecasting efforts described in the literature use either line-of-sight magnetograms or a relatively small number of ground-based vector magnetograms. This is the first time a large data set of vector magnetograms has been used to forecast solar flares. We build a catalog of flaring and non-flaring active regions sampled from a databasemore » of 2071 active regions, comprised of 1.5 million active region patches of vector magnetic field data, and characterize each active region by 25 parameters. We then train and test the machine-learning algorithm and we estimate its performances using forecast verification metrics with an emphasis on the true skill statistic (TSS). We obtain relatively high TSS scores and overall predictive abilities. We surmise that this is partly due to fine-tuning the SVM for this purpose and also to an advantageous set of features that can only be calculated from vector magnetic field data. We also apply a feature selection algorithm to determine which of our 25 features are useful for discriminating between flaring and non-flaring active regions and conclude that only a handful are needed for good predictive abilities.« less

The Style As a Factor of Office Building Concentration Locations in European Cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bocian, Anna

2017-03-01

Where should office building concentrations be located in cities? What kind of factors has an influence on its locations? The aim of the research is to examine factors of office locations in cities. Selected office building concentrations in European cities were investigated as case studies. The research method was the spatial decision paradigm. The style, one of the main elements of the paradigm, was selected to answer the research question. The style was defined a composition of existing urban structures. Basic elements of urban composition in selected European cities were examined closely. Research results are conditions of office building concentration locations in European cities in term of urban composition. Such knowledge should be a base of decision-making processe during preparing master plans and city development plans.

The Major Antigenic Membrane Protein of “Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris” Selectively Interacts with ATP Synthase and Actin of Leafhopper Vectors

PubMed Central

Galetto, Luciana; Bosco, Domenico; Balestrini, Raffaella; Genre, Andrea; Fletcher, Jacqueline; Marzachì, Cristina

2011-01-01

Phytoplasmas, uncultivable phloem-limited phytopathogenic wall-less bacteria, represent a major threat to agriculture worldwide. They are transmitted in a persistent, propagative manner by phloem-sucking Hemipteran insects. Phytoplasma membrane proteins are in direct contact with hosts and are presumably involved in determining vector specificity. Such a role has been proposed for phytoplasma transmembrane proteins encoded by circular extrachromosomal elements, at least one of which is a plasmid. Little is known about the interactions between major phytoplasma antigenic membrane protein (Amp) and insect vector proteins. The aims of our work were to identify vector proteins interacting with Amp and to investigate their role in transmission specificity. In controlled transmission experiments, four Hemipteran species were identified as vectors of “Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris”, the chrysanthemum yellows phytoplasmas (CYP) strain, and three others as non-vectors. Interactions between a labelled (recombinant) CYP Amp and insect proteins were analysed by far Western blots and affinity chromatography. Amp interacted specifically with a few proteins from vector species only. Among Amp-binding vector proteins, actin and both the α and β subunits of ATP synthase were identified by mass spectrometry and Western blots. Immunofluorescence confocal microscopy and Western blots of plasma membrane and mitochondrial fractions confirmed the localisation of ATP synthase, generally known as a mitochondrial protein, in plasma membranes of midgut and salivary gland cells in the vector Euscelidius variegatus. The vector-specific interaction between phytoplasma Amp and insect ATP synthase is demonstrated for the first time, and this work also supports the hypothesis that host actin is involved in the internalization and intracellular motility of phytoplasmas within their vectors. Phytoplasma Amp is hypothesized to play a crucial role in insect transmission specificity. PMID:21799902

Finite element analysis in fluids; Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Finite Element Methods in Flow Problems, University of Alabama, Huntsville, Apr. 3-7, 1989

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, T. J. (Editor); Karr, Gerald R. (Editor)

1989-01-01

Recent advances in computational fluid dynamics are examined in reviews and reports, with an emphasis on finite-element methods. Sections are devoted to adaptive meshes, atmospheric dynamics, combustion, compressible flows, control-volume finite elements, crystal growth, domain decomposition, EM-field problems, FDM/FEM, and fluid-structure interactions. Consideration is given to free-boundary problems with heat transfer, free surface flow, geophysical flow problems, heat and mass transfer, high-speed flow, incompressible flow, inverse design methods, MHD problems, the mathematics of finite elements, and mesh generation. Also discussed are mixed finite elements, multigrid methods, non-Newtonian fluids, numerical dissipation, parallel vector processing, reservoir simulation, seepage, shallow-water problems, spectral methods, supercomputer architectures, three-dimensional problems, and turbulent flows.

Evaluating Data Clustering Approach for Life-Cycle Facility Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

produce 90% matching accuracy with noise/variations up to 55%. KEYWORDS: Building Information Modelling ( BIM ), machine learning, pattern detection...reconciled to building information model elements and ultimately to an expected resource utilization schedule. The motivation for this integration is to...by interoperable data sources and building information models . Building performance modelling and simulation efforts such as those by Maile et al

Full Wave Analysis of RF Signal Attenuation in a Lossy Rough Surface Cave using a High Order Time Domain Vector Finite Element Method

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

Pingenot, J; Rieben, R; White, D

2005-10-31

We present a computational study of signal propagation and attenuation of a 200 MHz planar loop antenna in a cave environment. The cave is modeled as a straight and lossy random rough wall. To simulate a broad frequency band, the full wave Maxwell equations are solved directly in the time domain via a high order vector finite element discretization using the massively parallel CEM code EMSolve. The numerical technique is first verified against theoretical results for a planar loop antenna in a smooth lossy cave. The simulation is then performed for a series of random rough surface meshes in ordermore » to generate statistical data for the propagation and attenuation properties of the antenna in a cave environment. Results for the mean and variance of the power spectral density of the electric field are presented and discussed.« less

Theoretical and numerical difficulties in 3-D vector potential methods in finite element magnetostatic computations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Demerdash, N. A.; Wang, R.

1990-01-01

This paper describes the results of application of three well known 3D magnetic vector potential (MVP) based finite element formulations for computation of magnetostatic fields in electrical devices. The three methods were identically applied to three practical examples, the first of which contains only one medium (free space), while the second and third examples contained a mix of free space and iron. The first of these methods is based on the unconstrained curl-curl of the MVP, while the second and third methods are predicated upon constraining the divergence of the MVP 10 zero (Coulomb's Gauge). It was found that the two latter methods cease to give useful and meaningful results when the global solution region contains a mix of media of high and low permeabilities. Furthermore, it was found that their results do not achieve the intended zero constraint on the divergence of the MVP.

Information-Efficient Spectral Imaging Sensor With Tdi

DOEpatents

Rienstra, Jeffrey L.; Gentry, Stephen M.; Sweatt, William C.

2004-01-13

A programmable optical filter for use in multispectral and hyperspectral imaging employing variable gain time delay and integrate arrays. A telescope focuses an image of a scene onto at least one TDI array that is covered by a multispectral filter that passes separate bandwidths of light onto the rows in the TDI array. The variable gain feature of the TDI array allows individual rows of pixels to be attenuated individually. The attenuations are functions of the magnitudes of the positive and negative components of a spectral basis vector. The spectral basis vector is constructed so that its positive elements emphasize the presence of a target and its negative elements emphasize the presence of the constituents of the background of the imaged scene. This system provides for a very efficient determination of the presence of the target, as opposed to the very data intensive data manipulations that are required in conventional hyperspectral imaging systems.

