Sample records for yields databases verification

  1. Hierarchical Representation Learning for Kinship Verification.

    PubMed

    Kohli, Naman; Vatsa, Mayank; Singh, Richa; Noore, Afzel; Majumdar, Angshul

    2017-01-01

    Kinship verification has a number of applications such as organizing large collections of images and recognizing resemblances among humans. In this paper, first, a human study is conducted to understand the capabilities of human mind and to identify the discriminatory areas of a face that facilitate kinship-cues. The visual stimuli presented to the participants determine their ability to recognize kin relationship using the whole face as well as specific facial regions. The effect of participant gender and age and kin-relation pair of the stimulus is analyzed using quantitative measures such as accuracy, discriminability index d' , and perceptual information entropy. Utilizing the information obtained from the human study, a hierarchical kinship verification via representation learning (KVRL) framework is utilized to learn the representation of different face regions in an unsupervised manner. We propose a novel approach for feature representation termed as filtered contractive deep belief networks (fcDBN). The proposed feature representation encodes relational information present in images using filters and contractive regularization penalty. A compact representation of facial images of kin is extracted as an output from the learned model and a multi-layer neural network is utilized to verify the kin accurately. A new WVU kinship database is created, which consists of multiple images per subject to facilitate kinship verification. The results show that the proposed deep learning framework (KVRL-fcDBN) yields the state-of-the-art kinship verification accuracy on the WVU kinship database and on four existing benchmark data sets. Furthermore, kinship information is used as a soft biometric modality to boost the performance of face verification via product of likelihood ratio and support vector machine based approaches. Using the proposed KVRL-fcDBN framework, an improvement of over 20% is observed in the performance of face verification.

  2. Exploiting automatically generated databases of traffic signs and road markings for contextual co-occurrence analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hazelhoff, Lykele; Creusen, Ivo M.; Woudsma, Thomas; de With, Peter H. N.

    2015-11-01

    Combined databases of road markings and traffic signs provide a complete and full description of the present traffic legislation and instructions. Such databases contribute to efficient signage maintenance, improve navigation, and benefit autonomous driving vehicles. A system is presented for the automated creation of such combined databases, which additionally investigates the benefit of this combination for automated contextual placement analysis. This analysis involves verification of the co-occurrence of traffic signs and road markings to retrieve a list of potentially incorrectly signaled (and thus potentially unsafe) road situations. This co-occurrence verification is specifically explored for both pedestrian crossings and yield situations. Evaluations on 420 km of road have shown that individual detection of traffic signs and road markings denoting these road situations can be performed with accuracies of 98% and 85%, respectively. Combining both approaches shows that over 95% of the pedestrian crossings and give-way situations can be identified. An exploration toward additional co-occurrence analysis of signs and markings shows that inconsistently signaled situations can successfully be extracted, such that specific safety actions can be directed toward cases lacking signs or markings, while most consistently signaled situations can be omitted from this analysis.

  3. THRIVE: threshold homomorphic encryption based secure and privacy preserving biometric verification system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karabat, Cagatay; Kiraz, Mehmet Sabir; Erdogan, Hakan; Savas, Erkay

    2015-12-01

    In this paper, we introduce a new biometric verification and template protection system which we call THRIVE. The system includes novel enrollment and authentication protocols based on threshold homomorphic encryption where a private key is shared between a user and a verifier. In the THRIVE system, only encrypted binary biometric templates are stored in a database and verification is performed via homomorphically randomized templates, thus, original templates are never revealed during authentication. Due to the underlying threshold homomorphic encryption scheme, a malicious database owner cannot perform full decryption on encrypted templates of the users in the database. In addition, security of the THRIVE system is enhanced using a two-factor authentication scheme involving user's private key and biometric data. Using simulation-based techniques, the proposed system is proven secure in the malicious model. The proposed system is suitable for applications where the user does not want to reveal her biometrics to the verifier in plain form, but needs to prove her identity by using biometrics. The system can be used with any biometric modality where a feature extraction method yields a fixed size binary template and a query template is verified when its Hamming distance to the database template is less than a threshold. The overall connection time for the proposed THRIVE system is estimated to be 336 ms on average for 256-bit biometric templates on a desktop PC running with quad core 3.2 GHz CPUs at 10 Mbit/s up/down link connection speed. Consequently, the proposed system can be efficiently used in real-life applications.

  4. Requirements, Verification, and Compliance (RVC) Database Tool

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rainwater, Neil E., II; McDuffee, Patrick B.; Thomas, L. Dale

    2001-01-01

    This paper describes the development, design, and implementation of the Requirements, Verification, and Compliance (RVC) database used on the International Space Welding Experiment (ISWE) project managed at Marshall Space Flight Center. The RVC is a systems engineer's tool for automating and managing the following information: requirements; requirements traceability; verification requirements; verification planning; verification success criteria; and compliance status. This information normally contained within documents (e.g. specifications, plans) is contained in an electronic database that allows the project team members to access, query, and status the requirements, verification, and compliance information from their individual desktop computers. Using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) database software that contains networking capabilities, the RVC was developed not only with cost savings in mind but primarily for the purpose of providing a more efficient and effective automated method of maintaining and distributing the systems engineering information. In addition, the RVC approach provides the systems engineer the capability to develop and tailor various reports containing the requirements, verification, and compliance information that meets the needs of the project team members. The automated approach of the RVC for capturing and distributing the information improves the productivity of the systems engineer by allowing that person to concentrate more on the job of developing good requirements and verification programs and not on the effort of being a "document developer".

  5. Verification of the databases EXFOR and ENDF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Berton, Gottfried; Damart, Guillaume; Cabellos, Oscar; Beauzamy, Bernard; Soppera, Nicolas; Bossant, Manuel

    2017-09-01

    The objective of this work is for the verification of large experimental (EXFOR) and evaluated nuclear reaction databases (JEFF, ENDF, JENDL, TENDL…). The work is applied to neutron reactions in EXFOR data, including threshold reactions, isomeric transitions, angular distributions and data in the resonance region of both isotopes and natural elements. Finally, a comparison of the resonance integrals compiled in EXFOR database with those derived from the evaluated libraries is also performed.

  6. Verification of road databases using multiple road models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ziems, Marcel; Rottensteiner, Franz; Heipke, Christian

    2017-08-01

    In this paper a new approach for automatic road database verification based on remote sensing images is presented. In contrast to existing methods, the applicability of the new approach is not restricted to specific road types, context areas or geographic regions. This is achieved by combining several state-of-the-art road detection and road verification approaches that work well under different circumstances. Each one serves as an independent module representing a unique road model and a specific processing strategy. All modules provide independent solutions for the verification problem of each road object stored in the database in form of two probability distributions, the first one for the state of a database object (correct or incorrect), and a second one for the state of the underlying road model (applicable or not applicable). In accordance with the Dempster-Shafer Theory, both distributions are mapped to a new state space comprising the classes correct, incorrect and unknown. Statistical reasoning is applied to obtain the optimal state of a road object. A comparison with state-of-the-art road detection approaches using benchmark datasets shows that in general the proposed approach provides results with larger completeness. Additional experiments reveal that based on the proposed method a highly reliable semi-automatic approach for road data base verification can be designed.

  7. A framework of multitemplate ensemble for fingerprint verification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yin, Yilong; Ning, Yanbin; Ren, Chunxiao; Liu, Li

    2012-12-01

    How to improve performance of an automatic fingerprint verification system (AFVS) is always a big challenge in biometric verification field. Recently, it becomes popular to improve the performance of AFVS using ensemble learning approach to fuse related information of fingerprints. In this article, we propose a novel framework of fingerprint verification which is based on the multitemplate ensemble method. This framework is consisted of three stages. In the first stage, enrollment stage, we adopt an effective template selection method to select those fingerprints which best represent a finger, and then, a polyhedron is created by the matching results of multiple template fingerprints and a virtual centroid of the polyhedron is given. In the second stage, verification stage, we measure the distance between the centroid of the polyhedron and a query image. In the final stage, a fusion rule is used to choose a proper distance from a distance set. The experimental results on the FVC2004 database prove the improvement on the effectiveness of the new framework in fingerprint verification. With a minutiae-based matching method, the average EER of four databases in FVC2004 drops from 10.85 to 0.88, and with a ridge-based matching method, the average EER of these four databases also decreases from 14.58 to 2.51.

  8. Limitations in learning: How treatment verifications fail and what to do about it?

    PubMed

    Richardson, Susan; Thomadsen, Bruce

    The purposes of this study were: to provide dialog on why classic incident learning systems have been insufficient for patient safety improvements, discuss failures in treatment verification, and to provide context to the reasons and lessons that can be learned from these failures. Historically, incident learning in brachytherapy is performed via database mining which might include reading of event reports and incidents followed by incorporating verification procedures to prevent similar incidents. A description of both classic event reporting databases and current incident learning and reporting systems is given. Real examples of treatment failures based on firsthand knowledge are presented to evaluate the effectiveness of verification. These failures will be described and analyzed by outlining potential pitfalls and problems based on firsthand knowledge. Databases and incident learning systems can be limited in value and fail to provide enough detail for physicists seeking process improvement. Four examples of treatment verification failures experienced firsthand by experienced brachytherapy physicists are described. These include both underverification and oververification of various treatment processes. Database mining is an insufficient method to affect substantial improvements in the practice of brachytherapy. New incident learning systems are still immature and being tested. Instead, a new method of shared learning and implementation of changes must be created. Copyright © 2017 American Brachytherapy Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Signature Verification Based on Handwritten Text Recognition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Viriri, Serestina; Tapamo, Jules-R.

    Signatures continue to be an important biometric trait because it remains widely used primarily for authenticating the identity of human beings. This paper presents an efficient text-based directional signature recognition algorithm which verifies signatures, even when they are composed of special unconstrained cursive characters which are superimposed and embellished. This algorithm extends the character-based signature verification technique. The experiments carried out on the GPDS signature database and an additional database created from signatures captured using the ePadInk tablet, show that the approach is effective and efficient, with a positive verification rate of 94.95%.

  10. Authentication Based on Pole-zero Models of Signature Velocity

    PubMed Central

    Rashidi, Saeid; Fallah, Ali; Towhidkhah, Farzad

    2013-01-01

    With the increase of communication and financial transaction through internet, on-line signature verification is an accepted biometric technology for access control and plays a significant role in authenticity and authorization in modernized society. Therefore, fast and precise algorithms for the signature verification are very attractive. The goal of this paper is modeling of velocity signal that pattern and properties is stable for persons. With using pole-zero models based on discrete cosine transform, precise method is proposed for modeling and then features is founded from strokes. With using linear, parzen window and support vector machine classifiers, the signature verification technique was tested with a large number of authentic and forgery signatures and has demonstrated the good potential of this technique. The signatures are collected from three different database include a proprietary database, the SVC2004 and the Sabanci University signature database benchmark databases. Experimental results based on Persian, SVC2004 and SUSIG databases show that our method achieves an equal error rate of 5.91%, 5.62% and 3.91% in the skilled forgeries, respectively. PMID:24696797

  11. Digital data storage systems, computers, and data verification methods

    DOEpatents

    Groeneveld, Bennett J.; Austad, Wayne E.; Walsh, Stuart C.; Herring, Catherine A.

    2005-12-27

    Digital data storage systems, computers, and data verification methods are provided. According to a first aspect of the invention, a computer includes an interface adapted to couple with a dynamic database; and processing circuitry configured to provide a first hash from digital data stored within a portion of the dynamic database at an initial moment in time, to provide a second hash from digital data stored within the portion of the dynamic database at a subsequent moment in time, and to compare the first hash and the second hash.

  12. Post-OPC verification using a full-chip pattern-based simulation verification method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hung, Chi-Yuan; Wang, Ching-Heng; Ma, Cliff; Zhang, Gary

    2005-11-01

    In this paper, we evaluated and investigated techniques for performing fast full-chip post-OPC verification using a commercial product platform. A number of databases from several technology nodes, i.e. 0.13um, 0.11um and 90nm are used in the investigation. Although it has proven that for most cases, our OPC technology is robust in general, due to the variety of tape-outs with complicated design styles and technologies, it is difficult to develop a "complete or bullet-proof" OPC algorithm that would cover every possible layout patterns. In the evaluation, among dozens of databases, some OPC databases were found errors by Model-based post-OPC checking, which could cost significantly in manufacturing - reticle, wafer process, and more importantly the production delay. From such a full-chip OPC database verification, we have learned that optimizing OPC models and recipes on a limited set of test chip designs may not provide sufficient coverage across the range of designs to be produced in the process. And, fatal errors (such as pinch or bridge) or poor CD distribution and process-sensitive patterns may still occur. As a result, more than one reticle tape-out cycle is not uncommon to prove models and recipes that approach the center of process for a range of designs. So, we will describe a full-chip pattern-based simulation verification flow serves both OPC model and recipe development as well as post OPC verification after production release of the OPC. Lastly, we will discuss the differentiation of the new pattern-based and conventional edge-based verification tools and summarize the advantages of our new tool and methodology: 1). Accuracy: Superior inspection algorithms, down to 1nm accuracy with the new "pattern based" approach 2). High speed performance: Pattern-centric algorithms to give best full-chip inspection efficiency 3). Powerful analysis capability: Flexible error distribution, grouping, interactive viewing and hierarchical pattern extraction to narrow down to unique patterns/cells.

  13. FIR signature verification system characterizing dynamics of handwriting features

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thumwarin, Pitak; Pernwong, Jitawat; Matsuura, Takenobu

    2013-12-01

    This paper proposes an online signature verification method based on the finite impulse response (FIR) system characterizing time-frequency characteristics of dynamic handwriting features. First, the barycenter determined from both the center point of signature and two adjacent pen-point positions in the signing process, instead of one pen-point position, is used to reduce the fluctuation of handwriting motion. In this paper, among the available dynamic handwriting features, motion pressure and area pressure are employed to investigate handwriting behavior. Thus, the stable dynamic handwriting features can be described by the relation of the time-frequency characteristics of the dynamic handwriting features. In this study, the aforesaid relation can be represented by the FIR system with the wavelet coefficients of the dynamic handwriting features as both input and output of the system. The impulse response of the FIR system is used as the individual feature for a particular signature. In short, the signature can be verified by evaluating the difference between the impulse responses of the FIR systems for a reference signature and the signature to be verified. The signature verification experiments in this paper were conducted using the SUBCORPUS MCYT-100 signature database consisting of 5,000 signatures from 100 signers. The proposed method yielded equal error rate (EER) of 3.21% on skilled forgeries.

  14. Upgrade Summer Severe Weather Tool

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Watson, Leela

    2011-01-01

    The goal of this task was to upgrade to the existing severe weather database by adding observations from the 2010 warm season, update the verification dataset with results from the 2010 warm season, use statistical logistic regression analysis on the database and develop a new forecast tool. The AMU analyzed 7 stability parameters that showed the possibility of providing guidance in forecasting severe weather, calculated verification statistics for the Total Threat Score (TTS), and calculated warm season verification statistics for the 2010 season. The AMU also performed statistical logistic regression analysis on the 22-year severe weather database. The results indicated that the logistic regression equation did not show an increase in skill over the previously developed TTS. The equation showed less accuracy than TTS at predicting severe weather, little ability to distinguish between severe and non-severe weather days, and worse standard categorical accuracy measures and skill scores over TTS.

  15. Pattern database applications from design to manufacturing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhuang, Linda; Zhu, Annie; Zhang, Yifan; Sweis, Jason; Lai, Ya-Chieh

    2017-03-01

    Pattern-based approaches are becoming more common and popular as the industry moves to advanced technology nodes. At the beginning of a new technology node, a library of process weak point patterns for physical and electrical verification are starting to build up and used to prevent known hotspots from re-occurring on new designs. Then the pattern set is expanded to create test keys for process development in order to verify the manufacturing capability and precheck new tape-out designs for any potential yield detractors. With the database growing, the adoption of pattern-based approaches has expanded from design flows to technology development and then needed for mass-production purposes. This paper will present the complete downstream working flows of a design pattern database(PDB). This pattern-based data analysis flow covers different applications across different functional teams from generating enhancement kits to improving design manufacturability, populating new testing design data based on previous-learning, generating analysis data to improve mass-production efficiency and manufacturing equipment in-line control to check machine status consistency across different fab sites.

  16. Very fast road database verification using textured 3D city models obtained from airborne imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bulatov, Dimitri; Ziems, Marcel; Rottensteiner, Franz; Pohl, Melanie

    2014-10-01

    Road databases are known to be an important part of any geodata infrastructure, e.g. as the basis for urban planning or emergency services. Updating road databases for crisis events must be performed quickly and with the highest possible degree of automation. We present a semi-automatic algorithm for road verification using textured 3D city models, starting from aerial or even UAV-images. This algorithm contains two processes, which exchange input and output, but basically run independently from each other. These processes are textured urban terrain reconstruction and road verification. The first process contains a dense photogrammetric reconstruction of 3D geometry of the scene using depth maps. The second process is our core procedure, since it contains various methods for road verification. Each method represents a unique road model and a specific strategy, and thus is able to deal with a specific type of roads. Each method is designed to provide two probability distributions, where the first describes the state of a road object (correct, incorrect), and the second describes the state of its underlying road model (applicable, not applicable). Based on the Dempster-Shafer Theory, both distributions are mapped to a single distribution that refers to three states: correct, incorrect, and unknown. With respect to the interaction of both processes, the normalized elevation map and the digital orthophoto generated during 3D reconstruction are the necessary input - together with initial road database entries - for the road verification process. If the entries of the database are too obsolete or not available at all, sensor data evaluation enables classification of the road pixels of the elevation map followed by road map extraction by means of vectorization and filtering of the geometrically and topologically inconsistent objects. Depending on the time issue and availability of a geo-database for buildings, the urban terrain reconstruction procedure has semantic models of buildings, trees, and ground as output. Building s and ground are textured by means of available images. This facilitates the orientation in the model and the interactive verification of the road objects that where initially classified as unknown. The three main modules of the texturing algorithm are: Pose estimation (if the videos are not geo-referenced), occlusion analysis, and texture synthesis.

  17. Personal Verification/Identification via Analysis of the Peripheral ECG Leads: Influence of the Personal Health Status on the Accuracy

    PubMed Central

    Bortolan, Giovanni

    2015-01-01

    Traditional means for identity validation (PIN codes, passwords), and physiological and behavioral biometric characteristics (fingerprint, iris, and speech) are susceptible to hacker attacks and/or falsification. This paper presents a method for person verification/identification based on correlation of present-to-previous limb ECG leads: I (r I), II (r II), calculated from them first principal ECG component (r PCA), linear and nonlinear combinations between r I, r II, and r PCA. For the verification task, the one-to-one scenario is applied and threshold values for r I, r II, and r PCA and their combinations are derived. The identification task supposes one-to-many scenario and the tested subject is identified according to the maximal correlation with a previously recorded ECG in a database. The population based ECG-ILSA database of 540 patients (147 healthy subjects, 175 patients with cardiac diseases, and 218 with hypertension) has been considered. In addition a common reference PTB dataset (14 healthy individuals) with short time interval between the two acquisitions has been taken into account. The results on ECG-ILSA database were satisfactory with healthy people, and there was not a significant decrease in nonhealthy patients, demonstrating the robustness of the proposed method. With PTB database, the method provides an identification accuracy of 92.9% and a verification sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 89.9%. PMID:26568954

  18. Personal Verification/Identification via Analysis of the Peripheral ECG Leads: Influence of the Personal Health Status on the Accuracy.

    PubMed

    Jekova, Irena; Bortolan, Giovanni

    2015-01-01

    Traditional means for identity validation (PIN codes, passwords), and physiological and behavioral biometric characteristics (fingerprint, iris, and speech) are susceptible to hacker attacks and/or falsification. This paper presents a method for person verification/identification based on correlation of present-to-previous limb ECG leads: I (r I), II (r II), calculated from them first principal ECG component (r PCA), linear and nonlinear combinations between r I, r II, and r PCA. For the verification task, the one-to-one scenario is applied and threshold values for r I, r II, and r PCA and their combinations are derived. The identification task supposes one-to-many scenario and the tested subject is identified according to the maximal correlation with a previously recorded ECG in a database. The population based ECG-ILSA database of 540 patients (147 healthy subjects, 175 patients with cardiac diseases, and 218 with hypertension) has been considered. In addition a common reference PTB dataset (14 healthy individuals) with short time interval between the two acquisitions has been taken into account. The results on ECG-ILSA database were satisfactory with healthy people, and there was not a significant decrease in nonhealthy patients, demonstrating the robustness of the proposed method. With PTB database, the method provides an identification accuracy of 92.9% and a verification sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 89.9%.

  19. Reaeration equations derived from U.S. geological survey database

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Melching, C.S.; Flores, H.E.

    1999-01-01

    Accurate estimation of the reaeration-rate coefficient (K2) is extremely important for waste-load allocation. Currently, available K2 estimation equations generally yield poor estimates when applied to stream conditions different from those for which the equations were derived because they were derived from small databases composed of potentially highly inaccurate measurements. A large data set of K2 measurements made with tracer-gas methods was compiled from U.S. Geological Survey studies. This compilation included 493 reaches on 166 streams in 23 states. Careful screening to detect and eliminate erroneous measurements reduced the date set to 371 measurements. These measurements were divided into four subgroups on the basis of flow regime (channel control or pool and riffle) and stream scale (discharge greater than or less than 0.556 m3/s). Multiple linear regression in logarithms was applied to relate K2 to 12 stream hydraulic and water-quality characteristics. The resulting best-estimation equations had the form of semiempirical equations that included the rate of energy dissipation and discharge or depth and width as variables. For equation verification, a data set of K2 measurements made with tracer-gas procedures by other agencies was compiled from the literature. This compilation included 127 reaches on at least 24 streams in at least seven states. The standard error of estimate obtained when applying the developed equations to the U.S. Geological Survey data set ranged from 44 to 61%, whereas the standard error of estimate was 78% when applied to the verification data set.Accurate estimation of the reaeration-rate coefficient (K2) is extremely important for waste-load allocation. Currently, available K2 estimation equations generally yield poor estimates when applied to stream conditions different from those for which the equations were derived because they were derived from small databases composed of potentially highly inaccurate measurements. A large data set of K2 measurements made with tracer-gas methods was compiled from U.S. Geological Survey studies. This compilation included 493 reaches on 166 streams in 23 states. Careful screening to detect and eliminate erroneous measurements reduced the data set to 371 measurements. These measurements were divided into four subgroups on the basis of flow regime (channel control or pool and riffle) and stream scale (discharge greater than or less than 0.556 m3/s). Multiple linear regression in logarithms was applied to relate K2 to 12 stream hydraulic and water-quality characteristics. The resulting best-estimation equations had the form of semiempirical equations that included the rate of energy dissipation and discharge or depth and width as variables. For equation verification, a data set of K2 measurements made with tracer-gas procedures by other agencies was compiled from the literature. This compilation included 127 reaches on at least 24 streams in at least seven states. The standard error of estimate obtained when applying the developed equations to the U.S. Geological Survey data set ranged from 44 to 61%, whereas the standard error of estimate was 78% when applied to the verification data set.

  20. Offline signature verification using convolution Siamese network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xing, Zi-Jian; Yin, Fei; Wu, Yi-Chao; Liu, Cheng-Lin

    2018-04-01

    This paper presents an offline signature verification approach using convolutional Siamese neural network. Unlike the existing methods which consider feature extraction and metric learning as two independent stages, we adopt a deepleaning based framework which combines the two stages together and can be trained end-to-end. The experimental results on two offline public databases (GPDSsynthetic and CEDAR) demonstrate the superiority of our method on the offline signature verification problem.

  1. Cross-checking of Large Evaluated and Experimental Nuclear Reaction Databases

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

    Zeydina, O.; Koning, A.J.; Soppera, N.

    2014-06-15

    Automated methods are presented for the verification of large experimental and evaluated nuclear reaction databases (e.g. EXFOR, JEFF, TENDL). These methods allow an assessment of the overall consistency of the data and detect aberrant values in both evaluated and experimental databases.

  2. Method for secure electronic voting system: face recognition based approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alim, M. Affan; Baig, Misbah M.; Mehboob, Shahzain; Naseem, Imran

    2017-06-01

    In this paper, we propose a framework for low cost secure electronic voting system based on face recognition. Essentially Local Binary Pattern (LBP) is used for face feature characterization in texture format followed by chi-square distribution is used for image classification. Two parallel systems are developed based on smart phone and web applications for face learning and verification modules. The proposed system has two tire security levels by using person ID followed by face verification. Essentially class specific threshold is associated for controlling the security level of face verification. Our system is evaluated three standard databases and one real home based database and achieve the satisfactory recognition accuracies. Consequently our propose system provides secure, hassle free voting system and less intrusive compare with other biometrics.

  3. Digital Video of Live-Scan Fingerprint Data

    National Institute of Standards and Technology Data Gateway

    NIST Digital Video of Live-Scan Fingerprint Data (PC database for purchase)   NIST Special Database 24 contains MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group) compressed digital video of live-scan fingerprint data. The database is being distributed for use in developing and testing of fingerprint verification systems.

