The application of PIT tags to measure transport of detrital coral fragments on a fringing reef: Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ford, Murray R.

2014-06-01

Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags are a radio-frequency identification device widely used as a machine-readable identification tool in fisheries research. PIT tags have also been employed, to a lesser extent, to track the movement of gravel-sized clasts within fluvial and coastal systems. In this study, PIT tags were inserted into detrital coral fragments and used to establish source-sink transport pathways on a fringing reef on Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Results suggest the transport of gravel-sized material on the inter-tidal reef flat is exclusively across-reef towards the lagoon. Considerable variation in the distance travelled by fragments was observed. Fragments were largely intact and visually recognisable after almost 5 months on the reef flat. However, the branches of some recovered fragments had broken off and corallite abrasion was observed in recovered fragments. This study indicates that PIT tags are an inexpensive and powerful new addition to the suite of sediment transport and taphonomic tools for researchers working within coral reef systems.

17 CFR 232.310 - Marking changed material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... ASCII and HTML documents by inserting the tag before and the tag following a paragraph containing changed material. HTML documents may be marked to show changed materials within paragraphs. Financial...

Identification of materials hidden inside a sea-going cargo container filled with an organic cargo by using the tagged neutron inspection system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudac, Davorin; Matika, Dario; Valkovic, Vladivoj

2008-04-01

A tagged neutron inspection system was used to search for the presence of explosives hidden inside a sea-going cargo container. Several measurements were done with paper, semtex1a and flour samples placed inside a container filled with an organic cargo made of wooden plates. The results of time-of-flight and gamma-ray spectra measurements obtained with a 14 MeV tagged neutron beam have shown that the investigated materials could be well distinguished in a triangle plot with the following coordinates: the number of counts in the carbon peak, the number of counts in the oxygen peak and the number of counts in the transmitted neutron peak. The signature from the semtex1a explosive could be distinguished from the paper and flour signatures in the organic cargo by using the transmission detectors. Some knowledge about the organic matrix type and density is required, otherwise a high rate of false alarm could be expected. According to the present measurements it seems that the system will work in the organic matrix if its density is ⩽0.25 g/cm 3.

Detection of special nuclear materials with the associate particle technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carasco, Cédric; Deyglun, Clément; Pérot, Bertrand; Eléon, Cyrille; Normand, Stéphane; Sannié, Guillaume; Boudergui, Karim; Corre, Gwenolé; Konzdrasovs, Vladimir; Pras, Philippe

2013-04-01

In the frame of the French trans-governmental R&D program against chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRN-E) threats, CEA is studying the detection of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) by neutron interrogation with fast neutrons produced by an associated particle sealed tube neutron generator. The deuterium-tritium fusion reaction produces an alpha particle and a 14 MeV neutron almost back to back, allowing tagging neutron emission both in time and direction with an alpha particle position-sensitive sensor embedded in the generator. Fission prompt neutrons and gamma rays induced by tagged neutrons which are tagged by an alpha particle are detected in coincidence with plastic scintillators. This paper presents numerical simulations performed with the MCNP-PoliMi Monte Carlo computer code and with post processing software developed with the ROOT data analysis package. False coincidences due to neutron and photon scattering between adjacent detectors (cross talk) are filtered out to increase the selectivity between nuclear and benign materials. Accidental coincidences, which are not correlated to an alpha particle, are also taken into account in the numerical model, as well as counting statistics, and the time-energy resolution of the data acquisition system. Such realistic calculations show that relevant quantities of SNM (few kg) can be distinguished from cargo and shielding materials in 10 min acquisitions. First laboratory tests of the system under development in CEA laboratories are also presented.

Technology Transfer: Marketing Tomorrow's Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tcheng, Erene

1995-01-01

The globalization of the economy and the end of the Cold War have triggered many changes in the traditional practices of U.S. industry. To effectively apply the resources available to the United States, the federal government has firmly advocated a policy of technology transfer between private industry and government labs, in this case the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin is a strong proponent of this policy and has organized technology transfer or commercialization programs at each of the NASA field centers. Here at Langley Research Center, the Technology Applications Group (TAG) is responsible for facilitating the transfer of Langley developed research and technology to U.S. industry. Entering the program, I had many objectives for my summer research with TAG. Certainly, I wanted to gain a more thorough understanding of the concept of technology transfer and Langley's implementation of a system to promote it to both the Langley community and the community at large. Also, I hoped to become more familiar with Langley's research capabilities and technology inventory available to the public. More specifically, I wanted to learn about the technology transfer process at Langley. Because my mentor is a member of Materials and Manufacturing marketing sector of the Technology Transfer Team, another overriding objective for my research was to take advantage of his work and experience in materials research to learn about the Advanced Materials Research agency wide and help market these developments to private industry. Through the various projects I have been assigned to work on in TAG, I have successfully satisfied the majority of these objectives. Work on the Problem Statement Process for TAG as well as the development of the Advanced Materials Research Brochure have provided me with the opportunity to learn about the technology transfer process from the outside looking in and the inside looking out. Because TAG covers all of the research efforts conducted at Langley, my studies with TAG were ab!e to provide me an excellent overview of Langley's contribution to the aeronautics industry.

Tags to Track Illicit Uranium and Plutonium

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

Haire, M. Jonathan; Forsberg, Charles W.

2007-07-01

With the expansion of nuclear power, it is essential to avoid nuclear materials from falling into the hands of rogue nations, terrorists, and other opportunists. This paper examines the idea of detection and attribution tags for nuclear materials. For a detection tag, it is proposed to add small amounts [about one part per billion (ppb)] of {sup 232}U to enriched uranium to brighten its radioactive signature. Enriched uranium would then be as detectable as plutonium and thus increase the likelihood of intercepting illicit enriched uranium. The use of rare earth oxide elements is proposed as a new type of 'attribution'more » tag for uranium and thorium from mills, uranium and plutonium fuels, and other nuclear materials. Rare earth oxides are chosen because they are chemically compatible with the fuel cycle, can survive high-temperature processing operations in fuel fabrication, and can be chosen to have minimal neutronic impact within the nuclear reactor core. The mixture of rare earths and/or rare earth isotopes provides a unique 'bar code' for each tag. If illicit nuclear materials are recovered, the attribution tag can identify the source and lot of nuclear material, and thus help police reduce the possible number of suspects in the diversion of nuclear materials based on who had access. (authors)« less

Development of the EURITRACK tagged neutron inspection system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perot, B.; Carasco, C.; Bernard, S.; Mariani, A.; Szabo, J.-L.; Mercier, E.; Sannie, G.; Viesti, G.; Nebbia, G.; Pesente, S.; Lunardon, M.; Moretto, S.; Fabris, D.; Zenoni, A.; Bonomi, G.; Donzella, A.; Fontana, A.; Boghen, G.; Valkovic, V.; Sudac, D.; Moszynski, M.; Batsch, T.; Gierlik, M.; Woski, D.; Klamra, W.; Isaksson, P.; Le Tourneur, P.; Lhuissier, M.; Colonna, A.; Tintori, C.; Peerani, P.; Sequeira, V.; Salvato, M.

2007-08-01

The EURopean Illicit TRAfficing Countermeasures Kit (EURITRACK) project is part of the 6th European Union Framework Program. It aims at developing a Tagged Neutron Inspection System (TNIS) to detect illicit materials, such as explosives and narcotics, in cargo containers. Fast neutron induced reactions produce specific gamma-rays used to determine the chemical composition of the inspected material. The associated particle technique is employed to precisely locate the interaction points of the neutrons. A new deuterium-tritium neutron generator has been developed, including a pixelized alpha particle detector. The TNIS also comprises high-efficiency fast neutron and gamma-ray detectors, a dedicated front-end electronics and an integrated software to entirely drive the system and automatically process the data. Most components have been integrated during last months at Institute Ruder Boskovic, in Zagreb, Croatia. An overview of the TNIS and of its preliminary performances is presented.

Scanning Cargo Containers with Tagged Neutrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viesti, G.; Botosso, C.; Fabris, D.; Lunardon, M.; Moretto, S.; Nebbia, G.; Pesente, S.; Zenoni, A.; Donzella, A.; Perot, B.; Carasco, C.; Bernard, S.; Mariani, A.; Szabo, J.-L.; Sannie, G.; Valkovic, V.; Sudac, D.; Nad, K.; Peerani, P.; Sequeira, V.; Salvato, M.; Moszynski, M.; Gierlik, M.; Klamra, W.; Le Tourneur, P.; Lhuissier, M.; Colonna, A.; Tintori, C.

2007-10-01

A new Tagged Neutron Inspection System (TNIS) able to detect illicit materials such as explosives and narcotics in cargo containers has been developed within the EURopean Illicit TRAfficing Countermeasures Kit (EURITRACK) project. After the R&D phase, the inspection portal has been installed and commissioned at the Rijeka seaport in Croatia, where it has been operated in connection with the existing X-ray scanner for a first two-month demonstration campaign. Results obtained are presented and discussed in this paper.

A new approach to tag design in dolphin telemetry: Computer simulations to minimise deleterious effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlov, V. V.; Wilson, R. P.; Lucke, K.

2007-02-01

Remote-sensors and transmitters are powerful devices for studying cetaceans at sea. However, despite substantial progress in microelectronics and miniaturisation of systems, dolphin tags are imperfectly designed; additional drag from tags increases swim costs, compromises swimming capacity and manoeuvrability, and leads to extra loads on the animal's tissue. We propose a new approach to tag design, elaborating basic principles and incorporating design stages to minimise device effects by using computer-aided design. Initially, the operational conditions of the device are defined by quantifying the shape, hydrodynamics and range of the natural deformation of the dolphin body at the tag attachment site (such as close to the dorsal fin). Then, parametric models of both of the dorsal fin and a tag are created using the derived data. The link between parameters of the fin and a tag model allows redesign of tag models according to expected changes of fin geometry (difference in fin shape related with species, sex, and age peculiarities, simulation of the bend of the fin during manoeuvres). A final virtual modelling stage uses iterative improvement of a tag model in a computer fluid dynamics (CFD) environment to enhance tag performance. This new method is considered as a suitable tool of tag design before creation of the physical model of a tag and testing with conventional wind/water tunnel technique. Ultimately, tag materials are selected to conform to the conditions identified by the modelling process and thus help create a physical model of a tag, which should minimise its impact on the animal carrier and thus increase the reliability and quality of the data obtained.

A Semantic Rule-Based Framework for Efficient Retrieval of Educational Materials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahmoudi, Maryam Tayefeh; Taghiyareh, Fattaneh; Badie, Kambiz

2013-01-01

Retrieving resources in an appropriate manner has a promising role in increasing the performance of educational support systems. A variety of works have been done to organize materials for educational purposes using tagging techniques. Despite the effectiveness of these techniques within certain domains, organizing resources in a way being…

Imaging mass spectrometer with mass tags

DOEpatents

Felton, James S.; Wu, Kuang Jen; Knize, Mark G.; Kulp, Kristen S.; Gray, Joe W.

2010-06-01

A method of analyzing biological material by exposing the biological material to a recognition element, that is coupled to a mass tag element, directing an ion beam of a mass spectrometer to the biological material, interrogating at least one region of interest area from the biological material and producing data, and distributing the data in plots.

System and method for inventorying multiple remote objects

DOEpatents

Carrender, Curtis L.; Gilbert, Ronald W.

2007-10-23

A system and method of inventorying multiple objects utilizing a multi-level or a chained radio frequency identification system. The system includes a master tag and a plurality of upper level tags and lower level tags associated with respective objects. The upper and lower level tags communicate with each other and the master tag so that reading of the master tag reveals the presence and absence of upper and lower level tags. In the chained RF system, the upper and lower level tags communicate locally with each other in a manner so that more remote tags that are out of range of some of the upper and lower level tags have their information relayed through adjacent tags to the master tag and thence to a controller.

System and method for inventorying multiple remote objects

DOEpatents

Carrender, Curtis L [Morgan Hill, CA; Gilbert, Ronald W [Morgan Hill, CA

2009-12-29

A system and method of inventorying multiple objects utilizing a multi-level or a chained radio frequency identification system. The system includes a master tag and a plurality of upper level tags and lower level tags associated with respective objects. The upper and lower level tags communicate with each other and the master tag so that reading of the master tag reveals the presence and absence of upper and lower level tags. In the chained RF system, the upper and lower level tags communicate locally with each other in a manner so that more remote tags that are out of range of some of the upper and lower level tags have their information relayed through adjacent tags to the master tag and thence to a controller.

Highly efficient purification of protein complexes from mammalian cells using a novel streptavidin-binding peptide and hexahistidine tandem tag system: Application to Bruton's tyrosine kinase

PubMed Central

Li, Yifeng; Franklin, Sarah; Zhang, Michael J; Vondriska, Thomas M

2011-01-01

Tandem affinity purification (TAP) is a generic approach for the purification of protein complexes. The key advantage of TAP is the engineering of dual affinity tags that, when attached to the protein of interest, allow purification of the target protein along with its binding partners through two consecutive purification steps. The tandem tag used in the original method consists of two IgG-binding units of protein A from Staphylococcus aureus (ProtA) and the calmodulin-binding peptide (CBP), and it allows for recovery of 20–30% of the bait protein in yeast. When applied to higher eukaryotes, however, this classical TAP tag suffers from low yields. To improve protein recovery in systems other than yeast, we describe herein the development of a three-tag system comprised of CBP, streptavidin-binding peptide (SBP) and hexa-histidine. We illustrate the application of this approach for the purification of human Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk), which results in highly efficient binding and elution of bait protein in both purification steps (>50% recovery). Combined with mass spectrometry for protein identification, this TAP strategy facilitated the first nonbiased analysis of Btk interacting proteins. The high efficiency of the SBP-His6 purification allows for efficient recovery of protein complexes formed with a target protein of interest from a small amount of starting material, enhancing the ability to detect low abundance and transient interactions in eukaryotic cell systems. PMID:21080425

Solid tags for identifying failed reactor components

DOEpatents

Bunch, Wilbur L.; Schenter, Robert E.

1987-01-01

A solid tag material which generates stable detectable, identifiable, and measurable isotopic gases on exposure to a neutron flux to be placed in a nuclear reactor component, particularly a fuel element, in order to identify the reactor component in event of its failure. Several tag materials consisting of salts which generate a multiplicity of gaseous isotopes in predetermined ratios are used to identify different reactor components.

Low-cost passive UHF RFID tags on paper substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sajal, Sayeed Zebaul Haque

To reduce the significant cost in the widespread deployment of UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) systems, an UHF RFID tag design is presented on paper substrates. The design is based on meander-line miniaturization techniques and open complementary split ring resonator (OCSRR) elements that reduce required conducting materials by 30%. Another passive UHF RFID tag is designed to sense the moisture based on the antenna's polarization. An inexpensive paper substrate and copper layer are used for flexibility and low-cost. The key characteristic of this design is the sensitivity of the antenna's polarization on the passive RFID tag to the moisture content in the paper substrate. In simulations, the antenna is circularly-polarized when the substrate is dry and is linearly-polarized when the substrate is wet. It was shown that the expected read-ranges and desired performance could be achieved reducing the over-all cost of the both designs.

Pseudo-orthogonal frequency coded wireless SAW RFID temperature sensor tags.

PubMed

Saldanha, Nancy; Malocha, Donald C

2012-08-01

SAW sensors are ideal for various wireless, passive multi-sensor applications because they are small, rugged, radiation hard, and offer a wide range of material choices for operation over broad temperature ranges. The readable distance of a tag in a multi-sensor environment is dependent on the insertion loss of the device and the processing gain of the system. Single-frequency code division multiple access (CDMA) tags that are used in high-volume commercial applications must have universal coding schemes and large numbers of codes. The use of a large number of bits at the common center frequency to achieve sufficient code diversity in CDMA tags necessitates reflector banks with >30 dB loss. Orthogonal frequency coding is a spread-spectrum approach that employs frequency and time diversity to achieve enhanced tag properties. The use of orthogonal frequency coded (OFC) SAW tags reduces adjacent reflector interactions for low insertion loss, increased range, complex coding, and system processing gain. This work describes a SAW tag-sensor platform that reduces device loss by implementing long reflector banks with optimized spectral coding. This new pseudo-OFC (POFC) coding is defined and contrasted with the previously defined OFC coding scheme. Auto- and cross-correlation properties of the chips and their relation to reflectivity per strip and reflector length are discussed. Results at 250 MHz of 8-chip OFC and POFC SAW tags will be compared. The key parameters of insertion loss, cross-correlation, and autocorrelation of the two types of frequency-coded tags will be analyzed, contrasted, and discussed. It is shown that coded reflector banks can be achieved with near-zero loss and still maintain good coding properties. Experimental results and results predicted by the coupling of modes model are presented for varying reflector designs and codes. A prototype 915-MHz POFC sensor tag is used as a wireless temperature sensor and the results are shown.

System and method for acquisition management of subject position information

DOEpatents

Carrender, Curt

2005-12-13

A system and method for acquisition management of subject position information that utilizes radio frequency identification (RF ID) to store position information in position tags. Tag programmers receive position information from external positioning systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), from manual inputs, such as keypads, or other tag programmers. The tag programmers program each position tag with the received position information. Both the tag programmers and the position tags can be portable or fixed. Implementations include portable tag programmers and fixed position tags for subject position guidance, and portable tag programmers for collection sample labeling. Other implementations include fixed tag programmers and portable position tags for subject route recordation. Position tags can contain other associated information such as destination address of an affixed subject for subject routing.

System and method for acquisition management of subject position information

DOEpatents

Carrender, Curt [Morgan Hill, CA

2007-01-23

A system and method for acquisition management of subject position information that utilizes radio frequency identification (RF ID) to store position information in position tags. Tag programmers receive position information from external positioning systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), from manual inputs, such as keypads, or other tag programmers. The tag programmers program each position tag with the received position information. Both the tag programmers and the position tags can be portable or fixed. Implementations include portable tag programmers and fixed position tags for subject position guidance, and portable tag programmers for collection sample labeling. Other implementations include fixed tag programmers and portable position tags for subject route recordation. Position tags can contain other associated information such as destination address of an affixed subject for subject routing.

Development of RAP Tag, a Novel Tagging System for Protein Detection and Purification.

PubMed

Fujii, Yuki; Kaneko, Mika K; Ogasawara, Satoshi; Yamada, Shinji; Yanaka, Miyuki; Nakamura, Takuro; Saidoh, Noriko; Yoshida, Kanae; Honma, Ryusuke; Kato, Yukinari

2017-04-01

Affinity tag systems, possessing high affinity and specificity, are useful for protein detection and purification. The most suitable tag for a particular purpose should be selected from many available affinity tag systems. In this study, we developed a novel affinity tag called the "RAP tag" system, which comprises a mouse antirat podoplanin monoclonal antibody (clone PMab-2) and the RAP tag (DMVNPGLEDRIE). This system is useful not only for protein detection in Western blotting, flow cytometry, and sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, but also for protein purification.

Dual-energy index value of luminal air in fecal-tagging computed tomography colonography: findings and impact on electronic cleansing.

PubMed

Cai, Wenli; Zhang, Da; Lee, June-Goo; Shirai, Yu; Kim, Se Hyung; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

2013-01-01

The purpose of our study was to measure the dual-energy index (DEI) value of colonic luminal air in both phantom and clinical fecal-tagging dual-energy computed tomography (CT) colonography (DE-CTC) images and to demonstrate its impact on dual-energy electronic cleansing. For the phantom study, a custom-ordered colon phantom was scanned by a dual-energy CT scanner (SOMATON Definition Flash; Siemens Healthcare, Forchheim, Germany) at two photon energies: 80 and 140 kVp. Before imaging, the phantom was filled with a 300-mL mixture of simulated fecal materials tagged by a nonionic iodinated contrast agent at three contrast concentrations: 20, 40, and 60 mg/mL. Ten regions-of-interest (ROIs) were randomly placed in each of the colonic luminal air, abdominal fat, bony structure, and tagged material in each scan. For the clinical study, 22 DE-CTC (80 and 140 kVp) patient cases were collected, who underwent a low-fiber, low-residue diet bowel preparation and orally administered iodine-based fecal tagging. Twenty ROIs were randomly placed in each of the colonic luminal air, abdominal fat, abdominal soft tissue, and tagged fecal material in each scan. For each ROI, the mean CT values in both 80- and 140-kVp images were measured, and then its DEI was calculated. In the phantom study, the mean DEI values of luminal air were 0.270, 0.298, 0.386, and 0.402 for the four groups of tagging conditions: no tagged material and tagged with three groups of contrast concentrations at 20, 40, and 60 mg/mL. In the clinical study, the mean DEI values were 0.341, -0.012, -0.002, and 0.188 for colonic luminal air, abdominal fat, abdominal soft tissue, and tagged fecal material, respectively. In our study, we observed that the DEI values of colonic luminal air in DE-CTC images (>0.10) were substantially higher than the theoretical value of 0.0063. In addition, the observed DEI values of colonic luminal air were significantly higher than those of soft tissue. These findings have an important impact on electronic cleansing: it may provide an effective means of differentiating colonic soft-tissue structures from the air-tagging mixture caused by the partial volume effect and thus of minimizing the cleansing artifacts.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN HYDROLOGIC INSTRUMENTATION.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Latkovich, Vito J.

1985-01-01

The availability of space-age materials and implementation of state-of-the-art electronics is making possible the recent developments of hydrologic instrumentation. Material developments include: Synthetic-fiber sounding and tag lines; fiberglass wading rod; polymer (plastic) sheaves, pulleys and sampler components; and polymer (plastic) bucket wheels for current meters. These materials are very cost effective and efficient. Electromechanical and electronic developments and applications include: adaptable data acquisition system; downhole sampler for hazardous substances; current-meter digitizer; hydraulic power/drive system for discharge measurements and water-quality sampling; non-contact water-level sensors; minimum data recorder; acoustic velocity meters, and automated current meter discharge-measurement system.

New/Future Approaches to Explosive/Chemicals Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valkovic, Vlado

2009-03-01

Although there has been some reported progress in many systems used for threat material detection and identification a promising one seems to be the use of tagged fast neutrons generated in d+t→α+n nuclear reaction. Among others, EU-FP6 project EURITRACK has been a successful demonstration of the use of tagged neutrons for ship container inspections. It has been shown that the deployment of the same technology under-water is a feasibility to be realized in the near future (i.e. EU-FP7 project UNCOSS).

Detection Of Special Nuclear Materials Tagged Neutrons

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

Deyglun, Clement; Perot, Bertrand; Carasco, Cedric

In order to detect Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) in unattended luggage or cargo containers in the field of homeland security, fissions are induced by 14 MeV neutrons produced by an associated particle DT neutron generator, and prompt fission particles correlated with tagged neutron are detected by plastic scintillators. SMN produce high multiplicity events due to induced fissions, whereas nonnuclear materials produce low multiplicity events due to cross-talk, (n,2n) or (n,n'γ) reactions. The data acquisition electronics is made of compact FPGA boards. The coincidence window is triggered by the alpha particle detection, allowing to tag the emission date and direction ofmore » the 14 MeV interrogating neutron. The first part of the paper presents experiment vs. calculation comparisons to validate MCNP-PoliMi simulations and the post-processing tools developed with the data analysis framework ROOT. Measurements have been performed using different targets (iron, lead, graphite), first with small plastic scintillators (10 x 10 x 10 cm{sup 3}) and then with large detectors (10 x 10 x 100 cm{sup 3}) to demonstrate that nuclear materials can be differentiated from nonnuclear dense materials (iron, lead) in iron and wood matrixes. A special attention is paid on SNM detection in abandoned luggage. In the second part of the paper, the performances of a cargo container inspection system are studied by numerical simulation, following previous work reported in. Detectors dimensions and shielding against the neutron generator background are optimized for container inspection. Events not correlated to an alpha particle (uncorrelated background), counting statistics, time and energy resolutions of the data acquisition system are all taken into account in a realistic numerical model. The impact of the container matrix (iron, ceramic, wood) has been investigated by studying the system capability to detect a few kilograms of SNM in different positions in the cargo container, within 10 min acquisitions. (authors)« less

Understanding why users tag: A survey of tagging motivation literature and results from an empirical study.

PubMed

Strohmaier, Markus; Körner, Christian; Kern, Roman

2012-12-01

While recent progress has been achieved in understanding the structure and dynamics of social tagging systems, we know little about the underlying user motivations for tagging, and how they influence resulting folksonomies and tags. This paper addresses three issues related to this question. (1) What distinctions of user motivations are identified by previous research, and in what ways are the motivations of users amenable to quantitative analysis? (2) To what extent does tagging motivation vary across different social tagging systems? (3) How does variability in user motivation influence resulting tags and folksonomies? In this paper, we present measures to detect whether a tagger is primarily motivated by categorizing or describing resources, and apply these measures to datasets from seven different tagging systems. Our results show that (a) users' motivation for tagging varies not only across, but also within tagging systems, and that (b) tag agreement among users who are motivated by categorizing resources is significantly lower than among users who are motivated by describing resources . Our findings are relevant for (1) the development of tag-based user interfaces, (2) the analysis of tag semantics and (3) the design of search algorithms for social tagging systems.

Understanding why users tag: A survey of tagging motivation literature and results from an empirical study

PubMed Central

Strohmaier, Markus; Körner, Christian; Kern, Roman

2012-01-01

While recent progress has been achieved in understanding the structure and dynamics of social tagging systems, we know little about the underlying user motivations for tagging, and how they influence resulting folksonomies and tags. This paper addresses three issues related to this question. (1) What distinctions of user motivations are identified by previous research, and in what ways are the motivations of users amenable to quantitative analysis? (2) To what extent does tagging motivation vary across different social tagging systems? (3) How does variability in user motivation influence resulting tags and folksonomies? In this paper, we present measures to detect whether a tagger is primarily motivated by categorizing or describing resources, and apply these measures to datasets from seven different tagging systems. Our results show that (a) users’ motivation for tagging varies not only across, but also within tagging systems, and that (b) tag agreement among users who are motivated by categorizing resources is significantly lower than among users who are motivated by describing resources. Our findings are relevant for (1) the development of tag-based user interfaces, (2) the analysis of tag semantics and (3) the design of search algorithms for social tagging systems. PMID:23471473

Anti-collision radio-frequency identification system using passive SAW tags

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorokin, A. V.; Shepeta, A. P.

2017-06-01

Modern multi sensor systems should have high operating speed and resistance to climate impacts. Radiofrequency systems use passive SAW tags for identification items and vehicles. These tags find application in industry, traffic remote control systems, and railway remote traffic control systems for identification and speed measuring. However, collision of the passive SAW RFID tags hinders development passive RFID SAW technology in Industry. The collision problem for passive SAW tags leads for incorrect identification and encoding each tag. In our researching, we suggest approach for identification of several passive SAW tags in collision case.

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

Chen, K.; Tsai, H.; Liu, Y. Y.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of today's most rapidly growing technologies in the automatic data collection industry. Although commercial applications are already widespread, the use of this technology for managing nuclear materials is only in its infancy. Employing an RFID system has the potential to offer an immense payback: enhanced safety and security, reduced need for manned surveillance, real-time access to status and event history data, and overall cost-effectiveness. The Packaging Certification Program (PCP) in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Environmental Management (EM), Office of Packaging and Transportation (EM-63), is developing an RFID system for nuclearmore » materials management. The system consists of battery-powered RFID tags with onboard sensors and memories, a reader network, application software, a database server and web pages. The tags monitor and record critical parameters, including the status of seals, movement of objects, and environmental conditions of the nuclear material packages in real time. They also provide instant warnings or alarms when preset thresholds for the sensors are exceeded. The information collected by the readers is transmitted to a dedicated central database server that can be accessed by authorized users across the DOE complex via a secured network. The onboard memory of the tags allows the materials manifest and event history data to reside with the packages throughout their life cycles in storage, transportation, and disposal. Data security is currently based on Advanced Encryption Standard-256. The software provides easy-to-use graphical interfaces that allow access to all vital information once the security and privilege requirements are met. An innovative scheme has been developed for managing batteries in service for more than 10 years without needing to be changed. A miniature onboard dosimeter is being developed for applications that require radiation surveillance. A field demonstration of the RFID system was recently conducted to assess its performance. The preliminary results of the demonstration are reported in this paper.« less

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

Anderson, J.; Lee, H.; De Lurgio, P.

Automated monitoring and tracking of materials with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology can significantly improve both the operating efficiency of radiological facilities and the application of the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle in them. One such system, called ARG-US, has been developed by Argonne National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Packaging and Certification Program to use in managing sensitive nuclear and radioactive materials. Several ARG-US systems are in various stages of deployment and advanced testing across DOE sites. ARG-US utilizes sensors in the tags to continuously monitor the state of health of the packaging andmore » promptly disseminates alarms to authorized users. In conjunction with global positioning system (GPS) tracking provided by TRANSCOM, the system can also monitor and track packages during transport. A compact dosimeter has been incorporated in the ARG-US tags via an onboard universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter interface. The detector has a wide measurement range for gamma radiation - from 0.1 mSv/h to 8 Sv/h. The detector is able to generate alarms for both high and low radiation and for a high cumulative dose. In a large installation, strategically located dosimeter-enabled tags can yield an accurate, real-time, 2D or 3D dose field map that can be used to enhance facility safety, security, and safeguards. This implementation can also lead to a reduced need for manned surveillance and reduced exposure of personnel to radiation, consistent with the ALARA principle at workplaces. (authors)« less

Simulation of a tagged neutron inspection system prototype

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donzella, A.; Boghen, G.; Bonomi, G.; Fontana, A.; Formisano, P.; Pesente, S.; Sudac, D.; Valkovic, V.; Zenoni, A.

2006-05-01

The illicit trafficking of explosive materials in cargo containers has become, in recent years, a serious problem. Currently used X-ray or γ-ray based systems provide only limited information about the elemental composition of the inspected cargo items. During the last years, a new neutron interrogation technique, named TNIS (Tagged Neutron Inspection System), has been developed, which should permit to determine the chemical composition of the suspect item by coincidence measurements between alpha particles and photons produced. A prototype of such a system for container inspection has been built, at the Institute Ruder Boskovic (IRB) in Zagreb, Croatia, for the European Union 6FP EURITRACK project. We present the results of a detailed simulation of the IRB prototype performed with the MCNP Monte Carlo program and a comparison with beam attenuation calculations performed with GEANT3/MICAP. Detector signals, rates and signal over background ratios have been calculated for 100 kg of TNT explosive located inside a cargo container filled with a metallic matrix of density 0.2 g/cm3. The case of an organic filling material is discussed too.

Neural net controlled tag gas sampling system for nuclear reactors

DOEpatents

Gross, Kenneth C.; Laug, Matthew T.; Lambert, John D. B.; Herzog, James P.

1997-01-01

A method and system for providing a tag gas identifier to a nuclear fuel rod and analyze escaped tag gas to identify a particular failed nuclear fuel rod. The method and system include disposing a unique tag gas composition into a plenum of a nuclear fuel rod, monitoring gamma ray activity, analyzing gamma ray signals to assess whether a nuclear fuel rod has failed and is emitting tag gas, activating a tag gas sampling and analysis system upon sensing tag gas emission from a failed nuclear rod and evaluating the escaped tag gas to identify the particular failed nuclear fuel rod.

Design of Inkjet-Printed RFID-Based Sensor on Paper: Single- and Dual-Tag Sensor Topologies.

PubMed

Kim, Sangkil; Georgiadis, Apostolos; Tentzeris, Manos M

2018-06-17

The detailed design considerations for the printed RFID-based sensor system is presented in this paper. Starting from material selection and metallization method, this paper discusses types of RFID-based sensors (single- & dual-tag sensor topologies), design procedures, and performance evaluation methods for the wireless sensor system. The electrical properties of the paper substrates (cellulose-based and synthetic papers) and the silver nano-particle-based conductive film are thoroughly characterized for RF applications up to 8 GHz. The reported technology could potentially set the foundation for truly “green”, low-cost, scalable wireless topologies for autonomous Internet-of-Things (IoT), bio-monitoring, and “smart skin” applications.

Infrared tag and track technique

DOEpatents

Partin, Judy K.; Stone, Mark L.; Slater, John; Davidson, James R.

2007-12-04

A method of covertly tagging an object for later tracking includes providing a material capable of at least one of being applied to the object and being included in the object, which material includes deuterium; and performing at least one of applying the material to the object and including the material in the object in a manner in which in the appearance of the object is not changed, to the naked eye.

Associated Particle Tagging (APT) in Magnetic Spectrometers

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

Jordan, David V.; Baciak, James E.; Stave, Sean C.

2012-10-16

Summary In Brief The Associated Particle Tagging (APT) project, a collaboration of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Idaho State University (ISU)/Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC), has completed an exploratory study to assess the role of magnetic spectrometers as the linchpin technology in next-generation tagged-neutron and tagged-photon active interrogation (AI). The computational study considered two principle concepts: (1) the application of a solenoidal alpha-particle spectrometer to a next-generation, large-emittance neutron generator for use in the associated particle imaging technique, and (2) the application of tagged photon beams to the detection of fissile material via active interrogation.more » In both cases, a magnetic spectrometer momentum-analyzes charged particles (in the neutron case, alpha particles accompanying neutron generation in the D-T reaction; in the tagged photon case, post-bremsstrahlung electrons) to define kinematic properties of the relevant neutral interrogation probe particle (i.e. neutron or photon). The main conclusions of the study can be briefly summarized as follows: Neutron generator: • For the solenoidal spectrometer concept, magnetic field strengths of order 1 Tesla or greater are required to keep the transverse size of the spectrometer smaller than 1 meter. The notional magnetic spectrometer design evaluated in this feasibility study uses a 5-T magnetic field and a borehole radius of 18 cm. • The design shows a potential for 4.5 Sr tagged neutron solid angle, a factor of 4.5 larger than achievable with current API neutron-generator designs. • The potential angular resolution for such a tagged neutron beam can be less than 0.5o for modest Si-detector position resolution (3 mm). Further improvement in angular resolution can be made by using Si-detectors with better position resolution. • The report documents several features of a notional generator design incorporating the alpha-particle spectrometer concept, and outlines challenges involved in the magnetic field design. Tagged photon interrogation: • We investigated a method for discriminating fissile from benign cargo-material response to an energy-tagged photon beam. The method relies upon coincident detection of the tagged photon and a photoneutron or photofission neutron produced in the target material. The method exploits differences in the shape of the neutron production cross section as a function of incident photon energy in order to discriminate photofission yield from photoneutrons emitted by non-fissile materials. Computational tests of the interrogation method as applied to material composition assay of a simple, multi-layer target suggest that the tagged-photon information facilitates precise (order 1% thickness uncertainty) reconstruction of the constituent thicknesses of fissile (uranium) and high-Z (Pb) constituents of the test targets in a few minutes of photon-beam exposure. We assumed an 18-MeV endpoint tagged photon beam for these simulations. • The report addresses several candidate design and data analysis issues for beamline infrastructure required to produce a tagged photon beam in a notional AI-dedicated facility, including the accelerator and tagging spectrometer.« less

Neural net controlled tag gas sampling system for nuclear reactors

DOEpatents

Gross, K.C.; Laug, M.T.; Lambert, J.B.; Herzog, J.P.

1997-02-11

A method and system are disclosed for providing a tag gas identifier to a nuclear fuel rod and analyze escaped tag gas to identify a particular failed nuclear fuel rod. The method and system include disposing a unique tag gas composition into a plenum of a nuclear fuel rod, monitoring gamma ray activity, analyzing gamma ray signals to assess whether a nuclear fuel rod has failed and is emitting tag gas, activating a tag gas sampling and analysis system upon sensing tag gas emission from a failed nuclear rod and evaluating the escaped tag gas to identify the particular failed nuclear fuel rod. 12 figs.

Dual-Modality Small Animal Imaging System*

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranck, Amoreena; Feldmann, John; Saunders, Robert S.; Welsh, Robert E.; Bradley, Eric L.; Saha, Margaret S.; Kross, Brian; Majewski, Stan; Popov, Vladimir; Weisenberger, Andrew G.; Wojcik, Randolph

2000-10-01

We describe preliminary results from an imaging system consisting of an array of position-sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMTs) viewing pixelated scintillators and a small fluoroscopic x-ray system (Lixi, Inc.). The PSPMT detectors are used to follow the uptake of lignads tagged principally with ^125I which emits photons in the 30keV region. The fluoroscope allows the superposition of structural information on the pattern of the radioligands. This "dual modality" technique permits more accurate tracking of the tagged material in the animal under study. Small sources give fiducial information on both x-ray and radioligand pictures allowing close registration of the two views of the system under study. Improvements to this system incorporating a very versatile rotatable gantry capable of supporting a wide range of detection systems simultaneously will be described. *Supported in part by The American Diabetes Association, The Jeffress Trust, The National Science Foundation, The Department of Energy, and The Howard Hughes Foundation

The role of taxonomies in social media and the semantic web for health education. A study of SNOMED CT terms in YouTube health video tags.

PubMed

Konstantinidis, S; Fernandez-Luque, L; Bamidis, P; Karlsen, R

2013-01-01

An increasing amount of health education resources for patients and professionals are distributed via social media channels. For example, thousands of health education videos are disseminated via YouTube. Often, tags are assigned by the disseminator. However, the lack of use of standardized terminologies in those tags and the presence of misleading videos make it particularly hard to retrieve relevant videos. i) Identify the use of standardized medical thesauri (SNOMED CT) in YouTube Health videos tags from preselected YouTube Channels and demonstrate an information technology (IT) architecture for treating the tags of these health (video) resources. ii) Investigate the relative percentage of the tags used that relate to SNOMED CT terms. As such resources may play a key role in educating professionals and patients, the use of standardized vocabularies may facilitate the sharing of such resources. iii) Demonstrate how such resources may be properly exploited within the new generation of semantically enriched content or learning management systems that allow for knowledge expansion through the use of linked medical data and numerous literature resources also described through the same vocabularies. We implemented a video portal integrating videos from 500 US Hospital channels. The portal integrated 4,307 YouTube videos regarding surgery as described by 64,367 tags. BioPortal REST services were used within our portal to match SNOMED CT terms with YouTube tags by both exact match and non-exact match. The whole architecture was complemented with a mechanism to enrich the retrieved video resources with other educational material residing in other repositories by following contemporary semantic web advances, in the form of Linked Open Data (LOD) principles. The average percentage of YouTube tags that were expressed using SNOMED CT terms was about 22.5%, while one third of YouTube tags per video contained a SNOMED CT term in a loose search; this analogy became one tenth in the case of exact match. Retrieved videos were then linked further to other resources by using LOD compliant systems. Such results were exemplified in the case of systems and technologies used in the mEducator EC funded project. YouTube Health videos can be searched for and retrieved using SNOMED CT terms with a high possibility of identifying health videos that users want based on their search criteria. Despite the fact that tagging of this information with SNOMED CT terms may vary, its availability and linked data capacity opens the door to new studies for personalized retrieval of content and linking with other knowledge through linked medical data and semantic advances in (learning) content management systems.

USE OF METAL- AND FLUORESCEIN-TAGGED MATERIALS TO STUDY SETTLED PARTICLES EXPOSURE PATHWAYS

EPA Science Inventory

Through the use of ten size ranges of tagged materials (Antley et. al., 2000a), inductively coupled plasma- mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and flourometry are being used to study the movement of settled particles in the indoor environment, exposure pathways, and the collection effi...

Methods And System Suppressing Clutter In A Gain-Block, Radar-Responsive Tag System

DOEpatents

Ormesher, Richard C.; Axline, Robert M.

2006-04-18

Methods and systems reduce clutter interference in a radar-responsive tag system. A radar transmits a series of linear-frequency-modulated pulses and receives echo pulses from nearby terrain and from radar-responsive tags that may be in the imaged scene. Tags in the vicinity of the radar are activated by the radar's pulses. The tags receive and remodulate the radar pulses. Tag processing reverses the direction, in time, of the received waveform's linear frequency modulation. The tag retransmits the remodulated pulses. The radar uses a reversed-chirp de-ramp pulse to process the tag's echo. The invention applies to radar systems compatible with coherent gain-block tags. The invention provides a marked reduction in the strength of residual clutter echoes on each and every echo pulse received by the radar. SAR receiver processing effectively whitens passive-clutter signatures across the range dimension. Clutter suppression of approximately 14 dB is achievable for a typical radar system.

Effects of suture material and ultrasonic transmitter size on survival, growth, wound healing, and tag expulsion in rainbow trout

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ivasauskas, Tomas J.; Bettoli, P.W.; Holt, T.

2012-01-01

We examined the effects of suture material (braided silk versus Monocryl) and relative ultrasonic transmitter size on healing, growth, mortality, and tag retention in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. In experiment 1, 40 fish (205-281mmtotal length [TL], 106-264 g) were implanted with Sonotronics IBT-96-2 (23??7 mm; weight in air, 4.4 g; weight in water, 2.4 g) or IBT 96-2E (30 ?? 7 mm; weight in air, 4.9 g; weight in water, 2.4 g) ultrasonic telemetry tags. In experiment 2, 20 larger fish (342-405 mm TL; 520-844 g) were implanted with Sonotronics IBT-96-5 ultrasonic tags (36 ?? 11 mm; weight in air, 9.1 g; weight in water, 4.1 g). The tag burdens for all implanted fish ranged from 1.1% to 3.4%, and fish in both studies were held at 10-15??C. At the conclusion of both experiments (65 d after surgery), no mortalities were observed in any of the 60 tagged fish, most incisions were completely healed, and all fish in both experiments grew in length, although tagged fish grew more slowly than control fish in experiment 1. In both experiments, fish sutured with silk expelled tags more frequently than those sutured with Monocryl. Expulsion was observed in 45-50% of the fish sutured with silk and 0-25% of the fish sutured withMonocryl. Tag expulsion was not observed until 25-35 d after surgery. Fish sutured with silk exhibited a more severe inflammatory response 3 weeks after surgery than those sutured with Monocryl. In experiment 1, the rate of expulsion was linked to the severity of inflammation. Although braided silk sutures were applied faster than Moncryl sutures in both experiments, knots tied with either material were equally reliable and fish sutured with Monocryl experienced less inflammation and lower rates of tag expulsion. American Fisheries Society 2012.

Creating TUIs Using RFID Sensors--A Case Study Based on the Literacy Process of Children with Down Syndrome.

PubMed

Jadán-Guerrero, Janio; Guerrero, Luis; López, Gustavo; Cáliz, Doris; Bravo, José

2015-06-24

Teaching children with intellectual disabilities is a big challenge for most parents and educators. Special education teachers use learning strategies to develop and enhance motivation for complex learning tasks. Literacy acquisition is an essential and life-long skill for a child with intellectual disabilities. In this context, technology can support specific strategies that will help children learn to read. This paper introduces a Tangible User Interface (TUI) system based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to support literacy for children with Down syndrome. Our proposed system focuses on the integration of RFID tags in 3D printed objects and low cost toys. The paper describes the experience of using some materials covering the tags and the different problems related to the material and distance of radio wave propagation. The results of a preliminary evaluation in a special education institution showed that the system helps to improve the interaction between teachers and children. The use of a TUI seems to give a physical sensory experience to develop literacy skills in children with Down syndrome.

Creating TUIs Using RFID Sensors—A Case Study Based on the Literacy Process of Children with Down Syndrome

PubMed Central

Jadán-Guerrero, Janio; Guerrero, Luis; López, Gustavo; Cáliz, Doris; Bravo, José

2015-01-01

Teaching children with intellectual disabilities is a big challenge for most parents and educators. Special education teachers use learning strategies to develop and enhance motivation for complex learning tasks. Literacy acquisition is an essential and life-long skill for a child with intellectual disabilities. In this context, technology can support specific strategies that will help children learn to read. This paper introduces a Tangible User Interface (TUI) system based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to support literacy for children with Down syndrome. Our proposed system focuses on the integration of RFID tags in 3D printed objects and low cost toys. The paper describes the experience of using some materials covering the tags and the different problems related to the material and distance of radio wave propagation. The results of a preliminary evaluation in a special education institution showed that the system helps to improve the interaction between teachers and children. The use of a TUI seems to give a physical sensory experience to develop literacy skills in children with Down syndrome. PMID:26115455

The EURITRACK project: development of a tagged neutron inspection system for cargo containers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perot, Bertrand; Perret, Gregory; Mariani, Alain; Ma, Jean-Luc; Szabo, Jean-Louis; Mercier, Emmanuel; Sannie, Guillaume; Viesti, Giuseppe; Nebbia, Giancarlo; Pesente, Silvia; Lunardon, Marcello; Formisano, Paola; Moretto, Sandra; Fabris, Daniela; Zenoni, Aldo; Bonomi, Germano; Donzella, Antonietta; Fontana, Andrea; Boghen, Gaia; Valkovic, Vladivoj; Sudac, Darovin; Moszynski, Marek; Batsch, Tadeusz; Gierlik, Michal; Wolski, Dariusz; Klamra, Wlodzimierz; Isaksson, Patrick; Le Tourneur, Philippe; Lhuissier, Miguel; Colonna, Annamaria; Tintori, Carlo; Peerani, Paolo; Sequeira, Vitor; Salvato, Martino

2006-05-01

The EURopean Illicit TRAfficing Countermeasures Kit project is part of the 6th European Union Framework Program, and aims at developing a neutron inspection system for detecting threat materials (explosives, drugs, etc.) in cargo containers. Neutron interaction in the container produces specific gamma-rays used to determine the chemical composition of the inspected material. An associated particle sealed tube neutron generator is developed to allow precise location of the interaction point by direction and time-of-flight measurements of the neutrons tagged by alpha-particles. The EURITRACK project consists in developing: a transportable deuterium-tritium neutron generator including a position sensitive alpha detector (8×8 matrix of YAP:Ce crystals coupled to a multi-anode photomultiplier), fast neutron and gamma-ray detectors, front-end electronics to perform coincidence and spectroscopic measurements, and an integrated software which manages neutron generator and detectors positioning, data acquisition and analysis. Hardware components have been developed and tested by the consortium partners. Current status of this work and provisional performances of the system assessed by Monte Carlo calculations are presented.

Folksonomies and clustering in the collaborative system CiteULike

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capocci, Andrea; Caldarelli, Guido

2008-06-01

We analyze CiteULike, an online collaborative tagging system where users bookmark and annotate scientific papers. Such a system can be naturally represented as a tri-partite graph whose nodes represent papers, users and tags connected by individual tag assignments. The semantics of tags is studied here, in order to uncover the hidden relationships between tags. We find that the clustering coefficient can be used to analyze the semantical patterns among tags.

HPLC-APCI-MS analysis of triacylglycerols (TAGs) in historical pharmaceutical ointments from the eighteenth century.

PubMed

Saliu, Francesco; Modugno, Francesca; Orlandi, Marco; Colombini, Maria Perla

2011-10-01

The lipid fractions of residues from historical pharmaceutical ointments were analysed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and mass spectrometer detection. The residues were contained in a series of historical apothecary jars, dating from the eighteenth century and conserved at the "Aboca Museum" in Sansepolcro (Arezzo, Italy) and at the pharmacy of the "Real Cartuja de Valldemossa" in Palma de Majorca (Spain). The analytical protocol was set up using a comparative study based on the evaluation of triacylglycerol (TAG) compositions in raw natural lipid materials and in laboratory-reproduced ointments. These ointments were prepared following pharmaceutical recipes reported in historical treatises and used as reference materials. The reference materials were also subjected to stress treatments in order to evaluate the modification occurring in the TAG profiles as an effect of ageing. TAGs were successfully detected in the reproduced formulations even in mixtures of up to ten ingredients and after harsh degradative treatments, and also in real historical samples. No particular interferences were detected from other non-lipid ingredients of the formulations. The TAG compositions detected in the historical ointments indicated a predominant use of olive oil and pig adipose material as lipid ingredients. The detection of a high level of tristearine and myristyl-palmitoyl-stearyl glycerol in two of the samples suggested the presence of a fatty material of a different origin (maybe a ruminant). On the basis of the positional isomer ratio, sn-PPO/sn-POP, it was possible to hypothesize an exclusive use of pig fat in one sample. We also evaluated the application of principal component analysis of TAG profiles as an approach for the multivariate statistical comparison of the reference and historical ointments.

Development of Decision Making Algorithm for Control of Sea Cargo Containers by ``TAGGED'' Neutron Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anan'ev, A. A.; Belichenko, S. G.; Bogolyubov, E. P.; Bochkarev, O. V.; Petrov, E. V.; Polishchuk, A. M.; Udaltsov, A. Yu.

2009-12-01

Nowadays in Russia and abroad there are several groups of scientists, engaged in development of systems based on "tagged" neutron method (API method) and intended for detection of dangerous materials, including high explosives (HE). Particular attention is paid to possibility of detection of dangerous objects inside a sea cargo container. Energy gamma-spectrum, registered from object under inspection is used for determination of oxygen/carbon and nitrogen/carbon chemical ratios, according to which dangerous object is distinguished from not dangerous one. Material of filled container, however, gives rise to additional effects of rescattering and moderation of 14 MeV primary neutrons of generator, attenuation of secondary gamma-radiation from reactions of inelastic neutron scattering on objects under inspection. These effects lead to distortion of energy gamma-response from examined object and therefore prevent correct recognition of chemical ratios. These difficulties are taken into account in analytical method, presented in the paper. Method has been validated against experimental data, obtained by the system for HE detection in sea cargo, based on API method and developed in VNIIA. Influence of shielding materials on results of HE detection and identification is considered. Wood and iron were used as shielding materials. Results of method application for analysis of experimental data on HE simulator measurement (tetryl, trotyl, hexogen) are presented.

Passive and Active Tagging of Reinforced Composites for in Process and Infield Non-Destructive Evaluation

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-02-01

participating companies: Reichhold Chemicals, Clark-Schwebel, PPG Industries, Interplastic Corp., Owens - Corning , and TPI, Inc .. Tagging Materials Five...cellophane film (# 95080906). The eddy current testing of samples with MnZn ferrite tagging from Owens - Corning showed that the response of the sample...example, consider the specimen obtained from Owens - Corning sample A (MnZn ferrite tagging) shown in the sixth row of Table 3. The naturaI frequency

Leveraging search and content exploration by exploiting context in folksonomy systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abel, Fabian; Baldoni, Matteo; Baroglio, Cristina; Henze, Nicola; Kawase, Ricardo; Krause, Daniel; Patti, Viviana

2010-04-01

With the advent of Web 2.0 tagging became a popular feature in social media systems. People tag diverse kinds of content, e.g. products at Amazon, music at Last.fm, images at Flickr, etc. In the last years several researchers analyzed the impact of tags on information retrieval. Most works focused on tags only and ignored context information. In this article we present context-aware approaches for learning semantics and improve personalized information retrieval in tagging systems. We investigate how explorative search, initialized by clicking on tags, can be enhanced with automatically produced context information so that search results better fit to the actual information needs of the users. We introduce the SocialHITS algorithm and present an experiment where we compare different algorithms for ranking users, tags, and resources in a contextualized way. We showcase our approaches in the domain of images and present the TagMe! system that enables users to explore and tag Flickr pictures. In TagMe! we further demonstrate how advanced context information can easily be generated: TagMe! allows users to attach tag assignments to a specific area within an image and to categorize tag assignments. In our corresponding evaluation we show that those additional facets of tag assignments gain valuable semantics, which can be applied to improve existing search and ranking algorithms significantly.

Binary Phase Behavior of Saturated-Unsaturated Mixed-Acid Triacylglycerols-A Review.

PubMed

Zhang, Lu; Ueno, Satoru; Sato, Kiyotaka

2018-06-01

Most natural lipids contain a complex mixture of individual triacylglycerols (TAGs). An in-depth knowledge of the mixing behavior of TAGs is necessary for the rational design and engineering of food materials. The binary phase diagram of TAGs is a simplified model that can be explored to help foster an understanding of the phase behavior of complex fats and oils. This article reviews recent research on the binary phase behavior of saturated-unsaturated mixed-acid TAGs, with special emphasis on the stearicunsaturated and palmitic-unsaturated diacid TAGs. The occurrence of polymorphic forms and mutual solubility of TAG mixtures are strongly related to the glycerol conformation of the saturated-oleic diacid TAGs; it appears to be most influenced by the chain-length mismatch in saturated-elaidic diacid TAGs. In addition, the polymorphism of pure enantiomers and racemic mixture of chiral TAGs was also reviewed, while the effect of chirality on mixing behavior was discussed.

78 FR 20624 - Information Collection Requirement; Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-05

.... Needs and Uses: DoD uses advance shipment notices for the shipment of material containing RFID tag data... encoded on the RFID tag with the corresponding shipment. Use of the RFID technology permits DoD an... Identification Advance Shipment Notices, requires the contractor to ensure that the data on each passive RFID tag...

Individually Identifiable Surface Acoustic Wave Sensors, Tags and Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hines, Jacqueline H. (Inventor); Solie, Leland P. (Inventor); Tucker, Dana Y. G. (Inventor); Hines, Andrew T. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A surface-launched acoustic wave sensor tag system for remotely sensing and/or providing identification information using sets of surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor tag devices is characterized by acoustic wave device embodiments that include coding and other diversity techniques to produce groups of sensors that interact minimally, reducing or alleviating code collision problems typical of prior art coded SAW sensors and tags, and specific device embodiments of said coded SAW sensor tags and systems. These sensor/tag devices operate in a system which consists of one or more uniquely identifiable sensor/tag devices and a wireless interrogator. The sensor device incorporates an antenna for receiving incident RF energy and re-radiating the tag identification information and the sensor measured parameter(s). Since there is no power source in or connected to the sensor, it is a passive sensor. The device is wirelessly interrogated by the interrogator.

The use of tags in monitoring limits on mobile missiles

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

Fetter, S.

1987-03-01

Three tagging systems were considered in this paper: as a supplement to on-site inspection (OSI), as a supplement to national technical means (NTM), and as a supplement to site surveillance systems. Each system would require a different type of tag, perhaps ranging from microchip tags with infrared transponders to navigation receivers. Use of tags as a supplement to OSIs may be the simplest system to implement because it places the least demands on technology. Tags may make OSI more acceptable by replacing humans with remote sensors, thereby decreasing the perceived potential for espionage. Using tags as a supplement to NTMmore » decreases the necessity for human OSI even further, but places higher demands on technology and may affect the normal operation of deployment areas. Site surveillance systems using tags have the potential for excellent missile verification, but they may be excessively intrusive and expensive, and could have a large effect on the normal operation of declared facilities.« less

Deterministic propagation model for RFID using site-specific and FDTD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunha de Azambuja, Marcelo; Passuelo Hessel, Fabiano; Luís Berz, Everton; Bauermann Porfírio, Leandro; Ruhnke Valério, Paula; De Pieri Baladei, Suely; Jung, Carlos Fernando

2015-06-01

The conduction of experiments to evaluate a tag orientation and its readability in a laboratory offers great potential for reducing time and costs for users. This article presents a novel methodology for developing simulation models for RFID (radio-frequency identification) environments. The main challenges in adopting this model are: (1) to find out how the properties of each one of the materials, on which the tag is applied, influence the read range and to determine the necessary power for tag reading and (2) to find out the power of the backscattered signal received by the tag when energised by the RF wave transmitted by the reader. The validation tests, performed in four different kinds of environments, with tags applied to six different kinds of materials, six different distances and with a reader configured with three different powers, showed achievements on the average of 95.3% accuracy in the best scenario and 87.0% in the worst scenario. The methodology can be easily duplicated to generate simulation models to other different RFID environments.

Fluorescent Labeling of COS-7 Expressing SNAP-tag Fusion Proteins for Live Cell Imaging

PubMed Central

Provost, Christopher R.; Sun, Luo

2010-01-01

SNAP-tag and CLIP-tag protein labeling systems enable the specific, covalent attachment of molecules, including fluorescent dyes, to a protein of interest in live cells. These systems offer a broad selection of fluorescent substrates optimized for a range of imaging instrumentation. Once cloned and expressed, the tagged protein can be used with a variety of substrates for numerous downstream applications without having to clone again. There are two steps to using this system: cloning and expression of the protein of interest as a SNAP-tag fusion, and labeling of the fusion with the SNAP-tag substrate of choice. The SNAP-tag is a small protein based on human O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase (hAGT), a DNA repair protein. SNAP-tag labels are dyes conjugated to guanine or chloropyrimidine leaving groups via a benzyl linker. In the labeling reaction, the substituted benzyl group of the substrate is covalently attached to the SNAP-tag. CLIP-tag is a modified version of SNAP-tag, engineered to react with benzylcytosine rather than benzylguanine derivatives. When used in conjunction with SNAP-tag, CLIP-tag enables the orthogonal and complementary labeling of two proteins simultaneously in the same cells. PMID:20485262

Monitoring the use of anatomical teaching material using a low-cost radio frequency identification system: A comprehensive assessment.

PubMed

Noël, Geoffroy P J C; Connolly, Ciaran C

2016-01-01

The correct tracking and monitoring of anatomical specimens is not only imperative in any modern body donation programs but also in any universities for which teaching the next generation of health care professionals is the primary mission. This has long been an arduous process for anatomy institutions across the world, and the recent focus of new curricula on self-directed learning adds new stress on specimens which are used by students. The radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has been proposed as a very effective tracking system in healthcare considering that it enables automatic identification and data capture of multiple items at once. In this study, the feasibility of a low-cost RFID inventory system is assessed, from its design to the performance of commercially available RFID tags in a gross anatomy laboratory. The results show that ultrahigh frequency-based RFID tags successfully performed when attached to a collection of 112 plastinated and 280 wet dissected specimens. Comparison analysis of different tags reveals, however, that careful selection of RFID tags needs to be considered when wet specimens need to be tracked as preservation fluids can absorb radio waves energy. This study demonstrates that it is economically feasible to incorporate RFID technology to closely monitor the use of anatomical teaching specimens. The described RFID inventory system was not only able to preserve the integrity of the specimens being used by limiting handling and therefore human error but was also able to identify missing or misplaced specimens and to update their status. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Extracting tag hierarchies.

PubMed

Tibély, Gergely; Pollner, Péter; Vicsek, Tamás; Palla, Gergely

2013-01-01

Tagging items with descriptive annotations or keywords is a very natural way to compress and highlight information about the properties of the given entity. Over the years several methods have been proposed for extracting a hierarchy between the tags for systems with a "flat", egalitarian organization of the tags, which is very common when the tags correspond to free words given by numerous independent people. Here we present a complete framework for automated tag hierarchy extraction based on tag occurrence statistics. Along with proposing new algorithms, we are also introducing different quality measures enabling the detailed comparison of competing approaches from different aspects. Furthermore, we set up a synthetic, computer generated benchmark providing a versatile tool for testing, with a couple of tunable parameters capable of generating a wide range of test beds. Beside the computer generated input we also use real data in our studies, including a biological example with a pre-defined hierarchy between the tags. The encouraging similarity between the pre-defined and reconstructed hierarchy, as well as the seemingly meaningful hierarchies obtained for other real systems indicate that tag hierarchy extraction is a very promising direction for further research with a great potential for practical applications. Tags have become very prevalent nowadays in various online platforms ranging from blogs through scientific publications to protein databases. Furthermore, tagging systems dedicated for voluntary tagging of photos, films, books, etc. with free words are also becoming popular. The emerging large collections of tags associated with different objects are often referred to as folksonomies, highlighting their collaborative origin and the "flat" organization of the tags opposed to traditional hierarchical categorization. Adding a tag hierarchy corresponding to a given folksonomy can very effectively help narrowing or broadening the scope of search. Moreover, recommendation systems could also benefit from a tag hierarchy.

Extracting Tag Hierarchies

PubMed Central

Tibély, Gergely; Pollner, Péter; Vicsek, Tamás; Palla, Gergely

2013-01-01

Tagging items with descriptive annotations or keywords is a very natural way to compress and highlight information about the properties of the given entity. Over the years several methods have been proposed for extracting a hierarchy between the tags for systems with a "flat", egalitarian organization of the tags, which is very common when the tags correspond to free words given by numerous independent people. Here we present a complete framework for automated tag hierarchy extraction based on tag occurrence statistics. Along with proposing new algorithms, we are also introducing different quality measures enabling the detailed comparison of competing approaches from different aspects. Furthermore, we set up a synthetic, computer generated benchmark providing a versatile tool for testing, with a couple of tunable parameters capable of generating a wide range of test beds. Beside the computer generated input we also use real data in our studies, including a biological example with a pre-defined hierarchy between the tags. The encouraging similarity between the pre-defined and reconstructed hierarchy, as well as the seemingly meaningful hierarchies obtained for other real systems indicate that tag hierarchy extraction is a very promising direction for further research with a great potential for practical applications. Tags have become very prevalent nowadays in various online platforms ranging from blogs through scientific publications to protein databases. Furthermore, tagging systems dedicated for voluntary tagging of photos, films, books, etc. with free words are also becoming popular. The emerging large collections of tags associated with different objects are often referred to as folksonomies, highlighting their collaborative origin and the “flat” organization of the tags opposed to traditional hierarchical categorization. Adding a tag hierarchy corresponding to a given folksonomy can very effectively help narrowing or broadening the scope of search. Moreover, recommendation systems could also benefit from a tag hierarchy. PMID:24391901

Ontologies and tag-statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tibély, Gergely; Pollner, Péter; Vicsek, Tamás; Palla, Gergely

2012-05-01

Due to the increasing popularity of collaborative tagging systems, the research on tagged networks, hypergraphs, ontologies, folksonomies and other related concepts is becoming an important interdisciplinary area with great potential and relevance for practical applications. In most collaborative tagging systems the tagging by the users is completely ‘flat’, while in some cases they are allowed to define a shallow hierarchy for their own tags. However, usually no overall hierarchical organization of the tags is given, and one of the interesting challenges of this area is to provide an algorithm generating the ontology of the tags from the available data. In contrast, there are also other types of tagged networks available for research, where the tags are already organized into a directed acyclic graph (DAG), encapsulating the ‘is a sub-category of’ type of hierarchy between each other. In this paper, we study how this DAG affects the statistical distribution of tags on the nodes marked by the tags in various real networks. The motivation for this research was the fact that understanding the tagging based on a known hierarchy can help in revealing the hidden hierarchy of tags in collaborative tagging systems. We analyse the relation between the tag-frequency and the position of the tag in the DAG in two large sub-networks of the English Wikipedia and a protein-protein interaction network. We also study the tag co-occurrence statistics by introducing a two-dimensional (2D) tag-distance distribution preserving both the difference in the levels and the absolute distance in the DAG for the co-occurring pairs of tags. Our most interesting finding is that the local relevance of tags in the DAG (i.e. their rank or significance as characterized by, e.g., the length of the branches starting from them) is much more important than their global distance from the root. Furthermore, we also introduce a simple tagging model based on random walks on the DAG, capable of reproducing the main statistical features of tag co-occurrence. This model has high potential for further practical applications, e.g., it can provide the starting point for a benchmark system in ontology retrieval or it may help pinpoint unusual correlations in the co-occurrence of tags.

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

Tsai, H.; Chen, K.; Jusko, M.