Graph-state formalism for mutually unbiased bases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spengler, Christoph; Kraus, Barbara

2013-11-01

A pair of orthonormal bases is called mutually unbiased if all mutual overlaps between any element of one basis and an arbitrary element of the other basis coincide. In case the dimension, d, of the considered Hilbert space is a power of a prime number, complete sets of d+1 mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) exist. Here we present a method based on the graph-state formalism to construct such sets of MUBs. We show that for n p-level systems, with p being prime, one particular graph suffices to easily construct a set of pn+1 MUBs. In fact, we show that a single n-dimensional vector, which is associated with this graph, can be used to generate a complete set of MUBs and demonstrate that this vector can be easily determined. Finally, we discuss some advantages of our formalism regarding the analysis of entanglement structures in MUBs, as well as experimental realizations.

The radiative decays of excited states of transition elements located inside and near core-shell nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pukhov, Konstantin K.

2017-12-01

Here we discuss the radiative decays of excited states of transition elements located inside and outside of the subwavelength core-shell nanoparticles embedded in dielectric medium. Based on the quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics, the general analytical expressions are derived for the probability of the spontaneous transitions in the luminescent centers (emitter) inside and outside the subwavelength core-shell nanoparticle. Obtained expressions holds for arbitrary orientation of the dipole moment and the principal axes of the quadrupole moment of the emitter with respect to the radius-vector r connecting the center of the emitter with the center of the nanoparticle. They have simple form and show how the spontaneous emission in core-shell NPs can be controlled and engineered due to the dependence of the emission rates on core-shell sizes, radius-vector r and permittivities of the surrounding medium, shell, and core.

Parallel Semi-Implicit Spectral Element Atmospheric Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fournier, A.; Thomas, S.; Loft, R.

2001-05-01

The shallow-water equations (SWE) have long been used to test atmospheric-modeling numerical methods. The SWE contain essential wave-propagation and nonlinear effects of more complete models. We present a semi-implicit (SI) improvement of the Spectral Element Atmospheric Model to solve the SWE (SEAM, Taylor et al. 1997, Fournier et al. 2000, Thomas & Loft 2000). SE methods are h-p finite element methods combining the geometric flexibility of size-h finite elements with the accuracy of degree-p spectral methods. Our work suggests that exceptional parallel-computation performance is achievable by a General-Circulation-Model (GCM) dynamical core, even at modest climate-simulation resolutions (>1o). The code derivation involves weak variational formulation of the SWE, Gauss(-Lobatto) quadrature over the collocation points, and Legendre cardinal interpolators. Appropriate weak variation yields a symmetric positive-definite Helmholtz operator. To meet the Ladyzhenskaya-Babuska-Brezzi inf-sup condition and avoid spurious modes, we use a staggered grid. The SI scheme combines leapfrog and Crank-Nicholson schemes for the nonlinear and linear terms respectively. The localization of operations to elements ideally fits the method to cache-based microprocessor computer architectures --derivatives are computed as collections of small (8x8), naturally cache-blocked matrix-vector products. SEAM also has desirable boundary-exchange communication, like finite-difference models. Timings on on the IBM SP and Compaq ES40 supercomputers indicate that the SI code (20-min timestep) requires 1/3 the CPU time of the explicit code (2-min timestep) for T42 resolutions. Both codes scale nearly linearly out to 400 processors. We achieved single-processor performance up to 30% of peak for both codes on the 375-MHz IBM Power-3 processors. Fast computation and linear scaling lead to a useful climate-simulation dycore only if enough model time is computed per unit wall-clock time. An efficient SI solver is essential to substantially increase this rate. Parallel preconditioning for an iterative conjugate-gradient elliptic solver is described. We are building a GCM dycore capable of 200 GF% lOPS sustained performance on clustered RISC/cache architectures using hybrid MPI/OpenMP programming.

Development of an adenoviral vector with robust expression driven by p53

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

Bajgelman, Marcio C.; Biotechnology Program, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of Sao Paulo; Millennium Institute-Gene Therapy Network, Ministry of Science and Technology

2008-02-05

Here we introduce a new adenoviral vector where transgene expression is driven by p53. We first developed a synthetic promoter, referred to as PGTx{beta}, containing a p53-responsive element, a minimal promoter and the first intron of the rabbit {beta}-globin gene. Initial assays using plasmid-based vectors indicated that expression was tightly controlled by p53 and was 5-fold stronger than the constitutive CMV immediate early promoter/enhancer. The adenoviral vector, AdPG, was also shown to offer p53-responsive expression in prostate carcinoma cells LNCaP (wt p53), DU-145 (temperature sensitive mutant of p53) and PC3 (p53-null, but engineered to express temperature-sensitive p53 mutants). AdPG servedmore » as a sensor of p53 activity in LNCaP cells treated with chemotherapeutic agents. Since p53 can be induced by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, this new vector could be further developed for use in combination with conventional therapies to bring about cooperation between the genetic and pharmacologic treatment modalities.« less

DNA transformations of Candida tropicalis with replicating and integrative vectors.

PubMed

Sanglard, D; Fiechter, A

1992-12-01

The alkane-assimilating yeast Candida tropicalis was used as a host for DNA transformations. A stable ade2 mutant (Ha900) obtained by UV-mutagenesis was used as a recipient for different vectors carrying selectable markers. A first vector, pMK16, that was developed for the transformation of C. albicans and carries an ADE2 gene marker and a Candida autonomously replicating sequence (CARS) element promoting autonomous replication, was compatible for transforming Ha900. Two transformant types were observed: (i) pink transformants which easily lose pMK16 under non-selective growth conditions; (ii) white transformants, in which the same plasmid exhibited a higher mitotic stability. In both cases pMK16 could be rescued from these cells in Escherichia coli. A second vector, pADE2, containing the isolated C. tropicalis ADE2, gene, was used to transform Ha900. This vector integrated in the yeast genome at homologous sites of the ade2 locus. Different integration types were observed at one or both ade2 alleles in single or in tandem repeats.

Perturbation vectors to evaluate air quality using lichens and bromeliads: a Brazilian case study.