  4. Design and Realization of Controllable Ultrasonic Fault Detector Automatic Verification System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Jing-Feng; Liu, Hui-Ying; Guo, Hui-Juan; Shu, Rong; Wei, Kai-Li

    The ultrasonic flaw detection equipment with remote control interface is researched and the automatic verification system is developed. According to use extensible markup language, the building of agreement instruction set and data analysis method database in the system software realizes the controllable designing and solves the diversification of unreleased device interfaces and agreements. By using the signal generator and a fixed attenuator cascading together, a dynamic error compensation method is proposed, completes what the fixed attenuator does in traditional verification and improves the accuracy of verification results. The automatic verification system operating results confirms that the feasibility of the system hardware and software architecture design and the correctness of the analysis method, while changes the status of traditional verification process cumbersome operations, and reduces labor intensity test personnel.

  5. 76 FR 60004 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Data Collection and Verification for the Marine...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-28

    ... Collection; Comment Request; Data Collection and Verification for the Marine Protected Areas Inventory AGENCY... developing a national system of marine protected areas (MPAs). These departments are working closely with... Administration (NOAA) and DOI have created the Marine Protected Areas Inventory, an online spatial database that...

  6. Overview of open resources to support automated structure verification and elucidation

    EPA Science Inventory

    Cheminformatics methods form an essential basis for providing analytical scientists with access to data, algorithms and workflows. There are an increasing number of free online databases (compound databases, spectral libraries, data repositories) and a rich collection of software...

  7. Verification of ICESat-2/ATLAS Science Receiver Algorithm Onboard Databases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carabajal, C. C.; Saba, J. L.; Leigh, H. W.; Magruder, L. A.; Urban, T. J.; Mcgarry, J.; Schutz, B. E.

    2013-12-01

    NASA's ICESat-2 mission will fly the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimetry System (ATLAS) instrument on a 3-year mission scheduled to launch in 2016. ATLAS is a single-photon detection system transmitting at 532nm with a laser repetition rate of 10 kHz, and a 6 spot pattern on the Earth's surface. A set of onboard Receiver Algorithms will perform signal processing to reduce the data rate and data volume to acceptable levels. These Algorithms distinguish surface echoes from the background noise, limit the daily data volume, and allow the instrument to telemeter only a small vertical region about the signal. For this purpose, three onboard databases are used: a Surface Reference Map (SRM), a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and a Digital Relief Maps (DRMs). The DEM provides minimum and maximum heights that limit the signal search region of the onboard algorithms, including a margin for errors in the source databases, and onboard geolocation. Since the surface echoes will be correlated while noise will be randomly distributed, the signal location is found by histogramming the received event times and identifying the histogram bins with statistically significant counts. Once the signal location has been established, the onboard Digital Relief Maps (DRMs) will be used to determine the vertical width of the telemetry band about the signal. University of Texas-Center for Space Research (UT-CSR) is developing the ICESat-2 onboard databases, which are currently being tested using preliminary versions and equivalent representations of elevation ranges and relief more recently developed at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Global and regional elevation models have been assessed in terms of their accuracy using ICESat geodetic control, and have been used to develop equivalent representations of the onboard databases for testing against the UT-CSR databases, with special emphasis on the ice sheet regions. A series of verification checks have been implemented, including comparisons against ICESat altimetry for selected regions with tall vegetation and high relief. The extensive verification effort by the Receiver Algorithm team at GSFC is aimed at assuring that the onboard databases are sufficiently accurate. We will present the results of those assessments and verification tests, along with measures taken to implement modifications to the databases to optimize their use by the receiver algorithms. Companion presentations by McGarry et al. and Leigh et al. describe the details on the ATLAS Onboard Receiver Algorithms and databases development, respectively.

  8. Development of a database for the verification of trans-ionospheric remote sensing systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leitinger, R.

    2005-08-01

    Remote sensing systems need verification by means of in-situ data or by means of model data. In the case of ionospheric occultation inversion, ionosphere tomography and other imaging methods on the basis of satellite-to-ground or satellite-to-satellite electron content, the availability of in-situ data with adequate spatial and temporal co-location is a very rare case, indeed. Therefore the method of choice for verification is to produce artificial electron content data with realistic properties, subject these data to the inversion/retrieval method, compare the results with model data and apply a suitable type of “goodness of fit” classification. Inter-comparison of inversion/retrieval methods should be done with sets of artificial electron contents in a “blind” (or even “double blind”) way. The set up of a relevant database for the COST 271 Action is described. One part of the database will be made available to everyone interested in testing of inversion/retrieval methods. The artificial electron content data are calculated by means of large-scale models that are “modulated” in a realistic way to include smaller scale and dynamic structures, like troughs and traveling ionospheric disturbances.

  9. 38 CFR 74.2 - What are the eligibility requirements a concern must meet for VetBiz VIP Verification Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... online Vendor Information Pages database forms at http://www.VetBiz.gov, and has been examined by VA's Center for Veterans Enterprise. Such businesses appear in the VIP database as “verified.” (b) Good... database and notify the business by phone and mail. Whenever CVE determines that the applicant submitted...

  10. 38 CFR 74.2 - What are the eligibility requirements a concern must meet for VetBiz VIP Verification Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... online Vendor Information Pages database forms at http://www.VetBiz.gov, and has been examined by VA's Center for Veterans Enterprise. Such businesses appear in the VIP database as “verified.” (b) Good... database and notify the business by phone and mail. Whenever CVE determines that the applicant submitted...

  11. 38 CFR 74.2 - What are the eligibility requirements a concern must meet for VetBiz VIP Verification Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... online Vendor Information Pages database forms at http://www.VetBiz.gov, and has been examined by VA's Center for Veterans Enterprise. Such businesses appear in the VIP database as “verified.” (b) Good... database and notify the business by phone and mail. Whenever CVE determines that the applicant submitted...

  12. 38 CFR 74.2 - What are the eligibility requirements a concern must meet for VetBiz VIP Verification Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... online Vendor Information Pages database forms at http://www.VetBiz.gov, and has been examined by VA's Center for Veterans Enterprise. Such businesses appear in the VIP database as “verified.” (b) Good... database and notify the business by phone and mail. Whenever CVE determines that the applicant submitted...

  13. 38 CFR 74.2 - What are the eligibility requirements a concern must meet for VetBiz VIP Verification Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... online Vendor Information Pages database forms at http://www.VetBiz.gov, and has been examined by VA's Center for Veterans Enterprise. Such businesses appear in the VIP database as “verified.” (b) Good... database and notify the business by phone and mail. Whenever CVE determines that the applicant submitted...

  14. Palmprint Based Verification System Using SURF Features

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Srinivas, Badrinath G.; Gupta, Phalguni

    This paper describes the design and development of a prototype of robust biometric system for verification. The system uses features extracted using Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) operator of human hand. The hand image for features is acquired using a low cost scanner. The palmprint region extracted is robust to hand translation and rotation on the scanner. The system is tested on IITK database of 200 images and PolyU database of 7751 images. The system is found to be robust with respect to translation and rotation. It has FAR 0.02%, FRR 0.01% and accuracy of 99.98% and can be a suitable system for civilian applications and high-security environments.

  15. A Framework for Analyzing Biometric Template Aging and Renewal Prediction

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-03-01

    databases has sufficient data to support template aging over an extended period of time. Another assumption is that there is significant variance to...mentioned above for enrollment also apply to verification. When combining enrollment and verification, there is a significant amount of variance that... significant advancement in the biometrics body of knowledge. This research presents the CTARP Framework, a novel foundational framework for methods of

  16. Ground vibration tests of a high fidelity truss for verification of on orbit damage location techniques

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kashangaki, Thomas A. L.

    1992-01-01

    This paper describes a series of modal tests that were performed on a cantilevered truss structure. The goal of the tests was to assemble a large database of high quality modal test data for use in verification of proposed methods for on orbit model verification and damage detection in flexible truss structures. A description of the hardware is provided along with details of the experimental setup and procedures for 16 damage cases. Results from selected cases are presented and discussed. Differences between ground vibration testing and on orbit modal testing are also described.

  17. Verification and Updating of the Database of Topographic Objects with Geometric Information About Buildings by Means of Airborne Laser Scanning Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mendela-Anzlik, Małgorzata; Borkowski, Andrzej

    2017-06-01

    Airborne laser scanning data (ALS) are used mainly for creation of precise digital elevation models. However, it appears that the informative potential stored in ALS data can be also used for updating spatial databases, including the Database of Topographic Objects (BDOT10k). Typically, geometric representations of buildings in the BDOT10k are equal to their entities in the Land and Property Register (EGiB). In this study ALS is considered as supporting data source. The thresholding method of original ALS data with the use of the alpha shape algorithm, proposed in this paper, allows for extraction of points that represent horizontal cross section of building walls, leading to creation of vector, geometric models of buildings that can be then used for updating the BDOT10k. This method gives also the possibility of an easy verification of up-to-dateness of both the BDOT10k and the district EGiB databases within geometric information about buildings. For verification of the proposed methodology there have been used the classified ALS data acquired with a density of 4 points/m2. The accuracy assessment of the identified building outlines has been carried out by their comparison to the corresponding EGiB objects. The RMSE values for 78 buildings are from a few to tens of centimeters and the average value is about 0,5 m. At the same time for several objects there have been revealed huge geometric discrepancies. Further analyses have shown that these discrepancies could be resulted from incorrect representations of buildings in the EGiB database.

  18. Audio-visual imposture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karam, Walid; Mokbel, Chafic; Greige, Hanna; Chollet, Gerard

    2006-05-01

    A GMM based audio visual speaker verification system is described and an Active Appearance Model with a linear speaker transformation system is used to evaluate the robustness of the verification. An Active Appearance Model (AAM) is used to automatically locate and track a speaker's face in a video recording. A Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) based classifier (BECARS) is used for face verification. GMM training and testing is accomplished on DCT based extracted features of the detected faces. On the audio side, speech features are extracted and used for speaker verification with the GMM based classifier. Fusion of both audio and video modalities for audio visual speaker verification is compared with face verification and speaker verification systems. To improve the robustness of the multimodal biometric identity verification system, an audio visual imposture system is envisioned. It consists of an automatic voice transformation technique that an impostor may use to assume the identity of an authorized client. Features of the transformed voice are then combined with the corresponding appearance features and fed into the GMM based system BECARS for training. An attempt is made to increase the acceptance rate of the impostor and to analyzing the robustness of the verification system. Experiments are being conducted on the BANCA database, with a prospect of experimenting on the newly developed PDAtabase developed within the scope of the SecurePhone project.

  19. 76 FR 64859 - Pilot Loading of Navigation and Terrain Awareness Database Updates

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-10-19

    ... category the task of updating databases used in self-contained, front-panel or pedestal-mounted navigation... Rule This rulemaking would allow pilots of all certificated aircraft equipped with self-contained... verification, or by errors in ATC assignments which may occur during redirection of the flight. Both types of...

  20. 38 CFR 74.1 - What definitions are important for VetBiz Vendor Information Pages (VIP) Verification Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... identified as such by VA's Veterans Benefits Administration and listed in its database of veterans and family...-owned small businesses and works with the Small Business Administration's Veterans Business Development... business concern that has verified status in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages database. Primary industry...

  1. 38 CFR 74.1 - What definitions are important for VetBiz Vendor Information Pages (VIP) Verification Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... identified as such by VA's Veterans Benefits Administration and listed in its database of veterans and family...-owned small businesses and works with the Small Business Administration's Veterans Business Development... business concern that has verified status in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages database. Primary industry...

  2. A tuberculosis biomarker database: the key to novel TB diagnostics.

    PubMed

    Yerlikaya, Seda; Broger, Tobias; MacLean, Emily; Pai, Madhukar; Denkinger, Claudia M

    2017-03-01

    New diagnostic innovations for tuberculosis (TB), including point-of-care solutions, are critical to reach the goals of the End TB Strategy. However, despite decades of research, numerous reports on new biomarker candidates, and significant investment, no well-performing, simple and rapid TB diagnostic test is yet available on the market, and the search for accurate, non-DNA biomarkers remains a priority. To help overcome this 'biomarker pipeline problem', FIND and partners are working on the development of a well-curated and user-friendly TB biomarker database. The web-based database will enable the dynamic tracking of evidence surrounding biomarker candidates in relation to target product profiles (TPPs) for needed TB diagnostics. It will be able to accommodate raw datasets and facilitate the verification of promising biomarker candidates and the identification of novel biomarker combinations. As such, the database will simplify data and knowledge sharing, empower collaboration, help in the coordination of efforts and allocation of resources, streamline the verification and validation of biomarker candidates, and ultimately lead to an accelerated translation into clinically useful tools. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  3. Benchmarking desktop and mobile handwriting across COTS devices: The e-BioSign biometric database

    PubMed Central

    Tolosana, Ruben; Vera-Rodriguez, Ruben; Fierrez, Julian; Morales, Aythami; Ortega-Garcia, Javier

    2017-01-01

    This paper describes the design, acquisition process and baseline evaluation of the new e-BioSign database, which includes dynamic signature and handwriting information. Data is acquired from 5 different COTS devices: three Wacom devices (STU-500, STU-530 and DTU-1031) specifically designed to capture dynamic signatures and handwriting, and two general purpose tablets (Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and Samsung ATIV 7). For the two Samsung tablets, data is collected using both pen stylus and also the finger in order to study the performance of signature verification in a mobile scenario. Data was collected in two sessions for 65 subjects, and includes dynamic information of the signature, the full name and alpha numeric sequences. Skilled forgeries were also performed for signatures and full names. We also report a benchmark evaluation based on e-BioSign for person verification under three different real scenarios: 1) intra-device, 2) inter-device, and 3) mixed writing-tool. We have experimented the proposed benchmark using the main existing approaches for signature verification: feature- and time functions-based. As a result, new insights into the problem of signature biometrics in sensor-interoperable scenarios have been obtained, namely: the importance of specific methods for dealing with device interoperability, and the necessity of a deeper analysis on signatures acquired using the finger as the writing tool. This e-BioSign public database allows the research community to: 1) further analyse and develop signature verification systems in realistic scenarios, and 2) investigate towards a better understanding of the nature of the human handwriting when captured using electronic COTS devices in realistic conditions. PMID:28475590

  4. Benchmarking desktop and mobile handwriting across COTS devices: The e-BioSign biometric database.

    PubMed

    Tolosana, Ruben; Vera-Rodriguez, Ruben; Fierrez, Julian; Morales, Aythami; Ortega-Garcia, Javier

    2017-01-01

    This paper describes the design, acquisition process and baseline evaluation of the new e-BioSign database, which includes dynamic signature and handwriting information. Data is acquired from 5 different COTS devices: three Wacom devices (STU-500, STU-530 and DTU-1031) specifically designed to capture dynamic signatures and handwriting, and two general purpose tablets (Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and Samsung ATIV 7). For the two Samsung tablets, data is collected using both pen stylus and also the finger in order to study the performance of signature verification in a mobile scenario. Data was collected in two sessions for 65 subjects, and includes dynamic information of the signature, the full name and alpha numeric sequences. Skilled forgeries were also performed for signatures and full names. We also report a benchmark evaluation based on e-BioSign for person verification under three different real scenarios: 1) intra-device, 2) inter-device, and 3) mixed writing-tool. We have experimented the proposed benchmark using the main existing approaches for signature verification: feature- and time functions-based. As a result, new insights into the problem of signature biometrics in sensor-interoperable scenarios have been obtained, namely: the importance of specific methods for dealing with device interoperability, and the necessity of a deeper analysis on signatures acquired using the finger as the writing tool. This e-BioSign public database allows the research community to: 1) further analyse and develop signature verification systems in realistic scenarios, and 2) investigate towards a better understanding of the nature of the human handwriting when captured using electronic COTS devices in realistic conditions.

  5. The MAO NASU Plate Archive Database. Current Status and Perspectives

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pakuliak, L. K.; Sergeeva, T. P.

    2006-04-01

    The preliminary online version of the database of the MAO NASU plate archive is constructed on the basis of the relational database management system MySQL and permits an easy supplement of database with new collections of astronegatives, provides a high flexibility in constructing SQL-queries for data search optimization, PHP Basic Authorization protected access to administrative interface and wide range of search parameters. The current status of the database will be reported and the brief description of the search engine and means of the database integrity support will be given. Methods and means of the data verification and tasks for the further development will be discussed.

  6. Face verification with balanced thresholds.

    PubMed

    Yan, Shuicheng; Xu, Dong; Tang, Xiaoou

    2007-01-01

    The process of face verification is guided by a pre-learned global threshold, which, however, is often inconsistent with class-specific optimal thresholds. It is, hence, beneficial to pursue a balance of the class-specific thresholds in the model-learning stage. In this paper, we present a new dimensionality reduction algorithm tailored to the verification task that ensures threshold balance. This is achieved by the following aspects. First, feasibility is guaranteed by employing an affine transformation matrix, instead of the conventional projection matrix, for dimensionality reduction, and, hence, we call the proposed algorithm threshold balanced transformation (TBT). Then, the affine transformation matrix, constrained as the product of an orthogonal matrix and a diagonal matrix, is optimized to improve the threshold balance and classification capability in an iterative manner. Unlike most algorithms for face verification which are directly transplanted from face identification literature, TBT is specifically designed for face verification and clarifies the intrinsic distinction between these two tasks. Experiments on three benchmark face databases demonstrate that TBT significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art subspace techniques for face verification.

  7. Palmprint and face score level fusion: hardware implementation of a contactless small sample biometric system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poinsot, Audrey; Yang, Fan; Brost, Vincent

    2011-02-01

    Including multiple sources of information in personal identity recognition and verification gives the opportunity to greatly improve performance. We propose a contactless biometric system that combines two modalities: palmprint and face. Hardware implementations are proposed on the Texas Instrument Digital Signal Processor and Xilinx Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platforms. The algorithmic chain consists of a preprocessing (which includes palm extraction from hand images), Gabor feature extraction, comparison by Hamming distance, and score fusion. Fusion possibilities are discussed and tested first using a bimodal database of 130 subjects that we designed (uB database), and then two common public biometric databases (AR for face and PolyU for palmprint). High performance has been obtained for recognition and verification purpose: a recognition rate of 97.49% with AR-PolyU database and an equal error rate of 1.10% on the uB database using only two training samples per subject have been obtained. Hardware results demonstrate that preprocessing can easily be performed during the acquisition phase, and multimodal biometric recognition can be treated almost instantly (0.4 ms on FPGA). We show the feasibility of a robust and efficient multimodal hardware biometric system that offers several advantages, such as user-friendliness and flexibility.

  8. Integrating image quality in 2nu-SVM biometric match score fusion.

    PubMed

    Vatsa, Mayank; Singh, Richa; Noore, Afzel

    2007-10-01

    This paper proposes an intelligent 2nu-support vector machine based match score fusion algorithm to improve the performance of face and iris recognition by integrating the quality of images. The proposed algorithm applies redundant discrete wavelet transform to evaluate the underlying linear and non-linear features present in the image. A composite quality score is computed to determine the extent of smoothness, sharpness, noise, and other pertinent features present in each subband of the image. The match score and the corresponding quality score of an image are fused using 2nu-support vector machine to improve the verification performance. The proposed algorithm is experimentally validated using the FERET face database and the CASIA iris database. The verification performance and statistical evaluation show that the proposed algorithm outperforms existing fusion algorithms.

  9. Accurate palm vein recognition based on wavelet scattering and spectral regression kernel discriminant analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elnasir, Selma; Shamsuddin, Siti Mariyam; Farokhi, Sajad

    2015-01-01

    Palm vein recognition (PVR) is a promising new biometric that has been applied successfully as a method of access control by many organizations, which has even further potential in the field of forensics. The palm vein pattern has highly discriminative features that are difficult to forge because of its subcutaneous position in the palm. Despite considerable progress and a few practical issues, providing accurate palm vein readings has remained an unsolved issue in biometrics. We propose a robust and more accurate PVR method based on the combination of wavelet scattering (WS) with spectral regression kernel discriminant analysis (SRKDA). As the dimension of WS generated features is quite large, SRKDA is required to reduce the extracted features to enhance the discrimination. The results based on two public databases-PolyU Hyper Spectral Palmprint public database and PolyU Multi Spectral Palmprint-show the high performance of the proposed scheme in comparison with state-of-the-art methods. The proposed approach scored a 99.44% identification rate and a 99.90% verification rate [equal error rate (EER)=0.1%] for the hyperspectral database and a 99.97% identification rate and a 99.98% verification rate (EER=0.019%) for the multispectral database.

  10. Leveraging pattern matching to solve SRAM verification challenges at advanced nodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kan, Huan; Huang, Lucas; Yang, Legender; Zou, Elaine; Wan, Qijian; Du, Chunshan; Hu, Xinyi; Liu, Zhengfang; Zhu, Yu; Zhang, Recoo; Huang, Elven; Muirhead, Jonathan

    2018-03-01

    Memory is a critical component in today's system-on-chip (SoC) designs. Static random-access memory (SRAM) blocks are assembled by combining intellectual property (IP) blocks that come from SRAM libraries developed and certified by the foundries for both functionality and a specific process node. Customers place these SRAM IP in their designs, adjusting as necessary to achieve DRC-clean results. However, any changes a customer makes to these SRAM IP during implementation, whether intentionally or in error, can impact yield and functionality. Physical verification of SRAM has always been a challenge, because these blocks usually contain smaller feature sizes and spacing constraints compared to traditional logic or other layout structures. At advanced nodes, critical dimension becomes smaller and smaller, until there is almost no opportunity to use optical proximity correction (OPC) and lithography to adjust the manufacturing process to mitigate the effects of any changes. The smaller process geometries, reduced supply voltages, increasing process variation, and manufacturing uncertainty mean accurate SRAM physical verification results are not only reaching new levels of difficulty, but also new levels of criticality for design success. In this paper, we explore the use of pattern matching to create an SRAM verification flow that provides both accurate, comprehensive coverage of the required checks and visual output to enable faster, more accurate error debugging. Our results indicate that pattern matching can enable foundries to improve SRAM manufacturing yield, while allowing designers to benefit from SRAM verification kits that can shorten the time to market.

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

    Dunlop, W H

    It is my pleasure to be here to day to participate in this Conference. My thanks to the organizers for preparing such an interesting agenda on a very difficult topic. My effort in preparing my presentation was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-Eng-48. And as many of you know Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is now, as of Oct 1st, under contract to the Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC. There has been a long history of how to view verification of arms control agreements. The basismore » for verification during the days of SALT was that verification would be based on each country's national technical means. For treaties dealing with strategic missiles this worked well as the individual items subject to verification were of such a size that they were visible by the National Technical Means available at the time. And it was felt that the counting of missiles and launchers could be verified by our National Technical Means. For nuclear testing treaties the use of seismic measurements developed into a capability that was reasonably robust for all but the smallest of nuclear tests. However, once we had the Threshold Test Ban Treaty, there was a significant problem in that the fidelity of the measurements were not sufficient to determine if a test was slightly above the 150 kt limit or slightly below the 150 kt limit. This led some in the US to believe that the Soviet Union was not living up to the TTBT agreement. An on-site verification protocol was negotiated in 1988 and 1989 that allowed the US to make hydrodynamic yield measurements on Soviet tests above 50 kt yield and regional seismic measurements on all tests above 35 kt of yield; and the Soviets to make the same type of measurements on US tests to ensure that they were not over 150 kt. These on-site measurements were considered reasonably intrusive. Again the measurement capability was not perfect and it was expected that occasionally there might be a verification measurement that was slightly above 150 kt. But the accuracy was much improved over the earlier seismic measurements. In fact some of this improvement was because as part of this verification protocol the US and Soviet Union provided the yields of several past tests to improve seismic calibrations. This actually helped provide a much needed calibration for the seismic measurements. It was also accepted that since nuclear tests were to a large part R&D related, it was also expected that occasionally there might be a test that was slightly above 150 kt, as you could not always predict the yield with high accuracy in advance of the test. While one could hypothesize that the Soviets could do a test at some other location than their test sites, if it were even a small fraction of 150 kt it would clearly be observed and would be a violation of the treaty. So the issue of clandestine tests of significance was easily covered for this particular treaty.« less

  12. sbv IMPROVER: Modern Approach to Systems Biology.

    PubMed

    Guryanova, Svetlana; Guryanova, Anna

    2017-01-01

    The increasing amount and variety of data in biosciences call for innovative methods of visualization, scientific verification, and pathway analysis. Novel approaches to biological networks and research quality control are important because of their role in development of new products, improvement, and acceleration of existing health policies and research for novel ways of solving scientific challenges. One such approach is sbv IMPROVER. It is a platform that uses crowdsourcing and verification to create biological networks with easy public access. It contains 120 networks built in Biological Expression Language (BEL) to interpret data from PubMed articles with high-quality verification available for free on the CBN database. Computable, human-readable biological networks with a structured syntax are a powerful way of representing biological information generated from high-density data. This article presents sbv IMPROVER, a crowd-verification approach for the visualization and expansion of biological networks.

  13. Toward Automatic Verification of Goal-Oriented Flow Simulations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nemec, Marian; Aftosmis, Michael J.