The Packaging Certification Program (PCP) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management (EM), Office of Packaging and Transportation (EM-14), has developed a radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking and monitoring system for the management of nuclear materials during storage and transportation. The system, developed by the PCP team at Argonne National Laboratory, consists of hardware (Mk-series sensor tags, fixed and handheld readers, form factor for multiple drum types, seal integrity sensors, and enhanced battery management), software (application programming interface, ARG-US software for local and remote/web applications, secure server and database management), and cellular/satellite communication interfaces for vehicle tracking andmore » item monitoring during transport. The ability of the above system to provide accurate, real-time tracking and monitoring of the status of multiple, certified containers of nuclear materials has been successfully demonstrated in a week-long, 1,700-mile DEMO performed in April 2008. While the feedback from the approximately fifty (50) stakeholders who participated in and/or observed the DEMO progression were very positive and encouraging, two major areas of further improvements - system integration and web application enhancement - were identified in the post-DEMO evaluation. The principal purpose of the MiniDemo described in this report was to verify these two specific improvements. The MiniDemo was conducted on August 28, 2009. In terms of system integration, a hybrid communication interface - combining the RFID item-monitoring features and a commercial vehicle tracking system by Qualcomm - was developed and implemented. In the MiniDemo, the new integrated system worked well in reporting tag status and vehicle location accurately and promptly. There was no incompatibility of components. The robust commercial communication gear, as expected, helped improve system reliability. The MiniDemo confirmed that system integration is technically feasible and reliable with the existing RFID and Qualcomm satellite equipment. In terms of web application, improvements in mapping, tracking, data presentation, and post-incident spatial query reporting were implemented in ARG-US, the application software that manages the dataflow among the RFID tags, readers, and servers. These features were tested in the MiniDemo and found to be satisfactory. The resulting web application is both informative and user-friendly. A joint developmental project is being planned between the PCP and the DOE TRANSCOM that uses the Qualcomm gear in vehicles for tracking and communication of radioactive material shipments across the country. Adding an RFID interface to TRANSCOM is a significant enhancement to the DOE infrastructure for tracking and monitoring shipments of radioactive materials.« less

Detection probability of an in-stream passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag detection system for juvenile salmonids in the Klamath River, northern California, 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beeman, John W.; Hayes, Brian; Wright, Katrina

2012-01-01

A series of in-stream passive integrated transponder (PIT) detection antennas installed across the Klamath River in August 2010 were tested using tagged fish in the summer of 2011. Six pass-by antennas were constructed and anchored to the bottom of the Klamath River at a site between the Shasta and Scott Rivers. Two of the six antennas malfunctioned during the spring of 2011 and two pass-through antennas were installed near the opposite shoreline prior to system testing. The detection probability of the PIT tag detection system was evaluated using yearling coho salmon implanted with a PIT tag and a radio transmitter and then released into the Klamath River slightly downstream of Iron Gate Dam. Cormack-Jolly-Seber capture-recapture methods were used to estimate the detection probability of the PIT tag detection system based on detections of PIT tags there and detections of radio transmitters at radio-telemetry detection systems downstream. One of the 43 PIT- and radio-tagged fish released was detected by the PIT tag detection system and 23 were detected by the radio-telemetry detection systems. The estimated detection probability of the PIT tag detection system was 0.043 (standard error 0.042). Eight PIT-tagged fish from other studies also were detected. Detections at the PIT tag detection system were at the two pass-through antennas and the pass-by antenna adjacent to them. Above average river discharge likely was a factor in the low detection probability of the PIT tag detection system. High discharges dislodged two power cables leaving 12 meters of the river width unsampled for PIT detections and resulted in water depths greater than the read distance of the antennas, which allowed fish to pass over much of the system with little chance of being detected. Improvements in detection probability may be expected under river discharge conditions where water depth over the antennas is within maximum read distance of the antennas. Improvements also may be expected if additional arrays of antennas are used.

DEVELOPMENT OF DECISION MAKING ALGORITHM FOR CONTROL OF SEA CARGO CONTAINERS BY 'TAGGED' NEUTRON METHOD

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

Anan'ev, A. A.; Belichenko, S. G.; Bogolyubov, E. P.

Nowadays in Russia and abroad there are several groups of scientists, engaged in development of systems based on 'tagged' neutron method (API method) and intended for detection of dangerous materials, including high explosives (HE). Particular attention is paid to possibility of detection of dangerous objects inside a sea cargo container. Energy gamma-spectrum, registered from object under inspection is used for determination of oxygen/carbon and nitrogen/carbon chemical ratios, according to which dangerous object is distinguished from not dangerous one. Material of filled container, however, gives rise to additional effects of rescattering and moderation of 14 MeV primary neutrons of generator, attenuationmore » of secondary gamma-radiation from reactions of inelastic neutron scattering on objects under inspection. These effects lead to distortion of energy gamma-response from examined object and therefore prevent correct recognition of chemical ratios. These difficulties are taken into account in analytical method, presented in the paper. Method has been validated against experimental data, obtained by the system for HE detection in sea cargo, based on API method and developed in VNIIA. Influence of shielding materials on results of HE detection and identification is considered. Wood and iron were used as shielding materials. Results of method application for analysis of experimental data on HE simulator measurement (tetryl, trotyl, hexogen) are presented.« less

Social tagging in the life sciences: characterizing a new metadata resource for bioinformatics.

PubMed

Good, Benjamin M; Tennis, Joseph T; Wilkinson, Mark D

2009-09-25

Academic social tagging systems, such as Connotea and CiteULike, provide researchers with a means to organize personal collections of online references with keywords (tags) and to share these collections with others. One of the side-effects of the operation of these systems is the generation of large, publicly accessible metadata repositories describing the resources in the collections. In light of the well-known expansion of information in the life sciences and the need for metadata to enhance its value, these repositories present a potentially valuable new resource for application developers. Here we characterize the current contents of two scientifically relevant metadata repositories created through social tagging. This investigation helps to establish how such socially constructed metadata might be used as it stands currently and to suggest ways that new social tagging systems might be designed that would yield better aggregate products. We assessed the metadata that users of CiteULike and Connotea associated with citations in PubMed with the following metrics: coverage of the document space, density of metadata (tags) per document, rates of inter-annotator agreement, and rates of agreement with MeSH indexing. CiteULike and Connotea were very similar on all of the measurements. In comparison to PubMed, document coverage and per-document metadata density were much lower for the social tagging systems. Inter-annotator agreement within the social tagging systems and the agreement between the aggregated social tagging metadata and MeSH indexing was low though the latter could be increased through voting. The most promising uses of metadata from current academic social tagging repositories will be those that find ways to utilize the novel relationships between users, tags, and documents exposed through these systems. For more traditional kinds of indexing-based applications (such as keyword-based search) to benefit substantially from socially generated metadata in the life sciences, more documents need to be tagged and more tags are needed for each document. These issues may be addressed both by finding ways to attract more users to current systems and by creating new user interfaces that encourage more collectively useful individual tagging behaviour.

A polarization system for persistent chemical detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craven-Jones, Julia; Appelhans, Leah; Couphos, Eric; Embree, Todd; Finnegan, Patrick; Goldstein, Dennis; Karelitz, David; LaCasse, Charles; Luk, Ting S.; Mahamat, Adoum; Massey, Lee; Tanbakuchi, Anthony; Washburn, Cody; Vigil, Steven

2015-09-01

We report on the development of a prototype polarization tag based system for detecting chemical vapors. The system primarily consists of two components, a chemically sensitive tag that experiences a change in its optical polarization properties when exposed to a specific chemical of interest, and an optical imaging polarimeter that is used to measure the polarization properties of the tags. Although the system concept could be extended to other chemicals, for the initial system prototype presented here the tags were developed to be sensitive to hydrogen fluoride (HF) vapors. HF is used in many industrial processes but is highly toxic and thus monitoring for its presence and concentration is often of interest for personnel and environmental safety. The tags are periodic multilayer structures that are produced using standard photolithographic processes. The polarimetric imager has been designed to measure the degree of linear polarization reflected from the tags in the short wave infrared. By monitoring the change in the reflected polarization signature from the tags, the polarimeter can be used to determine if the tag was exposed to HF gas. In this paper, a review of the system development effort and preliminary test results are presented and discussed, as well as our plan for future work.

InkTag: Secure Applications on an Untrusted Operating System

PubMed Central

Hofmann, Owen S.; Kim, Sangman; Dunn, Alan M.; Lee, Michael Z.; Witchel, Emmett

2014-01-01

InkTag is a virtualization-based architecture that gives strong safety guarantees to high-assurance processes even in the presence of a malicious operating system. InkTag advances the state of the art in untrusted operating systems in both the design of its hypervisor and in the ability to run useful applications without trusting the operating system. We introduce paraverification, a technique that simplifies the InkTag hypervisor by forcing the untrusted operating system to participate in its own verification. Attribute-based access control allows trusted applications to create decentralized access control policies. InkTag is also the first system of its kind to ensure consistency between secure data and metadata, ensuring recoverability in the face of system crashes. PMID:24429939

InkTag: Secure Applications on an Untrusted Operating System.

PubMed

Hofmann, Owen S; Kim, Sangman; Dunn, Alan M; Lee, Michael Z; Witchel, Emmett

2013-01-01

InkTag is a virtualization-based architecture that gives strong safety guarantees to high-assurance processes even in the presence of a malicious operating system. InkTag advances the state of the art in untrusted operating systems in both the design of its hypervisor and in the ability to run useful applications without trusting the operating system. We introduce paraverification , a technique that simplifies the InkTag hypervisor by forcing the untrusted operating system to participate in its own verification. Attribute-based access control allows trusted applications to create decentralized access control policies. InkTag is also the first system of its kind to ensure consistency between secure data and metadata, ensuring recoverability in the face of system crashes.

Extending birthday paradox theory to estimate the number of tags in RFID systems.

PubMed

Shakiba, Masoud; Singh, Mandeep Jit; Sundararajan, Elankovan; Zavvari, Azam; Islam, Mohammad Tariqul

2014-01-01

The main objective of Radio Frequency Identification systems is to provide fast identification for tagged objects. However, there is always a chance of collision, when tags transmit their data to the reader simultaneously. Collision is a time-consuming event that reduces the performance of RFID systems. Consequently, several anti-collision algorithms have been proposed in the literature. Dynamic Framed Slotted ALOHA (DFSA) is one of the most popular of these algorithms. DFSA dynamically modifies the frame size based on the number of tags. Since the real number of tags is unknown, it needs to be estimated. Therefore, an accurate tag estimation method has an important role in increasing the efficiency and overall performance of the tag identification process. In this paper, we propose a novel estimation technique for DFSA anti-collision algorithms that applies birthday paradox theory to estimate the number of tags accurately. The analytical discussion and simulation results prove that the proposed method increases the accuracy of tag estimation and, consequently, outperforms previous schemes.

Extending Birthday Paradox Theory to Estimate the Number of Tags in RFID Systems

PubMed Central

Shakiba, Masoud; Singh, Mandeep Jit; Sundararajan, Elankovan; Zavvari, Azam; Islam, Mohammad Tariqul

2014-01-01

The main objective of Radio Frequency Identification systems is to provide fast identification for tagged objects. However, there is always a chance of collision, when tags transmit their data to the reader simultaneously. Collision is a time-consuming event that reduces the performance of RFID systems. Consequently, several anti-collision algorithms have been proposed in the literature. Dynamic Framed Slotted ALOHA (DFSA) is one of the most popular of these algorithms. DFSA dynamically modifies the frame size based on the number of tags. Since the real number of tags is unknown, it needs to be estimated. Therefore, an accurate tag estimation method has an important role in increasing the efficiency and overall performance of the tag identification process. In this paper, we propose a novel estimation technique for DFSA anti-collision algorithms that applies birthday paradox theory to estimate the number of tags accurately. The analytical discussion and simulation results prove that the proposed method increases the accuracy of tag estimation and, consequently, outperforms previous schemes. PMID:24752285

Thin film transistors for flexible electronics: contacts, dielectrics and semiconductors.

PubMed

Quevedo-Lopez, M A; Wondmagegn, W T; Alshareef, H N; Ramirez-Bon, R; Gnade, B E

2011-06-01

The development of low temperature, thin film transistor processes that have enabled flexible displays also present opportunities for flexible electronics and flexible integrated systems. Of particular interest are possible applications in flexible sensor systems for unattended ground sensors, smart medical bandages, electronic ID tags for geo-location, conformal antennas, radiation detectors, etc. In this paper, we review the impact of gate dielectrics, contacts and semiconductor materials on thin film transistors for flexible electronics applications. We present our recent results to fully integrate hybrid complementary metal oxide semiconductors comprising inorganic and organic-based materials. In particular, we demonstrate novel gate dielectric stacks and semiconducting materials. The impact of source and drain contacts on device performance is also discussed.

Direct embryo tagging and identification system by attachment of biofunctionalized polysilicon barcodes to the zona pellucida of mouse embryos.

PubMed

Novo, Sergi; Penon, Oriol; Barrios, Leonardo; Nogués, Carme; Santaló, Josep; Durán, Sara; Gómez-Matínez, Rodrigo; Samitier, Josep; Plaza, José Antonio; Pérez-García, Luisa; Ibáñez, Elena

2013-06-01

Is the attachment of biofunctionalized polysilicon barcodes to the outer surface of the zona pellucida an effective approach for the direct tagging and identification of cultured embryos? The results achieved provide a proof of concept for a direct embryo tagging system using biofunctionalized polysilicon barcodes, which could help to minimize the risk of mismatching errors (mix-ups) in human assisted reproduction technologies. Even though the occurrence of mix-ups is rare, several cases have been reported in fertility clinics around the world. Measures to prevent the risk of mix-ups in human assisted reproduction technologies are therefore required. Mouse embryos were tagged with 10 barcodes and the effectiveness of the tagging system was tested during fresh in vitro culture (n=140) and after embryo cryopreservation (n = 84). Finally, the full-term development of tagged embryos was evaluated (n =105). Mouse pronuclear embryos were individually rolled over wheat germ agglutinin-biofunctionalized polysilicon barcodes to distribute them uniformly around the ZONA PELLUCIDA surface. Embryo viability and retention of barcodes were determined during 96 h of culture. The identification of tagged embryos was performed every 24 h in an inverted microscope and without embryo manipulation to simulate an automatic reading procedure. Full-term development of the tagged embryos was assessed after their transfer to pseudo-pregnant females. To test the validity of the embryo tagging system after a cryopreservation process, tagged embryos were frozen at the 2-cell stage using a slow freezing protocol, and followed in culture for 72 h after thawing. Neither the in vitro or in vivo development of tagged embryos was adversely affected. The tagging system also proved effective during an embryo cryopreservation process. Global identification rates higher than 96 and 92% in fresh and frozen-thawed tagged embryos, respectively, were obtained when simulating an automatic barcode reading system, although these rates could be increased to 100% by simply rotating the embryos during the reading process. The direct embryo tagging developed here has exclusively been tested in mouse embryos. Its effectiveness in other species, such as the human, is currently being tested. The direct embryo tagging system developed here, once tested in human embryos, could provide fertility clinics with a novel tool to reduce the risk of mix-ups in human assisted reproduction technologies.

Probing the potential of CnaB-type domains for the design of tag/catcher systems

PubMed Central

Pröschel, Marlene; Kraner, Max E.; Horn, Anselm H. C.; Schäfer, Lena; Sonnewald, Uwe

2017-01-01

Building proteins into larger, post-translational assemblies in a defined and stable way is still a challenging task. A promising approach relies on so-called tag/catcher systems that are fused to the proteins of interest and allow a durable linkage via covalent intermolecular bonds. Tags and catchers are generated by splitting protein domains that contain intramolecular isopeptide or ester bonds that form autocatalytically under physiological conditions. There are already numerous biotechnological and medical applications that demonstrate the usefulness of covalent linkages mediated by these systems. Additional covalent tag/catcher systems would allow creating more complex and ultra-stable protein architectures and networks. Two of the presently available tag/catcher systems were derived from closely related CnaB-domains of Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus dysgalactiae proteins. However, it is unclear whether domain splitting is generally tolerated within the CnaB-family or only by a small subset of these domains. To address this point, we have selected a set of four CnaB domains of low sequence similarity and characterized the resulting tag/catcher systems by computational and experimental methods. Experimental testing for intermolecular isopeptide bond formation demonstrated two of the four systems to be functional. For these two systems length and sequence variations of the peptide tags were investigated revealing only a relatively small effect on the efficiency of the reaction. Our study suggests that splitting into tag and catcher moieties is tolerated by a significant portion of the naturally occurring CnaB-domains, thus providing a large reservoir for the design of novel tag/catcher systems. PMID:28654665

Method of remote powering and detecting multiple UWB passive tags in an RFID system

DOEpatents

Dowla, Farid U [Castro Valley, CA; Nekoogar, Faranak [San Ramon, CA; Benzel, David M [Livermore, CA; Dallum, Gregory E [Livermore, CA; Spiridon, Alex [Palo Alto, CA

2012-05-29

A new Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), tracking, powering apparatus/system and method using coded Ultra-wideband (UWB) signaling is introduced. The proposed hardware and techniques disclosed herein utilize a plurality of passive UWB transponders in a field of an RFID-radar system. The radar system itself enables multiple passive tags to be remotely powered (activated) at about the same time frame via predetermined frequency UWB pulsed formats. Once such tags are in an activated state, an UWB radar transmits specific "interrogating codes" to put predetermined tags in an awakened status. Such predetermined tags can then communicate by a unique "response code" so as to be detected by an UWB system using radar methods.

Measuring and Predicting Tag Importance for Image Retrieval.

PubMed

Li, Shangwen; Purushotham, Sanjay; Chen, Chen; Ren, Yuzhuo; Kuo, C-C Jay

2017-12-01

Textual data such as tags, sentence descriptions are combined with visual cues to reduce the semantic gap for image retrieval applications in today's Multimodal Image Retrieval (MIR) systems. However, all tags are treated as equally important in these systems, which may result in misalignment between visual and textual modalities during MIR training. This will further lead to degenerated retrieval performance at query time. To address this issue, we investigate the problem of tag importance prediction, where the goal is to automatically predict the tag importance and use it in image retrieval. To achieve this, we first propose a method to measure the relative importance of object and scene tags from image sentence descriptions. Using this as the ground truth, we present a tag importance prediction model to jointly exploit visual, semantic and context cues. The Structural Support Vector Machine (SSVM) formulation is adopted to ensure efficient training of the prediction model. Then, the Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) is employed to learn the relation between the image visual feature and tag importance to obtain robust retrieval performance. Experimental results on three real-world datasets show a significant performance improvement of the proposed MIR with Tag Importance Prediction (MIR/TIP) system over other MIR systems.

Reliability of an ordinal rating system for assessing the amount of mud and feces (tag) on cattle hides at slaughter.

PubMed

Jordan, D; McEwen, S A; Wilson, J B; McNab, W B; Lammerding, A M

1999-05-01

A study was conducted to provide a quantitative description of the amount of tag (mud, soil, and bedding) adhered to the hides of feedlot beef cattle and to appraise the statistical reliability of a subjective rating system for assessing this trait. Initially, a single rater obtained baseline data by assessing 2,417 cattle for 1 month at an Ontario beef processing plant. Analysis revealed that there was a strong tendency for animals within sale-lots to have a similar total tag score (intralot correlation = 0.42). Baseline data were summarized by fitting a linear model describing an individual's total tag score as the sum of their lot mean tag score (LMTS) plus an amount representing normal variation within the lot. LMTSs predicted by the linear model were adequately described by a beta distribution with parameters nu = 3.12 and omega = 5.82 scaled to fit on the 0-to-9 interval. Five raters, trained in use of the tag scoring system, made 1,334 tag score observations in a commercial abattoir, allowing reliability to be assessed at the individual level and at the lot level. High values for reliability were obtained for individual total tag score (0.84) and lot total tag score (0.83); these values suggest that the tag scoring system could be used in the marketing and slaughter of Ontario beef cattle to improve the cleanliness of animals presented for slaughter in an effort to control the entry of microbial contamination into abattoirs. Implications for the use of the tag scoring system in research are discussed.

Detection System of the First Rapidly Relocatable Tagged Neutron Inspection System (RRTNIS), Developed in the Framework of the European H2020 C-BORD Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fontana, Cristiano Lino; Carnera, Alberto; Lunardon, Marcello; Pino, Felix; Sada, Cinzia; Soramel, Francesca; Stevanato, Luca; Nebbia, Giancarlo; Carasco, Cédric; Perot, Bertrand; Sardet, Alix; Sannie, Guillaume; Iovene, Alessandro; Tintori, Carlo; Grodzicki, Krystian; Moszyński, Marek; Sibczyński, Paweł; Swiderski, Lukasz; Moretto, Sandra

The European project entitled ;effective Container inspection at BORDer control points; (C-BORD) focuses on the development and in-situ tests of a comprehensive cost-effective solution for the generalized Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) of containers and large-volume freight at the European Union (EU) border. It copes with a large range of targets, including explosives, chemical warfare agents, illicit drugs, tobacco and Special Nuclear Materials. Within the C-BORD project, a new generation of Tagged Neutron Inspection System (TNIS) for cargo containers is foreseen. Unlike its predecessors, this system would be the first Rapidly Relocatable TNIS (RRTNIS). It will be a second-line defense system, to be used on sealed containers in order to detect explosives, illicit drugs and chemical agents in a suspect voxel (elementary volume unit). We report on the status of the RRTNIS system, in particular the overall design, the characterization of the large-volume NaI(Tl) gamma detectors, the digital analysis of the time measurements and the Data Acquisition System (DAQ).

Compact mobile-reader system for two-way wireless communication, tracking and status monitoring for transport safety and security

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

Tsai, Han-Chung; Liu, Yung Y.; Lee, Hok L.

A system for monitoring a plurality radio frequency identification tags is described. The system uses at least one set of radio frequency identification tags. Each tag is attached to a container and includes several sensors for detecting physical conditions of said container. The system includes at least one autonomous intermediate reader in wireless communication with the frequency identification tags. The intermediate reader includes external wireless communication system, intermediate reader logic controller, and a self-contained rechargeable power supply. The system uses a central status reporting system in communication the intermediate reader.

Design and engineering of organic molecules for customizable Terahertz tags

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ray, Shaumik; Dash, Jyotirmayee; Nallappan, Kathirvel; Kaware, Vaibhav; Basutkar, Nitin; Ambade, Ashootosh; Joshi, Kavita; Pesala, Bala

2014-03-01

Terahertz (THz) frequency band lies between the microwave and infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Molecules having strong resonances in this frequency range are ideal for realizing "Terahertz tags" which can be easily incorporated into various materials. THz spectroscopy of molecules, especially at frequencies below 10 THz, provides valuable information on the low frequency vibrational modes, viz. intermolecular vibrational modes, hydrogen bond stretching, torsional vibrations in several chemical and biological compounds. So far there have been very few attempts to engineer molecules which can demonstrate customizable resonances in the THz frequency region. In this paper, Diamidopyridine (DAP) based molecules are used as a model system to demonstrate engineering of THz resonances (< 10 THz) by fine-tuning the molecular mass and bond strengths. Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulations have been carried out to explain the origin of THz resonances and factors contributing to the shift in resonances due to the addition of various functional groups. The design approach presented here can be easily extended to engineer various organic molecules suitable for THz tags application.

Multiple Object Based RFID System Using Security Level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2007-12-01

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

33 CFR 150.628 - How must the operator label, tag, and mark a container of hazardous material?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Workplace Safety and Health Hazard Communication Program § 150.628 How must the operator label, tag, and..., reactive and other special condition hazard warnings. The only exception is for portable containers that...

IC-tagged proteins are able to interact with each other and perform complex reactions when integrated into muNS-derived inclusions.

PubMed

Brandariz-Nuñez, Alberto; Otero-Romero, Iria; Benavente, Javier; Martinez-Costas, Jose M

2011-09-20

We have recently developed a versatile tagging system (IC-tagging) that causes relocation of the tagged proteins to ARV muNS-derived intracellular globular inclusions. In the present study we demonstrate (i) that the IC-tag can be successfully fused either to the amino or carboxyl terminus of the protein to be tagged and (ii) that IC-tagged proteins are able to interact between them and perform complex reactions that require such interactions while integrated into muNS inclusions, increasing the versatility of the IC-tagging system. Also, our studies with the DsRed protein add some light on the structure/function relationship of the evolution of DsRed chromophore. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Scalable Faceted Ranking in Tagging Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlicki, José I.; Alvarez-Hamelin, J. Ignacio; Fierens, Pablo I.

Nowadays, web collaborative tagging systems which allow users to upload, comment on and recommend contents, are growing. Such systems can be represented as graphs where nodes correspond to users and tagged-links to recommendations. In this paper we analyze the problem of computing a ranking of users with respect to a facet described as a set of tags. A straightforward solution is to compute a PageRank-like algorithm on a facet-related graph, but it is not feasible for online computation. We propose an alternative: (i) a ranking for each tag is computed offline on the basis of tag-related subgraphs; (ii) a faceted order is generated online by merging rankings corresponding to all the tags in the facet. Based on the graph analysis of YouTube and Flickr, we show that step (i) is scalable. We also present efficient algorithms for step (ii), which are evaluated by comparing their results with two gold standards.

Tag ID Subdivision Scheme for Efficient Authentication and Security-Enhancement of RFID System in USN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Kijeong; Park, Byungjoo; Park, Gil-Cheol

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a generic term that is used to describe a system that transmits the identity (in the form of a unique serial number) of an object or person wirelessly, using radio waves. However, there are security threats in the RFID system related to its technical components. For example, illegal RFID tag readers can read tag ID and recognize most RFID Readers, a security threat that needs in-depth attention. Previous studies show some ideas on how to minimize these security threats like studying the security protocols between tag, reader and Back-end DB. In this research, the team proposes an RFID Tag ID Subdivision Scheme to authenticate the permitted tag only in USN (Ubiquitous Sensor Network). Using the proposed scheme, the Back-end DB authenticates selected tags only to minimize security threats like eavesdropping and decreasing traffic in Back-end DB.

48 CFR 908.7101-7 - Government license tags.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Government license tags... Government license tags. (a) Government license tags shall be procured and assignments recorded by DOE... the District of Columbia, official Government tags shall be obtained from the Department of...

Gamma signatures of the C-BORD Tagged Neutron Inspection System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sardet, A.; Pérot, B.; Carasco, C.; Sannié, G.; Moretto, S.; Nebbia, G.; Fontana, C.; Pino, F.; Iovene, A.; Tintori, C.

2018-01-01

In the frame of C-BORD project (H2020 program of the EU), a Rapidly relocatable Tagged Neutron Inspection System (RRTNIS) is being developed to non-intrusively detect explosives, chemical threats, and other illicit goods in cargo containers. Material identification is performed through gamma spectroscopy, using twenty NaI detectors and four LaBr3 detectors, to determine the different elements composing the inspected item from their specific gamma signatures induced by fast neutrons. This is performed using an unfolding algorithm to decompose the energy spectrum of a suspect item, selected by X-ray radiography and on which the RRTNIS inspection is focused, on a database of pure element gamma signatures. This paper reports on simulated signatures for the NaI and LaBr3 detectors, constructed using the MCNP6 code. First experimental spectra of a few elements of interest are also presented.

A navigation system for the visually impaired using colored navigation lines and RFID tags.

PubMed

Seto, First Tatsuya

2009-01-01

In this paper, we describe about a developed navigation system that supports the independent walking of the visually impaired in the indoor space. Our developed instrument consists of a navigation system and a map information system. These systems are installed on a white cane. Our navigation system can follow a colored navigation line that is set on the floor. In this system, a color sensor installed on the tip of a white cane senses the colored navigation line, and the system informs the visually impaired that he/she is walking along the navigation line by vibration. The color recognition system is controlled by a one-chip microprocessor and this system can discriminate 6 colored navigation lines. RFID tags and a receiver for these tags are used in the map information system. The RFID tags and the RFID tag receiver are also installed on a white cane. The receiver receives tag information and notifies map information to the user by mp3 formatted pre-recorded voice. Three normal subjects who were blindfolded with an eye mask were tested with this system. All of them were able to walk along the navigation line. The performance of the map information system was good. Therefore, our system will be extremely valuable in supporting the activities of the visually impaired.

The use of triangle diagram in the detection of explosive and illicit drugs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudac, Davorin; Baricevic, Martina; Obhodas, Jasmina; Franulovic, Andrej; Valkovic, Vladivoj

2010-04-01

A tagged neutron inspection system has been used for the detection of explosive and illicite drugs. Simulant of the RDX explosive was measured in different environments and its gamma ray spectra were compared with the gamma ray spectra of benign materials like paper, sugar and rise. "Fingerprint" of the RDX simulant was found by detecting the nitrogen as well as by making the triangle plot which coordinates show the carbon and oxygen content and density. Density was obtained by measuring the intensity of the transmited tagged neutrons. Hence, the presence of the simulant can be confirmed by using two different methods. The possibility of using the triangle plot for detection of illicit drugs like heroin, cocain and marihuana is also discused.

48 CFR 908.7101-7 - Government license tags.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Government license tags... Government license tags. (a) Government license tags shall be procured and assignments recorded by DOE... local laws, regulations, and procedures. (d) In the District of Columbia, official Government tags shall...

Method for nonlinear optimization for gas tagging and other systems

DOEpatents

Chen, Ting; Gross, Kenny C.; Wegerich, Stephan

1998-01-01

A method and system for providing nuclear fuel rods with a configuration of isotopic gas tags. The method includes selecting a true location of a first gas tag node, selecting initial locations for the remaining n-1 nodes using target gas tag compositions, generating a set of random gene pools with L nodes, applying a Hopfield network for computing on energy, or cost, for each of the L gene pools and using selected constraints to establish minimum energy states to identify optimal gas tag nodes with each energy compared to a convergence threshold and then upon identifying the gas tag node continuing this procedure until establishing the next gas tag node until all remaining n nodes have been established.

Method for nonlinear optimization for gas tagging and other systems

DOEpatents

Chen, T.; Gross, K.C.; Wegerich, S.

1998-01-06

A method and system are disclosed for providing nuclear fuel rods with a configuration of isotopic gas tags. The method includes selecting a true location of a first gas tag node, selecting initial locations for the remaining n-1 nodes using target gas tag compositions, generating a set of random gene pools with L nodes, applying a Hopfield network for computing on energy, or cost, for each of the L gene pools and using selected constraints to establish minimum energy states to identify optimal gas tag nodes with each energy compared to a convergence threshold and then upon identifying the gas tag node continuing this procedure until establishing the next gas tag node until all remaining n nodes have been established. 6 figs.

A universal TagModule collection for parallel genetic analysis of microorganisms

PubMed Central

Oh, Julia; Fung, Eula; Price, Morgan N.; Dehal, Paramvir S.; Davis, Ronald W.; Giaever, Guri; Nislow, Corey; Arkin, Adam P.; Deutschbauer, Adam

2010-01-01

Systems-level analyses of non-model microorganisms are limited by the existence of numerous uncharacterized genes and a corresponding over-reliance on automated computational annotations. One solution to this challenge is to disrupt gene function using DNA tag technology, which has been highly successful in parallelizing reverse genetics in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and has led to discoveries in gene function, genetic interactions and drug mechanism of action. To extend the yeast DNA tag methodology to a wide variety of microorganisms and applications, we have created a universal, sequence-verified TagModule collection. A hallmark of the 4280 TagModules is that they are cloned into a Gateway entry vector, thus facilitating rapid transfer to any compatible genetic system. Here, we describe the application of the TagModules to rapidly generate tagged mutants by transposon mutagenesis in the metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. Our results demonstrate the optimal hybridization properties of the TagModule collection, the flexibility in applying the strategy to diverse microorganisms and the biological insights that can be gained from fitness profiling tagged mutant collections. The publicly available TagModule collection is a platform-independent resource for the functional genomics of a wide range of microbial systems in the post-genome era. PMID:20494978

49 CFR 236.76 - Tagging of wires and interference of wires or tags with signal apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... INSTRUCTIONS GOVERNING THE INSTALLATION, INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Rules and Instructions: All Systems Wires and Cables § 236.76 Tagging of...

49 CFR 236.76 - Tagging of wires and interference of wires or tags with signal apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... INSTRUCTIONS GOVERNING THE INSTALLATION, INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Rules and Instructions: All Systems Wires and Cables § 236.76 Tagging of...

49 CFR 236.76 - Tagging of wires and interference of wires or tags with signal apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... INSTRUCTIONS GOVERNING THE INSTALLATION, INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Rules and Instructions: All Systems Wires and Cables § 236.76 Tagging of...

Process control monitoring systems, industrial plants, and process control monitoring methods

DOEpatents

Skorpik, James R [Kennewick, WA; Gosselin, Stephen R [Richland, WA; Harris, Joe C [Kennewick, WA

2010-09-07

A system comprises a valve; a plurality of RFID sensor assemblies coupled to the valve to monitor a plurality of parameters associated with the valve; a control tag configured to wirelessly communicate with the respective tags that are coupled to the valve, the control tag being further configured to communicate with an RF reader; and an RF reader configured to selectively communicate with the control tag, the reader including an RF receiver. Other systems and methods are also provided.

Theoretical and experimental studies of electronic, optical and luminescent properties for Tb-based garnet materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Shoujun; Zhang, Haotian; Dou, Renqin; Liu, Wenpeng; Sun, Dunlu; Zhang, Qingli

2018-07-01

Terbium-aluminum (Tb3Al5O12: TAG) as well as Terbium-scandium-aluminum (Tb3Sc2Al3O12: TSAG) garnet materials have attracted tremendous attention around the world owing to their multifunctional applications. However, the electronic structure, optical and luminescent properties for TAG and TSAG are still requiring elucidation. To solve these intriguing problems, firstly, a systematic theoretical calculation based on the density functional theory methods were carried out on them and their electronic structure and optical properties were obtained. The calculated results indicating that both TAG and TSAG belongs to direct band gap materials category with band gap of 4.46 and 4.05 eV, respectively. Secondly, we compared the calculated results with the experimental results (including band gap, refractive index and reflectivity) and found that they were in good coincident. Lastly, we investigated the luminescence properties of TSAG and evaluated its probability for using as visible phosphor and laser matrix. In addition, a Judd-Ofelt theory calculation was performed on TSAG to reveal the radioactive transition of Tb-4f configuration and the three Judd-Ofelt intense parameters were obtained to be 4.47, 1.37 and 4.23 × 10-20 cm2, respectively. All of the obtained results can provide an essential understanding of TAG and TSAG garnet materials and also useful for the further exploration of them.

Application of the Terrestar Satellite Constellation to the Global Initiative for Tracking Special and Nonproliferation Material

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

A.  EXPERIMENT BACKGROUND ................................................................35  1.  BlackBerry Messenger...in Orbit (From [Terrestar, 2011])..................................................24  Figure 11.  BlackBerry Tag...36  Figure 12.  OV-1 Diagram of BlackBerry Tag

DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING AND CONTROL

EPA Science Inventory

This report presents a description of the activities and accomplishments of the American Society for Testing and Materials' U. S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the International Standards Organization's Technical Committee 146 on Air Quality. The purpose of the TAG is to re...

Hybrid Multiagent System for Automatic Object Learning Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gil, Ana; de La Prieta, Fernando; López, Vivian F.

The rapid evolution within the context of e-learning is closely linked to international efforts on the standardization of learning object metadata, which provides learners in a web-based educational system with ubiquitous access to multiple distributed repositories. This article presents a hybrid agent-based architecture that enables the recovery of learning objects tagged in Learning Object Metadata (LOM) and provides individualized help with selecting learning materials to make the most suitable choice among many alternatives.

Soldier Data Tag Study Effort.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-06-10

interested in protecting it. The tag itself is difficult--though not impossible--to counterfeit . Also, it (’• iii 71 -, potentially improves the data...attacks during the design, manufacture, and distribution processes, counterfeiting , unauthorized access/alteration of tag data, and use of the tag to...45 3.3.2 Hijacking of SOT System Shipments, or Large- Scale Counterfeit of SOT Systems ....................... 46 3.3.3 Unauthorized Alteration

Bio-inorganic synthesis of ZnO powders using recombinant His-tagged ZnO binding peptide as a promoter.

PubMed

Song, Lei; Liu, Yingying; Zhang, Zhifang; Wang, Xi; Chen, Jinchun

2010-10-01

Inorganic-binding peptides termed as genetically engineered polypeptides for inorganics (GEPIs), are small peptide sequences selected via combinatorial biology-based protocols of phage or cell surface display technologies. Recent advances in nanotechnology and molecular biology allow the engineering of these peptides with specific affinity to inorganics, often used as molecular linkers or assemblers, to facilitate materials synthesis, which provides a new insight into the material science and engineering field. As a case study on this biomimetic application, here we report a novel biosynthetic ZnO binding protein and its application in promoting bio-inorganic materials synthesis. In brief, the gene encoding a ZnO binding peptide(ZBP) was genetically fused with His(6)-tag and GST-tag using E.coli expression vector pET-28a (+) and pGEX-4T-3. The recombinant protein GST-His-ZBP was expressed, purified with Ni-NTA system, identified by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and Western blot analysis and confirmed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. Affinity adsorption test demonstrated that the fusion protein had a specific avidity for ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). Results from the bio-inorganic synthesis experiment indicated that the new protein played a promoting part in grain refinement and accelerated precipitation during the formation of the ultra-fine precursor powders in the Zn(OH)(2) sol. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis on the final products after calcining the precursor powders showed that hexagonal wurtzite ZnO crystals were obtained. Our work suggested a novel approach to the application about the organic-inorganic interactions.

Near-Field Chipless Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Sensing and Identification System with Switching Reading.

PubMed

Paredes, Ferran; Herrojo, Cristian; Mata-Contreras, Javier; Moras, Miquel; Núñez, Alba; Ramon, Eloi; Martín, Ferran

2018-04-09

A chipless radio-frequency identification (chipless-RFID) and sensing system, where tags are read by proximity (near-field) through a switch, is presented. The tags consist of a set of identical resonant elements (split-ring resonators or SRRs), printed or etched at predefined and equidistant positions, forming a linear chain, each SRR providing a bit of information. The logic state ('1' or '0') associated with each resonator depends on whether it is present or not in the predefined position. The reader is an array of power splitters used to feed a set of SRR-loaded transmission lines (in equal number to the number of resonant elements, or bits, of the tag). The feeding (interrogation) signal is a harmonic (single-tone) signal tuned to a frequency in the vicinity of the fundamental resonance of the SRRs. The set of SRR-loaded lines must be designed so that the corresponding SRRs are in perfect alignment with the SRRs of the tag, provided the tag is positioned on top of the reader. Thus, in a reading operation, as long as the tag is very close to the reader, the SRRs of the tag modify (decrease) the transmission coefficient of the corresponding reader line (through electromagnetic coupling between both SRRs), and the amplitude of the output signal is severely reduced. Therefore, the identification (ID) code of the tag is contained in the amplitudes of the output signals of the SRR-loaded lines, which can be inferred sequentially by means of a switching system. Unlike previous chipless-RFID systems based on near-field and sequential bit reading, the tags in the proposed system can be merely positioned on top of the reader, conveniently aligned, without the need to mechanically place them across the reader. Since tag reading is only possible if the tag is very close to the reader, this system can be also used as a proximity sensor with applications such as target identification. The proposed chipless-RFID and sensing approach is validated by reading a designed 4-bit tag. For identification purposes, this system is of special interest in applications where a low number of bits suffice, and tag reading by proximity is acceptable (or even convenient). Applications mostly related to secure paper, particularly involving a limited number of items (e.g., exams, ballots, etc.), in order to provide authenticity and avoid counterfeiting, are envisaged. As a proximity sensor, the system may be of use in detecting and distinguishing different targets in applications such as smart packaging.

Near-Field Chipless Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Sensing and Identification System with Switching Reading

PubMed Central

Mata-Contreras, Javier; Moras, Miquel; Ramon, Eloi; Martín, Ferran

2018-01-01

A chipless radio-frequency identification (chipless-RFID) and sensing system, where tags are read by proximity (near-field) through a switch, is presented. The tags consist of a set of identical resonant elements (split-ring resonators or SRRs), printed or etched at predefined and equidistant positions, forming a linear chain, each SRR providing a bit of information. The logic state (‘1’ or ‘0’) associated with each resonator depends on whether it is present or not in the predefined position. The reader is an array of power splitters used to feed a set of SRR-loaded transmission lines (in equal number to the number of resonant elements, or bits, of the tag). The feeding (interrogation) signal is a harmonic (single-tone) signal tuned to a frequency in the vicinity of the fundamental resonance of the SRRs. The set of SRR-loaded lines must be designed so that the corresponding SRRs are in perfect alignment with the SRRs of the tag, provided the tag is positioned on top of the reader. Thus, in a reading operation, as long as the tag is very close to the reader, the SRRs of the tag modify (decrease) the transmission coefficient of the corresponding reader line (through electromagnetic coupling between both SRRs), and the amplitude of the output signal is severely reduced. Therefore, the identification (ID) code of the tag is contained in the amplitudes of the output signals of the SRR-loaded lines, which can be inferred sequentially by means of a switching system. Unlike previous chipless-RFID systems based on near-field and sequential bit reading, the tags in the proposed system can be merely positioned on top of the reader, conveniently aligned, without the need to mechanically place them across the reader. Since tag reading is only possible if the tag is very close to the reader, this system can be also used as a proximity sensor with applications such as target identification. The proposed chipless-RFID and sensing approach is validated by reading a designed 4-bit tag. For identification purposes, this system is of special interest in applications where a low number of bits suffice, and tag reading by proximity is acceptable (or even convenient). Applications mostly related to secure paper, particularly involving a limited number of items (e.g., exams, ballots, etc.), in order to provide authenticity and avoid counterfeiting, are envisaged. As a proximity sensor, the system may be of use in detecting and distinguishing different targets in applications such as smart packaging. PMID:29642560

Outdoor Education Support System with Location Awareness Using RFID and Symbology Tags

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osawa, Noritaka; Noda, Katsuji; Tsukagoshi, Satoru; Noma, Yutaka; Ando, Akikazu; Shibuya, Tomoharu; Kondo, Kimio

2007-01-01

A support system for outdoor learning using exploratory observation was developed. The system uses radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and two-dimensional (2D) symbology tags to locate positions on a horticultural farm and its surrounding forests. Students were able to get a location-dependent description and an educational hint for…

Current radar-responsive tag development activities at Sandia National Laboratories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ormesher, Richard C.; Plummer, Kenneth W.; Wells, Lars M.

2004-08-01

Over the past ten years, Sandia has developed RF radar responsive tag systems and supporting technologies for various government agencies and industry partners. RF tags can function as RF transmitters or radar transponders that enable tagging, tracking, and location determination functions. Expertise in tag architecture, microwave and radar design, signal analysis and processing techniques, digital design, modeling and simulation, and testing have been directly applicable to these tag programs. In general, the radar responsive tag designs have emphasized low power, small package size, and the ability to be detected by the radar at long ranges. Recently, there has been an interest in using radar responsive tags for Blue Force tracking and Combat ID (CID). The main reason for this interest is to allow airborne surveillance radars to easily distinguish U.S. assets from those of opposing forces. A Blue Force tracking capability would add materially to situational awareness. Combat ID is also an issue, as evidenced by the fact that approximately one-quarter of all U.S. casualties in the Gulf War took the form of ground troops killed by friendly fire. Because the evolution of warfare in the intervening decade has made asymmetric warfare the norm rather than the exception, swarming engagements in which U.S. forces will be freely intermixed with opposing forces is a situation that must be anticipated. Increasing utilization of precision munitions can be expected to drive fires progressively closer to engaged allied troops at times when visual de-confliction is not an option. In view of these trends, it becomes increasingly important that U.S. ground forces have a widely proliferated all-weather radar responsive tag that communicates to all-weather surveillance. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the recent, current, and future radar responsive research and development activities at Sandia National Laboratories that support both the Blue Force Tracking and Combat ID application. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company for the United States Departments of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Communication methods, systems, apparatus, and devices involving RF tag registration

DOEpatents

Burghard, Brion J [W. Richland, WA; Skorpik, James R [Kennewick, WA

2008-04-22

One technique of the present invention includes a number of Radio Frequency (RF) tags that each have a different identifier. Information is broadcast to the tags from an RF tag interrogator. This information corresponds to a maximum quantity of tag response time slots that are available. This maximum quantity may be less than the total number of tags. The tags each select one of the time slots as a function of the information and a random number provided by each respective tag. The different identifiers are transmitted to the interrogator from at least a subset of the RF tags.

Comparing the hierarchy of author given tags and repository given tags in a large document archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tibély, Gergely; Pollner, Péter; Palla, Gergely

2016-10-01

Folksonomies - large databases arising from collaborative tagging of items by independent users - are becoming an increasingly important way of categorizing information. In these systems users can tag items with free words, resulting in a tripartite item-tag-user network. Although there are no prescribed relations between tags, the way users think about the different categories presumably has some built in hierarchy, in which more special concepts are descendants of some more general categories. Several applications would benefit from the knowledge of this hierarchy. Here we apply a recent method to check the differences and similarities of hierarchies resulting from tags given by independent individuals and from tags given by a centrally managed repository system. The results from our method showed substantial differences between the lower part of the hierarchies, and in contrast, a relatively high similarity at the top of the hierarchies.

Flexible diodes for radio frequency (RF) electronics: a materials perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semple, James; Georgiadou, Dimitra G.; Wyatt-Moon, Gwenhivir; Gelinck, Gerwin; Anthopoulos, Thomas D.

2017-12-01

Over the last decade, there has been increasing interest in transferring the research advances in radiofrequency (RF) rectifiers, the quintessential element of the chip in the RF identification (RFID) tags, obtained on rigid substrates onto plastic (flexible) substrates. The growing demand for flexible RFID tags, wireless communications applications and wireless energy harvesting systems that can be produced at a low-cost is a key driver for this technology push. In this topical review, we summarise recent progress and status of flexible RF diodes and rectifying circuits, with specific focus on materials and device processing aspects. To this end, different families of materials (e.g. flexible silicon, metal oxides, organic and carbon nanomaterials), manufacturing processes (e.g. vacuum and solution processing) and device architectures (diodes and transistors) are compared. Although emphasis is placed on performance, functionality, mechanical flexibility and operating stability, the various bottlenecks associated with each technology are also addressed. Finally, we present our outlook on the commercialisation potential and on the positioning of each material class in the RF electronics landscape based on the findings summarised herein. It is beyond doubt that the field of flexible high and ultra-high frequency rectifiers and electronics as a whole will continue to be an active area of research over the coming years.

Multibody Simulation Software Testbed for Small-Body Exploration and Sampling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Acikmese, Behcet; Blackmore, James C.; Mandic, Milan

2011-01-01

G-TAG is a software tool for the multibody simulation of a spacecraft with a robotic arm and a sampling mechanism, which performs a touch-and-go (TAG) maneuver for sampling from the surface of a small celestial body. G-TAG utilizes G-DYN, a multi-body simulation engine described in the previous article, and interfaces to controllers, estimators, and environmental forces that affect the spacecraft. G-TAG can easily be adapted for the analysis of the mission stress cases to support the design of a TAG system, as well as for comprehensive Monte Carlo simulations to analyze and evaluate a particular TAG system design. Any future small-body mission will benefit from using G-TAG, which has already been extensively used in Comet Odyssey and Galahad Asteroid New Frontiers proposals.

Transponder data processing methods and systems

DOEpatents

Axline, Robert M.

2003-06-10

This invention is a radar/tag system where pulses from a radar cause a tag (or transponder) to respond to the radar. The radar, along with its conventional pulse transmissions, sends a reference signal to the tag. The tag recovers the reference signal and uses it to shift the center frequency of the received radar pulse to a different frequency. This shift causes the frequencies of the tag response pulses to be disjoint from those of the transmit pulse. In this way, radar clutter can be eliminated from the tag responses. The radar predicts, to within a small Doppler offset, the center frequency of tag response pulses. The radar can create synthetic-aperture-radar-like images and moving-target-indicator-radar-like maps containing the signature of the tag against a background of thermal noise and greatly attenuated radar clutter. The radar can geolocate the tag precisely and accurately (to within better than one meter of error). The tag can encode status and environmental data onto its response pulses, and the radar can receive and decode this information.

Development of an instrument for non-destructive identification of Unexploded Ordnance using tagged neutrons - a proof of concept study

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

Mitra, S.; Dioszegi, I.

2011-10-23

Range clearance operations at munitions testing grounds must discriminate Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) from clutter items and distinguish UXO filled with High Explosives (HE) from those with inert fillers. Non-destructive technologies are thus necessary for the cost-effective disposal of UXO during remediation of such sites. The only technique showing promise so far for the non-destructive elemental characterization of UXO fillers utilizes neutron interactions with the material to detect carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) which have unique ratios in HE. However, several unresolved issues hinder the wide application of this potentially very suitable technique. The most important one is thatmore » neutrons interact with all surrounding matter in addition to the interrogated material, leading to a very high gamma-ray background in the detector. Systems requiring bulky shielding and having poor signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) for measuring elements are unsuitable for field deployment. The inadequacies of conventional neutron interrogation methods are overcome by using the tagged-neutron approach, and the availability of compact sealed neutron generators exploiting this technique offers field deployment of non-intrusive measurement systems for detecting threat materials, like explosives and drugs. By accelerating deuterium ions into a tritium target, the subsequent fusion reaction generates nearly back-to-back emissions of neutrons and alpha particles of energy 14.1 and 3.5 MeV respectively. A position-sensitive detector recognizes the associated alpha particle, thus furnishing the direction of the neutron. The tagged neutrons interact with the nuclei of the interrogated object, producing element-specific prompt gamma-rays that the gamma detectors recognize. Measuring the delay between the detections of the alpha particle and the gamma-ray determines where the reaction occurred along the axis of the neutron beam (14.1 MeV neutrons travel at 5 cm/nanosecond, while gamma rays cover 30 cm/nanosecond). The main advantage of the technique is its ability to simultaneously provide 2D and 3D imaging of objects and their elemental composition. This work reports on the efficacy of using 14 MeV neutrons tagged by the associated particle neutron time-of-flight technique (APnTOF) to extract neutron induced characteristic gamma-rays from an object-of-interest with high SNR and without interference from nearby clutter.« less

Detecting special nuclear material using muon-induced neutron emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guardincerri, Elena; Bacon, Jeffrey; Borozdin, Konstantin; Matthew Durham, J.; Fabritius, Joseph, II; Hecht, Adam; Milner, Edward C.; Miyadera, Haruo; Morris, Christopher L.; Perry, John; Poulson, Daniel

2015-07-01

The penetrating ability of cosmic ray muons makes them an attractive probe for imaging dense materials. Here, we describe experimental results from a new technique that uses neutrons generated by cosmic-ray muons to identify the presence of special nuclear material (SNM). Neutrons emitted from SNM are used to tag muon-induced fission events in actinides and laminography is used to form images of the stopping material. This technique allows the imaging of SNM-bearing objects tagged using muon tracking detectors located above or to the side of the objects, and may have potential applications in warhead verification scenarios. During the experiment described here we did not attempt to distinguish the type or grade of the SNM.

Integrated Management and Visualization of Electronic Tag Data with Tagbase

PubMed Central

Lam, Chi Hin; Tsontos, Vardis M.

2011-01-01

Electronic tags have been used widely for more than a decade in studies of diverse marine species. However, despite significant investment in tagging programs and hardware, data management aspects have received insufficient attention, leaving researchers without a comprehensive toolset to manage their data easily. The growing volume of these data holdings, the large diversity of tag types and data formats, and the general lack of data management resources are not only complicating integration and synthesis of electronic tagging data in support of resource management applications but potentially threatening the integrity and longer-term access to these valuable datasets. To address this critical gap, Tagbase has been developed as a well-rounded, yet accessible data management solution for electronic tagging applications. It is based on a unified relational model that accommodates a suite of manufacturer tag data formats in addition to deployment metadata and reprocessed geopositions. Tagbase includes an integrated set of tools for importing tag datasets into the system effortlessly, and provides reporting utilities to interactively view standard outputs in graphical and tabular form. Data from the system can also be easily exported or dynamically coupled to GIS and other analysis packages. Tagbase is scalable and has been ported to a range of database management systems to support the needs of the tagging community, from individual investigators to large scale tagging programs. Tagbase represents a mature initiative with users at several institutions involved in marine electronic tagging research. PMID:21750734

Covalent growth factor tethering to direct neural stem cell differentiation and self-organization.

PubMed

Ham, Trevor R; Farrag, Mahmoud; Leipzig, Nic D

2017-04-15

Tethered growth factors offer exciting new possibilities for guiding stem cell behavior. However, many of the current methods present substantial drawbacks which can limit their application and confound results. In this work, we developed a new method for the site-specific covalent immobilization of azide-tagged growth factors and investigated its utility in a model system for guiding neural stem cell (NSC) behavior. An engineered interferon-γ (IFN-γ) fusion protein was tagged with an N-terminal azide group, and immobilized to two different dibenzocyclooctyne-functionalized biomimetic polysaccharides (chitosan and hyaluronan). We successfully immobilized azide-tagged IFN-γ under a wide variety of reaction conditions, both in solution and to bulk hydrogels. To understand the interplay between surface chemistry and protein immobilization, we cultured primary rat NSCs on both materials and showed pronounced biological effects. Expectedly, immobilized IFN-γ increased neuronal differentiation on both materials. Expression of other lineage markers varied depending on the material, suggesting that the interplay of surface chemistry and protein immobilization plays a large role in nuanced cell behavior. We also investigated the bioactivity of immobilized IFN-γ in a 3D environment in vivo and found that it sparked the robust formation of neural tube-like structures from encapsulated NSCs. These findings support a wide range of potential uses for this approach and provide further evidence that adult NSCs are capable of self-organization when exposed to the proper microenvironment. For stem cells to be used effectively in regenerative medicine applications, they must be provided with the appropriate cues and microenvironment so that they integrate with existing tissue. This study explores a new method for guiding stem cell behavior: covalent growth factor tethering. We found that adding an N-terminal azide-tag to interferon-γ enabled stable and robust Cu-free 'click' immobilization under a variety of physiologic conditions. We showed that the tagged growth factors retained their bioactivity when immobilized and were able to guide neural stem cell lineage commitment in vitro. We also showed self-organization and neurulation from neural stem cells in vivo. This approach will provide another tool for the orchestration of the complex signaling events required to guide stem cell integration. Copyright © 2017 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Novel Dynamic Framed-Slotted ALOHA Using Litmus Slots in RFID Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yim, Soon-Bin; Park, Jongho; Lee, Tae-Jin

Dynamic Framed Slotted ALOHA (DFSA) is one of the most popular protocols to resolve tag collisions in RFID systems. In DFSA, it is widely known that the optimal performance is achieved when the frame size is equal to the number of tags. So, a reader dynamically adjusts the next frame size according to the current number of tags. Thus it is important to estimate the number of tags exactly. In this paper, we propose a novel tag estimation and identification method using litmus (test) slots for DFSA. We compare the performance of the proposed method with those of existing methods by analysis. We conduct simulations and show that our scheme improves the speed of tag identification.

Believing Your Eyes: Strengthening the Reliability of Tags and Seals

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

Brim, Cornelia P.; Denlinger, Laura S.

2013-07-01

NNSA’s Office of Nonproliferation and International Security (NIS) is working together with scientific experts at the DOE national laboratories to develop the tools needed to safeguard and secure nuclear material from diversion, theft, and sabotage--tasks critical to support future arms control treaties that may involve the new challenge of monitoring nuclear weapons dismantlement. Use of optically stimulated luminescent material is one method to enhance the security and robustness of existing tamper indicating devices such as tags and seals.

A UHF RFID system with on-chip-antenna tag for short range communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Peng; Chun, Zhang; Xijin, Zhao; Zhihua, Wang

2015-05-01

A UHF RF identification system based on the 0.18 μm CMOS process has been developed for short range and harsh size requirement applications, which is composed of a fully integrated tag and a special reader. The whole tag chip with the antenna takes up an area of 0.36 mm2, which is smaller than other reported tags with an on-chip antenna (OCA) using the standard CMOS process. A self-defined protocol is proposed to reduce the power consumption, and minimize the size of the tag. The specialized SOC reader system consists of the RF transceiver, digital baseband, MCU and host interface. Its power consumption is about 500 mW. Measurement results show that the system's reading range is 2 mm with 20 dBm reader output power. With an inductive antenna printed on a paper substrate around the OCA tag, the reading range can be extended from several centimeters to meters, depending on the shape and size of the inductive antenna.

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY PHYSICS AND RELATED AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Diffusion-Based Recommendation in Collaborative Tagging Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shang, Ming-Sheng; Zhang, Zi-Ke

2009-11-01

Recently, collaborative tagging systems have attracted more and more attention and have been widely applied in web systems. Tags provide highly abstracted information about personal preferences and item content, and therefore have the potential to help in improving better personalized recommendations. We propose a diffusion-based recommendation algorithm considering the personal vocabulary and evaluate it in a real-world dataset: Del.icio.us. Experimental results demonstrate that the usage of tag information can significantly improve the accuracy of personalized recommendations.

Investigating the Department of Defense’s Implementation of Passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-12-01

Logistics Support Activity MIT Massachusetts Institution of Technology MRE Meals -Ready-to-Eat MRO Material Release Order MSC Military Sealift... increase once item tagging becomes mandated. Reader, middleware, specialized hardware, and physical infrastructure costs can add up too. Reader’s...that system integration revenues could surpass hardware by 2007 (Asif & Mandviwalla, 2005, p. 26). (4) Training. Training is another challenge

Radio System for Locating Emergency Workers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, William; Medelius, Pedro; Starr, Stan; Bedette, Guy; Taylor, John; Moerk, Steve

2003-01-01

A system based on low-power radio transponders and associated analog and digital electronic circuitry has been developed for locating firefighters and other emergency workers deployed in a building or other structure. The system has obvious potential for saving lives and reducing the risk of injuries. The system includes (1) a central station equipped with a computer and a transceiver; (2) active radio-frequency (RF) identification tags, each placed in a different room or region of the structure; and (3) transponder units worn by the emergency workers. The RF identification tags can be installed in a new building as built-in components of standard fire-detection devices or ground-fault electrical outlets or can be attached to such devices in a previously constructed building, without need for rewiring the building. Each RF identification tag contains information that uniquely identifies it. When each tag is installed, information on its location and identity are reported to, and stored at, the central station. In an emergency, if a building has not been prewired with RF identification tags, leading emergency workers could drop sequentially numbered portable tags in the rooms of the building, reporting the tag numbers and locations by radio to the central station as they proceed.

Passive RFID Rotation Dimension Reduction via Aggregation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, Eric

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) has applications in object identification, position, and orientation tracking. RFID technology can be applied in hospitals for patient and equipment tracking, stores and warehouses for product tracking, robots for self-localisation, tracking hazardous materials, or locating any other desired object. Efficient and accurate algorithms that perform localisation are required to extract meaningful data beyond simple identification. A Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) is the strength of a received radio frequency signal used to localise passive and active RFID tags. Many factors affect RSSI such as reflections, tag rotation in 3D space, and obstacles blocking line-of-sight. LANDMARC is a statistical method for estimating tag location based on a target tag's similarity to surrounding reference tags. LANDMARC does not take into account the rotation of the target tag. By either aggregating multiple reference tag positions at various rotations, or by determining a rotation value for a newly read tag, we can perform an expected value calculation based on a comparison to the k-most similar training samples via an algorithm called K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN) more accurately. By choosing the average as the aggregation function, we improve the relative accuracy of single-rotation LANDMARC localisation by 10%, and any-rotation localisation by 20%.

Design of an HF-Band RFID System with Multiple Readers and Passive Tags for Indoor Mobile Robot Self-Localization

PubMed Central

Mi, Jian; Takahashi, Yasutake

2016-01-01

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has already been explored for efficient self-localization of indoor mobile robots. A mobile robot equipped with RFID readers detects passive RFID tags installed on the floor in order to locate itself. The Monte-Carlo localization (MCL) method enables the localization of a mobile robot equipped with an RFID system with reasonable accuracy, sufficient robustness and low computational cost. The arrangements of RFID readers and tags and the size of antennas are important design parameters for realizing accurate and robust self-localization using a low-cost RFID system. The design of a likelihood model of RFID tag detection is also crucial for the accurate self-localization. This paper presents a novel design and arrangement of RFID readers and tags for indoor mobile robot self-localization. First, by considering small-sized and large-sized antennas of an RFID reader, we show how the design of the likelihood model affects the accuracy of self-localization. We also design a novel likelihood model by taking into consideration the characteristics of the communication range of an RFID system with a large antenna. Second, we propose a novel arrangement of RFID tags with eight RFID readers, which results in the RFID system configuration requiring much fewer readers and tags while retaining reasonable accuracy of self-localization. We verify the performances of MCL-based self-localization realized using the high-frequency (HF)-band RFID system with eight RFID readers and a lower density of RFID tags installed on the floor based on MCL in simulated and real environments. The results of simulations and real environment experiments demonstrate that our proposed low-cost HF-band RFID system realizes accurate and robust self-localization of an indoor mobile robot. PMID:27483279

Design of an HF-Band RFID System with Multiple Readers and Passive Tags for Indoor Mobile Robot Self-Localization.

PubMed

Mi, Jian; Takahashi, Yasutake

2016-07-29

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has already been explored for efficient self-localization of indoor mobile robots. A mobile robot equipped with RFID readers detects passive RFID tags installed on the floor in order to locate itself. The Monte-Carlo localization (MCL) method enables the localization of a mobile robot equipped with an RFID system with reasonable accuracy, sufficient robustness and low computational cost. The arrangements of RFID readers and tags and the size of antennas are important design parameters for realizing accurate and robust self-localization using a low-cost RFID system. The design of a likelihood model of RFID tag detection is also crucial for the accurate self-localization. This paper presents a novel design and arrangement of RFID readers and tags for indoor mobile robot self-localization. First, by considering small-sized and large-sized antennas of an RFID reader, we show how the design of the likelihood model affects the accuracy of self-localization. We also design a novel likelihood model by taking into consideration the characteristics of the communication range of an RFID system with a large antenna. Second, we propose a novel arrangement of RFID tags with eight RFID readers, which results in the RFID system configuration requiring much fewer readers and tags while retaining reasonable accuracy of self-localization. We verify the performances of MCL-based self-localization realized using the high-frequency (HF)-band RFID system with eight RFID readers and a lower density of RFID tags installed on the floor based on MCL in simulated and real environments. The results of simulations and real environment experiments demonstrate that our proposed low-cost HF-band RFID system realizes accurate and robust self-localization of an indoor mobile robot.

Testing the effects of temperature and humidity on printed passive UHF RFID tags on paper substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linnea Merilampi, Sari; Virkki, Johanna; Ukkonen, Leena; Sydänheimo, Lauri

2014-05-01

This article is an interesting substrate material for environmental-friendly printable electronics. In this study, screen-printed RFID tags on paper substrate are examined. Their reliability was tested with low temperature, high temperature, slow temperature cycling, high temperature and high humidity and water dipping test. Environmental stresses affect the tag antenna impedance, losses and radiation characteristics due to their impact on the ink film and paper substrate. Low temperature, temperature cycling and high humidity did not have a radical effect on the measured parameters: threshold power, backscattered signal power or read range of the tags. However, the frequency response and the losses of the tags were slightly affected. Exposure to high temperature was found to even improve the tag performance due to the positive effect of high temperature on the ink film. The combined high humidity and high temperature had the most severe effect on the tag performance. The threshold power increased, backscattered power decreased and the read range was shortened. On the whole, the results showed that field use of these tags in high, low and changing temperature conditions and high humidity conditions is possible. Use of these tags in combined high-humidity and high-temperature conditions should be carefully considered.

Improved microarray methods for profiling the yeast knockout strain collection

PubMed Central

Yuan, Daniel S.; Pan, Xuewen; Ooi, Siew Loon; Peyser, Brian D.; Spencer, Forrest A.; Irizarry, Rafael A.; Boeke, Jef D.

2005-01-01

A remarkable feature of the Yeast Knockout strain collection is the presence of two unique 20mer TAG sequences in almost every strain. In principle, the relative abundances of strains in a complex mixture can be profiled swiftly and quantitatively by amplifying these sequences and hybridizing them to microarrays, but TAG microarrays have not been widely used. Here, we introduce a TAG microarray design with sophisticated controls and describe a robust method for hybridizing high concentrations of dye-labeled TAGs in single-stranded form. We also highlight the importance of avoiding PCR contamination and provide procedures for detection and eradication. Validation experiments using these methods yielded false positive (FP) and false negative (FN) rates for individual TAG detection of 3–6% and 15–18%, respectively. Analysis demonstrated that cross-hybridization was the chief source of FPs, while TAG amplification defects were the main cause of FNs. The materials, protocols, data and associated software described here comprise a suite of experimental resources that should facilitate the use of TAG microarrays for a wide variety of genetic screens. PMID:15994458

Harvesting Intelligence in Multimedia Social Tagging Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannakidou, Eirini; Kaklidou, Foteini; Chatzilari, Elisavet; Kompatsiaris, Ioannis; Vakali, Athena

As more people adopt tagging practices, social tagging systems tend to form rich knowledge repositories that enable the extraction of patterns reflecting the way content semantics is perceived by the web users. This is of particular importance, especially in the case of multimedia content, since the availability of such content in the web is very high and its efficient retrieval using textual annotations or content-based automatically extracted metadata still remains a challenge. It is argued that complementing multimedia analysis techniques with knowledge drawn from web social annotations may facilitate multimedia content management. This chapter focuses on analyzing tagging patterns and combining them with content feature extraction methods, generating, thus, intelligence from multimedia social tagging systems. Emphasis is placed on using all available "tracks" of knowledge, that is tag co-occurrence together with semantic relations among tags and low-level features of the content. Towards this direction, a survey on the theoretical background and the adopted practices for analysis of multimedia social content are presented. A case study from Flickr illustrates the efficiency of the proposed approach.