PubMed

Monna, F; Marques, A N; Guillon, R; Losno, R; Couette, S; Navarro, N; Dongarra, G; Tamburo, E; Varrica, D; Chateau, C; Nepomuceno, F O

2017-10-17

Samples of one lichen species, Parmotrema crinitum, and one bromeliad species, Tillandsia usneoides, were collected in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at four sites differently affected by anthropogenic pollution. The concentrations of aluminum, cadmium, copper, iron, lanthanum, lead, sulfur, titanium, zinc, and zirconium were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. The environmental diagnosis was established by examining compositional changes via perturbation vectors, an underused family of methods designed to circumvent the problem of closure in any compositional dataset. The perturbation vectors between the reference site and the other three sites were similar for both species, although body concentration levels were different. At each site, perturbation vectors between lichens and bromeliads were approximately the same, whatever the local pollution level. It should thus be possible to combine these organisms, though physiologically different, for air quality surveys, after making all results comparable with appropriate correction. The use of perturbation vectors seems particularly suitable for assessing pollution level by biomonitoring, and for many frequently met situations in environmental geochemistry, where elemental ratios are more relevant than absolute concentrations.

pTcGW plasmid vectors 1.1 version: a versatile tool for Trypanosoma cruzi gene characterisation

PubMed Central

Kugeratski, Fernanda G; Batista, Michel; Inoue, Alexandre Haruo; Ramos, Bruno Dias; Krieger, Marco Aurelio; Marchini/, Fabricio K

2015-01-01

The functional characterisation of thousands of Trypanosoma cruzi genes remains a challenge. Reverse genetics approaches compatible with high-throughput cloning strategies can provide the tool needed to tackle this challenge. We previously published the pTcGW platform, composed by plasmid vectors carrying different options of N-terminal fusion tags based on Gateway® technology. Here, we present an improved 1.1 version of pTcGW vectors, which is characterised by a fully flexible structure allowing an easy customisation of each element of the vectors in a single cloning step. Additionally, both N and C-terminal fusions are available with new tag options for protein complexes purification. Three of the newly created vectors were successfully used to determine the cellular localisation of four T. cruzi proteins. The 1.1 version of pTcGW platform can be used in a variety of assays, such as protein overexpression, identification of protein-protein interaction and protein localisation. This powerful and versatile tool allows adding valuable functional information to T. cruzi genes and is freely available for scientific community. PMID:26200713

Influence of panel fastening on the acoustic performance of light-weight building elements: Study by sound transmission and laser scanning vibrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roozen, N. B.; Muellner, H.; Labelle, L.; Rychtáriková, M.; Glorieux, C.

2015-06-01

Structural details and workmanship can cause considerable differences in sound insulation properties of timber frame partitions. In this study, the influence of panel fastening is investigated experimentally by means of standardized sound reduction index measurements, supported by detailed scanning laser Doppler vibrometry. In particular the effect of the number of screws used to fasten the panels to the studs, and the tightness of the screws, is studied using seven different configurations of lightweight timber frame building elements. In the frequency range from 300 to 4000 Hz, differences in the weighted sound reduction index RW as large as 10 dB were measured, suggesting that the method of fastening can have a large impact on the acoustic performance of building elements. Using the measured vibrational responses of the element, its acoustic radiation efficiency was computed numerically by means of a Rayleigh integral. The increased radiation efficiency partly explains the reduced sound reduction index. Loosening the screws, or reducing the number of screws, lowers the radiation efficiency, and significantly increases the sound reduction index of the partition.

Precast-Prestressed Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basalt Rock Co., Inc., Napa, CA.

Diagrammatic explanations of various concepts, processes, details, and potential material usages are presented. Specific material and element topics include--(1) the fabrication process, (2) basic structural components, (3) element usage, and (4) building construction procedures. Examples of the use of related elements are shown for typical school…

Energy Conscious Design: Educational Facilities. [Brief No.] 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Inst. of Architects, Washington, DC.

An energy task group of the American Institute of Architects discusses design features and options that educational facility designers can use to create an energy efficient school building. Design elements cover the building envelope, energy storage system, hydronic heating/cooling systems, solar energy collection, building orientation and shape,…

Vector control in developed countries

PubMed Central

Peters, Richard F.

1963-01-01

The recent rapid growth of California's population, leading to competition for space between residential, industrial and agricultural interests, the development of its water resources and increasing water pollution provide the basic ingredients of its present vector problems. Within the past half-century, the original mosquito habitats provided by nature have gradually given place to even more numerous and productive habitats of man-made character. At the same time, emphasis in mosquito control has shifted from physical to chemical, with the more recent extension to biological approaches as well. The growing domestic fly problem, continuing despite the virtual disappearance of the horse, is attributable to an increasing amount of organic by-products, stemming from growing communities, expanding industries and changing agriculture. The programme for the control of disease vectors and pest insects and animals directs its major effort to the following broad areas: (1) water management (including land preparation), (2) solid organic wastes management (emphasizing utilization), (3) community management (including design, layout, and storage practices of buildings and grounds), and (4) recreational area management (related to wildlife management). It is apparent that vector control can often employ economics as an ally in securing its objectives. Effective organization of the environment to produce maximum economic benefits to industry, agriculture, and the community results generally in conditions unfavourable to the survival of vector and noxious animal species. Hence, vector prevention or suppression is preferable to control as a programme objective. PMID:20604166

28 CFR 36.402 - Alterations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... affect the usability of the building or facility or any part thereof. (1) Alterations include, but are... the usability of the building or facility. (2) If existing elements, spaces, or common areas are...

28 CFR 36.402 - Alterations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... affect the usability of the building or facility or any part thereof. (1) Alterations include, but are... the usability of the building or facility. (2) If existing elements, spaces, or common areas are...

28 CFR 36.402 - Alterations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... affect the usability of the building or facility or any part thereof. (1) Alterations include, but are... the usability of the building or facility. (2) If existing elements, spaces, or common areas are...

28 CFR 36.402 - Alterations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... affect the usability of the building or facility or any part thereof. (1) Alterations include, but are... the usability of the building or facility. (2) If existing elements, spaces, or common areas are...

28 CFR 36.402 - Alterations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... affect the usability of the building or facility or any part thereof. (1) Alterations include, but are... the usability of the building or facility. (2) If existing elements, spaces, or common areas are...

Common themes in changing vector-borne disease scenarios.

PubMed

Molyneux, David H

2003-01-01

The impact of climate change on disease patterns is controversial. However, global burden of disease studies suggest that infectious diseases will contribute a proportionately smaller burden of disease over the next 2 decades as non-communicable diseases emerge as public health problems. However, infectious diseases contribute proportionately more in the poorest quintile of the population. Notwithstanding the different views of the impact of global warming on vector-borne infections this paper reviews the conditions which drive the changing epidemiology of these infections and suggests that such change is linked by common themes including interactions of generalist vectors and reservoir hosts at interfaces with humans, reduced biodiversity associated with anthropogenic environmental changes, increases in Plasmodium falciparum: P. vivax ratios and well-described land use changes such as hydrological, urbanization, agricultural, mining and forest-associated impacts (extractive activities, road building, deforestation and migration) which are seen on a global scale.

Improved wavelet packet classification algorithm for vibrational intrusions in distributed fiber-optic monitoring systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Bingjie; Pi, Shaohua; Sun, Qi; Jia, Bo

2015-05-01

An improved classification algorithm that considers multiscale wavelet packet Shannon entropy is proposed. Decomposition coefficients at all levels are obtained to build the initial Shannon entropy feature vector. After subtracting the Shannon entropy map of the background signal, components of the strongest discriminating power in the initial feature vector are picked out to rebuild the Shannon entropy feature vector, which is transferred to radial basis function (RBF) neural network for classification. Four types of man-made vibrational intrusion signals are recorded based on a modified Sagnac interferometer. The performance of the improved classification algorithm has been evaluated by the classification experiments via RBF neural network under different diffusion coefficients. An 85% classification accuracy rate is achieved, which is higher than the other common algorithms. The classification results show that this improved classification algorithm can be used to classify vibrational intrusion signals in an automatic real-time monitoring system.