    2014-01-01

    We demonstrate the power of adaptive mesh refinement with adjoint-based error estimates in verification of simulations governed by the steady Euler equations. The flow equations are discretized using a finite volume scheme on a Cartesian mesh with cut cells at the wall boundaries. The discretization error in selected simulation outputs is estimated using the method of adjoint-weighted residuals. Practical aspects of the implementation are emphasized, particularly in the formulation of the refinement criterion and the mesh adaptation strategy. Following a thorough code verification example, we demonstrate simulation verification of two- and three-dimensional problems. These involve an airfoil performance database, a pressure signature of a body in supersonic flow and a launch abort with strong jet interactions. The results show reliable estimates and automatic control of discretization error in all simulations at an affordable computational cost. Moreover, the approach remains effective even when theoretical assumptions, e.g., steady-state and solution smoothness, are relaxed.

  14. GOBASE—a database of mitochondrial and chloroplast information

    PubMed Central

    O'Brien, Emmet A.; Badidi, Elarbi; Barbasiewicz, Ania; deSousa, Cristina; Lang, B. Franz; Burger, Gertraud

    2003-01-01

    GOBASE is a relational database containing integrated sequence, RNA secondary structure and biochemical and taxonomic information about organelles. GOBASE release 6 (summer 2002) contains over 130 000 mitochondrial sequences, an increase of 37% over the previous release, and more than 30 000 chloroplast sequences in a new auxiliary database. To handle this flood of new data, we have designed and implemented GOpop, a Java system for population and verification of the database. We have also implemented a more powerful and flexible user interface using the PHP programming language. http://megasun.bch.umontreal.ca/gobase/gobase.html. PMID:12519975

  15. Investigation of a Verification and Validation Tool with a Turbofan Aircraft Engine Application

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Uth, Peter; Narang-Siddarth, Anshu; Wong, Edmond

    2018-01-01

    The development of more advanced control architectures for turbofan aircraft engines can yield gains in performance and efficiency over the lifetime of an engine. However, the implementation of these increasingly complex controllers is contingent on their ability to provide safe, reliable engine operation. Therefore, having the means to verify the safety of new control algorithms is crucial. As a step towards this goal, CoCoSim, a publicly available verification tool for Simulink, is used to analyze C-MAPSS40k, a 40,000 lbf class turbo-fan engine model developed at NASA for testing new control algorithms. Due to current limitations of the verification software, several modifications are made to C-MAPSS40k to achieve compatibility with CoCoSim. Some of these modifications sacrifice fidelity to the original model. Several safety and performance requirements typical for turbofan engines are identified and constructed into a verification framework. Preliminary results using an industry standard baseline controller for these requirements are presented. While verification capabilities are demonstrated, a truly comprehensive analysis will require further development of the verification tool.

  16. Face verification system for Android mobile devices using histogram based features

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sato, Sho; Kobayashi, Kazuhiro; Chen, Qiu

    2016-07-01

    This paper proposes a face verification system that runs on Android mobile devices. In this system, facial image is captured by a built-in camera on the Android device firstly, and then face detection is implemented using Haar-like features and AdaBoost learning algorithm. The proposed system verify the detected face using histogram based features, which are generated by binary Vector Quantization (VQ) histogram using DCT coefficients in low frequency domains, as well as Improved Local Binary Pattern (Improved LBP) histogram in spatial domain. Verification results with different type of histogram based features are first obtained separately and then combined by weighted averaging. We evaluate our proposed algorithm by using publicly available ORL database and facial images captured by an Android tablet.

  17. The Golosiiv on-line plate archive database, management and maintenance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pakuliak, L.; Sergeeva, T.

    2007-08-01

    We intend to create online version of the database of the MAO NASU plate archive as VO-compatible structures in accordance with principles, developed by the International Virtual Observatory Alliance in order to make them available for world astronomical community. The online version of the log-book database is constructed by means of MySQL+PHP. Data management system provides a user with user interface, gives a capability of detailed traditional form-filling radial search of plates, obtaining some auxiliary sampling, the listing of each collection and permits to browse the detail descriptions of collections. The administrative tool allows database administrator the data correction, enhancement with new data sets and control of the integrity and consistence of the database as a whole. The VO-compatible database is currently constructing under the demands and in the accordance with principles of international data archives and has to be strongly generalized in order to provide a possibility of data mining by means of standard interfaces and to be the best fitted to the demands of WFPDB Group for databases of the plate catalogues. On-going enhancements of database toward the WFPDB bring the problem of the verification of data to the forefront, as it demands the high degree of data reliability. The process of data verification is practically endless and inseparable from data management owing to a diversity of data errors nature, that means to a variety of ploys of their identification and fixing. The current status of MAO NASU glass archive forces the activity in both directions simultaneously: the enhancement of log-book database with new sets of observational data as well as generalized database creation and the cross-identification between them. The VO-compatible version of the database is supplying with digitized data of plates obtained with MicroTek ScanMaker 9800 XL TMA. The scanning procedure is not total but is conducted selectively in the frames of special projects.

  18. Verification of Plutonium Content in PuBe Sources Using MCNP® 6.2.0 Beta with TENDL 2012 Libraries

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

    Lockhart, Madeline Louise; McMath, Garrett Earl

    Although the production of PuBe neutron sources has discontinued, hundreds of sources with unknown or inaccurately declared plutonium content are in existence around the world. Institutions have undertaken the task of assaying these sources, measuring, and calculating the isotopic composition, plutonium content, and neutron yield. The nominal plutonium content, based off the neutron yield per gram of pure 239Pu, has shown to be highly inaccurate. New methods of measuring the plutonium content allow a more accurate estimate of the true Pu content, but these measurements need verification. Using the TENDL 2012 nuclear data libraries, MCNP6 has the capability to simulatemore » the (α, n) interactions in a PuBe source. Theoretically, if the source is modeled according to the plutonium content, isotopic composition, and other source characteristics, the calculated neutron yield in MCNP can be compared to the experimental yield, offering an indication of the accuracy of the declared plutonium content. In this study, three sets of PuBe sources from various backgrounds were modeled in MCNP6 1.2 Beta, according to the source specifications dictated by the individuals who assayed the source. Verification of the source parameters with MCNP6 also serves as a means to test the alpha transport capabilities of MCNP6 1.2 Beta with TENDL 2012 alpha transport libraries. Finally, good agreement in the comparison would indicate the accuracy of the source parameters in addition to demonstrating MCNP's capabilities in simulating (α, n) interactions.« less

  19. Verification of Plutonium Content in PuBe Sources Using MCNP® 6.2.0 Beta with TENDL 2012 Libraries

    DOE PAGES

    Lockhart, Madeline Louise; McMath, Garrett Earl

    2017-10-26

    Although the production of PuBe neutron sources has discontinued, hundreds of sources with unknown or inaccurately declared plutonium content are in existence around the world. Institutions have undertaken the task of assaying these sources, measuring, and calculating the isotopic composition, plutonium content, and neutron yield. The nominal plutonium content, based off the neutron yield per gram of pure 239Pu, has shown to be highly inaccurate. New methods of measuring the plutonium content allow a more accurate estimate of the true Pu content, but these measurements need verification. Using the TENDL 2012 nuclear data libraries, MCNP6 has the capability to simulatemore » the (α, n) interactions in a PuBe source. Theoretically, if the source is modeled according to the plutonium content, isotopic composition, and other source characteristics, the calculated neutron yield in MCNP can be compared to the experimental yield, offering an indication of the accuracy of the declared plutonium content. In this study, three sets of PuBe sources from various backgrounds were modeled in MCNP6 1.2 Beta, according to the source specifications dictated by the individuals who assayed the source. Verification of the source parameters with MCNP6 also serves as a means to test the alpha transport capabilities of MCNP6 1.2 Beta with TENDL 2012 alpha transport libraries. Finally, good agreement in the comparison would indicate the accuracy of the source parameters in addition to demonstrating MCNP's capabilities in simulating (α, n) interactions.« less

  20. On a High-Performance VLSI Solution to Database Problems.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-08-01

    offer such attractive features as automatic verification and. maintenance of semantic integrity, usage of views as abstraction and authorization...course, is the waste of too much potential resource. The global database may contain information for many different users and applications. In processing...working on, this may cause no damage at all, but some waste of space. Therefore one solution may be perhaps to do nothing to prevent its occurrence

  1. 7 CFR 400.55 - Qualification for actual production history coverage program.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... APH yield is calculated from a database containing a minimum of four yields and will be updated each subsequent crop year. The database may contain a maximum of the 10 most recent crop years and may include... only occur in the database when there are less than four years of actual and/or assigned yields. (b...

  2. 7 CFR 400.55 - Qualification for actual production history coverage program.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... APH yield is calculated from a database containing a minimum of four yields and will be updated each subsequent crop year. The database may contain a maximum of the 10 most recent crop years and may include... only occur in the database when there are less than four years of actual and/or assigned yields. (b...

  3. 7 CFR 400.55 - Qualification for actual production history coverage program.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... APH yield is calculated from a database containing a minimum of four yields and will be updated each subsequent crop year. The database may contain a maximum of the 10 most recent crop years and may include... only occur in the database when there are less than four years of actual and/or assigned yields. (b...

  4. 7 CFR 400.55 - Qualification for actual production history coverage program.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... APH yield is calculated from a database containing a minimum of four yields and will be updated each subsequent crop year. The database may contain a maximum of the 10 most recent crop years and may include... only occur in the database when there are less than four years of actual and/or assigned yields. (b...

  5. Consistency, Verification, and Validation of Turbulence Models for Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rumsey, Christopher L.

    2009-01-01

    In current practice, it is often difficult to draw firm conclusions about turbulence model accuracy when performing multi-code CFD studies ostensibly using the same model because of inconsistencies in model formulation or implementation in different codes. This paper describes an effort to improve the consistency, verification, and validation of turbulence models within the aerospace community through a website database of verification and validation cases. Some of the variants of two widely-used turbulence models are described, and two independent computer codes (one structured and one unstructured) are used in conjunction with two specific versions of these models to demonstrate consistency with grid refinement for several representative problems. Naming conventions, implementation consistency, and thorough grid resolution studies are key factors necessary for success.

  6. A study of applications scribe frame data verifications using design rule check

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saito, Shoko; Miyazaki, Masaru; Sakurai, Mitsuo; Itoh, Takahisa; Doi, Kazumasa; Sakurai, Norioko; Okada, Tomoyuki

    2013-06-01

    In semiconductor manufacturing, scribe frame data generally is generated for each LSI product according to its specific process design. Scribe frame data is designed based on definition tables of scanner alignment, wafer inspection and customers specified marks. We check that scribe frame design is conforming to specification of alignment and inspection marks at the end. Recently, in COT (customer owned tooling) business or new technology development, there is no effective verification method for the scribe frame data, and we take a lot of time to work on verification. Therefore, we tried to establish new verification method of scribe frame data by applying pattern matching and DRC (Design Rule Check) which is used in device verification. We would like to show scheme of the scribe frame data verification using DRC which we tried to apply. First, verification rules are created based on specifications of scanner, inspection and others, and a mark library is also created for pattern matching. Next, DRC verification is performed to scribe frame data. Then the DRC verification includes pattern matching using mark library. As a result, our experiments demonstrated that by use of pattern matching and DRC verification our new method can yield speed improvements of more than 12 percent compared to the conventional mark checks by visual inspection and the inspection time can be reduced to less than 5 percent if multi-CPU processing is used. Our method delivers both short processing time and excellent accuracy when checking many marks. It is easy to maintain and provides an easy way for COT customers to use original marks. We believe that our new DRC verification method for scribe frame data is indispensable and mutually beneficial.

  7. On flattening filter‐free portal dosimetry

    PubMed Central

    Novais, Juan Castro; Molina López, María Yolanda; Maqueda, Sheila Ruiz

    2016-01-01

    Varian introduced (in 2010) the option of removing the flattening filter (FF) in their C‐Arm linacs for intensity‐modulated treatments. This mode, called flattening filter‐free (FFF), offers the advantage of a greater dose rate. Varian's “Portal Dosimetry” is an electronic portal imager device (EPID)‐based tool for IMRT verification. This tool lacks the capability of verifying flattening filter‐free (FFF) modes due to saturation and lack of an image prediction algorithm. (Note: the latest versions of this software and EPID correct these issues.) The objective of the present study is to research the feasibility of said verifications (with the older versions of the software and EPID). By placing the EPID at a greater distance, the images can be acquired without saturation, yielding a linearity similar to the flattened mode. For the image prediction, a method was optimized based on the clinically used algorithm (analytical anisotropic algorithm (AAA)) over a homogeneous phantom. The depth inside the phantom and its electronic density were tailored. An application was developed to allow the conversion of a dose plane (in DICOM format) to Varian's custom format for Portal Dosimetry. The proposed method was used for the verification of test and clinical fields for the three qualities used in our institution for IMRT: 6X, 6FFF and 10FFF. The method developed yielded a positive verification (more than 95% of the points pass a 2%/2 mm gamma) for both the clinical and test fields. This method was also capable of “predicting” static and wedged fields. A workflow for the verification of FFF fields was developed. This method relies on the clinical algorithm used for dose calculation and is able to verify the FFF modes, as well as being useful for machine quality assurance. The procedure described does not require new hardware. This method could be used as a verification of Varian's Portal Dose Image Prediction. PACS number(s): 87.53.Kn, 87.55.T‐, 87.56.bd, 87.59.‐e PMID:27455487

  8. Measurement of radiation damage of water-based liquid scintillator and liquid scintillator

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

    Bignell, L. J.; Diwan, M. V.; Hans, S.

    2015-10-19

    Liquid scintillating phantoms have been proposed as a means to perform real-time 3D dosimetry for proton therapy treatment plan verification. We have studied what effect radiation damage to the scintillator will have upon this application. We have performed measurements of the degradation of the light yield and optical attenuation length of liquid scintillator and water-based liquid scintillator after irradiation by 201 MeV proton beams that deposited doses of approximately 52 Gy, 300 Gy, and 800 Gy in the scintillator. Liquid scintillator and water-based liquid scintillator (composed of 5% scintillating phase) exhibit light yield reductions of 1.74 ± 0.55 % andmore » 1.31 ± 0.59 % after ≈ 800 Gy of proton dose, respectively. Some increased optical attenuation was observed in the irradiated samples, the measured reduction to the light yield is also due to damage to the scintillation light production. Based on our results and conservative estimates of the expected dose in a clinical context, a scintillating phantom used for proton therapy treatment plan verification would exhibit a systematic light yield reduction of approximately 0.1% after a year of operation.« less

  9. Methods and Procedures in PIRLS 2016

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Michael O., Ed.; Mullis, Ina V. S., Ed.; Hooper, Martin, Ed.

    2017-01-01

    "Methods and Procedures in PIRLS 2016" documents the development of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) assessments and questionnaires and describes the methods used in sampling, translation verification, data collection, database construction, and the construction of the achievement and context questionnaire…

  10. High-resolution face verification using pore-scale facial features.

    PubMed

    Li, Dong; Zhou, Huiling; Lam, Kin-Man

    2015-08-01

    Face recognition methods, which usually represent face images using holistic or local facial features, rely heavily on alignment. Their performances also suffer a severe degradation under variations in expressions or poses, especially when there is one gallery per subject only. With the easy access to high-resolution (HR) face images nowadays, some HR face databases have recently been developed. However, few studies have tackled the use of HR information for face recognition or verification. In this paper, we propose a pose-invariant face-verification method, which is robust to alignment errors, using the HR information based on pore-scale facial features. A new keypoint descriptor, namely, pore-Principal Component Analysis (PCA)-Scale Invariant Feature Transform (PPCASIFT)-adapted from PCA-SIFT-is devised for the extraction of a compact set of distinctive pore-scale facial features. Having matched the pore-scale features of two-face regions, an effective robust-fitting scheme is proposed for the face-verification task. Experiments show that, with one frontal-view gallery only per subject, our proposed method outperforms a number of standard verification methods, and can achieve excellent accuracy even the faces are under large variations in expression and pose.

  11. A rotorcraft flight database for validation of vision-based ranging algorithms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, Phillip N.

    1992-01-01

    A helicopter flight test experiment was conducted at the NASA Ames Research Center to obtain a database consisting of video imagery and accurate measurements of camera motion, camera calibration parameters, and true range information. The database was developed to allow verification of monocular passive range estimation algorithms for use in the autonomous navigation of rotorcraft during low altitude flight. The helicopter flight experiment is briefly described. Four data sets representative of the different helicopter maneuvers and the visual scenery encountered during the flight test are presented. These data sets will be made available to researchers in the computer vision community.

  12. Remote collection and analysis of witness reports on flash floods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gourley, Jonathan; Erlingis, Jessica; Smith, Travis; Ortega, Kiel; Hong, Yang

    2010-05-01

    Typically, flash floods are studied ex post facto in response to a major impact event. A complement to field investigations is developing a detailed database of flash flood events, including minor events and null reports (i.e., where heavy rain occurred but there was no flash flooding), based on public survey questions conducted in near-real time. The Severe Hazards Analysis and Verification Experiment (SHAVE) has been in operation at the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, OK, USA during the summers since 2006. The experiment employs undergraduate students to analyse real-time products from weather radars, target specific regions within the conterminous US, and poll public residences and businesses regarding the occurrence and severity of hail, wind, tornadoes, and now flash floods. In addition to providing a rich learning experience for students, SHAVE has been successful in creating high-resolution datasets of severe hazards used for algorithm and model verification. This talk describes the criteria used to initiate the flash flood survey, the specific questions asked and information entered to the database, and then provides an analysis of results for flash flood data collected during the summer of 2008. It is envisioned that specific details provided by the SHAVE flash flood observation database will complement databases collected by operational agencies and thus lead to better tools to predict the likelihood of flash floods and ultimately reduce their impacts on society.

  13. Caliver: An R package for CALIbration and VERification of forest fire gridded model outputs.

    PubMed

    Vitolo, Claudia; Di Giuseppe, Francesca; D'Andrea, Mirko

    2018-01-01

    The name caliver stands for CALIbration and VERification of forest fire gridded model outputs. This is a package developed for the R programming language and available under an APACHE-2 license from a public repository. In this paper we describe the functionalities of the package and give examples using publicly available datasets. Fire danger model outputs are taken from the modeling components of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) and observed burned areas from the Global Fire Emission Database (GFED). Complete documentation, including a vignette, is also available within the package.

  14. Caliver: An R package for CALIbration and VERification of forest fire gridded model outputs

    PubMed Central

    Di Giuseppe, Francesca; D’Andrea, Mirko

    2018-01-01

    The name caliver stands for CALIbration and VERification of forest fire gridded model outputs. This is a package developed for the R programming language and available under an APACHE-2 license from a public repository. In this paper we describe the functionalities of the package and give examples using publicly available datasets. Fire danger model outputs are taken from the modeling components of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) and observed burned areas from the Global Fire Emission Database (GFED). Complete documentation, including a vignette, is also available within the package. PMID:29293536

  15. Description of a Website Resource for Turbulence Modeling Verification and Validation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rumsey, Christopher L.; Smith, Brian R.; Huang, George P.

    2010-01-01

    The activities of the Turbulence Model Benchmarking Working Group - which is a subcommittee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee - are described. The group s main purpose is to establish a web-based repository for Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes turbulence model documentation, including verification and validation cases. This turbulence modeling resource has been established based on feedback from a survey on what is needed to achieve consistency and repeatability in turbulence model implementation and usage, and to document and disseminate information on new turbulence models or improvements to existing models. The various components of the website are described in detail: description of turbulence models, turbulence model readiness rating system, verification cases, validation cases, validation databases, and turbulence manufactured solutions. An outline of future plans of the working group is also provided.

  16. A RESEARCH DATABASE FOR IMPROVED DATA MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS IN LONGITUDINAL STUDIES

    PubMed Central

    BIELEFELD, ROGER A.; YAMASHITA, TOYOKO S.; KEREKES, EDWARD F.; ERCANLI, EHAT; SINGER, LYNN T.

    2014-01-01

    We developed a research database for a five-year prospective investigation of the medical, social, and developmental correlates of chronic lung disease during the first three years of life. We used the Ingres database management system and the Statit statistical software package. The database includes records containing 1300 variables each, the results of 35 psychological tests, each repeated five times (providing longitudinal data on the child, the parents, and behavioral interactions), both raw and calculated variables, and both missing and deferred values. The four-layer menu-driven user interface incorporates automatic activation of complex functions to handle data verification, missing and deferred values, static and dynamic backup, determination of calculated values, display of database status, reports, bulk data extraction, and statistical analysis. PMID:7596250

  17. Improving semi-text-independent method of writer verification using difference vector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xin; Ding, Xiaoqing

    2009-01-01

    The semi-text-independent method of writer verification based on the linear framework is a method that can use all characters of two handwritings to discriminate the writers in the condition of knowing the text contents. The handwritings are allowed to just have small numbers of even totally different characters. This fills the vacancy of the classical text-dependent methods and the text-independent methods of writer verification. Moreover, the information, what every character is, is used for the semi-text-independent method in this paper. Two types of standard templates, generated from many writer-unknown handwritten samples and printed samples of each character, are introduced to represent the content information of each character. The difference vectors of the character samples are gotten by subtracting the standard templates from the original feature vectors and used to replace the original vectors in the process of writer verification. By removing a large amount of content information and remaining the style information, the verification accuracy of the semi-text-independent method is improved. On a handwriting database involving 30 writers, when the query handwriting and the reference handwriting are composed of 30 distinct characters respectively, the average equal error rate (EER) of writer verification reaches 9.96%. And when the handwritings contain 50 characters, the average EER falls to 6.34%, which is 23.9% lower than the EER of not using the difference vectors.

  18. Biometric Fusion Demonstration System Scientific Report

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-03-01

    verification and facial recognition , searching watchlist databases comprised of full or partial facial images or voice recordings. Multiple-biometric...17 2.2.1.1 Fingerprint and Facial Recognition ............................... 17...iv DRDC Ottawa CR 2004 – 056 2.2.1.2 Iris Recognition and Facial Recognition ........................ 18

  19. Self-Directed Adult Learning: A Critical Paradigm Revisited.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caffarella, Rosemary S.; O'Donnell, Judith M.

    1987-01-01

    Seeks to analyze and categorize both data-based and conceptual articles on self-directed learning. Covers (1) verification studies, (2) nature of the method, (3) nature of the learner, (4) nature of the philosophical position, and (5) policy. Suggests future research topics. (Author/CH)

  20. Searching for Controlled Trials of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Comparison of 15 Databases

    PubMed Central

    Cogo, Elise; Sampson, Margaret; Ajiferuke, Isola; Manheimer, Eric; Campbell, Kaitryn; Daniel, Raymond; Moher, David

    2011-01-01

    This project aims to assess the utility of bibliographic databases beyond the three major ones (MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane CENTRAL) for finding controlled trials of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Fifteen databases were searched to identify controlled clinical trials (CCTs) of CAM not also indexed in MEDLINE. Searches were conducted in May 2006 using the revised Cochrane highly sensitive search strategy (HSSS) and the PubMed CAM Subset. Yield of CAM trials per 100 records was determined, and databases were compared over a standardized period (2005). The Acudoc2 RCT, Acubriefs, Index to Chiropractic Literature (ICL) and Hom-Inform databases had the highest concentrations of non-MEDLINE records, with more than 100 non-MEDLINE records per 500. Other productive databases had ratios between 500 and 1500 records to 100 non-MEDLINE records—these were AMED, MANTIS, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Global Health and Alt HealthWatch. Five databases were found to be unproductive: AGRICOLA, CAIRSS, Datadiwan, Herb Research Foundation and IBIDS. Acudoc2 RCT yielded 100 CAM trials in the most recent 100 records screened. Acubriefs, AMED, Hom-Inform, MANTIS, PsycINFO and CINAHL had more than 25 CAM trials per 100 records screened. Global Health, ICL and Alt HealthWatch were below 25 in yield. There were 255 non-MEDLINE trials from eight databases in 2005, with only 10% indexed in more than one database. Yield varied greatly between databases; the most productive databases from both sampling methods were Acubriefs, Acudoc2 RCT, AMED and CINAHL. Low overlap between databases indicates comprehensive CAM literature searches will require multiple databases. PMID:19468052

  1. Searching for controlled trials of complementary and alternative medicine: a comparison of 15 databases.

    PubMed

    Cogo, Elise; Sampson, Margaret; Ajiferuke, Isola; Manheimer, Eric; Campbell, Kaitryn; Daniel, Raymond; Moher, David

    2011-01-01

    This project aims to assess the utility of bibliographic databases beyond the three major ones (MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane CENTRAL) for finding controlled trials of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Fifteen databases were searched to identify controlled clinical trials (CCTs) of CAM not also indexed in MEDLINE. Searches were conducted in May 2006 using the revised Cochrane highly sensitive search strategy (HSSS) and the PubMed CAM Subset. Yield of CAM trials per 100 records was determined, and databases were compared over a standardized period (2005). The Acudoc2 RCT, Acubriefs, Index to Chiropractic Literature (ICL) and Hom-Inform databases had the highest concentrations of non-MEDLINE records, with more than 100 non-MEDLINE records per 500. Other productive databases had ratios between 500 and 1500 records to 100 non-MEDLINE records-these were AMED, MANTIS, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Global Health and Alt HealthWatch. Five databases were found to be unproductive: AGRICOLA, CAIRSS, Datadiwan, Herb Research Foundation and IBIDS. Acudoc2 RCT yielded 100 CAM trials in the most recent 100 records screened. Acubriefs, AMED, Hom-Inform, MANTIS, PsycINFO and CINAHL had more than 25 CAM trials per 100 records screened. Global Health, ICL and Alt HealthWatch were below 25 in yield. There were 255 non-MEDLINE trials from eight databases in 2005, with only 10% indexed in more than one database. Yield varied greatly between databases; the most productive databases from both sampling methods were Acubriefs, Acudoc2 RCT, AMED and CINAHL. Low overlap between databases indicates comprehensive CAM literature searches will require multiple databases.