Clone tag detection in distributed RFID systems.

PubMed

Kamaludin, Hazalila; Mahdin, Hairulnizam; Abawajy, Jemal H

2018-01-01

Although Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is poised to displace barcodes, security vulnerabilities pose serious challenges for global adoption of the RFID technology. Specifically, RFID tags are prone to basic cloning and counterfeiting security attacks. A successful cloning of the RFID tags in many commercial applications can lead to many serious problems such as financial losses, brand damage, safety and health of the public. With many industries such as pharmaceutical and businesses deploying RFID technology with a variety of products, it is important to tackle RFID tag cloning problem and improve the resistance of the RFID systems. To this end, we propose an approach for detecting cloned RFID tags in RFID systems with high detection accuracy and minimal overhead thus overcoming practical challenges in existing approaches. The proposed approach is based on consistency of dual hash collisions and modified count-min sketch vector. We evaluated the proposed approach through extensive experiments and compared it with existing baseline approaches in terms of execution time and detection accuracy under varying RFID tag cloning ratio. The results of the experiments show that the proposed approach outperforms the baseline approaches in cloned RFID tag detection accuracy.

Low-dose dual-energy electronic cleansing for fecal-tagging CT Colonography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Wenli; Zhang, Da; Lee, June-Goo; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

2013-03-01

Dual-energy electronic cleansing (DE-EC) provides a promising means for cleansing the tagged fecal materials in fecaltagging CT colonography (CTC). However, the increased radiation dose due to the double exposures in dual-energy CTC (DE-CTC) scanning is a major limitation for the use of DE-EC in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a low-dose DE-EC scheme in fecal-tagging DE-CTC. In this study, a custom-made anthropomorphic colon phantom, which was filled with simulated tagged materials by non-ionic iodinated contrast agent (Omnipaque iohexol, GE Healthcare), was scanned by a dual-source CT scanner (SOMATON Definition Flash, Siemens Healthcare) at two photon energies: 80 kVp and 140 kVp with nine different tube current settings ranging from 12 to 74 mAs for 140 kVp, and then reconstructed by soft-tissue reconstruction kernel (B30f). The DE-CTC images were subjected to a low-dose DE-EC scheme. First, our image-space DE-CTC denoising filter was applied for reduction of image noise. Then, the noise-reduced images were processed by a virtual lumen tagging method for reduction of partial volume effect and tagging inhomogeneity. The results were compared with the registered CTC images of native phantom without fillings. Preliminary results showed that our low-dose DE-EC scheme achieved the cleansing ratios, defined by the proportion of the cleansed voxels in the tagging mask, between 93.18% (12 mAs) and 96.62% (74 mAs). Also, the soft-tissue preservation ratios, defined by the proportion of the persevered voxels in the soft-tissue mask, were maintained in the range between 94.67% and 96.41%.

Molecular recognition of halogen-tagged aromatic VOCs at the air-silicon interface.

PubMed

Condorelli, Guglielmo G; Motta, Alessandro; Favazza, Maria; Gurrieri, Ettore; Betti, Paolo; Dalcanale, Enrico

2010-01-14

Selective and reversible complexation of halogen-tagged aromatic VOCs by a quinoxaline cavitand-decorated Si surface is demonstrated. The specific host-guest interactions of the Si-bonded receptors are proved to be responsible of the surface recognition properties, while extracavity non specific adsorptions are totally suppressed compared to the bulk material.

Tag, You're It: Enhancing Access to Graphic Novels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Wendy

2013-01-01

Current users of academic libraries are avid readers of graphic novels. These thought-provoking materials are used for leisure reading, in instruction, and for research purposes. Libraries need to take care in providing access to these resources. This study analyzed the cataloging practices and social tagging of a specific list of graphic novel…

Tracking animals in freshwater with electronic tags: past, present and future

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cooke, Steven J.; Midwood, Jonathan D.; Thiem, Jason D.; Klimley, Peter; Lucas, Martyn C.; Thorstad, Eva B.; Eiler, John; Holbrook, Chris; Ebner, Brendan C.

2013-01-01

Considerable technical developments over the past half century have enabled widespread application of electronic tags to the study of animals in the wild, including in freshwater environments. We review the constraints associated with freshwater telemetry and biologging and the technical developments relevant to their use. Technical constraints for tracking animals are often influenced by the characteristics of the animals being studied and the environment they inhabit. Collectively, they influence which and how technologies can be used and their relative effectiveness. Although radio telemetry has historically been the most commonly used technology in freshwater, passive integrated transponder (PIT) technology, acoustic telemetry and biologgers are becoming more popular. Most telemetry studies have focused on fish, although an increasing number have focused on other taxa, such as turtles, crustaceans and molluscs. Key technical developments for freshwater systems include: miniaturization of tags for tracking small-size life stages and species, fixed stations and coded tags for tracking large samples of animals over long distances and large temporal scales, inexpensive PIT systems that enable mass tagging to yield population- and community-level relevant sample sizes, incorporation of sensors into electronic tags, validation of tag attachment procedures with a focus on maintaining animal welfare, incorporation of different techniques (for example, genetics, stable isotopes) and peripheral technologies (for example, geographic information systems, hydroacoustics), development of novel analytical techniques, and extensive international collaboration. Innovations are still needed in tag miniaturization, data analysis and visualization, and in tracking animals over larger spatial scales (for example, pelagic areas of lakes) and in challenging environments (for example, large dynamic floodplain systems, under ice). There seems to be a particular need for adapting various global positioning system and satellite tagging approaches to freshwater. Electronic tagging provides a mechanism to collect detailed information from imperilled animals and species that have no direct economic value. Current and future advances will continue to improve our knowledge of the natural history of aquatic animals and ecological processes in freshwater ecosystems while facilitating evidence-based resource management and conservation.

48 CFR 908.7101-7 - Government license tags.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Government license tags... ACQUISITION PLANNING REQUIRED SOURCES OF SUPPLIES AND SERVICES Acquisition of Special Items 908.7101-7 Government license tags. (a) Government license tags shall be procured and assignments recorded by DOE...

Evaluation and implementation of QR Code Identity Tag system for Healthcare in Turkey.

PubMed

Uzun, Vassilya; Bilgin, Sami

2016-01-01

For this study, we designed a QR Code Identity Tag system to integrate into the Turkish healthcare system. This system provides QR code-based medical identification alerts and an in-hospital patient identification system. Every member of the medical system is assigned a unique QR Code Tag; to facilitate medical identification alerts, the QR Code Identity Tag can be worn as a bracelet or necklace or carried as an ID card. Patients must always possess the QR Code Identity bracelets within hospital grounds. These QR code bracelets link to the QR Code Identity website, where detailed information is stored; a smartphone or standalone QR code scanner can be used to scan the code. The design of this system allows authorized personnel (e.g., paramedics, firefighters, or police) to access more detailed patient information than the average smartphone user: emergency service professionals are authorized to access patient medical histories to improve the accuracy of medical treatment. In Istanbul, we tested the self-designed system with 174 participants. To analyze the QR Code Identity Tag system's usability, the participants completed the System Usability Scale questionnaire after using the system.

Development and evaluation of a boat-mounted RFID antenna for monitoring freshwater mussels

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fischer, Jesse R.; Neebling, Travis E.; Quist, Michael C.

2012-01-01

Development of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags has substantially increased the ability of researchers and managers to monitor populations of aquatic organisms. However, use of transportable RFID antenna systems (i.e., backpack-mounted) is currently limited to wadeable aquatic environments (<1.4 m water depth). We describe the design, construction, and evaluation of a boat-mounted RFID antenna to detect individually PIT-tagged benthic aquatic organisms (mussels). We evaluated the effects of tag orientation on detection distances in water with a 32-mm half-duplex PIT tag. Detection distances up to 50 cm from the antenna coils were obtained, but detection distance was dependent on tag orientation. We also evaluated detection distance of PIT tags beneath the sediment to simulate detection of burrowing mussels with 23- and 32-mm tags. In sand substrate, the maximum detection distance varied from 3.5 cm and 4.5 cm (vertical tag orientation) to 24.7 cm and 39.4 cm (45° tag orientation) for the 23- and 32-mm PIT tags, respectively. Our results suggest a 1.4-m total detection width for tagged mussels on the substrate surface by the boat-mounted antenna system regardless of tag orientation. However, burrowed mussels may require multiple passes to increase detection that would be influenced by depth, tag orientation, and tag size. Construction of the boat-mounted antenna was relatively low in cost (<500 USD) and had several advantages (less labor and time intensive, increased safety) over traditional mussel sampling techniques (diving, snorkeling) in nonwadeable habitats.

Shortnose sturgeon in the Gulf of Maine: Use of spawning habitat in the Kennebec System and response to dam removal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wippelhauser, Gail S.; Zydlewski, Gayle B.; Kieffer, Micah; Sulikowski, James; Kinnison, Michael T.

2015-01-01

Evidence has become available in this century indicating that populations of the endangered Shortnose Sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum migrate outside their natal river systems, but the full extent and functional basis of these migrations are not well understood. Between 2007 and 2013, 40 Shortnose Sturgeon captured and tagged in four Gulf of Maine river systems migrated long distances in coastal waters to reach the Kennebec System where their movements were logged by an acoustic receiver array. Twenty-one (20%) of 104 Shortnose Sturgeon tagged in the Penobscot River, two (50%) of four tagged in the Kennebec System, one (50%) of two tagged in the Saco River, and 16 (37%) of 43 tagged in the Merrimack River moved to a previously identified spawning site or historical spawning habitat in the Kennebec System in spring. Most (65%) moved in early spring from the tagging location directly to a spawning site in the Kennebec System, whereas the rest moved primarily in the fall from the tagging location to a wintering site in that system and moved to a spawning site the following spring. Spawning was inferred from the location, behavior, and sexual status of the fish and from season, water temperature, and discharge, and was confirmed by the capture of larvae in some years. Tagged fish went to a known spawning area in the upper Kennebec Estuary (16 events) or the Androscoggin Estuary (14 events), an historical spawning habitat in the restored Kennebec River (8 events), or two spawning areas in a single year (7 events). We have provided the first evidence indicating that Shortnose Sturgeon spawn in the restored Kennebec River in an historical habitat that became accessible in 1999 when Edwards Dam was removed, 162 years after it was constructed. These results highlight the importance of the Kennebec System to Shortnose Sturgeon throughout the Gulf of Maine.

Systems, Apparatuses and Methods for Beamforming RFID Tags

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fink, Patrick W. (Inventor); Lin, Gregory Y. (Inventor); Ngo, Phong H. (Inventor); Kennedy, Timothy F. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A radio frequency identification (RFID) system includes an RFID interrogator and an RFID tag having a plurality of information sources and a beamforming network. The tag receives electromagnetic radiation from the interrogator. The beamforming network directs the received electromagnetic radiation to a subset of the plurality of information sources. The RFID tag transmits a response to the received electromagnetic radiation, based on the subset of the plurality of information sources to which the received electromagnetic radiation was directed. Method and other embodiments are also disclosed.

A Secure RFID Tag Authentication Protocol with Privacy Preserving in Telecare Medicine Information System.

PubMed

Li, Chun-Ta; Weng, Chi-Yao; Lee, Cheng-Chi

2015-08-01

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based solutions are widely used for providing many healthcare applications include patient monitoring, object traceability, drug administration system and telecare medicine information system (TMIS) etc. In order to reduce malpractices and ensure patient privacy, in 2015, Srivastava et al. proposed a hash based RFID tag authentication protocol in TMIS. Their protocol uses lightweight hash operation and synchronized secret value shared between back-end server and tag, which is more secure and efficient than other related RFID authentication protocols. Unfortunately, in this paper, we demonstrate that Srivastava et al.'s tag authentication protocol has a serious security problem in that an adversary may use the stolen/lost reader to connect to the medical back-end server that store information associated with tagged objects and this privacy damage causing the adversary could reveal medical data obtained from stolen/lost readers in a malicious way. Therefore, we propose a secure and efficient RFID tag authentication protocol to overcome security flaws and improve the system efficiency. Compared with Srivastava et al.'s protocol, the proposed protocol not only inherits the advantages of Srivastava et al.'s authentication protocol for TMIS but also provides better security with high system efficiency.

48 CFR 552.211-92 - Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) using passive tags.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Identification (RFID) using passive tags. 552.211-92 Section 552.211-92 Federal Acquisition Regulations System... Provisions and Clauses 552.211-92 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) using passive tags. As prescribed in 511.204(b)(11), insert the following clause: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Using Passive Tags...

48 CFR 552.211-92 - Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) using passive tags.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Identification (RFID) using passive tags. 552.211-92 Section 552.211-92 Federal Acquisition Regulations System... Provisions and Clauses 552.211-92 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) using passive tags. As prescribed in 511.204(b)(11), insert the following clause: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Using Passive Tags...

49 CFR 236.76 - Tagging of wires and interference of wires or tags with signal apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... with signal apparatus. 236.76 Section 236.76 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to... wires and interference of wires or tags with signal apparatus. Each wire shall be tagged or otherwise so... apparatus. [49 FR 3384, Jan. 26, 1984] Inspections and Tests; All Systems ...

49 CFR 236.76 - Tagging of wires and interference of wires or tags with signal apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... with signal apparatus. 236.76 Section 236.76 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to... wires and interference of wires or tags with signal apparatus. Each wire shall be tagged or otherwise so... apparatus. [49 FR 3384, Jan. 26, 1984] Inspections and Tests; All Systems ...

Intestinal triacylglycerol synthesis in fat absorption and systemic energy metabolism

PubMed Central

Yen, Chi-Liang Eric; Nelson, David W.; Yen, Mei-I

2015-01-01

The intestine plays a prominent role in the biosynthesis of triacylglycerol (triglyceride; TAG). Digested dietary TAG is repackaged in the intestine to form the hydrophobic core of chylomicrons, which deliver metabolic fuels, essential fatty acids, and other lipid-soluble nutrients to the peripheral tissues. By controlling the flux of dietary fat into the circulation, intestinal TAG synthesis can greatly impact systemic metabolism. Genes encoding many of the enzymes involved in TAG synthesis have been identified. Among TAG synthesis enzymes, acyl-CoA:monoacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 and acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT)1 are highly expressed in the intestine. Their physiological functions have been examined in the context of whole organisms using genetically engineered mice and, in the case of DGAT1, specific inhibitors. An emerging theme from recent findings is that limiting the rate of TAG synthesis in the intestine can modulate gut hormone secretion, lipid metabolism, and systemic energy balance. The underlying mechanisms and their implications for humans are yet to be explored. Pharmacological inhibition of TAG hydrolysis in the intestinal lumen has been employed to combat obesity and associated disorders with modest efficacy and unwanted side effects. The therapeutic potential of inhibiting specific enzymes involved in intestinal TAG synthesis warrants further investigation. PMID:25231105

Intestinal triacylglycerol synthesis in fat absorption and systemic energy metabolism.

PubMed

Yen, Chi-Liang Eric; Nelson, David W; Yen, Mei-I

2015-03-01

The intestine plays a prominent role in the biosynthesis of triacylglycerol (triglyceride; TAG). Digested dietary TAG is repackaged in the intestine to form the hydrophobic core of chylomicrons, which deliver metabolic fuels, essential fatty acids, and other lipid-soluble nutrients to the peripheral tissues. By controlling the flux of dietary fat into the circulation, intestinal TAG synthesis can greatly impact systemic metabolism. Genes encoding many of the enzymes involved in TAG synthesis have been identified. Among TAG synthesis enzymes, acyl-CoA:monoacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 and acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT)1 are highly expressed in the intestine. Their physiological functions have been examined in the context of whole organisms using genetically engineered mice and, in the case of DGAT1, specific inhibitors. An emerging theme from recent findings is that limiting the rate of TAG synthesis in the intestine can modulate gut hormone secretion, lipid metabolism, and systemic energy balance. The underlying mechanisms and their implications for humans are yet to be explored. Pharmacological inhibition of TAG hydrolysis in the intestinal lumen has been employed to combat obesity and associated disorders with modest efficacy and unwanted side effects. The therapeutic potential of inhibiting specific enzymes involved in intestinal TAG synthesis warrants further investigation. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Method for designing gas tag compositions

DOEpatents

Gross, Kenny C.

1995-01-01

For use in the manufacture of gas tags such as employed in a nuclear reactor gas tagging failure detection system, a method for designing gas tagging compositions utilizes an analytical approach wherein the final composition of a first canister of tag gas as measured by a mass spectrometer is designated as node #1. Lattice locations of tag nodes in multi-dimensional space are then used in calculating the compositions of a node #2 and each subsequent node so as to maximize the distance of each node from any combination of tag components which might be indistinguishable from another tag composition in a reactor fuel assembly. Alternatively, the measured compositions of tag gas numbers 1 and 2 may be used to fix the locations of nodes 1 and 2, with the locations of nodes 3-N then calculated for optimum tag gas composition. A single sphere defining the lattice locations of the tag nodes may be used to define approximately 20 tag nodes, while concentric spheres can extend the number of tag nodes to several hundred.

A navigation system for the visually impaired an intelligent white cane.

PubMed

Fukasawa, A Jin; Magatani, Kazusihge

2012-01-01

In this paper, we describe about a developed navigation system that supports the independent walking of the visually impaired in the indoor space. Our developed instrument consists of a navigation system and a map information system. These systems are installed on a white cane. Our navigation system can follow a colored navigation line that is set on the floor. In this system, a color sensor installed on the tip of a white cane, this sensor senses a color of navigation line and the system informs the visually impaired that he/she is walking along the navigation line by vibration. This color recognition system is controlled by a one-chip microprocessor. RFID tags and a receiver for these tags are used in the map information system. RFID tags are set on the colored navigation line. An antenna for RFID tags and a tag receiver are also installed on a white cane. The receiver receives the area information as a tag-number and notifies map information to the user by mp3 formatted pre-recorded voice. And now, we developed the direction identification technique. Using this technique, we can detect a user's walking direction. A triaxiality acceleration sensor is used in this system. Three normal subjects who were blindfolded with an eye mask were tested with our developed navigation system. All of them were able to walk along the navigation line perfectly. We think that the performance of the system is good. Therefore, our system will be extremely valuable in supporting the activities of the visually impaired.

Battery-Free Smart Sock for Abnormal Relative Plantar Pressure Monitoring.

PubMed

Lin, Xiaoyou; Seet, Boon-Chong

2017-04-01

This paper presents a new design of a wearable plantar pressure monitoring system in the form of a smart sock for sensing abnormal relative pressure changes. One advantage of this approach is that with a battery-free design, this system can be powered solely by radio frequency (RF) energy harvested from a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader unit hosted on a smartphone of the wearer. At the same time, this RFID reader can read foot pressure values from an embedded sensor-tag in the sock. A pressure sensing matrix made of conductive fabric and flexible piezo-resistive material is integrated into the sock during the knitting process. Sensed foot pressures are digitized and stored in the memory of a sensor-tag, thus allowing relative foot pressure values to be tracked. The control unit of the smart sock is assembled on a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) that can be strapped to the lower limb and detached easily when it is not in use. Experiments show that the system can operate reliably in both tasks of RF energy harvesting and pressure measurement.

Features of Different Inorganic Scintillators Used in Neutron-Radiation Systems for Illegal Substance Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Batyaev, V. F.; Belichenko, S. G.; Bestaev, R. R.

2016-04-01

The work is devoted to a quantitative comparison of different inorganic scintillators to be used in neutron-radiation inspection systems. Such systems can be based on the tagged neutron (TN) method and have a significant potential in different applications such as detection of explosives, drugs, mines, identification of chemical warfare agents, assay of nuclear materials and human body composition [1]-[3]. The elemental composition of an inspected object is determined via spectrometry of gammas from the object bombarded by neutrons which are tagged by an alpha-detector built inside a neutron generator. This creates a task to find a quantitative indicator of the object identification quality (via elemental composition) as a function of basic parameters of the γ-detectors, such as their efficiency, energy and time resolutions, which in turn are generally defined by a scintillator of the detector. We have tried to solve the task for a set of four scintillators which are often used in the study of TN method, namely BGO, LaBr3, LYSO, NaI(Tl), whose basic parameters are well known [4]-[7].

Multi-frequency communication system and method

DOEpatents

Carrender, Curtis Lee; Gilbert, Ronald W.

2004-06-01

A multi-frequency RFID remote communication system is provided that includes a plurality of RFID tags configured to receive a first signal and to return a second signal, the second signal having a first frequency component and a second frequency component, the second frequency component including data unique to each remote RFID tag. The system further includes a reader configured to transmit an interrogation signal and to receive remote signals from the tags. A first signal processor, preferably a mixer, removes an intermediate frequency component from the received signal, and a second processor, preferably a second mixer, analyzes the IF frequency component to output data that is unique to each remote tag.

The Collective Knowledge of Social Tags: Direct and Indirect Influences on Navigation, Learning, and Information Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cress, Ulrike; Held, Christoph; Kimmerle, Joachim

2013-01-01

Tag clouds generated in social tagging systems can capture the collective knowledge of communities. Using as a basis spreading activation theories, information foraging theory, and the co-evolution model of cognitive and social systems, we present here a model for an "extended information scent," which proposes that both collective and individual…

Diatomaceous Fungal and Bacterial Building Blocks for Material Synthesis

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-04-08

Thalassiosira-templated metallic microshells. Thalassiosira, only 1mM rhodamine 6G (d) lmM, (e) I piM ,(f 100 nM R6G. 4 concentrations gave detectable...hybridized with a 27-mer 7 oligonucleotide containing a 7-mer TAG GAA TAG TTA TA AT OTT ATT AGO complementary region 2, which produces TAIOATCCTTA TACAATAATCC

48 CFR 52.208-7 - Tagging of Leased Vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Tagging of Leased Vehicles....208-7 Tagging of Leased Vehicles. As prescribed in 8.1104(d), insert a clause substantially as follows: Tagging of Leased Vehicles (MAY 1986) While it is the intent that vehicles leased under this contract will...

The Effects of Target Audience on Social Tagging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alsarhan, Hesham

2013-01-01

Online social bookmarking systems allow users to assign tags (i.e., keywords) to represent the content of resources. Research on the effects of target audience on social tagging suggests that taggers select different tags for themselves, their community (e.g., family, friends, colleagues), and the general public (Panke & Gaiser, 2009; Pu &…

Tagging methods for estimating population size and mortality rates of inland striped bass populations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hightower, Joseph E.; Pollock, Kenneth H.

2013-01-01

Striped bass Morone saxatilis in inland reservoirs play an important role ecologically and in supporting recreational fishing. To manage these populations, biologists need information about abundance and mortality. Abundance estimates can be used to assess the effectiveness of stocking programs that maintain most reservoir striped bass populations. Mortality estimates can indicate the relative impact of fishing versus natural mortality and the need for harvest regulation. The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate tagging studies as a way of obtaining information about abundance and mortality. These approaches can be grouped into three broad categories: tag recapture, tag return, and telemetry. Tag-recapture methods are typically used to estimate population size and other demographic parameters but are often difficult to apply in large systems. A fishing tournament can be an effective way of generating tagging or recapture effort in large systems, compared to using research sampling only. Tag-return methods that rely on angler harvest and catch and release can be used to estimate fishing (F) and natural (M) mortality rates and are a practical approach in large reservoirs. The key to success in tag-return studies is to build in auxiliary studies to estimate short-term tagging mortality, short- and longterm tag loss, reporting rate, and mortality associated with catch and release. F and M can also be estimated using telemetry tags. Advantages of this approach are that angler nonreporting does not bias estimates and fish with transmitters provide useful ecological data. Cost can be a disadvantage of telemetry studies; thus, combining telemetry tags with conventional tag returns in an integrated analysis is often the optimal approach. In summary, tagging methods can be a powerful tool for assessing the effectiveness of inland striped bass stocking programs and the relative impact of fishing versus natural mortality

Improving RF Transmit Power and Received Signal Strength in 2.4 GHz ZigBee Based Active RFID System with Embedded Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Po'ad, F. A.; Ismail, W.; Jusoh, J. F.

2017-08-01

This paper describes the experiments and analysis conducted on 2.4 GHz embedded active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) - Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) based system that has been developed for the purposes of location tracking and monitoring in indoor and outdoor environments. Several experiments are conducted to test the effectiveness and performance of the developed system and two of them is by measuring the Radio Frequency (RF) transmitting power and Received Signal Strength (RSS) to prove that the embedded active RFID tag is capable to generate higher transmit power during data transmission and able to provide better RSS reading compared to standalone RFID tag. Experiments are carried out on two RFID tags which are active RFID tag embedded with GPS and GSM (ER2G); and standalone RFID tag communicating with the same active RFID reader. The developed ER2G contributes 12.26 % transmit power and 6.47 % RSS reading higher than standalone RFID tag. The results conclude that the ER2G gives better performance compared to standalone RFID tag and can be used as guidelines for future design improvements.

Clone tag detection in distributed RFID systems

PubMed Central

Kamaludin, Hazalila; Mahdin, Hairulnizam

2018-01-01

Although Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is poised to displace barcodes, security vulnerabilities pose serious challenges for global adoption of the RFID technology. Specifically, RFID tags are prone to basic cloning and counterfeiting security attacks. A successful cloning of the RFID tags in many commercial applications can lead to many serious problems such as financial losses, brand damage, safety and health of the public. With many industries such as pharmaceutical and businesses deploying RFID technology with a variety of products, it is important to tackle RFID tag cloning problem and improve the resistance of the RFID systems. To this end, we propose an approach for detecting cloned RFID tags in RFID systems with high detection accuracy and minimal overhead thus overcoming practical challenges in existing approaches. The proposed approach is based on consistency of dual hash collisions and modified count-min sketch vector. We evaluated the proposed approach through extensive experiments and compared it with existing baseline approaches in terms of execution time and detection accuracy under varying RFID tag cloning ratio. The results of the experiments show that the proposed approach outperforms the baseline approaches in cloned RFID tag detection accuracy. PMID:29565982

Authentication via wavefront-shaped optical responses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eilers, Hergen; Anderson, Benjamin R.; Gunawidjaja, Ray

2018-02-01

Authentication/tamper-indication is required in a wide range of applications, including nuclear materials management and product counterfeit detection. State-of-the-art techniques include reflective particle tags, laser speckle authentication, and birefringent seals. Each of these passive techniques has its own advantages and disadvantages, including the need for complex image comparisons, limited flexibility, sensitivity to environmental conditions, limited functionality, etc. We have developed a new active approach to address some of these short-comings. The use of an active characterization technique adds more flexibility and additional layers of security over current techniques. Our approach uses randomly-distributed nanoparticles embedded in a polymer matrix (tag/seal) which is attached to the item to be secured. A spatial light modulator is used to adjust the wavefront of a laser which interacts with the tag/seal, and a detector is used to monitor this interaction. The interaction can occur in various ways, including transmittance, reflectance, fluorescence, random lasing, etc. For example, at the time of origination, the wavefront-shaped reflectance from a tag/seal can be adjusted to result in a specific pattern (symbol, words, etc.) Any tampering with the tag/seal would results in a disturbance of the random orientation of the nanoparticles and thus distort the reflectance pattern. A holographic waveplate could be inserted into the laser beam for verification. The absence/distortion of the original pattern would then indicate that tampering has occurred. We have tested the tag/seal's and authentication method's tamper-indicating ability using various attack methods, including mechanical, thermal, and chemical attacks, and have verified our material/method's robust tamper-indicating ability.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging for material tracking and future asset management : research project capsule.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-07-01

Current Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) : practice allows multiple mixtures or materials to be submitted and subsequently : used during a highway construction project. Such materials include mechanically : stabilized ear...

Uncertainty of exploitation estimates made from tag returns

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miranda, L.E.; Brock, R.E.; Dorr, B.S.

2002-01-01

Over 6,000 crappies Pomoxis spp. were tagged in five water bodies to estimate exploitation rates by anglers. Exploitation rates were computed as the percentage of tags returned after adjustment for three sources of uncertainty: postrelease mortality due to the tagging process, tag loss, and the reporting rate of tagged fish. Confidence intervals around exploitation rates were estimated by resampling from the probability distributions of tagging mortality, tag loss, and reporting rate. Estimates of exploitation rates ranged from 17% to 54% among the five study systems. Uncertainty around estimates of tagging mortality, tag loss, and reporting resulted in 90% confidence intervals around the median exploitation rate as narrow as 15 percentage points and as broad as 46 percentage points. The greatest source of estimation error was uncertainty about tag reporting. Because the large investments required by tagging and reward operations produce imprecise estimates of the exploitation rate, it may be worth considering other approaches to estimating it or simply circumventing the exploitation question altogether.

Strep-Tagged Protein Purification.

PubMed

Maertens, Barbara; Spriestersbach, Anne; Kubicek, Jan; Schäfer, Frank

2015-01-01

The Strep-tag system can be used to purify recombinant proteins from any expression system. Here, protocols for lysis and affinity purification of Strep-tagged proteins from E. coli, baculovirus-infected insect cells, and transfected mammalian cells are given. Depending on the amount of Strep-tagged protein in the lysate, a protocol for batch binding and subsequent washing and eluting by gravity flow can be used. Agarose-based matrices with the coupled Strep-Tactin ligand are the resins of choice, with a binding capacity of up to 9 mg ml(-1). For purification of lower amounts of Strep-tagged proteins, the use of Strep-Tactin magnetic beads is suitable. In addition, Strep-tagged protein purification can also be automated using prepacked columns for FPLC or other liquid-handling chromatography instrumentation, but automated purification is not discussed in this protocol. The protocols described here can be regarded as an update of the Strep-Tag Protein Handbook (Qiagen, 2009). © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Juvenile Radio-Tag Study: Lower Granite Dam, 1985 Annual Report.

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

Stuehrenberg, Lowell C.

The concept of using mass releases of juvenile radio tags represents a new and potentially powerful research tool that could be effectively applied to juvenile salmonid passage problems at dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. A system of detector antennas, strategically located, would automatically detect and record individually tagged juvenile salmonids as they pass through the spillway, powerhouse, bypass system, or tailrace areas below the dam. Accurate measurements of spill effectiveness, fish guiding efficiency (FGE), collection efficiency (CE), spillway survival, powerhouse survival, and bypass survival would be possible without handling large numbers of unmarked fish. A prototype juvenile radio-tagmore » system was developed and tested by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) at John Day Dam and at Lower Granite Dam. This report summarizes research to: (1) evaluate the effectiveness of the prototype juvenile radio-tag system in a field situation and (2) to test the basic assumptions inherent in using the juvenile radio tag as a research tool.« less

Method for designing gas tag compositions

DOEpatents

Gross, K.C.

1995-04-11

For use in the manufacture of gas tags such as employed in a nuclear reactor gas tagging failure detection system, a method for designing gas tagging compositions utilizes an analytical approach wherein the final composition of a first canister of tag gas as measured by a mass spectrometer is designated as node No. 1. Lattice locations of tag nodes in multi-dimensional space are then used in calculating the compositions of a node No. 2 and each subsequent node so as to maximize the distance of each node from any combination of tag components which might be indistinguishable from another tag composition in a reactor fuel assembly. Alternatively, the measured compositions of tag gas numbers 1 and 2 may be used to fix the locations of nodes 1 and 2, with the locations of nodes 3-N then calculated for optimum tag gas composition. A single sphere defining the lattice locations of the tag nodes may be used to define approximately 20 tag nodes, while concentric spheres can extend the number of tag nodes to several hundred. 5 figures.

A novel surgical marking system for small peripheral lung nodules based on radio frequency identification technology: Feasibility study in a canine model.

PubMed

Kojima, Fumitsugu; Sato, Toshihiko; Takahata, Hiromi; Okada, Minoru; Sugiura, Tadao; Oshiro, Osamu; Date, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Tatsuo

2014-04-01

We investigated the feasibility and accuracy of a novel surgical marking system based on radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology for the localization of small peripheral lung nodules (SPLNs) in a canine model. The system consists of 4 components: (1) micro RFID tags (13.56 MHz, 1.0 × 1.0 × 0.8 mm), (2) a tag delivery system with a bronchoscope, (3) a wand-shaped locating probe (10-mm diameter), and (4) a signal processing unit with audio interface. Before the operation, pseudolesions mimicking SPLNs were prepared in 7 dogs by injecting colored collagen. By use of a computed tomographic (CT) guide, an RFID tag was placed via a bronchoscope close to each target lesion. This was then followed by scanning with the locating probe, and wedge resection was performed when possible. Operators can locate the tag by following the sound emitted by the system, which exhibits tone changes according to the tag-probe distance. The primary outcome measure was the rate of wedge resection with good margins. A total of 10 pseudolesions imitating SPLNs were selected as targets. During thoracoscopic procedures, 9 of 10 tags were detected by the system within a median of 27 seconds. Wedge resections were performed for these 9 lesions with a median margin of 11 mm. The single failure was caused by tag dislocation to the central airway. Successful localization and wedge resection of pseudolesions with appropriate margins were accomplished in an experimental setting. Our RFID marking system has future applications for accurately locating SPLNs in a clinical setting. Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Direct Measurement of Lung Motion Using Hyperpolarized Helium-3 MR Tagging

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

Cai Jing; Miller, G. Wilson; Altes, Talissa A.

2007-07-01

Purpose: To measure lung motion between end-inhalation and end-exhalation using a hyperpolarized helium-3 (HP {sup 3}He) magnetic resonance (MR) tagging technique. Methods and Materials: Three healthy volunteers underwent MR tagging studies after inhalation of 1 L HP {sup 3}He gas diluted with nitrogen. Multiple-slice two-dimensional and volumetric three-dimensional MR tagged images of the lungs were obtained at end-inhalation and end-exhalation, and displacement vector maps were computed. Results: The grids of tag lines in the HP {sup 3}He MR images were well defined at end-inhalation and remained evident at end-exhalation. Displacement vector maps clearly demonstrated the regional lung motion and deformationmore » that occurred during exhalation. Discontinuity and differences in motion pattern between two adjacent lung lobes were readily resolved. Conclusions: Hyperpolarized helium-3 MR tagging technique can be used for direct in vivo measurement of respiratory lung motion on a regional basis. This technique may lend new insights into the regional pulmonary biomechanics and thus provide valuable information for the deformable registration of lung.« less

Guidelines to indirectly measure and enhance detection efficiency of stationary PIT tag interrogation systems in streams

USGS Publications Warehouse

Connolly, Patrick J.; Wolf, Keith; O'Neal, Jennifer S.

2010-01-01

With increasing use of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and reliance on stationary PIT tag interrogation systems to monitor fish populations, guidelines are offered to inform users how best to use limited funding and human resources to create functional systems that maximize a desired level of detection and precision. The estimators of detection efficiency and their variability as described by Connolly et al. (2008) are explored over a span of likely performance metrics. These estimators were developed to estimate detection efficiency without relying on a known number of fish passing the system. I present graphical displays of the results derived from these estimators to show the potential efficiency and precision to be gained by adding an array or by increasing the number of PIT-tagged fish expected to move past an interrogation system.

Guidelines for calculating and enhancing detection efficiency of PIT tag interrogation systems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Connolly, Patrick J.

2010-01-01

With increasing use of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and reliance on stationary PIT tag interrogation systems to monitor fish populations, guidelines are offered to inform users how best to use limited funding and human resources to create functional systems that maximize a desired level of detection and precision. The estimators of detection efficiency and their variability as described by Connolly et al. (2008) are explored over a span of likely performance metrics. These estimators were developed to estimate detection efficiency without relying on a known number of fish passing the system. I present graphical displays of the results derived from these estimators to show the potential efficiency and precision to be gained by adding an array or by increasing the number of PIT-tagged fish expected to move past an interrogation system.

Enhancement of anti-tumor effect of particulate vaccine delivery system by 'bacteriomimetic' CpG functionalization of poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid nanoparticles.

PubMed

Kokate, Rutika A; Thamake, Sanjay I; Chaudhary, Pankaj; Mott, Brittney; Raut, Sangram; Vishwanatha, Jamboor K; Jones, Harlan P

2015-01-01

Low immunogenicity remains a major obstacle in realizing the full potential of cancer vaccines. In this study, we evaluated CpG-coated tumor antigen (Tag)-encapsulating 'bacteriomimetic' nanoparticles (CpG-nanoparticle [NP]-Tag NPs) as an approach to enhance anti-tumor immunity. CpG-NP-Tag NPs were synthesized, characterized for their physicochemical properties and tested in vivo. We found CpG predosing followed by intraperitoneal (IP) immunization with CpG-NP-Tag NPs significantly attenuated tumor growth in female BALB/c mice compared with respective controls. Histopathological and Immunofluorescence data revealed CpG-NP-Tag tumors had lower proliferation, higher apoptotic activity, greater CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell infiltration as well as higher IFN-γ levels as compared with control groups. Our findings suggest CpG-NP-Tag NPs can enhance anti-tumor effect of nanoparticulate tumor vaccination system.

29 CFR 1915.162 - Ship's boilers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... dead boiler with the live system or systems shall be secured, blanked, and tagged indicating that... and shutoff valves connecting the dead boiler with the live system or systems shall be secured, locked, and tagged. (2) Drain connections to atmosphere on all of the dead interconnecting systems shall be...

29 CFR 1915.162 - Ship's boilers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... dead boiler with the live system or systems shall be secured, blanked, and tagged indicating that... and shutoff valves connecting the dead boiler with the live system or systems shall be secured, locked, and tagged. (2) Drain connections to atmosphere on all of the dead interconnecting systems shall be...

eTACTS: A Method for Dynamically Filtering Clinical Trial Search Results

PubMed Central

Miotto, Riccardo; Jiang, Silis; Weng, Chunhua

2013-01-01

Objective Information overload is a significant problem facing online clinical trial searchers. We present eTACTS, a novel interactive retrieval framework using common eligibility tags to dynamically filter clinical trial search results. Materials and Methods eTACTS mines frequent eligibility tags from free-text clinical trial eligibility criteria and uses these tags for trial indexing. After an initial search, eTACTS presents to the user a tag cloud representing the current results. When the user selects a tag, eTACTS retains only those trials containing that tag in their eligibility criteria and generates a new cloud based on tag frequency and co-occurrences in the remaining trials. The user can then select a new tag or unselect a previous tag. The process iterates until a manageable number of trials is returned. We evaluated eTACTS in terms of filtering efficiency, diversity of the search results, and user eligibility to the filtered trials using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Results eTACTS (1) rapidly reduced search results from over a thousand trials to ten; (2) highlighted trials that are generally not top-ranked by conventional search engines; and (3) retrieved a greater number of suitable trials than existing search engines. Discussion eTACTS enables intuitive clinical trial searches by indexing eligibility criteria with effective tags. User evaluation was limited to one case study and a small group of evaluators due to the long duration of the experiment. Although a larger-scale evaluation could be conducted, this feasibility study demonstrated significant advantages of eTACTS over existing clinical trial search engines. Conclusion A dynamic eligibility tag cloud can potentially enhance state-of-the-art clinical trial search engines by allowing intuitive and efficient filtering of the search result space. PMID:23916863

Leveraging tagging and rating for recommendation: RMF meets weighted diffusion on tripartite graphs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jianguo; Tang, Yong; Chen, Jiemin

2017-10-01

Recommender systems (RSs) have been a widely exploited approach to solving the information overload problem. However, the performance is still limited due to the extreme sparsity of the rating data. With the popularity of Web 2.0, the social tagging system provides more external information to improve recommendation accuracy. Although some existing approaches combine the matrix factorization models with the tag co-occurrence and context of tags, they neglect the issue of tag sparsity that would also result in inaccurate recommendations. Consequently, in this paper, we propose a novel hybrid collaborative filtering model named WUDiff_RMF, which improves regularized matrix factorization (RMF) model by integrating Weighted User-Diffusion-based CF algorithm(WUDiff) that obtains the information of similar users from the weighted tripartite user-item-tag graph. This model aims to capture the degree correlation of the user-item-tag tripartite network to enhance the performance of recommendation. Experiments conducted on four real-world datasets demonstrate that our approach significantly performs better than already widely used methods in the accuracy of recommendation. Moreover, results show that WUDiff_RMF can alleviate the data sparsity, especially in the circumstance that users have made few ratings and few tags.

Multi-level RF identification system

DOEpatents

Steele, Kerry D.; Anderson, Gordon A.; Gilbert, Ronald W.

2004-07-20

A radio frequency identification system having a radio frequency transceiver for generating a continuous wave RF interrogation signal that impinges upon an RF identification tag. An oscillation circuit in the RF identification tag modulates the interrogation signal with a subcarrier of a predetermined frequency and modulates the frequency-modulated signal back to the transmitting interrogator. The interrogator recovers and analyzes the subcarrier signal and determines its frequency. The interrogator generates an output indicative of the frequency of the subcarrier frequency, thereby identifying the responding RFID tag as one of a "class" of RFID tags configured to respond with a subcarrier signal of a predetermined frequency.

N-terminal SKIK peptide tag markedly improves expression of difficult-to-express proteins in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

PubMed

Ojima-Kato, Teruyo; Nagai, Satomi; Nakano, Hideo

2017-05-01

Despite advances in microbial protein expression systems, low production of proteins remains a great concern for some genes. Here we report that the insertion of a short peptide tag, consisting of Ser-Lys-Ile-Lys (SKIK), adjacent to the start codon of genes encoding difficult-to-express proteins can increase protein expression in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Protein expression levels of a mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb), rabbit mAbs obtained from clonal B cells, and an artificially designed peptide were significantly increased simply by the addition of the SKIK tag in E. coli systems. In particular, a ∼30-fold increase in protein production was observed for the mouse mAb, and the artificially designed peptide band became detectable in sodium dodecyl sulfate-poly acrylamide gel electrophoresis after coomassie brilliant blue staining or western blotting on adding the SKIK tag. The tag also increased the expression of tagged proteins in S. cerevisiae and an E. coli cell-free protein synthesis system. Although the mechanism of high protein expression on addition of the tag is unclear, our findings offer great benefits to biotechnology research and industry. Copyright © 2016 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An efficient tag derived from the common epitope of tospoviral NSs proteins for monitoring recombinant proteins expressed in both bacterial and plant systems.

PubMed

Cheng, Hao-Wen; Chen, Kuan-Chun; Raja, Joseph A J; Li, Jian-Xian; Yeh, Shyi-Dong

2013-04-15

NSscon (23 aa), a common epitope in the gene silencing suppressor NSs proteins of the members of the Watermelon silver mottle virus (WSMoV) serogroup, was previously identified. In this investigation, we expressed different green fluorescent protein (GFP)-fused deletions of NSscon in bacteria and reacted with NSscon monoclonal antibody (MAb). Our results indicated that the core 9 amino acids, "(109)KFTMHNQIF(117)", denoted as "nss", retain the reactivity of NSscon. In bacterial pET system, four different recombinant proteins labeled with nss, either at N- or C-extremes, were readily detectable without position effects, with sensitivity superior to that for the polyhistidine-tag. When the nss-tagged Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) helper component-protease (HC-Pro) and WSMoV nucleocapsid protein were transiently expressed by agroinfiltration in tobacco, they were readily detectable and the tag's possible efficacy for gene silencing suppression was not noticed. Co-immunoprecipitation of nss-tagged and non-tagged proteins expressed from bacteria confirmed the interaction of potyviral HC-Pro and coat protein. Thus, we conclude that this novel nss sequence is highly valuable for tagging recombinant proteins in both bacterial and plant expression systems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emergency Department Real Time Location System Patient and Equipment Tracking

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-01

accomplishments/Reportable Outcomes Patient Tagging: Getting staff to embrace the change in their workflow and apply the RFID tag and band as well as getting...goes on if a patient passes the exit with a RFID tag still on. We have received the device however the vendor is researching how best to utilize the...technology to meet the need. The ability to limit the range for reading an RFID tag to prevent false alerts is presently being worked on. Tag

Improving attachments of remotely-deployed dorsal fin-mounted tags: tissue structure, hydrodynamics, in situ performance, and tagged-animal follow-up

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-30

and then design and test improved retention systems 4. Conduct follow-up studies of tagged whales to accurately quantify wound healing and the...behavior (e.g., beaked whale versus melon-headed whale). 3. In situ behavior of retention system elements (Key individuals: Andrews, Schorr...Although we have a good idea of how the LIMPET retention system operates when first implanted, we do not fully understand the mechanics in a living fin

Improving Attachments of Remotely-Deployed Dorsal Fin-Mounted Tags: Tissue Structure, Hydrodynamics, in Situ Performance, and Tagged-Animal Follow-up

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-30

design and test improved retention systems 4. Conduct follow-up studies of tagged whales to accurately quantify wound healing and the effects of...e.g., beaked whale versus melon-headed whale). 3. In situ behavior of retention system elements (Key individuals: Andrews, Schorr, Hanson, Howle...have a good idea of how the LIMPET retention system operates when first implanted, we do not fully understand the mechanics in a living fin. Therefore

Tag-mediated cooperation with non-deterministic genotype-phenotype mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hong; Chen, Shu

2016-01-01

Tag-mediated cooperation provides a helpful framework for resolving evolutionary social dilemmas. However, most of the previous studies have not taken into account genotype-phenotype distinction in tags, which may play an important role in the process of evolution. To take this into consideration, we introduce non-deterministic genotype-phenotype mapping into a tag-based model with spatial prisoner's dilemma. By our definition, the similarity between genotypic tags does not directly imply the similarity between phenotypic tags. We find that the non-deterministic mapping from genotypic tag to phenotypic tag has non-trivial effects on tag-mediated cooperation. Although we observe that high levels of cooperation can be established under a wide variety of conditions especially when the decisiveness is moderate, the uncertainty in the determination of phenotypic tags may have a detrimental effect on the tag mechanism by disturbing the homophilic interaction structure which can explain the promotion of cooperation in tag systems. Furthermore, the non-deterministic mapping may undermine the robustness of the tag mechanism with respect to various factors such as the structure of the tag space and the tag flexibility. This observation warns us about the danger of applying the classical tag-based models to the analysis of empirical phenomena if genotype-phenotype distinction is significant in real world. Non-deterministic genotype-phenotype mapping thus provides a new perspective to the understanding of tag-mediated cooperation.

29 CFR 1915.162 - Ship's boilers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... dead boiler with the live system or systems shall be secured, blanked, and then locked or tagged, in... the dead boiler with the live system or systems shall be secured, and then locked or tagged, in accordance with § 1915.89. (2) Drain connections to atmosphere on all of the dead interconnecting systems...

29 CFR 1915.162 - Ship's boilers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... dead boiler with the live system or systems shall be secured, blanked, and then locked or tagged, in... the dead boiler with the live system or systems shall be secured, and then locked or tagged, in accordance with § 1915.89. (2) Drain connections to atmosphere on all of the dead interconnecting systems...

29 CFR 1915.162 - Ship's boilers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... dead boiler with the live system or systems shall be secured, blanked, and then locked or tagged, in... the dead boiler with the live system or systems shall be secured, and then locked or tagged, in accordance with § 1915.89. (2) Drain connections to atmosphere on all of the dead interconnecting systems...

Development of voice navigation system for the visually impaired by using IC tags.

PubMed

Takatori, Norihiko; Nojima, Kengo; Matsumoto, Masashi; Yanashima, Kenji; Magatani, Kazushige

2006-01-01

There are about 300,000 visually impaired persons in Japan. Most of them are old persons and, cannot become skillful in using a white cane, even if they make effort to learn how to use a white cane. Therefore, some guiding system that supports the independent activities of the visually impaired are required. In this paper, we will describe about a developed white cane system that supports the independent walking of the visually impaired in the indoor space. This system is composed of colored navigation lines that include IC tags and an intelligent white cane that has a navigation computer. In our system colored navigation lines that are put on the floor of the target space from the start point to the destination and IC tags that are set at the landmark point are used for indication of the route to the destination. The white cane has a color sensor, an IC tag transceiver and a computer system that includes a voice processor. This white cane senses the navigation line that has target color by a color sensor. When a color sensor finds the target color, the white cane informs a white cane user that he/she is on the navigation line by vibration. So, only following this vibration, the user can reach the destination. However, at some landmark points, guidance is necessary. At these points, an IC tag is set under the navigation line. The cane makes communication with the tag and informs the user about the land mark pint by pre recorded voice. Ten normal subjects who were blindfolded were tested with our developed system. All of them could walk along navigation line. And the IC tag information system worked well. Therefore, we have concluded that our system will be a very valuable one to support activities of the visually impaired.

Wireless SAW passive tag temperature measurement in the collision case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorokin, A.; Shepeta, A.; Wattimena, M.

2018-04-01

This paper describes temperature measurement in the multisensor systems based on the radio-frequency identification SAW passive tags which are currently applied in the electric power systems and the switchgears. Different approaches of temperature measurement in the collision case are shown here. The study is based on the tag model with specific topology, which allows us to determine temperature through the response signal with time-frequency information. This research considers the collision case for several passive tags as the temperature sensors which are placed in the switchgear. This research proposal is to analyze the possibility of using several SAW passive sensors in the collision case. We consider the using of the different typical elements for passive surface acoustic wave tag which applies as an anticollision passive sensor. These wireless sensors based on the surface acoustic waves tags contain specifically coded structures. This topology makes possible the reliability of increasing tag identification and the temperature measurement in the collision case. As the results for this case we illustrate simultaneous measurement of at least six sensors.

Immobilized palladium(II) ion affinity chromatography for recovery of recombinant proteins with peptide tags containing histidine and cysteine.

PubMed

Kikot, Pamela; Polat, Aise; Achilli, Estefania; Fernandez Lahore, Marcelo; Grasselli, Mariano

2014-11-01

Fusion of peptide-based tags to recombinant proteins is currently one of the most used tools for protein production. Also, immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) has a huge application in protein purification, especially in research labs. The combination of expression systems of recombinant tagged proteins with this robust chromatographic system has become an efficient and rapid tool to produce milligram-range amounts of proteins. IMAC-Ni(II) columns have become the natural partners of 6xHis-tagged proteins. The Ni(II) ion is considered as the best compromise of selectivity and affinity for purification of a recombinant His-tagged protein. The palladium(II) ion is also able to bind to side chains of amino acids and form ternary complexes with iminodiacetic acid and free amino acids and other sulfur-containing molecules. In this work, we evaluated two different cysteine- and histidine-containing six amino acid tags linked to the N-terminal group of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and studied the adsorption and elution conditions using novel eluents. Both cysteine-containing tagged GFPs were able to bind to IMAC-Pd(II) matrices and eluted successfully using a low concentration of thiourea solution. The IMAC-Ni(II) system reaches less than 20% recovery of the cysteine-containing tagged GFP from a crude homogenate of recombinant Escherichia coli, meanwhile the IMAC-Pd(II) yields a recovery of 45% with a purification factor of 13. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Examining the Effectiveness of Hacked, Commercial, Self-Tuning RFID Tags to Passively Sense the Volumetric Water Content of Soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoddard, B. S.; Udell, C.; Selker, J. S.

2017-12-01

Currently available soil volumetric water content (VWC) sensors have several drawbacks that pose certain challenges for implementation on large scale for farms. Such issues include cost, scalability, maintenance, wires running through fields, and single-spot resolution. The development of a passive soil moisture sensing system utilizing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) would allay many of these issues. The type of passive RFID tags discussed in this paper currently cost between 8 to 15 cents retail per tag when purchased in bulk. An incredibly cheap, scalable, low-maintenance, wireless, high-resolution system for sensing soil moisture would be possible if such tags were introduced into the agricultural world. This paper discusses both the use cases as well as examines one implementation of the tags. In 2015, RFID tag manufacturer SmarTrac started selling RFID moisture sensing tags for use in the automotive industry to detect leaks during quality assurance. We place those tags in soil at a depth of 4 inches and compared the moisture levels sensed by the RFID tags with the relative permittivity (ɛr) of the soil as measured by an industry-standard probe. Using an equation derived by Topp et al, we converted to VWC. We tested this over a wide range of moisture conditions and found a statistically significant, correlational relationship between the sensor values from the RFID tags and the probe's measurement of ɛr. We also identified a possible function for mapping vales from the RFID tag to the probe bounded by a reasonable margin of error.

Engineering Protein Hydrogels Using SpyCatcher-SpyTag Chemistry.

PubMed

Gao, Xiaoye; Fang, Jie; Xue, Bin; Fu, Linglan; Li, Hongbin

2016-09-12

Constructing hydrogels from engineered proteins has attracted significant attention within the material sciences, owing to their myriad potential applications in biomedical engineering. Developing efficient methods to cross-link tailored protein building blocks into hydrogels with desirable mechanical, physical, and functional properties is of paramount importance. By making use of the recently developed SpyCatcher-SpyTag chemistry, we successfully engineered protein hydrogels on the basis of engineered tandem modular elastomeric proteins. Our resultant protein hydrogels are soft but stable, and show excellent biocompatibility. As the first step, we tested the use of these hydrogels as a drug carrier, as well as in encapsulating human lung fibroblast cells. Our results demonstrate the robustness of the SpyCatcher-SpyTag chemistry, even when the SpyTag (or SpyCatcher) is flanked by folded globular domains. These results demonstrate that SpyCatcher-SpyTag chemistry can be used to engineer protein hydrogels from tandem modular elastomeric proteins that can find applications in tissue engineering, in fundamental mechano-biological studies, and as a controlled drug release vehicle.

An Estimation for Availability of Battery less LF Band RFID Tag to Identify Patients in Operation Room from Viewpoint of Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosaka, Ryosuke

Nowadays, medical accidents increase in Japanese patient environment. Especially, misidentification of the patients occurred in operation room of higher level hospitals. It is considered that the great deals of accidents are due to mistakes by nurse. However, the accidents are prevented by management of patients. If a suitable patient identification system is developed, the accidents are prevented. In this study, new patient identification system using battery less LF band RFID(Radio Frequency Identification) is proposed. In the method, battery less RFID tag is attached to patient. In operation room, patient is identified before operation using the proposed system. However, identification distance of RFID is small. It is important that extension of the distance. In this study, antennas of RFID tag and sensor are designed. Two types of tag are proposed. One of them is set on wristband. An antenna for the tag is designed as a circular shape with 30mm in diameter. The other one is shaped like a necklace. The antenna is also designed 220mm, 240mm and 260mm in diameter. Using necklace type new antenna, sufficient identification distance for detection of the tag in the operation room is realized. The patient identification is realized using the proposed system

Engineering single-molecule, nanoscale, and microscale bio-functional materials via click chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniele, Michael Angelo-Anthony

To expand the design envelope and supplement the materials library available to biomaterials scientists, the copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuCAAC) was explored as a route to design, synthesize and characterize bio-functional small-molecules, nanoparticles, and microfibers. In each engineered system, the use of click chemistry provided facile, bio-orthogonal control for materials synthesis; moreover, the results provided a methodology and more complete, fundamental understanding of the use of click chemistry as a tool for the synergy of biotechnology, polymer and materials science. Fluorophores with well-defined photophysical characteristics (ranging from UV to NIR fluorescence) were used as building blocks for small-molecule, fluorescent biosensors. Fluorophores were paired to exhibit fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET) and used to probe the metabolic activity of carbazole 1,9a-dioxygenase (CARDO). The FRET pair exhibited a significant variation in PL response with exposure to the lysate of Pseudomonas resinovorans CA10, an organism which can degrade variants of both the donor and acceptor fluorophores. Nanoparticle systems were modified via CuCAAC chemistry to carry affinity tags for CARDO and were subsequently utilized for affinity based bioseparation of CARDO from crude cell lysate. The enzymes were baited with an azide-modified carbazolyl-moiety attached to a poly(propargyl acrylate) nanoparticle. Magnetic nanocluster systems were also modified via CuCAAC chemistry to carry fluorescent imaging tags. The iron-oxide nanoclusters were coated with poly(acrylic acid-co-propargyl acrylate) to provide a clickable surface. Ultimately, alternate Cu-free click chemistries were utilized to produce biohybrid microfibers. The biohybrid microfibers were synthesized under benign photopolymerization conditions inside a microchannel, allowing the encapsulation of viable bacteria. By adjusting pre-polymer solutions and laminar flow rates within the microchannel, the morphology, hydration, and thermal properties of the fibers were easily tuned. The methodology produced hydrogel fibers that sustained viable cells as demonstrated by the encapsulation and subsequent proliferation of Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli communities.

Adaption of G-TAG Software for Validating Touch and Go Asteroid Sample Return Design Methodology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackmore, Lars James C.; Acikmese, Behcet; Mandic, Milan

2012-01-01

A software tool is used to demonstrate the feasibility of Touch and Go (TAG) sampling for Asteroid Sample Return missions. TAG is a concept whereby a spacecraft is in contact with the surface of a small body, such as a comet or asteroid, for a few seconds or less before ascending to a safe location away from the small body. Previous work at JPL developed the G-TAG simulation tool, which provides a software environment for fast, multi-body simulations of the TAG event. G-TAG is described in Multibody Simulation Software Testbed for Small-Body Exploration and Sampling, (NPO-47196) NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 35, No. 11 (November 2011), p.54. This current innovation adapts this tool to a mission that intends to return a sample from the surface of an asteroid. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the TAG concept, the new software tool was used to generate extensive simulations that demonstrate the designed spacecraft meets key requirements. These requirements state that contact force and duration must be sufficient to ensure that enough material from the surface is collected in the brushwheel sampler (BWS), and that the spacecraft must survive the contact and must be able to recover and ascend to a safe position, and maintain velocity and orientation after the contact.

A system for spacecraft attitude control and energy storage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaughnessy, J. D.

1974-01-01

A conceptual design for a double-gimbal reaction-wheel energy-wheel device which has three-axis attitude control and electrical energy storage capability is given. A mathematical model for the three-axis gyroscope (TAG) was developed, and a system of multiple units is proposed for attitude control and energy storage for a class of spacecraft. Control laws were derived to provide the required attitude-control torques and energy transfer while minimizing functions of TAG gimbal angles, gimbal rates, reaction-wheel speeds, and energy-wheel speed differences. A control law is also presented for a magnetic torquer desaturation system. A computer simulation of a three-TAG system for an orbiting telescope was used to evaluate the concept. The results of the study indicate that all control and power requirements can be satisfied by using the TAG concept.

Airport surface traffic control TAGS planning alternatives and cost/benefit

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1977-01-01

The findings of a cost/benefit analysis of the deployment of a new airport ground surveillance system TAGS (Tower Automated Ground Surveillance) are presented. TAGS will provide a plain view display of aircraft on the airports taxiways and runways li...

Integrated polymer-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer label-free streptavidin biosensor compatible with injection molding.

PubMed

Bruck, R; Melnik, E; Muellner, P; Hainberger, R; Lämmerhofer, M

2011-05-15

We report the development of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer biosensor based on a high index contrast polymer material system and the demonstration of label-free online measurement of biotin-streptavidin binding on the sensor surface. The surface of the polyimide waveguide core layer was functionalized with 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxy silane and malemide tagged biotin. Several concentrations of Chromeon 642-streptavidin dissolved in phosphate buffered saline solution were rinsed over the functionalized sensor surface by means of a fluidic system and the biotin-streptavidin binding process was observed in the output signal of the interferometer at a wavelength of 1310 nm. Despite the large wavelength and the comparatively low surface sensitivity of the sensor system due to the low index contrast in polymer material systems compared to inorganic material systems, we were able to resolve streptavidin concentrations of down to 0.1 μg/ml. The polymer-based optical sensor design is fully compatible with cost-efficient mass production technologies such as injection molding and spin coating, which makes it an attractive alternative to inorganic optical sensors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Group Management Method of RFID Passwords for Privacy Protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Yuichi; Kuwana, Toshiyuki; Taniguchi, Yoji; Komoda, Norihisa

When RFID tag is used in the whole item lifecycle including a consumer scene or a recycle scene, we have to protect consumer privacy in the state that RFID tag is stuck on an item. We use the low cost RFID tag that has the access control function using a password, and we propose a method which manages RFID tags by passwords identical to each group of RFID tags. This proposal improves safety of RFID system because the proposal method is able to reduce the traceability for a RFID tag, and hold down the influence for disclosure of RFID passwords in the both scenes.

Array processing for RFID tag localization exploiting multi-frequency signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yimin; Li, Xin; Amin, Moeness G.

2009-05-01

RFID is an increasingly valuable business and technology tool for electronically identifying, locating, and tracking products, assets, and personnel. As a result, precise positioning and tracking of RFID tags and readers have received considerable attention from both academic and industrial communities. Finding the position of RFID tags is considered an important task in various real-time locating systems (RTLS). As such, numerous RFID localization products have been developed for various applications. The majority of RFID positioning systems is based on the fusion of pieces of relevant information, such as the range and the direction-of-arrival (DOA). For example, trilateration can determine the tag position by using the range information of the tag estimated from three or more spatially separated reader antennas. Triangulation is another method to locate RFID tags that use the direction-of-arrival (DOA) information estimated at multiple spatially separated locations. The RFID tag positions can also be determined through hybrid techniques that combine the range and DOA information. The focus of this paper to study the design and performance of the localization of passive RFID tags using array processing techniques in a multipath environment, and exploiting multi-frequency CW signals. The latter are used to decorrelate the coherent multipath signals for effective DOA estimation and for the purpose of accurate range estimation. Accordingly, the spatial and frequency dimensionalities are fully utilized for robust and accurate positioning of RFID tags.

Serotype determination of Salmonella by xTAG assay.

PubMed

Zheng, Zhibei; Zheng, Wei; Wang, Haoqiu; Pan, Jincao; Pu, Xiaoying

2017-10-01

Currently, no protocols or commercial kits are available to determine the serotypes of Salmonella by using Luminex MAGPIX®. In this study, an xTAG assay for serotype determination of Salmonella suitable for Luminex MAGPIX® is described and 228 Salmonella isolates were serotype determined by this xTAG assay. The xTAG assay consists of two steps: 1) Multiplex PCR to amplify simultaneously O, H and Vi antigen genes of Salmonella, and 2) Magplex-TAG™ microsphere hybridization to identify accurately the specific PCR products of different antigens. Compared with the serotyping results of traditional serum agglutination test, the sensitivity and specificity of the xTAG assay were 95.1% and 100%, respectively. The agreement rate of these two assays was 95.2%. Compared with Luminex xMAP® Salmonella Serotyping Assay (SSA) kit, the advantages of this xTAG assay are: First, the magnetic beads make it applicable to both the Luminex®100/200™ and MAGPIX® systems. Second, only primers rather than both primers and probes are needed in the xTAG assay, and the process of coupling antigen-specific oligonucleotide probes to beads is circumvented, which make the xTAG assay convenient to be utilized by other laboratories. The xTAG assay may serve as a rapid alternative or complementary method for traditional Salmonella serotyping tests, especially for laboratories that utilize the MAGPIX® systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Detection of Illicit Drugs with the EURITRACK System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perot, B.; Carasco, C.; Valkovic, V.; Sudac, D.; Franulovic, A.

2009-03-01

The EURopean Illicit TRAfficking Countermeasures Kit (EURITRACK) inspection system has been developed within the 6th EU Framework Program to complement X-ray scanners in the detection of explosives and other illicit materials hidden in cargo containers. Gamma rays are produced inside the cargo materials by 14 MeV tagged neutron beams, which yields information about the chemical composition of the transported goods. In the beginning of year 2007, the EURITRACK system was implemented in the Seaport of Rijeka, Croatia, primarily to carry out a demonstration using real containers to conduct a series of detection tests. This article reports tests performed with real samples of illicit drugs hidden in a metallic cargo with an average density of 0.2 g/cm3. Heroin and cocaine have been distinguished from benign substances based on their chemical composition. Marijuana, which chemical composition is similar to benign materials, cannot be distinguished from common organic goods. However, the detection of an unexpected organic substance inside the metallic cargo indicates that a suspicious object has been hidden in the container.

Directional Radio-Frequency Identification Tag Reader

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Medelius, Pedro J.; Taylor, John D.; Henderson, John J.