Dynamical polarizability of atoms in arbitrary light fields: general theory and application to cesium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Kien, Fam; Schneeweiss, Philipp; Rauschenbeutel, Arno

2013-05-01

We present a systematic derivation of the dynamical polarizability and the ac Stark shift of the ground and excited states of atoms interacting with a far-off-resonance light field of arbitrary polarization. We calculate the scalar, vector, and tensor polarizabilities of atomic cesium using resonance wavelengths and reduced matrix elements for a large number of transitions. We analyze the properties of the fictitious magnetic field produced by the vector polarizability in conjunction with the ellipticity of the polarization of the light field.

Linear Transformation Method for Multinuclide Decay Calculation

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

Ding Yuan

2010-12-29

A linear transformation method for generic multinuclide decay calculations is presented together with its properties and implications. The method takes advantage of the linear form of the decay solution N(t) = F(t)N{sub 0}, where N(t) is a column vector that represents the numbers of atoms of the radioactive nuclides in the decay chain, N{sub 0} is the initial value vector of N(t), and F(t) is a lower triangular matrix whose time-dependent elements are independent of the initial values of the system.

Applications of Signal Processing in Digital Communications. Appendix.

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-01

we get a separable alphabet with 128 vectors (see Fig. 3). Among It is seen that the effect of R on a two-dimencional vector hem, 32 have energy 3c 2...and 96 have energy b2 + 2c 2. is to rotate it by an angle 21r/M, and the effect of T is to The average energy is 1. exchange its components. This...Sh, S, are two elements of It, the intradistance set associ- generating the code are d.ose associated to nlane ritalins ated with the coset Si! Include

Electrotransformation of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis with Various Plasmids

PubMed Central

Serror, Pascale; Sasaki, Takashi; Ehrlich, S. Dusko; Maguin, Emmanuelle

2002-01-01

We describe, for the first time, a detailed electroporation procedure for Lactobacillus delbrueckii. Three L. delbrueckii strains were successfully transformed. Under optimal conditions, the transformation efficiency was 104 transformants per μg of DNA. Using this procedure, we identified several plasmids able to replicate in L. delbrueckii and integrated an integrative vector based on phage integrative elements into the L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus chromosome. These vectors provide a good basis for developing molecular tools for L. delbrueckii and open the field of genetic studies in L. delbrueckii. PMID:11772607

A FRET-Based Method for Probing the Conformational Behavior of an Intrinsically Disordered Repeat Domain from Bordetella pertussis Adenylate Cyclase

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-22

ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR( S ) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME( S ) AND ADDRESS(ES...MONITORING AGENCY NAME( S ) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM( S ) 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER( S ) 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT...fusion protein C*-BR( S )-Y* expression vector pET/C*-CyaA1488-1680-Y*, nonfluorescent CFP expression vector pET/CFP*, and the maltose binding protein-RTX

The hostel or the warehouse? Spatiotemporal exposure assessment for natural hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuchs, S.; Keiler, M.; Zischg, A.

2015-04-01

A spatially explicit object-based temporal assessment of buildings and citizens exposed to natural hazards in Austria is presented, including elements at risk to river flooding, torrential flooding, and snow avalanches. It is shown that the repeatedly-stated assumption of increasing losses due to continued population growth and related increase in assets has to be opposed to the local development of building stock. While some regions have shown a clearly above-average increase in assets, other regions were characterised by a below-average development. This mirrors the topography of the country, but also the different economic activities. While hotels and hostels are extraordinary prone to mountain hazards, commercial buildings as well as buildings used for recreation purpose are considerably exposed to river flooding. Residential buildings have shown an average exposure, compared to the amount of buildings of this type in the overall building stock. In sum, around 5% of all buildings are exposed to mountain hazards, and around 9% to river flooding, with around 1% of the buildings stock being multi-exposed. It is shown that the dynamics of elements at risk exposed have a time lag once land use regulations are enforced, and it is concluded that an object-based assessment has clear advantages compared to the assessment using aggregated land use data.

Liquid Rocket Booster (LRB) for the Space Transportion System (STS) systems study. Appendix D: Trade study summary for the liquid rocket booster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Trade studies plans for a number of elements in the Liquid Rocket Booster (LRB) component of the Space Transportation System (STS) are given in viewgraph form. Some of the elements covered include: avionics/flight control; avionics architecture; thrust vector control studies; engine control electronics; liquid rocket propellants; propellant pressurization systems; recoverable spacecraft; cryogenic tanks; and spacecraft construction materials.

Rapid construction of a Bacterial Artificial Chromosomal (BAC) expression vector using designer DNA fragments.

PubMed

Chen, Chao; Zhao, Xinqing; Jin, Yingyu; Zhao, Zongbao Kent; Suh, Joo-Won

2014-11-01

Bacterial artificial chromosomal (BAC) vectors are increasingly being used in cloning large DNA fragments containing complex biosynthetic pathways to facilitate heterologous production of microbial metabolites for drug development. To express inserted genes using Streptomyces species as the production hosts, an integration expression cassette is required to be inserted into the BAC vector, which includes genetic elements encoding a phage-specific attachment site, an integrase, an origin of transfer, a selection marker and a promoter. Due to the large sizes of DNA inserted into the BAC vectors, it is normally inefficient and time-consuming to assemble these fragments by routine PCR amplifications and restriction-ligations. Here we present a rapid method to insert fragments to construct BAC-based expression vectors. A DNA fragment of about 130 bp was designed, which contains upstream and downstream homologous sequences of both BAC vector and pIB139 plasmid carrying the whole integration expression cassette. In-Fusion cloning was performed using the designer DNA fragment to modify pIB139, followed by λ-RED-mediated recombination to obtain the BAC-based expression vector. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this method by rapid construction of a BAC-based expression vector with an insert of about 120 kb that contains the entire gene cluster for biosynthesis of immunosuppressant FK506. The empty BAC-based expression vector constructed in this study can be conveniently used for construction of BAC libraries using either microbial pure culture or environmental DNA, and the selected BAC clones can be directly used for heterologous expression. Alternatively, if a BAC library has already been constructed using a commercial BAC vector, the selected BAC vectors can be manipulated using the method described here to get the BAC-based expression vectors with desired gene clusters for heterologous expression. The rapid construction of a BAC-based expression vector facilitates heterologous expression of large gene clusters for drug discovery. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SutraPlot, a graphical post-processor for SUTRA, a model for ground-water flow with solute or energy transport

USGS Publications Warehouse

Souza, W.R.