  2. 7 CFR 400.651 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... unadjusted transitional yields and dividing the sum by the number of yields contained in the database, which will always contain at least four yields. The database may contain up to 10 consecutive crop years of... catastrophic risk protection. Crop of economic significance. A crop that has either contributed in the previous...

  3. 7 CFR 400.651 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... unadjusted transitional yields and dividing the sum by the number of yields contained in the database, which will always contain at least four yields. The database may contain up to 10 consecutive crop years of... catastrophic risk protection. Crop of economic significance. A crop that has either contributed in the previous...

  4. 7 CFR 400.651 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... unadjusted transitional yields and dividing the sum by the number of yields contained in the database, which will always contain at least four yields. The database may contain up to 10 consecutive crop years of... catastrophic risk protection. Crop of economic significance. A crop that has either contributed in the previous...

  5. 7 CFR 400.651 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... unadjusted transitional yields and dividing the sum by the number of yields contained in the database, which will always contain at least four yields. The database may contain up to 10 consecutive crop years of... catastrophic risk protection. Crop of economic significance. A crop that has either contributed in the previous...

  6. 7 CFR 400.651 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... unadjusted transitional yields and dividing the sum by the number of yields contained in the database, which will always contain at least four yields. The database may contain up to 10 consecutive crop years of... catastrophic risk protection. Crop of economic significance. A crop that has either contributed in the previous...

  7. Geometric database maintenance using CCTV cameras and overlay graphics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oxenberg, Sheldon C.; Landell, B. Patrick; Kan, Edwin

    1988-01-01

    An interactive graphics system using closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras for remote verification and maintenance of a geometric world model database has been demonstrated in GE's telerobotics testbed. The database provides geometric models and locations of objects viewed by CCTV cameras and manipulated by telerobots. To update the database, an operator uses the interactive graphics system to superimpose a wireframe line drawing of an object with known dimensions on a live video scene containing that object. The methodology used is multipoint positioning to easily superimpose a wireframe graphic on the CCTV image of an object in the work scene. An enhanced version of GE's interactive graphics system will provide the object designation function for the operator control station of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's telerobot demonstration system.

  8. Accelerated prompt gamma estimation for clinical proton therapy simulations.

    PubMed

    Huisman, Brent F B; Létang, J M; Testa, É; Sarrut, D

    2016-11-07

    There is interest in the particle therapy community in using prompt gammas (PGs), a natural byproduct of particle treatment, for range verification and eventually dose control. However, PG production is a rare process and therefore estimation of PGs exiting a patient during a proton treatment plan executed by a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation converges slowly. Recently, different approaches to accelerating the estimation of PG yield have been presented. Sterpin et al (2015 Phys. Med. Biol. 60 4915-46) described a fast analytic method, which is still sensitive to heterogeneities. El Kanawati et al (2015 Phys. Med. Biol. 60 8067-86) described a variance reduction method (pgTLE) that accelerates the PG estimation by precomputing PG production probabilities as a function of energy and target materials, but has as a drawback that the proposed method is limited to analytical phantoms. We present a two-stage variance reduction method, named voxelized pgTLE (vpgTLE), that extends pgTLE to voxelized volumes. As a preliminary step, PG production probabilities are precomputed once and stored in a database. In stage 1, we simulate the interactions between the treatment plan and the patient CT with low statistic MC to obtain the spatial and spectral distribution of the PGs. As primary particles are propagated throughout the patient CT, the PG yields are computed in each voxel from the initial database, as a function of the current energy of the primary, the material in the voxel and the step length. The result is a voxelized image of PG yield, normalized to a single primary. The second stage uses this intermediate PG image as a source to generate and propagate the number of PGs throughout the rest of the scene geometry, e.g. into a detection device, corresponding to the number of primaries desired. We achieved a gain of around 10 3 for both a geometrical heterogeneous phantom and a complete patient CT treatment plan with respect to analog MC, at a convergence level of 2% relative uncertainty in the 90% yield region. The method agrees with reference analog MC simulations to within 10 -4 , with negligible bias. Gains per voxel range from 10 2 to 10 4 . The presented generic PG yield estimator is drop-in usable with any geometry and beam configuration. We showed a gain of three orders of magnitude compared to analog MC. With a large number of voxels and materials, memory consumption may be a concern and we discuss the consequences and possible tradeoffs. The method is available as part of Gate 7.2.

  9. Accelerated prompt gamma estimation for clinical proton therapy simulations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huisman, Brent F. B.; Létang, J. M.; Testa, É.; Sarrut, D.

    2016-11-01

    There is interest in the particle therapy community in using prompt gammas (PGs), a natural byproduct of particle treatment, for range verification and eventually dose control. However, PG production is a rare process and therefore estimation of PGs exiting a patient during a proton treatment plan executed by a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation converges slowly. Recently, different approaches to accelerating the estimation of PG yield have been presented. Sterpin et al (2015 Phys. Med. Biol. 60 4915-46) described a fast analytic method, which is still sensitive to heterogeneities. El Kanawati et al (2015 Phys. Med. Biol. 60 8067-86) described a variance reduction method (pgTLE) that accelerates the PG estimation by precomputing PG production probabilities as a function of energy and target materials, but has as a drawback that the proposed method is limited to analytical phantoms. We present a two-stage variance reduction method, named voxelized pgTLE (vpgTLE), that extends pgTLE to voxelized volumes. As a preliminary step, PG production probabilities are precomputed once and stored in a database. In stage 1, we simulate the interactions between the treatment plan and the patient CT with low statistic MC to obtain the spatial and spectral distribution of the PGs. As primary particles are propagated throughout the patient CT, the PG yields are computed in each voxel from the initial database, as a function of the current energy of the primary, the material in the voxel and the step length. The result is a voxelized image of PG yield, normalized to a single primary. The second stage uses this intermediate PG image as a source to generate and propagate the number of PGs throughout the rest of the scene geometry, e.g. into a detection device, corresponding to the number of primaries desired. We achieved a gain of around 103 for both a geometrical heterogeneous phantom and a complete patient CT treatment plan with respect to analog MC, at a convergence level of 2% relative uncertainty in the 90% yield region. The method agrees with reference analog MC simulations to within 10-4, with negligible bias. Gains per voxel range from 102 to 104. The presented generic PG yield estimator is drop-in usable with any geometry and beam configuration. We showed a gain of three orders of magnitude compared to analog MC. With a large number of voxels and materials, memory consumption may be a concern and we discuss the consequences and possible tradeoffs. The method is available as part of Gate 7.2.

  10. Algorithms and methodology used in constructing high-resolution terrain databases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williams, Bryan L.; Wilkosz, Aaron

    1998-07-01

    This paper presents a top-level description of methods used to generate high-resolution 3D IR digital terrain databases using soft photogrammetry. The 3D IR database is derived from aerial photography and is made up of digital ground plane elevation map, vegetation height elevation map, material classification map, object data (tanks, buildings, etc.), and temperature radiance map. Steps required to generate some of these elements are outlined. The use of metric photogrammetry is discussed in the context of elevation map development; and methods employed to generate the material classification maps are given. The developed databases are used by the US Army Aviation and Missile Command to evaluate the performance of various missile systems. A discussion is also presented on database certification which consists of validation, verification, and accreditation procedures followed to certify that the developed databases give a true representation of the area of interest, and are fully compatible with the targeted digital simulators.

  11. An effective one-dimensional anisotropic fingerprint enhancement algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ye, Zhendong; Xie, Mei

    2012-01-01

    Fingerprint identification is one of the most important biometric technologies. The performance of the minutiae extraction and the speed of the fingerprint verification system rely heavily on the quality of the input fingerprint images, so the enhancement of the low fingerprint is a critical and difficult step in a fingerprint verification system. In this paper we proposed an effective algorithm for fingerprint enhancement. Firstly we use normalization algorithm to reduce the variations in gray level values along ridges and valleys. Then we utilize the structure tensor approach to estimate each pixel of the fingerprint orientations. At last we propose a novel algorithm which combines the advantages of onedimensional Gabor filtering method and anisotropic method to enhance the fingerprint in recoverable region. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated on the database of Fingerprint Verification Competition 2004, and the results show that our algorithm performs within less time.

  12. An effective one-dimensional anisotropic fingerprint enhancement algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ye, Zhendong; Xie, Mei

    2011-12-01

    Fingerprint identification is one of the most important biometric technologies. The performance of the minutiae extraction and the speed of the fingerprint verification system rely heavily on the quality of the input fingerprint images, so the enhancement of the low fingerprint is a critical and difficult step in a fingerprint verification system. In this paper we proposed an effective algorithm for fingerprint enhancement. Firstly we use normalization algorithm to reduce the variations in gray level values along ridges and valleys. Then we utilize the structure tensor approach to estimate each pixel of the fingerprint orientations. At last we propose a novel algorithm which combines the advantages of onedimensional Gabor filtering method and anisotropic method to enhance the fingerprint in recoverable region. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated on the database of Fingerprint Verification Competition 2004, and the results show that our algorithm performs within less time.

  13. Learning Deep Representations for Ground to Aerial Geolocalization (Open Access)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-10-15

    proposed approach, Where-CNN, is inspired by deep learning success in face verification and achieves significant improvements over tra- ditional hand...crafted features and existing deep features learned from other large-scale databases. We show the ef- fectiveness of Where-CNN in finding matches

  14. NEUTRON MULTIPLICITY AND ACTIVE WELL NEUTRON COINCIDENCE VERIFICATION MEASUREMENTS PERFORMED FOR MARCH 2009 SEMI-ANNUAL DOE INVENTORY

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

    Dewberry, R.; Ayers, J.; Tietze, F.

    The Analytical Development (AD) Section field nuclear measurement group performed six 'best available technique' verification measurements to satisfy a DOE requirement instituted for the March 2009 semi-annual inventory. The requirement of (1) yielded the need for SRNL Research Operations Department Material Control & Accountability (MC&A) group to measure the Pu content of five items and the highly enrich uranium (HEU) content of two. No 14Q-qualified measurement equipment was available to satisfy the requirement. The AD field nuclear group has routinely performed the required Confirmatory Measurements for the semi-annual inventories for fifteen years using sodium iodide and high purity germanium (HpGe)more » {gamma}-ray pulse height analysis nondestructive assay (NDA) instruments. With appropriate {gamma}-ray acquisition modeling, the HpGe spectrometers can be used to perform verification-type quantitative assay for Pu-isotopics and HEU content. The AD nuclear NDA group is widely experienced with this type of measurement and reports content for these species in requested process control, MC&A booking, and holdup measurements assays Site-wide. However none of the AD HpGe {gamma}-ray spectrometers have been 14Q-qualified, and the requirement of reference 1 specifically excluded a {gamma}-ray PHA measurement from those it would accept for the required verification measurements. The requirement of reference 1 was a new requirement for which the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) Research Operations Department (ROD) MC&A group was unprepared. The criteria for exemption from verification were: (1) isotope content below 50 grams; (2) intrinsically tamper indicating or TID sealed items which contain a Category IV quantity of material; (3) assembled components; and (4) laboratory samples. Therefore all (SRNL) Material Balance Area (MBA) items with greater than 50 grams total Pu or greater than 50 grams HEU were subject to a verification measurement. The pass/fail criteria of reference 7 stated 'The facility will report measured values, book values, and statistical control limits for the selected items to DOE SR...', and 'The site/facility operator must develop, document, and maintain measurement methods for all nuclear material on inventory'. These new requirements exceeded SRNL's experience with prior semi-annual inventory expectations, but allowed the AD nuclear field measurement group to demonstrate its excellent adaptability and superior flexibility to respond to unpredicted expectations from the DOE customer. The requirements yielded five SRNL items subject to Pu verification and two SRNL items subject to HEU verification. These items are listed and described in Table 1.« less

  15. Palmprint verification using Lagrangian decomposition and invariant interest points

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, P.; Rattani, A.; Kisku, D. R.; Hwang, C. J.; Sing, J. K.

    2011-06-01

    This paper presents a palmprint based verification system using SIFT features and Lagrangian network graph technique. We employ SIFT for feature extraction from palmprint images whereas the region of interest (ROI) which has been extracted from wide palm texture at the preprocessing stage, is considered for invariant points extraction. Finally, identity is established by finding permutation matrix for a pair of reference and probe palm graphs drawn on extracted SIFT features. Permutation matrix is used to minimize the distance between two graphs. The propsed system has been tested on CASIA and IITK palmprint databases and experimental results reveal the effectiveness and robustness of the system.

  16. Analysis of large system black box verification test data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clapp, Kenneth C.; Iyer, Ravishankar Krishnan

    1993-01-01

    Issues regarding black box, large systems verification are explored. It begins by collecting data from several testing teams. An integrated database containing test, fault, repair, and source file information is generated. Intuitive effectiveness measures are generated using conventional black box testing results analysis methods. Conventional analysts methods indicate that the testing was effective in the sense that as more tests were run, more faults were found. Average behavior and individual data points are analyzed. The data is categorized and average behavior shows a very wide variation in number of tests run and in pass rates (pass rates ranged from 71 percent to 98 percent). The 'white box' data contained in the integrated database is studied in detail. Conservative measures of effectiveness are discussed. Testing efficiency (ratio of repairs to number of tests) is measured at 3 percent, fault record effectiveness (ratio of repairs to fault records) is measured at 55 percent, and test script redundancy (ratio of number of failed tests to minimum number of tests needed to find the faults) ranges from 4.2 to 15.8. Error prone source files and subsystems are identified. A correlational mapping of test functional area to product subsystem is completed. A new adaptive testing process based on real-time generation of the integrated database is proposed.

  17. Remote collection and analysis of witness reports on flash floods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gourley, J. J.; Erlingis, J. M.; Smith, T. M.; Ortega, K. L.; Hong, Y.

    2010-11-01

    SummaryTypically, flash floods are studied ex post facto in response to a major impact event. A complement to field investigations is developing a detailed database of flash flood events, including minor events and null reports (i.e., where heavy rain occurred but there was no flash flooding), based on public survey questions conducted in near-real time. The Severe hazards analysis and verification experiment (SHAVE) has been in operation at the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, OK, USA during the summers since 2006. The experiment employs undergraduate students to analyse real-time products from weather radars, target specific regions within the conterminous US, and poll public residences and businesses regarding the occurrence and severity of hail, wind, tornadoes, and now flash floods. In addition to providing a rich learning experience for students, SHAVE has also been successful in creating high-resolution datasets of severe hazards used for algorithm and model verification. This paper describes the criteria used to initiate the flash flood survey, the specific questions asked and information entered to the database, and then provides an analysis of results for flash flood data collected during the summer of 2008. It is envisioned that specific details provided by the SHAVE flash flood observation database will complement databases collected by operational agencies (i.e., US National Weather Service Storm Data reports) and thus lead to better tools to predict the likelihood of flash floods and ultimately reduce their impacts on society.

  18. Verification of Ribosomal Proteins of Aspergillus fumigatus for Use as Biomarkers in MALDI-TOF MS Identification.

    PubMed

    Nakamura, Sayaka; Sato, Hiroaki; Tanaka, Reiko; Yaguchi, Takashi

    2016-01-01

    We have previously proposed a rapid identification method for bacterial strains based on the profiles of their ribosomal subunit proteins (RSPs), observed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). This method can perform phylogenetic characterization based on the mass of housekeeping RSP biomarkers, ideally calculated from amino acid sequence information registered in public protein databases. With the aim of extending its field of application to medical mycology, this study investigates the actual state of information of RSPs of eukaryotic fungi registered in public protein databases through the characterization of ribosomal protein fractions extracted from genome-sequenced Aspergillus fumigatus strains Af293 and A1163 as a model. In this process, we have found that the public protein databases harbor problems. The RSP names are in confusion, so we have provisionally unified them using the yeast naming system. The most serious problem is that many incorrect sequences are registered in the public protein databases. Surprisingly, more than half of the sequences are incorrect, due chiefly to mis-annotation of exon/intron structures. These errors could be corrected by a combination of in silico inspection by sequence homology analysis and MALDI-TOF MS measurements. We were also able to confirm conserved post-translational modifications in eleven RSPs. After these verifications, the masses of 31 expressed RSPs under 20,000 Da could be accurately confirmed. These RSPs have a potential to be useful biomarkers for identifying clinical isolates of A. fumigatus .

  19. Verification and Trust: Background Investigations Preceding Faculty Appointment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Finkin, Matthew W.; Post, Robert C.; Thomson, Judith J.

    2004-01-01

    Many employers in the United States have responded to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, by initiating or expanding policies requiring background checks of prospective employees. Their ability to perform such checks has been abetted by the growth of computerized databases and of commercial enterprises that facilitate access to personal…

  20. Verification and Trust: Background Investigations Preceding Faculty Appointment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Academe, 2004

    2004-01-01

    Many employers in the United States have been initiating or expanding policies requiring background checks of prospective employees. The ability to perform such checks has been abetted by the growth of computerized databases and of commercial enterprises that facilitate access to personal information. Employers now have ready access to public…

  1. Verifiable Secret Redistribution for Threshold Sharing Schemes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-02-01

    complete verification in our protocol, old shareholders broadcast a commitment to the secret to the new shareholders. We prove that the new...of an m − 1 degree polynomial from m of n points yields a constant term in 1 the polynomial that corresponds to the secret . In Blakley’s scheme [Bla79...the intersection of m of n vector spaces yields a one-dimensional vector that corresponds to the secret . Desmedt surveys other sharing schemes

  2. Equations for estimating Clark Unit-hydrograph parameters for small rural watersheds in Illinois

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Straub, Timothy D.; Melching, Charles S.; Kocher, Kyle E.

    2000-01-01

    Simulation of the measured discharge hydrographs for the verification storms utilizing TC and R obtained from the estimation equations yielded good results. The error in peak discharge for 21 of the 29 verification storms was less than 25 percent, and the error in time-to-peak discharge for 18 of the 29 verification storms also was less than 25 percent. Therefore, applying the estimation equations to determine TC and R for design-storm simulation may result in reliable design hydrographs, as long as the physical characteristics of the watersheds under consideration are within the range of those characteristics for the watersheds in this study [area: 0.02-2.3 mi2, main-channel length: 0.17-3.4 miles, main-channel slope: 10.5-229 feet per mile, and insignificant percentage of impervious cover].

  3. Building a medical image processing algorithm verification database

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown, C. Wayne

    2000-06-01

    The design of a database containing head Computed Tomography (CT) studies is presented, along with a justification for the database's composition. The database will be used to validate software algorithms that screen normal head CT studies from studies that contain pathology. The database is designed to have the following major properties: (1) a size sufficient for statistical viability, (2) inclusion of both normal (no pathology) and abnormal scans, (3) inclusion of scans due to equipment malfunction, technologist error, and uncooperative patients, (4) inclusion of data sets from multiple scanner manufacturers, (5) inclusion of data sets from different gender and age groups, and (6) three independent diagnosis of each data set. Designed correctly, the database will provide a partial basis for FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) approval of image processing algorithms for clinical use. Our goal for the database is the proof of viability of screening head CT's for normal anatomy using computer algorithms. To put this work into context, a classification scheme for 'computer aided diagnosis' systems is proposed.

  4. Chapter 51: How to Build a Simple Cone Search Service Using a Local Database

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kent, B. R.; Greene, G. R.

    The cone search service protocol will be examined from the server side in this chapter. A simple cone search service will be setup and configured locally using MySQL. Data will be read into a table, and the Java JDBC will be used to connect to the database. Readers will understand the VO cone search specification and how to use it to query a database on their local systems and return an XML/VOTable file based on an input of RA/DEC coordinates and a search radius. The cone search in this example will be deployed as a Java servlet. The resulting cone search can be tested with a verification service. This basic setup can be used with other languages and relational databases.

  5. Verification of Ceramic Structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Behar-Lafenetre, Stephanie; Cornillon, Laurence; Rancurel, Michael; De Graaf, Dennis; Hartmann, Peter; Coe, Graham; Laine, Benoit

    2012-07-01

    In the framework of the “Mechanical Design and Verification Methodologies for Ceramic Structures” contract [1] awarded by ESA, Thales Alenia Space has investigated literature and practices in affiliated industries to propose a methodological guideline for verification of ceramic spacecraft and instrument structures. It has been written in order to be applicable to most types of ceramic or glass-ceramic materials - typically Cesic®, HBCesic®, Silicon Nitride, Silicon Carbide and ZERODUR®. The proposed guideline describes the activities to be performed at material level in order to cover all the specific aspects of ceramics (Weibull distribution, brittle behaviour, sub-critical crack growth). Elementary tests and their post-processing methods are described, and recommendations for optimization of the test plan are given in order to have a consistent database. The application of this method is shown on an example in a dedicated article [7]. Then the verification activities to be performed at system level are described. This includes classical verification activities based on relevant standard (ECSS Verification [4]), plus specific analytical, testing and inspection features. The analysis methodology takes into account the specific behaviour of ceramic materials, especially the statistical distribution of failures (Weibull) and the method to transfer it from elementary data to a full-scale structure. The demonstration of the efficiency of this method is described in a dedicated article [8]. The verification is completed by classical full-scale testing activities. Indications about proof testing, case of use and implementation are given and specific inspection and protection measures are described. These additional activities are necessary to ensure the required reliability. The aim of the guideline is to describe how to reach the same reliability level as for structures made of more classical materials (metals, composites).

  6. From field to region yield predictions in response to pedo-climatic variations in Eastern Canada

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    JÉGO, G.; Pattey, E.; Liu, J.

    2013-12-01

    The increase in global population coupled with new pressures to produce energy and bioproducts from agricultural land requires an increase in crop productivity. However, the influence of climate and soil variations on crop production and environmental performance is not fully understood and accounted for to define more sustainable and economical management strategies. Regional crop modeling can be a great tool for understanding the impact of climate variations on crop production, for planning grain handling and for assessing the impact of agriculture on the environment, but it is often limited by the availability of input data. The STICS ("Simulateur mulTIdisciplinaire pour les Cultures Standard") crop model, developed by INRA (France) is a functional crop model which has a built-in module to optimize several input parameters by minimizing the difference between calculated and measured output variables, such as Leaf Area Index (LAI). STICS crop model was adapted to the short growing season of the Mixedwood Plains Ecozone using field experiments results, to predict biomass and yield of soybean, spring wheat and corn. To minimize the numbers of inference required for regional applications, 'generic' cultivars rather than specific ones have been calibrated in STICS. After the calibration of several model parameters, the root mean square error (RMSE) of yield and biomass predictions ranged from 10% to 30% for the three crops. A bit more scattering was obtained for LAI (20%

  7. Ares I-X Range Safety Simulation Verification and Analysis Independent Validation and Verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Merry, Carl M.; Tarpley, Ashley F.; Craig, A. Scott; Tartabini, Paul V.; Brewer, Joan D.; Davis, Jerel G.; Dulski, Matthew B.; Gimenez, Adrian; Barron, M. Kyle

    2011-01-01

    NASA s Ares I-X vehicle launched on a suborbital test flight from the Eastern Range in Florida on October 28, 2009. To obtain approval for launch, a range safety final flight data package was generated to meet the data requirements defined in the Air Force Space Command Manual 91-710 Volume 2. The delivery included products such as a nominal trajectory, trajectory envelopes, stage disposal data and footprints, and a malfunction turn analysis. The Air Force s 45th Space Wing uses these products to ensure public and launch area safety. Due to the criticality of these data, an independent validation and verification effort was undertaken to ensure data quality and adherence to requirements. As a result, the product package was delivered with the confidence that independent organizations using separate simulation software generated data to meet the range requirements and yielded consistent results. This document captures Ares I-X final flight data package verification and validation analysis, including the methodology used to validate and verify simulation inputs, execution, and results and presents lessons learned during the process

  8. Satellite-based monitoring of grassland: assessment of harvest dates and frequency using SAR

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siegmund, R.; Grant, K.; Wagner, M.; Hartmann, S.