2004-01-01

A directional radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag reader has been designed to facilitate finding a specific object among many objects in a crowded room. The device could be an adjunct to an electronic inventory system that tracks RFID-tagged objects as they move through reader-equipped doorways. Whereas commercial RFID-tag readers do not measure directions to tagged objects, the device is equipped with a phased-array antenna and a received signal-strength indicator (RSSI) circuit for measuring direction. At the beginning of operation, it is set to address only the RFID tag of interest. It then continuously transmits a signal to interrogate that tag while varying the radiation pattern of the antenna. It identifies the direction to the tag as the radiation pattern direction of peak strength of the signal returned by the tag. An approximate distance to the tag is calculated from the peak signal strength. The direction and distance can be displayed on a screen. A prototype containing a Yagi antenna was found to be capable of detecting a 915.5-MHz tag at a distance of approximately equal to 15 ft (approximately equal to 4.6 m).

Energy-balanced algorithm for RFID estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jumin; Wang, Fangyuan; Li, Dengao; Yan, Lijuan

2016-10-01

RFID has been widely used in various commercial applications, ranging from inventory control, supply chain management to object tracking. It is necessary for us to estimate the number of RFID tags deployed in a large area periodically and automatically. Most of the prior works use passive tags to estimate and focus on designing time-efficient algorithms that can estimate tens of thousands of tags in seconds. But for a RFID reader to access tags in a large area, active tags are likely to be used due to their longer operational ranges. But these tags use their own battery as energy supplier. Hence, conserving energy for active tags becomes critical. Some prior works have studied how to reduce energy expenditure of a RFID reader when it reads tags IDs. In this paper, we study how to reduce the amount of energy consumed by active tags during the process of estimating the number of tags in a system and make the energy every tag consumed balanced approximately. We design energy-balanced estimation algorithm that can achieve our goal we mentioned above.

Barcode tagging of human oocytes and embryos to prevent mix-ups in assisted reproduction technologies.

PubMed

Novo, Sergi; Nogués, Carme; Penon, Oriol; Barrios, Leonardo; Santaló, Josep; Gómez-Martínez, Rodrigo; Esteve, Jaume; Errachid, Abdelhamid; Plaza, José Antonio; Pérez-García, Lluïsa; Ibáñez, Elena

2014-01-01

Is the attachment of biofunctionalized polysilicon barcodes to the outer surface of the zona pellucida an effective approach for the direct tagging and identification of human oocytes and embryos during assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs)? The direct tagging system based on lectin-biofunctionalized polysilicon barcodes of micrometric dimensions is simple, safe and highly efficient, allowing the identification of human oocytes and embryos during the various procedures typically conducted during an assisted reproduction cycle. Measures to prevent mismatching errors (mix-ups) of the reproductive samples are currently in place in fertility clinics, but none of them are totally effective and several mix-up cases have been reported worldwide. Using a mouse model, our group has previously developed an effective direct embryo tagging system which does not interfere with the in vitro and in vivo development of the tagged embryos. This system has now been tested in human oocytes and embryos. Fresh immature and mature fertilization-failed oocytes (n = 21) and cryopreserved day 1 embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (n = 205) were donated by patients (n = 76) undergoing ARTs. In vitro development rates, embryo quality and post-vitrification survival were compared between tagged (n = 106) and non-tagged (control) embryos (n = 99). Barcode retention and identification rates were also calculated, both for embryos and for oocytes subjected to a simulated ICSI and parthenogenetic activation. Experiments were conducted from January 2012 to January 2013. Barcodes were fabricated in polysilicon and biofunctionalizated with wheat germ agglutinin lectin. Embryos were tagged with 10 barcodes and cultured in vitro until the blastocyst stage, when they were either differentially stained with propidium iodide and Hoechst or vitrified using the Cryotop method. Embryo quality was also analyzed by embryo grading and time-lapse monitoring. Injected oocytes were parthenogenetically activated using ionomycin and 6-dimethylaminopurine. Blastocyst development rates of tagged (27/58) and non-tagged embryos (24/51) were equivalent, and no significant differences in the timing of key morphokinetic parameters and the number of inner cell mass cells were detected between the two groups (tagged: 24.7 ± 2.5; non-tagged: 22.3 ± 1.9), indicating that preimplantation embryo potential and quality are not affected by the barcodes. Similarly, re-expansion rates of vitrified-warmed tagged (19/21) and non-tagged (16/19) blastocysts were similar. Global identification rates of 96.9 and 89.5% were obtained in fresh (mean barcode retention: 9.22 ± 0.13) and vitrified-warmed (mean barcode retention: 7.79 ± 0.35) tagged embryos, respectively, when simulating an automatic barcode reading process, though these rates were increased to 100% just by rotating the embryos during barcode reading. Only one of the oocytes lost one barcode during intracytoplasmic injection (100% identification rate) and all oocytes retained all the barcodes after parthenogenetic activation. Although the direct embryo tagging system developed is effective, it only allows the identification and traceability of oocytes destined for ICSI and embryos. Thus, the traceability of all reproductive samples (oocytes destined for IVF and sperm) is not yet ensured. The direct embryo tagging system developed here provides fertility clinics with a novel tool to reduce the risk of mix-ups in human ARTs. The system can also be useful in research studies that require the individual identification of oocytes or embryos and their individual tracking. This study was supported by the Sociedad Española de Fertilidad, the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (TEC2011-29140-C03) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2009SGR-00282 and 2009SGR-00158). The authors do not have any competing interests.

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

Twogood, Richard E

This is the Final Report for the DOE Phase II SBIR project “Ultra-secure RF Tags for Safeguards and Security.” The topics covered herein include technical progress made, progress against the planned milestones and deliverables, project outcomes (results, collaborations, intellectual property, etc.), and a discussion on future expectations of deployment and impacts of the results of this work. In brief, all planned work for the project was successfully completed, on or ahead of schedule and on budget. The major accomplishment was the successful development of a very advanced passive ultra-secure RFID tag system with combined security features unmatched by any commerciallymore » available ones. These tags have high-level dynamic encrypted authentication, a novel tamper-proofing mechanism, system software including graphical user interfaces and networking, and integration with a fiber-optic seal mechanism. This is all accomplished passively (with no battery) by incorporating sophisticated hardware in the tag which harvests the energy from the RFID readers that are interrogating the tag. Based on initial feedback (and deployments) at DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), it is anticipated these tags and their offspring will meet DOE and international community needs for highly secure RFID systems. Beyond the accomplishment of those original objectives for the ultra-secure RF tags, major new spin-off thrusts from the original work were identified and successfully pursued with the cognizance of the DOE sponsor office. In particular, new classes of less sophisticated RFID tags were developed whose lineage derives from the core R&D thrusts of this SBIR. These RF “tag variants” have some, but not necessarily all, of the advanced characteristics described above and can therefore be less expensive and meet far wider markets. With customer pull from the DOE and its national laboratories, new RFID tags and systems (including custom readers and software) for government needs in asset management and tracking were developed. These were tested at a national laboratory and other government facilities, and resulted in immediate procurement actions by the government and deployment of these new systems. Thus, commercialization of the results of this Phase II DOE SBIR was already underway before the end of the SBIR itself. More importantly, operations involving asset management at selected DoE and government sites are already being impacted favorably and could have much broader impacts in the near future.« less

JC Virus Mediates Invasion and Migration in Colorectal Metastasis

PubMed Central

Link, Alexander; Shin, Sung Kwan; Nagasaka, Takeshi; Balaguer, Francesc; Koi, Minoru; Jung, Barbara; Boland, C. Richard; Goel, Ajay

2009-01-01

Introduction JC Virus (JCV), a human polyomavirus, is frequently present in colorectal cancers (CRCs). JCV large T-Ag (T-Ag) expressed in approximately half of all CRC's, however, its functional role in CRC is poorly understood. We hypothesized that JCV T-Ag may mediate metastasis in CRC cells through increased migration and invasion. Material and Methods CRC cell lines (HCT116 and SW837) were stably transfected with JCV early transcript sequences cloned into pCR3 or empty vectors. Migration and invasion assays were performed using Boyden chambers. Global gene expression analysis was performed to identify genetic targets and pathways altered by T-Ag expression. Microarray results were validated by qRT-PCR, protein expression analyses and immunohistochemistry. Matching primary CRCs and liver metastases from 33 patients were analyzed for T-Ag expression by immunohistochemistry. Results T-Ag expressing cell lines showed 2 to 3-fold increase in migration and invasion compared to controls. JCV T-Ag expression resulted in differential expression of several genetic targets, including genes that mediate cell migration and invasion. Pathway analysis suggested a significant involvement of these genes with AKT and MAPK signaling. Treatment with selective PI3K/AKT and MAPK pathway inhibitors resulted in reduced migration and invasion. In support of our in-vitro results, immunohistochemical staining of the advanced stage tumors revealed frequent JCV T-Ag expression in metastatic primary tumors (92%) as well as in their matching liver metastasis (73%). Conclusion These data suggest that JCV T-Ag expression in CRC associates with a metastatic phenotype, which may partly be mediated through the AKT/MAPK signaling pathway. Frequent expression of JCV T-Ag in CRC liver metastasis provides further clues supporting a mechanistic role for JCV as a possible mediator of cellular motility and invasion in CRC. PMID:19997600

Enantioselective chromatography in analysis of triacylglycerols common in edible fats and oils.

PubMed

Kalpio, Marika; Nylund, Matts; Linderborg, Kaisa M; Yang, Baoru; Kristinsson, Björn; Haraldsson, Gudmundur G; Kallio, Heikki

2015-04-01

Enantiomers of racemic triacylglycerol (TAG) mixtures were separated using two chiral HPLC columns with a sample recycling system and a UV detector. A closed system without sample derivatisation enabled separation and identification by using enantiopure reference compounds of eleven racemic TAGs with C12-C22 fatty acids with 0-2 double bonds. The prolonged separation time was compensated for by fewer pretreatment steps. Presence of one saturated and one unsaturated fatty acid in the asymmetric TAG favoured the separation. Enantiomeric resolution, at the same time with stronger retention of TAGs, increased with increasing fatty acid chain length in the sn-1(3) position. Triunsaturated TAGs containing oleic, linoleic or palmitoleic acids did not separate. The elution order of enantiomers was determined by chemoenzymatically synthesised enantiopure TAGs with a co-injection method. The method is applicable to many natural fats and oils of low unsaturation level assisting advanced investigation of lipid synthesis and metabolism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Challenges and opportunities in the purification of recombinant tagged proteins.

PubMed

Pina, Ana Sofia; Lowe, Christopher R; Roque, Ana Cecília A

2014-01-01

The purification of recombinant proteins by affinity chromatography is one of the most efficient strategies due to the high recovery yields and purity achieved. However, this is dependent on the availability of specific affinity adsorbents for each particular target protein. The diversity of proteins to be purified augments the complexity and number of specific affinity adsorbents needed, and therefore generic platforms for the purification of recombinant proteins are appealing strategies. This justifies why genetically encoded affinity tags became so popular for recombinant protein purification, as these systems only require specific ligands for the capture of the fusion protein through a pre-defined affinity tag tail. There is a wide range of available affinity pairs "tag-ligand" combining biological or structural affinity ligands with the respective binding tags. This review gives a general overview of the well-established "tag-ligand" systems available for fusion protein purification and also explores current unconventional strategies under development. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A combined telemetry - tag return approach to estimate fishing and natural mortality rates of an estuarine fish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bacheler, N.M.; Buckel, J.A.; Hightower, J.E.; Paramore, L.M.; Pollock, K.H.

2009-01-01

A joint analysis of tag return and telemetry data should improve estimates of mortality rates for exploited fishes; however, the combined approach has thus far only been tested in terrestrial systems. We tagged subadult red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) with conventional tags and ultrasonic transmitters over 3 years in coastal North Carolina, USA, to test the efficacy of the combined telemetry - tag return approach. There was a strong seasonal pattern to monthly fishing mortality rate (F) estimates from both conventional and telemetry tags; highest F values occurred in fall months and lowest levels occurred during winter. Although monthly F values were similar in pattern and magnitude between conventional tagging and telemetry, information on F in the combined model came primarily from conventional tags. The estimated natural mortality rate (M) in the combined model was low (estimated annual rate ?? standard error: 0.04 ?? 0.04) and was based primarily upon the telemetry approach. Using high-reward tagging, we estimated different tag reporting rates for state agency and university tagging programs. The combined telemetry - tag return approach can be an effective approach for estimating F and M as long as several key assumptions of the model are met.

Detection of hidden explosives by using tagged neutron beams: Status and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viesti, Giuseppe; Pesente, Silvia; Nebbia, Giancarlo; Lunardon, Marcello; Sudac, Davorin; Nađ, Karlo; Blagus, Sasha; Valković, Vladivoj

2005-12-01

Non-destructive inspections have been simulated in laboratory conditions by using our tagged neutron inspection system (TNIS), using YAP:Ce scintillators to tag the neutron beam and an array of BaF2 crystals to detect the γ-rays. The system has been operated up to 2 × 108 neutron/s. Further developments of the TNIS concept are discussed in the light of our current projects for cargo container inspections.

Effect of Amphiphiles on the Rheology of Triglyceride Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seth, Jyoti

2014-11-01

Networks of aggregated crystallites form the structural backbone of many products from the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Such materials are generally formulated by cooling a saturated solution to yield the desired solid fraction. Crystal nucleation and growth followed by aggregation leads to formation of a space percolating fractal-network. It is understood that microstructural hierarchy and particle-particle interactions determine material behavior during processing, storage and use. In this talk, rheology of suspensions of triglycerides (TAG, like tristearin) will be explored. TAGs exhibit a rich assortment of polymorphs and form suspensions that are evidently sensitive to surface modifying additives like surfactants and polymers. Here, a theoretical framework will be presented for suspensions containing TAG crystals interacting via pairwise potentials. The work builds on existing models of fractal aggregates to understand microstructure and its correlation with material rheology. Effect of amphiphilic additives is derived through variation of particle-particle interactions. Theoretical predictions for storage modulus will be compared against experimental observations and data from the literature and micro structural predictions against microscopy. Such a theory may serve as a step towards predicting short and long-term behavior of aggregated suspensions formulated via crystallization.

Tagging RDT&E. Volume 1. Technology Assessment and Development Reports

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-03-01

weapon system component could have a unique, counterfeit and transfer resistant, and tamper indicating identifier (or tag), inspectors could...the random nature of the reflective surfaces on each particle, the tag is highly resistant to counterfeiting . Sym t, n- BDM Jnvolvement RPT Sandia...layers) that tampering has occurred. A reflective particle (RP) disk was added by PNL to increase the difficulty of counterfeiting the tag and to make

Dynamics of human categorization in a collaborative tagging system: How social processes of semantic stabilization shape individual sensemaking.

PubMed

Ley, Tobias; Seitlinger, Paul

2015-10-01

We study how categories form and develop over time in a sensemaking task by groups of students employing a collaborative tagging system. In line with distributed cognition theories, we look at both the tags students use and their strength of representation in memory. We hypothesize that categories get more differentiated over time as students learn, and that semantic stabilization on the group level (i.e. the convergence in the use of tags) mediates this relationship. Results of a field experiment that tested the impact of topic study duration on the specificity of tags confirms these hypotheses, although it was not study duration that produced this effect, but rather the effectiveness of the collaborative taxonomy the groups built. In the groups with higher levels of semantic stabilization, we found use of more specific tags and better representation in memory. We discuss these findings with regard to the important role of the information value of tags that would drive both the convergence on the group level as well as a shift to more specific levels of categorization. We also discuss the implication for cognitive science research by highlighting the importance of collaboratively built artefacts in the process of how knowledge is acquired, and implications for educational applications of collaborative tagging environments.

Dynamics of human categorization in a collaborative tagging system: How social processes of semantic stabilization shape individual sensemaking

PubMed Central

Ley, Tobias; Seitlinger, Paul

2015-01-01

We study how categories form and develop over time in a sensemaking task by groups of students employing a collaborative tagging system. In line with distributed cognition theories, we look at both the tags students use and their strength of representation in memory. We hypothesize that categories get more differentiated over time as students learn, and that semantic stabilization on the group level (i.e. the convergence in the use of tags) mediates this relationship. Results of a field experiment that tested the impact of topic study duration on the specificity of tags confirms these hypotheses, although it was not study duration that produced this effect, but rather the effectiveness of the collaborative taxonomy the groups built. In the groups with higher levels of semantic stabilization, we found use of more specific tags and better representation in memory. We discuss these findings with regard to the important role of the information value of tags that would drive both the convergence on the group level as well as a shift to more specific levels of categorization. We also discuss the implication for cognitive science research by highlighting the importance of collaboratively built artefacts in the process of how knowledge is acquired, and implications for educational applications of collaborative tagging environments. PMID:26566299

Review on SAW RFID tags.

PubMed

Plessky, Victor P; Reindl, Leonhard M

2010-03-01

SAW tags were invented more than 30 years ago, but only today are the conditions united for mass application of this technology. The devices in the 2.4-GHz ISM band can be routinely produced with optical lithography, high-resolution radar systems can be built up using highly sophisticated, but low-cost RF-chips, and the Internet is available for global access to the tag databases. The "Internet of Things," or I-o-T, will demand trillions of cheap tags and sensors. The SAW tags can overcome semiconductor-based analogs in many aspects: they can be read at a distance of a few meters with readers radiating power levels 2 to 3 orders lower, they are cheap, and they can operate in robust environments. Passive SAW tags are easily combined with sensors. Even the "anti-collision" problem (i.e., the simultaneous reading of many nearby tags) has adequate solutions for many practical applications. In this paper, we discuss the state-of-the-art in the development of SAW tags. The design approaches will be reviewed and optimal tag designs, as well as encoding methods, will be demonstrated. We discuss ways to reduce the size and cost of these devices. A few practical examples of tags using a time-position coding with 10(6) different codes will be demonstrated. Phase-coded devices can additionally increase the number of codes at the expense of a reduction of reading distance. We also discuss new and exciting perspectives of using ultra wide band (UWB) technology for SAW-tag systems. The wide frequency band available for this standard provides a great opportunity for SAW tags to be radically reduced in size to about 1 x 1 mm(2) while keeping a practically infinite number of possible different codes. Finally, the reader technology will be discussed, as well as detailed comparison made between SAW tags and IC-based semiconductor device.

Evaluation of the Medical and Dental Portions of the Soldier Data Tag Systems. Part B

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

ttibitI "Appioved fog public i).Gagg .-. L; r’,,,CV) 1ule EVAIIIATION OF THE MEDICAL AND DENTAL PORTIONS OF THE SOLDIER DATA TAG SYSTEM MAJ James fi...NUMBER 2. GOVT ACCESSION No. 3. RECIPIENT’S CATALOG NUMBER 84-003L PardSutleS. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED’~Evaluation of the Medical and Dental...IS. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 19. KEY WORDS (Continue on reverse side if necosomy mid Id.,f*ttby Week ambr) Soldier Data Tag System, Medical , Denta

Recent developments in hydrologic instrumentation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Latkovich, Vito J.; Futrell, James C.; Kane, Douglas L.

1986-01-01

The programs of the U.S. Geological Survey require instrumentation for collecting and monitoring hydrologic data in cold regions. The availability of space-age materials and implementation of modern electronics and mechanics is making possible the recent developments of hydrologic instrumentation, especially in the area of measuring streamflow under ice cover. Material developments include: synthetic-fiber sounding and tag lines; polymer (plastic) sheaves, pulleys, and sampler components; and polymer (plastic) current-meter bucket wheels. Electronic and mechanical developments include: a current-meter digitizer; a fiber-optic closure system for current-meters; non-contact water-level sensors; an adaptable hydrologic data acquisition system; a minimum data recorder; an ice rod; an ice foot; a handled sediment sampler; a light weight ice auger with improved cutter head and blades; and an ice chisel.

Radiological risks from irradiation of cargo contents with EURITRACK neutron inspection systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giroletti, E.; Bonomi, G.; Donzella, A.; Viesti, G.; Zenoni, A.

2012-07-01

The radiological risk for the population related to the neutron irradiation of cargo containers with a tagged neutron inspection system has been studied. Two possible effects on the public health have been assessed: the modification of the nutritional and organoleptic properties of the irradiated materials, in particular foodstuff, and the neutron activation of consumer products (i.e. food and pharmaceuticals). The result of this study is that irradiation of food and foodstuff, pharmaceutical and medical devices in container cargoes would neither modify the properties of the irradiated material nor produce effective doses of concern for public health. Furthermore, the dose received by possible stowaways present inside the container during the inspection is less than the annual effective dose limit defined by European Legislation for the public.

Tags, wireless communication systems, tag communication methods, and wireless communications methods

DOEpatents

Scott,; Jeff W. , Pratt; Richard, M [Richland, WA

2006-09-12

Tags, wireless communication systems, tag communication methods, and wireless communications methods are described. In one aspect, a tag includes a plurality of antennas configured to receive a plurality of first wireless communication signals comprising data from a reader, a plurality of rectifying circuits coupled with. respective individual ones of the antennas and configured to provide rectified signals corresponding to the first wireless communication signals, wherein the rectified signals are combined to produce a composite signal, an adaptive reference circuit configured to vary a reference signal responsive to the composite signal, a comparator coupled with the adaptive reference circuit and the rectifying circuits and configured to compare the composite signal with respect to the reference signal and to output the data responsive to the comparison, and processing circuitry configured to receive the data from the comparator and to process the data.

A new facility for non-destructive assay using a 252Cf source.

PubMed

Stevanato, L; Caldogno, M; Dima, R; Fabris, D; Hao, Xin; Lunardon, M; Moretto, S; Nebbia, G; Pesente, S; Pino, F; Sajo-Bohus, L; Viesti, G

2013-03-01

A new laboratory facility for non-destructive analysis (NDA) using a time-tagged (252)Cf source is presented. The system is designed to analyze samples having maximum size of about 20 × 25 cm(2), the material recognition being obtained by measuring simultaneously total and energy dependent transmission of neutrons and gamma rays. The equipment technical characteristics and performances of the NDA system are presented, exploring also limits due to the sample thickness. Some recent applications in the field of cultural heritage are presented. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design considerations and tradeoffs for passive RFID tags

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussien, Faisal A.; Turker, Didem Z.; Srinivasan, Rangakrishnan; Mobarak, Mohamed S.; Cortes, Fernando P.; Sanchez-Sinencio, Edgar

2005-06-01

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems are widely used in a variety of tracking, security and tagging applications. Their operation in non line-of-sight environments makes them superior over similar devices such as barcode and infrared tags. RFID systems span a wide range of applications: medical history storage, dental prosthesis tracking, oil drilling pipe and concrete stress monitoring, toll ways services, animal tracking applications, etc. Passive RFID tags generate their power from the incoming signal; therefore, they do not require a power source. Accordingly, minimizing the power consumption and the implementation area are usually the main design considerations. This paper presents a complete analysis on designing a passive RFID tag. A system design methodology is introduced including the main issues and tradeoffs between different design parameters. The uplink modulation techniques used (ASK, PSK, FSK, and PWM) are illustrated showing how to choose the appropriate signaling scheme for a specific data rate, a certain distance of operation and a limited power consumption budget. An antenna system (transmitter and receiver) is proposed providing the maximum distance of operation with the transmitted power stated by FCC regulations. The backscatter modulation scheme used in the downlink is shown whether to be ASK-BM or PSK-BM and the differences between them are discussed. The key building blocks such as the charge pump, voltage reference, and the regulator used to generate the DC supply voltage from the incoming RF signal are discussed along with their design tradeoffs. A complete architecture for a passive RFID tag is provided as an example to illustrate the proposed RFID tag design methodology.

Behavioral and Physiological Response of Baleen Whales to Ships and Ship Noise

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-30

student Angela Szesciorka) on tag designs to provide longer term deployments of archival tags especially for work with humpback whales off northern...California. 2. Conduct test deployments of dart-attached archival tags in 2014 on humpback whales in Monterey Bay and the Gulf of the Farallones on... humpback whales to tests different dart attachment configurations and develop a new longer term dart-attached archival tag system. 3. Successfully

Computer aided detection of surgical retained foreign object for prevention

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

Hadjiiski, Lubomir, E-mail: lhadjisk@umich.edu; Marentis, Theodore C.; Rondon, Lucas

2015-03-15

Purpose: Surgical retained foreign objects (RFOs) have significant morbidity and mortality. They are associated with approximately $1.5 × 10{sup 9} annually in preventable medical costs. The detection accuracy of radiographs for RFOs is a mediocre 59%. The authors address the RFO problem with two complementary technologies: a three-dimensional (3D) gossypiboma micro tag, the μTag that improves the visibility of RFOs on radiographs, and a computer aided detection (CAD) system that detects the μTag. It is desirable for the CAD system to operate in a high specificity mode in the operating room (OR) and function as a first reader for themore » surgeon. This allows for fast point of care results and seamless workflow integration. The CAD system can also operate in a high sensitivity mode as a second reader for the radiologist to ensure the highest possible detection accuracy. Methods: The 3D geometry of the μTag produces a similar two dimensional (2D) depiction on radiographs regardless of its orientation in the human body and ensures accurate detection by a radiologist and the CAD. The authors created a data set of 1800 cadaver images with the 3D μTag and other common man-made surgical objects positioned randomly. A total of 1061 cadaver images contained a single μTag and the remaining 739 were without μTag. A radiologist marked the location of the μTag using an in-house developed graphical user interface. The data set was partitioned into three independent subsets: a training set, a validation set, and a test set, consisting of 540, 560, and 700 images, respectively. A CAD system with modules that included preprocessing μTag enhancement, labeling, segmentation, feature analysis, classification, and detection was developed. The CAD system was developed using the training and the validation sets. Results: On the training set, the CAD achieved 81.5% sensitivity with 0.014 false positives (FPs) per image in a high specificity mode for the surgeons in the OR and 96.1% sensitivity with 0.81 FPs per image in a high sensitivity mode for the radiologists. On the independent test set, the CAD achieved 79.5% sensitivity with 0.003 FPs per image in a high specificity mode for the surgeons and 90.2% sensitivity with 0.23 FPs per image in a high sensitivity mode for the radiologists. Conclusions: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time a 3D μTag is used to produce a recognizable, substantially similar 2D projection on radiographs regardless of orientation in space. It is the first time a CAD system is used to search for man-made objects over anatomic background. The CAD system for the μTags achieved reasonable performance in both the high specificity and the high sensitivity modes.« less

Simple method to detect triacylglycerol biosynthesis in a yeast-based recombinant system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Standard methods to quantify the activity of triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesizing enzymes DGAT and PDAT (TAG-SE) require a sensitive but rather arduous laboratory assay based on radio-labeled substrates. Here we describe two straightforward methods to detect TAG production in baker’s yeast Saccharomyc...

TF4SM: A Framework for Developing Traceability Solutions in Small Manufacturing Companies

PubMed Central

Bordel Sánchez, Borja; Alcarria, Ramón; Martín, Diego; Robles, Tomás

2015-01-01

Nowadays, manufacturing processes have become highly complex. Besides, more and more, governmental institutions require companies to implement systems to trace a product’s life (especially for foods, clinical materials or similar items). In this paper, we propose a new framework, based on cyber-physical systems, for developing traceability systems in small manufacturing companies (which because of their size cannot implement other commercial products). We propose a general theoretical framework, study the requirements of these companies in relation to traceability systems, propose a reference architecture based on both previous elements and build the first minimum functional prototype, to compare our solution to a traditional tag-based traceability system. Results show that our system reduces the number of inefficiencies and reaction time. PMID:26610509

TF4SM: A Framework for Developing Traceability Solutions in Small Manufacturing Companies.

PubMed

Bordel Sánchez, Borja; Alcarria, Ramón; Martín, Diego; Robles, Tomás

2015-11-20

Nowadays, manufacturing processes have become highly complex. Besides, more and more, governmental institutions require companies to implement systems to trace a product's life (especially for foods, clinical materials or similar items). In this paper, we propose a new framework, based on cyber-physical systems, for developing traceability systems in small manufacturing companies (which because of their size cannot implement other commercial products). We propose a general theoretical framework, study the requirements of these companies in relation to traceability systems, propose a reference architecture based on both previous elements and build the first minimum functional prototype, to compare our solution to a traditional tag-based traceability system. Results show that our system reduces the number of inefficiencies and reaction time.

Synthesis and Physicochemical Characterization of D-Tagatose-1-Phosphate: The Substrate of the Tagatose-1-Phosphate Kinase in the Phosphotransferase System-Mediated D-Tagatose Catabolic Pathway of Bacillus licheniformis.

PubMed

Van der Heiden, Edwige; Delmarcelle, Michaël; Simon, Patricia; Counson, Melody; Galleni, Moreno; Freedberg, Darón I; Thompson, John; Joris, Bernard; Battistel, Marcos D

2015-01-01

We report the first enzymatic synthesis of D-tagatose-1-phosphate (Tag-1P) by the multicomponent phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PEP-PTS) present in tagatose-grown cells of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Physicochemical characterization by (31)P and (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveals that, in solution, this derivative is primarily in the pyranose form. Tag-1P was used to characterize the putative tagatose-1-phosphate kinase (TagK) of the Bacillus licheniformis PTS-mediated D-tagatose catabolic pathway (Bli-TagP). For this purpose, a soluble protein fusion was obtained with the 6 His-tagged trigger factor (TF(His6)) of Escherichia coli. The active fusion enzyme was named TagK-TF(His6). Tag-1P and D-fructose-1-phosphate are substrates for the TagK-TF(His6) enzyme, whereas the isomeric derivatives D-tagatose-6-phosphate and D-fructose-6-phosphate are inhibitors. Studies of catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) reveal that the enzyme specificity is markedly in favor of Tag-1P as the substrate. Importantly, we show in vivo that the transfer of the phosphate moiety from PEP to the B. licheniformis tagatose-specific Enzyme II in E. coli is inefficient. The capability of the PTS general cytoplasmic components of B. subtilis, HPr and Enzyme I to restore the phosphate transfer is demonstrated. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Global tracking and inventory of military hardware via LEO satellite: A system approach and likely scenario

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, David; Estabrook, Polly; Romer, Richard

1995-01-01

A system for global inventory control of electronically tagged military hardware is achievable using a LEO satellite constellation. An equipment Tag can communicate directly to the satellite with a power of 5 watts or less at a data rate of 2400 to 50,000 bps. As examples, two proposed commercial LEO systems, IRIDIUM and ORBCOMM, are both capable of providing global coverage but with dramatically different telecom capacities. Investigation of these two LEO systems as applied to the Tag scenario provides insight into satellite design trade-offs, constellation trade-offs and signal dynamics that effect the performance of a satellite-based global inventory control system.

Partial entrainment of gravel bars during floods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Konrad, Christopher P.; Booth, Derek B.; Burges, Stephen J.; Montgomery, David R.

2002-01-01

Spatial patterns of bed material entrainment by floods were documented at seven gravel bars using arrays of metal washers (bed tags) placed in the streambed. The observed patterns were used to test a general stochastic model that bed material entrainment is a spatially independent, random process where the probability of entrainment is uniform over a gravel bar and a function of the peak dimensionless shear stress τ0* of the flood. The fraction of tags missing from a gravel bar during a flood, or partial entrainment, had an approximately normal distribution with respect to τ0* with a mean value (50% of the tags entrained) of 0.085 and standard deviation of 0.022 (root‐mean‐square error of 0.09). Variation in partial entrainment for a given τ0* demonstrated the effects of flow conditioning on bed strength, with lower values of partial entrainment after intermediate magnitude floods (0.065 < τ0*< 0.08) than after higher magnitude floods. Although the probability of bed material entrainment was approximately uniform over a gravel bar during individual floods and independent from flood to flood, regions of preferential stability and instability emerged at some bars over the course of a wet season. Deviations from spatially uniform and independent bed material entrainment were most pronounced for reaches with varied flow and in consecutive floods with small to intermediate magnitudes.

Performance Assessment of Bi-Directional Knotless Tissue-Closure Devices in Juvenile Chinook Salmon Surgically Implanted with Acoustic Transmitters, 2009 - Final Report

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

Woodley, Christa M.; Wagner, Katie A.; Bryson, Amanda J.

2012-11-09

The purpose of this report is to assess the performance of bi-directional knotless tissue-closure devices for use in tagging juvenile salmon. This study is part of an ongoing effort at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to reduce unwanted effects of tags and tagging procedures on the survival and behavior of juvenile salmonids, by assessing and refining suturing techniques, suture materials, and tag burdens. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of the knotless (barbed) suture, using three different suture patterns (treatments: 6-point, Wide “N”, Wide “N” Knot), to the current method of suturing (MonocrylTM monofilament, discontinuous suturesmore » with a 2×2×2×2 knot) used in monitoring and research programs with a novel antiseptic barrier on the wound (“Second Skin”).« less

The Automatic Integration of Folksonomies with Taxonomies Using Non-axiomatic Logic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geldart, Joe; Cummins, Stephen

Cooperative tagging systems such as folksonomies are powerful tools when used to annotate information resources. The inherent power of folksonomies is in their ability to allow casual users to easily contribute ad hoc, yet meaningful, resource metadata without any specialist training. Older folksonomies have begun to degrade due to the lack of internal structure and from the use of many low quality tags. This chapter describes a remedy for some of the problems associated with folksonomies. We introduce a method of automatic integration and inference of the relationships between tags and resources in a folksonomy using non-axiomatic logic. We test this method on the CiteULike corpus of tags by comparing precision and recall between it and standard keyword search. Our results show that non-axiomatic reasoning is a promising technique for integrating tagging systems with more structured knowledge representations.

Development of a novel marking system for laparoscopic gastrectomy using endoclips with radio frequency identification tags: feasibility study in a canine model.

PubMed

Kojima, Fumitsugu; Sato, Toshihiko; Tsunoda, Shigeru; Takahata, Hiromi; Hamaji, Masatsugu; Komatsu, Teruya; Okada, Minoru; Sugiura, Tadao; Oshiro, Osamu; Sakai, Yoshiharu; Date, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Tatsuo

2014-09-01

Intraoperative identification of early gastric cancer is difficult to conduct during laparoscopic procedures. In this study, we investigated the feasibility and accuracy of a newly developed marking system using endoclips with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in a canine model. RFID is a wireless near field communication technology. Among the open frequency bands available for medical use, 13.56 MHz is suitable for a surgical marking system because of the similar and linear signal decay both in air and in biological tissues. The proposed system consists of four parts: (a) endoclips with RFID tags, (b) endo-clip applier equipment, (c) laparoscopic locating probe, and (d) signal processing units with audio interface. In the experimental setting using canine models, RFID-tagged endoclips were applied to the mucosa of each dog's stomach. During the subsequent operation, the clips with RFID tags placed in five dogs were located by the detection of the RFID signal from the tag (RFID group), and the conventional clips in the other six dogs were located by finger palpation (FP group). The detected sites were marked by ablation on the serosal surface. Distance between the clips and the metal pin needles indicating ablated sites were measured with X-ray radiographs of the resected specimen. All clips were successfully detected by the marking system in the RFID group (10/10) and by finger palpation in the FP group (17/17). The medians of detection times were 31.5 and 25.0 s, respectively; the distances were 5.63 and 7.62 mm, respectively. The differences were not statistically significant. No adverse event related to the procedures was observed. Endoclips with RFID tags were located by our novel marking system in an experimental laparoscopic setting using canine stomachs with substantial accuracy comparable to conventional endoclips located by finger palpation through an open approach.

Optimal Detection Range of RFID Tag for RFID-based Positioning System Using the k-NN Algorithm.

PubMed

Han, Soohee; Kim, Junghwan; Park, Choung-Hwan; Yoon, Hee-Cheon; Heo, Joon

2009-01-01

Positioning technology to track a moving object is an important and essential component of ubiquitous computing environments and applications. An RFID-based positioning system using the k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) algorithm can determine the position of a moving reader from observed reference data. In this study, the optimal detection range of an RFID-based positioning system was determined on the principle that tag spacing can be derived from the detection range. It was assumed that reference tags without signal strength information are regularly distributed in 1-, 2- and 3-dimensional spaces. The optimal detection range was determined, through analytical and numerical approaches, to be 125% of the tag-spacing distance in 1-dimensional space. Through numerical approaches, the range was 134% in 2-dimensional space, 143% in 3-dimensional space.

In vivo phosphorylation of a peptide tag for protein purification.

PubMed

Goux, Marine; Fateh, Amina; Defontaine, Alain; Cinier, Mathieu; Tellier, Charles

2016-05-01

To design a new system for the in vivo phosphorylation of proteins in Escherichia coli using the co-expression of the α-subunit of casein kinase II (CKIIα) and a target protein, (Nanofitin) fused with a phosphorylatable tag. The level of the co-expressed CKIIα was controlled by the arabinose promoter and optimal phosphorylation was obtained with 2 % (w/v) arabinose as inductor. The effectiveness of the phosphorylation system was demonstrated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (NUT-PAGE) and staining with a specific phosphoprotein-staining gel. The resulting phosphorylated tag was also used to purify the phosphoprotein by immobilized metal affinity chromatography, which relies on the specific interaction of phosphate moieties with Fe(III). The use of a single tag for both the purification and protein array anchoring provides a simple and straightforward system for protein analysis.

SRNL Tagging and Tracking Video

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

None

SRNL generates a next generation satellite base tracking system. The tagging and tracking system can work in remote wilderness areas, inside buildings, underground and other areas not well served by traditional GPS. It’s a perfect response to customer needs and market demand.

Surface Acoustic Wave Tag-Based Coherence Multiplexing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngquist, Robert C. (Inventor); Malocha, Donald (Inventor); Saldanha, Nancy (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A surface acoustic wave (SAW)-based coherence multiplexing system includes SAW tags each including a SAW transducer, a first SAW reflector positioned a first distance from the SAW transducer and a second SAW reflector positioned a second distance from the SAW transducer. A transceiver including a wireless transmitter has a signal source providing a source signal and circuitry for transmitting interrogation pulses including a first and a second interrogation pulse toward the SAW tags, and a wireless receiver for receiving and processing response signals from the SAW tags. The receiver receives scrambled signals including a convolution of the wideband interrogation pulses with response signals from the SAW tags and includes a computing device which implements an algorithm that correlates the interrogation pulses or the source signal before transmitting against the scrambled signals to generate tag responses for each of the SAW tags.

A New Aloha Anti-Collision Algorithm Based on CDMA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Enjian; Feng, Zhu

The tags' collision is a common problem in RFID (radio frequency identification) system. The problem has affected the integrity of the data transmission during the process of communication in the RFID system. Based on analysis of the existing anti-collision algorithm, a novel anti-collision algorithm is presented. The new algorithm combines the group dynamic frame slotted Aloha algorithm with code division multiple access technology. The algorithm can effectively reduce the collision probability between tags. Under the same number of tags, the algorithm is effective in reducing the reader recognition time and improve overall system throughput rate.

Batch affinity adsorption of His-tagged proteins with EDTA-based chitosan.

PubMed

Hua, Weiwei; Lou, Yimin; Xu, Weiyuan; Cheng, Zhixian; Gong, Xingwen; Huang, Jianying

2016-01-01

Affinity adsorption purification of hexahistidine-tagged (His-tagged) proteins using EDTA-chitosan-based adsorption was designed and carried out. Chitosan was elaborated with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and the resulting polymer was characterized by FTIR, TGA, and TEM. Different metals including Ni(2+), Cu(2+), and Zn(2+) were immobilized with EDTA-chitosan, and their capability to the specific adsorption of His-tagged proteins were then investigated. The results showed that Ni(2+)-EDTA-chitosan and Zn(2+)-EDTA-chitosan had high affinity toward the His-tagged proteins, thus isolating them from protein mixture. The target fluorescent-labeled hexahistidine protein remained its fluorescent characteristic throughout the purification procedure when Zn(2+)-EDTA-chitosan was used as a sorbent, wherein the real-time monitor was performed to examine the immigration of fluorescent-labeled His-tagged protein. Comparatively, Zn(2+)-EDTA-chitosan showed more specific binding ability for the target protein, but with less binding capacity. It was further proved that this purification system could be recovered and reused at least for 5 times and could run on large scales. The presented M(2+)-EDTA-chitosan system, with the capability to specifically bind His-tagged proteins, make the purification of His-tagged proteins easy to handle, leaving out fussy preliminary treatment, and with the possibility of continuous processing and a reduction in operational cost in relation to the costs of conventional processes.

Investigation of Using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) System for Gear Tooth Crack Detection

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

periphery of the gear to form a loop. Power for the tag is transmitted wirelessly via a RFID reader , which also acts as a receiver. Detection occurs... RFID usually refers to a whole system, which consist of three main parts: RFID tag, RFID reader , and a computer. Figure 1 shows a basic schematic...UNCLASSIFIED DSTO-TR-2983 UNCLASSIFIED 2 breaks the modified wire connection, the RFID tag will stop transmitting to the RFID reader and the crack will be

Improving Attachments of Remotely-Deployed Dorsal Fin-Mounted Tags: Tissue Structure, Hydrodynamics, In Situ Performance, and Tagged-Animal Follow-Up

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-30

in situ performance of our current attachment devices and then design and test improved retention systems 4. Conduct follow-up studies of tagged... retention system operates when first implanted, we do not fully understand the mechanics in a living fin. Therefore, we will use non-invasive imaging of...carcass tissue to determine how the retention elements behave in situ. These results, along with those from the analysis of dorsal fin histology

Studies with an immobilized metal affinity chromatography cassette system involving binuclear triazacyclononane-derived ligands: automation of batch adsorption measurements with tagged recombinant proteins.

PubMed

Petzold, Martin; Coghlan, Campbell J; Hearn, Milton T W

2014-07-18

This study describes the determination of the adsorption isotherms and binding kinetics of tagged recombinant proteins using a recently developed IMAC cassette system and employing automated robotic liquid handling procedures for IMAC resin screening. These results confirm that these new IMAC resins, generated from a variety of different metal-charged binuclear 1,4,7-triaza-cyclononane (tacn) ligands, interact with recombinant proteins containing a novel N-terminal metal binding tag, NT1A, with static binding capacities similar to those obtained with conventional hexa-His tagged proteins, but with significantly increased association constants. In addition, higher kinetic binding rates were observed with these new IMAC systems, an attribute that can be positively exploited to increase process productivity. The results from this investigation demonstrate that enhancements in binding capacities and affinities were achieved with these new IMAC resins and chosen NT1A tagged protein. Further, differences in the binding performances of the bis(tacn) xylenyl-bridged ligands were consistent with the distance between the metal binding centres of the two tacn moieties, the flexibility of the ligand and the potential contribution from the aromatic ring of the xylenyl group to undergo π/π stacking interactions with the tagged proteins. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

HapMap tagSNP transferability in multiple populations: general guidelines

PubMed Central

Xing, Jinchuan; Witherspoon, David J.; Watkins, W. Scott; Zhang, Yuhua; Tolpinrud, Whitney; Jorde, Lynn B.

2008-01-01

This PDF receipt will only be used as the basis for generating PubMed Central (PMC) documents. PMC documents will be made available for review after conversion (approx. 2–3 weeks time). Any corrections that need to be made will be done at that time. No materials will be released to PMC without the approval of an author. Only the PMC documents will appear on PubMed Central -- this PDF Receipt will not appear on PubMed Central. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) has received much recent attention because of its value in localizing disease-causing genes. Due to the extensive LD between neighboring loci in the human genome, it is believed that a subset of the single nucleotide polymorphisms in a region (tagSNPs) can be selected to capture most of the remaining SNP variants. In this study, we examined LD patterns and HapMap tagSNP transferability in more than 300 individuals. A South Indian and an African Mbuti Pygmy population sample were included to evaluate the performance of HapMap tagSNPs in geographically distinct and genetically isolated populations. Our results show that HapMap tagSNPs selected with r2 >= 0.8 can capture more than 85% of the SNPs in populations that are from the same continental group. Combined tagSNPs from HapMap CEU and CHB+JPT serve as the best reference for the Indian sample. The HapMap YRI are a sufficient reference for tagSNP selection in the Pygmy sample. In addition to our findings, we reviewed over 25 recent studies of tagSNP transferability and propose a general guideline for selecting tagSNPs from HapMap populations. PMID:18482828

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

Dowla, F

Long-range, ultra-wideband (UWB), passive radio frequency (RF) tags are key components in Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) system that will revolutionize inventory control and tracking applications. Unlike conventional, battery-operated (active) RFID tags, LLNL's small UWB tags, called 'UTag', operate at long range (up to 20 meters) in harsh, cluttered environments. Because they are battery-less (that is, passive), they have practically infinite lifetimes without human intervention, and they are lower in cost to manufacture and maintain than active RFID tags. These robust, energy-efficient passive tags are remotely powered by UWB radio signals, which are much more difficult to detect, intercept, and jammore » than conventional narrowband frequencies. The features of long range, battery-less, and low cost give UTag significant advantage over other existing RFID tags.« less

LS Channel Estimation and Signal Separation for UHF RFID Tag Collision Recovery on the Physical Layer.

PubMed

Duan, Hanjun; Wu, Haifeng; Zeng, Yu; Chen, Yuebin

2016-03-26

In a passive ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio-frequency identification (RFID) system, tag collision is generally resolved on a medium access control (MAC) layer. However, some of collided tag signals could be recovered on a physical (PHY) layer and, thus, enhance the identification efficiency of the RFID system. For the recovery on the PHY layer, channel estimation is a critical issue. Good channel estimation will help to recover the collided signals. Existing channel estimates work well for two collided tags. When the number of collided tags is beyond two, however, the existing estimates have more estimation errors. In this paper, we propose a novel channel estimate for the UHF RFID system. It adopts an orthogonal matrix based on the information of preambles which is known for a reader and applies a minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE) criterion to estimate channels. From the estimated channel, we could accurately separate the collided signals and recover them. By means of numerical results, we show that the proposed estimate has lower estimation errors and higher separation efficiency than the existing estimates.

48 CFR 952.208-7 - Tagging of leased vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Tagging of leased vehicles... leased vehicles. As prescribed in 908.1104, insert the following clause when leasing commercial vehicles for periods in excess of 60 days: Tagging of Leased Vehicles (APR 1984) (a) DOE intends to use U.S...

48 CFR 952.208-7 - Tagging of leased vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Tagging of leased vehicles... leased vehicles. As prescribed in 908.1104, insert the following clause when leasing commercial vehicles for periods in excess of 60 days: Tagging of Leased Vehicles (APR 1984) (a) DOE intends to use U.S...

Delivery and application of precise timing for a traveling wave powerline fault locator system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Street, Michael A.

1990-01-01

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has successfully operated an in-house developed powerline fault locator system since 1986. The BPA fault locator system consists of remotes installed at cardinal power transmission line system nodes and a central master which polls the remotes for traveling wave time-of-arrival data. A power line fault produces a fast rise-time traveling wave which emanates from the fault point and propagates throughout the power grid. The remotes time-tag the traveling wave leading edge as it passes through the power system cardinal substation nodes. A synchronizing pulse transmitted via the BPA analog microwave system on a wideband channel sychronizes the time-tagging counters in the remote units to a different accuracy of better than one microsecond. The remote units correct the raw time tags for synchronizing pulse propagation delay and return these corrected values to the fault locator master. The master then calculates the power system disturbance source using the collected time tags. The system design objective is a fault location accuracy of 300 meters. BPA's fault locator system operation, error producing phenomena, and method of distributing precise timing are described.

Comparative Performance of Acoustic-tagged and PIT-tagged Juvenile Salmonids

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

Hockersmith, Eric E.; Brown, Richard S.; Liedtke, Theresa L.

2008-02-01

Numerous research tools and technologies are currently being used to evaluate fish passage and survival to determine the impacts of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) on endangered and threatened juvenile salmonids, including PIT tags, balloon tags, hydroacoustic evaluations, radio telemetry, and acoustic telemetry. Each has advantages and disadvantages, but options are restricted in some situations because of limited capabilities of a specific technology, lack of detection capability downstream, or availability of adequate numbers of fish. However, there remains concern about the comparative effects of the tag or the tagging procedure on fish performance. The recently developed Juvenile Salmonidmore » Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) acoustic transmitter is the smallest active acoustic tag currently available. The goal of this study was to determine whether fish tagged with the JSATS acoustic-telemetry tag can provide unbiased estimates of passage behavior and survival within the performance life of the tag. We conducted both field and laboratory studies to assess tag effects. For the field evaluation we released a total of 996 acoustic-tagged fish in conjunction with 21,026 PIT-tagged fish into the tailrace of Lower Granite Dam on 6 and 13 May. Travel times between release and downstream dams were not significantly different for the majority of the reaches between acoustic-tagged and PIT-tagged fish. In addition to the field evaluation, a series of laboratory experiments were conducted to determine if growth and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon surgically implanted with acoustic transmitters is different than untagged or PIT tagged juvenile Chinook salmon. Only yearling fish with integrated and non-integrated transmitters experienced mortalities, and these were low (<4.5%). Mortality among sub-yearling control and PIT-tag treatments ranged up to 7.7% while integrated and non-integrated treatments had slightly higher rates (up to 8.3% and 7.9% respectively). No acoustic transmitters were shed by yearling fish during the course of the 90 day study. Up to 7.8% of subyearling fish expelled transmitters. Tags were expelled from 5 to 63 days post-surgery. The average time to expulsion was 27 days; few fish expelled transmitters within 14 days of implantation or less. Histological results suggest that inflammation associated with implantation of an acoustic transmitter can produce fibrous tissue which can invade and possibly damage internal organs soon after implantation. Reactions severe enough to damage organs however, were limited to only ~20% of subyearling Chinook salmon, all of which were under 101mm and 12g at tagging. The infiltration of the fibrous tissue into organs was observed most often in fish held for 21 days and appeared to decrease in subsequent holding times.« less

Comparison of visual and electronic devices for individual identification of dromedary camels under different farming conditions.

PubMed

Caja, G; Díaz-Medina, E; Salama, A A K; Salama, O A E; El-Shafie, M H; El-Metwaly, H A; Ayadi, M; Aljumaah, R S; Alshaikh, M A; Yahyahoui, M H; Seddik, M M; Hammadi, M; Khorchani, T; Amann, O; Cabrera, S

2016-08-01

The camel industry uses traditional (i.e., iron brands and ear tags) and modern (i.e., microchips) identification (ID) systems without having performance results of reference. Previously iron-branded ( = 45; 1 yr) and microchipped ( = 59; 7 yr) camels showed problems of healing (8.6% of brands) and reading (only 42.9% of brands and 69.5% of microchips were readable), which made their use inadvisable. With the aim of proposing suitable ID systems for different farming conditions, an on-field study was performed using a total of 528 dromedaries at 4 different locations (Egypt, = 83; Spain, = 304; Saudi Arabia, = 90; and Tunisia, = 51). The ID devices tested were visual (button ear tags, 28.5 mm diameter, = 178; double flag ear tags, 50 by 15 mm, = 83; both made of polyurethane) and electronic (ear tags, = 90, and rumen boluses, = 555). Electronic ear tags were polyurethane-loop type (75 by 9 mm) with a container in which a 22-mm transponder of full-duplex technology was lodged. Electronic boluses of 7 types, varying in dimensions (50 to 76 mm length, 11 to 21 mm width, and 12.7 to 82.1 g weight) and specific gravity (SG; 1.49 to 3.86) and each of them containing a 31-mm transponder of half-duplex technology, were all administered to the dromedaries at the beginning of the study. When a low-SG bolus was lost, a high-SG bolus was readministered. Readability rates of each ID system were evaluated during 1 to 3 yr, according to device and location, and yearly values were estimated for comparison. On a yearly basis, visual ear tag readability was not fully satisfactory; it was lower for rectangular ear tags (66.3%) than for button ear tags (80.9%). Yearly readability of electronic ear tags was 93.7%. Bolus readability dramatically varied according to their SG; the SG < 2.0 boluses were fully lost after 8 mo. In contrast, the SG > 3.0 boluses were efficiently retained (99.6 to 100%) at all locations. In conclusion, according to the expected long lifespan of camels, low ID performances were observed for iron brands, injectable microchips, and ear tags (visual and electronic), making their use inadvisable as unique ID systems in camels. The high readability of dense electronic boluses recommended their use as a permanent ID device of reference in camels.

HPLC separation of triacylglycerol positional isomers on a polymeric ODS column.

PubMed

Kuroda, Ikuma; Nagai, Toshiharu; Mizobe, Hoyo; Yoshimura, Nobuhito; Gotoh, Naohiro; Wada, Shun

2008-07-01

A polymeric ODS column was applied to the resolution of triacylglycerol positional isomers (TAG-PI), i.e. 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl-glycerol (OPO) and 1,2-dioleoyl-3-palmitoyl-rac-glycerol (OOP), with a recycle HPLC system. To investigate the ODS column species and the column temperatures for the resolution of a TAG-PI pair, a mixture of OPO and OOP was subjected to an HPLC system equipped with a non-endcapped polymeric, endcapped monomeric, endcapped intermediate, or non-endcapped monomeric ODS column at three different column temperatures (40, 25, or 10 degrees C). Only the non-endcapped polymeric ODS column achieved the separation of OPO and OOP, and the lowest column temperature (10 degrees C) showed the best resolution for them. The other pair of TAG-PI, a mixture of 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (POP) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-3-oleoyl-rac-glycerol (PPO) was also subjected to the system equipped with a non-endcapped polymeric or monomeric ODS column at five different column temperatures (40, 32, 25, 17, and 10 degrees C). Thus, POP and PPO were also separated on only the non-endcapped polymeric ODS column at 25 degrees C. However, no clear peak appeared at 10 degrees C. These results would indicate that the polymeric ODS stationary phase has an ability to recognize the structural differences between TAG-PI pairs. Also, the column temperature is a very important factor for separating the TAG-PI pair, and the optimal temperature would relate to the solubility of TAG-PI in the mobile phase. Furthermore, the recycle HPLC system provided measurements for the separation and analysis of TAG-PI pairs.

SRNL Tagging and Tracking Video

ScienceCinema

None

2018-01-16

SRNL generates a next generation satellite base tracking system. The tagging and tracking system can work in remote wilderness areas, inside buildings, underground and other areas not well served by traditional GPS. It’s a perfect response to customer needs and market demand.

A Framework for Sediment Particle Tracking via Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsakiris, Achilleas; Papanicolaou, Thanos; Abban, Benjamin

2016-04-01

The study of sedimentary and morphodynamic processes in riverine environments has recently been shifting from the traditional Eulerian, static perspective to a Lagrangian perspective, which considers the movement characteristics of the individual transported particles, such as their travel and resting distance and time. The Lagrangian framework, in turn allows to better study processes such as bedload particle diffusion, erosion and deposition within a river reach, to more accurately predict bedload fluxes especially through the use of stochastic Discrete Particle models. A technology that goes hand-in-hand with this Lagrangian perspective is Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID), which has been recently applied for tracking the movement of tagged sediment particles within the river continuum. RFID allows the wireless, bidirectional exchange of information between a base station, known as the reader, with a typically large number of transponders (or tags) via an (excitation) antenna. RFID allows essentially the unique, wireless detection and identification of a transponder over a distance. The goal of this study is to further enhance the utility of RFID in riverine applications by developing a framework that allows extracting the 3D location of RFID tagged sediment particles in nearly real-time. To address the goal of this coupled theoretical and experimental study, a semi-theoretical approach based on antenna inductive coupling was combined with experimental measurements for developing a relationship that provides an estimate of the distance between a tagged particle and the antenna using the Return Signal Strength Indication (RSSI). The RSSI quantifies the magnetic energy transmitted from the transponder to the antenna. The RFID system used in this study was a passive, Low-Frequency (LF) system, which ensured that the LF radio waves could penetrate through the river bed material. The RSSI of the signal transmitted from each transponder was measured with an oscilloscope during a set of experiments, where the distance and angle of transponders placed in various media (e.g., water, sand and gravel) representative of river beds were systematically varied. The measurements were used to validate a semi-theoretical relationship that yields the RSSI as a function of the distance and orientation between the transponder axis and the antenna loop plane as well as the type of medium surrounding the transponder. The derived semi-theoretical relationship provides a kernel for developing a real-time, 3D tracking system for RFID tagged particles. In doing so, future work aims to further enhance the RFID reader, in order to support multiple antennas. This enhancement will allow estimating the tagged particle coordinates by supplying the distances to each antenna evaluated from the RSSI measurements to a triangulation algorithm.

Dynamic optical tags

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griggs, Steven P.; Mark, Martin B.; Feldman, Barry J.

2004-07-01

The goal of the DARPA Dynamic Optical Tags (DOTs) program is to develop a small, robust, persistent, 2-way tagging, tracking and locating device that also supports communications at data rates greater than 100 kbps and can be interrogated at significant range. These tags will allow for two-way data exchange and tagging operations in friendly and denied areas. The DOTs will be passive and non-RF. To accomplish this, the DOTs program will develop small, thin, retro-reflecting modulators. The tags will operate for long periods of time (greater than two months) in real-world environmental conditions (-40° to +70° C) and allow for a wide interrogation angle (+/-60°). The tags will be passive (in the sleep mode) for most of the time and only become active when interrogated by a laser with the correct code. Once correctly interrogated, the tags will begin to modulate and retro-reflect the incoming beam. The program will also develop two tag specific transceiver systems that are eye-safe, employ automated scanning algorithms, and are capable of short search and interrogate times.

Structural characterization of acylimine-containing blue and red chromophores in mTagBFP and TagRFP fluorescent proteins.

PubMed

Subach, Oksana M; Malashkevich, Vladimir N; Zencheck, Wendy D; Morozova, Kateryna S; Piatkevich, Kiryl D; Almo, Steven C; Verkhusha, Vladislav V

2010-04-23

We determined the 2.2 A crystal structures of the red fluorescent protein TagRFP and its derivative, the blue fluorescent protein mTagBFP. The crystallographic analysis is consistent with a model in which TagRFP has the trans coplanar anionic chromophore with the conjugated pi-electron system, similar to that of DsRed-like chromophores. Refined conformation of mTagBFP suggests the presence of an N-acylimine functionality in its chromophore and single C(alpha)-C(beta) bond in the Tyr64 side chain. Mass spectrum of mTagBFP chromophore-bearing peptide indicates a loss of 20 Da upon maturation, whereas tandem mass spectrometry reveals that the C(alpha)-N bond in Leu63 is oxidized. These data indicate that mTagBFP has a new type of the chromophore, N-[(5-hydroxy-1H-imidazole-2-yl)methylidene]acetamide. We propose a chemical mechanism in which the DsRed-like chromophore is formed via the mTagBFP-like blue intermediate. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing gas tags

DOEpatents

Gross, K.C.; Laug, M.T.

1996-12-17

For use in the manufacture of gas tags employed in a gas tagging failure detection system for a nuclear reactor, a plurality of commercial feed gases each having a respective noble gas isotopic composition are blended under computer control to provide various tag gas mixtures having selected isotopic ratios which are optimized for specified defined conditions such as cost. Using a new approach employing a discrete variable structure rather than the known continuous-variable optimization problem, the computer controlled gas tag manufacturing process employs an analytical formalism from condensed matter physics known as stochastic relaxation, which is a special case of simulated annealing, for input feed gas selection. For a tag blending process involving M tag isotopes with N distinct feed gas mixtures commercially available from an enriched gas supplier, the manufacturing process calculates the cost difference between multiple combinations and specifies gas mixtures which approach the optimum defined conditions. The manufacturing process is then used to control tag blending apparatus incorporating tag gas canisters connected by stainless-steel tubing with computer controlled valves, with the canisters automatically filled with metered quantities of the required feed gases. 4 figs.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing gas tags

DOEpatents

Gross, Kenny C.; Laug, Matthew T.

1996-01-01

For use in the manufacture of gas tags employed in a gas tagging failure detection system for a nuclear reactor, a plurality of commercial feed gases each having a respective noble gas isotopic composition are blended under computer control to provide various tag gas mixtures having selected isotopic ratios which are optimized for specified defined conditions such as cost. Using a new approach employing a discrete variable structure rather than the known continuous-variable optimization problem, the computer controlled gas tag manufacturing process employs an analytical formalism from condensed matter physics known as stochastic relaxation, which is a special case of simulated annealing, for input feed gas selection. For a tag blending process involving M tag isotopes with N distinct feed gas mixtures commercially available from an enriched gas supplier, the manufacturing process calculates the cost difference between multiple combinations and specifies gas mixtures which approach the optimum defined conditions. The manufacturing process is then used to control tag blending apparatus incorporating tag gas canisters connected by stainless-steel tubing with computer controlled valves, with the canisters automatically filled with metered quantities of the required feed gases.

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

Nekoogar, Faranak; Reynolds, Matthew; Lefton, Scott

A secure optionally passive RFID tag or sensor system comprises a passive RFID tag having means for receiving radio signals from at least one base station and for transmitting radio signals to at least one base station, where the tag is capable of being powered exclusively by received radio energy, and an external power and data logging device having at least one battery and electronic circuitry including a digital memory configured for storing and recalling data. The external power and data logging device has a means for powering the tag, and also has a means.

Marine asset security and tracking (MAST) system

DOEpatents

Hanson, Gregory Richard [Clinton, TN; Smith, Stephen Fulton [Loudon, TN; Moore, Michael Roy [Corryton, TN; Dobson, Eric Lesley [Charleston, SC; Blair, Jeffrey Scott [Charleston, SC; Duncan, Christopher Allen [Marietta, GA; Lenarduzzi, Roberto [Knoxville, TN

2008-07-01

Methods and apparatus are described for marine asset security and tracking (MAST). A method includes transmitting identification data, location data and environmental state sensor data from a radio frequency tag. An apparatus includes a radio frequency tag that transmits identification data, location data and environmental state sensor data. Another method includes transmitting identification data and location data from a radio frequency tag using hybrid spread-spectrum modulation. Another apparatus includes a radio frequency tag that transmits both identification data and location data using hybrid spread-spectrum modulation.

Understanding Apex Predator and Pelagic Fish Habitat Utilization in the California Current System by Integrating Animal Tracking with in situ Oceanographic Observations

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

species studied in our research program, we have chosen to highlight the results of tagging studies on the bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis), which has...been extensively tagged and has been found to heavily rely on the CCS. Building on the tracking studies of migrating Pacific bluefin tuna along the...consistently attract large numbers of Pacific bluefin tuna during spring and summer seasons. Integrating track data from archival tags with tag

Raft and floating radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna systems for detecting and estimating abundance of PIT-tagged fish in rivers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fetherman, Eric R.; Avila, Brian W.; Winkelman, Dana L.

2016-01-01

Portable radio frequency identification (RFID) PIT tag antenna systems are increasingly being used in studies examining aquatic animal movement, survival, and habitat use, and their design flexibility permits application in a wide variety of settings. We describe the construction, use, and performance of two portable floating RFID PIT tag antenna systems designed to detect fish that were unavailable for recapture using stationary antennas or electrofishing. A raft antenna system was designed to detect and locate PIT-tagged fish in relatively long (i.e., ≥10 km) river reaches, and consisted of two antennas: (1) a horizontal antenna (4 × 1.2 m) installed on the bottom of the raft and used to detect fish in shallower river reaches (<1 m), and (2) a vertical antenna (2.7 × 1.2 m) for detecting fish in deeper pools (≥1 m). Detection distances of the horizontal antenna were between 0.7 and 1.0 m, and detection probability was 0.32 ± 0.02 (mean ± SE) in a field test using rocks marked with 32-mm PIT tags. Detection probability of PIT-tagged fish in the Cache la Poudre River, Colorado, using the raft antenna system, which covered 21% of the wetted area, was 0.14 ± 0.14. A shore-deployed floating antenna (14.6 × 0.6 m), which covered 100% of the wetted area, was designed for use by two operators for detecting and locating PIT-tagged fish in shorter (i.e., <2 km) river reaches. Detection distances of the shore-deployed floating antenna were between 0.7 and 0.8 m, and detection probabilities during field deployment in the St. Vrain River exceeded 0.52. The shore-deployed floating antenna was also used to estimate abundance of PIT-tagged fish. Results suggest that the shore-deployed floating antenna could be used as an alternative to estimating abundance using traditional sampling methods such as electrofishing.

Exploring personalized searches using tag-based user profiles and resource profiles in folksonomy.