1999-01-01

This report documents a graphical display post-processor (SutraPlot) for the U.S. Geological Survey Saturated-Unsaturated flow and solute or energy TRAnsport simulation model SUTRA, Version 2D3D.1. This version of SutraPlot is an upgrade to SutraPlot for the 2D-only SUTRA model (Souza, 1987). It has been modified to add 3D functionality, a graphical user interface (GUI), and enhanced graphic output options. Graphical options for 2D SUTRA (2-dimension) simulations include: drawing the 2D finite-element mesh, mesh boundary, and velocity vectors; plots of contours for pressure, saturation, concentration, and temperature within the model region; 2D finite-element based gridding and interpolation; and 2D gridded data export files. Graphical options for 3D SUTRA (3-dimension) simulations include: drawing the 3D finite-element mesh; plots of contours for pressure, saturation, concentration, and temperature in 2D sections of the 3D model region; 3D finite-element based gridding and interpolation; drawing selected regions of velocity vectors (projected on principal coordinate planes); and 3D gridded data export files. Installation instructions and a description of all graphic options are presented. A sample SUTRA problem is described and three step-by-step SutraPlot applications are provided. In addition, the methodology and numerical algorithms for the 2D and 3D finite-element based gridding and interpolation, developed for SutraPlot, are described. 1

3D PRINTING SUSTAINABLE BUILDING COMPONENTS FOR FACADES AND AS WINDOW ELEMENTS

EPA Science Inventory

The façade elements we design will be targeted at the construction industry and will be evaluated in the context of rapid manufacturing, energy conservation, thermal performance, structural strength, durability and construction assembly. The façade element des...

Icelandic Morphosyntax and Argument Structure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Jim

2012-01-01

This dissertation is about the elements that build verbs, the elements that introduce arguments, and how these elements interact to determine the interpretation of arguments and events. A theory of argument structure is a theory how arguments are introduced syntactically, interpreted semantically, and marked morphologically, and how this…

Photovoltaic sheathing element with a flexible connector assembly

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

Langmaid, Joseph A; Keenihan, James R; Mills, Michael E

2016-07-12

The present invention is premised upon an assembly including at least a photovoltaic sheathing element capable of being affixed on a building structure, the sheathing element including at least: a photovoltaic cell assembly, a body portion attached to one or more portions of the photovoltaic cell assembly; at least a first and a second connector assembly disposed on opposing sides of the sheathing element and capable of directly or indirectly electrically connecting the photovoltaic cell assembly to at least two adjoining devices that are affixed to the building structure and wherein at least one of the connector assemblies includes amore » flexible portion; one or more connector pockets disposed in the body portion the pockets capable of receiving at least a portion of the connector assembly.« less

Seismic Indexing System for Army Installations. Volume II. Seismic Hazard Priority-Ranking Procedure for Army Buildings: Basic Concept.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-05-01

factors that cause damage are discussed below. a. Architectural elements. Damage to architectural elements can result in both significant dollar losses...hazard priority- ranking procedure are: 1. To produce meaningful results which are as simple as possible, con- sidering the existing databases. 2. To...minimize the amount of data required for meaningful results , i.e., the database should contain only the most fundamental building characteris- tics. 3. To

Image processing occupancy sensor

DOEpatents

Brackney, Larry J.

2016-09-27

A system and method of detecting occupants in a building automation system environment using image based occupancy detection and position determinations. In one example, the system includes an image processing occupancy sensor that detects the number and position of occupants within a space that has controllable building elements such as lighting and ventilation diffusers. Based on the position and location of the occupants, the system can finely control the elements to optimize conditions for the occupants, optimize energy usage, among other advantages.

An expert system for the selection of building elements during architectural design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alibaba, Halil Zafer

This thesis explains the development stages of an expert system for the evaluation and selection of building elements during the early stages of architectural design. This expert system is called BES. It is produced after two prototypes were established. Testing of BES is made on professional architects who are from both academia and the practical construction market of Northern Cyprus. BES is intended to be used by experienced and inexperienced architects. The model includes selection of all kinds of main building elements that are available like retaining walls, foundations, external walls, internal walls, floors, external stairs, internal stairs, roofs, external chimneys, internal chimneys, windows and external doors and internal doors and their sub-type building elements. The selection is achieved via SMART Methodology depending on the performance requirements and an expert system shell Exsys Corvid version 1.2.14 is used to structure the expert system. The use of computers in today's world is very important with its advantages in handling vast amount of data. The use of the model through Internet makes the model international, and a useful design aid for architects. In addition, the decision-making feature of this model provides a suitable selection among numerous alternatives. The thesis also explains the development and the experience gained through use of the BES. It discusses the further development of the model.

Classification of a set of vectors using self-organizing map- and rule-based technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ae, Tadashi; Okaniwa, Kaishirou; Nosaka, Kenzaburou

2005-02-01

There exist various objects, such as pictures, music, texts, etc., around our environment. We have a view for these objects by looking, reading or listening. Our view is concerned with our behaviors deeply, and is very important to understand our behaviors. We have a view for an object, and decide the next action (data selection, etc.) with our view. Such a series of actions constructs a sequence. Therefore, we propose a method which acquires a view as a vector from several words for a view, and apply the vector to sequence generation. We focus on sequences of the data of which a user selects from a multimedia database containing pictures, music, movie, etc... These data cannot be stereotyped because user's view for them changes by each user. Therefore, we represent the structure of the multimedia database as the vector representing user's view and the stereotyped vector, and acquire sequences containing the structure as elements. Such a vector can be classified by SOM (Self-Organizing Map). Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is a method to generate sequences. Therefore, we use HMM of which a state corresponds to the representative vector of user's view, and acquire sequences containing the change of user's view. We call it Vector-state Markov Model (VMM). We introduce the rough set theory as a rule-base technique, which plays a role of classifying the sets of data such as the sets of "Tour".

Documentation and dissemination of the sculptural elements of Canada's Parliamentary Buildings: Methodology development and evolution, a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouimet, C.; Gregg, J.; Kretz, S.; Chandler, C.; Hayes, J.

2015-08-01

Parliament Hill consists of four historic gothic revival buildings, which form part of the Parliament Buildings National Historic Site of Canada in the National Capital of Ottawa. There are more than 2000 masonry sculptural elements throughout the four buildings. Three of the buildings are in the middle of multi-year rehabilitation projects. Extensive Heritage Documentation is being undertaken to support various activities and conservation teams throughout the interior and exterior of the buildings while also serving as a key posterity records. One of the significant heritage documentation projects is the 3D digitization of the 2000+ heritage character defining sculptural elements. The Heritage Conservation Directorate (HCD) of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) was tasked by the Parliamentary Precinct Branch (PPB) of PWGSC to document these character defining elements. The sculptures vary in size from as small as 100mm in width to up to 2 meters in size. This project is in its third year and much has been learned and researched about the most appropriate and efficient means by which to document these elements. Although a methodology was in place to document the sculptures at the inception of the project, it has gone through several iterations in order to improve the gathered data, and in turn increase the efficiency, quality and speed of data acquisition. This paper will describe the evolution of the methodology, as well as the rationale for the alterations in technique. With over 600 of the approximate 2000 (heritage character defining) sculptural elements captured to date, the project is entering a critical phase where an efficient and effective method for sharing and disseminating the information to a wide audience is being explored and evaluated. The end result is intended to allow the client (PPB) and the general public a way to look at and interactively manipulate the viewpoint of each digital model. This will provide a unique opportunity for a wide audience to evaluate and appreciate these elaborate works of art. This database of information can also be of use for academic study and research. To date the data captured by HCD has been utilized by conservation professionals and by the Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS) of Carleton University. HCD has partnered with CIMS to explore a wide variety of potential uses for the data including the creation of 2D-drawings, stone carving profile templates, 3D printed scale models, CNC carved maquettes, robotic stone carving, and digitally-designed replacement elements. CIMS and HCD have tested the limits of digital technologies to assist stone carvers in restoring carved elements while also learning from the sculptors and masons to better understand their approach when conserving or restoring a sculptural element. Examples of how the conservation team, specifically the stone carvers have been working with the data and technology will also be presented.