    2016-10-01

    Grasslands are among the largest ecosystems worldwide and according to the FAO they contribute to the livelihoods of more than 800 million people. Harvest dates and frequency can be utilised for an improved estimation of grassland yields. In the presented project a highly automatised methodology for detecting harvest dates and frequency using SARamplitude data was developed based on an amplitude change detection techniques. This was achieved by evaluating spatial statistics over field boundaries provided by the European Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) to identify changes between pre- and post-harvest acquisitions. The combination of this method with a grassland yield model will result in more reliable and regional-wide numbers of grassland yields. In our contribution we will focus on SAR-remote sensing for monitoring harvest frequencies, discuss the requirements concerning the acquisition system, present the technical approach and analyse the verified results. In terms of the acquisition system a high temporal acquisition rate is required, which is generally met by using SARsatellite constellations providing a revisit time of few days. COSMO-SkyMed data were utilised for the pilot study for developing and prototyping a monitoring system. Subsequently the approach was adapted to the use of the C-Band system Sentinel-1A becoming fully operational with the availability of Sentinal-1B. The study area is situated northeast of Munich, Germany, extending to an area of approx. 40km to 40km and covering major verification sites and in-situ data provided by research farms or continuously surveyed in-situ campaigns. An extended time series of SAR data was collected during the cultivation and vegetation cycles between March 2014 and March 2016. All data were processed and harmonised in a GIS database to be analysed and verified according to corresponding in-situ data.

  9. Enrichment Assay Methods Development for the Integrated Cylinder Verification System

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

    Smith, Leon E.; Misner, Alex C.; Hatchell, Brian K.

    2009-10-22

    International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors currently perform periodic inspections at uranium enrichment plants to verify UF6 cylinder enrichment declarations. Measurements are typically performed with handheld high-resolution sensors on a sampling of cylinders taken to be representative of the facility's entire product-cylinder inventory. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is developing a concept to automate the verification of enrichment plant cylinders to enable 100 percent product-cylinder verification and potentially, mass-balance calculations on the facility as a whole (by also measuring feed and tails cylinders). The Integrated Cylinder Verification System (ICVS) could be located at key measurement points to positively identify eachmore » cylinder, measure its mass and enrichment, store the collected data in a secure database, and maintain continuity of knowledge on measured cylinders until IAEA inspector arrival. The three main objectives of this FY09 project are summarized here and described in more detail in the report: (1) Develop a preliminary design for a prototype NDA system, (2) Refine PNNL's MCNP models of the NDA system, and (3) Procure and test key pulse-processing components. Progress against these tasks to date, and next steps, are discussed.« less

  10. Intersubject variability and intrasubject reproducibility of 12-lead ECG metrics: Implications for human verification.

    PubMed

    Jekova, Irena; Krasteva, Vessela; Leber, Remo; Schmid, Ramun; Twerenbold, Raphael; Müller, Christian; Reichlin, Tobias; Abächerli, Roger

    Electrocardiogram (ECG) biometrics is an advanced technology, not yet covered by guidelines on criteria, features and leads for maximal authentication accuracy. This study aims to define the minimal set of morphological metrics in 12-lead ECG by optimization towards high reliability and security, and validation in a person verification model across a large population. A standard 12-lead resting ECG database from 574 non-cardiac patients with two remote recordings (>1year apart) was used. A commercial ECG analysis module (Schiller AG) measured 202 morphological features, including lead-specific amplitudes, durations, ST-metrics, and axes. Coefficient of variation (CV, intersubject variability) and percent-mean-absolute-difference (PMAD, intrasubject reproducibility) defined the optimization (PMAD/CV→min) and restriction (CV<30%) criteria for selection of the most stable and distinctive features. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) validated the non-redundant feature set for person verification. Maximal LDA verification sensitivity (85.3%) and specificity (86.4%) were validated for 11 optimal features: R-amplitude (I,II,V1,V2,V3,V5), S-amplitude (V1,V2), Tnegative-amplitude (aVR), and R-duration (aVF,V1). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Multiple imputation as one tool to provide longitudinal databases for modelling human height and weight development.

    PubMed

    Aßmann, C

    2016-06-01

    Besides large efforts regarding field work, provision of valid databases requires statistical and informational infrastructure to enable long-term access to longitudinal data sets on height, weight and related issues. To foster use of longitudinal data sets within the scientific community, provision of valid databases has to address data-protection regulations. It is, therefore, of major importance to hinder identifiability of individuals from publicly available databases. To reach this goal, one possible strategy is to provide a synthetic database to the public allowing for pretesting strategies for data analysis. The synthetic databases can be established using multiple imputation tools. Given the approval of the strategy, verification is based on the original data. Multiple imputation by chained equations is illustrated to facilitate provision of synthetic databases as it allows for capturing a wide range of statistical interdependencies. Also missing values, typically occurring within longitudinal databases for reasons of item non-response, can be addressed via multiple imputation when providing databases. The provision of synthetic databases using multiple imputation techniques is one possible strategy to ensure data protection, increase visibility of longitudinal databases and enhance the analytical potential.

  12. Simulation of Laboratory Tests of Steel Arch Support

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Horyl, Petr; Šňupárek, Richard; Maršálek, Pavel; Pacześniowski, Krzysztof

    2017-03-01

    The total load-bearing capacity of steel arch yielding roadways supports is among their most important characteristics. These values can be obtained in two ways: experimental measurements in a specialized laboratory or computer modelling by FEM. Experimental measurements are significantly more expensive and more time-consuming. However, for proper tuning, a computer model is very valuable and can provide the necessary verification by experiment. In the cooperating workplaces of GIG Katowice, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava and the Institute of Geonics ASCR this verification was successful. The present article discusses the conditions and results of this verification for static problems. The output is a tuned computer model, which may be used for other calculations to obtain the load-bearing capacity of other types of steel arch supports. Changes in other parameters such as the material properties of steel, size torques, friction coefficient values etc. can be determined relatively quickly by changing the properties of the investigated steel arch supports.

  13. Computer Simulations to Study Diffraction Effects of Stacking Faults in Beta-SiC: II. Experimental Verification. 2; Experimental Verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pujar, Vijay V.; Cawley, James D.; Levine, S. (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    Earlier results from computer simulation studies suggest a correlation between the spatial distribution of stacking errors in the Beta-SiC structure and features observed in X-ray diffraction patterns of the material. Reported here are experimental results obtained from two types of nominally Beta-SiC specimens, which yield distinct XRD data. These samples were analyzed using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and the stacking error distribution was directly determined. The HRTEM results compare well to those deduced by matching the XRD data with simulated spectra, confirming the hypothesis that the XRD data is indicative not only of the presence and density of stacking errors, but also that it can yield information regarding their distribution. In addition, the stacking error population in both specimens is related to their synthesis conditions and it appears that it is similar to the relation developed by others to explain the formation of the corresponding polytypes.

  14. Verification of Ribosomal Proteins of Aspergillus fumigatus for Use as Biomarkers in MALDI-TOF MS Identification

    PubMed Central

    Nakamura, Sayaka; Sato, Hiroaki; Tanaka, Reiko; Yaguchi, Takashi

    2016-01-01

    We have previously proposed a rapid identification method for bacterial strains based on the profiles of their ribosomal subunit proteins (RSPs), observed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). This method can perform phylogenetic characterization based on the mass of housekeeping RSP biomarkers, ideally calculated from amino acid sequence information registered in public protein databases. With the aim of extending its field of application to medical mycology, this study investigates the actual state of information of RSPs of eukaryotic fungi registered in public protein databases through the characterization of ribosomal protein fractions extracted from genome-sequenced Aspergillus fumigatus strains Af293 and A1163 as a model. In this process, we have found that the public protein databases harbor problems. The RSP names are in confusion, so we have provisionally unified them using the yeast naming system. The most serious problem is that many incorrect sequences are registered in the public protein databases. Surprisingly, more than half of the sequences are incorrect, due chiefly to mis-annotation of exon/intron structures. These errors could be corrected by a combination of in silico inspection by sequence homology analysis and MALDI-TOF MS measurements. We were also able to confirm conserved post-translational modifications in eleven RSPs. After these verifications, the masses of 31 expressed RSPs under 20,000 Da could be accurately confirmed. These RSPs have a potential to be useful biomarkers for identifying clinical isolates of A. fumigatus. PMID:27843740

  15. NDEC: A NEA platform for nuclear data testing, verification and benchmarking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Díez, C. J.; Michel-Sendis, F.; Cabellos, O.; Bossant, M.; Soppera, N.

    2017-09-01

    The selection, testing, verification and benchmarking of evaluated nuclear data consists, in practice, in putting an evaluated file through a number of checking steps where different computational codes verify that the file and the data it contains complies with different requirements. These requirements range from format compliance to good performance in application cases, while at the same time physical constraints and the agreement with experimental data are verified. At NEA, the NDEC (Nuclear Data Evaluation Cycle) platform aims at providing, in a user friendly interface, a thorough diagnose of the quality of a submitted evaluated nuclear data file. Such diagnose is based on the results of different computational codes and routines which carry out the mentioned verifications, tests and checks. NDEC also searches synergies with other existing NEA tools and databases, such as JANIS, DICE or NDaST, including them into its working scheme. Hence, this paper presents NDEC, its current development status and its usage in the JEFF nuclear data project.

  16. Striving to be known by significant others: automatic activation of self-verification goals in relationship contexts.

    PubMed

    Kraus, Michael W; Chen, Serena

    2009-07-01

    Extending research on the automatic activation of goals associated with significant others, the authors hypothesized that self-verification goals typically pursued with significant others are automatically elicited when a significant-other representation is activated. Supporting this hypothesis, the activation of a significant-other representation through priming (Experiments 1 and 3) or through a transference encounter (Experiment 2) led participants to seek feedback that verifies their preexisting self-views. Specifically, significant-other primed participants desired self-verifying feedback, in general (Experiment 1), from an upcoming interaction partner (Experiment 2), and relative to acquaintance-primed participants and favorable feedback (Experiment 3). Finally, self-verification goals were activated, especially for relational self-views deemed high in importance to participants' self-concepts (Experiment 2) and held with high certainty (Experiment 3). Implications for research on self-evaluative goals, the relational self, and the automatic goal activation literature are discussed, as are consequences for close relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Verification and Validation of KBS with Neural Network Components

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wen, Wu; Callahan, John

    1996-01-01

    Artificial Neural Network (ANN) play an important role in developing robust Knowledge Based Systems (KBS). The ANN based components used in these systems learn to give appropriate predictions through training with correct input-output data patterns. Unlike traditional KBS that depends on a rule database and a production engine, the ANN based system mimics the decisions of an expert without specifically formulating the if-than type of rules. In fact, the ANNs demonstrate their superiority when such if-then type of rules are hard to generate by human expert. Verification of traditional knowledge based system is based on the proof of consistency and completeness of the rule knowledge base and correctness of the production engine.These techniques, however, can not be directly applied to ANN based components.In this position paper, we propose a verification and validation procedure for KBS with ANN based components. The essence of the procedure is to obtain an accurate system specification through incremental modification of the specifications using an ANN rule extraction algorithm.

  18. Performance Testing of a Trace Contaminant Control Subassembly for the International Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Perry, J. L.; Curtis, R. E.; Alexandre, K. L.; Ruggiero, L. L.; Shtessel, N.

    1998-01-01

    As part of the International Space Station (ISS) Trace Contaminant Control Subassembly (TCCS) development, a performance test has been conducted to provide reference data for flight verification analyses. This test, which used the U.S. Habitation Module (U.S. Hab) TCCS as the test article, was designed to add to the existing database on TCCS performance. Included in this database are results obtained during ISS development testing; testing of functionally similar TCCS prototype units; and bench scale testing of activated charcoal, oxidation catalyst, and granular lithium hydroxide (LiOH). The present database has served as the basis for the development and validation of a computerized TCCS process simulation model. This model serves as the primary means for verifying the ISS TCCS performance. In order to mitigate risk associated with this verification approach, the U.S. Hab TCCS performance test provides an additional set of data which serve to anchor both the process model and previously-obtained development test data to flight hardware performance. The following discussion provides relevant background followed by a summary of the test hardware, objectives, requirements, and facilities. Facility and test article performance during the test is summarized, test results are presented, and the TCCS's performance relative to past test experience is discussed. Performance predictions made with the TCCS process model are compared with the U.S. Hab TCCS test results to demonstrate its validation.

  19. Performance evaluation of wavelet-based face verification on a PDA recorded database

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sellahewa, Harin; Jassim, Sabah A.

    2006-05-01

    The rise of international terrorism and the rapid increase in fraud and identity theft has added urgency to the task of developing biometric-based person identification as a reliable alternative to conventional authentication methods. Human Identification based on face images is a tough challenge in comparison to identification based on fingerprints or Iris recognition. Yet, due to its unobtrusive nature, face recognition is the preferred method of identification for security related applications. The success of such systems will depend on the support of massive infrastructures. Current mobile communication devices (3G smart phones) and PDA's are equipped with a camera which can capture both still and streaming video clips and a touch sensitive display panel. Beside convenience, such devices provide an adequate secure infrastructure for sensitive & financial transactions, by protecting against fraud and repudiation while ensuring accountability. Biometric authentication systems for mobile devices would have obvious advantages in conflict scenarios when communication from beyond enemy lines is essential to save soldier and civilian life. In areas of conflict or disaster the luxury of fixed infrastructure is not available or destroyed. In this paper, we present a wavelet-based face verification scheme that have been specifically designed and implemented on a currently available PDA. We shall report on its performance on the benchmark audio-visual BANCA database and on a newly developed PDA recorded audio-visual database that take include indoor and outdoor recordings.

  20. A fast process development flow by applying design technology co-optimization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Yi-Chieh; Yeh, Shin-Shing; Ou, Tsong-Hua; Lin, Hung-Yu; Mai, Yung-Ching; Lin, Lawrence; Lai, Jun-Cheng; Lai, Ya Chieh; Xu, Wei; Hurat, Philippe

    2017-03-01

    Beyond 40 nm technology node, the pattern weak points and hotspot types increase dramatically. The typical patterns for lithography verification suffers huge turn-around-time (TAT) to handle the design complexity. Therefore, in order to speed up process development and increase pattern variety, accurate design guideline and realistic design combinations are required. This paper presented a flow for creating a cell-based layout, a lite realistic design, to early identify problematic patterns which will negatively affect the yield. A new random layout generating method, Design Technology Co-Optimization Pattern Generator (DTCO-PG), is reported in this paper to create cell-based design. DTCO-PG also includes how to characterize the randomness and fuzziness, so that it is able to build up the machine learning scheme which model could be trained by previous results, and then it generates patterns never seen in a lite design. This methodology not only increases pattern diversity but also finds out potential hotspot preliminarily. This paper also demonstrates an integrated flow from DTCO pattern generation to layout modification. Optical Proximity Correction, OPC and lithographic simulation is then applied to DTCO-PG design database to detect hotspots and then hotspots or weak points can be automatically fixed through the procedure or handled manually. This flow benefits the process evolution to have a faster development cycle time, more complexity pattern design, higher probability to find out potential hotspots in early stage, and a more holistic yield ramping operation.

  1. Neoclassical toroidal viscosity calculations in tokamaks using a δf Monte Carlo simulation and their verifications.

    PubMed

    Satake, S; Park, J-K; Sugama, H; Kanno, R

    2011-07-29

    Neoclassical toroidal viscosities (NTVs) in tokamaks are investigated using a δf Monte Carlo simulation, and are successfully verified with a combined analytic theory over a wide range of collisionality. A Monte Carlo simulation has been required in the study of NTV since the complexities in guiding-center orbits of particles and their collisions cannot be fully investigated by any means of analytic theories alone. Results yielded the details of the complex NTV dependency on particle precessions and collisions, which were predicted roughly in a combined analytic theory. Both numerical and analytic methods can be utilized and extended based on these successful verifications.

  2. Optimization of the Ethanol Recycling Reflux Extraction Process for Saponins Using a Design Space Approach

    PubMed Central

    Gong, Xingchu; Zhang, Ying; Pan, Jianyang; Qu, Haibin

    2014-01-01

    A solvent recycling reflux extraction process for Panax notoginseng was optimized using a design space approach to improve the batch-to-batch consistency of the extract. Saponin yields, total saponin purity, and pigment yield were defined as the process critical quality attributes (CQAs). Ethanol content, extraction time, and the ratio of the recycling ethanol flow rate and initial solvent volume in the extraction tank (RES) were identified as the critical process parameters (CPPs) via quantitative risk assessment. Box-Behnken design experiments were performed. Quadratic models between CPPs and process CQAs were developed, with determination coefficients higher than 0.88. As the ethanol concentration decreases, saponin yields first increase and then decrease. A longer extraction time leads to higher yields of the ginsenosides Rb1 and Rd. The total saponin purity increases as the ethanol concentration increases. The pigment yield increases as the ethanol concentration decreases or extraction time increases. The design space was calculated using a Monte-Carlo simulation method with an acceptable probability of 0.90. Normal operation ranges to attain process CQA criteria with a probability of more than 0.914 are recommended as follows: ethanol content of 79–82%, extraction time of 6.1–7.1 h, and RES of 0.039–0.040 min−1. Most of the results of the verification experiments agreed well with the predictions. The verification experiment results showed that the selection of proper operating ethanol content, extraction time, and RES within the design space can ensure that the CQA criteria are met. PMID:25470598

  3. Framework for Evaluating Loop Invariant Detection Games in Relation to Automated Dynamic Invariant Detectors

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-09-01

    Detectability ...............................................................................................37 Figure 20. Excel VBA Codes for Checker...National Vulnerability Database OS Operating System SQL Structured Query Language VC Verification Condition VBA Visual Basic for Applications...checks each of these assertions for detectability by Daikon. The checker is an Excel Visual Basic for Applications ( VBA ) script that checks the

  4. NHEXAS PHASE I ARIZONA STUDY--STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR FIRST STAGE OF CLEANING ELECTRONIC DATA (HAND ENTRY) (UA-D-16.0)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The purpose of this SOP is to provide a standard method for the "first stage" of cleaning data. The first cleaning stage takes place after data verification and before master database appendage. This procedure applies to (1) post-keypunch data collected by the NHEXAS Arizona st...

  5. Standardized Radiation Shield Design Methods: 2005 HZETRN

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilson, John W.; Tripathi, Ram K.; Badavi, Francis F.; Cucinotta, Francis A.

    2006-01-01

    Research committed by the Langley Research Center through 1995 resulting in the HZETRN code provides the current basis for shield design methods according to NASA STD-3000 (2005). With this new prominence, the database, basic numerical procedures, and algorithms are being re-examined with new methods of verification and validation being implemented to capture a well defined algorithm for engineering design processes to be used in this early development phase of the Bush initiative. This process provides the methodology to transform the 1995 HZETRN research code into the 2005 HZETRN engineering code to be available for these early design processes. In this paper, we will review the basic derivations including new corrections to the codes to insure improved numerical stability and provide benchmarks for code verification.

  6. Age and gender-invariant features of handwritten signatures for verification systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    AbdAli, Sura; Putz-Leszczynska, Joanna

    2014-11-01

    Handwritten signature is one of the most natural biometrics, the study of human physiological and behavioral patterns. Behavioral biometrics includes signatures that may be different due to its owner gender or age because of intrinsic or extrinsic factors. This paper presents the results of the author's research on age and gender influence on verification factors. The experiments in this research were conducted using a database that contains signatures and their associated metadata. The used algorithm is based on the universal forgery feature idea, where the global classifier is able to classify a signature as a genuine one or, as a forgery, without the actual knowledge of the signature template and its owner. Additionally, the reduction of the dimensionality with the MRMR method is discussed.

  7. Content analysis of age verification, purchase and delivery methods of internet e-cigarette vendors, 2013 and 2014.

    PubMed

    Williams, Rebecca S; Derrick, Jason; Liebman, Aliza Kate; LaFleur, Kevin; Ribisl, Kurt M

    2018-05-01

    Identify the population of internet e-cigarette vendors (IEVs) and conduct content analyses of their age verification, purchase and delivery methods in 2013 and 2014. We used multiple sources to identify IEV websites, primarily complex search algorithms scanning more than 180 million websites. In 2013, we manually screened 32 446 websites, identifying 980 IEVs, selecting the 281 most popular for content analysis. This methodology yielded 31 239 websites for screening in 2014, identifying 3096 IEVs, with 283 selected for content analysis. The proportion of vendors that sold online-only, with no retail store, dropped significantly from 2013 (74.7%) to 2014 (64.3%) (p<0.01), with a corresponding significant decrease in US-based vendors (71.9% in 2013 and 65% in 2014). Most vendors did little to prevent youth access in either year, with 67.6% in 2013 and 63.2% in 2014 employing no age verification or relying exclusively on strategies that cannot effectively verify age. Effective age verification strategies such as online age verification services (7.1% in 2013 and 8.5% in 2014), driving licences (1.8% in 2013 and 7.4% in 2014, p<0.01) or age verification at delivery (6.4% in 2013 and 8.1% in 2104) were rarely advertised on IEV websites. Nearly all vendors advertised accepting credit cards, and about ¾ shipping via United States Postal Service, similar to the internet cigarette industry prior to federal bans. The number of IEVs grew sharply from 2013 to 2014, with poor age verification practices. New and expanded regulations for online e-cigarette sales are needed, including strict age and identity verification requirements. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  8. Definition of architectural ideotypes for good yield capacity in Coffea canephora.

    PubMed

    Cilas, Christian; Bar-Hen, Avner; Montagnon, Christophe; Godin, Christophe

    2006-03-01

    Yield capacity is a target trait for selection of agronomically desirable lines; it is preferred to simple yields recorded over different harvests. Yield capacity is derived using certain architectural parameters used to measure the components of yield capacity. Observation protocols for describing architecture and yield capacity were applied to six clones of coffee trees (Coffea canephora) in a comparative trial. The observations were used to establish architectural databases, which were explored using AMAPmod, a software dedicated to the analyses of plant architecture data. The traits extracted from the database were used to identify architectural parameters for predicting the yield of the plant material studied. Architectural traits are highly heritable and some display strong genetic correlations with cumulated yield. In particular, the proportion of fruiting nodes at plagiotropic level 15 counting from the top of the tree proved to be a good predictor of yield over two fruiting cycles.

  9. Multimodal person authentication on a smartphone under realistic conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morris, Andrew C.; Jassim, Sabah; Sellahewa, Harin; Allano, Lorene; Ehlers, Johan; Wu, Dalei; Koreman, Jacques; Garcia-Salicetti, Sonia; Ly-Van, Bao; Dorizzi, Bernadette

    2006-05-01

    Verification of a person's identity by the combination of more than one biometric trait strongly increases the robustness of person authentication in real applications. This is particularly the case in applications involving signals of degraded quality, as for person authentication on mobile platforms. The context of mobility generates degradations of input signals due to the variety of environments encountered (ambient noise, lighting variations, etc.), while the sensors' lower quality further contributes to decrease in system performance. Our aim in this work is to combine traits from the three biometric modalities of speech, face and handwritten signature in a concrete application, performing non intrusive biometric verification on a personal mobile device (smartphone/PDA). Most available biometric databases have been acquired in more or less controlled environments, which makes it difficult to predict performance in a real application. Our experiments are performed on a database acquired on a PDA as part of the SecurePhone project (IST-2002-506883 project "Secure Contracts Signed by Mobile Phone"). This database contains 60 virtual subjects balanced in gender and age. Virtual subjects are obtained by coupling audio-visual signals from real English speaking subjects with signatures from other subjects captured on the touch screen of the PDA. Video data for the PDA database was recorded in 2 recording sessions separated by at least one week. Each session comprises 4 acquisition conditions: 2 indoor and 2 outdoor recordings (with in each case, a good and a degraded quality recording). Handwritten signatures were captured in one session in realistic conditions. Different scenarios of matching between training and test conditions are tested to measure the resistance of various fusion systems to different types of variability and different amounts of enrolment data.

  10. Verification or Proof: Justification of Pythagoras' Theorem in Chinese Mathematics Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Rongjin

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents key findings of my research on the approaches to justification by investigating how a sample of teachers in Hong Kong and Shanghai taught the topic Pythagoras theorem. In this study, 8 Hong Kong videos taken from TIMSS 1999 Video Study and 11 Shanghai videos videotaped by the researcher comprised the database. It was found that…

  11. Verification and Validation of NASA-Supported Enhancements to PECAD's Decision Support Tools

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McKellipo, Rodney; Ross, Kenton W.

    2006-01-01

    The NASA Applied Sciences Directorate (ASD), part of the Earth-Sun System Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, has partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enhance decision support in the area of agricultural efficiency-an application of national importance. The ASD integrated the results of NASA Earth science research into USDA decision support tools employed by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division (PECAD), which supports national decision making by gathering, analyzing, and disseminating global crop intelligence. Verification and validation of the following enhancements are summarized: 1) Near-real-time Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products through PECAD's MODIS Image Gallery; 2) MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series data through the USDA-FAS MODIS NDVI Database; and 3) Jason-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon lake level estimates through PECAD's Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor. Where possible, each enhanced product was characterized for accuracy, timeliness, and coverage, and the characterized performance was compared to PECAD operational requirements. The MODIS Image Gallery and the GRLM are more mature and have achieved a semi-operational status, whereas the USDA-FAS MODIS NDVI Database is still evolving and should be considered

  12. Teleform scannable data entry: an efficient method to update a community-based medical record? Community care coordination network Database Group.