PubMed

Cai, Yi; Li, Qing; Xie, Haoran; Min, Huaqin

2014-10-01

With the increase in resource-sharing websites such as YouTube and Flickr, many shared resources have arisen on the Web. Personalized searches have become more important and challenging since users demand higher retrieval quality. To achieve this goal, personalized searches need to take users' personalized profiles and information needs into consideration. Collaborative tagging (also known as folksonomy) systems allow users to annotate resources with their own tags, which provides a simple but powerful way for organizing, retrieving and sharing different types of social resources. In this article, we examine the limitations of previous tag-based personalized searches. To handle these limitations, we propose a new method to model user profiles and resource profiles in collaborative tagging systems. We use a normalized term frequency to indicate the preference degree of a user on a tag. A novel search method using such profiles of users and resources is proposed to facilitate the desired personalization in resource searches. In our framework, instead of the keyword matching or similarity measurement used in previous works, the relevance measurement between a resource and a user query (termed the query relevance) is treated as a fuzzy satisfaction problem of a user's query requirements. We implement a prototype system called the Folksonomy-based Multimedia Retrieval System (FMRS). Experiments using the FMRS data set and the MovieLens data set show that our proposed method outperforms baseline methods. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance of Encounternet Tags: Field Tests of Miniaturized Proximity Loggers for Use on Small Birds

PubMed Central

Levin, Iris I.; Zonana, David M.; Burt, John M.; Safran, Rebecca J.

2015-01-01

Proximity logging is a new tool for understanding social behavior as it allows for accurate quantification of social networks. We report results from field calibration and deployment tests of miniaturized proximity tags (Encounternet), digital transceivers that log encounters between tagged individuals. We examined radio signal behavior in relation to tag attachment (tag, tag on bird, tag on saline-filled balloon) to understand how radio signal strength is affected by the tag mounting technique used for calibration tests. We investigated inter-tag and inter-receiver station variability, and in each calibration test we accounted for the effects of antennae orientation. Additionally, we used data from a live deployment on breeding barn swallows (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster) to analyze the quality of the logs, including reciprocal agreement in dyadic logs. We evaluated the impact (in terms of mass changes) of tag attachment on the birds. We were able to statistically distinguish between RSSI values associated with different close-proximity (<5m) tag-tag distances regardless of antennae orientation. Inter-tag variability was low, but we did find significant inter-receiver station variability. Reciprocal agreement of dyadic logs was high and social networks were constructed from proximity tag logs based on two different RSSI thresholds. There was no evidence of significant mass loss in the time birds were wearing tags. We conclude that proximity loggers are accurate and effective for quantifying social behavior. However, because RSSI and distance cannot be perfectly resolved, data from proximity loggers are most appropriate for comparing networks based on specific RSSI thresholds. The Encounternet system is flexible and customizable, and tags are now light enough for use on small animals (<50g). PMID:26348329

Retention and effects of miniature transmitters in juvenile American eels

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

Mueller, Robert P.; Janak, Jill; Liss, Stephanie A.

This study was conducted to assess the effects of a non-functional acoustic micro transmitter (tag) on survival, tag loss, and swimming ability of juvenile American eels (Anguilla rostrata). The transmitter was designed for implantation through a < 3 mm opening into the body cavity of anguilliform fishes without the need for sutures. American eels used for the swimming performance study were 113–175 mm (N = 120). There were two treatment groups (tagged and non-tagged), each treatment was split into six size groups of 10 mm for testing. Potential transmitter effects on swimming performance were examined by comparing critical swimming speedsmore » (Ucrit an index of prolonged swimming performance) for tagged and non-tagged eels. There was no significant difference in Ucrit between tagged and non-tagged eels for all of the size groups tested. Median Ucrits for tagged eels ranged from 50.2 cm/s for the smallest group tested (113–119 mm) to 63.9 cm/s for fish 141–150 mm in length. Non-tagged group median Ucrits ranged from 47.2 cm/s for the smallest group to 66.9 cm/s for the 141–150 mm group. An additional 26 eels (115–208 mm) were tagged and held for 38 d (without undergoing swimming performance tests) to determine the effects on survival and tag loss. There was no mortality during the holding period and the majority of the tag loss occurred after 20 days post-tagging, which is the current projected life of the tag. Our results indicate that micro acoustic tags can be successfully implanted in juvenile American eels with no apparent impacts to swimming ability, and would be a viable option for examining eel movement patterns in river systems and near hydroelectric facilities.« less

Real Time Wide Area Radiation Surveillance System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biafore, M.

2012-04-01

We present the REWARD project, financed within the FP7 programme, theme SEC-2011.1.5-1 (Development of detection capabilities of difficult to detect radioactive sources and nuclear materials - Capability Project). Within this project, we propose a novel mobile system for real time, wide area radiation surveillance. The system is based on the integration of new miniaturized solid-state radiation sensors: a CdZnTe detector for gamma radiation and a high efficiency neutron detector based on novel silicon technologies. The sensing unit will include a wireless communication interface to send the data remotely to a monitoring base station which also uses a GPS system to calculate the position of the tag. The system will also incorporate middleware and high level software to provide web-service interfaces for the exchange of information, and that will offer top level functionalities as management of users, mobile tags and environment data and alarms, database storage and management and a web-based graphical user interface. Effort will be spent to ensure that the software is modular and re-usable across as many architectural levels as possible. Finally, an expert system will continuously analyze the information from the radiation sensor and correlate it with historical data from the tag location in order to generate an alarm when an abnormal situation is detected. The system will be useful for many different scenarios, including such lost radioactive sources and radioactive contamination. It will be possible to deploy in emergency units and in general in any type of mobile or static equipment. The sensing units will be highly portable thanks to their low size and low energy consumption. The complete system will be scalable in terms of complexity and cost and will offer very high precision on both the measurement and the location of the radiation. The modularity and flexibility of the system will allow for a realistic introduction to the market. Authorities may start with a basic, low cost system and increase the complexity of it based on the latest needs and also on the budget.

Characterization of non-endcapped polymeric ODS column for the separation of triacylglycerol positional isomers.

PubMed

Gotoh, Naohiro; Matsumoto, Yumiko; Yuji, Hiromi; Nagai, Toshiharu; Mizobe, Hoyo; Ichioka, Kenji; Kuroda, Ikuma; Noguchi, Noriko; Wada, Shun

2010-01-01

The characteristics of a non-endcapped polymeric ODS column for the resolution of triacylglycerol positional isomers (TAG-PI) were examined using a recycle HPLC-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization/mass spectrometry system. A pair of TAG-PI containing saturated fatty acids at least 12 carbons was separated. Except for TAG-PI containing elaidic acid, pairs of TAG-PI containing three unsaturated fatty acids were not separated, even by recycle runs. These results indicate that the resolution of TAG-PI on a non-endcapped polymeric ODS stationary phase is realized by the recognition of the linear structure of the fatty acid and the binding position of the saturated fatty acid in TAG-PI. Chain length was also an important factor for resolution. This method may be a useful and simple for measuring the abundance ratio of TAG-PI containing saturated fatty acids in natural oils.

Crosstalk between Diverse Synthetic Protein Degradation Tags in Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Butzin, Nicholas C; Mather, William H

2018-01-19

Recently, a synthetic circuit in E. coli demonstrated that two proteins engineered with LAA tags targeted to the native protease ClpXP are susceptible to crosstalk due to competition for degradation between proteins. To understand proteolytic crosstalk beyond the single protease regime, we investigated in E. coli a set of synthetic circuits designed to probe the dynamics of existing and novel degradation tags fused to fluorescent proteins. These circuits were tested using both microplate reader and single-cell assays. We first quantified the degradation rates of each tag in isolation. We then tested if there was crosstalk between two distinguishable fluorescent proteins engineered with identical or different degradation tags. We demonstrated that proteolytic crosstalk was indeed not limited to the LAA degradation tag, but was also apparent between other diverse tags, supporting the complexity of the E. coli protein degradation system.

High-Assurance System Support through 3-D Integration

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-11-09

algorithms ), tagging, and in selected systems, offensive mecha- nisms. For example, we can exploit the control plane to tag all traffic traveling...October 2005. [35] D. Page. Theoretical use of cache memory as a cryptanalytic side-channel. Technical Report CSTR - 02-003, Department of Computer

Management of surgical instruments with radio frequency identification tags.

PubMed

Kusuda, Kaori; Yamashita, Kazuhiko; Ohnishi, Akiko; Tanaka, Kiyohito; Komino, Masaru; Honda, Hiroshi; Tanaka, Shinichi; Okubo, Takashi; Tripette, Julien; Ohta, Yuji

2016-01-01

To prevent malpractices, medical staff has adopted inventory time-outs and/or checklists. Accurate inventory and maintenance of surgical instruments decreases the risk of operating room miscounting and malfunction. In our previous study, an individual management of surgical instruments was accomplished using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a new management method of RFID-tagged instruments. The management system of RFID-tagged surgical instruments was used for 27 months in clinical areas. In total, 13 study participants assembled surgical trays in the central sterile supply department. While using the management system, trays were assembled 94 times. During this period, no assembly errors occurred. An instrument malfunction had occurred after the 19th, 56th, and 73 th uses, no malfunction caused by the RFID tags, and usage history had been recorded. Additionally, the time it took to assemble surgical trays was recorded, and the long-term usability of the management system was evaluated. The system could record the number of uses and the defective history of each surgical instrument. In addition, the history of the frequency of instruments being transferred from one tray to another was recorded. The results suggest that our system can be used to manage instruments safely. Additionally, the management system was acquired of the learning effect and the usability on daily maintenance. This finding suggests that the management system examined here ensures surgical instrument and tray assembly quality.

High-Performance Three-Stage Cascade Thermoelectric Devices with 20% Efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, B. A.; Chan, T. E.; Dezsi, G.; Thomas, P.; Koch, C. C.; Poon, J.; Tritt, T.; Venkatasubramanian, R.

2015-06-01

The use of advanced materials has resulted in a significant improvement in thermoelectric device conversion efficiency. Three-stage cascade devices were assembled, consisting of nano-bulk Bi2Te3-based materials on the cold side, PbTe and enhanced TAGS-85 [(AgSbTe2)15(GeTe)85] for the mid-stage, and half-Heusler alloys for the high-temperature top stage. In addition, an area aspect ratio optimization process was applied in order to account for asymmetric thermal transport down the individual n- and p-legs. The n- and p-type chalcogenide alloy materials were prepared by high-energy mechanical ball-milling and/or cryogenic ball-milling of elementary powders, with subsequent consolidation by high-pressure uniaxial hot-pressing. The low-temperature stage materials, nano-bulk Bi2Te3- x Sb x and Bi2Te3- x Se x , exhibit a unique mixture of nanoscale features that leads to an enhanced Seebeck coefficient and reduced lattice thermal conductivity, thereby achieving an average ZT of ~1.26 and ~1.7 in the 27°C to 100°C range for the n-type and p-type materials, respectively. Also, the addition of small amounts of selected rare earth elements has been shown to improve the ZT of TAGS-85 by 25%, compared with conventional or neat TAGS-85, resulting in a ZT = 1.5 at 400°C. The incorporation of these improved materials resulted in a peak device conversion efficiency of ~20% at a temperature difference of 750°C when corrected for radiation heat losses and thermal conduction losses through the lead wires. These high-efficiency results were shown to be reproducible across multiple cascade devices.

Systems Biology of Lipid Body Formation in the Green Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

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

Goodenough, Ursula

The project aimed to deepen our understanding of alga triacylglycerol (TAG) production to undergird explorations of using algal TAG as a source of biodiesel fuel. Our published contributions included the following: 1) Development of a rapid assay for TAG in algal cultures which was widely distributed to the algal community. 2) A comprehensive transcriptome analysis of the development of the ultra-high-TAG “obese” phenotype In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. 3) A comprehensive biochemical and ultrastructural analysis of the cell wall of Nannochloropsis gaditana, whose walls render it both growth-hardy and difficult to rupture for TAG recovery. A manuscript in preparation considers the autophagymore » response in C. reinhardtii and its entrance into stationary phase, both having an impact on TAG production.« less

An Active RFID Accountability System (RAS) for Constrained Wireless Environments

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

Barker, Alan M; Hanson, Gregory R; Sexton, Angela Kay

A team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has developed an RFID Accountability System (RAS) that allows items with active RFID tags to be tracked in environments where tags may not be able to transmit their location continuously. The system uses activators that transmit a short range signal. Active RFID tags are in a sleep state until they encounter an activator. Then they transmit a signal that is picked up by the antennas installed throughout the building. This paper presents the theory of operation, application areas, lessons learned, and key features developed over the course of seven years of developmentmore » and use.« less

Using passive integrated transponder (PIT) systems for terrestrial detection of blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) in situ

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ryan, Kevin J.; Zydlewski, Joseph D.; Calhoun, Aram J.K.

2014-01-01

Pure-diploid Blue-spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) are the smallest members of the family Ambystomatidae which makes tracking with radio-transmitters difficult because of small battery capacity. Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags provide another tracking approach for small fossorial animals such as salamanders. We evaluated the use of portable PIT tag readers (PIT packs) to detect PIT tag-implanted pure-diploid Blue-spotted Salamanders in situ. We also examined the detection probability of salamanders with PIT tags held in enclosures in wetland and terrestrial habitats, as well as the underground detection range of PIT packs by scanning for buried tags not implanted into salamanders. Of the 532 PIT tagged salamanders, we detected 6.84% at least once during scanning surveys. We scanned systematically within a 13.37 ha area surrounding a salamander breeding pool on 34 occasions (~119 hours of survey time) and detected PIT tags 74 times. We detected 55% of PITs in tagged salamanders and 45%were expelled tags. We were able to reliably detect buried PIT tags from 1–22cm below the ground surface. Because nearly half the locations represented expelled tags, our data suggest this technique is inappropriate for future studies of pure-diploid Blue-spotted Salamanders, although it may be suitable for polyploid Blue-spotted Salamanders and other ambystomatid species, which are larger in size and may exhibit higher tag retention rates. It may also be prudent to conduct long-term tag retention studies in captivity before tagging and releasing salamanders for in situ study, and to double-mark individuals.

48 CFR 908.7101-7 - Government license tags.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Government license tags. 908.7101-7 Section 908.7101-7 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY COMPETITION ACQUISITION PLANNING REQUIRED SOURCES OF SUPPLIES AND SERVICES Acquisition of Special Items 908.7101-7...

A method for the automated long-term monitoring of three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus shoal dynamics.

PubMed

Kleinhappel, T K; Al-Zoubi, A; Al-Diri, B; Burman, O; Dickinson, P; John, L; Wilkinson, A; Pike, T W

2014-04-01

This paper describes and evaluates a flexible, non-invasive tagging system for the automated identification and long-term monitoring of individual three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus. The system is based on barcoded tags, which can be reliably and robustly detected and decoded to provide information on an individual's identity and location. Because large numbers of fish can be individually tagged, it can be used to monitor individual- and group-level dynamics within fish shoals. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Meshless deformable models for 3D cardiac motion and strain analysis from tagged MRI.

PubMed

Wang, Xiaoxu; Chen, Ting; Zhang, Shaoting; Schaerer, Joël; Qian, Zhen; Huh, Suejung; Metaxas, Dimitris; Axel, Leon

2015-01-01

Tagged magnetic resonance imaging (TMRI) provides a direct and noninvasive way to visualize the in-wall deformation of the myocardium. Due to the through-plane motion, the tracking of 3D trajectories of the material points and the computation of 3D strain field call for the necessity of building 3D cardiac deformable models. The intersections of three stacks of orthogonal tagging planes are material points in the myocardium. With these intersections as control points, 3D motion can be reconstructed with a novel meshless deformable model (MDM). Volumetric MDMs describe an object as point cloud inside the object boundary and the coordinate of each point can be written in parametric functions. A generic heart mesh is registered on the TMRI with polar decomposition. A 3D MDM is generated and deformed with MR image tagging lines. Volumetric MDMs are deformed by calculating the dynamics function and minimizing the local Laplacian coordinates. The similarity transformation of each point is computed by assuming its neighboring points are making the same transformation. The deformation is computed iteratively until the control points match the target positions in the consecutive image frame. The 3D strain field is computed from the 3D displacement field with moving least squares. We demonstrate that MDMs outperformed the finite element method and the spline method with a numerical phantom. Meshless deformable models can track the trajectory of any material point in the myocardium and compute the 3D strain field of any particular area. The experimental results on in vivo healthy and patient heart MRI show that the MDM can fully recover the myocardium motion in three dimensions. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Meshless deformable models for 3D cardiac motion and strain analysis from tagged MRI

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiaoxu; Chen, Ting; Zhang, Shaoting; Schaerer, Joël; Qian, Zhen; Huh, Suejung; Metaxas, Dimitris; Axel, Leon

2016-01-01

Tagged magnetic resonance imaging (TMRI) provides a direct and noninvasive way to visualize the in-wall deformation of the myocardium. Due to the through-plane motion, the tracking of 3D trajectories of the material points and the computation of 3D strain field call for the necessity of building 3D cardiac deformable models. The intersections of three stacks of orthogonal tagging planes are material points in the myocardium. With these intersections as control points, 3D motion can be reconstructed with a novel meshless deformable model (MDM). Volumetric MDMs describe an object as point cloud inside the object boundary and the coordinate of each point can be written in parametric functions. A generic heart mesh is registered on the TMRI with polar decomposition. A 3D MDM is generated and deformed with MR image tagging lines. Volumetric MDMs are deformed by calculating the dynamics function and minimizing the local Laplacian coordinates. The similarity transformation of each point is computed by assuming its neighboring points are making the same transformation. The deformation is computed iteratively until the control points match the target positions in the consecutive image frame. The 3D strain field is computed from the 3D displacement field with moving least squares. We demonstrate that MDMs outperformed the finite element method and the spline method with a numerical phantom. Meshless deformable models can track the trajectory of any material point in the myocardium and compute the 3D strain field of any particular area. The experimental results on in vivo healthy and patient heart MRI show that the MDM can fully recover the myocardium motion in three dimensions. PMID:25157446

A Novel RFID-Based Sensing Method for Low-Cost Bolt Loosening Monitoring.

PubMed

Wu, Jian; Cui, Xingmei; Xu, Yunpeng

2016-01-28

In coal mines, bolt loosening in the cage guide is affected by the harsh environmental factors and cage hoist vibration, leading to significant threats to work safety. It is crucial, to this effect, to successfully detect the status of multipoint bolts of guide structures. This paper proposes a system to monitor bolt status in harsh environments established based on the RFID technique. A proof-of-concept model was demonstrated consisting of a bolt gearing system, passive UHF RFID tags, a reader, and monitoring software. A tinfoil metal film is fixed on the retaining plate and an RFID tag bonded to a large gear, with the bolt to be detected fixed in the center of a smaller gear. The radio-frequency signal cannot be received by the reader if the tag is completely obscured by the tinfoil, and if the bolt is loose, the tag's antenna is exposed when the gear revolves. A radio-frequency signal that carries corresponding bolt's information is transmitted by the RFID tag to the RFID reader due to coil coupling, identifying loose bolt location and reporting them in the software. Confirmatory test results revealed that the system indeed successfully detects bolt loosening and comparative test results (based on a reed switch multipoint bolt loosening monitor system) provided valuable information regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed system.

Efficacy of Barium-Based Fecal Tagging for CT Colonography: a Comparison between the Use of High and Low Density Barium Suspensions in a Korean Population - a Preliminary Study

PubMed Central

Kim, Min Ju; Lee, Seung Soo; Byeon, Jeong-Sik; Choi, Eugene K.; Kim, Jung Hoon; Kim, Yeoung Nam; Kim, Ah Young; Ha, Hyun Kwon

2009-01-01

Objective This preliminarily study was designed to determine and to compare the efficacy of two commercially available barium-based fecal tagging agents for CT colonography (CTC) (high-density [40% w/v] and low-density [4.6% w/v] barium suspensions) in a population in Korea. Materials and Methods In a population with an identified with an average-risk for colorectal cancer, 15 adults were administered three doses of 20 ml 40% w/v barium for fecal tagging (group I) and 15 adults were administered three doses of 200 ml 4.6% w/v barium (group II) for fecal tagging. Excluding five patients in group I and one patient in group II that left the study, ten patients in group I and 14 patients in group II were finally included in the analysis. Two experienced readers evaluated the CTC images in consensus regarding the degree of tagging of stool pieces 6 mm or larger. Stool pieces were confirmed with the use of standardized CTC criteria or the absence of matched lesions as seen on colonoscopy. The rates of complete fecal tagging were analyzed on a per-lesion and a per-segment basis and were compared between the patients in the two groups. Results Per-lesion rates of complete fecal tagging were 52% (22 of 42; 95% CI, 37.7-66.6%) in group I and 78% (28 of 36; 95% CI, 61.7-88.5%) in group II. The difference between the two groups did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.285). The per-segment rates of complete tagging were 33% (6 of 18; 95% CI, 16.1%-56.4%) in group I and 60% (9 of 15; 95% CI, 35.7%-80.3%) in group II; again, the difference between the two groups did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.171). Conclusion Barium-based fecal tagging using both the 40% w/v and the 4.6% w/v barium suspensions showed moderate tagging efficacy. The preliminary comparison did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference in the tagging efficacy between the use of the two tagging agents, despite the tendency toward better tagging with the use of the 4.6% w/v barium suspension. PMID:19182500

Development of a tagged source of Pb-206 nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cutter, J.; Godfrey, B.; Hillbrand, S.; Irving, M.; Manalaysay, A.; Minaker, Z.; Morad, J.; Tripathi, M.

2018-02-01

There is a particular class of unavoidable backgrounds that plague low-background experiments and rare event searches, particularly those searching for nuclear recoil event signatures: decaying daughters of the 238U nuclear decay chain, which result from radon plate-out on detector materials. One such daughter isotope, 210Po, undergoes α-decay and produces a recoiling 103 keV 206Pb nucleus. To characterize this important background in the context of noble element detectors, we have implemented a triggered source for these 206Pb recoils in a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber (Xe TPC) within the Davis Xenon R&D testbed system (DAX). By adhering 210Po to the surface of a PIN diode and electrically floating the diode on the cathode of the TPC, we tag the α signals produced in the PIN diode and trigger on the correlated nuclear recoils in the liquid xenon (LXe). We discuss our methods for 210Po deposition, electronic readout of the PIN diode signals at high voltage, and analysis methods for event selection.

System and method for controlling remote devices

DOEpatents

Carrender, Curtis Lee [Richland, WA; Gilbert, Ronald W [Benton City, WA; Scott, Jeff W [Pasco, WA; Clark, David A [Kennewick, WA

2006-02-07

A system and method for controlling remote devices utilizing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag device having a control circuit adapted to render the tag device, and associated objects, permanently inoperable in response to radio-frequency control signals. The control circuit is configured to receive the control signals that can include an enable signal, and in response thereto enable an associated object, such as a weapon; and in response to a disable signal, to disable the tag itself, or, if desired, to disable the associated weapon or both the device and the weapon. Permanent disabling of the tag can be accomplished by several methods, including, but not limited to, fusing a fusable link, breaking an electrically conductive path, permanently altering the modulation or backscattering characteristics of the antenna circuit, and permanently erasing an associated memory. In this manner, tags in the possession of unauthorized employees can be remotely disabled, and weapons lost on a battlefield can be easily tracked and enabled or disabled automatically or at will.

Non-contact tamper sensing by electronic means

DOEpatents

Gritton, Dale G.

1993-01-01

A tamper-sensing system for an electronic tag 10 which is to be fixed to a surface 11 of an article 12, the tamper-sensing system comprising a capacitor having two non-contacting, capacitively-coupled elements 16, 19. Fixing of the body to the article will establish a precise location of the capacitor elements 16 and 19 relative to each other. When interrogated, the tag will generate a tamper-sensing signal having a value which is a function of the amount of capacity of the capacitor elements. The precise relative location of the capacitor elements cannot be duplicated if the tag is removed and affixed to a surrogate article having a fiducial capacitor element 19 fixed thereto. A very small displacement, in the order of 2-10 microns, of the capacitor elements relative to each other if the tag body is removed and fixed to a surrogate article will result in the tamper-sensing signal having a different, and detectable, value when the tag is interrogated.

Immobilization of proteins onto microbeads using a DNA binding tag for enzymatic assays.

PubMed

Kojima, Takaaki; Mizoguchi, Takuro; Ota, Eri; Hata, Jumpei; Homma, Keisuke; Zhu, Bo; Hitomi, Kiyotaka; Nakano, Hideo

2016-02-01

A novel DNA-binding protein tag, scCro-tag, which is a single-chain derivative of the bacteriophage lambda Cro repressor, has been developed to immobilize proteins of interest (POI) on a solid support through binding OR consensus DNA (ORC) that is tightly bound by the scCro protein. The scCro-tag successfully bound a transglutaminase 2 (TGase 2) substrate and manganese peroxidase (MnP) to microbeads via scaffolding DNA. The resulting protein-coated microbeads can be utilized for functional analysis of the enzymatic activity using flow cytometry. The quantity of bead-bound proteins can be enhanced by increasing the number of ORCs. In addition, proteins with the scCro-tag that were synthesized using a cell-free protein synthesis system were also immobilized onto the beads, thus indicating that this bead-based system would be applicable to high-throughput analysis of various enzymatic activities. Copyright © 2015 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wireless Hydrogen Smart Sensor Based on Pt/Graphene-Immobilized Radio-Frequency Identification Tag.

PubMed

Lee, Jun Seop; Oh, Jungkyun; Jun, Jaemoon; Jang, Jyongsik

2015-08-25

Hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel, is of key importance to various industrial applications, including fuel cells and the aerospace and automotive industries. However, hydrogen gas is odorless, colorless, and highly flammable; thus, appropriate safety protocol implementation and monitoring are essential. Highly sensitive hydrogen-gas leak detection and surveillance systems are needed; additionally, the ability to monitor large areas (e.g., cities) via wireless networks is becoming increasingly important. In this report, we introduce a radio frequency identification (RFID)-based wireless smart-sensor system, composed of a Pt-decorated reduced graphene oxide (Pt_rGO)-immobilized RFID sensor tag and an RFID-reader antenna-connected network analyzer to detect hydrogen gas. The Pt_rGOs, produced using a simple chemical reduction process, were immobilized on an antenna pattern in the sensor tag through spin coating. The resulting Pt_rGO-based RFID sensor tag exhibited a high sensitivity to hydrogen gas at unprecedentedly low concentrations (1 ppm), with wireless communication between the sensor tag and RFID-reader antenna. The wireless sensor tag demonstrated flexibility and a long lifetime due to the strong immobilization of Pt_rGOs on the substrate and battery-independent operation during hydrogen sensing, respectively.

Reliable location-based services from radio navigation systems.

PubMed

Qiu, Di; Boneh, Dan; Lo, Sherman; Enge, Per

2010-01-01

Loran is a radio-based navigation system originally designed for naval applications. We show that Loran-C's high-power and high repeatable accuracy are fantastic for security applications. First, we show how to derive a precise location tag--with a sensitivity of about 20 meters--that is difficult to project to an exact location. A device can use our location tag to block or allow certain actions, without knowing its precise location. To ensure that our tag is reproducible we make use of fuzzy extractors, a mechanism originally designed for biometric authentication. We build a fuzzy extractor specifically designed for radio-type errors and give experimental evidence to show its effectiveness. Second, we show that our location tag is difficult to predict from a distance. For example, an observer cannot predict the location tag inside a guarded data center from a few hundreds of meters away. As an application, consider a location-aware disk drive that will only work inside the data center. An attacker who steals the device and is capable of spoofing Loran-C signals, still cannot make the device work since he does not know what location tag to spoof. We provide experimental data supporting our unpredictability claim.

The ΔF/Fm'-guided supply of nitrogen in culture medium facilitates sustainable production of TAG in Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1.

PubMed

Liu, Jiao; Yao, Changhong; Meng, Yingying; Cao, Xupeng; Wu, Peichun; Xue, Song

2018-01-01

Triacylglycerol (TAG) from photosynthetic microalgae is a sustainable feedstock for biodiesel production. Physiological stress triggers microalgal TAG accumulation. However excessive physiological stress will impair the photosynthesis system seriously thus decreasing TAG productivity because of the low biomass production. Hence, it is critical to quantitatively and timely monitor the degree of the stress while the microalgal cells growing so that the optimal TAG productivity can be obtained. The lack of an on-line monitored indicator has limited our ability to gain knowledge of cellular "health status" information regarding high TAG productivity. Therefore, to monitor the degree of nitrogen stress of the cells, we investigated the correlation between the photosynthetic system II (PS II) quantum yield and the degree of stress based on the high relevancy between photosynthetic reduction and nitrogen stress-induced TAG accumulation in microalgal cells. Δ F/F m ', which is the chlorophyll fluorescence parameter that reflects the effective capability of PS II, was identified to be a critical factor to indicate the degree of stress of the cells. In addition, the concept of a nitrogen stress index has been defined to quantify the degree of stress. Based on this index and by monitoring Δ F/F m ' and guiding the supply of nitrogen in culture medium to maintain a stable degree of stress, a stable and efficient semi-continuous process for TAG production has been established. The results indicate that the semi-continuous cultivation process with a controlled degree of stress by monitoring the Δ F/F m ' indicator will have a significant impact on microalgal TAG production, especially for the outdoor controllable cultivation of microalgae on a large scale.

Vehicle Tracking System using Nanotechnology Satellites and Tags

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lorenzini, Dino A.; Tubis, Chris

1995-01-01

This paper describes a joint project to design, develop, and deploy a satellite based tracking system incorporating micro-nanotechnology components. The system consists of a constellation of 'nanosats', a satellite command station and data collection sites, and a large number of low-cost electronic 'tags'. Both government and commercial applications are envisioned for the satellite based tracking system. The projected low price for the tracking service is made possible by the lightweight nanosats and inexpensive electronic tags which use high production volume single chip transceivers and microprocessor devices. The nanosat consists of a five inch aluminum cube with body mounted solar panels (GaAs solar cells) on all six faces. A UHF turnstile antenna and a simple, spring release mechanism complete the external configuration of the spacecraft.

Architecture and Protocol of a Semantic System Designed for Video Tagging with Sensor Data in Mobile Devices

PubMed Central

Macias, Elsa; Lloret, Jaime; Suarez, Alvaro; Garcia, Miguel

2012-01-01

Current mobile phones come with several sensors and powerful video cameras. These video cameras can be used to capture good quality scenes, which can be complemented with the information gathered by the sensors also embedded in the phones. For example, the surroundings of a beach recorded by the camera of the mobile phone, jointly with the temperature of the site can let users know via the Internet if the weather is nice enough to swim. In this paper, we present a system that tags the video frames of the video recorded from mobile phones with the data collected by the embedded sensors. The tagged video is uploaded to a video server, which is placed on the Internet and is accessible by any user. The proposed system uses a semantic approach with the stored information in order to make easy and efficient video searches. Our experimental results show that it is possible to tag video frames in real time and send the tagged video to the server with very low packet delay variations. As far as we know there is not any other application developed as the one presented in this paper. PMID:22438753

Dispersal and dam passage of sonic-tagged juvenile lake sturgeon in the upper Tennessee River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Collier, William R.; Bettoli, Phillip William; Scholten, George D.

2011-01-01

More than 90,000 state-endangered lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) have been stocked into the French Broad River, Holston River, and Fort Loudoun Lake in the upper Tennessee River system. Although incidental reports of anglers catching these fish have increased, little is known about their fate after stocking. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate lake sturgeon dispersal throughout the system. Seven submersible ultrasonic receivers were deployed in the upper Tennessee River system and 37 juvenile fish (mean fork length = 660 mm) were surgically implanted with ultrasonic transmitters in the fall of 2007. These fish were stocked at two sites in the headwaters of Fort Loudoun Lake. The receivers logged 1,345 detections of tagged fish and manual tracking located 32 of the 37 tagged lake sturgeon over 21 months. Ten (31%) tagged fish passed through Fort Loudoun Dam and were located downstream in the headwaters of Watts Bar Reservoir; the other tagged fish were still at large above Fort Loudoun Dam when tracking ceased in 2009. Of all fish stocked, three (9%) were last located in the French Broad River and none were located in the Holston River.

Architecture and protocol of a semantic system designed for video tagging with sensor data in mobile devices.

PubMed

Macias, Elsa; Lloret, Jaime; Suarez, Alvaro; Garcia, Miguel

2012-01-01

Current mobile phones come with several sensors and powerful video cameras. These video cameras can be used to capture good quality scenes, which can be complemented with the information gathered by the sensors also embedded in the phones. For example, the surroundings of a beach recorded by the camera of the mobile phone, jointly with the temperature of the site can let users know via the Internet if the weather is nice enough to swim. In this paper, we present a system that tags the video frames of the video recorded from mobile phones with the data collected by the embedded sensors. The tagged video is uploaded to a video server, which is placed on the Internet and is accessible by any user. The proposed system uses a semantic approach with the stored information in order to make easy and efficient video searches. Our experimental results show that it is possible to tag video frames in real time and send the tagged video to the server with very low packet delay variations. As far as we know there is not any other application developed as the one presented in this paper.

N-terminal processing of affinity-tagged recombinant proteins purified by IMAC procedures.

PubMed

Mooney, Jane T; Fredericks, Dale P; Christensen, Thorkild; Bruun Schiødt, Christine; Hearn, Milton T W

2015-07-01

The ability of a new class of metal binding tags to facilitate the purification of recombinant proteins, exemplified by the tagged glutathione S-transferase and human growth hormone, from Escherichia coli fermentation broths and lysates has been further investigated. These histidine-containing tags exhibit high affinity for borderline metal ions chelated to the immobilised ligand, 1,4,7-triazacyclononane (tacn). The use of this tag-tacn immobilised metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) system engenders high selectivity with regard to host cell protein removal and permits facile tag removal from the E. coli-expressed recombinant protein. In particular, these tags were specifically designed to enable their efficient removal by the dipeptidyl aminopeptidase 1 (DAP-1), thus capturing the advantages of high substrate specificity and rates of cleavage. MALDI-TOF MS analysis of the cleaved products from the DAP-1 digestion of the recombinant N-terminally tagged proteins confirmed the complete removal of the tag within 4-12 h under mild experimental conditions. Overall, this study demonstrates that the use of tags specifically designed to target tacn-based IMAC resins offers a comprehensive and flexible approach for the purification of E. coli-expressed recombinant proteins, where complete removal of the tag is an essential prerequisite for subsequent application of the purified native proteins in studies aimed at delineating the molecular and cellular basis of specific biological processes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing movement and sources of mortality of juvenile catostomids using passive integrated transponder tags, Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon - Summary of 2012 effort

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burdick, Summer M.

2013-01-01

Survival of juvenile endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers is thought to limit recruitment into the adult populations and ultimately limit the recovery of these species in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Although many hypotheses exist about the sources of mortality, the contribution of each speculated source of mortality has not been examined. To examine causes of mortality, validate estimated age to maturity, and examine movement patterns for juvenile suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and remote tag detection systems were used. Age-1 suckers were opportunistically tagged in 2009 and 2010 during another study on juvenile sucker distribution. After the distribution study concluded in 2010, USGS redirected sampling efforts to target age-1 suckers for tagging. Tags were redetected using an existing infrastructure of remote PIT tag readers and tag scanning surveys at American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), and Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri) breeding and loafing areas. Individual fish histories are used to describe the distance, direction, and timing of juvenile sucker movement. Sucker PIT tag detections in the Sprague and Williamson Rivers in mid-summer and in autumn indicate tagged juvenile suckers use these tributaries outside of the known spring spawning season. PIT tags detected in bird habitats indicate predation by birds was a cause of mortality.

Detection, Identification, Location, and Remote Sensing Using SAW RFID Sensor Tags

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barton, Richard J.; Kennedy, Timothy F.; Williams, Robert M.; Fink, Patrick W.; Ngo, Phong H.

2009-01-01

The Electromagnetic Systems Branch (EV4) of the Avionic Systems Division at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX is studying the utility of surface acoustic wave (SAW) radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags for multiple wireless applications including detection, identification, tracking, and remote sensing of objects on the lunar surface, monitoring of environmental test facilities, structural shape and health monitoring, and nondestructive test and evaluation of assets. For all of these applications, it is anticipated that the system utilized to interrogate the SAW RFID tags may need to operate at fairly long range and in the presence of considerable multipath and multiple-access interference. Towards that end, EV4 is developing a prototype SAW RFID wireless interrogation system for use in such environments called the Passive Adaptive RFID Sensor Equipment (PARSED) system. The system utilizes a digitally beam-formed planar receiving antenna array to extend range and provide direction-of-arrival information coupled with an approximate maximum-likelihood signal processing algorithm to provide near-optimal estimation of both range and temperature. The system is capable of forming a large number of beams within the field of view and resolving the information from several tags within each beam. The combination of both spatial and waveform discrimination provides the capability to track and monitor telemetry from a large number of objects appearing simultaneously within the field of view of the receiving array. In this paper, we will consider the application of the PARSEQ system to the problem of simultaneous detection, identification, localization, and temperature estimation for multiple objects. We will summarize the overall design of the PARSEQ system and present a detailed description of the design and performance of the signal detection and estimation algorithms incorporated in the system. The system is currently configured only to measure temperature (jointly with range and tag ID), but future versions will be revised to measure parameters other than temperature as SAW tags capable of interfacing with external sensors become available. It is anticipated that the estimation of arbitrary parameters measured using SAW-based sensors will be based on techniques very similar to the joint range and temperature estimation techniques described in this paper.

Improved gas tagging and cover gas combination for nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Gross, K.C.; Laug, M.T.

1983-09-26

The invention discloses the use of stable isotopes of neon and argon, sealed as tags in different cladding nuclear fuel elements to be used in a liquid metal fast breeder reactor. Cladding failure allows fission gases and these tag isotopes to escape and to combine with the cover gas. The isotopes are Ne/sup 20/, Ne/sup 21/ and Ne/sup 22/ and Ar/sup 36/, Ar/sup 38/ and Ar/sup 40/, and the cover gas is He. Serially connected cryogenically operated charcoal beds are used to clean the cover gas and to separate out the tags. The first or cover gas cleanup bed is held between 0 and -25/sup 0/C to remove the fission gases from the cover gas and tags, and the second or tag recovery system bed between -170 and -185/sup 0/C to isolate the tags from the cover gas. Spectrometric analysis is used to identify the specific tags that are recovered, and thus the specific leaking fuel element. By cataloging the fuel element tags to the location of the fuel elements in the reactor, the location of the leaking fuel element can then be determined.

Application of volcanic ash particles for protein affinity purification with a minimized silica-binding tag.

PubMed

Abdelhamid, Mohamed A A; Ikeda, Takeshi; Motomura, Kei; Tanaka, Tatsuya; Ishida, Takenori; Hirota, Ryuichi; Kuroda, Akio

2016-11-01

We recently reported that the spore coat protein, CotB1 (171 amino acids), from Bacillus cereus mediates silica biomineralization and that the polycationic C-terminal sequence of CotB1 (14 amino acids), designated CotB1p, serves as a silica-binding tag when fused to other proteins. Here, we reduced the length of this silica-binding tag to only seven amino acids (SB7 tag: RQSSRGR) while retaining its affinity for silica. Alanine scanning mutagenesis indicated that the three arginine residues in the SB7 tag play important roles in binding to a silica surface. Monomeric l-arginine, at concentrations of 0.3-0.5 M, was found to serve as a competitive eluent to release bound SB7-tagged proteins from silica surfaces. To develop a low-cost, silica-based affinity purification procedure, we used natural volcanic ash particles with a silica content of ∼70%, rather than pure synthetic silica particles, as an adsorbent for SB7-tagged proteins. Using green fluorescent protein, mCherry, and mKate2 as model proteins, our purification method achieved 75-90% recovery with ∼90% purity. These values are comparable to or even higher than that of the commonly used His-tag affinity purification. In addition to low cost, another advantage of our method is the use of l-arginine as the eluent because its protein-stabilizing effect would help minimize alteration of the intrinsic properties of the purified proteins. Our approach paves the way for the use of naturally occurring materials as adsorbents for simple, low-cost affinity purification. Copyright © 2016 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the optimal identification of tag sets in time-constrained RFID configurations.

PubMed

Vales-Alonso, Javier; Bueno-Delgado, María Victoria; Egea-López, Esteban; Alcaraz, Juan José; Pérez-Mañogil, Juan Manuel

2011-01-01

In Radio Frequency Identification facilities the identification delay of a set of tags is mainly caused by the random access nature of the reading protocol, yielding a random identification time of the set of tags. In this paper, the cumulative distribution function of the identification time is evaluated using a discrete time Markov chain for single-set time-constrained passive RFID systems, namely those ones where a single group of tags is assumed to be in the reading area and only for a bounded time (sojourn time) before leaving. In these scenarios some tags in a set may leave the reader coverage area unidentified. The probability of this event is obtained from the cumulative distribution function of the identification time as a function of the sojourn time. This result provides a suitable criterion to minimize the probability of losing tags. Besides, an identification strategy based on splitting the set of tags in smaller subsets is also considered. Results demonstrate that there are optimal splitting configurations that reduce the overall identification time while keeping the same probability of losing tags.

HaloTag Technology: A Versatile Platform for Biomedical Applications

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Exploration of protein function and interaction is critical for discovering links among genomics, proteomics, and disease state; yet, the immense complexity of proteomics found in biological systems currently limits our investigational capacity. Although affinity and autofluorescent tags are widely employed for protein analysis, these methods have been met with limited success because they lack specificity and require multiple fusion tags and genetic constructs. As an alternative approach, the innovative HaloTag protein fusion platform allows protein function and interaction to be comprehensively analyzed using a single genetic construct with multiple capabilities. This is accomplished using a simplified process, in which a variable HaloTag ligand binds rapidly to the HaloTag protein (usually linked to the protein of interest) with high affinity and specificity. In this review, we examine all current applications of the HaloTag technology platform for biomedical applications, such as the study of protein isolation and purification, protein function, protein–protein and protein–DNA interactions, biological assays, in vitro cellular imaging, and in vivo molecular imaging. In addition, novel uses of the HaloTag platform are briefly discussed along with potential future applications. PMID:25974629

System and method for simultaneously collecting serial number information from numerous identity tags

DOEpatents

Doty, Michael A.

1997-01-01

A system and method for simultaneously collecting serial number information reports from numerous colliding coded-radio-frequency identity tags. Each tag has a unique multi-digit serial number that is stored in non-volatile RAM. A reader transmits an ASCII coded "D" character on a carrier of about 900 MHz and a power illumination field having a frequency of about 1.6 Ghz. A one MHz tone is modulated on the 1.6 Ghz carrier as a timing clock for a microprocessor in each of the identity tags. Over a thousand such tags may be in the vicinity and each is powered-up and clocked by the 1.6 Ghz power illumination field. Each identity tag looks for the "D" interrogator modulated on the 900 MHz carrier, and each uses a digit of its serial number to time a response. Clear responses received by the reader are repeated for verification. If no verification or a wrong number is received by any identity tag, it uses a second digital together with the first to time out a more extended period for response. Ultimately, the entire serial number will be used in the worst case collision environments; and since the serial numbers are defined as being unique, the final possibility will be successful because a clear time-slot channel will be available.

System and method for simultaneously collecting serial number information from numerous identity tags

DOEpatents

Doty, M.A.

1997-01-07

A system and method are disclosed for simultaneously collecting serial number information reports from numerous colliding coded-radio-frequency identity tags. Each tag has a unique multi-digit serial number that is stored in non-volatile RAM. A reader transmits an ASCII coded ``D`` character on a carrier of about 900 MHz and a power illumination field having a frequency of about 1.6 Ghz. A one MHz tone is modulated on the 1.6 Ghz carrier as a timing clock for a microprocessor in each of the identity tags. Over a thousand such tags may be in the vicinity and each is powered-up and clocked by the 1.6 Ghz power illumination field. Each identity tag looks for the ``D`` interrogator modulated on the 900 MHz carrier, and each uses a digit of its serial number to time a response. Clear responses received by the reader are repeated for verification. If no verification or a wrong number is received by any identity tag, it uses a second digital together with the first to time out a more extended period for response. Ultimately, the entire serial number will be used in the worst case collision environments; and since the serial numbers are defined as being unique, the final possibility will be successful because a clear time-slot channel will be available. 5 figs.

Detection of hidden shot balls in a gas-cooled turbine blade with an NRT gadolinium tagging method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sim, Cheul Muu; Kim, Yi Kyung; Kim, TaeJoo; Lee, Kye Hong; Kim, Jeong Uk

2009-06-01

This report provides a preliminary insight into the benefits and effectiveness of neutron radiography in identifying alien materials, namely shot balls hidden in a turbine blade that are otherwise undetected using other methods. The detection of 0.2-mm-diameter shot balls in gas-cooled turbine blades is possible for thermal neutron radiography. A tagging processing is more useful for a distinctive image of newer turbine blades. Areas of concern for the tagging process include the solution concentration and the possibility of a slight washing of the blades. The location of the shot balls within the turbine blades tagged with Gd((2%, 5%)+water) was shown. Shot balls were placed externally on a turbine blade (F100-700, F100-200) surface in order to check for a dead zone from a surface examination. The image is produced from neutron radiography after a 5 min exposure time. When the blade is tagged with 2% and 5% Gd with slight washing, the shot can also be effectively seen on the SR-45 film. Shot balls are more obvious on a neutron image SR-45 film than an image plate or a DR film.

Analysis and Design of a Long Range PTFE Substrate UHF RFID Tag for Cargo Container Identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrariu, Adrian-Ioan; Popa, Valentin

2016-01-01

In this paper, a high-performances microstrip antenna for UHF (ultra high frequency) RFID (radio frequency identification) tag is designed, prototyped and tested. The antenna consists of two main components: a 1.52 mm RT/duroid 5880 laminate substrate on which the antenna is designed and a 10 mm polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) dielectric material placed as a separator between the antenna and the reference ground plane for the microstrip antenna. With this structure, the RFID tag can reach a maximum reading distance of 19 m, although the antenna has a compact size of 80 mm × 50 mm. The long reading distance is obtained by attaching to the antenna an RFID chip that can provide a reading sensitivity of -20.5 dBm. The high bandwidth from 677 MHz to 947 MHz measured at -10 dB, makes the tag being usable worldwide especially for cargo container identification, the main purpose of this research.

Fast neutron sensor for detection of explosives and chemical warfare agents.

PubMed

Valkovic, Vladivoj; Sudac, Davorin; Matika, Dario

2010-01-01

Once the presence of the anomaly on the bottom of the shallow coastal sea water has been confirmed it is necessary to establish if it contains explosive or chemical warfare charge. We propose that this be performed by using neutron sensor installed within an underwater vessel. When positioned above the object, or to its side, the system can inspect the object for the presence of the threat materials by using alpha particle tagged neutrons from the sealed tube d+t neutron generator. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differences in the Triacylglycerol and Fatty Acid Compositions of Human Colostrum and Mature Milk.

PubMed

Zhao, Pu; Zhang, Shuwen; Liu, Lu; Pang, Xiaoyang; Yang, Yang; Lu, Jing; Lv, Jiaping

2018-05-02

Human colostrum is important for immune system development and plays a protective role for infants. However, the comprehensive exploration of lipids, which account for 3-5% of milk, and their biological functions in human colostrum was limited. In present study, the triacylglycerol (TAG) and fatty acid (FA) compositions of human colostrum and mature milk were analyzed and compared. Variations were observed in both the TAG and FA compositions. The concentrations of 18:1/18:1/16:0 TAG, high-molecular-weight and unsaturated TAGs were significantly higher in colostrum, whereas mature milk contained more low/medium-molecular-weight TAGs and medium-chain FAs. Furthermore, there were also specific TAGs in both colostrum and mature milk. Our data highlighted targets for further investigation to elucidate the biological function of lipids in colostrum milk. In addition, the comprehensive analysis of TAGs in Chinese colostrum might help in designing infant formula for Chinese babies, especially the preterm ones.

Micromorphological characterization of adhesive interface of sound dentin and total-etch and self-etch adhesives.

PubMed

Drobac, Milan; Stojanac, Igor; Ramić, Bojana; Premović, Milica; Petrović, Ljubomir

2015-01-01

The ultimate goal in restorative dentistry has always been to achieve strong and permanent bond between the dental tissues and filling materials. It is not easy to achieve this task because the bonding process is different for enamel and dentin-dentin is more humid and more organic than enamel. It is moisture and organic nature of dentin that make this hard tissue very complex to achieve adhesive bond. One of the first and most widely used tools for examining the adhesive bond between hard dental tissues and composite restorative materials is scanning electron microscopy. The aim of this study was scanning electron microscopy analyzes the interfacial micro morphology of total-etch and self-etch adhesives. Micro morphological characteristics of interface between total-etch adhesive (Prime & Bond NT) in combination with the corresponding composite (Ceram X Mono) were compared with those of self-etching adhesive (AdheSE One) in, combination with the corresponding composite (Tetric EvoCeram). The specimens were observed under 1000 x magnification of scanning electron microscopy (JEOL, JSM-6460 Low Vacuum). Measurement of the thickness of the hybrid layer of the examined com posite systems was performed with the software of the device used (NIH Image Analyser). Micromorphological analysis of interface showed that the hybrid layer in sound dentin was well formed, its average thickness being 2.68 microm, with a large number of resin tags and a large amount of lateral branches for specimens with a composite system Prime & Bond NT-Ceram X Mono. However, the specimens' with composite systems Adhese One-Tetric EvoCeram did not show the presence of hybrid layer and the resin tags were poorly represented. The results of this study suggest that total-etch adhesives bond better with sound dentin than self-etch adhesive.

Electronic Escape Trails for Firefighters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jorgensen, Charles; Schipper, John; Betts, Bradley

2008-01-01

A proposed wireless-communication and data-processing system would exploit recent advances in radio-frequency identification devices (RFIDs) and software to establish information lifelines between firefighters in a burning building and a fire chief at a control station near but outside the building. The system would enable identification of trails that firefighters and others could follow to escape from the building, including identification of new trails should previously established trails become blocked. The system would include a transceiver unit and a computer at the control station, portable transceiver units carried by the firefighters in the building, and RFID tags that the firefighters would place at multiple locations as they move into and through the building (see figure). Each RFID tag, having a size of the order of a few centimeters, would include at least standard RFID circuitry and possibly sensors for measuring such other relevant environmental parameters as temperature, levels of light and sound, concentration of oxygen, concentrations of hazardous chemicals in smoke, and/or levels of nuclear radiation. The RFID tags would be activated and interrogated by the firefighters and control-station transceivers. Preferably, RFID tags would be configured to communicate with each other and with the firefighters units and the control station in an ordered sequence, with built-in redundancy. In a typical scenario, as firefighters moved through a building, they would scatter many RFID tags into smoke-obscured areas by use of a compressed-air gun. Alternatively or in addition, they would mark escape trails by dropping RFID tags at such points of interest as mantraps, hot spots, and trail waypoints. The RFID tags could be of different types, operating at different frequencies to identify their functions, and possibly responding by emitting audible beeps when activated by signals transmitted by transceiver units carried by nearby firefighters.

Food Safety

MedlinePlus

... Price Tag Read the Food Label Kitchen Timesavers Cooking for Your Family Tasty & Low-Cost Recipes Sample 2-Week Menus Resources for Professionals MyPlate Tip Sheets Print Materials Infographics 5 Ways ...

16 CFR 1500.43 - Method of test for flashpoint of volatile flammable materials by Tagliabue open-cup apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... flammable materials by Tagliabue open-cup apparatus. 1500.43 Section 1500.43 Commercial Practices CONSUMER... materials by Tagliabue open-cup apparatus. Scope 1. (a) This method describes a test procedure for the..., that is, ignite but not continue to burn. Apparatus 3. The Tag open-cup tester is illustrated in Fig. 1...

16 CFR 1500.43 - Method of test for flashpoint of volatile flammable materials by Tagliabue open-cup apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... flammable materials by Tagliabue open-cup apparatus. 1500.43 Section 1500.43 Commercial Practices CONSUMER... materials by Tagliabue open-cup apparatus. Scope 1. (a) This method describes a test procedure for the..., that is, ignite but not continue to burn. Apparatus 3. The Tag open-cup tester is illustrated in Fig. 1...

Transient Analysis Generator /TAG/ simulates behavior of large class of electrical networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, W. J.

1967-01-01

Transient Analysis Generator program simulates both transient and dc steady-state behavior of a large class of electrical networks. It generates a special analysis program for each circuit described in an easily understood and manipulated programming language. A generator or preprocessor and a simulation system make up the TAG system.

Movements of Atlantic Sturgeon of the Gulf of Maine inside and outside the geographically defined Distinct Population Segment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wippelhauser, Gail S.; Sulikowski, James; Zydlewski, Gayle B.; Altenritter, Megan; Kieffer, Micah; Kinnison, Michael T.

2017-01-01

Identification of potential critical habitat, seasonal distributions, and movements within and between river systems is important for protecting the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic Sturgeon. To accomplish these objectives, we captured Atlantic Sturgeon in four GOM rivers (Penobscot, Kennebec system, Saco, and Merrimack), and tagged 144 (83.3–217.4 cm TL) internally with uniquely coded acoustic transmitters. Tagged fish were detected between 2006 to 2014 by primary receiver arrays deployed in the four GOM rivers or opportunistically on a secondary group of receivers deployed within the GOM and along the continental shelf. Atlantic Sturgeon tagged in the four rivers were documented at three spawning areas in the Kennebec system in June and July, including one that became accessible in 1999 when the Edwards Dam was removed. After being tagged, the majority (74%) of Atlantic sturgeon were detected in the estuaries of the four GOM rivers, primarily from May through October. Tagged fish spent most of their time in saline water in the Saco River and Merrimack River, moved into brackish water in the Penobscot River, and were found in saline, brackish, and fresh water in the Kennebec system. Approximately 70% of the tagged fish were detected in GOM coastal waters, and aggregated in the Bay of Fundy (May–January), offshore of the Penobscot River (September-February and May), offshore of the Kennebec River (September–February), in Saco Bay and the Scarborough River (July–November), and along the eastern Massachusetts coast between Cape Ann and Cape Cod (April–February). Nine tagged Atlantic sturgeon (7%) left the GOM, three of which moved as far north as Halifax in Canada and six moved as far south as the James River in Virginia. Information from this study will be used to make recommendations to avoid, reduce or mitigate the impacts of in-water projects and on Atlantic sturgeon.

Protein Delivery System Containing a Nickel-Immobilized Polymer for Multimerization of Affinity-Purified His-Tagged Proteins Enhances Cytosolic Transfer.

PubMed

Postupalenko, Viktoriia; Desplancq, Dominique; Orlov, Igor; Arntz, Youri; Spehner, Danièle; Mely, Yves; Klaholz, Bruno P; Schultz, Patrick; Weiss, Etienne; Zuber, Guy

2015-09-01

Recombinant proteins with cytosolic or nuclear activities are emerging as tools for interfering with cellular functions. Because such tools rely on vehicles for crossing the plasma membrane we developed a protein delivery system consisting in the assembly of pyridylthiourea-grafted polyethylenimine (πPEI) with affinity-purified His-tagged proteins pre-organized onto a nickel-immobilized polymeric guide. The guide was prepared by functionalization of an ornithine polymer with nitrilotriacetic acid groups and shown to bind several His-tagged proteins. Superstructures were visualized by electron and atomic force microscopy using 2 nm His-tagged gold nanoparticles as probes. The whole system efficiently carried the green fluorescent protein, single-chain antibodies or caspase 3, into the cytosol of living cells. Transduction of the protease caspase 3 induced apoptosis in two cancer cell lines, demonstrating that this new protein delivery method could be used to interfere with cellular functions. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Short range spread-spectrum radiolocation system and method

DOEpatents

Smith, Stephen F.

2003-04-29

A short range radiolocation system and associated methods that allow the location of an item, such as equipment, containers, pallets, vehicles, or personnel, within a defined area. A small, battery powered, self-contained tag is provided to an item to be located. The tag includes a spread-spectrum transmitter that transmits a spread-spectrum code and identification information. A plurality of receivers positioned about the area receive signals from a transmitting tag. The position of the tag, and hence the item, is located by triangulation. The system employs three different ranging techniques for providing coarse, intermediate, and fine spatial position resolution. Coarse positioning information is provided by use of direct-sequence code phase transmitted as a spread-spectrum signal. Intermediate positioning information is provided by the use of a difference signal transmitted with the direct-sequence spread-spectrum code. Fine positioning information is provided by use of carrier phase measurements. An algorithm is employed to combine the three data sets to provide accurate location measurements.

Energy storage management system with distributed wireless sensors

DOEpatents

Farmer, Joseph C.; Bandhauer, Todd M.

2015-12-08

An energy storage system having a multiple different types of energy storage and conversion devices. Each device is equipped with one or more sensors and RFID tags to communicate sensor information wirelessly to a central electronic management system, which is used to control the operation of each device. Each device can have multiple RFID tags and sensor types. Several energy storage and conversion devices can be combined.

PASTE: patient-centered SMS text tagging in a medication management system.

PubMed

Stenner, Shane P; Johnson, Kevin B; Denny, Joshua C

2012-01-01

To evaluate the performance of a system that extracts medication information and administration-related actions from patient short message service (SMS) messages. Mobile technologies provide a platform for electronic patient-centered medication management. MyMediHealth (MMH) is a medication management system that includes a medication scheduler, a medication administration record, and a reminder engine that sends text messages to cell phones. The object of this work was to extend MMH to allow two-way interaction using mobile phone-based SMS technology. Unprompted text-message communication with patients using natural language could engage patients in their healthcare, but presents unique natural language processing challenges. The authors developed a new functional component of MMH, the Patient-centered Automated SMS Tagging Engine (PASTE). The PASTE web service uses natural language processing methods, custom lexicons, and existing knowledge sources to extract and tag medication information from patient text messages. A pilot evaluation of PASTE was completed using 130 medication messages anonymously submitted by 16 volunteers via a website. System output was compared with manually tagged messages. Verified medication names, medication terms, and action terms reached high F-measures of 91.3%, 94.7%, and 90.4%, respectively. The overall medication name F-measure was 79.8%, and the medication action term F-measure was 90%. Other studies have demonstrated systems that successfully extract medication information from clinical documents using semantic tagging, regular expression-based approaches, or a combination of both approaches. This evaluation demonstrates the feasibility of extracting medication information from patient-generated medication messages.

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

Abercrombie, Robert K; Buckner Jr, Dooley; Newton, David D

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) system provides a portable and/or semi-portable means of accurately weighing vehicles and its cargo as each vehicle crosses the scales (while in motion), and determining (1) axle weights and (2) axle spacing for vehicles (for determination of Bridge Formula compliance), (3) total vehicle/cargo weight and (4) longitudinal center of gravity (for safety considerations). The WIM system can also weigh the above statically. Because of the automated nature of the WIM system, it eliminates the introduction of human errors caused by manual computations and data entry, adverse weather conditions, and stress. Individual vehiclesmore » can be weighed continuously at low speeds (approximately 3-10 mph) and at intervals of less than one minute. The ORNL WIM system operates and is integrated into the Bethel Jacobs Company Transportation Management and Information System (TMIS, a Radio-Frequency Identification [RFID] enabled information system). The integrated process is as follows: Truck Identification Number and Tare Weight are programmed into a RFID Tag. Handheld RFID devices interact with the RFID Tag, and Electronic Shipping Document is written to the RFID Tag. The RFID tag read by an RFID tower identifies the vehicle and its associated cargo, the specific manifest of radioactive debris for the uniquely identified vehicle. The weight of the cargo (in this case waste debris) is calculated from total vehicle weight information supplied from WIM to TMIS and is further processed into the Information System and kept for historical and archival purposes. The assembled data is the further process in downstream information systems where waste coordination activities at the Y-12 Environmental Management Waste Management Facility (EMWMF) are written to RFID Tag. All cycle time information is monitored by Transportation Operations and Security personnel.« less

Feasibility of ultra-wideband SAW RFID tags meeting FCC rules.

PubMed

Härmä, Sanna; Plessky, Victor P; Li, Xianyi; Hartogh, Paul

2009-04-01

We discuss the feasibility of surface acoustic wave (SAW) radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that rely on ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. We propose a design of a UWB SAW tag, carry out numerical experiments on the device performance, and study signal processing in the system. We also present experimental results for the proposed device and estimate the potentially achievable reading distance. UWB SAW tags will have an extremely small chip size (<0.5 x 1 mm(2)) and a low cost. They also can provide a large number of different codes. The estimated read range for UWB SAW tags is about 2 m with a reader radiating as low as <0.1 mW power levels with an extremely low duty factor.

Interoperation of an UHF RFID Reader and a TCP/IP Device via Wired and Wireless Links

PubMed Central

Lee, Sang Hoon; Jin, Ik Soo

2011-01-01

A main application in radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor networks is the function that processes real-time tag information after gathering the required data from multiple RFID tags. The component technologies that contain an RFID reader, called the interrogator, which has a tag chip, processors, coupling antenna, and a power management system have advanced significantly over the last decade. This paper presents a system implementation for interoperation between an UHF RFID reader and a TCP/IP device that is used as a gateway. The proposed system consists of an UHF RFID tag, an UHF RFID reader, an RF end-device, an RF coordinator, and a TCP/IP I/F. The UHF RFID reader, operating at 915 MHz, is compatible with EPC Class-0/Gen1, Class-1/Gen1 and 2, and ISO18000-6B. In particular, the UHF RFID reader can be combined with the RF end-device/coordinator for a ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) interface, which is a low-power wireless standard. The TCP/IP device communicates with the RFID reader via wired links. On the other hand, it is connected to the ZigBee end-device via wireless links. The web based test results show that the developed system can remotely recognize information of multiple tags through the interoperation between the RFID reader and the TCP/IP device. PMID:22346665

Interoperation of an UHF RFID reader and a TCP/IP device via wired and wireless links.

PubMed

Lee, Sang Hoon; Jin, Ik Soo

2011-01-01

A main application in radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor networks is the function that processes real-time tag information after gathering the required data from multiple RFID tags. The component technologies that contain an RFID reader, called the interrogator, which has a tag chip, processors, coupling antenna, and a power management system have advanced significantly over the last decade. This paper presents a system implementation for interoperation between an UHF RFID reader and a TCP/IP device that is used as a gateway. The proposed system consists of an UHF RFID tag, an UHF RFID reader, an RF end-device, an RF coordinator, and a TCP/IP I/F. The UHF RFID reader, operating at 915 MHz, is compatible with EPC Class-0/Gen1, Class-1/Gen1 and 2, and ISO18000-6B. In particular, the UHF RFID reader can be combined with the RF end-device/coordinator for a ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) interface, which is a low-power wireless standard. The TCP/IP device communicates with the RFID reader via wired links. On the other hand, it is connected to the ZigBee end-device via wireless links. The web based test results show that the developed system can remotely recognize information of multiple tags through the interoperation between the RFID reader and the TCP/IP device.

Electronic cleansing for CT colonography using spectral-driven iterative reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasirudin, Radin A.; Näppi, Janne J.; Hironaka, Toru; Tachibana, Rie; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

2017-03-01

Dual-energy computed tomography is used increasingly in CT colonography (CTC). The combination of computer-aided detection (CADe) and dual-energy CTC (DE-CTC) has high clinical value, because it can detect clinically significant colonic lesions automatically at higher accuracy than does conventional single-energy CTC. While CADe has demonstrated its ability to detect small polyps, its performance is highly dependent on several factors, including the quality of CTC images and electronic cleansing (EC) of the images. The presence of artifacts such as beam hardening and image noise in ultra-low-dose CTC can produce incorrectly cleansed colon images that severely degrade the detection performance of CTC for small polyps. Also, CADe methods are very dependent on the quality of input images and the information about different tissues in the colon. In this work, we developed a novel method to calculate EC images using spectral information from DE-CTC data. First, the ultra-low dose dual-energy projection data obtained from a CT scanner are decomposed into two materials, soft tissue and the orally administered fecal-tagging contrast agent, to detect the location and intensity of the contrast agent. Next, the images are iteratively reconstructed while gradually removing the presence of tagged materials from the images. Our preliminary qualitative results show that the method can cleanse the contrast agent and tagged materials correctly from DE-CTC images without affecting the appearance of surrounding tissue.

ezTag: tagging biomedical concepts via interactive learning.