Proteomics informed by transcriptomics for characterising active transposable elements and genome annotation in Aedes aegypti.

PubMed

Maringer, Kevin; Yousuf, Amjad; Heesom, Kate J; Fan, Jun; Lee, David; Fernandez-Sesma, Ana; Bessant, Conrad; Matthews, David A; Davidson, Andrew D

2017-01-19

Aedes aegypti is a vector for the (re-)emerging human pathogens dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses. Almost half of the Ae. aegypti genome is comprised of transposable elements (TEs). Transposons have been linked to diverse cellular processes, including the establishment of viral persistence in insects, an essential step in the transmission of vector-borne viruses. However, up until now it has not been possible to study the overall proteome derived from an organism's mobile genetic elements, partly due to the highly divergent nature of TEs. Furthermore, as for many non-model organisms, incomplete genome annotation has hampered proteomic studies on Ae. aegypti. We analysed the Ae. aegypti proteome using our new proteomics informed by transcriptomics (PIT) technique, which bypasses the need for genome annotation by identifying proteins through matched transcriptomic (rather than genomic) data. Our data vastly increase the number of experimentally confirmed Ae. aegypti proteins. The PIT analysis also identified hotspots of incomplete genome annotation, and showed that poor sequence and assembly quality do not explain all annotation gaps. Finally, in a proof-of-principle study, we developed criteria for the characterisation of proteomically active TEs. Protein expression did not correlate with a TE's genomic abundance at different levels of classification. Most notably, long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons were markedly enriched compared to other elements. PIT was superior to 'conventional' proteomic approaches in both our transposon and genome annotation analyses. We present the first proteomic characterisation of an organism's repertoire of mobile genetic elements, which will open new avenues of research into the function of transposon proteins in health and disease. Furthermore, our study provides a proof-of-concept that PIT can be used to evaluate a genome's annotation to guide annotation efforts which has the potential to improve the efficiency of annotation projects in non-model organisms. PIT therefore represents a valuable new tool to study the biology of the important vector species Ae. aegypti, including its role in transmitting emerging viruses of global public health concern.

A stable RNA virus-based vector for citrus trees

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

Folimonov, Alexey S.; Folimonova, Svetlana Y.; Bar-Joseph, Moshe

Virus-based vectors are important tools in plant molecular biology and plant genomics. A number of vectors based on viruses that infect herbaceous plants are in use for expression or silencing of genes in plants as well as screening unknown sequences for function. Yet there is a need for useful virus-based vectors for woody plants, which demand much greater stability because of the longer time required for systemic infection and analysis. We examined several strategies to develop a Citrus tristeza virus (CTV)-based vector for transient expression of foreign genes in citrus trees using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reporter.more » These strategies included substitution of the p13 open reading frame (ORF) by the ORF of GFP, construction of a self-processing fusion of GFP in-frame with the major coat protein (CP), or expression of the GFP ORF as an extra gene from a subgenomic (sg) mRNA controlled either by a duplicated CTV CP sgRNA controller element (CE) or an introduced heterologous CE of Beet yellows virus. Engineered vector constructs were examined for replication, encapsidation, GFP expression during multiple passages in protoplasts, and for their ability to infect, move, express GFP, and be maintained in citrus plants. The most successful vectors based on the 'add-a-gene' strategy have been unusually stable, continuing to produce GFP fluorescence after more than 4 years in citrus trees.« less

Gene drive systems for insect disease vectors.

PubMed

Sinkins, Steven P; Gould, Fred

2006-06-01

The elegant mechanisms by which naturally occurring selfish genetic elements, such as transposable elements, meiotic drive genes, homing endonuclease genes and Wolbachia, spread at the expense of their hosts provide some of the most fascinating and remarkable subjects in evolutionary genetics. These elements also have enormous untapped potential to be used in the control of some of the world's most devastating diseases. Effective gene drive systems for spreading genes that can block the transmission of insect-borne pathogens are much needed. Here we explore the potential of natural gene drive systems and discuss the artificial constructs that could be envisaged for this purpose.

Parallel processing in finite element structural analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, Ahmed K.

1987-01-01

A brief review is made of the fundamental concepts and basic issues of parallel processing. Discussion focuses on parallel numerical algorithms, performance evaluation of machines and algorithms, and parallelism in finite element computations. A computational strategy is proposed for maximizing the degree of parallelism at different levels of the finite element analysis process including: 1) formulation level (through the use of mixed finite element models); 2) analysis level (through additive decomposition of the different arrays in the governing equations into the contributions to a symmetrized response plus correction terms); 3) numerical algorithm level (through the use of operator splitting techniques and application of iterative processes); and 4) implementation level (through the effective combination of vectorization, multitasking and microtasking, whenever available).

Adaptation of a program for nonlinear finite element analysis to the CDC STAR 100 computer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pifko, A. B.; Ogilvie, P. L.

1978-01-01

The conversion of a nonlinear finite element program to the CDC STAR 100 pipeline computer is discussed. The program called DYCAST was developed for the crash simulation of structures. Initial results with the STAR 100 computer indicated that significant gains in computation time are possible for operations on gloval arrays. However, for element level computations that do not lend themselves easily to long vector processing, the STAR 100 was slower than comparable scalar computers. On this basis it is concluded that in order for pipeline computers to impact the economic feasibility of large nonlinear analyses it is absolutely essential that algorithms be devised to improve the efficiency of element level computations.

Wind load effects on high rise buildings in Peninsular Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nizamani, Z.; Thang, K. C.; Haider, B.; Shariff, M.

2018-04-01

Wind is a randomly varying dynamic phenomenon composed of a multitude of eddies of varying sizes and rotational characteristics along a general stream of air moving relative to the ground. These eddies give wind its gustiness, creating fluctuation and results in a complex flow characteristics. The wind vector at any point can be regarded as the sum of mean wind vector and the fluctuation components. These components not only vary with height but also dependant on the approach terrain and topography. Prevailing wind exerts pressure onto the structural surfaces. The effects of wind pressure in the form of shear and bending moments are found to be a major problem in structural failure. This study aims to study the effects of wind load on a fifteen-storey high rise building using EN 1991-1-4 code and MS1553:2002. The simulation results showed that by increasing the wind speed, the storey resultant forces, namely storey shear and storey moment increases significantly. Furthermore, simulation results according to EN 1991-1-4 yield higher values compared to the simulation results according to MS1553:2002.