    PubMed Central

    Guerette, P.; Robinson, B.; Moran, W. P.; Messick, C.; Wright, M.; Wofford, J.; Velez, R.

    1995-01-01

    Community-based multi-disciplinary care of chronically ill individuals frequently requires the efforts of several agencies and organizations. The Community Care Coordination Network (CCCN) is an effort to establish a community-based clinical database and electronic communication system to facilitate the exchange of pertinent patient data among primary care, community-based and hospital-based providers. In developing a primary care based electronic record, a method is needed to update records from the field or remote sites and agencies and yet maintain data quality. Scannable data entry with fixed fields, optical character recognition and verification was compared to traditional keyboard data entry to determine the relative efficiency of each method in updating the CCCN database. PMID:8563414

  13. Interactive Scene Analysis Module - A sensor-database fusion system for telerobotic environments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cooper, Eric G.; Vazquez, Sixto L.; Goode, Plesent W.

    1992-01-01

    Accomplishing a task with telerobotics typically involves a combination of operator control/supervision and a 'script' of preprogrammed commands. These commands usually assume that the location of various objects in the task space conform to some internal representation (database) of that task space. The ability to quickly and accurately verify the task environment against the internal database would improve the robustness of these preprogrammed commands. In addition, the on-line initialization and maintenance of a task space database is difficult for operators using Cartesian coordinates alone. This paper describes the Interactive Scene' Analysis Module (ISAM) developed to provide taskspace database initialization and verification utilizing 3-D graphic overlay modelling, video imaging, and laser radar based range imaging. Through the fusion of taskspace database information and image sensor data, a verifiable taskspace model is generated providing location and orientation data for objects in a task space. This paper also describes applications of the ISAM in the Intelligent Systems Research Laboratory (ISRL) at NASA Langley Research Center, and discusses its performance relative to representation accuracy and operator interface efficiency.

  14. Evaluation of a Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Technology. INTERNATIONAL WASTEWATER SYSTEMS, INC. MODEL 6000 SEQUENCING BATCH REACTOR SYSTEM

    EPA Science Inventory

    Evaluation of the IWS Model 6000 SBR began in April 2004 when one SBR was taken off line and cleaned. The verification testing started July 1, 2004 and proceeded without interruption through June 30, 2005. All sixteen four-day sampling events were completed as scheduled, yielding...

  15. Functional Assessment of Laser Irradiation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-03-01

    1 Diagram of the Plexiglas restraint device used during laser exposure and acuity testing ........................................... 4 FIGURE 2...8 FIGURE 6 Spectral sensitivity curves for rhesus, human trichromat, and protonomalous human tested under similar...luminance, wavelength and logical means (fundoscopic or histologic verification contrast of test targets have yielded various damac of tissue damage) or can

  16. Measurement of self-evaluative motives: a shopping scenario.

    PubMed

    Wajda, Theresa A; Kolbe, Richard; Hu, Michael Y; Cui, Annie Peng

    2008-08-01

    To develop measures of consumers' self-evaluative motives of Self-verification, Self-enhancement, and Self-improvement within the context of a mall shopping environment, an initial set of 49 items was generated by conducting three focus-group sessions. These items were subsequently converted into shopping-dependent motive statements. 250 undergraduate college students responded on a 7-point scale to each statement as these related to the acquisition of recent personal shopping goods. An exploratory factor analysis yielded five factors, accounting for 57.7% of the variance, three of which corresponded to the Self-verification motive (five items), Self-enhancement motive (three items), and Self-improvement motive (six items). These 14 items, along with 9 reconstructed items, yielded 23 items retained and subjected to additional testing. In a final round of data collection, 169 college students provided data for exploratory factor analysis. 11 items were used in confirmatory factor analysis. Analysis indicated that the 11-item scale adequately captured measures of the three self-evaluative motives. However, further data reduction produced a 9-item scale with marked improvement in statistical fit over the 11-item scale.

  17. Reconstruction based finger-knuckle-print verification with score level adaptive binary fusion.

    PubMed

    Gao, Guangwei; Zhang, Lei; Yang, Jian; Zhang, Lin; Zhang, David

    2013-12-01

    Recently, a new biometrics identifier, namely finger knuckle print (FKP), has been proposed for personal authentication with very interesting results. One of the advantages of FKP verification lies in its user friendliness in data collection. However, the user flexibility in positioning fingers also leads to a certain degree of pose variations in the collected query FKP images. The widely used Gabor filtering based competitive coding scheme is sensitive to such variations, resulting in many false rejections. We propose to alleviate this problem by reconstructing the query sample with a dictionary learned from the template samples in the gallery set. The reconstructed FKP image can reduce much the enlarged matching distance caused by finger pose variations; however, both the intra-class and inter-class distances will be reduced. We then propose a score level adaptive binary fusion rule to adaptively fuse the matching distances before and after reconstruction, aiming to reduce the false rejections without increasing much the false acceptances. Experimental results on the benchmark PolyU FKP database show that the proposed method significantly improves the FKP verification accuracy.

  18. Sequence verification as quality-control step for production of cDNA microarrays.

    PubMed

    Taylor, E; Cogdell, D; Coombes, K; Hu, L; Ramdas, L; Tabor, A; Hamilton, S; Zhang, W

    2001-07-01

    To generate cDNA arrays in our core laboratory, we amplified about 2300 PCR products from a human, sequence-verified cDNA clone library. As a quality-control step, we sequenced the PCR products immediately before printing. The sequence information was used to search the GenBank database to confirm the identities. Although these clones were previously sequence verified by the company, we found that only 79% of the clones matched the original database after handling. Our experience strongly indicates the necessity to sequence verify the clones at the final stage before printing on microarray slides and to modify the gene list accordingly.

  19. A new phase-correlation-based iris matching for degraded images.

    PubMed

    Krichen, Emine; Garcia-Salicetti, Sonia; Dorizzi, Bernadette

    2009-08-01

    In this paper, we present a new phase-correlation-based iris matching approach in order to deal with degradations in iris images due to unconstrained acquisition procedures. Our matching system is a fusion of global and local Gabor phase-correlation schemes. The main originality of our local approach is that we do not only consider the correlation peak amplitudes but also their locations in different regions of the images. Results on several degraded databases, namely, the CASIA-BIOSECURE and Iris Challenge Evaluation 2005 databases, show the improvement of our method compared to two available reference systems, Masek and Open Source for Iris (OSRIS), in verification mode.

  20. SU-E-T-586: Optimal Determination of Tolerance Level for Radiation Dose Delivery Verification in An in Vivo Dosimetry System

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

    Chen, Y; Souri, S; Gill, G

    Purpose: To statistically determine the optimal tolerance level in the verification of delivery dose compared to the planned dose in an in vivo dosimetry system in radiotherapy. Methods: The LANDAUER MicroSTARii dosimetry system with screened nanoDots (optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters) was used for in vivo dose measurements. Ideally, the measured dose should match with the planned dose and falls within a normal distribution. Any deviation from the normal distribution may be redeemed as a mismatch, therefore a potential sign of the dose misadministration. Randomly mis-positioned nanoDots can yield a continuum background distribution. A percentage difference of the measured dose tomore » its corresponding planned dose (ΔD) can be used to analyze combined data sets for different patients. A model of a Gaussian plus a flat function was used to fit the ΔD distribution. Results: Total 434 nanoDot measurements for breast cancer patients were collected across a period of three months. The fit yields a Gaussian mean of 2.9% and a standard deviation (SD) of 5.3%. The observed shift of the mean from zero is attributed to the machine output bias and calibration of the dosimetry system. A pass interval of −2SD to +2SD was applied and a mismatch background was estimated to be 4.8%. With such a tolerance level, one can expect that 99.99% of patients should pass the verification and at most 0.011% might have a potential dose misadministration that may not be detected after 3 times of repeated measurements. After implementation, a number of new start breast cancer patients were monitored and the measured pass rate is consistent with the model prediction. Conclusion: It is feasible to implement an optimal tolerance level in order to maintain a low limit of potential dose misadministration while still to keep a relatively high pass rate in radiotherapy delivery verification.« less

  1. The Québec BCG Vaccination Registry (1956-1992): assessing data quality and linkage with administrative health databases.

    PubMed

    Rousseau, Marie-Claude; Conus, Florence; Li, Jun; Parent, Marie-Élise; El-Zein, Mariam

    2014-01-09

    Vaccination registries have undoubtedly proven useful for estimating vaccination coverage as well as examining vaccine safety and effectiveness. However, their use for population health research is often limited. The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Vaccination Registry for the Canadian province of Québec comprises some 4 million vaccination records (1926-1992). This registry represents a unique opportunity to study potential associations between BCG vaccination and various health outcomes. So far, such studies have been hampered by the absence of a computerized version of the registry. We determined the completeness and accuracy of the recently computerized BCG Vaccination Registry, as well as examined its linkability with demographic and administrative medical databases. Two systematically selected verification samples, each representing ~0.1% of the registry, were used to ascertain accuracy and completeness of the electronic BCG Vaccination Registry. Agreement between the paper [listings (n = 4,987 records) and vaccination certificates (n = 4,709 records)] and electronic formats was determined along several nominal and BCG-related variables. Linkage feasibility with the Birth Registry (probabilistic approach) and provincial Healthcare Registration File (deterministic approach) was examined using nominal identifiers for a random sample of 3,500 individuals born from 1961 to 1974 and BCG vaccinated between 1970 and 1974. Exact agreement was observed for 99.6% and 81.5% of records upon comparing, respectively, the paper listings and vaccination certificates to their corresponding computerized records. The proportion of successful linkage was 77% with the Birth Registry, 70% with the Healthcare Registration File, 57% with both, and varied by birth year. Computerization of this Registry yielded excellent results. The registry was complete and accurate, and linkage with administrative databases was highly feasible. This study represents the first step towards assembling large scale population-based epidemiological studies which will enable filling important knowledge gaps on the potential health effects of early life non-specific stimulation of the immune function, as resulting from BCG vaccination.

  2. Improvement, Verification, and Refinement of Spatially-Explicit Exposure Models in Risk Assessment - FishRand Spatially-Explicit Bioaccumulation Model Demonstration

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-08-01

    21  Figure 4. Data-based proportion of DDD , DDE and DDT in total DDx in fish and sediment by... DDD dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane DDE dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene DDT dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane DoD Department of Defense ERM... DDD ) at the other site. The spatially-explicit model consistently predicts tissue concentrations that closely match both the average and the

  3. Illumination-tolerant face verification of low-bit-rate JPEG2000 wavelet images with advanced correlation filters for handheld devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wijaya, Surya Li; Savvides, Marios; Vijaya Kumar, B. V. K.

    2005-02-01

    Face recognition on mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants and cell phones, is a big challenge owing to the limited computational resources available to run verifications on the devices themselves. One approach is to transmit the captured face images by use of the cell-phone connection and to run the verification on a remote station. However, owing to limitations in communication bandwidth, it may be necessary to transmit a compressed version of the image. We propose using the image compression standard JPEG2000, which is a wavelet-based compression engine used to compress the face images to low bit rates suitable for transmission over low-bandwidth communication channels. At the receiver end, the face images are reconstructed with a JPEG2000 decoder and are fed into the verification engine. We explore how advanced correlation filters, such as the minimum average correlation energy filter [Appl. Opt. 26, 3633 (1987)] and its variants, perform by using face images captured under different illumination conditions and encoded with different bit rates under the JPEG2000 wavelet-encoding standard. We evaluate the performance of these filters by using illumination variations from the Carnegie Mellon University's Pose, Illumination, and Expression (PIE) face database. We also demonstrate the tolerance of these filters to noisy versions of images with illumination variations.

  4. The research infrastructure of Chinese foundations, a database for Chinese civil society studies

    PubMed Central

    Ma, Ji; Wang, Qun; Dong, Chao; Li, Huafang

    2017-01-01

    This paper provides technical details and user guidance on the Research Infrastructure of Chinese Foundations (RICF), a database of Chinese foundations, civil society, and social development in general. The structure of the RICF is deliberately designed and normalized according to the Three Normal Forms. The database schema consists of three major themes: foundations’ basic organizational profile (i.e., basic profile, board member, supervisor, staff, and related party tables), program information (i.e., program information, major program, program relationship, and major recipient tables), and financial information (i.e., financial position, financial activities, cash flow, activity overview, and large donation tables). The RICF’s data quality can be measured by four criteria: data source reputation and credibility, completeness, accuracy, and timeliness. Data records are properly versioned, allowing verification and replication for research purposes. PMID:28742065

  5. Resistivity Correction Factor for the Four-Probe Method: Experiment I

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamashita, Masato; Yamaguchi, Shoji; Enjoji, Hideo

    1988-05-01

    Experimental verification of the theoretically derived resistivity correction factor (RCF) is presented. Resistivity and sheet resistance measurements by the four-probe method are made on three samples: isotropic graphite, ITO film and Au film. It is indicated that the RCF can correct the apparent variations of experimental data to yield reasonable resistivities and sheet resistances.

  6. Smoking Cessation among Low-Socioeconomic Status and Disadvantaged Population Groups: A Systematic Review of Research Output.

    PubMed

    Courtney, Ryan J; Naicker, Sundresan; Shakeshaft, Anthony; Clare, Philip; Martire, Kristy A; Mattick, Richard P

    2015-06-08

    Smoking cessation research output should move beyond descriptive research of the health problem to testing interventions that can provide causal data and effective evidence-based solutions. This review examined the number and type of published smoking cessation studies conducted in low-socioeconomic status (low-SES) and disadvantaged population groups. A systematic database search was conducted for two time periods: 2000-2004 (TP1) and 2008-2012 (TP2). Publications that examined smoking cessation in a low-SES or disadvantaged population were coded by: population of interest; study type (reviews, non-data based publications, data-based publications (descriptive, measurement and intervention research)); and country. Intervention studies were coded in accordance with the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care data collection checklist and use of biochemical verification of self-reported abstinence was assessed. 278 citations were included. Research output (i.e., all study types) had increased from TP1 27% to TP2 73% (χ²=73.13, p<0.001), however, the proportion of data-based research had not significantly increased from TP1 and TP2: descriptive (TP1=23% vs. TP2=33%) or intervention (TP1=77% vs. TP2=67%). The proportion of intervention studies adopting biochemical verification of self-reported abstinence had significantly decreased from TP1 to TP2 with an increased reliance on self-reported abstinence (TP1=12% vs. TP2=36%). The current research output is not ideal or optimal to decrease smoking rates. Research institutions, scholars and funding organisations should take heed to review findings when developing future research and policy.

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

    Sublet, J.-Ch., E-mail: jean-christophe.sublet@ukaea.uk; Eastwood, J.W.; Morgan, J.G.

    Fispact-II is a code system and library database for modelling activation-transmutation processes, depletion-burn-up, time dependent inventory and radiation damage source terms caused by nuclear reactions and decays. The Fispact-II code, written in object-style Fortran, follows the evolution of material irradiated by neutrons, alphas, gammas, protons, or deuterons, and provides a wide range of derived radiological output quantities to satisfy most needs for nuclear applications. It can be used with any ENDF-compliant group library data for nuclear reactions, particle-induced and spontaneous fission yields, and radioactive decay (including but not limited to TENDL-2015, ENDF/B-VII.1, JEFF-3.2, JENDL-4.0u, CENDL-3.1 processed into fine-group-structure files, GEFY-5.2more » and UKDD-16), as well as resolved and unresolved resonance range probability tables for self-shielding corrections and updated radiological hazard indices. The code has many novel features including: extension of the energy range up to 1 GeV; additional neutron physics including self-shielding effects, temperature dependence, thin and thick target yields; pathway analysis; and sensitivity and uncertainty quantification and propagation using full covariance data. The latest ENDF libraries such as TENDL encompass thousands of target isotopes. Nuclear data libraries for Fispact-II are prepared from these using processing codes PREPRO, NJOY and CALENDF. These data include resonance parameters, cross sections with covariances, probability tables in the resonance ranges, PKA spectra, kerma, dpa, gas and radionuclide production and energy-dependent fission yields, supplemented with all 27 decay types. All such data for the five most important incident particles are provided in evaluated data tables. The Fispact-II simulation software is described in detail in this paper, together with the nuclear data libraries. The Fispact-II system also includes several utility programs for code-use optimisation, visualisation and production of secondary radiological quantities. Included in the paper are summaries of results from the suite of verification and validation reports available with the code.« less

  8. FISPACT-II: An Advanced Simulation System for Activation, Transmutation and Material Modelling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sublet, J.-Ch.; Eastwood, J. W.; Morgan, J. G.; Gilbert, M. R.; Fleming, M.; Arter, W.

    2017-01-01

    Fispact-II is a code system and library database for modelling activation-transmutation processes, depletion-burn-up, time dependent inventory and radiation damage source terms caused by nuclear reactions and decays. The Fispact-II code, written in object-style Fortran, follows the evolution of material irradiated by neutrons, alphas, gammas, protons, or deuterons, and provides a wide range of derived radiological output quantities to satisfy most needs for nuclear applications. It can be used with any ENDF-compliant group library data for nuclear reactions, particle-induced and spontaneous fission yields, and radioactive decay (including but not limited to TENDL-2015, ENDF/B-VII.1, JEFF-3.2, JENDL-4.0u, CENDL-3.1 processed into fine-group-structure files, GEFY-5.2 and UKDD-16), as well as resolved and unresolved resonance range probability tables for self-shielding corrections and updated radiological hazard indices. The code has many novel features including: extension of the energy range up to 1 GeV; additional neutron physics including self-shielding effects, temperature dependence, thin and thick target yields; pathway analysis; and sensitivity and uncertainty quantification and propagation using full covariance data. The latest ENDF libraries such as TENDL encompass thousands of target isotopes. Nuclear data libraries for Fispact-II are prepared from these using processing codes PREPRO, NJOY and CALENDF. These data include resonance parameters, cross sections with covariances, probability tables in the resonance ranges, PKA spectra, kerma, dpa, gas and radionuclide production and energy-dependent fission yields, supplemented with all 27 decay types. All such data for the five most important incident particles are provided in evaluated data tables. The Fispact-II simulation software is described in detail in this paper, together with the nuclear data libraries. The Fispact-II system also includes several utility programs for code-use optimisation, visualisation and production of secondary radiological quantities. Included in the paper are summaries of results from the suite of verification and validation reports available with the code.

  9. EOSlib, Version 3

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

    Woods, Nathan; Menikoff, Ralph

    2017-02-03

    Equilibrium thermodynamics underpins many of the technologies used throughout theoretical physics, yet verification of the various theoretical models in the open literature remains challenging. EOSlib provides a single, consistent, verifiable implementation of these models, in a single, easy-to-use software package. It consists of three parts: a software library implementing various published equation-of-state (EOS) models; a database of fitting parameters for various materials for these models; and a number of useful utility functions for simplifying thermodynamic calculations such as computing Hugoniot curves or Riemann problem solutions. Ready availability of this library will enable reliable code-to- code testing of equation-of-state implementations, asmore » well as a starting point for more rigorous verification work. EOSlib also provides a single, consistent API for its analytic and tabular EOS models, which simplifies the process of comparing models for a particular application.« less

  10. Desiderata for a Computer-Assisted Audit Tool for Clinical Data Source Verification Audits

    PubMed Central

    Duda, Stephany N.; Wehbe, Firas H.; Gadd, Cynthia S.

    2013-01-01

    Clinical data auditing often requires validating the contents of clinical research databases against source documents available in health care settings. Currently available data audit software, however, does not provide features necessary to compare the contents of such databases to source data in paper medical records. This work enumerates the primary weaknesses of using paper forms for clinical data audits and identifies the shortcomings of existing data audit software, as informed by the experiences of an audit team evaluating data quality for an international research consortium. The authors propose a set of attributes to guide the development of a computer-assisted clinical data audit tool to simplify and standardize the audit process. PMID:20841814

  11. Clinical commissioning of an in vivo range verification system for prostate cancer treatment with anterior and anterior oblique proton beams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hoesl, M.; Deepak, S.; Moteabbed, M.; Jassens, G.; Orban, J.; Park, Y. K.; Parodi, K.; Bentefour, E. H.; Lu, H. M.

    2016-04-01

    The purpose of this work is the clinical commissioning of a recently developed in vivo range verification system (IRVS) for treatment of prostate cancer by anterior and anterior oblique proton beams. The IRVS is designed to perform a complete workflow for pre-treatment range verification and adjustment. It contains specifically designed dosimetry and electronic hardware and a specific software for workflow control with database connection to the treatment and imaging systems. An essential part of the IRVS system is an array of Si-diode detectors, designed to be mounted to the endorectal water balloon routinely used for prostate immobilization. The diodes can measure dose rate as function of time from which the water equivalent path length (WEPL) and the dose received are extracted. The former is used for pre-treatment beam range verification and correction, if necessary, while the latter is to monitor the dose delivered to patient rectum during the treatment and serves as an additional verification. The entire IRVS workflow was tested for anterior and 30 degree inclined proton beam in both solid water and anthropomorphic pelvic phantoms, with the measured WEPL and rectal doses compared to the treatment plan. Gafchromic films were also used for measurement of the rectal dose and compared to IRVS results. The WEPL measurement accuracy was in the order of 1 mm and after beam range correction, the dose received by the rectal wall were 1.6% and 0.4% from treatment planning, respectively, for the anterior and anterior oblique field. We believe the implementation of IRVS would make the treatment of prostate with anterior proton beams more accurate and reliable.

  12. A comparative verification of high resolution precipitation forecasts using model output statistics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van der Plas, Emiel; Schmeits, Maurice; Hooijman, Nicolien; Kok, Kees

    2017-04-01

    Verification of localized events such as precipitation has become even more challenging with the advent of high-resolution meso-scale numerical weather prediction (NWP). The realism of a forecast suggests that it should compare well against precipitation radar imagery with similar resolution, both spatially and temporally. Spatial verification methods solve some of the representativity issues that point verification gives rise to. In this study a verification strategy based on model output statistics is applied that aims to address both double penalty and resolution effects that are inherent to comparisons of NWP models with different resolutions. Using predictors based on spatial precipitation patterns around a set of stations, an extended logistic regression (ELR) equation is deduced, leading to a probability forecast distribution of precipitation for each NWP model, analysis and lead time. The ELR equations are derived for predictands based on areal calibrated radar precipitation and SYNOP observations. The aim is to extract maximum information from a series of precipitation forecasts, like a trained forecaster would. The method is applied to the non-hydrostatic model Harmonie (2.5 km resolution), Hirlam (11 km resolution) and the ECMWF model (16 km resolution), overall yielding similar Brier skill scores for the 3 post-processed models, but larger differences for individual lead times. Besides, the Fractions Skill Score is computed using the 3 deterministic forecasts, showing somewhat better skill for the Harmonie model. In other words, despite the realism of Harmonie precipitation forecasts, they only perform similarly or somewhat better than precipitation forecasts from the 2 lower resolution models, at least in the Netherlands.

  13. A critical review and database of biomass and volume allometric equation for trees and shrubs of Bangladesh

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahmood, H.; Siddique, M. R. H.; Akhter, M.

    2016-08-01

    Estimations of biomass, volume and carbon stock are important in the decision making process for the sustainable management of a forest. These estimations can be conducted by using available allometric equations of biomass and volume. Present study aims to: i. develop a compilation with verified allometric equations of biomass, volume, and carbon for trees and shrubs of Bangladesh, ii. find out the gaps and scope for further development of allometric equations for different trees and shrubs of Bangladesh. Key stakeholders (government departments, research organizations, academic institutions, and potential individual researchers) were identified considering their involvement in use and development of allometric equations. A list of documents containing allometric equations was prepared from secondary sources. The documents were collected, examined, and sorted to avoid repetition, yielding 50 documents. These equations were tested through a quality control scheme involving operational verification, conceptual verification, applicability, and statistical credibility. A total of 517 allometric equations for 80 species of trees, shrubs, palm, and bamboo were recorded. In addition, 222 allometric equations for 39 species were validated through the quality control scheme. Among the verified equations, 20%, 12% and 62% of equations were for green-biomass, oven-dried biomass, and volume respectively and 4 tree species contributed 37% of the total verified equations. Five gaps have been pinpointed for the existing allometric equations of Bangladesh: a. little work on allometric equation of common tree and shrub species, b. most of the works were concentrated on certain species, c. very little proportion of allometric equations for biomass estimation, d. no allometric equation for belowground biomass and carbon estimation, and d. lower proportion of valid allometric equations. It is recommended that site and species specific allometric equations should be developed and consistency in field sampling, sample processing, data recording and selection of allometric equations should be maintained to ensure accuracy in estimation of biomass, volume, and carbon stock in different forest types of Bangladesh.

  14. Frontage road yield treatment analysis tool (FRYTAT) database: user guide.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-08-01

    The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sponsored Project 0-4986, An Assessment of Frontage Road : Yield Treatments, to assess the effectiveness of a wide variety of frontage roadexit ramp and frontage roadU-turn : yield treatments...