PubMed

Kwon, Dongseop; Kim, Sun; Wei, Chih-Hsuan; Leaman, Robert; Lu, Zhiyong

2018-05-18

Recently, advanced text-mining techniques have been shown to speed up manual data curation by providing human annotators with automated pre-annotations generated by rules or machine learning models. Due to the limited training data available, however, current annotation systems primarily focus only on common concept types such as genes or diseases. To support annotating a wide variety of biological concepts with or without pre-existing training data, we developed ezTag, a web-based annotation tool that allows curators to perform annotation and provide training data with humans in the loop. ezTag supports both abstracts in PubMed and full-text articles in PubMed Central. It also provides lexicon-based concept tagging as well as the state-of-the-art pre-trained taggers such as TaggerOne, GNormPlus and tmVar. ezTag is freely available at http://eztag.bioqrator.org.

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

Nekoogar, Faranak; Reynolds, Matthew; Lefton, Scott

A secure passive RFID tag system comprises at least one base station and at least one passive RFID tag. The tag includes a fiber optic cable with the cable ends sealed within the tag and the middle portion forming an external loop. The loop may be secured to at least portions of an object. The tag transmits and receives an optical signal through the fiber optic cable, and the cable is configured to be damaged or broken in response to removal or tampering attempts, wherein the optical signal is significantly altered if the cable is damaged or broken. The tagmore » transmits the optical signal in response to receiving a radio signal from the base station and compares the transmitted optical signal to the received optical signal. If the transmitted optical signal and the received optical signal are identical, the tag transmits an affirmative radio signal to the base station.« less

Social Tagging of Mission Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norris, Jeffrey S.; Wallick, Michael N.; Joswig, Joseph C.; Powell, Mark W.; Torres, Recaredo J.; Mittman, David S.; Abramyan, Lucy; Crockett, Thomas M.; Shams, Khawaja S.; Fox, Jason M.;

Three-Dimensional, Live-Cell Imaging of Chromatin Dynamics in Plant Nuclei Using Chromatin Tagging Systems.

PubMed

Hirakawa, Takeshi; Matsunaga, Sachihiro

2016-01-01

In plants, chromatin dynamics spatiotemporally change in response to various environmental stimuli. However, little is known about chromatin dynamics in the nuclei of plants. Here, we introduce a three-dimensional, live-cell imaging method that can monitor chromatin dynamics in nuclei via a chromatin tagging system that can visualize specific genomic loci in living plant cells. The chromatin tagging system is based on a bacterial operator/repressor system in which the repressor is fused to fluorescent proteins. A recent refinement of promoters for the system solved the problem of gene silencing and abnormal pairing frequencies between operators. Using this system, we can detect the spatiotemporal dynamics of two homologous loci as two fluorescent signals within a nucleus and monitor the distance between homologous loci. These live-cell imaging methods will provide new insights into genome organization, development processes, and subnuclear responses to environmental stimuli in plants.

EURITRACK tagged neutron inspection system design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perret, G.; Perot, B.; Artaud, J.-L.; Mariani, A.

2006-05-01

The EURITRACK project aims at developing a non-destructive measurement system, using an associated particle sealed tube neutron generator, to detect explosives or other threat materials concealed in cargo containers. Chemical composition of the suspect item is determined by coincidence measurements between alpha particles and photons resulting from neutron interactions in the inspected voxel of the container. We present the design and the performances of the measurement system obtained by Monte Carlo calculations. Selected gamma detectors are clusters of 5''×5''×10'' and 5''×5'' sodium iodide scintillators, and a block of 100 kg of TNT located in a container filled with a metallic matrix having a density of 0.2 g/cm3 is shown to be detectable in 10 minutes.

Reduced Cathartic Bowel Preparation for CT Colonography: Prospective Comparison of 2-L Polyethylene Glycol and Magnesium Citrate

PubMed Central

Keedy, Alexander W.; Aslam, Rizwan; Weinstein, Stefanie; Landeras, Luis A.; Shah, Janak N.; McQuaid, Kenneth R.; Yeh, Benjamin M.

2011-01-01

Purpose: To prospectively compare adequacy of colonic cleansing, adequacy of solid stool and fluid tagging, and patient acceptance by using reduced-volume, 2-L polyethylene glycol (PEG) versus magnesium citrate bowel preparations for CT colonography. Materials and Methods: This study was approved by the institutional Committee on Human Research and was compliant with HIPAA; all patients provided written consent. In this randomized, investigator-blinded study, 50 patients underwent oral preparation with either a 2-L PEG or a magnesium citrate solution, tagging with oral contrast agents, and subsequent CT colonography and segmentally unblinded colonoscopy. The residual stool (score 0 [best] to 3 [worst]) and fluid (score 0 [best] to 4 [worst]) burden and tagging adequacy were qualitatively assessed. Residual fluid attenuation was recorded as a quantitative measure of tagging adequacy. Patients completed a tolerance questionnaire within 2 weeks of scanning. Preparations were compared for residual stool and fluid by using generalized estimating equations; the Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the qualitative tagging score, mean residual fluid attenuation, and adverse effects assessed on the patient experience questionnaire. Results: The mean residual stool (0.90 of three) and fluid burden (1.05 of four) scores for PEG were similar to those for magnesium citrate (0.96 [P = .58] and 0.98 [P = .48], respectively). However, the mean fecal and fluid tagging scores were significantly better for PEG (0.48 and 0.28, respectively) than for magnesium citrate (1.52 [P < .01] and 1.28 [P < .01], respectively). Mean residual fluid attenuation was higher for PEG (765 HU) than for magnesium citrate (443 HU, P = .01), and mean interpretation time was shorter for PEG (14.8 minutes) than for magnesium citrate (18.0 minutes, P = .04). Tolerance ratings were not significantly different between preparations. Conclusion: Reduced-volume PEG and magnesium citrate bowel preparations demonstrated adequate cleansing effectiveness for CT colonography, with better tagging and shorter interpretation time observed in the PEG group. Adequate polyp detection was maintained but requires further validation because of the small number of clinically important polyps. © RSNA, 2011 Supplemental material: http://radiology.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/radiol.11110217/-/DC1 PMID:21873253

Tagging Water Sources in Atmospheric Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosilovich, M.

2003-01-01

Tagging of water sources in atmospheric models allows for quantitative diagnostics of how water is transported from its source region to its sink region. In this presentation, we review how this methodology is applied to global atmospheric models. We will present several applications of the methodology. In one example, the regional sources of water for the North American Monsoon system are evaluated by tagging the surface evaporation. In another example, the tagged water is used to quantify the global water cycling rate and residence time. We will also discuss the need for more research and the importance of these diagnostics in water cycle studies.

Fully printed flexible and disposable wireless cyclic voltammetry tag.

PubMed

Jung, Younsu; Park, Hyejin; Park, Jin-Ah; Noh, Jinsoo; Choi, Yunchang; Jung, Minhoon; Jung, Kyunghwan; Pyo, Myungho; Chen, Kevin; Javey, Ali; Cho, Gyoujin

2015-01-29

A disposable cyclic voltammetry (CV) tag is printed on a plastic film by integrating wireless power transmitter, polarized triangle wave generator, electrochemical cell and signage through a scalable gravure printing method. By proximity of 13.56 MHz RF reader, the printed CV tag generates 320 mHz of triangular sweep wave from +500 mV to -500 mV which enable to scan a printed electrochemical cell in the CV tag. By simply dropping any specimen solution on the electrochemical cell in the CV tag, the presence of solutes in the solution can be detected and shown on the signage of the CV tag in five sec. 10 mM of N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) was used as a standard solute to prove the working concept of fully printed disposable wireless CV tag. Within five seconds, we can wirelessly diagnose the presence of TMPD in the solution using the CV tag in the proximity of the 13.56 MHz RF reader. This fully printed and wirelessly operated flexible CV tag is the first of its kind and marks the path for the utilization of inexpensive and disposable wireless electrochemical sensor systems for initial diagnose hazardous chemicals and biological molecules to improve public hygiene and health.

Fully printed flexible and disposable wireless cyclic voltammetry tag

PubMed Central

Jung, Younsu; Park, Hyejin; Park, Jin-Ah; Noh, Jinsoo; Choi, Yunchang; Jung, Minhoon; Jung, Kyunghwan; Pyo, Myungho; Chen, Kevin; Javey, Ali; Cho, Gyoujin

2015-01-01

A disposable cyclic voltammetry (CV) tag is printed on a plastic film by integrating wireless power transmitter, polarized triangle wave generator, electrochemical cell and signage through a scalable gravure printing method. By proximity of 13.56 MHz RF reader, the printed CV tag generates 320 mHz of triangular sweep wave from +500 mV to −500 mV which enable to scan a printed electrochemical cell in the CV tag. By simply dropping any specimen solution on the electrochemical cell in the CV tag, the presence of solutes in the solution can be detected and shown on the signage of the CV tag in five sec. 10 mM of N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) was used as a standard solute to prove the working concept of fully printed disposable wireless CV tag. Within five seconds, we can wirelessly diagnose the presence of TMPD in the solution using the CV tag in the proximity of the 13.56 MHz RF reader. This fully printed and wirelessly operated flexible CV tag is the first of its kind and marks the path for the utilization of inexpensive and disposable wireless electrochemical sensor systems for initial diagnose hazardous chemicals and biological molecules to improve public hygiene and health. PMID:25630250

Fully printed flexible and disposable wireless cyclic voltammetry tag

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Younsu; Park, Hyejin; Park, Jin-Ah; Noh, Jinsoo; Choi, Yunchang; Jung, Minhoon; Jung, Kyunghwan; Pyo, Myungho; Chen, Kevin; Javey, Ali; Cho, Gyoujin

2015-01-01

A disposable cyclic voltammetry (CV) tag is printed on a plastic film by integrating wireless power transmitter, polarized triangle wave generator, electrochemical cell and signage through a scalable gravure printing method. By proximity of 13.56 MHz RF reader, the printed CV tag generates 320 mHz of triangular sweep wave from +500 mV to -500 mV which enable to scan a printed electrochemical cell in the CV tag. By simply dropping any specimen solution on the electrochemical cell in the CV tag, the presence of solutes in the solution can be detected and shown on the signage of the CV tag in five sec. 10 mM of N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) was used as a standard solute to prove the working concept of fully printed disposable wireless CV tag. Within five seconds, we can wirelessly diagnose the presence of TMPD in the solution using the CV tag in the proximity of the 13.56 MHz RF reader. This fully printed and wirelessly operated flexible CV tag is the first of its kind and marks the path for the utilization of inexpensive and disposable wireless electrochemical sensor systems for initial diagnose hazardous chemicals and biological molecules to improve public hygiene and health.

Surgically Implanted JSATS Micro-Acoustic Transmitters Effects on Juvenile Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Tag Expulsion and Survival, 2010

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

Woodley, Christa M.; Carpenter, Scott M.; Carter, Kathleen M.

2011-09-16

The purpose of this study was to evaluate survival model assumptions associated with a concurrent study - Acoustic Telemetry Evaluation of Dam Passage Survival and Associated Metrics at John Day, The Dalles, and Bonneville Dams, 2010 by Thomas Carlson and others in 2010 - in which the Juvenile Salmonid Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) was used to estimate the survival of yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) migrating through the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). The micro-acoustic transmitter used in these studies is the smallest acoustic transmitter model to date (12 mm long x 5more » mm wide x 4 mm high, and weighing 0.43 g in air). This study and the 2010 study by Carlson and others were conducted by researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Washington for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, to meet requirements set forth by the 2008 FCRPS Biological Opinion. In 2010, we compared survival, tag burden, and tag expulsion in five spring groups of yearling Chinook salmon (YCH) and steelhead (STH) and five summer groups of subyearling Chinook salmon (SYC) to evaluate survival model assumptions described in the concurrent study. Each tagging group consisted of approximately 120 fish/species, which were collected and implanted on a weekly basis, yielding approximately 600 fish total/species. YCH and STH were collected and implanted from late April to late May (5 weeks) and SYC were collected and implanted from mid-June to mid-July (5 weeks) at the John Day Dam Smolt Monitoring Facility. The fish were collected once a week, separated by species, and assigned to one of three treatment groups: (1) Control (no surgical treatment), (2) Sham (surgical implantation of only a passive integrated transponder [PIT] tag), and (3) Tagged (surgical implantation of JSATS micro-acoustic transmitter [AT] and PIT tags). The test fish were held for 30 days in indoor circular tanks at the Bonneville Dam Juvenile Monitoring Facility. Overall mortality ranged weekly from 45 to 72% for YCH, 55 to 83% for STH, and 56 to 84% for SYC. The high background mortality in all groups and species made it difficult to discern tag effects. However, for YCH, STH, and SYC, the Tagged treatment groups had the highest overall mean mortality - 62%, 79%, and 76%, respectively. Fungal infections were found on 35% of all fish. Mean tag burden for the Tagged treatment group was relatively low for YCH (1.7%) and moderate for SYC (4.2%), while STH had a very low mean tag burden (0.7%). Tag burden was significantly higher in the Tagged treatment group for all species when compared to the Sham treatment group because of the presence of two tags. Surgeon performance did not contribute to the difference in mortality between the Sham and Tagged treatment groups. Tag expulsion from fish that survived to the end of the 30-day experiment was low but occurred in all species, with only two PIT tags and one AT lost, one tag per species. The high background mortality in this experiment was not limited to a treatment, temperature, or month. The decreased number of surviving fish influenced our experimental results and thus analyses. For future research, we recommend that a more natural exposure to monitor tag effects and other factors, such as swimming ability and predator avoidance, be considered to determine the effects of AT- and PIT- implantation on fishes.« less

An Implantable RFID Sensor Tag toward Continuous Glucose Monitoring.

PubMed

Xiao, Zhibin; Tan, Xi; Chen, Xianliang; Chen, Sizheng; Zhang, Zijian; Zhang, Hualei; Wang, Junyu; Huang, Yue; Zhang, Peng; Zheng, Lirong; Min, Hao

2015-05-01

This paper presents a wirelessly powered implantable electrochemical sensor tag for continuous blood glucose monitoring. The system is remotely powered by a 13.56-MHz inductive link and utilizes an ISO 15693 radio frequency identification (RFID) standard for communication. This paper provides reliable and accurate measurement for changing glucose level. The sensor tag employs a long-term glucose sensor, a winding ferrite antenna, an RFID front-end, a potentiostat, a 10-bit sigma-delta analog to digital converter, an on-chip temperature sensor, and a digital baseband for protocol processing and control. A high-frequency external reader is used to power, command, and configure the sensor tag. The only off-chip support circuitry required is a tuned antenna and a glucose microsensor. The integrated chip fabricated in SMIC 0.13-μm CMOS process occupies an area of 1.2 mm ×2 mm and consumes 50 μW. The power sensitivity of the whole system is -4 dBm. The sensor tag achieves a measured glucose range of 0-30 mM with a sensitivity of 0.75 nA/mM.

Automated Data Tagging in the HLA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaffney, N. I.; Miller, W. W.

2008-08-01

One of the more powerful and popular forms of data organization implemented in most popular information sharing web applications is data tagging. With a rich user base from which to gather and digest tags, many interesting and often unanticipated yet very useful associations are revealed. With regard to an existing information, the astronomical community has a rich pool of existing digitally stored and searchable data than any of the currently popular web community, such as You Tube or My Space, had when they started. In initial experiments with the search engine for the Hubble Legacy Archive, we have created a simple yet powerful scheme by which the information from a footprint service, the NED and SIMBAD catalog services, and the ADS abstracts and keywords can be used to initially tag data with standard keywords. By then ingesting this into a public ally available information search engine, such as Apache Lucene, one can create a simple and powerful data tag search engine and association system. By then augmenting this with user provided keys and usage pattern analysis, one can produce a powerful modern data mining system for any astronomical data warehouse.

Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator

MedlinePlus

... Price Tag Read the Food Label Kitchen Timesavers Cooking for Your Family Tasty & Low-Cost Recipes Sample 2-Week Menus Resources for Professionals MyPlate Tip Sheets Print Materials Infographics 5 Ways ...

The Monitoring and Affinity Purification of Proteins Using Dual Tags with Tetracysteine Motifs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannone, Richard J.; Liu, Yie; Wang, Yisong

Identification and characterization of protein-protein interaction networks is essential for the elucidation of biochemical mechanisms and cellular function. Affinity purification in combination with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has emerged as a very powerful tactic for the identification of specific protein-protein interactions. In this chapter, we describe a comprehensive methodology that uses our recently developed dual-tag affinity purification system for the enrichment and identification of mammalian protein complexes. The protocol covers a series of separate but sequentially related techniques focused on the facile monitoring and purification of a dual-tagged protein of interest and its interacting partners via a system built with tetracysteine motifs and various combinations of affinity tags. Using human telomeric repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2) as an example, we demonstrate the power of the system in terms of bait protein recovery after dual-tag affinity purification, detection of bait protein subcellular localization and expression, and successful identification of known and potentially novel TRF2 interacting proteins. Although the protocol described here has been optimized for the identification and characterization of TRF2-associated proteins, it is, in principle, applicable to the study of any other mammalian protein complexes that may be of interest to the research community.

Cost effective raspberry pi-based radio frequency identification tagging of mice suitable for automated in vivo imaging.

PubMed

Bolaños, Federico; LeDue, Jeff M; Murphy, Timothy H

2017-01-30

Automation of animal experimentation improves consistency, reduces potential for error while decreasing animal stress and increasing well-being. Radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging can identify individual mice in group housing environments enabling animal-specific tracking of physiological parameters. We describe a simple protocol to radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and detect mice. RFID tags were injected sub-cutaneously after brief isoflurane anesthesia and do not require surgical steps such as suturing or incisions. We employ glass-encapsulated 125kHz tags that can be read within 30.2±2.4mm of the antenna. A raspberry pi single board computer and tag reader enable automated logging and cross platform support is possible through Python. We provide sample software written in Python to provide a flexible and cost effective system for logging the weights of multiple mice in relation to pre-defined targets. The sample software can serve as the basis of any behavioral or physiological task where users will need to identify and track specific animals. Recently, we have applied this system of tagging to automated mouse brain imaging within home-cages. We provide a cost effective solution employing open source software to facilitate adoption in applications such as automated imaging or tracking individual animal weights during tasks where food or water restriction is employed as motivation for a specific behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

EPA Web Taxonomy

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA's Web Taxonomy is a faceted hierarchical vocabulary used to tag web pages with terms from a controlled vocabulary. Tagging enables search and discovery of EPA's Web based information assests. EPA's Web Taxonomy is being provided in Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) format. SKOS is a standard for sharing and linking knowledge organization systems that promises to make Federal terminology resources more interoperable.

The Field Use Of The EURITRACK Tagged Neutron Inspection System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viesti, G.; Fabris, D.; Lunardon, M.; Moretto, S.; Nebbia, G.; Pesente, S.

2011-06-01

The EURITRACK portal makes use of the tagged neutron technique to inspect suspect regions of cargo containers identified in preliminary x-ray inspections. The portal has been in operation at the Rijeka seaport during the last three years. The performances of sub-systems, with particular interest on the sealed tube neutron generator, is presented.

Pilot Fullerton reviews FDF and TAGS printout on forward flight deck

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Pilot Fullerton, wearing communications kit assembly (ASSY) mini headset (HDST), reviews flight data file (FDF) checklist and text and graphics system (TAGS) printout (ticker tape) while in pilots ejection seat (S2). Pilot Station control panels F4, F7, F8, O3, window shade, and portable oxygen system (POS) assy appear in view.

Assessment of RFID Read Accuracy for ISS Water Kit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, Andrew

2011-01-01

The Space Life Sciences Directorate/Medical Informatics and Health Care Systems Branch (SD4) is assessing the benefits Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for tracking items flown onboard the International Space Station (ISS). As an initial study, the Avionic Systems Division Electromagnetic Systems Branch (EV4) is collaborating with SD4 to affix RFID tags to a water kit supplied by SD4 and studying the read success rate of the tagged items. The tagged water kit inside a Cargo Transfer Bag (CTB) was inventoried using three different RFID technologies, including the Johnson Space Center Building 14 Wireless Habitat Test Bed RFID portal, an RFID hand-held reader being targeted for use on board the ISS, and an RFID enclosure designed and prototyped by EV4.

Invisible-fluorescent identification tags for materials

DOEpatents

Lewis, Linda A.; Allgood, Glenn O.; Smithwick, III, Robert W.

2013-03-26

A taggant composition including a taggant material that is invisible in light of the visible spectrum and fluoresces under a non-visible excitation energy, a binder, and a solvent in which the taggant material and the binder are dissolved. The taggant composition can be printed or otherwise applied to a material such as fabric to provide a detectable and identifiable indicium. A method and apparatus for detecting and decoding the taggant indicium are also provided.

Daily Food Plan for Moms

MedlinePlus

... Price Tag Read the Food Label Kitchen Timesavers Cooking for Your Family Tasty & Low-Cost Recipes Sample 2-Week Menus Resources for Professionals MyPlate Tip Sheets Print Materials Infographics 5 Ways ...

Why Take a Prenatal Supplement?

MedlinePlus

... Price Tag Read the Food Label Kitchen Timesavers Cooking for Your Family Tasty & Low-Cost Recipes Sample 2-Week Menus Resources for Professionals MyPlate Tip Sheets Print Materials Infographics 5 Ways ...

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

B. Gardiner; L.Graton; J.Longo

Classified removable electronic media (CREM) are tracked in several different ways at the Laboratory. To ensure greater security for CREM, we are creating a single, Laboratory-wide system to track CREM. We are researching technology that can be used to electronically tag and detect CREM, designing a database to track the movement of CREM, and planning to test the system at several locations around the Laboratory. We focus on affixing ''smart tags'' to items we want to track and installing gates at pedestrian portals to detect the entry or exit of tagged items. By means of an enterprise database, the systemmore » will track the entry and exit of tagged items into and from CREM storage vaults, vault-type rooms, access corridors, or boundaries of secure areas, as well as the identity of the person carrying an item. We are considering several options for tracking items that can give greater security, but at greater expense.« less

A novel expression system for intracellular production and purification of recombinant affinity-tagged proteins in Aspergillus niger.

PubMed

Roth, Andreas H F J; Dersch, Petra

2010-03-01

A set of different integrative expression vectors for the intracellular production of recombinant proteins with or without affinity tag in Aspergillus niger was developed. Target genes can be expressed under the control of the highly efficient, constitutive pkiA promoter or the novel sucrose-inducible promoter of the beta-fructofuranosidase (sucA) gene of A. niger in the presence or absence of alternative carbon sources. All expression plasmids contain an identical multiple cloning sequence that allows parallel construction of N- or C-terminally His6- and StrepII-tagged versions of the target proteins. Production of two heterologous model proteins, the green fluorescence protein and the Thermobifida fusca hydrolase, proved the functionality of the vector system. Efficient production and easy detection of the target proteins as well as their fast purification by a one-step affinity chromatography, using the His6- or StrepII-tag sequence, was demonstrated.

Expert system for identification of simultaneous and sequential reactor fuel failures with gas tagging

DOEpatents

Gross, Kenny C.

1994-01-01

Failure of a fuel element in a nuclear reactor core is determined by a gas tagging failure detection system and method. Failures are catalogued and characterized after the event so that samples of the reactor's cover gas are taken at regular intervals and analyzed by mass spectroscopy. Employing a first set of systematic heuristic rules which are applied in a transformed node space allows the number of node combinations which must be processed within a barycentric algorithm to be substantially reduced. A second set of heuristic rules treats the tag nodes of the most recent one or two leakers as "background" gases, further reducing the number of trial node combinations. Lastly, a "fuzzy" set theory formalism minimizes experimental uncertainties in the identification of the most likely volumes of tag gases. This approach allows for the identification of virtually any number of sequential leaks and up to five simultaneous gas leaks from fuel elements.

A Field Evaluation of an External and Neutrally Buoyant Acoustic Transmitter for Juvenile Salmon: Implications for Estimating Hydroturbine Passage Survival

PubMed Central

Brown, Richard S.; Deng, Z. Daniel; Cook, Katrina V.; Pflugrath, Brett D.; Li, Xinya; Fu, Tao; Martinez, Jayson J.; Li, Huidong; Trumbo, Bradly A.; Ahmann, Martin L.; Seaburg, Adam G.

2013-01-01

Turbine-passed fish are exposed to rapid decreases in pressure which can cause barotrauma. The presence of an implanted telemetry tag increases the likelihood of injury or death from exposure to pressure changes, thus potentially biasing studies evaluating survival of turbine-passed fish. Therefore, a neutrally buoyant externally attached tag was developed to eliminate this bias in turbine passage studies. This new tag was designed not to add excess mass in water or take up space in the coelom, having an effective tag burden of zero with the goal of reducing pressure related biases to turbine survival studies. To determine if this new tag affects fish performance or susceptibility to predation, it was evaluated in the field relative to internally implanted acoustic transmitters (JSATS; Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System) used widely for survival studies of juvenile salmonids. Survival and travel time through the study reach was compared between fish with either tag type in an area of high predation in the Snake and Columbia rivers, Washington. An additional group of fish affixed with neutrally-buoyant dummy external tags were implanted with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and recovered further downstream to assess external tag retention and injury. There were no significant differences in survival to the first detection site, 12 river kilometers (rkm) downstream of release. Travel times were also similar between groups. Conversely, externally-tagged fish had reduced survival (or elevated tag loss) to the second detection site, 65 rkm downstream. In addition, the retention study revealed that tag loss was first observed in fish recaptured approximately 9 days after release. Results suggest that this new tag may be viable for short term (<8 days) single-dam turbine-passage studies and under these situations, may alleviate the turbine passage-related bias encountered when using internal tags, however further research is needed to confirm this. PMID:24204947

A field evaluation of an external and neutrally buoyant acoustic transmitter for juvenile salmon: implications for estimating hydroturbine passage survival.

PubMed

Brown, Richard S; Deng, Z Daniel; Cook, Katrina V; Pflugrath, Brett D; Li, Xinya; Fu, Tao; Martinez, Jayson J; Li, Huidong; Trumbo, Bradly A; Ahmann, Martin L; Seaburg, Adam G

2013-01-01

Turbine-passed fish are exposed to rapid decreases in pressure which can cause barotrauma. The presence of an implanted telemetry tag increases the likelihood of injury or death from exposure to pressure changes, thus potentially biasing studies evaluating survival of turbine-passed fish. Therefore, a neutrally buoyant externally attached tag was developed to eliminate this bias in turbine passage studies. This new tag was designed not to add excess mass in water or take up space in the coelom, having an effective tag burden of zero with the goal of reducing pressure related biases to turbine survival studies. To determine if this new tag affects fish performance or susceptibility to predation, it was evaluated in the field relative to internally implanted acoustic transmitters (JSATS; Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System) used widely for survival studies of juvenile salmonids. Survival and travel time through the study reach was compared between fish with either tag type in an area of high predation in the Snake and Columbia rivers, Washington. An additional group of fish affixed with neutrally-buoyant dummy external tags were implanted with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and recovered further downstream to assess external tag retention and injury. There were no significant differences in survival to the first detection site, 12 river kilometers (rkm) downstream of release. Travel times were also similar between groups. Conversely, externally-tagged fish had reduced survival (or elevated tag loss) to the second detection site, 65 rkm downstream. In addition, the retention study revealed that tag loss was first observed in fish recaptured approximately 9 days after release. Results suggest that this new tag may be viable for short term (<8 days) single-dam turbine-passage studies and under these situations, may alleviate the turbine passage-related bias encountered when using internal tags, however further research is needed to confirm this.

Enhancing SCORM Metadata for Assessment Authoring in E-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Wen-Chih; Hsu, Hui-Huang; Smith, Timothy K.; Wang, Chun-Chia

2004-01-01

With the rapid development of distance learning and the XML technology, metadata play an important role in e-Learning. Nowadays, many distance learning standards, such as SCORM, AICC CMI, IEEE LTSC LOM and IMS, use metadata to tag learning materials. However, most metadata models are used to define learning materials and test problems. Few…

78 FR 26289 - Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries: Public Roundtable

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-06

... indicate in descriptive marketing materials (e.g., advertisements, labels, tags) that a below-standard... evaluate whether any change or additional guidance is necessary to prevent consumer deception and, if so... recommended a revision to the Guides that would allow sellers to indicate in descriptive marketing materials...

Seasonal and circadian biases in bird tracking with solar GPS-tags.

PubMed

Silva, Rafa; Afán, Isabel; Gil, Juan A; Bustamante, Javier

2017-01-01

Global Positioning System (GPS) tags are nowadays widely used in wildlife tracking. This geolocation technique can suffer from fix loss biases due to poor satellite GPS geometry, that result in tracking data gaps leading to wrong research conclusions. In addition, new solar-powered GPS tags deployed on birds can suffer from a new "battery drain bias" currently ignored in movement ecology analyses. We use a GPS tracking dataset of bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus), tracked for several years with solar GPS tags, to evaluate the causes and triggers of fix and data retrieval loss biases. We compare two models of solar GPS tags using different data retrieval systems (Argos vs GSM-GPRS), and programmed with different duty cycles. Neither of the models was able to accomplish the duty cycle programed initially. Fix and data retrieval loss rates were always greater than expected, and showed non-random gaps in GPS locations. Number of fixes per month of tracking was a bad criterion to identify tags with smaller biases. Fix-loss rates were four times higher due to battery drain than due to poor GPS satellite geometry. Both tag models were biased due to the uneven solar energy available for the recharge of the tag throughout the annual cycle, resulting in greater fix-loss rates in winter compared to summer. In addition, we suggest that the bias found along the diurnal cycle is linked to a complex three-factor interaction of bird flight behavior, topography and fix interval. More fixes were lost when vultures were perching compared to flying, in rugged versus flat topography. But long fix-intervals caused greater loss of fixes in dynamic (flying) versus static situations (perching). To conclude, we emphasize the importance of evaluating fix-loss bias in current tracking projects, and deploying GPS tags that allow remote duty cycle updates so that the most appropriate fix and data retrieval intervals can be selected.

Seasonal and circadian biases in bird tracking with solar GPS-tags

PubMed Central

Afán, Isabel; Gil, Juan A.; Bustamante, Javier

2017-01-01

Global Positioning System (GPS) tags are nowadays widely used in wildlife tracking. This geolocation technique can suffer from fix loss biases due to poor satellite GPS geometry, that result in tracking data gaps leading to wrong research conclusions. In addition, new solar-powered GPS tags deployed on birds can suffer from a new “battery drain bias” currently ignored in movement ecology analyses. We use a GPS tracking dataset of bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus), tracked for several years with solar GPS tags, to evaluate the causes and triggers of fix and data retrieval loss biases. We compare two models of solar GPS tags using different data retrieval systems (Argos vs GSM-GPRS), and programmed with different duty cycles. Neither of the models was able to accomplish the duty cycle programed initially. Fix and data retrieval loss rates were always greater than expected, and showed non-random gaps in GPS locations. Number of fixes per month of tracking was a bad criterion to identify tags with smaller biases. Fix-loss rates were four times higher due to battery drain than due to poor GPS satellite geometry. Both tag models were biased due to the uneven solar energy available for the recharge of the tag throughout the annual cycle, resulting in greater fix-loss rates in winter compared to summer. In addition, we suggest that the bias found along the diurnal cycle is linked to a complex three-factor interaction of bird flight behavior, topography and fix interval. More fixes were lost when vultures were perching compared to flying, in rugged versus flat topography. But long fix-intervals caused greater loss of fixes in dynamic (flying) versus static situations (perching). To conclude, we emphasize the importance of evaluating fix-loss bias in current tracking projects, and deploying GPS tags that allow remote duty cycle updates so that the most appropriate fix and data retrieval intervals can be selected. PMID:29020062

Radio-tracking manatees from land and space: tag design, implementation, and lessons learned from long-term study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Deutsch, C.J.; Bonde, R.K.; Reid, J.P.

1998-01-01

West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) were tracked along the Atlantic coast of Florida and Georgia (N = 83 manatees, n = 439 tag deployments, 1986-1996) and in eastern Puerto Rico (N = 8, n = 43, 1992-1996) using conventional and satellite-based radio-telemetry systems. A floating radio-tag, attached by a flexible tether to a padded belt around the base of the tail, enabled us to track manatees in saltwater environments. The tag incorporated VHF (very high frequency) and ultrasonic transmitters for field tracking and tag recovery, and an Argos satellite-monitored transmitter for remote tracking. We located each animal in the field about twice per week, received more than 60 000 good-quality Argos locations, and recovered tags in over 90% of deployments. The tag was designed to detach from the belt when entangled to prevent injury or drowning, and this often led to premature termination of tracking bouts. We had considerable success, however, in retagging belted manatees without recapture (97% of 392 retagging events). Most individuals were radio-tagged more than once (median = 3.0, maximum = 43) for a median total duration of 7.5 months (maximum = 6.8 yr). Data obtained through Argos have been valuable in addressing questions relating to long-distance movements, site fidelity, and identification of high-use areas. Fine-scale analyses of manatee habitat use and movements may require restricting the data set to the highest location quality or developing new analytical techniques to incorporate locational error. Field tracking provided useful ancillary data on life-history parameters, but sample sizes were small and survival estimates imprecise. Modification of the existing tag design to include Global Positioning System (GPS) functionality, with its finer spatial and temporal resolution, will offer new opportunities to address critical research and management problems facing this endangered species.

Production of added value bacterial lipids through valorisation of hydrocarbon-contaminated cork waste.

PubMed

Castro, A R; Guimarães, M; Oliveira, J V; Pereira, M A

2017-12-15

This work demonstrates that cork used as oil-spill sorbents, contaminated with liquid hydrocarbons, herein demonstrated with hexadecane, can be biologically treated by Rhodococcus opacus B4 with concomitant lipids production. R. opacus B4 consumed up to 96% of hexadecane (C16) impregnated in natural and regranulated cork sorbents after 48h incubation, producing 0.59±0.06g of triacylglycerol (TAG) g -1 of C16 consumed with a TAG content of 0.60±0.06gg -1 of cellular dry weight (CDW) and 0.54±0.05g TAG g -1 of C16 consumed with a TAG content of 0.77±0.04gg -1 (CDW), respectively. TAG was mainly composed by fatty acids of 16 and 18 carbon chains demonstrating the feasibility of using it as raw material for biodiesel production. In addition, the obtained lipid-rich biomass (whole cells) can be used for biomethane production, at a yield of 0.4L CH 4 g -1 (CDW). The obtained results support a novel approach for management of oil-spill contaminated cork sorbents through its valorisation by producing bacterial lipids, which can be used as feedstocks for biofuels production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the Touch-And-Go Surface Sampling Concept for Comet Sample Return Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mandic, Milan; Acikmese, Behcet; Bayard, David S.; Blackmore, Lars

2012-01-01

This paper studies the Touch-and-Go (TAG) concept for enabling a spacecraft to take a sample from the surface of a small primitive body, such as an asteroid or comet. The idea behind the TAG concept is to let the spacecraft descend to the surface, make contact with the surface for several seconds, and then ascend to a safe location. Sampling would be accomplished by an end-effector that is active during the few seconds of surface contact. The TAG event is one of the most critical events in a primitive body sample-return mission. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the dynamic behavior of a representative spacecraft during the TAG event, i.e., immediately prior, during, and after surface contact of the sampler. The study evaluates the sample-collection performance of the proposed sampling end-effector, in this case a brushwheel sampler, while acquiring material from the surface during the contact. A main result of the study is a guidance and control (G&C) validation of the overall TAG concept, in addition to specific contributions to demonstrating the effectiveness of using nonlinear clutch mechanisms in the sampling arm joints, and increasing the length of the sampling arms to improve robustness.

Cocoa butter-like lipid production ability of non-oleaginous and oleaginous yeasts under nitrogen-limited culture conditions.

PubMed

Wei, Yongjun; Siewers, Verena; Nielsen, Jens

2017-05-01

Cocoa butter (CB) extracted from cocoa beans is the main raw material for chocolate production. However, growing chocolate demands and limited CB production has resulted in a shortage of CB supply. CB is mainly composed of three different kinds of triacylglycerols (TAGs), POP (C16:0-C18:1-C16:0), POS (C16:0-C18:1-C18:0), and SOS (C18:0-C18:1-C18:0). The storage lipids of yeasts, mainly TAGs, also contain relative high-level of C16 and C18 fatty acids and might be used as CB-like lipids (CBL). In this study, we cultivated six different yeasts, including one non-oleaginous yeast strain, Saccharomyces cerevisiae CEN.PK113-7D, and five oleaginous yeast strains, Trichosporon oleaginosus DSM11815, Rhodotorula graminis DSM 27356, Lipomyces starkeyi DSM 70296, Rhodosporidium toruloides DSM 70398, and Yarrowia lipolytica CBS 6124, in nitrogen-limited medium and compared their CBL production ability. Under the same growth conditions, we found that TAGs were the main lipids in all six yeasts and that T. oleaginosus can produce more TAGs than the other five yeasts. Less than 3% of the total TAGs were identified as potential SOS in the six yeasts. However, T. oleaginosus produced 27.8% potential POP and POS at levels of 378 mg TAGs/g dry cell weight, hinting that this yeast may have potential as a CBL production host after further metabolic engineering in future.

High-Level Accumulation of Triacylglycerol and Starch in Photoautotrophically Grown Chlamydomonas debaryana NIES-2212.

PubMed

Toyoshima, Masakazu; Sato, Naoki

2015-12-01

Microalgae have the potential to produce triacylglycerol (TAG) and starch, which provide alternative sources of biofuel. A problem in using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model for TAG production has been that this alga lacks phosphatidylcholine (PC), which is thought to be important for TAG synthesis in plants. We found that C. debaryana is one of the rare species of Chlamydomonas having PC. Here we show that this strain, grown under complete photoautotrophic conditions, accumulated TAG and starch up to 20 and 250 pg per cell, respectively, during the stationary phase without nutrient deprivation. Addition of nutrients in this state did not cause loss of TAG, which was found in dilution with fresh medium. The photosynthetically produced TAG contained a high level of monounsaturated fatty acids, which is a preferred property as a material for biodiesel. The oil bodies were present in the cytoplasm, either between the cytoplasmic membrane and the chloroplast or between the chloroplast and the nucleus, whereas the starch granules were present within the chloroplast. Oil bodies were also deposited as a broad layer in the peripheral space of the cytoplasm outside the chloroplast, and might be easily released from the cells by genetic, chemical or mechanical manipulation. These results suggest that C. debaryana is a promising seed organism for developing a good biofuel producer. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Smart Shopping for Veggies and Fruits

MedlinePlus

... Price Tag Read the Food Label Kitchen Timesavers Cooking for Your Family Tasty & Low-Cost Recipes Sample 2-Week Menus Resources for Professionals MyPlate Tip Sheets Print Materials Infographics 5 Ways ...

Role of chemically and thermally induced crystal lattice distortion in enhancing the Seebeck coefficient in complex tellurides

DOE PAGES

Levin, E. M.; Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA; Kramer, M. J.; ...

2016-07-14

Composition and crystal structure of complex materials can significantly change the Seebeck effect, i.e., heat to electrical energy conversion, which is utilized in thermoelectric materials. Despite decades of studies of various thermoelectric materials and their application, the fundamental understanding of this effect still is limited. One of the most efficient groups of thermoelectric materials is based on GeTe, where Ge is replaced by [Ag + Sb], i.e., Ag xSb xGe 50-2xTe 50 alloys, traditionally shown as (GeTe) m(AgSbTe 2) 100-m (TAGS-m series). Here, in this article, we report on the discovery of two unique phenomena in TAGS materials attributed tomore » the effects from [Ag + Sb] atoms: (i) a linear relation between the Seebeck coefficient and rhombohedral lattice distortion, and (ii) resonance-like temperature-induced behavior of the contribution to the Seebeck coefficient produced by [Ag + Sb] atoms. Finally, our findings show that heat to electrical energy conversion strongly depends on the temperature- and compositionally-induced rhombohedral to cubic transformation where [Ag + Sb] atoms play a crucial mediating role.« less

PASTE: patient-centered SMS text tagging in a medication management system

PubMed Central

Johnson, Kevin B; Denny, Joshua C

2011-01-01

Objective To evaluate the performance of a system that extracts medication information and administration-related actions from patient short message service (SMS) messages. Design Mobile technologies provide a platform for electronic patient-centered medication management. MyMediHealth (MMH) is a medication management system that includes a medication scheduler, a medication administration record, and a reminder engine that sends text messages to cell phones. The object of this work was to extend MMH to allow two-way interaction using mobile phone-based SMS technology. Unprompted text-message communication with patients using natural language could engage patients in their healthcare, but presents unique natural language processing challenges. The authors developed a new functional component of MMH, the Patient-centered Automated SMS Tagging Engine (PASTE). The PASTE web service uses natural language processing methods, custom lexicons, and existing knowledge sources to extract and tag medication information from patient text messages. Measurements A pilot evaluation of PASTE was completed using 130 medication messages anonymously submitted by 16 volunteers via a website. System output was compared with manually tagged messages. Results Verified medication names, medication terms, and action terms reached high F-measures of 91.3%, 94.7%, and 90.4%, respectively. The overall medication name F-measure was 79.8%, and the medication action term F-measure was 90%. Conclusion Other studies have demonstrated systems that successfully extract medication information from clinical documents using semantic tagging, regular expression-based approaches, or a combination of both approaches. This evaluation demonstrates the feasibility of extracting medication information from patient-generated medication messages. PMID:21984605

Experimental validation of a sub-surface model of solar power for distributed marine sensor systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahn, Gregory G.; Cantin, Heather P.; Shafer, Michael W.

2016-04-01

The capabilities of distributed sensor systems such as marine wildlife telemetry tags could be significantly enhanced through the integration of photovoltaic modules. Photovoltaic cells could be used to supplement the primary batteries for wildlife telemetry tags to allow for extended tag deployments, wherein larger amounts of data could be collected and transmitted in near real time. In this article, we present experimental results used to validate and improve key aspects of our original model for sub-surface solar power. We discuss the test methods and results, comparing analytic predictions to experimental results. In a previous work, we introduced a model for sub-surface solar power that used analytic models and empirical data to predict the solar irradiance available for harvest at any depth under the ocean's surface over the course of a year. This model presented underwater photovoltaic transduction as a viable means of supplementing energy for marine wildlife telemetry tags. The additional data provided by improvements in daily energy budgets would enhance the temporal and spatial comprehension of the host's activities and/or environments. Photovoltaic transduction is one method that has not been widely deployed in the sub-surface marine environments despite widespread use on terrestrial and avian species wildlife tag systems. Until now, the use of photovoltaic cells for underwater energy harvesting has generally been disregarded as a viable energy source in this arena. In addition to marine telemetry systems, photovoltaic energy harvesting systems could also serve as a means of energy supply for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), as well as submersible buoys for oceanographic data collection.

A novel method of robot location using RFID and stereo vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Diansheng; Zhang, Guanxin; Li, Zhen

2012-04-01

This paper proposed a new global localization method for mobile robot based on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Devices) and stereo vision, which makes the robot obtain global coordinates with good accuracy when quickly adapting to unfamiliar and new environment. This method uses RFID tags as artificial landmarks, the 3D coordinate of the tags under the global coordinate system is written in the IC memory. The robot can read it through RFID reader; meanwhile, using stereo vision, the 3D coordinate of the tags under the robot coordinate system is measured. Combined with the robot's attitude coordinate system transformation matrix from the pose measuring system, the translation of the robot coordinate system to the global coordinate system is obtained, which is also the coordinate of the robot's current location under the global coordinate system. The average error of our method is 0.11m in experience conducted in a 7m×7m lobby, the result is much more accurate than other location method.

Weld failure detection

DOEpatents

Pennell, William E.; Sutton, Jr., Harry G.

1981-01-01

Method and apparatus for detecting failure in a welded connection, particrly applicable to not readily accessible welds such as those joining components within the reactor vessel of a nuclear reactor system. A preselected tag gas is sealed within a chamber which extends through selected portions of the base metal and weld deposit. In the event of a failure, such as development of a crack extending from the chamber to an outer surface, the tag gas is released. The environment about the welded area is directed to an analyzer which, in the event of presence of the tag gas, evidences the failure. A trigger gas can be included with the tag gas to actuate the analyzer.

A strategy for recovering continuous behavioral telemetry data from Pacific walruses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fischbach, Anthony S.; Jay, Chadwick V.

2016-01-01

Tracking animal behavior and movement with telemetry sensors can offer substantial insights required for conservation. Yet, the value of data collected by animal-borne telemetry systems is limited by bandwidth constraints. To understand the response of Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) to rapid changes in sea ice availability, we required continuous geospatial chronologies of foraging behavior. Satellite telemetry offered the only practical means to systematically collect such data; however, data transmission constraints of satellite data-collection systems limited the data volume that could be acquired. Although algorithms exist for reducing sensor data volumes for efficient transmission, none could meet our requirements. Consequently, we developed an algorithm for classifying hourly foraging behavior status aboard a tag with limited processing power. We found a 98% correspondence of our algorithm's classification with a test classification based on time–depth data recovered and characterized through multivariate analysis in a separate study. We then applied our algorithm within a telemetry system that relied on remotely deployed satellite tags. Data collected by these tags from Pacific walruses across their range during 2007–2015 demonstrated the consistency of foraging behavior collected by this strategy with data collected by data logging tags; and demonstrated the ability to collect geospatial behavioral chronologies with minimal missing data where recovery of data logging tags is precluded. Our strategy for developing a telemetry system may be applicable to any study requiring intelligent algorithms to continuously monitor behavior, and then compress those data into meaningful information that can be efficiently transmitted.

Module-based construction of plasmids for chromosomal integration of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

PubMed Central

Kakui, Yasutaka; Sunaga, Tomonari; Arai, Kunio; Dodgson, James; Ji, Liang; Csikász-Nagy, Attila; Carazo-Salas, Rafael; Sato, Masamitsu

2015-01-01

Integration of an external gene into a fission yeast chromosome is useful to investigate the effect of the gene product. An easy way to knock-in a gene construct is use of an integration plasmid, which can be targeted and inserted to a chromosome through homologous recombination. Despite the advantage of integration, construction of integration plasmids is energy- and time-consuming, because there is no systematic library of integration plasmids with various promoters, fluorescent protein tags, terminators and selection markers; therefore, researchers are often forced to make appropriate ones through multiple rounds of cloning procedures. Here, we establish materials and methods to easily construct integration plasmids. We introduce a convenient cloning system based on Golden Gate DNA shuffling, which enables the connection of multiple DNA fragments at once: any kind of promoters and terminators, the gene of interest, in combination with any fluorescent protein tag genes and any selection markers. Each of those DNA fragments, called a ‘module’, can be tandemly ligated in the order we desire in a single reaction, which yields a circular plasmid in a one-step manner. The resulting plasmids can be integrated through standard methods for transformation. Thus, these materials and methods help easy construction of knock-in strains, and this will further increase the value of fission yeast as a model organism. PMID:26108218

Transportation Observations, Considerations, and Recommendations relative to the Eastern Sierra Expanded Transit System and the Reds Meadow Shuttle Provided by the Interagency Transportation Assistance Group (TAG) / Alternative Transportation in Parks and

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-08-21

A field investigation of the current transportation issues and opportunities relative to the Eastern Sierra Expanded Transit System and the Reds Meadow Shuttle by the inter-agency Transportation Assistance Group (TAG) was conducted August 21-23, 2007...

Overexpression of a phosphatidic acid phosphatase type 2 leads to an increase in triacylglycerol production in oleaginous Rhodococcus strains.

PubMed

Hernández, Martín A; Comba, Santiago; Arabolaza, Ana; Gramajo, Hugo; Alvarez, Héctor M

2015-03-01

Oleaginous Rhodococcus strains are able to accumulate large amounts of triacylglycerol (TAG). Phosphatidic acid phosphatase (PAP) enzyme catalyzes the dephosphorylation of phosphatidic acid (PA) to yield diacylglycerol (DAG), a key precursor for TAG biosynthesis. Studies to establish its role in lipid metabolism have been mainly focused in eukaryotes but not in bacteria. In this work, we identified and characterized a putative PAP type 2 (PAP2) encoded by the ro00075 gene in Rhodococcus jostii RHA1. Heterologous expression of ro00075 in Escherichia coli resulted in a fourfold increase in PAP activity and twofold in DAG content. The conditional deletion of ro00075 in RHA1 led to a decrease in the content of DAG and TAG, whereas its overexpression in both RHA1 and Rhodococcus opacus PD630 promoted an increase up to 10 to 15 % by cellular dry weight in TAG content. On the other hand, expression of ro00075 in the non-oleaginous strain Rhodococcus fascians F7 promoted an increase in total fatty acid content up to 7 % at the expense of free fatty acid (FFA), DAG, and TAG fractions. Moreover, co-expression of ro00075/atf2 genes resulted in a fourfold increase in total fatty acid content by a further increase of the FFA and TAG fractions. The results of this study suggest that ro00075 encodes for a PAP2 enzyme actively involved in TAG biosynthesis. Overexpression of this gene, as single one or with an atf gene, provides an alternative approach to increase the biosynthesis and accumulation of bacterial oils as a potential source of raw material for biofuel production.

Scalable patients tracking framework for mass casualty incidents.

PubMed

Yu, Xunyi; Ganz, Aura

2011-01-01

We introduce a system that tracks patients in a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) using active RFID triage tags and mobile anchor points (DM-tracks) carried by the paramedics. The system does not involve any fixed deployment of the localization devices while maintaining a low cost triage tag. The localization accuracy is comparable to GPS systems without incurring the cost of providing a GPS based device to every patient in the disaster scene.

Evaluation of Fish Movements, Migration Patterns, and Population Abundance with Streamwidth PIT Tag Interrogation Systems, Final Report 2002.

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

Zydlewski, Gayle; Winter, Christiane; McClanahan, Dee

2003-02-01

Two remote Streamwidth PIT tag Interrogation systems (SPIs) were operated continuously for over one year to test the feasibility of these systems for generating movement, migration, survival and smolt production estimates for salmonids. A total of 1,588 juvenile (< 100 mm FL) naturally produced salmonids (7 coho salmon, 482 cutthroat trout, and 1,099 steelhead) were PIT tagged above the upstream-most SPI (9 sites approximately 1 linear km each) in Fall 2001. Age at tagging for wild caught cutthroat and steelhead was 1 year. SPIs were operating before any PIT tagged fish were released in the creek. Over 390,000 detections weremore » recorded from October 2001 to 31 July 2002. Efficiencies were site dependent, but overall detection efficiency for the creek was 97% with 95% confidence intervals of 91-100%. PIT tag detection efficiency ranged from 55-100% depending on the SPI and varied throughout the year with average efficiencies of 73% and 89%. SPI efficiency of PIT tag detection was not completely dependent on electronics noise levels or environmental conditions. Fish from all tagging locations were detected at the SPIs. Steelhead and cutthroat trout were primarily detected moving in the Spring (April-June) coincident with the anticipated smolt migration. Steelhead were also detected moving past SPIs at lower numbers in the Fall and Winter. Travel time between SPIs (downstream movement) was highly dependent on time of year. Travel time in the Spring was significantly faster (34.4 {+-} 7.0 hours) for all species than during any other time of year (763.1 {+-} 267.0 hours). Steelhead and cutthroat migrating in the Spring were the same age as those that did not migrate in the Spring. Peak of steelhead migration recorded at the two SPIs was 5/11 and 5/12 and the peak in the screw trap was recorded on 5/17. Steelhead smolt production estimates using SPIs (3,802 with 95% confidence intervals of 3,440 - 4,245) was similar to those using more standard screw trap methods (approximately 5,400). All species used the faster moving/deeper section of the creek at both SPIs. A backpack PIT tag detector was also developed and used as another remote 'recapture' for additional accuracy in estimating population survival and recapture probability. This unit was used at an approximate efficiency of 24% to survey the creek after the Spring migration. Twenty-five individual fish were re-located. All PIT tag data were used to calculate survival and recapture probabilities using the Cormack-Jolly-Seber population model. Survival for steelhead was high and recapture probability depended greatly on season. Probability of recapture was highest in Spring (29.5%) and relatively low in all other seasons (< 7% in Fall, Winter, and Summer). Wild steelhead PIT tagged in the field and returned to the laboratory had a tag retention rate of 97.6%. A laboratory study was designed to determine the effects of 3-sized PIT tags (12 mm, 20 mm, and 23 mm) on survival and growth of individuals. Survival from surgical implantation of 23 mm PIT tags was > 98% for fish (coho salmon and steelhead). Retention of 23 mm PIT tags was 100% for coho salmon and 89% for steelhead. For both coho and steelhead, growth rates during the first month were affected by tagging, but by the end of 2 months growth effects equalized for all tag sizes. Life history characteristics quantified with SPI techniques are comparable to standard techniques. For example, peaks of Spring migration for steelhead and cutthroat were amazingly similar to those reported from the screw trap. These techniques will enable application of less laborious methods which are more accurate at estimating life history parameters.« less

Evaluation of Fish Movements, Migration Patterns and Populations Abundance with Streamwidth PIT Tag Interrogation Systems, Final Report 2002.

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

Zydlewski, Gayle B.; Casey, Sean

2003-02-01

Two remote Streamwidth PIT tag Interrogation systems (SPIs) were operated continuously for over one year to test the feasibility of these systems for generating movement, migration, survival and smolt production estimates for salmonids. A total of 1,588 juvenile (< 100 mm FL) naturally produced salmonids (7 coho salmon, 482 cutthroat trout, and 1,099 steelhead) were PIT tagged above the upstream-most SPI (9 sites approximately 1 linear km each) in Fall 2001. Age at tagging for wild caught cutthroat and steelhead was 1 year. SPIs were operating before any PIT tagged fish were released in the creek. Over 390,000 detections weremore » recorded from October 2001 to 31 July 2002. Efficiencies were site dependent, but overall detection efficiency for the creek was 97% with 95% confidence intervals of 91-100%. PIT tag detection efficiency ranged from 55-100% depending on the SPI and varied throughout the year with average efficiencies of 73% and 89%. SPI efficiency of PIT tag detection was not completely dependent on electronics noise levels or environmental conditions. Fish from all tagging locations were detected at the SPIs. Steelhead and cutthroat trout were primarily detected moving in the Spring (April-June) coincident with the anticipated smolt migration. Steelhead were also detected moving past SPIs at lower numbers in the Fall and Winter. Travel time between SPIs (downstream movement) was highly dependent on time of year. Travel time in the Spring was significantly faster (34.4 {+-} 7.0 hours) for all species than during any other time of year (763.1 {+-} 267.0 hours). Steelhead and cutthroat migrating in the Spring were the same age as those that did not migrate in the Spring. Peak of steelhead migration recorded at the two SPIs was 5/11 and 5/12 and the peak in the screw trap was recorded on 5/17. Steelhead smolt production estimates using SPIs (3,802 with 95% confidence intervals of 3,440-4,245) was similar to those using more standard screw trap methods (approximately 5,400). All species used the faster moving/deeper section of the creek at both SPIs. A backpack PIT tag detector was also developed and used as another remote ''recapture'' for additional accuracy in estimating population survival and recapture probability. This unit was used at an approximate efficiency of 24% to survey the creek after the Spring migration. Twenty-five individual fish were re-located. All PIT tag data were used to calculate survival and recapture probabilities using the Cormack-Jolly-Seber population model. Survival for steelhead was high and recapture probability depended greatly on season. Probability of recapture was highest in Spring (29.5%) and relatively low in all other seasons (< 7% in Fall, Winter, and Summer). Wild steelhead PIT tagged in the field and returned to the laboratory had a tag retention rate of 97.6%. A laboratory study was designed to determine the effects of 3-sized PIT tags (12 mm, 20 mm, and 23 mm) on survival and growth of individuals. Survival from surgical implantation of 23 mm PIT tags was > 98% for fish (coho salmon and steelhead). Retention of 23 mm PIT tags was 100% for coho salmon and 89% for steelhead. For both coho and steelhead, growth rates during the first month were affected by tagging, but by the end of 2 months growth effects equalized for all tag sizes. Life history characteristics quantified with SPI techniques are comparable to standard techniques. For example, peaks of Spring migration for steelhead and cutthroat were amazingly similar to those reported from the screw trap. These techniques will enable application of less laborious methods which are more accurate at estimating life history parameters.« less

Characterization and Determination of Interesterification Markers (Triacylglycerol Regioisomers) in Confectionery Oils by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

PubMed Central

Santoro, Valentina; Aigotti, Riccardo; Gastaldi, Daniela; Romaniello, Francesco; Forte, Emanuele; Magni, Martina; Baiocchi, Claudio

2018-01-01

Interesterification is an industrial transformation process aiming to change the physico-chemical properties of vegetable oils by redistributing fatty acid position within the original constituent of the triglycerides. In the confectionery industry, controlling formation degree of positional isomers is important in order to obtain fats with the desired properties. Silver ion HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) is the analytical technique usually adopted to separate triglycerides (TAGs) having different unsaturation degrees. However, separation of TAG positional isomers is a challenge when the number of double bonds is the same and the only difference is in their position within the triglyceride molecule. The TAG positional isomers involved in the present work have a structural specificity that require a separation method tailored to the needs of confectionery industry. The aim of this work was to obtain a chromatographic resolution that might allow reliable qualitative and quantitative evaluation of TAG positional isomers within reasonably rapid retention times and robust in respect of repeatability and reproducibility. The resulting analytical procedure was applied both to confectionery raw materials and final products. PMID:29462917

Functional polymer sheet patterning using microfluidics.

PubMed

Li, Minggan; Humayun, Mouhita; Kozinski, Janusz A; Hwang, Dae Kun

2014-07-22

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based microfluidics provide a novel approach to advanced material synthesis. While PDMS has been successfully used in a wide range of industrial applications, due to the weak mechanical property channels generally possess low aspect ratios (AR) and thus produce microparticles with similarly low ARs. By increasing the channel width to nearly 1 cm, AR to 267, and implementing flow lithography, we were able to establish the slit-channel lithography. Not only does this allow us to synthesize sheet materials bearing multiscale features and tunable chemical anisotropy but it also allows us to fabricate functional layered sheet structures in a one-step, high-throughput fashion. We showcased the technique's potential role in various applications, such as the synthesis of planar material with micro- and nanoscale features, surface morphologies, construction of tubular and 3D layered hydrogel tissue scaffolds, and one-step formation of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. The method introduced offers a novel route to functional sheet material synthesis and sheet system fabrication.

A dual tag system for facilitated detection of surface expressed proteins in Escherichia coli

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The discovery of the autotransporter family has provided a mechanism for surface expression of proteins in laboratory strains of Escherichia coli. We have previously reported the use of the AIDA-I autotransport system to express the Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis proteins SefA and H:gm. The SefA protein was successfully exposed to the medium, but the orientation of H:gm in the outer membrane could not be determined due to proteolytic cleavage of the N-terminal detection-tag. The goal of the present work was therefore to construct a vector containing elements that facilitates analysis of surface expression, especially for proteins that are sensitive to proteolysis or otherwise difficult to express. Results The surface expression system pAIDA1 was created with two detection tags flanking the passenger protein. Successful expression of SefA and H:gm on the surface of E. coli was confirmed with fluorescently labeled antibodies specific for the N-terminal His6-tag and the C-terminal Myc-tag. While both tags were detected during SefA expression, only the Myc-tag could be detected for H:gm. The negative signal indicates a proteolytic cleavage of this protein that removes the His6-tag facing the medium. Conclusions Expression levels from pAIDA1 were comparable to or higher than those achieved with the formerly used vector. The presence of the Myc- but not of the His6-tag on the cell surface during H:gm expression allowed us to confirm the hypothesis that this fusion protein was present on the surface and oriented towards the cell exterior. Western blot analysis revealed degradation products of the same molecular weight for SefA and H:gm. The size of these fragments suggests that both fusion proteins have been cleaved at a specific site close to the C-terminal end of the passenger. This proteolysis was concluded to take place either in the outer membrane or in the periplasm. Since H:gm was cleaved to a much greater extent then the three times smaller SefA, it is proposed that the longer translocation time for the larger H:gm makes it more susceptible to proteolysis. PMID:22943700

A 2.4-GHz ISM RF and UWB hybrid RFID real-time locating system for industrial enterprise Internet of Things

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhai, Chuanying; Zou, Zhuo; Zhou, Qin; Mao, Jia; Chen, Qiang; Tenhunen, Hannu; Zheng, Lirong; Xu, Lida

2017-07-01

This paper presents a 2.4-GHz radio frequency (RF) and ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB) hybrid real-time locating system (RTLS) for industrial enterprise Internet of Things (IoT). It employs asymmetric wireless link, that is, UWB radio is utilised for accurate positioning up to 10 cm in critical sites, whereas 2.4-GHz RF is used for tag control and coarse positioning in non-critical sites. The specified communication protocol and the adaptive tag synchronisation rate ensure reliable and deterministic access with a scalable system capacity and avoid unpredictable latency and additional energy consumption of retransmissions due to collisions. The tag, consisting of a commercial 2.4-GHz transceiver and a customised application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) UWB transmitter (Tx), is able to achieve up to 3 years' battery life at 1600 tags per position update second with 1000 mAh battery in one cluster. The time difference of arrival (TDoA)-based positioning experiment at UWB radio is performed on the designed software-defined radio (SDR) platform.

Selection of mRNA 5'-untranslated region sequence with high translation efficiency through ribosome display

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

Mie, Masayasu; Shimizu, Shun; Takahashi, Fumio

2008-08-15

The 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) of mRNAs functions as a translation enhancer, promoting translation efficiency. Many in vitro translation systems exhibit a reduced efficiency in protein translation due to decreased translation initiation. The use of a 5'-UTR sequence with high translation efficiency greatly enhances protein production in these systems. In this study, we have developed an in vitro selection system that favors 5'-UTRs with high translation efficiency using a ribosome display technique. A 5'-UTR random library, comprised of 5'-UTRs tagged with a His-tag and Renilla luciferase (R-luc) fusion, were in vitro translated in rabbit reticulocytes. By limiting the translation period, onlymore » mRNAs with high translation efficiency were translated. During translation, mRNA, ribosome and translated R-luc with His-tag formed ternary complexes. They were collected with translated His-tag using Ni-particles. Extracted mRNA from ternary complex was amplified using RT-PCR and sequenced. Finally, 5'-UTR with high translation efficiency was obtained from random 5'-UTR library.« less

Performance of low-power RFID tags based on modulated backscattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mhanna, Zeinab; Sibille, Alain; Contreras, Richard

2017-02-01

Ultra Wideband (UWB) modulated backscattering (MBS) passive Radio-Frequency IDentification (RFID) systems provide a promising solution to overcome many limitations of current narrowband RFID devices. This work addresses the performance of such systems from the point of view of the radio channel between the readers and the tags. Such systems will likely combine several readers, in order to provide both the detection and localization of tags operating in MBS. Two successive measurements campaigns have been carried out in an indoor reference scenario environment. The first is intended to verify the methods and serves as a way to validate the RFID backscattering measurement setup. The second represents a real use case for RFID application and allows one to quantitatively analyze the path loss of the backscattering propagation channel. xml:lang="fr"

Enhancing of chemical compound and drug name recognition using representative tag scheme and fine-grained tokenization.

PubMed

Dai, Hong-Jie; Lai, Po-Ting; Chang, Yung-Chun; Tsai, Richard Tzong-Han

2015-01-01

The functions of chemical compounds and drugs that affect biological processes and their particular effect on the onset and treatment of diseases have attracted increasing interest with the advancement of research in the life sciences. To extract knowledge from the extensive literatures on such compounds and drugs, the organizers of BioCreative IV administered the CHEMical Compound and Drug Named Entity Recognition (CHEMDNER) task to establish a standard dataset for evaluating state-of-the-art chemical entity recognition methods. This study introduces the approach of our CHEMDNER system. Instead of emphasizing the development of novel feature sets for machine learning, this study investigates the effect of various tag schemes on the recognition of the names of chemicals and drugs by using conditional random fields. Experiments were conducted using combinations of different tokenization strategies and tag schemes to investigate the effects of tag set selection and tokenization method on the CHEMDNER task. This study presents the performance of CHEMDNER of three more representative tag schemes-IOBE, IOBES, and IOB12E-when applied to a widely utilized IOB tag set and combined with the coarse-/fine-grained tokenization methods. The experimental results thus reveal that the fine-grained tokenization strategy performance best in terms of precision, recall and F-scores when the IOBES tag set was utilized. The IOBES model with fine-grained tokenization yielded the best-F-scores in the six chemical entity categories other than the "Multiple" entity category. Nonetheless, no significant improvement was observed when a more representative tag schemes was used with the coarse or fine-grained tokenization rules. The best F-scores that were achieved using the developed system on the test dataset of the CHEMDNER task were 0.833 and 0.815 for the chemical documents indexing and the chemical entity mention recognition tasks, respectively. The results herein highlight the importance of tag set selection and the use of different tokenization strategies. Fine-grained tokenization combined with the tag set IOBES most effectively recognizes chemical and drug names. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this investigation is the first comprehensive investigation use of various tag set schemes combined with different tokenization strategies for the recognition of chemical entities.