Building a Computer Program to Support Children, Parents, and Distraction during Healthcare Procedures

PubMed Central

McCarthy, Ann Marie; Kleiber, Charmaine; Ataman, Kaan; Street, W. Nick; Zimmerman, M. Bridget; Ersig, Anne L.

2012-01-01

This secondary data analysis used data mining methods to develop predictive models of child risk for distress during a healthcare procedure. Data used came from a study that predicted factors associated with children’s responses to an intravenous catheter insertion while parents provided distraction coaching. From the 255 items used in the primary study, 44 predictive items were identified through automatic feature selection and used to build support vector machine regression models. Models were validated using multiple cross-validation tests and by comparing variables identified as explanatory in the traditional versus support vector machine regression. Rule-based approaches were applied to the model outputs to identify overall risk for distress. A decision tree was then applied to evidence-based instructions for tailoring distraction to characteristics and preferences of the parent and child. The resulting decision support computer application, the Children, Parents and Distraction (CPaD), is being used in research. Future use will support practitioners in deciding the level and type of distraction intervention needed by a child undergoing a healthcare procedure. PMID:22805121

Climate and Population Health Vulnerabilities to Vector-Borne Diseases: Increasing Resilience Under Climate Change Conditions in Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceccato, P.; McDonald, K. C.; Podest, E.; De La Torre Juarez, M.; Kruczkiewicz, A.; Lessel, J.; Jensen, K.; Thomson, M. C.

2014-12-01

The International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), the City University of New York (CUNY) and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in collaboration with NASA SERVIR are developing tools to monitor climate variables (precipitation, temperature, vegetation, water bodies, inundation) that help projects in Africa to increase resilience to climate change for vector-borne diseases (i.e. malaria, trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, and schistosomiasis). Through the development of new products to monitor precipitation, water bodies and inundation, IRI, CUNY and JPL provide tools and capacity building to research communities, ministries of health and World Health Organization in Africa to: 1) Develop research teams' ability to appropriately use climate data as part of their research 2) Enable research teams and ministries to integrate climate information into social and economic drivers of vulnerability and opportunities for adaptation to climate change 3) Inform better policies and programs for climate change adaptation. This oral presentation will demonstrate how IRI, CUNY, and JPL developed new products, tools and capacity building to achieve the three objectives mentioned above.

Real-time radiography of Titan 4 Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) static firing test QM-2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolan, K. W.; Curnow, G. M.; Perkins, D. E.; Schneberk, D. J.; Costerus, B. W.; Lachapell, M. J.; Turner, D. E.; Wallace, P. W.

1994-03-01

Real-time radiography was successfully applied to the Titan-4 Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) static firing test QM-2 conducted February 22, 1993 at Phillips Laboratory, Edwards AFB, CA. The real-time video data obtained in this test gave the first incontrovertible evidence that the molten slag pool is low (less than 5 to 6 inches in depth referenced to the bottom of the aft dome cavity) before T + 55 seconds, builds fairly linearly from this point in time reaching a quasi-equilibrium depth of 16 to 17 inches at about T + 97 seconds, which is well below the top of the vectored nozzle, and maintains that level until T + 125 near the end motor burn. From T + 125 seconds to motor burn-out at T + 140 seconds the slag pool builds to a maximum depth of about 20 to 21 inches, still well below the top of the nozzle. The molten slag pool was observed to interact with motions of the vectored nozzle, and exhibit slosh and wave mode oscillations. A few slag ejection events were also observed.

Ecological, biological and social dimensions of dengue vector breeding in five urban settings of Latin America: a multi-country study.

PubMed

Quintero, Juliana; Brochero, Helena; Manrique-Saide, Pablo; Barrera-Pérez, Mario; Basso, César; Romero, Sonnia; Caprara, Andrea; De Lima Cunha, Jane Cris; Beltrán-Ayala, Efraín; Mitchell-Foster, Kendra; Kroeger, Axel; Sommerfeld, Johannnes; Petzold, Max

2014-01-21

Dengue is an increasingly important public health problem in most Latin American countries and more cost-effective ways of reducing dengue vector densities to prevent transmission are in demand by vector control programs. This multi-centre study attempted to identify key factors associated with vector breeding and development as a basis for improving targeted intervention strategies. In each of 5 participant cities in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Uruguay, 20 clusters were randomly selected by grid sampling to incorporate 100 contiguous households, non-residential private buildings (businesses) and public spaces. Standardized household surveys, cluster background surveys and entomological surveys specifically targeted to obtain pupal indices for Aedes aegypti, were conducted in the dry and wet seasons. The study clusters included mainly urban low-middle class populations with satisfactory infrastructure and -except for Uruguay- favourable climatic conditions for dengue vector development. Household knowledge about dengue and "dengue mosquitoes" was widespread, mainly through mass media, but there was less awareness around interventions to reduce vector densities. Vector production (measured through pupal indices) was favoured when water containers were outdoor, uncovered, unused (even in Colombia and Ecuador where the large tanks used for household water storage and washing were predominantly productive) and -particularly during the dry season- rainwater filled. Larval infestation did not reflect productive container types. All productive container types, including those important in the dry season, were identified by pupal surveys executed during the rainy season. A number of findings are relevant for improving vector control: 1) there is a need for complementing larval surveys with occasional pupal surveys (to be conducted during the wet season) for identifying and subsequently targeting productive container types; 2) the need to raise public awareness about useful and effective interventions in productive container types specific to their area; and 3) the motivation for control services that-according to this and similar studies in Asia- dedicated, targeted vector management can make a difference in terms of reducing vector abundance.

Shape functions for velocity interpolation in general hexahedral cells

USGS Publications Warehouse

Naff, R.L.; Russell, T.F.; Wilson, J.D.

2002-01-01

Numerical methods for grids with irregular cells require discrete shape functions to approximate the distribution of quantities across cells. For control-volume mixed finite-element (CVMFE) methods, vector shape functions approximate velocities and vector test functions enforce a discrete form of Darcy's law. In this paper, a new vector shape function is developed for use with irregular, hexahedral cells (trilinear images of cubes). It interpolates velocities and fluxes quadratically, because as shown here, the usual Piola-transformed shape functions, which interpolate linearly, cannot match uniform flow on general hexahedral cells. Truncation-error estimates for the shape function are demonstrated. CVMFE simulations of uniform and non-uniform flow with irregular meshes show first- and second-order convergence of fluxes in the L2 norm in the presence and absence of singularities, respectively.

Orientational Order on Surfaces: The Coupling of Topology, Geometry, and Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nestler, M.; Nitschke, I.; Praetorius, S.; Voigt, A.

2018-02-01

We consider the numerical investigation of surface bound orientational order using unit tangential vector fields by means of a gradient flow equation of a weak surface Frank-Oseen energy. The energy is composed of intrinsic and extrinsic contributions, as well as a penalization term to enforce the unity of the vector field. Four different numerical discretizations, namely a discrete exterior calculus approach, a method based on vector spherical harmonics, a surface finite element method, and an approach utilizing an implicit surface description, the diffuse interface method, are described and compared with each other for surfaces with Euler characteristic 2. We demonstrate the influence of geometric properties on realizations of the Poincaré-Hopf theorem and show examples where the energy is decreased by introducing additional orientational defects.