  15. Fingerprint Identification Using SIFT-Based Minutia Descriptors and Improved All Descriptor-Pair Matching

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Ru; Zhong, Dexing; Han, Jiuqiang

    2013-01-01

    The performance of conventional minutiae-based fingerprint authentication algorithms degrades significantly when dealing with low quality fingerprints with lots of cuts or scratches. A similar degradation of the minutiae-based algorithms is observed when small overlapping areas appear because of the quite narrow width of the sensors. Based on the detection of minutiae, Scale Invariant Feature Transformation (SIFT) descriptors are employed to fulfill verification tasks in the above difficult scenarios. However, the original SIFT algorithm is not suitable for fingerprint because of: (1) the similar patterns of parallel ridges; and (2) high computational resource consumption. To enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the algorithm for fingerprint verification, we propose a SIFT-based Minutia Descriptor (SMD) to improve the SIFT algorithm through image processing, descriptor extraction and matcher. A two-step fast matcher, named improved All Descriptor-Pair Matching (iADM), is also proposed to implement the 1:N verifications in real-time. Fingerprint Identification using SMD and iADM (FISiA) achieved a significant improvement with respect to accuracy in representative databases compared with the conventional minutiae-based method. The speed of FISiA also can meet real-time requirements. PMID:23467056

  16. Usefulness of biological fingerprint in magnetic resonance imaging for patient verification.

    PubMed

    Ueda, Yasuyuki; Morishita, Junji; Kudomi, Shohei; Ueda, Katsuhiko

    2016-09-01

    The purpose of our study is to investigate the feasibility of automated patient verification using multi-planar reconstruction (MPR) images generated from three-dimensional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the brain. Several anatomy-related MPR images generated from three-dimensional fast scout scan of each MR examination were used as biological fingerprint images in this study. The database of this study consisted of 730 temporal pairs of MR examination of the brain. We calculated the correlation value between current and prior biological fingerprint images of the same patient and also all combinations of two images for different patients to evaluate the effectiveness of our method for patient verification. The best performance of our system were as follows: a half-total error rate of 1.59 % with a false acceptance rate of 0.023 % and a false rejection rate of 3.15 %, an equal error rate of 1.37 %, and a rank-one identification rate of 98.6 %. Our method makes it possible to verify the identity of the patient using only some existing medical images without the addition of incidental equipment. Also, our method will contribute to patient misidentification error management caused by human errors.

  17. FORENSIC DNA BANKING LEGISLATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY CONCERNS REGARDING A DRAFT FROM TURKISH LEGISLATION.

    PubMed

    Ilgili, Önder; Arda, Berna

    This paper presents and analyses, in terms of privacy and confidentiality, the Turkish Draft Law on National DNA Database prepared in 2004, and concerning the use of DNA analysis for forensic objectives and identity verification in Turkey. After a short introduction including related concepts, we evaluate the draft law and provide articles about confidentiality. The evaluation reminded us of some important topics at international level for the developing countries. As a result, the need for sophisticated legislations about DNA databases, for solutions to issues related to the education of employees, and the technological dependency to other countries emerged as main challenges in terms of confidentiality for the developing countries. As seen in the Turkish Draft Law on National DNA Database, the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms requires more care during the legislative efforts.

  18. Experimental verification of cleavage characteristic stress vs grain size

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

    Lei, W.; Li, D.; Yao, M.

    Instead of the accepted cleavage fracture stress [sigma][sub f] proposed by Knott et al, a new parameter S[sub co], named as ''cleavage characteristic stress,'' has been recently recommended to characterize the microscopic resistance to cleavage fracture. To give a definition, S[sub co] is the fracture stress at the brittle/ductile transition temperature of steels in plain tension, below which the yield strength approximately equals the true fracture stress combined with an abrupt curtailment of ductility. By considering a single-grain microcrack arrested at a boundary, Huang and Yao set up an expression of S[sub co] as a function of grain size. Themore » present work was arranged to provide an experimental verification of S[sub co] vs grain size.« less

  19. Development of glycan specific lectin based immunoassay for detection of prostate specific antigen.

    PubMed

    Bhanushali, Paresh B; Badgujar, Shamkant B; Tripathi, Mukesh M; Gupta, Sanjeev; Murthy, Vedang; Krishnasastry, Musti V; Puri, Chander P

    2016-05-01

    We describe an analytical approach for the detection and verification of glycosylation patterns of prostate specific antigen (PSA), a key biomarker currently used for understanding the onset and prognosis of prostate cancer. PSA has been purified from the human seminal plasma and total PSA from prostate cancer sera. PSA is a monomeric glycoprotein with an apparent molecular mass 28040.467 Da, which exhibits a characteristic protease activity against casein and gelatin. Its optimal protease activity is centered on neutral pH. Peptide mass fingerprint analysis of the purified PSA has yielded peptides that partially match with known database sequences (Uniprot ID P07288). Tryptic digestion profile of isolated PSA, infer the exclusive nature of PSA and may be additive molecule in the dictionary of seminal proteins. Surface plasmon resonance and lectin immunoassay revealed direct interaction between a newly developed anti-PSA monoclonal antibody (C4E6) and PSA. A lectin based immunoassay is reported here which was achieved with the C4E6 anti-PSA antibody and biotinylated plant lectins. This investigation provides an alternative method to isolate and quantify PSA with altered glycosylation which might be seen in the prostate cancer and developing a lectin based immunoassay to detect PSA in serum of prostate cancer patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. A Toolkit for Active Object-Oriented Databases with Application to Interoperability

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    King, Roger

    1996-01-01

    In our original proposal we stated that our research would 'develop a novel technology that provides a foundation for collaborative information processing.' The essential ingredient of this technology is the notion of 'deltas,' which are first-class values representing collections of proposed updates to a database. The Heraclitus framework provides a variety of algebraic operators for building up, combining, inspecting, and comparing deltas. Deltas can be directly applied to the database to yield a new state, or used 'hypothetically' in queries against the state that would arise if the delta were applied. The central point here is that the step of elevating deltas to 'first-class' citizens in database programming languages will yield tremendous leverage on the problem of supporting updates in collaborative information processing. In short, our original intention was to develop the theoretical and practical foundation for a technology based on deltas in an object-oriented database context, develop a toolkit for active object-oriented databases, and apply this toward collaborative information processing.

  1. A Toolkit for Active Object-Oriented Databases with Application to Interoperability

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    King, Roger

    1996-01-01

    In our original proposal we stated that our research would 'develop a novel technology that provides a foundation for collaborative information processing.' The essential ingredient of this technology is the notion of 'deltas,' which are first-class values representing collections of proposed updates to a database. The Heraclitus framework provides a variety of algebraic operators for building up, combining, inspecting, and comparing deltas. Deltas can be directly applied to the database to yield a new state, or used 'hypothetically' in queries against the state that would arise if the delta were applied. The central point here is that the step of elevating deltas to 'first-class' citizens in database programming languages will yield tremendous leverage on the problem of supporting updates in collaborative information processing. In short, our original intention was to develop the theoretical and practical foundation for a technology based on deltas in an object- oriented database context, develop a toolkit for active object-oriented databases, and apply this toward collaborative information processing.

  2. On the Privacy Protection of Biometric Traits: Palmprint, Face, and Signature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Panigrahy, Saroj Kumar; Jena, Debasish; Korra, Sathya Babu; Jena, Sanjay Kumar

    Biometrics are expected to add a new level of security to applications, as a person attempting access must prove who he or she really is by presenting a biometric to the system. The recent developments in the biometrics area have lead to smaller, faster and cheaper systems, which in turn has increased the number of possible application areas for biometric identity verification. The biometric data, being derived from human bodies (and especially when used to identify or verify those bodies) is considered personally identifiable information (PII). The collection, use and disclosure of biometric data — image or template, invokes rights on the part of an individual and obligations on the part of an organization. As biometric uses and databases grow, so do concerns that the personal data collected will not be used in reasonable and accountable ways. Privacy concerns arise when biometric data are used for secondary purposes, invoking function creep, data matching, aggregation, surveillance and profiling. Biometric data transmitted across networks and stored in various databases by others can also be stolen, copied, or otherwise misused in ways that can materially affect the individual involved. As Biometric systems are vulnerable to replay, database and brute-force attacks, such potential attacks must be analysed before they are massively deployed in security systems. Along with security, also the privacy of the users is an important factor as the constructions of lines in palmprints contain personal characteristics, from face images a person can be recognised, and fake signatures can be practised by carefully watching the signature images available in the database. We propose a cryptographic approach to encrypt the images of palmprints, faces, and signatures by an advanced Hill cipher technique for hiding the information in the images. It also provides security to these images from being attacked by above mentioned attacks. So, during the feature extraction, the encrypted images are first decrypted, then the features are extracted, and used for identification or verification.

  3. Development of frontage road yield treatment analysis tool (FRYTAT) database software.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-03-01

    The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sponsored Project 0-4986, An Assessment of Frontage Road : Yield Treatments, to assess the effectiveness of a wide variety of frontage roadexit ramp and frontage roadU-turn : yield treatments...

  4. Check-Cases for Verification of 6-Degree-of-Freedom Flight Vehicle Simulations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murri, Daniel G.; Jackson, E. Bruce; Shelton, Robert O.

    2015-01-01

    The rise of innovative unmanned aeronautical systems and the emergence of commercial space activities have resulted in a number of relatively new aerospace organizations that are designing innovative systems and solutions. These organizations use a variety of commercial off-the-shelf and in-house-developed simulation and analysis tools including 6-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) flight simulation tools. The increased affordability of computing capability has made highfidelity flight simulation practical for all participants. Verification of the tools' equations-of-motion and environment models (e.g., atmosphere, gravitation, and geodesy) is desirable to assure accuracy of results. However, aside from simple textbook examples, minimal verification data exists in open literature for 6-DOF flight simulation problems. This assessment compared multiple solution trajectories to a set of verification check-cases that covered atmospheric and exo-atmospheric (i.e., orbital) flight. Each scenario consisted of predefined flight vehicles, initial conditions, and maneuvers. These scenarios were implemented and executed in a variety of analytical and real-time simulation tools. This tool-set included simulation tools in a variety of programming languages based on modified flat-Earth, round- Earth, and rotating oblate spheroidal Earth geodesy and gravitation models, and independently derived equations-of-motion and propagation techniques. The resulting simulated parameter trajectories were compared by over-plotting and difference-plotting to yield a family of solutions. In total, seven simulation tools were exercised.

  5. Bias in estimating accuracy of a binary screening test with differential disease verification

    PubMed Central

    Brinton, John T.; Ringham, Brandy M.; Glueck, Deborah H.

    2011-01-01

    SUMMARY Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value are typically used to quantify the accuracy of a binary screening test. In some studies it may not be ethical or feasible to obtain definitive disease ascertainment for all subjects using a gold standard test. When a gold standard test cannot be used an imperfect reference test that is less than 100% sensitive and specific may be used instead. In breast cancer screening, for example, follow-up for cancer diagnosis is used as an imperfect reference test for women where it is not possible to obtain gold standard results. This incomplete ascertainment of true disease, or differential disease verification, can result in biased estimates of accuracy. In this paper, we derive the apparent accuracy values for studies subject to differential verification. We determine how the bias is affected by the accuracy of the imperfect reference test, the percent who receive the imperfect reference standard test not receiving the gold standard, the prevalence of the disease, and the correlation between the results for the screening test and the imperfect reference test. It is shown that designs with differential disease verification can yield biased estimates of accuracy. Estimates of sensitivity in cancer screening trials may be substantially biased. However, careful design decisions, including selection of the imperfect reference test, can help to minimize bias. A hypothetical breast cancer screening study is used to illustrate the problem. PMID:21495059

  6. Generation of signature databases with fast codes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bradford, Robert A.; Woodling, Arthur E.; Brazzell, James S.

    1990-09-01

    Using the FASTSIG signature code to generate optical signature databases for the Ground-based Surveillance and Traking System (GSTS) Program has improved the efficiency of the database generation process. The goal of the current GSTS database is to provide standardized, threat representative target signatures that can easily be used for acquisition and trk studies, discrimination algorithm development, and system simulations. Large databases, with as many as eight interpolalion parameters, are required to maintain the fidelity demands of discrimination and to generalize their application to other strateg systems. As the need increases for quick availability of long wave infrared (LWIR) target signatures for an evolving design4o-threat, FASTSIG has become a database generation alternative to using the industry standard OptiCal Signatures Code (OSC). FASTSIG, developed in 1985 to meet the unique strategic systems demands imposed by the discrimination function, has the significant advantage of being a faster running signature code than the OSC, typically requiring two percent of the cpu time. It uses analytical approximations to model axisymmetric targets, with the fidelity required for discrimination analysis. Access of the signature database is accomplished through use of the waveband integration and interpolation software, INTEG and SIGNAT. This paper gives details of this procedure as well as sample interpolated signatures and also covers sample verification by comparison to the OSC, in order to establish the fidelity of the FASTSIG generated database.

  7. A Database of Computer Attacks for the Evaluation of Intrusion Detection Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1999-06-01

    administrator whenever a system binary file (such as the ps, login , or ls program) is modified. Normal users have no legitimate reason to alter these files...development of EMERALD [46], which combines statistical anomaly detection from NIDES with signature verification. Specification-based intrusion detection...the creation of a single host that can act as many hosts. Daemons that provide network services—including telnetd, ftpd, and login — display banners

  8. Geographic Information System Data Analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Billings, Chad; Casad, Christopher; Floriano, Luis G.; Hill, Tracie; Johnson, Rashida K.; Locklear, J. Mark; Penn, Stephen; Rhoulac, Tori; Shay, Adam H.; Taylor, Antone; hide

    1995-01-01

    Data was collected in order to further NASA Langley Research Center's Geographic Information System(GIS). Information on LaRC's communication, electrical, and facility configurations was collected. Existing data was corrected through verification, resulting in more accurate databases. In addition, Global Positioning System(GPS) points were used in order to accurately impose buildings on digitized images. Overall, this project will help the Imaging and CADD Technology Team (ICTT) prove GIS to be a valuable resource for LaRC.

  9. The Automated Logistics Element Planning System (ALEPS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schwaab, Douglas G.

    1992-01-01

    ALEPS, which is being developed to provide the SSF program with a computer system to automate logistics resupply/return cargo load planning and verification, is presented. ALEPS will make it possible to simultaneously optimize both the resupply flight load plan and the return flight reload plan for any of the logistics carriers. In the verification mode ALEPS will support the carrier's flight readiness reviews and control proper execution of the approved plans. It will also support the SSF inventory management system by providing electronic block updates to the inventory database on the cargo arriving at or departing the station aboard a logistics carrier. A prototype drawer packing algorithm is described which is capable of generating solutions for 3D packing of cargo items into a logistics carrier storage accommodation. It is concluded that ALEPS will provide the capability to generate and modify optimized loading plans for the logistics elements fleet.

  10. Competitive region orientation code for palmprint verification and identification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Wenliang

    2015-11-01

    Orientation features of the palmprint have been widely investigated in coding-based palmprint-recognition methods. Conventional orientation-based coding methods usually used discrete filters to extract the orientation feature of palmprint. However, in real operations, the orientations of the filter usually are not consistent with the lines of the palmprint. We thus propose a competitive region orientation-based coding method. Furthermore, an effective weighted balance scheme is proposed to improve the accuracy of the extracted region orientation. Compared with conventional methods, the region orientation of the palmprint extracted using the proposed method can precisely and robustly describe the orientation feature of the palmprint. Extensive experiments on the baseline PolyU and multispectral palmprint databases are performed and the results show that the proposed method achieves a promising performance in comparison to conventional state-of-the-art orientation-based coding methods in both palmprint verification and identification.

  11. Verification and Validation of NASA-Supported Enhancements to Decision Support Tools of PECAD

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ross, Kenton W.; McKellip, Rodney; Moore, Roxzana F.; Fendley, Debbie

    2005-01-01

    This section of the evaluation report summarizes the verification and validation (V&V) of recently implemented, NASA-supported enhancements to the decision support tools of the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division (PECAD). The implemented enhancements include operationally tailored Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products and products of the Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor (GRLM). The MODIS products are currently made available through two separate decision support tools: the MODIS Image Gallery and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Database. Both the Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor and MODIS Image Gallery provide near-real-time products through PECAD's CropExplorer. This discussion addresses two areas: 1. Assessments of the standard NASA products on which these enhancements are based. 2. Characterizations of the performance of the new operational products.

  12. A Quality Assurance Method that Utilizes 3D Dosimetry and Facilitates Clinical Interpretation

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

    Oldham, Mark, E-mail: mark.oldham@duke.edu; Thomas, Andrew; O'Daniel, Jennifer

    2012-10-01

    Purpose: To demonstrate a new three-dimensional (3D) quality assurance (QA) method that provides comprehensive dosimetry verification and facilitates evaluation of the clinical significance of QA data acquired in a phantom. Also to apply the method to investigate the dosimetric efficacy of base-of-skull (BOS) intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment. Methods and Materials: Two types of IMRT QA verification plans were created for 6 patients who received BOS IMRT. The first plan enabled conventional 2D planar IMRT QA using the Varian portal dosimetry system. The second plan enabled 3D verification using an anthropomorphic head phantom. In the latter, the 3D dose distribution wasmore » measured using the DLOS/Presage dosimetry system (DLOS = Duke Large-field-of-view Optical-CT System, Presage Heuris Pharma, Skillman, NJ), which yielded isotropic 2-mm data throughout the treated volume. In a novel step, measured 3D dose distributions were transformed back to the patient's CT to enable calculation of dose-volume histograms (DVH) and dose overlays. Measured and planned patient DVHs were compared to investigate clinical significance. Results: Close agreement between measured and calculated dose distributions was observed for all 6 cases. For gamma criteria of 3%, 2 mm, the mean passing rate for portal dosimetry was 96.8% (range, 92.0%-98.9%), compared to 94.9% (range, 90.1%-98.9%) for 3D. There was no clear correlation between 2D and 3D passing rates. Planned and measured dose distributions were evaluated on the patient's anatomy, using DVH and dose overlays. Minor deviations were detected, and the clinical significance of these are presented and discussed. Conclusions: Two advantages accrue to the methods presented here. First, treatment accuracy is evaluated throughout the whole treated volume, yielding comprehensive verification. Second, the clinical significance of any deviations can be assessed through the generation of DVH curves and dose overlays on the patient's anatomy. The latter step represents an important development that advances the clinical relevance of complex treatment QA.« less

  13. High Fidelity Modeling of Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) Thrusters (Briefing Charts)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-05-24

    Converged Math → Irrelevant Solutions? Validation: Fluids Example Stoke’s Flow MARTIN, SOUSA, TRAN (AFRL/RQRS) DISTRIBUTION A - APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE...Convergence Tests Converged Math → Irrelevant Solutions? Must be Aware of Valid Assumption Regions Validation: Fluids Example Stoke’s Flow Potential...AND VALIDATION Verification: Asymptotic Models → Analytical Solutions Yields Exact Convergence Tests Converged Math → Irrelevant Solutions? Must be

  14. Telemicrobiology for Mission Support in the Field of Infectious Diseases

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-04-01

    bacterial meningitis so that important additional verification was lacking. Microscopic diagnoses in the expert laboratory also rarely yield a...With bacterial infections, depending on the country of deployment, also unusual resistance behavior of the pathogens will occur because numerous...missions of the US Forces in the recent years, well-documented with respect to epidemiology , the weekly incidence of infectious diseases was always

  15. WE-DE-201-11: Sensitivity and Specificity of Verification Methods Based On Total Reference Air Kerma (TRAK) Or On User Provided Dose Points for Graphically Planned Skin HDR Brachytherapy

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

    Damato, A; Devlin, P; Bhagwat, M

    Purpose: To investigate the sensitivity and specificity of a novel verification methodology for image-guided skin HDR brachytherapy plans using a TRAK-based reasonableness test, compared to a typical manual verification methodology. Methods: Two methodologies were used to flag treatment plans necessitating additional review due to a potential discrepancy of 3 mm between planned dose and clinical target in the skin. Manual verification was used to calculate the discrepancy between the average dose to points positioned at time of planning representative of the prescribed depth and the expected prescription dose. Automatic verification was used to calculate the discrepancy between TRAK of themore » clinical plan and its expected value, which was calculated using standard plans with varying curvatures, ranging from flat to cylindrically circumferential. A plan was flagged if a discrepancy >10% was observed. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated using as a criteria for true positive that >10% of plan dwells had a distance to prescription dose >1 mm different than prescription depth (3 mm + size of applicator). All HDR image-based skin brachytherapy plans treated at our institution in 2013 were analyzed. Results: 108 surface applicator plans to treat skin of the face, scalp, limbs, feet, hands or abdomen were analyzed. Median number of catheters was 19 (range, 4 to 71) and median number of dwells was 257 (range, 20 to 1100). Sensitivity/specificity were 57%/78% for manual and 70%/89% for automatic verification. Conclusion: A check based on expected TRAK value is feasible for irregularly shaped, image-guided skin HDR brachytherapy. This test yielded higher sensitivity and specificity than a test based on the identification of representative points, and can be implemented with a dedicated calculation code or with pre-calculated lookup tables of ideally shaped, uniform surface applicators.« less

  16. The NASA Hyper-X Program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Freeman, Delman C., Jr.; Reubush, Daivd E.; McClinton, Charles R.; Rausch, Vincent L.; Crawford, J. Larry

    1997-01-01

    This paper provides an overview of NASA's Hyper-X Program; a focused hypersonic technology effort designed to move hypersonic, airbreathing vehicle technology from the laboratory environment to the flight environment. This paper presents an overview of the flight test program, research objectives, approach, schedule and status. Substantial experimental database and concept validation have been completed. The program is currently concentrating on the first, Mach 7, vehicle development, verification and validation in preparation for wind-tunnel testing in 1998 and flight testing in 1999. Parallel to this effort the Mach 5 and 10 vehicle designs are being finalized. Detailed analytical and experimental evaluation of the Mach 7 vehicle at the flight conditions is nearing completion, and will provide a database for validation of design methods once flight test data are available.

  17. Engineering design aspects of the heat-pipe power system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Capell, B. M.; Houts, M. G.; Poston, D. I.; Berte, M.

    1997-01-01

    The Heat-pipe Power System (HPS) is a near-term, low-cost space power system designed at Los Alamos that can provide up to 1,000 kWt for many space nuclear applications. The design of the reactor is simple, modular, and adaptable. The basic design allows for the use of a variety of power conversion systems and reactor materials (including the fuel, clad, and heat pipes). This paper describes a project that was undertaken to develop a database supporting many engineering aspects of the HPS design. The specific tasks discussed in this paper are: the development of an HPS materials database, the creation of finite element models that will allow a wide variety of investigations, and the verification of past calculations.

  18. Smoking Cessation among Low-Socioeconomic Status and Disadvantaged Population Groups: A Systematic Review of Research Output

    PubMed Central

    Courtney, Ryan J.; Naicker, Sundresan; Shakeshaft, Anthony; Clare, Philip; Martire, Kristy A.; Mattick, Richard P.

    2015-01-01

    Background: Smoking cessation research output should move beyond descriptive research of the health problem to testing interventions that can provide causal data and effective evidence-based solutions. This review examined the number and type of published smoking cessation studies conducted in low-socioeconomic status (low-SES) and disadvantaged population groups. Methods: A systematic database search was conducted for two time periods: 2000–2004 (TP1) and 2008–2012 (TP2). Publications that examined smoking cessation in a low-SES or disadvantaged population were coded by: population of interest; study type (reviews, non-data based publications, data-based publications (descriptive, measurement and intervention research)); and country. Intervention studies were coded in accordance with the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care data collection checklist and use of biochemical verification of self-reported abstinence was assessed. Results: 278 citations were included. Research output (i.e., all study types) had increased from TP1 27% to TP2 73% (χ² = 73.13, p < 0.001), however, the proportion of data-based research had not significantly increased from TP1 and TP2: descriptive (TP1 = 23% vs. TP2 = 33%) or intervention (TP1 = 77% vs. TP2 = 67%). The proportion of intervention studies adopting biochemical verification of self-reported abstinence had significantly decreased from TP1 to TP2 with an increased reliance on self-reported abstinence (TP1 = 12% vs. TP2 = 36%). Conclusions: The current research output is not ideal or optimal to decrease smoking rates. Research institutions, scholars and funding organisations should take heed to review findings when developing future research and policy. PMID:26062037

  19. Feasibility of biochemical verification in a web-based smoking cessation study.

    PubMed

    Cha, Sarah; Ganz, Ollie; Cohn, Amy M; Ehlke, Sarah J; Graham, Amanda L

    2017-10-01

    Cogent arguments have been made against the need for biochemical verification in population-based studies with low-demand characteristics. Despite this fact, studies involving digital interventions (low-demand) are often required in peer review to report biochemically verified abstinence. To address this discrepancy, we examined the feasibility and costs of biochemical verification in a web-based study conducted with a national sample. Participants were 600U.S. adult current smokers who registered on a web-based smoking cessation program and completed surveys at baseline and 3months. Saliva sampling kits were sent to participants who reported 7-day abstinence at 3months, and analyzed for cotinine. The response rate at 3-months was 41.2% (n=247): 93 participants reported 7-day abstinence (38%) and were mailed a saliva kit (71% returned). The discordance rate was 36.4%. Participants with discordant responses were more likely to report 3-month use of nicotine replacement therapy or e-cigarettes than those with concordant responses (79.2% vs. 45.2%, p=0.007). The total cost of saliva sampling was $8280 ($125/sample). Biochemical verification was both time- and cost-intensive, and yielded a relatively small number of samples due to low response rates and use of other nicotine products during the follow-up period. There was a high rate of discordance of self-reported abstinence and saliva testing. Costs for data collection may be prohibitive for studies with large sample sizes or limited budgets. Our findings echo previous statements that biochemical verification is not necessary in population-based studies, and add evidence specific to technology-based studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Certification of NIST Room Temperature Low-Energy and High-Energy Charpy Verification Specimens

    PubMed Central

    Lucon, Enrico; McCowan, Chris N.; Santoyo, Ray L.