A composite thin vacuum window for the CLAS photon tagger at Jefferson lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, S. K.; Crannell, Hall; O'Brien, J. T.; Sober, D. I.

1999-01-01

The construction of a thin vacuum window, currently in use on the CLAS photon tagging system at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, is described. A layer of woven Kevlar cloth supports a much thinner membrane of aluminized Mylar. Notable features of this particular window include its overall length (9.6 m), and the fact that the entire load is supported by the epoxy seal with no mechanical clamping around the edges. Results from a diverse program of materials testing, including a clear dependence of leak rate on relative humidity, are also reported.

Space and energy. [space systems for energy generation, distribution and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bekey, I.

1976-01-01

Potential contributions of space to energy-related activities are discussed. Advanced concepts presented include worldwide energy distribution to substation-sized users using low-altitude space reflectors; powering large numbers of large aircraft worldwide using laser beams reflected from space mirror complexes; providing night illumination via sunlight-reflecting space mirrors; fine-scale power programming and monitoring in transmission networks by monitoring millions of network points from space; prevention of undetected hijacking of nuclear reactor fuels by space tracking of signals from tagging transmitters on all such materials; and disposal of nuclear power plant radioactive wastes in space.

The use of tags and tag clouds to discern credible content in online health message forums.

PubMed

O'Grady, Laura; Wathen, C Nadine; Charnaw-Burger, Jill; Betel, Lisa; Shachak, Aviv; Luke, Robert; Hockema, Stephen; Jadad, Alejandro R

2012-01-01

Web sites with health-oriented content are potentially harmful if inaccurate or inappropriate medical information is used to make health-related decisions. Checklists, rating systems and guidelines have been developed to help people determine what is credible, but recent Internet technologies emphasize applications that are collaborative in nature, including tags and tag clouds, where site users 'tag' or label online content, each using their own labelling system. Concepts such as the date, reference, author, testimonial and quotations are considered predictors of credible content. An understanding of these descriptive tools, how they relate to the depiction of credibility and how this relates to overall efforts to label data in relation to the semantic web has yet to emerge. This study investigates how structured (pre-determined) and unstructured (user-generated) tags and tag clouds with a multiple word search feature are used by participants to assess credibility of messages posted in online message forums. The targeted respondents were those using web sites message forums for disease self-management. We also explored the relevancy of our findings to the labelling or indexing of data in the context of the semantic web. Diabetes was chosen as the content area in this study, since (a) this is a condition with increasing prevalence and (b) diabetics have been shown to actively use the Internet to manage their condition. From January to March 2010 participants were recruited using purposive sampling techniques. A screening instrument was used to determine eligibility. The study consisted of a demographic and computer usage survey, a series of usability tests and an interview. We tested participants (N=22) on two scenarios, each involving tasks that assessed their ability to tag content and search using a tag cloud that included six structured credibility terms (statistics, date, reference, author, testimonial and quotations). MORAE Usability software (version 3.1) was employed to record participants' use of the study environment. The surveys were analyzed using SPSS version 17. Interviews with participants were transcribed, coded and analyzed using thematic text analysis with the aid of NVivo8. Most participants had experience with Internet resources. However, less than one quarter of this sample had seen or used tags or a tag clouds. The ways in which participants used tags to label the content posted in the message forums varied. Some participants were tagging the information for their own subsequent use, whereas others viewed this process from the perspective of others: they tagged the content in ways that they thought other users would find beneficial. Many participants did not use the structured credibility tags when asked to search for credible content. The interviews corroborated these findings by confirming participants were not considering credibility foremost when tagging. Many participants in this study focused on assessing whether the information was relevant to their current circumstances, after which they would proceed to determine its credibility by corroborating with other sources. The use of structured tags to label information may not be a useful way to encourage the use of tagging, or to indicate credibility in this context. Current applications used in the semantic web automate this process. Therefore it may be useful to engage consumers of online content, in particular health-related content, to be more directly involved in the annotation of this content. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electronic tagging and integrated product intelligence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swerdlow, Martin; Weeks, Brian

1996-03-01

The advent of 'intelligent,' electronic data bearing tags is set to revolutionize the way industrial and retail products are identified and tracked throughout their life cycles. The dominant system for unique identification today is the bar code, which is based on printed symbology and regulated by the International Article Numbering Association. Bar codes provide users with significant operational advantages and generate considerable added value to packaging companies, product manufacturers, distributors and retailers, across supply chains in many different sectors, from retailing, to baggage handling and industrial components, e.g., for vehicles or aircraft. Electronic tags offer the potential to: (1) record and store more complex data about the product or any modifications which occur during its life cycle; (2) access (and up-date) stored data in real time in a way which does not involve contact with the product or article; (3) overcome the limitations imposed by systems which rely on line-of-sight access to stored data. Companies are now beginning to consider how electronic data tags can be used, not only to improve the efficiency of their supply chain processes, but also to revolutionize the way they do business. This paper reviews the applications and business opportunities for electronic tags and outlines CEST's strategy for achieving an 'open' standard which will ensure that tags from different vendors can co-exist on an international basis.

Chemistry and liquid chromatography methods for the analyses of primary oxidation products of triacylglycerols.

PubMed

Zeb, A

2015-05-01

Triacylglycerols (TAGs) are one of the major components of the cells in higher biological systems, which can act as an energy reservoir in the living cells. The unsaturated fatty acid moiety is the key site of oxidation and formation of oxidation compounds. The TAG free radical generates several primary oxidation compounds. These include hydroperoxides, hydroxides, epidioxides, hydroperoxy epidioxides, hydroxyl epidioxides, and epoxides. The presence of these oxidized TAGs in the cell increases the chances of several detrimental processes. For this purpose, several liquid chromatography (LC) methods were reported in their analyses. This review is therefore focused on the chemistry, oxidation, extraction, and the LC methods reported in the analyses of oxidized TAGs. The studies on thin-layer chromatography were mostly focused on the total oxidized TAGs separation and employ hexane as major solvent. High-performance LC (HPLC) methods were discussed in details along with their merits and demerits. It was found that most of the HPLC methods employed isocratic elution with methanol and acetonitrile as major solvents with an ultraviolet detector. The coupling of HPLC with mass spectrometry (MS) highly increases the efficiency of analysis as well as enables reliable structural elucidation. The use of MS was found to be helpful in studying the oxidation chemistry of TAGs and needs to be extended to the complex biological systems.

Profiling and quantitative evaluation of three Nickel-Coated magnetic matrices for purification of recombinant proteins: lelpful hints for the optimized nanomagnetisable matrix preparation

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Several materials are available in the market that work on the principle of protein magnetic fishing by their histidine (His) tags. Little information is available on their performance and it is often quoted that greatly improved purification of histidine-tagged proteins from crude extracts could be achieved. While some commercial magnetic matrices could be used successfully for purification of several His-tagged proteins, there are some which have been proved to operate just for a few extent of His-tagged proteins. Here, we address quantitative evaluation of three commercially available Nickel nanomagnetic beads for purification of two His-tagged proteins expressed in Escherichia coli and present helpful hints for optimized purification of such proteins and preparation of nanomagnetisable matrices. Results Marked differences in the performance of nanomagnetic matrices, principally on the basis of their specific binding capacity, recovery profile, the amount of imidazole needed for protein elution and the extent of target protein loss and purity were obtained. Based on the aforesaid criteria, one of these materials featured the best purification results (SiMAG/N-NTA/Nickel) for both proteins at the concentration of 4 mg/ml, while the other two (SiMAC-Nickel and SiMAG/CS-NTA/Nickel) did not work well with respect to specific binding capacity and recovery profile. Conclusions Taken together, functionality of different types of nanomagnetic matrices vary considerably. This variability may not only be dependent upon the structure and surface chemistry of the matrix which in turn determine the affinity of interaction, but, is also influenced to a lesser extent by the physical properties of the protein itself. Although the results of the present study may not be fully applied for all nanomagnetic matrices, but provide a framework which could be used to profiling and quantitative evaluation of other magnetisable matrices and also provide helpful hints for those researchers facing same challenge. PMID:21824404

Cloning and expression of antibacterial goat lactoferricin from Escherichia coli AD494(DE3)pLysS expression system.

PubMed

Chen, Gen-Hung; Yin, Li-Jung; Chiang, I-Hua; Jiang, Shann-Tzong

2008-12-01

Goat lactoferricin (GLfcin), an antibacterial peptide, is released from the N terminus of goat lactoferrin by pepsin digestion. Two GLfcin-related cDNAs, GLfcin L and GLfcin S, encoding Ala20-Ser60 and Ser36-Ser60 of goat lactoferrin, respectively, were cloned into the pET-23a(+) expression vector upstream from (His)6-Tag gene and transformed into Escherichia coli AD494(DE3)pLysS expression host. After being induced by isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG), two (His)6-Tag fused recombinant lactoferricins, GLfcin L-His*Tag and GLfcin S-His*Tag, were expressed in soluble form within the E. coli cytoplasm. The GLfcin L-His*Tag and GLfcin S-His*Tag were purified using HisTrap affinity chromatography. According to an antibacterial activity assay using the agar diffusion method, GLfcin L-His*Tag had antibacterial activity against E. coli BCRC 11549, Staphylococcus aureus BCRC 25923, and Propionibacterium acnes BCRC 10723, while GLfcin S-His*Tag was able to inhibit the growth of E. coli BCRC 11549 and P. acnes BCRC 10723. These two recombinant lactoferricins behaved as thermostable peptides, which could retain their activity for up to 30 min of exposure at 100 degrees C.

Visual feature extraction and establishment of visual tags in the intelligent visual internet of things

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yiqun; Wang, Zhihui

2015-12-01

The Internet of things (IOT) is a kind of intelligent networks which can be used to locate, track, identify and supervise people and objects. One of important core technologies of intelligent visual internet of things ( IVIOT) is the intelligent visual tag system. In this paper, a research is done into visual feature extraction and establishment of visual tags of the human face based on ORL face database. Firstly, we use the principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm for face feature extraction, then adopt the support vector machine (SVM) for classifying and face recognition, finally establish a visual tag for face which is already classified. We conducted a experiment focused on a group of people face images, the result show that the proposed algorithm have good performance, and can show the visual tag of objects conveniently.

Technical advisory guide (TAG) for microsurfacing pilot projects.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-10-01

This document provides an overview of the types of microsurfacing presently used in California, including information on materials and specifications, mix design, project selection, details regarding construction, and a troubleshooting guide to assis...

Platinum-decorated reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline:poly(4-styrenesulfonate) hybrid paste for flexible dipole tag-antenna applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jun Seop; Kim, Minkyu; Lee, Choonghyeon; Cho, Sunghun; Oh, Jungkyun; Jang, Jyongsik

2015-02-01

With recent developments in technology, tremendous effort has been devoted to producing materials for flexible device systems. As a promising approach, solution-processed conducting polymers (CPs) have been extensively studied owing to their facile synthesis, high electrical conductivity, and various morphologies with diverse substrates. Here, we report the demonstration of platinum decorated reduced graphene oxide intercalated polyanililne:poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (Pt_rGO/PANI:PSS) hybrid paste for flexible electric devices. First, platinum decorated reduced graphene oxide (Pt_rGO) was fabricated through the chemical reduction of platinum cations and subsequent heat reduction of GO sheets. Then, the Pt_rGO was mixed with PANI:PSS solution dispersed in diethylene glycol (DEG) using sonication to form a hybrid PANI-based paste (Pt_rGO/PANI:PSS). The Pt_rGO/PANI:PSS was printed as a micropattern and exhibited high electrical conductivity (245.3 S cm-1) with flexible stability. Moreover, it was used in a dipole tag antenna application, where it displayed 0.15 GHz bandwidth and high transmitted power efficiency (99.6%).With recent developments in technology, tremendous effort has been devoted to producing materials for flexible device systems. As a promising approach, solution-processed conducting polymers (CPs) have been extensively studied owing to their facile synthesis, high electrical conductivity, and various morphologies with diverse substrates. Here, we report the demonstration of platinum decorated reduced graphene oxide intercalated polyanililne:poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (Pt_rGO/PANI:PSS) hybrid paste for flexible electric devices. First, platinum decorated reduced graphene oxide (Pt_rGO) was fabricated through the chemical reduction of platinum cations and subsequent heat reduction of GO sheets. Then, the Pt_rGO was mixed with PANI:PSS solution dispersed in diethylene glycol (DEG) using sonication to form a hybrid PANI-based paste (Pt_rGO/PANI:PSS). The Pt_rGO/PANI:PSS was printed as a micropattern and exhibited high electrical conductivity (245.3 S cm-1) with flexible stability. Moreover, it was used in a dipole tag antenna application, where it displayed 0.15 GHz bandwidth and high transmitted power efficiency (99.6%). Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: TEM images of Pr_rGOs, XRD spectra of various PANI-based hybrid materials, electrical conductivity of Pt_rGO/PANI:PSS with different Pt amounts, surface resistance changes of micropatterns, return loss of the antenna with bending deformation, and transmitted power efficiency of the antenna with bending cycles. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr06189f

Tagging of Test Tubes with Electronic p-Chips for Use in Biorepositories.

PubMed

Mandecki, Wlodek; Kopacka, Wesley M; Qian, Ziye; Ertwine, Von; Gedzberg, Katie; Gruda, Maryann; Reinhardt, David; Rodriguez, Efrain

2017-08-01

A system has been developed to electronically tag and track test tubes used in biorepositories. The system is based on a light-activated microtransponder, also known as a "p-Chip." One of the pressing problems with storing and retrieving biological samples at low temperatures is the difficulty of reliably reading the identification (ID) number that links each storage tube with the database containing sample details. Commonly used barcodes are not always reliable at low temperatures because of poor adhesion of the label to the test tube and problems with reading under conditions of frost and ice accumulation. Traditional radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are not cost effective and are too large for this application. The system described herein consists of the p-Chip, p-Chip-tagged test tubes, two ID readers (for single tubes or for racks of tubes), and software. We also describe a robot that is configured for retrofitting legacy test tubes in biorepositories with p-Chips while maintaining the temperature of the sample below -50°C at all times. The main benefits of the p-Chip over other RFID devices are its small size (600 × 600 × 100 μm) that allows even very small tubes or vials to be tagged, low cost due to the chip's unitary construction, durability, and the ability to read the ID through frost and ice.

Secure distance ranging by electronic means

DOEpatents

Gritton, Dale G.

1992-01-01

A system for secure distance ranging between a reader 11 and a tag 12 wherein the distance between the two is determined by the time it takes to propagate a signal from the reader to the tag and for a responsive signal to return, and in which such time is random and unpredictable, except to the reader, even though the distance between the reader and tag remains the same. A random number (19) is sent from the reader and encrypted (26) by the tag into a number having 16 segments of 4 bits each (28). A first tag signal (31) is sent after such encryption. In response, a random width start pulse (13) is generated by the reader. When received in the tag, the width of the start pulse is measured (41) in the tag and a segment of the encrypted number is selected (42) in accordance with such width. A second tag pulse is generated at a time T after the start pulse arrives at the tag, the time T being dependent on the length of a variable time delay t.sub.v which is determined by the value of the bits in the selected segment of the encrypted number. At the reader, the total time from the beginning of the start pulse to the receipt of the second tag signal is measured (36, 37). The value of t.sub.v (21, 22, 23, 34) is known at the reader and the time T is subtracted (46) from the total time to find the actual propagation t.sub.p for signals to travel between the reader 11 and tag 12. The propagation time is then converted into distance (46).

A novel method for 3D measurement of RFID multi-tag network based on matching vision and wavelet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Xiao; Yu, Xiaolei; Zhao, Zhimin; Wang, Donghua; Zhang, Wenjie; Liu, Zhenlu; Lu, Dongsheng; Dong, Dingbang

2018-07-01

In the field of radio frequency identification (RFID), the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of RFID multi-tag networks has a significant impact on their reading performance. At the same time, in order to realize the anti-collision of RFID multi-tag networks in practical engineering applications, the 3D distribution of RFID multi-tag networks must be measured. In this paper, a novel method for the 3D measurement of RFID multi-tag networks is proposed. A dual-CCD system (vertical and horizontal cameras) is used to obtain images of RFID multi-tag networks from different angles. Then, the wavelet threshold denoising method is used to remove noise in the obtained images. The template matching method is used to determine the two-dimensional coordinates and vertical coordinate of each tag. The 3D coordinates of each tag are obtained subsequently. Finally, a model of the nonlinear relation between the 3D coordinate distribution of the RFID multi-tag network and the corresponding reading distance is established using the wavelet neural network. The experiment results show that the average prediction relative error is 0.71% and the time cost is 2.17 s. The values of the average prediction relative error and time cost are smaller than those of the particle swarm optimization neural network and genetic algorithm–back propagation neural network. The time cost of the wavelet neural network is about 1% of that of the other two methods. The method proposed in this paper has a smaller relative error. The proposed method can improve the real-time performance of RFID multi-tag networks and the overall dynamic performance of multi-tag networks.

Adjusting survival estimates for premature transmitter failure: A case study from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holbrook, Christopher M.; Perry, Russell W.; Brandes, Patricia L.; Adams, Noah S.

2013-01-01

In telemetry studies, premature tag failure causes negative bias in fish survival estimates because tag failure is interpreted as fish mortality. We used mark-recapture modeling to adjust estimates of fish survival for a previous study where premature tag failure was documented. High rates of tag failure occurred during the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan’s (VAMP) 2008 study to estimate survival of fall-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) during migration through the San Joaquin River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California. Due to a high rate of tag failure, the observed travel time distribution was likely negatively biased, resulting in an underestimate of tag survival probability in this study. Consequently, the bias-adjustment method resulted in only a small increase in estimated fish survival when the observed travel time distribution was used to estimate the probability of tag survival. Since the bias-adjustment failed to remove bias, we used historical travel time data and conducted a sensitivity analysis to examine how fish survival might have varied across a range of tag survival probabilities. Our analysis suggested that fish survival estimates were low (95% confidence bounds range from 0.052 to 0.227) over a wide range of plausible tag survival probabilities (0.48–1.00), and this finding is consistent with other studies in this system. When tags fail at a high rate, available methods to adjust for the bias may perform poorly. Our example highlights the importance of evaluating the tag life assumption during survival studies, and presents a simple framework for evaluating adjusted survival estimates when auxiliary travel time data are available.

Behavior-Based Cleaning for Unreliable RFID Data Sets

PubMed Central

Fan, Hua; Wu, Quanyuan; Lin, Yisong

2012-01-01

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) technology promises to revolutionize the way we track items and assets, but in RFID systems, missreading is a common phenomenon and it poses an enormous challenge to RFID data management, so accurate data cleaning becomes an essential task for the successful deployment of systems. In this paper, we present the design and development of a RFID data cleaning system, the first declarative, behavior-based unreliable RFID data smoothing system. We take advantage of kinematic characteristics of tags to assist in RFID data cleaning. In order to establish the conversion relationship between RFID data and kinematic parameters of the tags, we propose a movement behavior detection model. Moreover, a Reverse Order Filling Mechanism is proposed to ensure a more complete access to get the movement behavior characteristics of tag. Finally, we validate our solution with a common RFID application and demonstrate the advantages of our approach through extensive simulations. PMID:23112595

Behavior-based cleaning for unreliable RFID data sets.

PubMed

Fan, Hua; Wu, Quanyuan; Lin, Yisong

2012-01-01

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) technology promises to revolutionize the way we track items and assets, but in RFID systems, missreading is a common phenomenon and it poses an enormous challenge to RFID data management, so accurate data cleaning becomes an essential task for the successful deployment of systems. In this paper, we present the design and development of a RFID data cleaning system, the first declarative, behavior-based unreliable RFID data smoothing system. We take advantage of kinematic characteristics of tags to assist in RFID data cleaning. In order to establish the conversion relationship between RFID data and kinematic parameters of the tags, we propose a movement behavior detection model. Moreover, a Reverse Order Filling Mechanism is proposed to ensure a more complete access to get the movement behavior characteristics of tag. Finally, we validate our solution with a common RFID application and demonstrate the advantages of our approach through extensive simulations.

Reliable Location-Based Services from Radio Navigation Systems

PubMed Central

Qiu, Di; Boneh, Dan; Lo, Sherman; Enge, Per

2010-01-01

Loran is a radio-based navigation system originally designed for naval applications. We show that Loran-C’s high-power and high repeatable accuracy are fantastic for security applications. First, we show how to derive a precise location tag—with a sensitivity of about 20 meters—that is difficult to project to an exact location. A device can use our location tag to block or allow certain actions, without knowing its precise location. To ensure that our tag is reproducible we make use of fuzzy extractors, a mechanism originally designed for biometric authentication. We build a fuzzy extractor specifically designed for radio-type errors and give experimental evidence to show its effectiveness. Second, we show that our location tag is difficult to predict from a distance. For example, an observer cannot predict the location tag inside a guarded data center from a few hundreds of meters away. As an application, consider a location-aware disk drive that will only work inside the data center. An attacker who steals the device and is capable of spoofing Loran-C signals, still cannot make the device work since he does not know what location tag to spoof. We provide experimental data supporting our unpredictability claim. PMID:22163532

The Nexus of Accessibility and Pedagogy: What Every Online Instructional Designer Should Know

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sokolik, Maggie

2018-01-01

As a longtime instructional designer of online materials, the author has been concerned with issues of accessibility for many years. She dutifully tagged every image, wrote out every URL, avoiding "click here" links, and formatted material on the screen considering its layout and elegance. This article addresses the reasons why most of…

Identification and physiological characterization of phosphatidic acid phosphatase enzymes involved in triacylglycerol biosynthesis in Streptomyces coelicolor

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Phosphatidic acid phosphatase (PAP, EC 3.1.3.4) catalyzes the dephosphorylation of phosphatidate yielding diacylglycerol (DAG), the lipid precursor for triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis. Despite the importance of PAP activity in TAG producing bacteria, studies to establish its role in lipid metabolism have been so far restricted only to eukaryotes. Considering the increasing interest of bacterial TAG as a potential source of raw material for biofuel production, we have focused our studies on the identification and physiological characterization of the putative PAP present in the TAG producing bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor. Results We have identified two S. coelicolor genes, named lppα (SCO1102) and lppβ (SCO1753), encoding for functional PAP proteins. Both enzymes mediate, at least in part, the formation of DAG for neutral lipid biosynthesis. Heterologous expression of lppα and lppβ genes in E. coli resulted in enhanced PAP activity in the membrane fractions of the recombinant strains and concomitantly in higher levels of DAG. In addition, the expression of these genes in yeast complemented the temperature-sensitive growth phenotype of the PAP deficient strain GHY58 (dpp1lpp1pah1). In S. coelicolor, disruption of either lppα or lppβ had no effect on TAG accumulation; however, the simultaneous mutation of both genes provoked a drastic reduction in de novo TAG biosynthesis as well as in total TAG content. Consistently, overexpression of Lppα and Lppβ in the wild type strain of S. coelicolor led to a significant increase in TAG production. Conclusions The present study describes the identification of PAP enzymes in bacteria and provides further insights on the genetic basis for prokaryotic oiliness. Furthermore, this finding completes the whole set of enzymes required for de novo TAG biosynthesis pathway in S. coelicolor. Remarkably, the overexpression of these PAPs in Streptomyces bacteria contributes to a higher productivity of this single cell oil. Altogether, these results provide new elements and tools for future cell engineering for next-generation biofuels production. PMID:23356794

CT colonography with rectal iodine tagging: Feasibility and comparison with oral tagging in a colorectal cancer screening population.

PubMed

Neri, Emanuele; Mantarro, Annalisa; Faggioni, Lorenzo; Scalise, Paola; Bemi, Pietro; Pancrazi, Francesca; D'Ippolito, Giuseppe; Bartolozzi, Carlo

2015-09-01

To evaluate feasibility, diagnostic performance, patient acceptance, and overall examination time of CT colonography (CTC) performed through rectal administration of iodinated contrast material. Six-hundred asymptomatic subjects (male:female=270:330; mean 63 years) undergoing CTC for colorectal cancer screening on an individual basis were consecutively enrolled in the study. Out of them, 503 patients (group 1) underwent CTC with rectal tagging, of which 55 had a total of 77 colonic lesions. The remaining 97 patients (group 2) were randomly selected to receive CTC with oral tagging of which 15 had a total of 20 colonic lesions. CTC findings were compared with optical colonoscopy, and per-segment image quality was visually assessed using a semi-quantitative score (1=poor, 2=adequate, 3=excellent). In 70/600 patients (11.7%), CTC was performed twice with both types of tagging over a 5-year follow-up cancer screening program. In this subgroup, patient acceptance was rated via phone interview two weeks after CTC using a semi-quantitative scale (1=poor, 2=fair, 3=average, 4=good, 5=excellent). Mean per-polyp sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of CTC with rectal vs oral tagging were 96.1% (CI95% 85.4÷99.3%) vs 89.4% (CI95% 65.4÷98.1%), 95.3% (CI95% 90.7÷97.8%) vs 95.8% (CI95% 87.6÷98.9%), 86.0% (CI95% 73.6÷93.3) vs 85.0% (CI95% 61.1÷96.0%), and 98.8% (CI95% 95.3÷99.8%) vs 97.2% (CI95% 89.4÷99.5%), respectively (p>0.05). Polyp detection rates were not statistically different between groups 1 and 2 (p>0.05). Overall examination time was significantly shorter with rectal than with oral tagging (18.3±3.5 vs 215.6±10.3 minutes, respectively; p<0.0001). Rectal iodine tagging can be an effective alternative to oral tagging for CTC with the advantages of greater patient acceptance and lower overall examination time. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emotional Mining: Tagging Emoticons to Online News

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasinathan, Vinothini; Mustapha, Aida; Zhi Yong, Lee; Aida Zamnah, Z. A.

2017-08-01

This paper presents an emotion mining system, which assigns emoticons to newspaper articles into a pre-defined emotion category based on the underlying emotion in the news. Next, the system makes recommendation to the reader by tagging the news headline with the respective emoticons. Users are then able to decide whether to read the news based on the emoticons provided. The system also provides a filter for the users to choose the category of news to read following the emoticons.

Pilot Overmyer reviews TAGS teleprinter printout on middeck

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Pilot Overmyer reviews Text and Graphics System (TAGS) teleprinter printout of instructions and messages from Houston Mission Control Center (MCC) in front of the forward middeck lockers. Development Flight Instrument (DFI) unit and control panels on starboard wall appear in the background.

Assessment Of Coronary Artery Aneurysms Using Transluminal Attenuation Gradient And Computational Modeling In Kawasaki Disease Patients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grande Gutierrez, Noelia; Kahn, Andrew; Shirinsky, Olga; Gagarina, Nina; Lyskina, Galina; Fukazawa, Ryuji; Owaga, Shunichi; Burns, Jane; Marsden, Alison

2015-11-01

Kawasaki Disease (KD) can result in coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) in up to 25% of patients, putting them at risk of thrombus formation, myocardial infarction and sudden death. Clinical guidelines recommend CAA diameter >8 mm as the arbitrary criterion for initiating systemic anticoagulation. KD patient specific modeling and flow simulations suggest that hemodynamic data can predict regions at increased risk of thrombosis. Transluminal Attenuation Gradient (TAG) is determined from the change in radiological attenuation per vessel length and has been proposed as a non-invasive method for characterizing coronary stenosis from CT Angiography. We hypothesized that CAA abnormal flow could be quantified using TAG. We computed hemodynamics for patient specific coronary models using a stabilized finite element method, coupled numerically to a lumped parameter network to model the heart and vascular boundary conditions. TAG was quantified in the major coronary arteries. We compared TAG for aneurysmal and normal arteries and we analyzed TAG correlation with hemodynamic and geometrical parameters. Our results suggest that TAG may provide hemodynamic data not available from anatomy alone. TAG represents a possible extension to standard CTA that could help to better evaluate the risk of thrombus formation in KD.

Application of the hydroxyl tagging velocimetry to direct-connect supersonic combustor experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Jingfeng; Li, Guohua; Shao, Jun; Hu, Zhiyun; Zhao, Xinyan; Song, WenYan

2017-05-01

For the purpose of measuring the flow velocity in a scramjet test model, an special designed measurement system was established, including the strong vibration suppression, optical transport consideration, the movable device etc. The interference of the strong vibration to the velocity measurements was avoided by two ICCD cameras capturing the reference tag lines image and moved tag lines image together during an experiment. According to the tag lines image feature, data processing including correlation algorithm, data fitting by a Gauss function were used respectively to extract the positions of the reference tag lines and the moved tag lines. The velocity measurements were carried out at the isolation section and the cavity section. The results showed that the well SNR could be achieved in the H2/air combustion heating flow, but in the kerosene fuel combustion flow, the measurements images might be interfered by the strong OH background from the chemical reaction, and the signal intensity could be reduced due to the tag laser attenuation through the absorption by kerosene vapor. But when the combustor model was run at a low chemical equivalent, the interference could be suppressed to an accepted level.

Envisioning the Future of Aquatic Animal Tracking: Technology, Science, and Application

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

Lennox, Robert J.; Aarestrup, Kim; Cooke, Steven J.

Electronic tags have proven to be extremely useful for broadening our understanding of aquatic animals by answering diverse questions about their behaviours, physiologies, and life histories fundamental to ecology. Simultaneously, many applied conservation and management efforts are informed by animals tagged with electronic tags. In spite of the many advances in tracking software and hardware, an uncertain future in the world’s aquatic ecosystems portends great challenges for science. Aquatic animal tracking with electronic tags represents both the present and future of integrative biology and ecology in aquatic ecosystems. Here we identify what we regard as the future of aquatic animalmore » tracking in a horizon scanning exercise. We submit that the future of aquatic animal tracking will include opportunities for multi-platform tracking systems for simultaneously monitoring position, activity, physiology, and microhabitat of animals, improved data collection and accessibility with new infrastructure (e.g. tags, receivers) and cyberinfrastructure, and integrated tagging information with animal traits derived from biopsy during tagging. We discuss parallel needs and opportunities in areas related to the application of animal tracking in the future such as knowledge mobilization and governance.« less

RFID Transponders' Radio Frequency Emissions in Aircraft Communication and Navigation Radio Bands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Truong X.; Ely, Jay J.; Williams, Reuben A.; Koppen, Sandra V.; Salud, Maria Theresa P.

2006-01-01

Radiated emissions in aircraft communication and navigation bands are measured from several active radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. The individual tags are different in design and operations. They may also operate in different frequency bands. The process for measuring the emissions is discussed, and includes tag interrogation, reverberation chamber testing, and instrument settings selection. The measurement results are described and compared against aircraft emission limits. In addition, interference path loss for the cargo bays of passenger aircraft is measured. Cargo bay path loss is more appropriate for RFID tags than passenger cabin path loss. The path loss data are reported for several aircraft radio systems on a Boeing 747 and an Airbus A320.

Wind River watershed restoration: Annual report of U.S. Geological Survey activities November 2010 – October 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jezorek, Ian G.; Connolly, Patrick J.; Munz, Carrie S.

2012-01-01

This report summarizes work completed by U.S. Geological Survey’s Columbia River Research Laboratory (USGS-CRRL) in the Wind River subbasin during November 2010 through October 2011 under Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) contract 40481. The primary focus of USGS activities during this contract was on tagging of juvenile steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags, and working toward a network of instream PIT tag detection systems to monitor movements and life histories of these fish.

Compilation of Cooperative Data Element Dictionary of Five Federal Agencies’ Systems for Processing of Technical Report Literature

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-03-01

investigator participated with Libary of Congress (LC) Staff and Gov- ernment Printing Office (GPO) catalogers in identifying which data elements...National Standards Institute Standard format, ANSI Z.39-2). This standard includes iden- tif ication of specific data elements by means of 3- digit tags...the closer they can come to efficient exchange. But tags assigned to the core data elements differ: they are all 3- digit tags, but the same 3 digits

Effects of VIE tagging and partial tissue sampling on the immune response of three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus.

PubMed

Henrich, T; Hafer, N; Mobley, K B

2014-09-01

A 14 day experiment on effects of visible implant elastomer (VIE) tagging and spine-clipping of three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus showed significant increases in immune response, particularly in the granulocyte:lymphocyte ratio, in both treatments and the sham control. A minimum two-week recovery after handling, anaesthesia, tagging and spine-clipping is recommended to minimize effect of manipulation on the immune system. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Improving Attachments of Remotely-Deployed Dorsal Fin-Mounted Tags: Tissue Structure, Hydrodynamics, in Situ Performance, and Tagged-Animal Follow-Up

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-30

and let them see a whale tagging operation first hand in Puget Sound ; we polished up our objectives and refined our methods, and have come up with...examination based on differences such as size/shape of the dorsal fin (e.g., melon-headed versus killer whale ), taxonomic grouping (i.e., odontocetes...navy sonar - beaked whales ; ship strikes - fin whales ; ecological role – killer whales ). 3. In situ behavior of retention system elements (Key

The development of a white cane which navigates the visually impaired.

PubMed

Shiizu, Yuriko; Hirahara, Yoshiaki; Yanashima, Kenji; Magatani, Kazushige

2007-01-01

In this paper, we describe about a developed navigation system that supports the independent walking of the visually impaired in the indoor space. This system is composed of colored navigation lines, RFID tags and an intelligent white cane. In our system, some colored marking tapes are set on along the walking route. These lines are called navigation line. And also RFID tags are set on this line at each landmark point. The intelligent white cane can sense a color of navigation line and receive tag information. By vibration of white cane, the system informs the visually impaired that he/she is walking along the navigation line. At the landmark point, the system also notifies area information to him/her by pre-recorded voice. Ten normal subjects who were blind folded with an eye mask were tested with this system. All of them were able to walk along the navigation line. The performance of the area information system was good. Therefore, we have concluded that our system will be extremely valuable in supporting the activities of the visually impaired.

Advancing the surgical implantation of electronic tags in fish: a gap analysis and research agenda based on a review of trends in intracoelomic tagging effects studies

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

Cooke, Steven J.; Woodley, Christa M.; Eppard, M. B.

2011-03-08

Early approaches to surgical implantation of electronic tags in fish were often through trial and error, however, in recent years there has been an interest in using scientific research to identify techniques and procedures that improve the outcome of surgical procedures and determine the effects of tagging on individuals. Here we summarize the trends in 108 peer-reviewed electronic tagging effect studies focused on intracoleomic implantation to determine opportunities for future research. To date, almost all of the studies have been conducted in freshwater, typically in laboratory environments, and have focused on biotelemetry devices. The majority of studies have focused onmore » salmonids, cyprinids, ictalurids and centrarchids, with a regional bias towards North America, Europe and Australia. Most studies have focused on determining whether there is a negative effect of tagging relative to control fish, with proportionally fewer that have contrasted different aspects of the surgical procedure (e.g., methods of sterilization, incision location, wound closure material) that could advance the discipline. Many of these studies included routine endpoints such as mortality, growth, healing and tag retention, with fewer addressing sublethal measures such as swimming ability, predator avoidance, physiological costs, or fitness. Continued research is needed to further elevate the practice of electronic tag implantation in fish in order to ensure that the data generated are relevant to untagged conspecifics (i.e., no long-term behavioural or physiological consequences) and the surgical procedure does not impair the health and welfare status of the tagged fish. To that end, we advocate for i) rigorous controlled manipulations based on statistical designs that have adequate power, account for inter-individual variation, and include controls and shams, ii) studies that transcend the laboratory and the field with more studies in marine waters, iii) incorporation of knowledge and techniques emerging from the medical and veterinary disciplines, iv) addressing all components of the surgical event, v) comparative studies that evaluate the same surgical techniques on multiple species and in different environments, vi) consideration of how biotic factors (e.g., sex, age, size) influence tagging outcomes, and vii) studies that cover a range of endpoints over ecologically-relevant time periods.« less

Using sutures to attach miniature tracking tags to small bats for multimonth movement and behavioral studies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Castle, Kevin T.; Weller, Theodore J.; Cryan, Paul M.; Hein, Cris D.; Schirmacher, Michael R.

2015-01-01

1. Determining the detailed movements of individual animals often requires them to carry tracking devices, but tracking broad-scale movement of small bats (< 30g) has been limited by transmitter technology and long-term attachment methods. This limitation inhibits our understanding of bat dispersal and migration, particularly in the context of emerging conservation issues like fatalities at wind turbines and diseases. 2. We tested a novel method of attaching lightweight global positioning system (GPS) tags and geolocating data loggers to small bats. We used monofilament, synthetic, absorbable sutures to secure GPS tags and data loggers to the skin of anesthetized big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in Colorado and hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) in California. 3. GPS tags and data loggers were sutured to 17 bats in this study. Three tagged bats were recaptured seven months after initial deployment, with tags still attached; none of these bats showed ill effects from the tag. No severe injuries were apparent upon recapture of 6 additional bats that carried tags up to 26 days after attachment, however one of the bats exhibited skin chafing. 4. Use of absorbable sutures to affix small tracking devices seems to be a safe, effective method for studying movements of bats over multiple months, although additional testing is warranted. This new attachment method has the potential to quickly advance our understanding of small bats, particularly as more-sophisticated miniature tracking devices (e.g., satellite tags) become available.

Using sutures to attach miniature tracking tags to small bats for multimonth movement and behavioral studies.

PubMed

Castle, Kevin T; Weller, Theodore J; Cryan, Paul M; Hein, Cris D; Schirmacher, Michael R

2015-07-01

Determining the detailed movements of individual animals often requires them to carry tracking devices, but tracking broad-scale movement of small bats (<30 g) has been limited by transmitter technology and long-term attachment methods. This limitation inhibits our understanding of bat dispersal and migration, particularly in the context of emerging conservation issues such as fatalities at wind turbines and diseases. We tested a novel method of attaching lightweight global positioning system (GPS) tags and geolocating data loggers to small bats. We used monofilament, synthetic, absorbable sutures to secure GPS tags and data loggers to the skin of anesthetized big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in Colorado and hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) in California. GPS tags and data loggers were sutured to 17 bats in this study. Three tagged bats were recaptured 7 months after initial deployment, with tags still attached; none of these bats showed ill effects from the tag. No severe injuries were apparent upon recapture of 6 additional bats that carried tags up to 26 days after attachment; however, one of the bats exhibited skin chafing. Use of absorbable sutures to affix small tracking devices seems to be a safe, effective method for studying movements of bats over multiple months, although additional testing is warranted. This new attachment method has the potential to quickly advance our understanding of small bats, particularly as more sophisticated miniature tracking devices (e.g., satellite tags) become available.

Optimal use of tandem biotin and V5 tags in ChIP assays

PubMed Central

Kolodziej, Katarzyna E; Pourfarzad, Farzin; de Boer, Ernie; Krpic, Sanja; Grosveld, Frank; Strouboulis, John

2009-01-01

Background Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays coupled to genome arrays (Chip-on-chip) or massive parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq) lead to the genome wide identification of binding sites of chromatin associated proteins. However, the highly variable quality of antibodies and the availability of epitopes in crosslinked chromatin can compromise genomic ChIP outcomes. Epitope tags have often been used as more reliable alternatives. In addition, we have employed protein in vivo biotinylation tagging as a very high affinity alternative to antibodies. In this paper we describe the optimization of biotinylation tagging for ChIP and its coupling to a known epitope tag in providing a reliable and efficient alternative to antibodies. Results Using the biotin tagged erythroid transcription factor GATA-1 as example, we describe several optimization steps for the application of the high affinity biotin streptavidin system in ChIP. We find that the omission of SDS during sonication, the use of fish skin gelatin as blocking agent and choice of streptavidin beads can lead to significantly improved ChIP enrichments and lower background compared to antibodies. We also show that the V5 epitope tag performs equally well under the conditions worked out for streptavidin ChIP and that it may suffer less from the effects of formaldehyde crosslinking. Conclusion The combined use of the very high affinity biotin tag with the less sensitive to crosslinking V5 tag provides for a flexible ChIP platform with potential implications in ChIP sequencing outcomes. PMID:19196479

Development of an on-line source-tagged model for sulfate, nitrate and ammonium: A modeling study for highly polluted periods in Shanghai, China.

PubMed

Wu, Jian-Bin; Wang, Zifa; Wang, Qian; Li, Jie; Xu, Jianming; Chen, HuanSheng; Ge, Baozhu; Zhou, Guangqiang; Chang, Luyu

2017-02-01

An on-line source-tagged model coupled with an air quality model (Nested Air Quality Prediction Model System, NAQPMS) was applied to estimate source contributions of primary and secondary sulfate, nitrate and ammonium (SNA) during a representative winter period in Shanghai. This source-tagged model system could simultaneously track spatial and temporal sources of SNA, which were apportioned to their respective primary precursors in a simulation run. The results indicate that in the study period, local emissions in Shanghai accounted for over 20% of SNA contributions and that Jiangsu and Shandong were the two major non-local sources. In particular, non-local emissions had higher contributions during recorded pollution periods. This suggests that the transportation of pollutants plays a key role in air pollution in Shanghai. The temporal contributions show that the emissions from the "current day" (emission contribution from the current day during which the model was simulating) contributed 60%-70% of the sulfate and ammonium concentrations but only 10%-20% of the nitrate concentration, while the previous days' contributions increased during the recorded pollution periods. Emissions that were released within three days contributed over 85% averagely for SNA in January 2013. To evaluate the source-tagged model system, the results were compared by sensitivity analysis (emission perturbation of -30%) and backward trajectory analysis. The consistency of the comparison results indicated that the source-tagged model system can track sources of SNA with reasonable accuracy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monte Carlo analysis of tagged neutron beams for cargo container inspection.

PubMed

Pesente, S; Lunardon, M; Nebbia, G; Viesti, G; Sudac, D; Valkovic, V

2007-12-01

Fast neutrons produced via D+T reactions and tagged by the associated particle technique have been recently proposed to inspect cargo containers. The general characteristics of this technique are studied with Monte Carlo simulations by determining the properties of the tagged neutron beams as a function of the relevant design parameters (energy and size of the deuteron beam, geometry of the charged particle detector). Results from simulations, validated by experiments, show that the broadening of the correlation between the alpha-particle and the neutron, induced by kinematical as well as geometrical (beam and detector size) effects, is important and limits the dimension of the minimum voxel to be inspected. Moreover, the effect of the container filling is explored. The material filling produces a sizeable loss of correlation between alpha-particles and neutrons due to scattering and absorption. Conditions in inspecting cargo containers are discussed.

9977 TYPE B PACKAGING INTERNAL DATA COLLECTION FEASIBILITY TESTING - MAGNETIC FIELD COMMUNICATIONS

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

Shull, D.

2012-06-18

The objective of this report is to document the findings from proof-of-concept testing performed by the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) R&D Engineering and Visible Assets, Inc. for the DOE Packaging Certification Program (PCP) to determine if RuBee (IEEE 1902.1) tags and readers could be used to provide a communication link from within a drum-style DOE certified Type B radioactive materials packaging. A Model 9977 Type B Packaging was used to test the read/write capability and range performance of a RuBee tag and reader. Testing was performed with the RuBee tags placed in various locations inside the packaging including insidemore » the drum on the outside of the lid of the containment vessel and also inside of the containment vessel. This report documents the test methods and results. A path forward will also be recommended.« less

Long range ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reynolds, Nathan D.

There is an ever-increasing demand for radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that are passive, long range, and mountable on multiple surfaces. Currently, RFID technology is utilized in numerous applications such as supply chain management, access control, and public transportation. With the combination of sensory systems in recent years, the applications of RFID technology have been extended beyond tracking and identifying. This extension includes applications such as environmental monitoring and healthcare applications. The available sensory systems usually operate in the medium or high frequency bands and have a low read range. However, the range limitations of these systems are being overcome by the development of RFID sensors focused on utilizing tags in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band. Generally, RFID tags have to be mounted to the object that is being identified. Often the objects requiring identification are metallic. The inherent properties of metallic objects have substantial effects on nearby electromagnetic radiation; therefore, the operation of the tag antenna is affected when mounted on a metallic surface. This outlines one of the most challenging problems for RFID systems today: the optimization of tag antenna performance in a complex environment. In this research, a novel UHF RFID tag antenna, which has a low profile, long range, and is mountable on metallic surfaces, is designed analytically and simulated using a 3-D electromagnetic simulator, ANSYS HFSS. A microstrip patch antenna is selected as the antenna structure, as patch antennas are low profile and suitable for mounting on metallic surfaces. Matching and theoretical models of the microstrip patch antenna are investigated. Once matching and theory of a microstrip patch antenna is thoroughly understood, a unique design technique using electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structures is explored. This research shows that the utilization of an EBG structure in the patch antenna design yields an improvement in gain, or range, and in the ability to be mounted on multiple metallic surfaces.

A simple tagging system for protein encapsulation.

PubMed

Seebeck, Florian P; Woycechowsky, Kenneth J; Zhuang, Wei; Rabe, Jürgen P; Hilvert, Donald

2006-04-12

Molecular containers that encapsulate specific cargo can be useful for many natural and non-natural processes. We report a simple system, based on charge complementarity, for the encapsulation of appropriately tagged proteins within an engineered, proteinaceous capsid. Four negative charges per monomer were added to the lumazine synthase from Aquifex aeolicus (AaLS). The capsids formed by the engineered AaLS associate with green fluorescent protein bearing a positively charged deca-arginine tag upon coproduction in Escherichia coli. Analytical ultracentrifugation and scanning force microscopy studies indicated that the engineered AaLS retains the ability to form capsids, but that their average size was substantially increased. The success of this strategy demonstrates that both the container and guest components of protein-based encapsulation systems can be convergently designed in a straightforward manner, which may help to extend their versatility.

On the Effect of Group Structures on Ranking Strategies in Folksonomies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abel, Fabian; Henze, Nicola; Krause, Daniel; Kriesell, Matthias

Folksonomies have shown interesting potential for improving information discovery and exploration. Recent folksonomy systems explore the use of tag assignments, which combine Web resources with annotations (tags), and the users that have created the annotations. This article investigates on the effect of grouping resources in folksonomies, i.e. creating sets of resources, and using this additional structure for the tasks of search & ranking, and for tag recommendations. We propose several group-sensitive extensions of graph-based search and recommendation algorithms, and compare them with non group-sensitive versions. Our experiments show that the quality of search result ranking can be significantly improved by introducing and exploiting the grouping of resources (one-tailed t-Test, level of significance α=0.05). Furthermore, tag recommendations profit from the group context, and it is possible to make very good recommendations even for untagged resources- which currently known tag recommendation algorithms cannot fulfill.

Particle tagging and its implications for stellar population dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Bret, Theo; Pontzen, Andrew; Cooper, Andrew P.; Frenk, Carlos; Zolotov, Adi; Brooks, Alyson M.; Governato, Fabio; Parry, Owen H.

2017-07-01

We establish a controlled comparison between the properties of galactic stellar haloes obtained with hydrodynamical simulations and with 'particle tagging'. Tagging is a fast way to obtain stellar population dynamics: instead of tracking gas and star formation, it 'paints' stars directly on to a suitably defined subset of dark matter particles in a collisionless, dark-matter-only simulation. Our study shows that 'live' particle tagging schemes, where stellar masses are painted on to the dark matter particles dynamically throughout the simulation, can generate good fits to the hydrodynamical stellar density profiles of a central Milky Way-like galaxy and its most prominent substructure. Energy diffusion processes are crucial to reshaping the distribution of stars in infalling spheroidal systems and hence the final stellar halo. We conclude that the success of any particular tagging scheme hinges on this diffusion being taken into account, and discuss the role of different subgrid feedback prescriptions in driving this diffusion.

Documentation and tagging of casualties in multiple casualty incidents.

PubMed

Garner, Alan

2003-01-01

The use of triage tags is widely advocated as a tool to improve the management of multiple casualty incident scenes. However, there are no published reports to suggest that triage tags have improved the management of incidents involving more than 24 persons, and a number of reports have detailed problems associated with triage tag use. Alternative systems of scene management such as geographical triage have been successfully used in very large incidents, and are recommended as an alternative to triage tags. Documentation cards attached to casualties may be of use in situations where casualties will pass through an extended evacuation chain, and clear labels for deceased casualties are of benefit as they discourage repeat assessments. Adoption of an evidence-based approach to multiple casualty incident scene management will require a paradigm shift in the thinking of ambulance services. A broad-based educational approach that encourages critical reappraisal of existing procedures is recommended.

29 CFR 1926.555 - Conveyors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Helicopters, Hoists, Elevators, and Conveyors § 1926.555... operator's station. Conveyor systems shall be equipped with an audible warning signal to be sounded... tagged out with a “Do Not Operate” tag during repairs and when operation is hazardous to employees...

29 CFR 1926.555 - Conveyors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Helicopters, Hoists, Elevators, and Conveyors § 1926.555... operator's station. Conveyor systems shall be equipped with an audible warning signal to be sounded... tagged out with a “Do Not Operate” tag during repairs and when operation is hazardous to employees...

29 CFR 1926.555 - Conveyors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Helicopters, Hoists, Elevators, and Conveyors § 1926.555... operator's station. Conveyor systems shall be equipped with an audible warning signal to be sounded... tagged out with a “Do Not Operate” tag during repairs and when operation is hazardous to employees...

29 CFR 1926.555 - Conveyors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Helicopters, Hoists, Elevators, and Conveyors § 1926.555... operator's station. Conveyor systems shall be equipped with an audible warning signal to be sounded... tagged out with a “Do Not Operate” tag during repairs and when operation is hazardous to employees...

Expert system for identification of simultaneous and sequential reactor fuel failures with gas tagging

DOEpatents

Gross, K.C.

1994-07-26

Failure of a fuel element in a nuclear reactor core is determined by a gas tagging failure detection system and method. Failures are catalogued and characterized after the event so that samples of the reactor's cover gas are taken at regular intervals and analyzed by mass spectroscopy. Employing a first set of systematic heuristic rules which are applied in a transformed node space allows the number of node combinations which must be processed within a barycentric algorithm to be substantially reduced. A second set of heuristic rules treats the tag nodes of the most recent one or two leakers as background'' gases, further reducing the number of trial node combinations. Lastly, a fuzzy'' set theory formalism minimizes experimental uncertainties in the identification of the most likely volumes of tag gases. This approach allows for the identification of virtually any number of sequential leaks and up to five simultaneous gas leaks from fuel elements. 14 figs.

RSNA Diagnosis Live: A Novel Web-based Audience Response Tool to Promote Evidence-based Learning.

PubMed

Awan, Omer A; Shaikh, Faiq; Kalbfleisch, Brian; Siegel, Eliot L; Chang, Paul

2017-01-01

Audience response systems have become more commonplace in radiology residency programs in the last 10 years, as a means to engage learners and promote improved learning and retention. A variety of systems are currently in use. RSNA Diagnosis Live™ provides unique features that are innovative, particularly for radiology resident education. One specific example is the ability to annotate questions with subspecialty tags, which allows resident performance to be tracked over time. In addition, deficiencies in learning can be monitored for each trainee and analytics can be provided, allowing documentation of resident performance improvement. Finally, automated feedback is given not only to the instructor, but also to the trainee. Online supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2017.

Improving attachments of remotely-deployed dorsal fin-mounted tags: tissue structure, hydrodynamics, in situ performance, and tagged-animal follow-up

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

Examine the in situ performance of our current attachment devices and then design and test improved retention systems Report Documentation Page Form...behavior (e.g., beaked whale versus melon-headed whale). 3. In situ behavior of retention system elements (Key individuals: Andrews, Schorr...Although we have a good idea of how the LIMPET retention system operates when first implanted, we do not fully understand the mechanics in a living fin

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

Tsai, H. C.; Chen, K.; Liu, Y. Y.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) [Environmental Management (EM), Office of Packaging and Transportation (EM-45)] Packaging Certification Program (PCP) has developed a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tracking and monitoring system for the management of nuclear materials packages during storage and transportation. The system, developed by the PCP team at Argonne National Laboratory, involves hardware modification, application software development, secured database and web server development, and irradiation experiments. In April 2008, Argonne tested key features of the RFID tracking and monitoring system in a weeklong, 1700 mile (2736 km) demonstration employing 14 empty type B fissile material drums of three designs (modelsmore » 9975, 9977 and ES-3100) that have been certified for shipment by the DOE and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The demonstration successfully integrated global positioning system (GPS) technology for vehicle tracking, satellite/cellular (general packet radio service, or GPRS) technologies for wireless communication, and active RFID tags with multiple sensors (seal integrity, shock, temperature, humidity and battery status) on drums. In addition, the demonstration integrated geographic information system (GIS) technology with automatic alarm notifications of incidents and generated buffer zone reports for emergency response and management of staged incidents. The demonstration was sponsored by EM and the US National Nuclear Security Administration, with the participation of Argonne, Savannah River and Oak Ridge National Laboratories. Over 50 authorised stakeholders across the country observed the demonstration via secured Internet access. The DOE PCP and national laboratories are working on several RFID system implementation projects at selected DOE sites, as well as continuing device and systems development and widening applications beyond DOE sites and possibly beyond nuclear materials to include other radioactive materials.« less

Development and use of in-stream PIT-tag detection systems to assess movement behavior of fish in tributaries of the Columbia River Basin, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Connolly, P.J.; Jezorek, I.G.; Prentice, E.F.

2005-01-01

We have developed detector systems for fish implanted with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags to assess their movement behavior and habitat use within fast flowing streams. Fish tested have primarily been wild anadromous and resident forms of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and cutthroat trout O. clarki. Longitudinal arrangements of two- and six-antennas allow determination of direction of movement and efficiency of detection. Our first detector system became operational in August 2001, with subsequent improvements over time. In tests with a two-antenna system, detection efficiency of tagged, downstreammoving fish was high (96%) during low flows, but less (69%) during high flows. With an increase in the number of antennas to six, arranged in a 2x3 array, the detection efficiency of downstream-moving fish was increased to 95-100% at all flows. Detection efficiency of upstream-moving fish was high (95-100%) in both the two-and six-antenna system during all flows. Antennas were anchored to the substrate and largely spanned the bank-full width. Modifications to the methods used to anchor antennas have increased the likelihood of the system remaining intact and running at full detection capability during challenging flow and debris conditions, largely achieving our goal to have continuous monitoring of fish movement throughout an annual cycle. In August 2004, we placed a similar detector system in another watershed. Success has much relied on the quality of transceivers and electrical power. Detection of tagged fish passing our static PIT-tag detectors has produced valuable information on how selected fish species use the network of streams in a watershed. Integrating information from our detectors in tributary streams with that from detectors downstream at dams in the Columbia River has promise to be a powerful tool for monitoring movement patterns of anadromous fish species and to understanding full lifecycle fish behavior and habitat use.

Insight into the coordination and the binding sites of Cu(2+) by the histidyl-6-tag using experimental and computational tools.

PubMed

Watly, Joanna; Simonovsky, Eyal; Wieczorek, Robert; Barbosa, Nuno; Miller, Yifat; Kozlowski, Henryk

2014-07-07

His-tags are specific sequences containing six to nine subsequent histydyl residues, and they are used for purification of recombinant proteins by use of IMAC chromatography. Such polyhistydyl tags, often used in molecular biology, can be also found in nature. Proteins containing histidine-rich domains play a critical role in many life functions in both prokaryote and eukaryote organisms. Binding mode and the thermodynamic properties of the system depend on the specific metal ion and the histidine sequence. Despite the wide application of the His-tag for purification of proteins, little is known about the properties of metal-binding to such tag domains. This inspired us to undertake detailed studies on the coordination of Cu(2+) ion to hexa-His-tag. Experiments were performed using the potentiometric, UV-visible, CD, and EPR techniques. In addition, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were applied. The experimental studies have shown that the Cu(2+) ion binds most likely to two imidazoles and one, two, or three amide nitrogens, depending on the pH. The structures and stabilities of the complexes for the Cu(2+)-Ac-(His)6-NH2 system using experimental and computational tools were established. Polymorphic binding states are suggested, with a possibility of the formation of α-helix structure induced by metal ion coordination. Metal ion is bound to various pairs of imidazole moieties derived from the tag with different efficiencies. The coordination sphere around the metal ion is completed by molecules of water. Finally, the Cu(2+) binding by Ac-(His)6-NH2 is much more efficient compared to other multihistidine protein domains.

iTAG: Integrating a Cloud Based, Collaborative Animal Tracking Network into the GCOOS data portal in the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirkpatrick, B. A.; Currier, R. D.; Simoniello, C.

2016-02-01

The tagging and tracking of aquatic animals using acoustic telemetry hardware has traditionally been the purview of individual researchers that specialize in single species. Concerns over data privacy and unauthorized use of receiver arrays have prevented the construction of large-scale, multi-species, multi-institution, multi-researcher collaborative acoustic arrays. We have developed a toolset to build the new portal using the Flask microframework, Python language, and Twitter bootstrap. Initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The privacy policy has been praised for its granularity: principal investigators can choose between three levels of privacy for all data and hardware: Completely private - viewable only by the PI Visible to iTAG members Visible to the general public At the time of this writing iTAG is still in the beta stage, but the feedback received to date indicates that with the proper design and security features, and an iterative cycle of feedback from potential members, constructing a collaborative acoustic tracking network system is possible. Initial usage will be limited to the entry and searching for `orphan/mystery' tags, with the integration of historical array deployments and data following shortly thereafter. We have also been working with staff from the Ocean Tracking Network to allow for integration of the two systems. The database schema of iTAG is based on the marine metadata convention for acoustic telemetry. This should permit machine-to-machine data exchange between iTAG and OTN. The integration of animal telemetry data into the GCOOS portal will allow researchers to easily access the physiochemical oceanography data, thus allowing for a more in depth understanding of animal response and usage patterns.

Parsing and Tagging of Bilingual Dictionary

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-09-01

LAMP-TR-106 CAR-TR-991 CS-TR-4529 UMIACS-TR-2003-97 PARSING ANS TAGGING OF BILINGUAL DICTIONARY Huanfeng Ma1,2, Burcu Karagol-Ayan1,2, David... dictionaries hold great potential as a source of lexical resources for training and testing automated systems for optical character recognition, machine...translation, and cross-language information retrieval. In this paper, we describe a system for extracting term lexicons from printed bilingual dictionaries

Independent Bottlenecks Characterize Colonization of Systemic Compartments and Gut Lymphoid Tissue by Salmonella

PubMed Central

Lim, Chee Han; Voedisch, Sabrina; Wahl, Benjamin; Rouf, Syed Fazle; Geffers, Robert

2014-01-01

Vaccination represents an important instrument to control typhoid fever in humans and protects mice from lethal infection with mouse pathogenic serovars of Salmonella species. Mixed infections with tagged Salmonella can be used in combination with probabilistic models to describe the dynamics of the infection process. Here we used mixed oral infections with tagged Salmonella strains to identify bottlenecks in the infection process in naïve and vaccinated mice. We established a next generation sequencing based method to characterize the composition of tagged Salmonella strains which offers a fast and reliable method to characterise the composition of genome-tagged Salmonella strains. We show that initial colonization of Salmonella was distinguished by a non-Darwinian selection of few bacteria setting up the infection independently in gut associated lymphoid tissue and systemic compartments. Colonization of Peyer's patches fuels the sustained spread of bacteria into mesenteric lymph nodes via dendritic cells. In contrast, infection of liver and spleen originated from an independent pool of bacteria. Vaccination only moderately reduced invasion of Peyer's patches but potently uncoupled bacterial populations present in different systemic compartments. Our data indicate that vaccination differentially skews the capacity of Salmonella to colonize systemic and gut immune compartments and provide a framework for the further dissection of infection dynamics. PMID:25079958

Wireless, Room Temperature Volatile Organic Compound Sensor Based on Polypyrrole Nanoparticle Immobilized Ultrahigh Frequency Radio Frequency Identification Tag.

PubMed

Jun, Jaemoon; Oh, Jungkyun; Shin, Dong Hoon; Kim, Sung Gun; Lee, Jun Seop; Kim, Wooyoung; Jang, Jyongsik

2016-12-07

Due to rapid advances in technology which have contributed to the development of portable equipment, highly sensitive and selective sensor technology is in demand. In particular, many approaches to the modification of wireless sensor systems have been studied. Wireless systems have many advantages, including unobtrusive installation, high nodal densities, low cost, and potential commercial applications. In this study, we fabricated radio frequency identification (RFID)-based wireless sensor systems using carboxyl group functionalized polypyrrole (C-PPy) nanoparticles (NPs). The C-PPy NPs were synthesized via chemical oxidation copolymerization, and then their electrical and chemical properties were characterized by a variety of methods. The sensor system was composed of an RFID reader antenna and a sensor tag made from a commercially available ultrahigh frequency RFID tag coated with C-PPy NPs. The C-PPy NPs were covalently bonded to the tag to form a passive sensor. This type of sensor can be produced at a very low cost and exhibits ultrahigh sensitivity to ammonia, detecting concentrations as low as 0.1 ppm. These sensors operated wirelessly and maintained their sensing performance as they were deformed by bending and twisting. Due to their flexibility, these sensors may be used in wearable technologies for sensing gases.

Tryptophan tags and de novo designed complementary affinity ligands for the expression and purification of recombinant proteins.

PubMed

Pina, Ana Sofia; Carvalho, Sara; Dias, Ana Margarida G C; Guilherme, Márcia; Pereira, Alice S; Caraça, Luciana T; Coroadinha, Ana Sofia; Lowe, Christopher R; Roque, A Cecília A

2016-11-11

A common strategy for the production and purification of recombinant proteins is to fuse a tag to the protein terminal residues and employ a "tag-specific" ligand for fusion protein capture and purification. In this work, we explored the effect of two tryptophan-based tags, NWNWNW and WFWFWF, on the expression and purification of Green Fluorescence Protein (GFP) used as a model fusion protein. The titers obtained with the expression of these fusion proteins in soluble form were 0.11mgml -1 and 0.48mgml -1 for WFWFWF and NWNWNW, respectively. A combinatorial library comprising 64 ligands based on the Ugi reaction was prepared and screened for binding GFP-tagged and non-tagged proteins. Complementary ligands A2C2 and A3C1 were selected for the effective capture of NWNWNW and WFWFWF tagged proteins, respectively, in soluble forms. These affinity pairs displayed 10 6 M -1 affinity constants and Qmax values of 19.11±2.60ugg -1 and 79.39ugg -1 for the systems WFWFWF AND NWNWNW, respectively. GFP fused to the WFWFWF affinity tag was also produced as inclusion bodies, and a refolding-on column strategy was explored using the ligand A4C8, selected from the combinatorial library of ligands but in presence of denaturant agents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DICOM Data Warehouse: Part 2.

PubMed

Langer, Steve G

2016-06-01

In 2010, the DICOM Data Warehouse (DDW) was launched as a data warehouse for DICOM meta-data. Its chief design goals were to have a flexible database schema that enabled it to index standard patient and study information, modality specific tags (public and private), and create a framework to derive computable information (derived tags) from the former items. Furthermore, it was to map the above information to an internally standard lexicon that enables a non-DICOM savvy programmer to write standard SQL queries and retrieve the equivalent data from a cohort of scanners, regardless of what tag that data element was found in over the changing epochs of DICOM and ensuing migration of elements from private to public tags. After 5 years, the original design has scaled astonishingly well. Very little has changed in the database schema. The knowledge base is now fluent in over 90 device types. Also, additional stored procedures have been written to compute data that is derivable from standard or mapped tags. Finally, an early concern is that the system would not be able to address the variability DICOM-SR objects has been addressed. As of this writing the system is indexing 300 MR, 600 CT, and 2000 other (XA, DR, CR, MG) imaging studies per day. The only remaining issue to be solved is the case for tags that were not prospectively indexed-and indeed, this final challenge may lead to a noSQL, big data, approach in a subsequent version.