Vectorized schemes for conical potential flow using the artificial density method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bradley, P. F.; Dwoyer, D. L.; South, J. C., Jr.; Keen, J. M.

1984-01-01

A method is developed to determine solutions to the full-potential equation for steady supersonic conical flow using the artificial density method. Various update schemes used generally for transonic potential solutions are investigated. The schemes are compared for speed and robustness. All versions of the computer code have been vectorized and are currently running on the CYBER-203 computer. The update schemes are vectorized, where possible, either fully (explicit schemes) or partially (implicit schemes). Since each version of the code differs only by the update scheme and elements other than the update scheme are completely vectorizable, comparisons of computational effort and convergence rate among schemes are a measure of the specific scheme's performance. Results are presented for circular and elliptical cones at angle of attack for subcritical and supercritical crossflows.

Development of computer program NAS3D using Vector processing for geometric nonlinear analysis of structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mangalgiri, P. D.; Prabhakaran, R.

1986-01-01

An algorithm for vectorized computation of stiffness matrices of an 8 noded isoparametric hexahedron element for geometric nonlinear analysis was developed. This was used in conjunction with the earlier 2-D program GAMNAS to develop the new program NAS3D for geometric nonlinear analysis. A conventional, modified Newton-Raphson process is used for the nonlinear analysis. New schemes for the computation of stiffness and strain energy release rates is presented. The organization the program is explained and some results on four sample problems are given. The study of CPU times showed that savings by a factor of 11 to 13 were achieved when vectorized computation was used for the stiffness instead of the conventional scalar one. Finally, the scheme of inputting data is explained.

Efficiency of an air curtain as an anti-insect barrier: the honey bee as a model insect.

PubMed

Kairo, Guillaume; Pioz, Maryline; Tchamitchian, Sylvie; Pelissier, Michel; Brunet, Jean-Luc; Belzunces, Luc P

2018-05-28

Vector-borne diseases are of high concern for human, animal and plant health. In humans, such diseases are often transmitted by flying insects. Flying insects stop their flight when their kinetic energy cannot compensate for the wind speed. Here, the efficiency of an air curtain in preventing insects from entering a building was studied using the honey bee as a model. Bees were trained to visit a food source placed in a building. The air curtain was tested with strongly motivated bees, when the visiting activity was very high. Airflow velocity was modulated by setting an air curtain device at different voltages. At the nominal voltage, the anti-insect efficiency was 99.9 ± 0.2% compared with both the number of bees at a given time in the absence of the air curtain and the number of bees before the activation of the air curtain. The efficiency decreased as the airflow velocity decreased. The results show that an air curtain operating at an airflow velocity of 7.5 m/sec may prevent a strong flyer with high kinetic energy, such as the honey bee, from entering a building. Thus, air curtains offer an alternative approach for combating vector-borne diseases. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Frequency of urban building fires as related to daily weather conditions

Treesearch

Arthur R. Pirsko; Wallace L. Fons

1956-01-01

Daily weather elements of precipitation, wind, mean temperature, relative humidity, and dew-point temperature for selected urban areas (approximately 850,000 population) in the United States are statistically analyzed to determine their correlation with daily number of building fires. The frequency of urban building fires is found to be significantly correlated with...

School Flooring Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGrath, John

2012-01-01

With all of the hype that green building is receiving throughout the school facility-management industry, it's easy to overlook some elements that may not be right in front of a building manager's nose. It is helpful to examine the role floor covering plays in a green building project. Flooring is one of the most significant and important systems…

Construction of human artificial chromosome vectors by recombineering.

PubMed

Kotzamanis, George; Cheung, Wing; Abdulrazzak, Hassan; Perez-Luz, Sara; Howe, Steven; Cooke, Howard; Huxley, Clare

2005-05-23

Human artificial chromosomes (HACs) can be formed de novo by transfection of large fragments of cloned alphoid DNA into human HT1080 cells in tissue culture. In order to generate HACs carrying a gene of interest, one can either co-transfect the alphoid DNA and the gene of interest, or one can clone both into a single vector prior to transfection. Here we describe linking approximately 70 kb of alphoid DNA onto a 156-kb BAC carrying the human HPRT gene using Red homologous recombination in the EL350 Escherichia coli host [Lee et al., Genomics 73 (2001) 56-65]. A selectable marker and EGFP marker were then added by loxP/Cre recombination using the arabinose inducible cre gene in the EL350 bacteria. The final construct generates minichromosomes in HT1080 cells and the HPRT gene is expressed. The retrofitting vector can be used to add the approximately 70 kb of alphoid DNA to any BAC carrying a gene of interest to generate a HAC vector. The method can also be used to link any unrelated BAC or PAC insert onto another BAC clone. The EL350 bacteria are an excellent host for building up complex vectors by a combination of homologous and loxP/Cre recombination.

Fuzzy Relational Compression Applied on Feature Vectors for Infant Cry Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reyes-Galaviz, Orion Fausto; Reyes-García, Carlos Alberto

Data compression is always advisable when it comes to handling and processing information quickly and efficiently. There are two main problems that need to be solved when it comes to handling data; store information in smaller spaces and processes it in the shortest possible time. When it comes to infant cry analysis (ICA), there is always the need to construct large sound repositories from crying babies. Samples that have to be analyzed and be used to train and test pattern recognition algorithms; making this a time consuming task when working with uncompressed feature vectors. In this work, we show a simple, but efficient, method that uses Fuzzy Relational Product (FRP) to compresses the information inside a feature vector, building with this a compressed matrix that will help us recognize two kinds of pathologies in infants; Asphyxia and Deafness. We describe the sound analysis, which consists on the extraction of Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients that generate vectors which will later be compressed by using FRP. There is also a description of the infant cry database used in this work, along with the training and testing of a Time Delay Neural Network with the compressed features, which shows a performance of 96.44% with our proposed feature vector compression.

Increasing the computational efficient of digital cross correlation by a vectorization method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Ching-Yuan; Ma, Chien-Ching

2017-08-01

This study presents a vectorization method for use in MATLAB programming aimed at increasing the computational efficiency of digital cross correlation in sound and images, resulting in a speedup of 6.387 and 36.044 times compared with performance values obtained from looped expression. This work bridges the gap between matrix operations and loop iteration, preserving flexibility and efficiency in program testing. This paper uses numerical simulation to verify the speedup of the proposed vectorization method as well as experiments to measure the quantitative transient displacement response subjected to dynamic impact loading. The experiment involved the use of a high speed camera as well as a fiber optic system to measure the transient displacement in a cantilever beam under impact from a steel ball. Experimental measurement data obtained from the two methods are in excellent agreement in both the time and frequency domain, with discrepancies of only 0.68%. Numerical and experiment results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed vectorization method with regard to computational speed in signal processing and high precision in the correlation algorithm. We also present the source code with which to build MATLAB-executable functions on Windows as well as Linux platforms, and provide a series of examples to demonstrate the application of the proposed vectorization method.