Habitat use and movement patterns by adult saugers from fall to summer in an unimpounded small-river system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kuhn, K.M.; Hubert, W.A.; Johnson, K.; Oberlie, D.; Dufek, D.

2008-01-01

The Little Wind River drainage in Wyoming is a relatively small unimpounded river system inhabited by native saugers Sander canadensis. Radio telemetry was used to assess habitat use and movement patterns by adult saugers in the river system from fall through early summer. Fifty-four adult saugers were captured during fall 2004, surgically implanted with radio transmitters, and tracked through mid-July 2005. Tagged saugers selected large and deep pools. Such pools were abundant throughout the Little Wind River system and led to saugers being widely dispersed from fall to early spring. During fall, winter, and early spring, tagged saugers remained sedentary and moved short distances among pools in close proximity to each other. Longer movements by tagged saugers occurred from mid-spring to early summer, and were associated with both upstream and downstream movements to and from two river segments believed to be used for spawning. During early summer, most saugers returned to locations where they had been tagged the previous fall and had spent the winter. Our results provide evidence that preservation of the sauger fishery in the Wind River system will depend on maintaining fish passage throughout the portion of the watershed inhabited by saugers and preserving natural fluvial processes that maintain large and deep pools. ?? Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 2008.

A Novel RFID-Based Sensing Method for Low-Cost Bolt Loosening Monitoring

PubMed Central

Wu, Jian; Cui, Xingmei; Xu, Yunpeng

2016-01-01

In coal mines, bolt loosening in the cage guide is affected by the harsh environmental factors and cage hoist vibration, leading to significant threats to work safety. It is crucial, to this effect, to successfully detect the status of multipoint bolts of guide structures. This paper proposes a system to monitor bolt status in harsh environments established based on the RFID technique. A proof-of-concept model was demonstrated consisting of a bolt gearing system, passive UHF RFID tags, a reader, and monitoring software. A tinfoil metal film is fixed on the retaining plate and an RFID tag bonded to a large gear, with the bolt to be detected fixed in the center of a smaller gear. The radio-frequency signal cannot be received by the reader if the tag is completely obscured by the tinfoil, and if the bolt is loose, the tag’s antenna is exposed when the gear revolves. A radio-frequency signal that carries corresponding bolt’s information is transmitted by the RFID tag to the RFID reader due to coil coupling, identifying loose bolt location and reporting them in the software. Confirmatory test results revealed that the system indeed successfully detects bolt loosening and comparative test results (based on a reed switch multipoint bolt loosening monitor system) provided valuable information regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed system. PMID:26828498

Evaluation of juvenile salmonid behavior near a prototype weir box at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Washington, 2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kock, Tobias J.; Liedtke, Theresa L.; Ekstrom, Brian K.; Tomka, Ryan G.; Rondorf, Dennis W.

2014-01-01

Collection of juvenile salmonids at Cowlitz Falls Dam is a critical part of the effort to restore salmon in the upper Cowlitz River because the majority of fish that are not collected at the dam pass downstream and enter a large reservoir where they become landlocked and lost to the anadromous fish population. However, the juvenile fish collection system at Cowlitz Falls Dam has failed to achieve annual collection goals since it first began operating in 1996. Since that time, numerous modifications to the fish collection system have been made and several prototype collection structures have been developed and tested, but these efforts have not substantially increased juvenile fish collection. Studies have shown that juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), and Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) tend to locate the collection entrances effectively, but many of these fish are not collected and eventually pass the dam through turbines or spillways. Tacoma Power developed a prototype weir box in 2009 to increase capture rates of juvenile salmonids at the collection entrances, and this device proved to be successful at retaining those fish that entered the weir. However, because of safety concerns at the dam, the weir box could not be deployed near a spillway gate where the prototype was tested, so the device was altered and re-deployed at a different location, where it was evaluated during 2013. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted an evaluation using radiotelemetry to monitor fish behavior near the weir box and collection flumes. The evaluation was conducted during April–June 2013. Juvenile steelhead and coho salmon (45 per species) were tagged with a radio transmitter and passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag, and released upstream of the dam. All tagged fish moved downstream and entered the forebay of Cowlitz Falls Dam. Median travel times from the release site to the forebay were 0.8 d for steelhead and 1.2 d for coho salmon. Most fish spent several days in the dam forebay; median forebay residence times were 4.4 d for juvenile steelhead and 5.7 d for juvenile coho salmon. A new radio transmitter model was used during the study period. The transmitter had low detection probabilities on underwater antennas located within the collection system, which prevented us from reporting performance metrics (discovery efficiency, entrance efficiency, retention efficiency) that are traditionally used to evaluate fish collection systems. Most tagged steelhead (98 percent) and coho salmon (84 percent) were detected near the weir box or collection flume entrances during the study period; 39 percent of tagged steelhead and 55 percent of tagged coho salmon were detected at both entrances. Sixty-three percent of the tagged steelhead that were detected at both entrances were first detected at the weir box, compared to 52 percent of the coho salmon. Twelve steelhead and 15 coho salmon detected inside the weir box eventually left the device and were collected in collection flumes or passed the dam. Overall, collection rates were relatively high during the study period. Sixty-five percent of the steelhead and 80 percent of the coho salmon were collected during the study, and most of the remaining fish passed the dam and entered the tailrace (24 percent of steelhead; 13 percent of coho salmon). The remaining 11 percent of steelhead and 7 percent of coho salmon did not pass the dam while their transmitters were operating. We were able to confirm collection of tagged fish at the fish facility using three approaches: (1) detection of radio transmitters in study fish; (2) detection of PIT-tags in study fish; (3) observation of study fish by staff at the fish facility. Data from all three methods were used to develop a multistate mark-recapture model that estimated detection probabilities for the various monitoring methods. These estimates then were used to describe the percent of tagged fish that were collected through the weir box and collection flumes. Detection probabilities of PIT-tag antennas in the collection flumes were 0.895 for juvenile steelhead and 0.881 for juvenile coho salmon, although radiotelemetry detection probabilities were 0.654 and 0.646 for the two species, respectively. The multistate model estimates showed that all steelhead and most coho salmon (94.5 percent) that were collected at the dam entered the collection system through the flumes rather than through the weir box. None of the tagged steelhead and only 5.5 percent of the tagged coho salmon were collected through the weir box. These data show that juvenile steelhead and coho salmon collection rates were much higher through the collection flumes than through the weir box. Low detection probabilities of tagged fish in the fish collection system resulted in uncertainty for some aspects of our evaluation. Missing detection records within the collection system for fish that were known to have been collected resulted in four tagged steelhead and seven tagged coho salmon being removed from the dataset, which was used to assess discovery rates of the weir box and collection flumes. However, the multistate model allowed us to provide unbiased estimates of the percentage of tagged fish that were collected through each route, and these data showed that few fish were collected through the weir box. Overall, the fish collection system performed reasonably well in collecting juvenile steelhead and coho salmon during the 2013 collection season. Fish collection efficiency estimates from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife showed that steelhead collection efficiency was slightly higher than the 10-year average (46 percent compared to 42 percent), whereas coho salmon collection efficiency was more than twice as high as the 10-year average (63 percent compared to 30 percent). However, the performance of the weir box was poor because most fish were collected through the collection flumes.

Quantifying avian predation on fish populations: integrating predator-specific deposition probabilities in tag-recovery studies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hostetter, Nathan J.; Evans, Allen F.; Cramer, Bradley M.; Collis, Ken; Lyons, Donald E.; Roby, Daniel D.

2015-01-01

Accurate assessment of specific mortality factors is vital to prioritize recovery actions for threatened and endangered species. For decades, tag recovery methods have been used to estimate fish mortality due to avian predation. Predation probabilities derived from fish tag recoveries on piscivorous waterbird colonies typically reflect minimum estimates of predation due to an unknown and unaccounted-for fraction of tags that are consumed but not deposited on-colony (i.e., deposition probability). We applied an integrated tag recovery modeling approach in a Bayesian context to estimate predation probabilities that accounted for predator-specific tag detection and deposition probabilities in a multiple-predator system. Studies of PIT tag deposition were conducted across three bird species nesting at seven different colonies in the Columbia River basin, USA. Tag deposition probabilities differed significantly among predator species (Caspian ternsHydroprogne caspia: deposition probability = 0.71, 95% credible interval [CRI] = 0.51–0.89; double-crested cormorants Phalacrocorax auritus: 0.51, 95% CRI = 0.34–0.70; California gulls Larus californicus: 0.15, 95% CRI = 0.11–0.21) but showed little variation across trials within a species or across years. Data from a 6-year study (2008–2013) of PIT-tagged juvenile Snake River steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss (listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act) indicated that colony-specific predation probabilities ranged from less than 0.01 to 0.17 and varied by predator species, colony location, and year. Integrating the predator-specific deposition probabilities increased the predation probabilities by a factor of approximately 1.4 for Caspian terns, 2.0 for double-crested cormorants, and 6.7 for California gulls compared with traditional minimum predation rate methods, which do not account for deposition probabilities. Results supported previous findings on the high predation impacts from strictly piscivorous waterbirds nesting in the Columbia River estuary (i.e., terns and cormorants), but our findings also revealed greater impacts of a generalist predator species (i.e., California gulls) than were previously documented. Approaches used in this study allow for direct comparisons among multiple fish mortality factors and considerably improve the reliability of tag recovery models for estimating predation probabilities in multiple-predator systems.

Preliminary technical evaluation of an ARGOS-monitored radio tag for tracking manatees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mate, B.; Rathbun, G.; Merrick, R.; Reed, J.

A radio tagged manatee was released into a river leading to subtropical waters and tracked by satellite. Up to 8 locations a day are reported. The manatee remained in the river system, but is expected to head for the Gulf of Mexico.

Labeling RNAs in Live Cells Using Malachite Green Aptamer Scaffolds as Fluorescent Probes.

PubMed

Yerramilli, V Siddartha; Kim, Kyung Hyuk

2018-03-16

RNAs mediate many different processes that are central to cellular function. The ability to quantify or image RNAs in live cells is very useful in elucidating such functions of RNA. RNA aptamer-fluorogen systems have been increasingly used in labeling RNAs in live cells. Here, we use the malachite green aptamer (MGA), an RNA aptamer that can specifically bind to malachite green (MG) dye and induces it to emit far-red fluorescence signals. Previous studies on MGA showed a potential for the use of MGA for genetically tagging other RNA molecules in live cells. However, these studies also exhibited low fluorescence signals and high background noise. Here we constructed and tested RNA scaffolds containing multiple tandem repeats of MGA as a strategy to increase the brightness of the MGA aptamer-fluorogen system as well as to make the system fluoresce when tagging various RNA molecules, in live cells. We demonstrate that our MGA scaffolds can induce fluorescence signals by up to ∼20-fold compared to the basal level as a genetic tag for other RNA molecules. We also show that our scaffolds function reliably as genetically encoded fluorescent tags for mRNAs of fluorescent proteins and other RNA aptamers.

Radio-frequency tracking of respiratory equipment: rationale and early experience at the Cleveland Clinic.

PubMed

Stoller, James K; Roberts, Vincent; Matt, David; Chom, Leslie; Sasidhar, Madhu; Chatburn, Robert L

2013-12-01

When respiratory therapists (RTs) seek respiratory care equipment, finding it quickly is desirable, both to expedite patient care and to avert RTs wasting time. To optimize RTs' ability to quickly locate ventilators, we developed and implemented a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging system called eTrak. The Clinical Engineering and Information Technology groups at Cleveland Clinic collaboratively developed a Wi-Fi-based RFID program that used active RFID tags. Altogether, 218 ventilators, 82 noninvasive ventilators, and various non-respiratory equipment were tagged, beginning in March 2010. We calculated the difference in time required to locate equipment before versus after implementation. The eTrak system had a mean 145 log-ons per week over the first year of use, and was associated with a decreased time required for RTs to locate ventilators: median 18 min (range 1-45 min) versus 3 min (range 1-6 min) (P < .001). Surveys of RTs regarding whether equipment was hard to find before versus after implementing eTrak showed a non-significant trend toward improvement. An RFID tracking system for respiratory equipment shortened the time to locate ventilators and non-significantly improved RT satisfaction with finding equipment. RFID tagging of equipment warrants further investigation.

Choosing Whole-Grain Foods: 10 Tips for Purchasing and Storing Whole-Grain Foods

MedlinePlus

... Price Tag Read the Food Label Kitchen Timesavers Cooking for Your Family Tasty & Low-Cost Recipes Sample 2-Week Menus Resources for Professionals MyPlate Tip Sheets Print Materials Infographics 5 Ways ...

29 CFR 779.107 - Goods defined.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...; advertising, motion pictures, newspaper and radio copy; art work and manuscripts for publication; sample books, letterheads, envelopes, shipping tags, labels, checkbooks, blankbooks, book covers, advertising circulars, and... written materials such as newspapers, magazines, brochures, pamphlets, bulletins, and announcements...

Use of continuous/contiguous stacking hybridization as a diagnostic tool

DOEpatents

Mirzabekov, Andrei Darievich; Yershov, Gennadiy Moseyevich; Kirillov, Eugene Vladislavovich; Parinov, Sergei Valeryevich; Barski, Victor Evgenievich; Lysov, Yuri Petrovich

1999-01-01

A method for detecting disease-associated alleles in patient genetic material is provided whereby a first group of oligonucleotide molecules, synthesized to compliment base sequences of the disease associated alleles is immobilized on a predetermined position on a substrate, and then contacted with patient genetic material to form duplexes. The duplexes are then contacted with a second group of oligonucleotide molecules which are synthesized to extend the predetermined length of the oligonucleotide molecules of the first group, and where each of the oligonucleotide molecules of the second group are tagged and either incorporate universal bases or a mixture of guanine, cytosine, thymine, and adenine, or complementary nucleotide strands that are tagged with a different fluorochrome which radiates light at a predetermined wavelength. The treated substrate is then washed and the light patterns radiating therefrom are compared with predetermined light patterns of various diseases that were prepared on identical substrates.

Use of continuous/contiguous stacking hybridization as a diagnostic tool

DOEpatents

Mirzabekov, A.D.; Yershov, G.M.; Kirillov, E.V.; Parinov, S.V.; Barski, V.E.; Lysov, Y.P.

1999-06-01

A method for detecting disease-associated alleles in patient genetic material is provided whereby a first group of oligonucleotide molecules, synthesized to compliment base sequences of the disease associated alleles is immobilized on a predetermined position on a substrate, and then contacted with patient genetic material to form duplexes. The duplexes are then contacted with a second group of oligonucleotide molecules which are synthesized to extend the predetermined length of the oligonucleotide molecules of the first group, and where each of the oligonucleotide molecules of the second group are tagged and either incorporate universal bases or a mixture of guanine, cytosine, thymine, and adenine, or complementary nucleotide strands that are tagged with a different fluorochrome which radiates light at a predetermined wavelength. The treated substrate is then washed and the light patterns radiating therefrom are compared with predetermined light patterns of various diseases that were prepared on identical substrates. 5 figs.

EDITORIAL: Nanotechnology-based flexible electronics Nanotechnology-based flexible electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subramanian, Vivek; Lee, Takhee

2012-08-01

Research on flexible electronics has grown exponentially over the last decade. Researchers around the globe are developing a wide range of flexible systems, including displays [1, 2], sensors [3-5], RFID tags [6, 7] and other similar devices [8]. Innovations in materials have been key to the increased research success in this field of research in recent years [9]. Transistors, interconnects, memory cells, passive components and other assorted devices all have challenging material demands for flexible electronics to become a reality. Nanomaterials of various kinds have been found to represent a tremendously powerful tool, with nanoparticles [10], nanotubes, nanowires [3, 11] and engineered organic molecules [12, 13] contributing to the realization of high-performance semiconductors, dielectrics and conductors for flexible electronics applications. Nanomaterials offer tunability in terms of performance, solution processability and processing temperature requirements, which makes them very attractive as building blocks for flexible electronic systems. Indeed, such systems represent some of the largest families of commercially produced nanomaterials today, and numerous commercial products based on nanoparticle formulations are widely available. This special issue focuses on the rapidly blossoming field of flexible electronics, with a particular focus on the use of nanotechnology to facilitate flexible electronic materials, processes, devices and systems. Contributions to the issue describe the development of nanomaterials—including nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanowires and carbon-based thin films—for use in conductors, transparent electrodes, semiconductors and dielectrics. The articles feature innovations in nanomanufacturing and novel materials, as well as the application of these technologies to advanced flexible devices and systems. As flexible electronics systems move rapidly towards successful commercial deployment, it is extremely likely that they will exploit nanomaterials as building blocks. Developments in the field will help to leverage the power of these materials to realize novel functionalities in flexible form factors. This special issue provides a view of the state of the art in these technologies, and gives a vision of the coming innovations that will make flexible electronics a reality. References [1] Gelinck G H et al 2004 Flexible active-matrix displays and shift registers based on solution-processed organic transistors Nature Mater. 3 106-10 [2] Zhou L, Wanga A, Wu S C, Sun J, Park S and Jackson T N 2006 All-organic active matrix flexible display Appl. Phys. Lett. 88 083502 [3] Fan Z, Ho J C, Jacobson Z A, Razavi H and Javey A 2008 Large-scale, heterogeneous integration of nanowire arrays for image sensor circuitry Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 105 11066 [4] Sekitani T et al 2009 Organic nonvolatile memory transistors for flexible sensor arrays Science 326 1516-9 [5] Mannsfeld S C B et al 2010 Highly sensitive flexible pressure sensors with microstructured rubber dielectric layers Nature Mater. 9 859-64 [6]Subramanian V, Frechet J M J, Chang P C, Huang D C, Lee J B, Molesa S E, Murphy A R, Redinger D R and Volkman S K 2005 Progress toward development of all-printed RFID tags: materials, processes, and devices Proc. IEEE 93 1330-8 [7] Jung M et al 2010 All-printed and roll-to-roll-printable 13.56 MHz-operated 1 bit RF tag on plastic foils IEEE Trans. Electron. Devices 57 571-80 [8] Kim D-H et al 2011 Epidermal electronics Science 333 838-43 [9] Wagner S and Bauer S 2012 Materials for stretchable electronics MRS Bull. 37 207 [10] Grouchko M, Kamyshny A and Magdassi S 2009 Formation of air-stable copper-silver core-shell nanoparticles for inkjet printing J. Mater. Chem. 19 3057-62 [11] Takei K et al 2010 Nanowire active-matrix circuitry for low-voltage macroscale artificial skin Nature Mater. 9 821-6 [12] Sekitani T, Zschieschang U, Klauk H and Someya T 2010 Flexible organic transistors and circuits with extreme bending stability Nature Mater. 9 1015-22 [13] Park S, Wang G, Cho B, Kim Y, Song S, Ji Y, Yoon M and Lee T 2012 Flexible molecular-scale electronic devices Nature Nanotechnol. 7 438-42

Passive UHF RFID Tag for Multispectral Assessment

PubMed Central

Escobedo, Pablo; Carvajal, Miguel A.; Capitán-Vallvey, Luis F.; Fernández-Salmerón, José; Martínez-Olmos, Antonio; Palma, Alberto J.

2016-01-01

This work presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a passive printed radiofrequency identification tag in the ultra-high-frequency band with multiple optical sensing capabilities. This tag includes five photodiodes to cover a wide spectral range from near-infrared to visible and ultraviolet spectral regions. The tag antenna and circuit connections have been screen-printed on a flexible polymeric substrate. An ultra-low-power microcontroller-based switch has been included to measure the five magnitudes issuing from the optical sensors, providing a spectral fingerprint of the incident electromagnetic radiation from ultraviolet to infrared, without requiring energy from a battery. The normalization procedure has been designed applying illuminants, and the entire system was tested by measuring cards from a colour chart and sensing fruit ripening. PMID:27428973

Passive UHF RFID Tag for Multispectral Assessment.

PubMed

Escobedo, Pablo; Carvajal, Miguel A; Capitán-Vallvey, Luis F; Fernández-Salmerón, José; Martínez-Olmos, Antonio; Palma, Alberto J

2016-07-14

This work presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a passive printed radiofrequency identification tag in the ultra-high-frequency band with multiple optical sensing capabilities. This tag includes five photodiodes to cover a wide spectral range from near-infrared to visible and ultraviolet spectral regions. The tag antenna and circuit connections have been screen-printed on a flexible polymeric substrate. An ultra-low-power microcontroller-based switch has been included to measure the five magnitudes issuing from the optical sensors, providing a spectral fingerprint of the incident electromagnetic radiation from ultraviolet to infrared, without requiring energy from a battery. The normalization procedure has been designed applying illuminants, and the entire system was tested by measuring cards from a colour chart and sensing fruit ripening.

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

Kim, Hyo-Seob; Ames Lab., Ames, IA; Dharmaiah, Peyala

(GeTe) x(AgSbTe 2) 100$-$x: TAGS thermoelectrics are an attractive class of materials due to their combination of non-toxicity and good conversion efficiency at mid-temperature ranges. Here in the present work, we have utilized energy and time efficient high-pressure gas atomization and spark-plasma sintering techniques for large-scale preparation of samples with varying composition (i.e., (GeTe) x(AgSbTe 2) 100$-$x where x = 75, 80, 85, and 90). High-temperature x-ray diffraction was used to understand the phase transformation mechanism of the as-atomized powders. Detailed high-resolution transmission electron microscopy of the sintered samples revealed the presence of nanoscale precipitates, antiphase, and twin boundaries. Themore » nanoscale twins and antiphase boundaries serve as phonon scattering centers, leading to the reduction of total thermal conductivity in TAGS-80 and 90 samples. The maximum ZT obtained was 1.56 at 623 K for TAGS-90, which was ~94% improvement compared to values previously reported. The presence of the twin boundaries also resulted in a high fracture toughness (K IC) of the TAGS-90 sample due to inhibition of dislocation movement at the twin boundary.« less

Experimental studies of high-accuracy RFID localization with channel impairments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pauls, Eric; Zhang, Yimin D.

2015-05-01

Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems present an incredibly cost-effective and easy-to-implement solution to close-range localization. One of the important applications of a passive RFID system is to determine the reader position through multilateration based on the estimated distances between the reader and multiple distributed reference tags obtained from, e.g., the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) readings. In practice, the achievable accuracy of passive RFID reader localization suffers from many factors, such as the distorted RSSI reading due to channel impairments in terms of the susceptibility to reader antenna patterns and multipath propagation. Previous studies have shown that the accuracy of passive RFID localization can be significantly improved by properly modeling and compensating for such channel impairments. The objective of this paper is to report experimental study results that validate the effectiveness of such approaches for high-accuracy RFID localization. We also examine a number of practical issues arising in the underlying problem that limit the accuracy of reader-tag distance measurements and, therefore, the estimated reader localization. These issues include the variations in tag radiation characteristics for similar tags, effects of tag orientations, and reader RSS quantization and measurement errors. As such, this paper reveals valuable insights of the issues and solutions toward achieving high-accuracy passive RFID localization.

Server Level Analysis of Network Operation Utilizing System Call Data

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-25

Server DLL Inject 6 Executable Download and Execute 7 Execute Command 8 Execute net user /ADD 9 PassiveX ActiveX Inject Meterpreter Payload...10 PassiveX ActiveX Inject VNC Server Payload 11 PassiveX ActiveX Injection Payload 12 Recv Tag Findsock Meterpreter 13 Recv Tag Findsock

Pilot Fullerton reviews FDF and TAGS printout on forward flight deck

NASA Image and Video Library

1982-03-30

STS003-23-180 (22-30 March 1982) --- Astronaut Gordon Fullerton, STS-3 pilot, wearing communications kit assembly (ASSY) mini-headset (HDST), reviews flight data file (FDF) checklist and text and graphics system (TAGS) printout (ticker tape) while in pilots ejection seat (S2). Pilot station control panels F4, F7, F8, O3, window shade, and portable oxygen system (POS) assy appear in view. Photo credit: NASA

Technical specifications of low-frequency radio identification bedload tracking from field experiments: Differences in antennas, tags and operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnaud, F.; Piégay, H.; Vaudor, L.; Bultingaire, L.; Fantino, G.

2015-06-01

Low-frequency passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) have been increasingly used for tracking bedload transport in gravel-bed rivers. Prior studies have reported high recovery rates in small streams, while recovery rates remained much lower in large systems, in large part because of the limited reading distance of the tags (< 1 m). Some laboratory tests have identified controlling factors for detection ranges (tag and antenna size, tag orientation, burial, submergence, etc.). Beyond these tests, improving our understanding of PIT tag functioning, using different equipment within different environments, is still needed in order to select the most suitable device for each geomorphic context. We address this knowledge gap with technical specifications for a low-frequency radio identification (RFID) device by working for the first time with real fluvial constraints, i.e., the gravel deposits and the aquatic channel. The three-dimensional detection envelopes of two types of tags and three types of antennas are quantified as well as the effect of practices (interoperator bias, battery power) on the detection. The interoperator variability and the intertag variability can be considered as negligible. The influence of burial in dry and water-saturated sediment and the influence of water immersion are shown to be minor. Finally, we summarize practical implications for RFID bedload tracking through these experiments.

Quantification of Triacylglycerol Positional Isomers in Rat Milk.

PubMed

Watanabe, Natsuko; Nagai, Toshiharu; Mizobe, Hoyo; Yoshinaga, Kazuaki; Yoshida, Akihiko; Kitamura, Yohei; Shimizu, Takashi; Beppu, Fumiaki; Gotoh, Naohiro

2016-12-01

The absolute amount of triacylglycerol (TAG) positional isomers was analyzed in rat milk fat, a representative of non-ruminant milk fat, using a HPLC-UV-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-MS/MS system equipped with an octacosyl silylation column or polymeric ODS column. TAGs consisting of two oleic acids (O) and one palmitic acid (P) were the most abundant. In particular, β-OPO, a TAG binding P at the β-position (sn-2) and two Os at the α-positions (sn-1/3), was prominent. The β-OPO content decreased over time, while a TAG consisting of two Ps and one capric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid, increased. TAGs consisting of two Ps and one docosahexaenoic acid were present in small amounts and decreased with time. These results indicated that the recombination of fatty acids in TAGs in milk fat occurs in the mother, and is thought to depend on the infant's stage of growth, in response to their nutritional needs. It was also demonstrated that medium-chain fatty acids were mainly located at the α-position (sn-3), while Ps were mainly located at the β-position (sn-2). Therefore, the combination and binding positions of fatty acids of TAG are considered very important in infant nutrition.

On the designing of a tamper resistant prescription RFID access control system.

PubMed

Safkhani, Masoumeh; Bagheri, Nasour; Naderi, Majid

2012-12-01

Recently, Chen et al. have proposed a novel tamper resistant prescription RFID access control system, published in the Journal of Medical Systems. In this paper we consider the security of the proposed protocol and identify some existing weaknesses. The main attack is a reader impersonation attack which allows an active adversary to impersonate a legitimate doctor, e.g. the patient's doctor, to access the patient's tag and change the patient prescription. The presented attack is quite efficient. To impersonate a doctor, the adversary should eavesdrop one session between the doctor and the patient's tag and then she can impersonate the doctor with the success probability of '1'. In addition, we present efficient reader-tag to back-end database impersonation, de-synchronization and traceability attacks against the protocol. Finally, we propose an improved version of protocol which is more efficient compared to the original protocol while provides the desired security against the presented attacks.

Optimizing Search and Ranking in Folksonomy Systems by Exploiting Context Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abel, Fabian; Henze, Nicola; Krause, Daniel

Tagging systems enable users to annotate resources with freely chosen keywords. The evolving bunch of tag assignments is called folksonomy and there exist already some approaches that exploit folksonomies to improve resource retrieval. In this paper, we analyze and compare graph-based ranking algorithms: FolkRank and SocialPageRank. We enhance these algorithms by exploiting the context of tags, and evaluate the results on the GroupMe! dataset. In GroupMe!, users can organize and maintain arbitrary Web resources in self-defined groups. When users annotate resources in GroupMe!, this can be interpreted in context of a certain group. The grouping activity itself is easy for users to perform. However, it delivers valuable semantic information about resources and their context. We present GRank that uses the context information to improve and optimize the detection of relevant search results, and compare different strategies for ranking result lists in folksonomy systems.

Hood River PIT-tag interrogation system efficiency study. Annual report of U.S. Geological Survey activities: November 2010-October 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jezorek, Ian G.; Connolly, Patrick J.

2012-01-01

An additional USGS-CRRL task, under contract number 50150, was to build three antennas for use with Destron-Fearing 2001F-ISO PIT tag readers. These antennas would be 5 used at the East Fork Hood River Acclimation site. They would be placed in the outflow channel to inform managers about the number of PIT tagged steelhead smolts released to the Hood River after a period of acclimation when some mortality and predation might occur. 

Novel Use of PIT Tags in Sea Cucumbers: Promising Results with the Commercial Species Cucumaria frondosa

PubMed Central

Gianasi, Bruno L.; Verkaik, Katie; Hamel, Jean-François; Mercier, Annie

2015-01-01

The lack of a reliable and innocuous mark-recapture method has limited studies that would provide essential information for the management of commercial sea cucumbers. Tagging sea cucumbers is notoriously difficult because of their plastic nature and autolysis capacities. The markers that have so far been tested, mainly on or through the body wall, were either lost rapidly or had major drawbacks (e.g. suitable only for batch identification, requiring complex analysis, causing infections, necrosis, behavioural changes and mortality). The present study explored the efficacy of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags for individually marking sea cucumbers by assessing retention rates and long-term side effects of tags inserted in previously unstudied tissues/organs. Individuals of the species Cucumaria frondosa were tagged in the body wall, aquapharyngeal bulb and at the base of the oral tentacles. They were monitored closely for evidence of stress, infection, change in feeding and spawning behaviour and tag retention rate. Implanting the tag in an oral tentacle to reach the hydrovascular system of the aquapharyngeal bulb achieved the best retention rates in full-size individuals: from a maximum of 92% after 30 days to 68% at the end of the experimental period (300 days). Efficacy was lower in smaller individuals (84% after 30 d and 42% after 300 d). Following a slight increase in cloacal movements for 15 h post tagging, no side effect was noted in sea cucumbers tagged in the aquapharyngeal bulb via the tentacles. Feeding and spawning behaviours were not affected and no signs of infections or abnormal cell development in the vicinity of the tags were observed. This study indicates that marking sea cucumbers with 8.2 mm long PIT tags implanted via the oral tentacle is an effective technique, yielding relatively high retention rates over long periods without any detectable physiological or behavioural effects. PMID:26011165

CF NEUTRON TIME OF FLIGHT TRANSMISSION FOR MATERIAL IDENTIFICATION FOR WEAPONS TRAINERS

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

Mihalczo, John T; Valentine, Timothy E; Blakeman, Edward D

2011-01-01

The neutron transmission, elastic scattering, and non elastic reactions can be used to distinguish various isotopes. Neutron transmission as a function of energy can be used in some cases to identify materials in unknown objects. A time tagged californium source that provides a fission spectrum of neutrons is a useful source for neutron time-of-flight (TOF) transmission measurements. Many nuclear weapons trainer units for a particular weapons system (no fissile, but of same weight and center of gravity) in shipping containers were returned to the National Nuclear Security Administration Y-12 National Security Complex in the mid 1990s. Nuclear Materials Identification Systemmore » (NMIS) measurements with a time tagged californium neutron source were used to verify that these trainers did not contain fissile material. In these blind tests, the time distributions of neutrons through the containers were measured as a function of position to locate the approximate center of the trainer in the container. Measurements were also performed with an empty container. TOF template matching measurements were then performed at this location for a large number of units. In these measurements, the californium source was located on one end of the container and a proton recoil scintillator was located on the other end. The variations in the TOF transmission for times corresponding to 1 to 5 MeV were significantly larger than statistical. Further examination of the time distribution or the energy dependence revealed that these variations corresponded to the variations in the neutron cross section of aluminum averaged over the energy resolution of the californium TOF measurement with a flight path of about 90 cm. Measurements using different thicknesses of aluminum were also performed with the source and detector separated the same distance as for the trainer measurements. These comparison measurements confirmed that the material in the trainers was aluminum, and the total thickness of aluminum through the trainers was determined. This is an example of how californium transmission TOF measurements can be used to identify materials.« less

9 CFR 2.50 - Time and method of identification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

.... The use of materials such as wire, elastic, or sharp metal that might cause discomfort or injury to... tag that is kept on the door of the animal's cage or run; (ii) A record book containing each animal's...

Semantic Document Library: A Virtual Research Environment for Documents, Data and Workflows Sharing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotwani, K.; Liu, Y.; Myers, J.; Futrelle, J.

2008-12-01

The Semantic Document Library (SDL) was driven by use cases from the environmental observatory communities and is designed to provide conventional document repository features of uploading, downloading, editing and versioning of documents as well as value adding features of tagging, querying, sharing, annotating, ranking, provenance, social networking and geo-spatial mapping services. It allows users to organize a catalogue of watershed observation data, model output, workflows, as well publications and documents related to the same watershed study through the tagging capability. Users can tag all relevant materials using the same watershed name and find all of them easily later using this tag. The underpinning semantic content repository can store materials from other cyberenvironments such as workflow or simulation tools and SDL provides an effective interface to query and organize materials from various sources. Advanced features of the SDL allow users to visualize the provenance of the materials such as the source and how the output data is derived. Other novel features include visualizing all geo-referenced materials on a geospatial map. SDL as a component of a cyberenvironment portal (the NCSA Cybercollaboratory) has goal of efficient management of information and relationships between published artifacts (Validated models, vetted data, workflows, annotations, best practices, reviews and papers) produced from raw research artifacts (data, notes, plans etc.) through agents (people, sensors etc.). Tremendous scientific potential of artifacts is achieved through mechanisms of sharing, reuse and collaboration - empowering scientists to spread their knowledge and protocols and to benefit from the knowledge of others. SDL successfully implements web 2.0 technologies and design patterns along with semantic content management approach that enables use of multiple ontologies and dynamic evolution (e.g. folksonomies) of terminology. Scientific documents involved with many interconnected entities (artifacts or agents) are represented as RDF triples using semantic content repository middleware Tupelo in one or many data/metadata RDF stores. Queries to the RDF enables discovery of relations among data, process and people, digging out valuable aspects, making recommendations to users, such as what tools are typically used to answer certain kinds of questions or with certain types of dataset. This innovative concept brings out coherent information about entities from four different perspectives of the social context (Who-human relations and interactions), the casual context (Why - provenance and history), the geo-spatial context (Where - location or spatially referenced information) and the conceptual context (What - domain specific relations, ontologies etc.).

Phase Transitions of Thermoelectric TAGS-85.

PubMed

Kumar, Anil; Vermeulen, Paul A; Kooi, Bart J; Rao, Jiancun; van Eijck, Lambert; Schwarzmüller, Stefan; Oeckler, Oliver; Blake, Graeme R

2017-12-18

The alloys (GeTe) x (AgSbTe 2 ) 100-x , commonly known as TAGS-x, are among the best performing p-type thermoelectric materials for the composition range 80 ≤ x ≤ 90 and in the temperature range 200-500 °C. They adopt a rhombohedrally distorted rocksalt structure at room temperature and are reported to undergo a reversible phase transition to a cubic structure at ∼250 °C. However, we show that, for the optimal x = 85 composition (TAGS-85), both the structural and thermoelectric properties are highly sensitive to the initial synthesis method employed. Single-phase rhombohedral samples exhibit the best thermoelectric properties but can only be obtained after an annealing step at 600 °C during initial cooling from the melt. Under faster cooling conditions, the samples obtained are inhomogeneous, containing multiple rhombohedral phases with a range of lattice parameters and exhibiting inferior thermoelectric properties. We also find that when the room-temperature rhombohedral phase is heated, an intermediate trigonal structure containing ordered cation vacancy layers is formed at ∼200 °C, driven by the spontaneous precipitation of argyrodite-type Ag 8 GeTe 6 which alters the stoichiometry of the TAGS-85 matrix. The rhombohedral and trigonal phases of TAGS-85 coexist up to 380 °C, above which a single cubic phase is obtained and the Ag 8 GeTe 6 precipitates redissolve into the matrix. On subsequent cooling a mixture of rhombohedral, trigonal, and Ag 8 GeTe 6 phases is again obtained. Initially single-phase samples exhibit thermoelectric power factors of up to 0.0035 W m -1 K -2 at 500 °C, a value that is maintained on subsequent thermal cycling and which represents the highest power factor yet reported for undoped TAGS-85. Therefore, control over the structural homogeneity of TAGS-85 as demonstrated here is essential in order to optimize the thermoelectric performance.

High data density and capacity in chipless radiofrequency identification (chipless-RFID) tags based on double-chains of S-shaped split ring resonators (S-SRRs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrojo, Cristian; Mata-Contreras, Javier; Paredes, Ferran; Martín, Ferran

2017-11-01

The data density per surface (DPS) is a figure of merit in chipless radiofrequency identification (chipless-RFID) tags. In this paper, it is demonstrated that chipless-RFID tags with high DPS can be implemented by using double-chains of S-shaped split ring resonators (S-SRRs). Tag reading is achieved by near-field coupling between the tag and the reader, a CPW transmission line fed by a harmonic signal tuned to the resonance frequency of the S-SRRs. By transversally displacing the tag over the CPW, the transmission coefficient of the line is modulated by tag motion. This effectively modulates the amplitude of the injected (carrier) signal at the output port of the line, and the identification (ID) code, determined by the presence or absence of S-SRRs at predefined and equidistant positions in the chains, is contained in the envelope function. The DPS is determined by S-SRR dimensions and by the distance between S-SRRs in the chains. However, by using two chains of S-SRRs, the number of bits per unit length that can be accommodated is very high. This chipless-RFID system is of special interest in applications where the reading distance can be sacrificed in favor of data capacity (e.g., security and authentication). Encoding of corporate documents, ballots, exams, etc., by directly printing the proposed tags on the item product to prevent counterfeiting is envisaged.

Applying Social Tagging to Manage Cognitive Load in a Web 2.0 Self-Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Yueh-Min; Huang, Yong-Ming; Liu, Chien-Hung; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2013-01-01

Web-based self-learning (WBSL) has received a lot of attention in recent years due to the vast amount of varied materials available in the Web 2.0 environment. However, this large amount of material also has resulted in a serious problem of cognitive overload that degrades the efficacy of learning. In this study, an information graphics method is…

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Based Corrosion Monitoring Sensors. Part 2: Application and Testing of the Coating Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-22

Radio frequency identification ( RFID ) based corrosion monitoring sensors: Part II Application and testing of the coating materials Youliang He1...email: yohe@nrcan.gc.ca Keywords: Corrosion monitoring; Wireless sensor; RFID ; Electromagnetic interference; Coating. Abstract Cost-effective...Radio Frequency Identification ( RFID ) transponders (tags) were investigated for wireless corrosion monitoring by applying a metal-filled conductive

Indoor localization using pedestrian dead reckoning updated with RFID-based fiducials.

PubMed

House, Samuel; Connell, Sean; Milligan, Ian; Austin, Daniel; Hayes, Tamara L; Chiang, Patrick

2011-01-01

We describe a low-cost wearable system that tracks the location of individuals indoors using commonly available inertial navigation sensors fused with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags placed around the smart environment. While conventional pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) calculated with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) is susceptible to sensor drift inaccuracies, the proposed wearable prototype fuses the drift-sensitive IMU with a RFID tag reader. Passive RFID tags placed throughout the smart-building then act as fiducial markers that update the physical locations of each user, thereby correcting positional errors and sensor inaccuracy. Experimental measurements taken for a 55 m × 20 m 2D floor space indicate an over 1200% improvement in average error rate of the proposed RFID-fused system over dead reckoning alone.

General Framework for Animal Food Safety Traceability Using GS1 and RFID

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Weizhu; Zheng, Limin; Zhu, Hong; Wu, Ping

GS1 is global traceability standard, which is composed by the encoding system (EAN/UCC, EPC), the data carriers identified automatically (bar codes, RFID), electronic data interchange standards (EDI, XML). RFID is a non-contact, multi-objective automatic identification technique. Tracing of source food, standardization of RFID tags, sharing of dynamic data are problems to solve urgently for recent traceability systems. The paper designed general framework for animal food safety traceability using GS1 and RFID. This framework uses RFID tags encoding with EPCglobal tag data standards. Each information server has access tier, business tier and resource tier. These servers are heterogeneous and distributed, providing user access interfaces by SOAP or HTTP protocols. For sharing dynamic data, discovery service and object name service are used to locate dynamic distributed information servers.

ReAsH/FlAsH labeling and image analysis of tetracysteine sensor proteins in cells.

PubMed

Irtegun, Sevgi; Ramdzan, Yasmin M; Mulhern, Terrence D; Hatters, Danny M

2011-08-31

Fluorescent proteins and dyes are essential tools for the study of protein trafficking, localization and function in cells. While fluorescent proteins such as green fluorescence protein (GFP) have been extensively used as fusion partners to proteins to track the properties of a protein of interest, recent developments with smaller tags enable new functionalities of proteins to be examined in cells such as conformational change and protein-association. One small tag system involves a tetracysteine motif (CCXXCC) genetically inserted into a target protein, which binds to biarsenical dyes, ReAsH (red fluorescent) and FlAsH (green fluorescent), with high specificity even in live cells. The TC/biarsenical dye system offers far less steric constraints to the host protein than fluorescent proteins which has enabled several new approaches to measure conformational change and protein-protein interactions. We recently developed a novel application of TC tags as sensors of oligomerization in cells expressing mutant huntingtin, which when mutated aggregates in neurons in Huntington disease. Huntingtin was tagged with two fluorescent dyes, one a fluorescent protein to track protein location, and the second a TC tag which only binds biarsenical dyes in monomers. Hence, changes in colocalization between protein and biarsenical dye reactivity enabled submicroscopic oligomer content to be spatially mapped within cells. Here, we describe how to label TC-tagged proteins fused to a fluorescent protein (Cherry, GFP or CFP) with FlAsH or ReAsH in live mammalian cells and how to quantify the two color fluorescence (Cherry/FlAsH, CFP/FlAsH or GFP/ReAsH combinations).

Application of XML in DICOM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Xiaozhen; Yao, Zhihong

2005-04-01

As a standard of communication and storage for medical digital images, DICOM has been playing a very important role in integration of hospital information. In DICOM, tags are expressed by numbers, and only standard data elements can be shared by looking up Data Dictionary while private tags can not. As such, a DICOM file's readability and extensibility is limited. In addition, reading DICOM files needs special software. In our research, we introduced XML into DICOM, defining an XML-based DICOM special transfer format, XML-DCM, a DICOM storage format, X-DCM, as well as developing a program package to realize format interchange among DICOM, XML-DCM, and X-DCM. XML-DCM is based on the DICOM structure while replacing numeric tags with accessible XML character string tags. The merits are as following: a) every character string tag of XML-DCM has explicit meaning, so users can understand standard data elements and those private data elements easily without looking up the Data Dictionary. In this way, the readability and data sharing of DICOM files are greatly improved; b) According to requirements, users can set new character string tags with explicit meaning to their own system to extend the capacity of data elements; c) User can read the medical image and associated information conveniently through IE, ultimately enlarging the scope of data sharing. The application of storage format X-DCM will reduce data redundancy and save storage memory. The result of practical application shows that XML-DCM does favor integration and share of medical image data among different systems or devices.

Optical ID Tags for Secure Verification of Multispectral Visible and NIR Signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-Cabré, Elisabet; Millán, María S.; Javidi, Bahram

2008-04-01

We propose to combine information from visible (VIS) and near infrared (NIR) spectral bands to increase robustness on security systems and deter from unauthorized use of optical tags that permit the identification of a given person or object. The signature that identifies the element under surveillance will be only obtained by the appropriate combination of the visible content and the NIR data. The fully-phase encryption technique is applied to avoid an easy recognition of the resultant signature at the naked eye and an easy reproduction using conventional devices for imaging or scanning. The obtained complex-amplitude encrypted distribution is encoded on an identity (ID) tag. Spatial multiplexing of the encrypted signature allows us to build a distortion-invariant ID tag, so that remote authentication can be achieved even if the tag is captured under rotation or at different distances. We explore the possibility of using partial information of the encrypted distribution. Simulation results are provided and discussed.

A touch probe method of operating an implantable RFID tag for orthopedic implant identification.

PubMed

Liu, Xiaoyu; Berger, J Lee; Ogirala, Ajay; Mickle, Marlin H

2013-06-01

The major problem in operating an implantable radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag embedded on an orthopedic implant is low efficiency because of metallic interference. To improve the efficiency, this paper proposes a method of operating an implantable passive RFID tag using a touch probe at 13.56 MHz. This technology relies on the electric field interaction between two pairs of electrodes, one being a part of the touch probe placed on the surface of tissue and the other being a part of the tag installed under the tissue. Compared with using a conventional RFID antenna such as a loop antenna, this method has a better performance in the near field operation range to reduce interference with the orthopedic implant. Properly matching the touch probe and the tag to the tissue and the implant reduces signal attenuation and increases the overall system efficiency. The experiments have shown that this method has a great performance in the near field transcutaneous operation and can be used for orthopedic implant identification.

Fluorescence lifetime imaging system with nm-resolution and single-molecule sensitivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahl, Michael; Rahn, Hans-Juergen; Ortmann, Uwe; Erdmann, Rainer; Boehmer, Martin; Enderlein, Joerg

2002-03-01

Fluorescence lifetime measurement of organic fluorophores is a powerful tool for distinguishing molecules of interest from background or other species. This is of interest in sensitive analysis and Single Molecule Detection (SMD). A demand in many applications is to provide 2-D imaging together with lifetime information. The method of choice is then Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC). We have devloped a compact system on a single PC board that can perform TCSPC at high throughput, while synchronously driving a piezo scanner holding the immobilized sample. The system allows count rates up to 3 MHz and a resolution down to 30 ps. An overall Instrument Response Function down to 300ps is achieved with inexpensive detectors and diode lasers. The board is designed for the PCI bus, permitting high throughput without loss of counts. It is reconfigurable to operate in different modes. The Time-Tagged Time-Resolved (TTTR) mode permits the recording of all photon events with a real-time tag allowing data analysis with unlimited flexibility. We use the Time-Tag clock for an external piezo scanner that moves the sample. As the clock source is common for scanning and tagging, the individual photons can be matched to pixels. Demonstrating the capablities of the system we studied single molecule solutions. Lifetime imaging can be performed at high resolution with as few as 100 photons per pixel.

Identification and characterization of a triacylglycerol lipase in Arabidopsis homologous to mammalian acid lipases.

PubMed

El-Kouhen, Karim; Blangy, Stéphanie; Ortiz, Emilia; Gardies, Anne-Marie; Ferté, Natalie; Arondel, Vincent

2005-11-07

Triacylglycerol (TAG) lipases have been thoroughly characterized in mammals and microorganisms. By contrast, very little is known on plant TAG lipases. An Arabidopsis cDNA called AtLip1 (At2g15230), which exhibits strong homology to lysosomal acid lipase, was found to drive the synthesis of an active TAG lipase when expressed in the baculovirus system. The lipase had a maximal activity at pH 6 and the specific activity was estimated to be about 45 micromol min(-1) mg(-1) protein using triolein as a substrate. Knock-out mutant analysis showed no phenotype during germination indicating that this enzyme is fully dispensable for TAG storage breakdown during germination. Northern blot analyses indicated that the transcript is present in all tissues tested.

A review of tags anti-collision and localization protocols in RFID networks.

PubMed

Ullah, S; Alsalih, W; Alsehaim, A; Alsadhan, N

2012-12-01

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) has allowed the realization of ubiquitous tracking and monitoring of physical objects wirelessly with minimum human interactions. It plays a key role in a wide range of applications including asset tracking, contactless payment, access control, transportation and logistics, and other industrial applications. On the other side, RFID systems face several technical challenges that need to be overcome in order to achieve their potential benefits; tags collisions and localization of tagged objects are two important challenges. Numerous anti-collision and localization protocols have been proposed to address these challenges. This paper reviews the state-of-art tags' anti-collision and localization protocols, and provides a deep insight into technical issues of these protocols. The probabilistic and deterministic anti-collision protocols are critically studied and compared in terms of different parameters. We further review distance estimation, scene analysis, and proximity localization schemes and provide useful suggestions. We also introduce a new hybrid direction that utilizes power control to spatially partition the interrogation range of a reader for more efficient anti-collision and localization. Finally, we present the applications of RFID systems in healthcare sectors.

A machine learning approach for automated wide-range frequency tagging analysis in embedded neuromonitoring systems.

PubMed

Montagna, Fabio; Buiatti, Marco; Benatti, Simone; Rossi, Davide; Farella, Elisabetta; Benini, Luca

2017-10-01

EEG is a standard non-invasive technique used in neural disease diagnostics and neurosciences. Frequency-tagging is an increasingly popular experimental paradigm that efficiently tests brain function by measuring EEG responses to periodic stimulation. Recently, frequency-tagging paradigms have proven successful with low stimulation frequencies (0.5-6Hz), but the EEG signal is intrinsically noisy in this frequency range, requiring heavy signal processing and significant human intervention for response estimation. This limits the possibility to process the EEG on resource-constrained systems and to design smart EEG based devices for automated diagnostic. We propose an algorithm for artifact removal and automated detection of frequency tagging responses in a wide range of stimulation frequencies, which we test on a visual stimulation protocol. The algorithm is rooted on machine learning based pattern recognition techniques and it is tailored for a new generation parallel ultra low power processing platform (PULP), reaching performance of more that 90% accuracy in the frequency detection even for very low stimulation frequencies (<1Hz) with a power budget of 56mW. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

77 FR 4550 - Promising and Practical Strategies to Increase Postsecondary Success

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-30

... Education. Appendix A: Standard Keywords and Tags Accelerated Learning Achievement Gap Closure Adult Education Affordability Assessment Technology Badges Basic Skills Blended Learning Block Scheduling [[Page... Collection/Use Degree Attainment Developmental/Remedial Education Digital Materials Dual Degrees Earn and...

Jumping Genes: The Transposable DNAs of Bacteria.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berg, Claire M.; Berg, Douglas E.

1984-01-01

Transposons are transposable elements that carry genes for antibiotic resistance. Provides background information on the structure and organization of these "jumping genes" in bacteria. Also describes the use of transposons in tagging genes and lists pertinent references and resource materials. (DH)

Single molecule super-resolution imaging of proteins in living Salmonella enterica using self-labelling enzymes

PubMed Central

Barlag, Britta; Beutel, Oliver; Janning, Dennis; Czarniak, Frederik; Richter, Christian P.; Kommnick, Carina; Göser, Vera; Kurre, Rainer; Fabiani, Florian; Erhardt, Marc; Piehler, Jacob; Hensel, Michael

2016-01-01

The investigation of the subcellular localization, dynamics and interaction of proteins and protein complexes in prokaryotes is complicated by the small size of the cells. Super-resolution microscopy (SRM) comprise various new techniques that allow light microscopy with a resolution that can be up to ten-fold higher than conventional light microscopy. Application of SRM techniques to living prokaryotes demands the introduction of suitable fluorescent probes, usually by fusion of proteins of interest to fluorescent proteins with properties compatible to SRM. Here we describe an approach that is based on the genetically encoded self-labelling enzymes HaloTag and SNAP-tag. Proteins of interest are fused to HaloTag or SNAP-tag and cell permeable substrates can be labelled with various SRM-compatible fluorochromes. Fusions of the enzyme tags to subunits of a type I secretion system (T1SS), a T3SS, the flagellar rotor and a transcription factor were generated and analysed in living Salmonella enterica. The new approach is versatile in tagging proteins of interest in bacterial cells and allows to determine the number, relative subcellular localization and dynamics of protein complexes in living cells. PMID:27534893

Choline supplementation restores substrate balance and alleviates complications of Pcyt2 deficiency.

PubMed

Schenkel, Laila C; Sivanesan, Sugashan; Zhang, Junzeng; Wuyts, Birgitte; Taylor, Adrian; Verbrugghe, Adronie; Bakovic, Marica

2015-11-01

Choline plays a critical role in systemic lipid metabolism and hepatic function. Here we conducted a series of experiments to investigate the effect of choline supplementation on metabolically altered Pcyt2(+/-) mice. In Pcyt2(+/-) mice, the membrane phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) turnover is reduced and the formation of fatty acids (FA) and triglycerides (TAG) increased, resulting in hypertriglyceridemia, liver steatosis and obesity. One month of choline supplementation reduced the incorporation of FA into TAG and facilitated TAG degradation in Pcyt2(+/-) adipocytes, plasma and liver. Choline particularly stimulated adipocyte and liver TAG lipolysis by specific lipases (ATGL, LPL and HSL) and inhibited TAG formation by DGAT1 and DGAT2. Choline also activated the liver AMPK and mitochondrial FA oxidation gene PPARα and reduced the FA synthesis genes SREBP1, SCD1 and FAS. Liver (HPLC) and plasma (tandem mass spectroscopy and (1)H-NMR) metabolite profiling established that Pcyt2(+/-) mice have reduced membrane cholesterol/sphingomyelin ratio and the homocysteine/methionine cycle that were improved by choline supplementation. These data suggest that supplementary choline is beneficial for restoring FA and TAG homeostasis under conditions of obesity caused by impaired PE synthesis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lower Granite Dam Smolt Monitoring Program, 2003-2004 Annual Report.

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

Mensik, Fred; Rapp, Shawn; Ross, Doug

2004-08-01

The 2003 fish collection season at Lower Granite Dam Juvenile Fish Facility (LGR) was characterized by water temperatures, total flows and spill that were below the five year average, low levels of debris, and increased smolt collection numbers compared to 2002 with the exception of unclipped sockeye/kokanee. There were 6,183,825 juvenile salmonids collected. Of these, 6,054,167 were transported to release sites below Bonneville Dam, 5,957,885 by barge and 96,282 by truck. An additional 102,340 fish were bypassed back to the river, primarily due to research projects with another 62,122 bypassed through the PIT-tag bypass system. According to the PTAGIS database,more » 152,268 PIT-tagged fish were detected at Lower Granite Dam. Of these, Smolt Monitoring Staff recorded 345 PIT-tagged raceway and sample mortalities. Of the 6,183,825 total fish collected, 113,290 were PIT-tagged or radio tagged and 380 were sacrificed by researchers. The collection included 836,885 fish that had hatchery marks other than clipped fins (elastomer, freeze brands or Coded Wire Tags). An estimated 54,857 incidental fish were collected with an additional 8,730 adult salmonids removed from the separator.« less

Distribution and Joint Fish-Tag Survival of Juvenile Chinook Salmon Migrating through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, California, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holbrook, Christopher M.; Perry, Russell W.; Adams, Noah S.

2009-01-01

Acoustic telemetry was used to obtain the movement histories of 915 juvenile fall-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) through the lower San Joaquin River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, in 2008. Data were analyzed within a release-recapture framework to estimate survival, route distribution, and detection probabilities among three migration pathways through the Delta. The pathways included the primary route through the San Joaquin River and two less direct routes (Old River and Turner Cut). Strong inferences about survival were limited by premature tag failure, but estimates of fish distribution among migration routes should be unaffected by tag failure. Based on tag failure tests (N = 66 tags), we estimated that only 55-78 percent of the tags used in this study were still functioning when the last fish was detected exiting the study area 15 days after release. Due to premature tag failure, our 'survival' estimates represent the joint probability that both the tag and fish survived, not just survival of fish. Low estimates of fish-tag survival could have been caused by fish mortality or fish travel times that exceeded the life of the tag, but we were unable to differentiate between the two. Fish-tag survival through the Delta (from Durham Ferry to Chipps Island by all routes) ranged from 0.05 +or- 0.01 (SE) to 0.06 +or- 0.01 between the two weekly release groups. Among the three migration routes, fish that remained in the San Joaquin River exhibited the highest joint fish-tag survival (0.09 +or- 0.02) in both weeks, but only 22-33 percent of tagged fish used this route, depending on the week of release. Only 4-10 percent (depending on week) of tagged fish traveled through Turner Cut, but no tagged fish that used this route were detected exiting the Delta. Most fish (63-68 percent, depending on week of release) migrated through Old River, but fish-tag survival through this route (0.05 +or- 0.01) was only about one-half that of fish that remained in the San Joaquin River. Once tagged fish entered Old River, only fish collected at two large water conveyance projects and transported through the Delta by truck were detected exiting the Delta, suggesting that this route was the only successful migration pathway for fish that entered Old River. The rate of entrainment of tagged juvenile salmon into Old River was similar to the fraction of San Joaquin River discharge flowing into Old River, which averaged 63 percent but varied tidally and ranged from 33 to 100 percent daily. Although improvements in transmitter battery life are clearly needed, this information will help guide the development of future research and monitoring efforts in this system.

Evolutionary algorithms for multi-objective optimization: fuzzy preference aggregation and multisexual EAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonissone, Stefano R.

2001-11-01

There are many approaches to solving multi-objective optimization problems using evolutionary algorithms. We need to select methods for representing and aggregating preferences, as well as choosing strategies for searching in multi-dimensional objective spaces. First we suggest the use of linguistic variables to represent preferences and the use of fuzzy rule systems to implement tradeoff aggregations. After a review of alternatives EA methods for multi-objective optimizations, we explore the use of multi-sexual genetic algorithms (MSGA). In using a MSGA, we need to modify certain parts of the GAs, namely the selection and crossover operations. The selection operator groups solutions according to their gender tag to prepare them for crossover. The crossover is modified by appending a gender tag at the end of the chromosome. We use single and double point crossovers. We determine the gender of the offspring by the amount of genetic material provided by each parent. The parent that contributed the most to the creation of a specific offspring determines the gender that the offspring will inherit. This is still a work in progress, and in the conclusion we examine many future extensions and experiments.

Immobilization of recombinant vault nanoparticles on solid substrates.

PubMed

Xia, Yun; Ramgopal, Yamini; Li, Hai; Shang, Lei; Srinivas, Parisa; Kickhoefer, Valerie A; Rome, Leonard H; Preiser, Peter R; Boey, Freddy; Zhang, Hua; Venkatraman, Subbu S

2010-03-23

Native vaults are nanoscale particles found abundantly in the cytoplasm of most eukaryotic cells. They have a capsule-like structure with a thin shell surrounding a "hollow" interior compartment. Recombinant vault particles were found to self-assemble following expression of the major vault protein (MVP) in a baculovirus expression system, and these particles are virtually identical to native vaults. Such particles have been recently studied as potential delivery vehicles. In this study, we focus on immobilization of vault particles on a solid substrate, such as glass, as a first step to study their interactions with cells. To this end, we first engineered the recombinant vaults by fusing two different tags to the C-terminus of MVP, a 3 amino acid RGD peptide and a 12 amino acid RGD-strep-tag peptide. We have demonstrated two strategies for immobilizing vaults on solid substrates. The barrel-and-cap structure of vault particles was observed for the first time, by atomic force microscopy (AFM), in a dry condition. This work proved the feasibility of immobilizing vault nanoparticles on a material surface, and the possibility of using vault nanoparticles as localized and sustainable drug carriers as well as a biocompatible surface moiety.

Improving Efficiency of Passive RFID Tag Anti-Collision Protocol Using Dynamic Frame Adjustment and Optimal Splitting.

PubMed

Memon, Muhammad Qasim; He, Jingsha; Yasir, Mirza Ammar; Memon, Aasma

2018-04-12

Radio frequency identification is a wireless communication technology, which enables data gathering and identifies recognition from any tagged object. The number of collisions produced during wireless communication would lead to a variety of problems including unwanted number of iterations and reader-induced idle slots, computational complexity in terms of estimation as well as recognition of the number of tags. In this work, dynamic frame adjustment and optimal splitting are employed together in the proposed algorithm. In the dynamic frame adjustment method, the length of frames is based on the quantity of tags to yield optimal efficiency. The optimal splitting method is conceived with smaller duration of idle slots using an optimal value for splitting level M o p t , where (M > 2), to vary slot sizes to get the minimal identification time for the idle slots. The application of the proposed algorithm offers the advantages of not going for the cumbersome estimation of the quantity of tags incurred and the size (number) of tags has no effect on its performance efficiency. Our experiment results show that using the proposed algorithm, the efficiency curve remains constant as the number of tags varies from 50 to 450, resulting in an overall theoretical gain in the efficiency of 0.032 compared to system efficiency of 0.441 and thus outperforming both dynamic binary tree slotted ALOHA (DBTSA) and binary splitting protocols.

Performance studies of D-meson tagged jets in pp collisions at \\sqrt{s}=7\\,{TeV} with ALICE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aiola, Salvatore; ALICE Collaboration

2017-04-01

We present the current status of the measurement of jets that contain a D meson (D-tagged jets) with the ALICE detector. D0-meson candidates, identified via their hadronic decay into a Kπ pair, were combined with the other charged tracks reconstructed with the central tracking system, using the anti-kT jet-finding algorithm. The yield of D-tagged jets was extracted through an invariant mass analysis of the D-meson candidates. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to determine the detector performance and validate the signal extraction techniques.

Dynamic MRI of Grid-Tagged Hyperpolarized Helium-3 for the Assessment of Lung Motion During Breathing

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

Cai Jing; Sheng Ke; Benedict, Stanley H.

2009-09-01

Purpose: To develop a dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tagging technique using hyperpolarized helium-3 (HP He-3) to track lung motion. Methods and Materials: An accelerated non-Cartesian k-space trajectory was used to gain acquisition speed, at the cost of introducing image artifacts, providing a viable strategy for obtaining whole-lung coverage with adequate temporal resolution. Multiple-slice two-dimensional dynamic images of the lung were obtained in three healthy subjects after inhaling He-3 gas polarized to 35%-40%. Displacement, strain, and ventilation maps were computed from the observed motion of the grid peaks. Results: Both temporal and spatial variations of pulmonary mechanics were observed inmore » normal subjects, including shear motion between different lobes of the same lung. Conclusion: These initial results suggest that dynamic imaging of grid-tagged hyperpolarized magnetization may potentially be a powerful tool for observing and quantifying pulmonary biomechanics on a regional basis and for assessing, validating, and improving lung deformable image registration algorithms.« less

The fibres and polyphenols in sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides) extraction residues delay postprandial lipemia.

PubMed

Linderborg, Kaisa M; Lehtonen, Henna-Maria; Järvinen, Riikka; Viitanen, Matti; Kallio, Heikki

2012-06-01

The triacylglycerol (TAG) response to fatty meals containing dried and crushed berries or berry extraction residues was studied in a postprandial cross-over study with healthy normal-weight male volunteers. The berry material included sea buckthorn berries, sea buckthorn CO₂ extraction residue (CO₂-sea buckthorn) and sea buckthorn or black currant CO₂ and ethanol extraction residue (CO₂-EtOH-sea buckthorn, CO₂-EtOH-black currant). Extraction residues were used in order to advance the potential use of valuable side stream components containing polyphenols and fibre as human food. Compared to the berry-depleted control, all berry meals delayed lipemia, whereas there were no differences in the total area under the TAG response curve. The lipemic delay largely derived from the fibre rather than from the polyphenols. Even so, the effect of polyphenols may be complementary since sea buckthorn and CO₂-sea buckthorn showed significant differences in relation to control in a wider range of TAG areas than polyphenol-depleted CO₂-EtOH-sea buckthorn.

Term Familiarity to indicate Perceived and Actual Difficulty of Text in Medical Digital Libraries.

PubMed

Leroy, Gondy; Endicott, James E

2011-10-01

With increasing text digitization, digital libraries can personalize materials for individuals with different education levels and language skills. To this end, documents need meta-information describing their difficulty level. Previous attempts at such labeling used readability formulas but the formulas have not been validated with modern texts and their outcome is seldom associated with actual difficulty. We focus on medical texts and are developing new, evidence-based meta-tags that are associated with perceived and actual text difficulty. This work describes a first tag, term familiarity , which is based on term frequency in the Google corpus. We evaluated its feasibility to serve as a tag by looking at a document corpus (N=1,073) and found that terms in blogs or journal articles displayed unexpected but significantly different scores. Term familiarity was then applied to texts and results from a previous user study (N=86) and could better explain differences for perceived and actual difficulty.