    2015-01-01

    The possibility for NIST to certify Charpy reference specimens for testing at room temperature (21 °C ± 1 °C) instead of −40 °C was investigated by performing 130 room-temperature tests from five low-energy and four high-energy lots of steel on the three master Charpy machines located in Boulder, CO. The statistical analyses performed show that in most cases the variability of results (i.e., the experimental scatter) is reduced when testing at room temperature. For eight out of the nine lots considered, the observed variability was lower at 21 °C than at −40 °C. The results of this study will allow NIST to satisfy requests for room-temperature Charpy verification specimens that have been received from customers for several years: testing at 21 °C removes from the verification process the operator’s skill in transferring the specimen in a timely fashion from the cooling bath to the impact position, and puts the focus back on the machine performance. For NIST, it also reduces the time and cost for certifying new verification lots. For one of the low-energy lots tested with a C-shaped hammer, we experienced two specimens jamming, which yielded unusually high values of absorbed energy. For both specimens, the signs of jamming were clearly visible. For all the low-energy lots investigated, jamming is slightly more likely to occur at 21 °C than at −40 °C, since at room temperature low-energy samples tend to remain in the test area after impact rather than exiting in the opposite direction of the pendulum swing. In the evaluation of a verification set, any jammed specimen should be removed from the analyses. PMID:26958453

  1. Certification of NIST Room Temperature Low-Energy and High-Energy Charpy Verification Specimens.

    PubMed

    Lucon, Enrico; McCowan, Chris N; Santoyo, Ray L

    2015-01-01

    The possibility for NIST to certify Charpy reference specimens for testing at room temperature (21 °C ± 1 °C) instead of -40 °C was investigated by performing 130 room-temperature tests from five low-energy and four high-energy lots of steel on the three master Charpy machines located in Boulder, CO. The statistical analyses performed show that in most cases the variability of results (i.e., the experimental scatter) is reduced when testing at room temperature. For eight out of the nine lots considered, the observed variability was lower at 21 °C than at -40 °C. The results of this study will allow NIST to satisfy requests for room-temperature Charpy verification specimens that have been received from customers for several years: testing at 21 °C removes from the verification process the operator's skill in transferring the specimen in a timely fashion from the cooling bath to the impact position, and puts the focus back on the machine performance. For NIST, it also reduces the time and cost for certifying new verification lots. For one of the low-energy lots tested with a C-shaped hammer, we experienced two specimens jamming, which yielded unusually high values of absorbed energy. For both specimens, the signs of jamming were clearly visible. For all the low-energy lots investigated, jamming is slightly more likely to occur at 21 °C than at -40 °C, since at room temperature low-energy samples tend to remain in the test area after impact rather than exiting in the opposite direction of the pendulum swing. In the evaluation of a verification set, any jammed specimen should be removed from the analyses.

  2. Virtual Manufacturing Techniques Designed and Applied to Manufacturing Activities in the Manufacturing Integration and Technology Branch

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shearrow, Charles A.

    1999-01-01

    One of the identified goals of EM3 is to implement virtual manufacturing by the time the year 2000 has ended. To realize this goal of a true virtual manufacturing enterprise the initial development of a machinability database and the infrastructure must be completed. This will consist of the containment of the existing EM-NET problems and developing machine, tooling, and common materials databases. To integrate the virtual manufacturing enterprise with normal day to day operations the development of a parallel virtual manufacturing machinability database, virtual manufacturing database, virtual manufacturing paradigm, implementation/integration procedure, and testable verification models must be constructed. Common and virtual machinability databases will include the four distinct areas of machine tools, available tooling, common machine tool loads, and a materials database. The machine tools database will include the machine envelope, special machine attachments, tooling capacity, location within NASA-JSC or with a contractor, and availability/scheduling. The tooling database will include available standard tooling, custom in-house tooling, tool properties, and availability. The common materials database will include materials thickness ranges, strengths, types, and their availability. The virtual manufacturing databases will consist of virtual machines and virtual tooling directly related to the common and machinability databases. The items to be completed are the design and construction of the machinability databases, virtual manufacturing paradigm for NASA-JSC, implementation timeline, VNC model of one bridge mill and troubleshoot existing software and hardware problems with EN4NET. The final step of this virtual manufacturing project will be to integrate other production sites into the databases bringing JSC's EM3 into a position of becoming a clearing house for NASA's digital manufacturing needs creating a true virtual manufacturing enterprise.

  3. Database Driven 6-DOF Trajectory Simulation for Debris Transport Analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    West, Jeff

    2008-01-01

    Debris mitigation and risk assessment have been carried out by NASA and its contractors supporting Space Shuttle Return-To-Flight (RTF). As a part of this assessment, analysis of transport potential for debris that may be liberated from the vehicle or from pad facilities prior to tower clear (Lift-Off Debris) is being performed by MSFC. This class of debris includes plume driven and wind driven sources for which lift as well as drag are critical for the determination of the debris trajectory. As a result, NASA MSFC has a need for a debris transport or trajectory simulation that supports the computation of lift effect in addition to drag without the computational expense of fully coupled CFD with 6-DOF. A database driven 6-DOF simulation that uses aerodynamic force and moment coefficients for the debris shape that are interpolated from a database has been developed to meet this need. The design, implementation, and verification of the database driven six degree of freedom (6-DOF) simulation addition to the Lift-Off Debris Transport Analysis (LODTA) software are discussed in this paper.

  4. Certifiable database generation for SVS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schiefele, Jens; Damjanovic, Dejan; Kubbat, Wolfgang

    2000-06-01

    In future aircraft cockpits SVS will be used to display 3D physical and virtual information to pilots. A review of prototype and production Synthetic Vision Displays (SVD) from Euro Telematic, UPS Advanced Technologies, Universal Avionics, VDO-Luftfahrtgeratewerk, and NASA, are discussed. As data sources terrain, obstacle, navigation, and airport data is needed, Jeppesen-Sanderson, Inc. and Darmstadt Univ. of Technology currently develop certifiable methods for acquisition, validation, and processing methods for terrain, obstacle, and airport databases. The acquired data will be integrated into a High-Quality Database (HQ-DB). This database is the master repository. It contains all information relevant for all types of aviation applications. From the HQ-DB SVS relevant data is retried, converted, decimated, and adapted into a SVS Real-Time Onboard Database (RTO-DB). The process of data acquisition, verification, and data processing will be defined in a way that allows certication within DO-200a and new RTCA/EUROCAE standards for airport and terrain data. The open formats proposed will be established and evaluated for industrial usability. Finally, a NASA-industry cooperation to develop industrial SVS products under the umbrella of the NASA Aviation Safety Program (ASP) is introduced. A key element of the SVS NASA-ASP is the Jeppesen lead task to develop methods for world-wide database generation and certification. Jeppesen will build three airport databases that will be used in flight trials with NASA aircraft.

  5. Verification and Validation of a Coordinate Transformation Method in Axisymmetric Transient Magnetics.

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

    Ashcraft, C. Chace; Niederhaus, John Henry; Robinson, Allen C.

    We present a verification and validation analysis of a coordinate-transformation-based numerical solution method for the two-dimensional axisymmetric magnetic diffusion equation, implemented in the finite-element simulation code ALEGRA. The transformation, suggested by Melissen and Simkin, yields an equation set perfectly suited for linear finite elements and for problems with large jumps in material conductivity near the axis. The verification analysis examines transient magnetic diffusion in a rod or wire in a very low conductivity background by first deriving an approximate analytic solution using perturbation theory. This approach for generating a reference solution is shown to be not fully satisfactory. A specializedmore » approach for manufacturing an exact solution is then used to demonstrate second-order convergence under spatial refinement and tem- poral refinement. For this new implementation, a significant improvement relative to previously available formulations is observed. Benefits in accuracy for computed current density and Joule heating are also demonstrated. The validation analysis examines the circuit-driven explosion of a copper wire using resistive magnetohydrodynamics modeling, in comparison to experimental tests. The new implementation matches the accuracy of the existing formulation, with both formulations capturing the experimental burst time and action to within approximately 2%.« less

  6. Advanced in-production hotspot prediction and monitoring with micro-topography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fanton, P.; Hasan, T.; Lakcher, A.; Le-Gratiet, B.; Prentice, C.; Simiz, J.-G.; La Greca, R.; Depre, L.; Hunsche, S.

    2017-03-01

    At 28nm technology node and below, hot spot prediction and process window control across production wafers have become increasingly critical to prevent hotspots from becoming yield-limiting defects. We previously established proof of concept for a systematic approach to identify the most critical pattern locations, i.e. hotspots, in a reticle layout by computational lithography and combining process window characteristics of these patterns with across-wafer process variation data to predict where hotspots may become yield impacting defects [1,2]. The current paper establishes the impact of micro-topography on a 28nm metal layer, and its correlation with hotspot best focus variations across a production chip layout. Detailed topography measurements are obtained from an offline tool, and pattern-dependent best focus (BF) shifts are determined from litho simulations that include mask-3D effects. We also establish hotspot metrology and defect verification by SEM image contour extraction and contour analysis. This enables detection of catastrophic defects as well as quantitative characterization of pattern variability, i.e. local and global CD uniformity, across a wafer to establish hotspot defect and variability maps. Finally, we combine defect prediction and verification capabilities for process monitoring by on-product, guided hotspot metrology, i.e. with sampling locations being determined from the defect prediction model and achieved prediction accuracy (capture rate) around 75%

  7. A Large-Scale Study of Fingerprint Matching Systems for Sensor Interoperability Problem

    PubMed Central

    Hussain, Muhammad; AboAlSamh, Hatim; AlZuair, Mansour

    2018-01-01

    The fingerprint is a commonly used biometric modality that is widely employed for authentication by law enforcement agencies and commercial applications. The designs of existing fingerprint matching methods are based on the hypothesis that the same sensor is used to capture fingerprints during enrollment and verification. Advances in fingerprint sensor technology have raised the question about the usability of current methods when different sensors are employed for enrollment and verification; this is a fingerprint sensor interoperability problem. To provide insight into this problem and assess the status of state-of-the-art matching methods to tackle this problem, we first analyze the characteristics of fingerprints captured with different sensors, which makes cross-sensor matching a challenging problem. We demonstrate the importance of fingerprint enhancement methods for cross-sensor matching. Finally, we conduct a comparative study of state-of-the-art fingerprint recognition methods and provide insight into their abilities to address this problem. We performed experiments using a public database (FingerPass) that contains nine datasets captured with different sensors. We analyzed the effects of different sensors and found that cross-sensor matching performance deteriorates when different sensors are used for enrollment and verification. In view of our analysis, we propose future research directions for this problem. PMID:29597286

  8. A Large-Scale Study of Fingerprint Matching Systems for Sensor Interoperability Problem.

    PubMed

    AlShehri, Helala; Hussain, Muhammad; AboAlSamh, Hatim; AlZuair, Mansour

    2018-03-28

    The fingerprint is a commonly used biometric modality that is widely employed for authentication by law enforcement agencies and commercial applications. The designs of existing fingerprint matching methods are based on the hypothesis that the same sensor is used to capture fingerprints during enrollment and verification. Advances in fingerprint sensor technology have raised the question about the usability of current methods when different sensors are employed for enrollment and verification; this is a fingerprint sensor interoperability problem. To provide insight into this problem and assess the status of state-of-the-art matching methods to tackle this problem, we first analyze the characteristics of fingerprints captured with different sensors, which makes cross-sensor matching a challenging problem. We demonstrate the importance of fingerprint enhancement methods for cross-sensor matching. Finally, we conduct a comparative study of state-of-the-art fingerprint recognition methods and provide insight into their abilities to address this problem. We performed experiments using a public database (FingerPass) that contains nine datasets captured with different sensors. We analyzed the effects of different sensors and found that cross-sensor matching performance deteriorates when different sensors are used for enrollment and verification. In view of our analysis, we propose future research directions for this problem.

  9. Probabilistic Elastic Part Model: A Pose-Invariant Representation for Real-World Face Verification.

    PubMed

    Li, Haoxiang; Hua, Gang

    2018-04-01

    Pose variation remains to be a major challenge for real-world face recognition. We approach this problem through a probabilistic elastic part model. We extract local descriptors (e.g., LBP or SIFT) from densely sampled multi-scale image patches. By augmenting each descriptor with its location, a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is trained to capture the spatial-appearance distribution of the face parts of all face images in the training corpus, namely the probabilistic elastic part (PEP) model. Each mixture component of the GMM is confined to be a spherical Gaussian to balance the influence of the appearance and the location terms, which naturally defines a part. Given one or multiple face images of the same subject, the PEP-model builds its PEP representation by sequentially concatenating descriptors identified by each Gaussian component in a maximum likelihood sense. We further propose a joint Bayesian adaptation algorithm to adapt the universally trained GMM to better model the pose variations between the target pair of faces/face tracks, which consistently improves face verification accuracy. Our experiments show that we achieve state-of-the-art face verification accuracy with the proposed representations on the Labeled Face in the Wild (LFW) dataset, the YouTube video face database, and the CMU MultiPIE dataset.

  10. Using Automation to Improve the Flight Software Testing Process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    ODonnell, James R., Jr.; Andrews, Stephen F.; Morgenstern, Wendy M.; Bartholomew, Maureen O.; McComas, David C.; Bauer, Frank H. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    One of the critical phases in the development of a spacecraft attitude control system (ACS) is the testing of its flight software. The testing (and test verification) of ACS flight software requires a mix of skills involving software, attitude control, data manipulation, and analysis. The process of analyzing and verifying flight software test results often creates a bottleneck which dictates the speed at which flight software verification can be conducted. In the development of the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) spacecraft ACS subsystem, an integrated design environment was used that included a MAP high fidelity (HiFi) simulation, a central database of spacecraft parameters, a script language for numeric and string processing, and plotting capability. In this integrated environment, it was possible to automate many of the steps involved in flight software testing, making the entire process more efficient and thorough than on previous missions. In this paper, we will compare the testing process used on MAP to that used on previous missions. The software tools that were developed to automate testing and test verification will be discussed, including the ability to import and process test data, synchronize test data and automatically generate HiFi script files used for test verification, and an automated capability for generating comparison plots. A summary of the perceived benefits of applying these test methods on MAP will be given. Finally, the paper will conclude with a discussion of re-use of the tools and techniques presented, and the ongoing effort to apply them to flight software testing of the Triana spacecraft ACS subsystem.

  11. Building the Qualification File of EGNOS with DOORS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fabre, J.

    2008-08-01

    EGNOS, the European Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) to GPS, is getting to its final deployment and being initially operated towards qualification and certification to reach operational capability by 2008/2009. A very important milestone in the development process is the System Qualification Review (QR). As the verification phase aims at demonstrating that the EGNOS System design meets the applicable requirements, the QR declares the completion of verification activities. The main document to present at QR is a consolidated, consistent and complete Qualification file. The information included shall give confidence to the QR reviewers that the performed qualification activities are completed. Therefore, an important issue for the project team is to focus on synthetic and consistent information, and to make the presentation as clear as possible. Traceability to applicable requirements shall be systematically presented. Moreover, in order to support verification justification, reference to details shall be available, and the reviewer shall have the possibility to link automatically to the documents including this detailed information. In that frame, Thales Alenia Space has implemented a strong support in terms of methodology and tool, to provide to System Engineering and Verification teams a single reference technical database, in which all team members consult the applicable requirements, compliance, justification, design data and record the information necessary to build the final Qualification file. This paper presents the EGNOS context, the Qualification file contents, and the methodology implemented, based on Thales Alenia Space practices and in line with ECSS. Finally, it shows how the Qualification file is built in a DOORS environment.

  12. Using Automation to Improve the Flight Software Testing Process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    ODonnell, James R., Jr.; Morgenstern, Wendy M.; Bartholomew, Maureen O.

    2001-01-01

    One of the critical phases in the development of a spacecraft attitude control system (ACS) is the testing of its flight software. The testing (and test verification) of ACS flight software requires a mix of skills involving software, knowledge of attitude control, and attitude control hardware, data manipulation, and analysis. The process of analyzing and verifying flight software test results often creates a bottleneck which dictates the speed at which flight software verification can be conducted. In the development of the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) spacecraft ACS subsystem, an integrated design environment was used that included a MAP high fidelity (HiFi) simulation, a central database of spacecraft parameters, a script language for numeric and string processing, and plotting capability. In this integrated environment, it was possible to automate many of the steps involved in flight software testing, making the entire process more efficient and thorough than on previous missions. In this paper, we will compare the testing process used on MAP to that used on other missions. The software tools that were developed to automate testing and test verification will be discussed, including the ability to import and process test data, synchronize test data and automatically generate HiFi script files used for test verification, and an automated capability for generating comparison plots. A summary of the benefits of applying these test methods on MAP will be given. Finally, the paper will conclude with a discussion of re-use of the tools and techniques presented, and the ongoing effort to apply them to flight software testing of the Triana spacecraft ACS subsystem.

  13. The Québec BCG Vaccination Registry (1956–1992): assessing data quality and linkage with administrative health databases

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Vaccination registries have undoubtedly proven useful for estimating vaccination coverage as well as examining vaccine safety and effectiveness. However, their use for population health research is often limited. The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Vaccination Registry for the Canadian province of Québec comprises some 4 million vaccination records (1926-1992). This registry represents a unique opportunity to study potential associations between BCG vaccination and various health outcomes. So far, such studies have been hampered by the absence of a computerized version of the registry. We determined the completeness and accuracy of the recently computerized BCG Vaccination Registry, as well as examined its linkability with demographic and administrative medical databases. Methods Two systematically selected verification samples, each representing ~0.1% of the registry, were used to ascertain accuracy and completeness of the electronic BCG Vaccination Registry. Agreement between the paper [listings (n = 4,987 records) and vaccination certificates (n = 4,709 records)] and electronic formats was determined along several nominal and BCG-related variables. Linkage feasibility with the Birth Registry (probabilistic approach) and provincial Healthcare Registration File (deterministic approach) was examined using nominal identifiers for a random sample of 3,500 individuals born from 1961 to 1974 and BCG vaccinated between 1970 and 1974. Results Exact agreement was observed for 99.6% and 81.5% of records upon comparing, respectively, the paper listings and vaccination certificates to their corresponding computerized records. The proportion of successful linkage was 77% with the Birth Registry, 70% with the Healthcare Registration File, 57% with both, and varied by birth year. Conclusions Computerization of this Registry yielded excellent results. The registry was complete and accurate, and linkage with administrative databases was highly feasible. This study represents the first step towards assembling large scale population-based epidemiological studies which will enable filling important knowledge gaps on the potential health effects of early life non-specific stimulation of the immune function, as resulting from BCG vaccination. PMID:24400924

  14. TEMPEST code modifications and testing for erosion-resisting sludge simulations

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

    Onishi, Y.; Trent, D.S.

    The TEMPEST computer code has been used to address many waste retrieval operational and safety questions regarding waste mobilization, mixing, and gas retention. Because the amount of sludge retrieved from the tank is directly related to the sludge yield strength and the shear stress acting upon it, it is important to incorporate the sludge yield strength into simulations of erosion-resisting tank waste retrieval operations. This report describes current efforts to modify the TEMPEST code to simulate pump jet mixing of erosion-resisting tank wastes and the models used to test for erosion of waste sludge with yield strength. Test results formore » solid deposition and diluent/slurry jet injection into sludge layers in simplified tank conditions show that the modified TEMPEST code has a basic ability to simulate both the mobility and immobility of the sludges with yield strength. Further testing, modification, calibration, and verification of the sludge mobilization/immobilization model are planned using erosion data as they apply to waste tank sludges.« less

  15. Restoration, Enhancement, and Distribution of the ATLAS-1 Imaging Spectrometric Observatory (ISO) Space Science Data Set

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Germany, G. A.

    2001-01-01

    The primary goal of the funded task was to restore and distribute the ISO ATLAS-1 space science data set with enhanced software and database utilities. The first year was primarily dedicated to physically transferring the data from its original format to its initial CD archival format. The remainder of the first year was devoted to the verification of the restored data set and database. The second year was devoted to the enhancement of the data set, especially the development of IDL utilities and redesign of the database and search interface as needed. This period was also devoted to distribution of the rescued data set, principally the creation and maintenance of a web interface to the data set. The final six months was dedicated to working with NSSDC to create a permanent, off site, hive of the data set and supporting utilities. This time was also used to resolve last minute quality and design issues.

  16. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): OIL

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This dataset contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link to the Oil database. The Oil database contains information on Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) and Facility Response Plan (FRP) subject facilities to prevent and respond to oil spills. FRP facilities are referred to as substantial harm facilities due to the quantities of oil stored and facility characteristics. FRS identifies and geospatially locates facilities, sites or places subject to environmental regulations or of environmental interest. Using vigorous verification and data management procedures, FRS integrates facility data from EPA's national program systems, other federal agencies, and State and tribal master facility records and provides EPA with a centrally managed, single source of comprehensive and authoritative information on facilities. This data set contains the subset of FRS integrated facilities that link to Oil facilities once the Oil data has been integrated into the FRS database. Additional information on FRS is available at the EPA website https://www.epa.gov/enviro/facility-registry-service-frs.

  17. CFD Aerothermodynamic Characterization Of The IXV Hypersonic Vehicle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roncioni, P.; Ranuzzi, G.; Marini, M.; Battista, F.; Rufolo, G. C.

    2011-05-01

    In this paper, and in the framework of the ESA technical assistance activities for IXV project, the numerical activities carried out by ASI/CIRA to support the development of Aerodynamic and Aerothermodynamic databases, independent from the ones developed by the IXV Industrial consortium, are reported. A general characterization of the IXV aerothermodynamic environment has been also provided for cross checking and verification purposes. The work deals with the first year activities of Technical Assistance Contract agreed between the Italian Space Agency/CIRA and ESA.

  18. Score Fusion and Decision Fusion for the Performance Improvement of Face Recognition

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-07-01

    0.1). A Hamming distance (HD) [7] is calculated with the FP-CGF to measure the similarities among faces. The matched face has the shortest HD from...then put into a face pattern byte (FPB) pixel- by-pixel. A HD is calculated with the FPB to measure the similarities among faces, and recognition is...all query users are included in the database), the recognition performance can be measured by a verification rate (VR), the percentage of the

  19. Abstracting data warehousing issues in scientific research.

    PubMed

    Tews, Cody; Bracio, Boris R

    2002-01-01

    This paper presents the design and implementation of the Idaho Biomedical Data Management System (IBDMS). This system preprocesses biomedical data from the IMPROVE (Improving Control of Patient Status in Critical Care) library via an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) connection. The ODBC connection allows for local and remote simulations to access filtered, joined, and sorted data using the Structured Query Language (SQL). The tool is capable of providing an overview of available data in addition to user defined data subset for verification of models of the human respiratory system.

  20. Global Crop Yields, Climatic Trends and Technology Enhancement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Najafi, E.; Devineni, N.; Khanbilvardi, R.; Kogan, F.

    2016-12-01

    During the last decades the global agricultural production has soared up and technology enhancement is still making positive contribution to yield growth. However, continuing population, water crisis, deforestation and climate change threaten the global food security. Attempts to predict food availability in the future around the world can be partly understood from the impact of changes to date. A new multilevel model for yield prediction at the country scale using climate covariates and technology trend is presented in this paper. The structural relationships between average yield and climate attributes as well as trends are estimated simultaneously. All countries are modeled in a single multilevel model with partial pooling and/or clustering to automatically group and reduce estimation uncertainties. El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), Geopotential height (GPH), historical CO2 level and time-trend as a relatively reliable approximation of technology measurement are used as predictors to estimate annual agricultural crop yields for each country from 1961 to 2007. Results show that these indicators can explain the variability in historical crop yields for most of the countries and the model performs well under out-of-sample verifications.

  1. A Formal Framework for the Analysis of Algorithms That Recover From Loss of Separation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Butler, RIcky W.; Munoz, Cesar A.

    2008-01-01

    We present a mathematical framework for the specification and verification of state-based conflict resolution algorithms that recover from loss of separation. In particular, we propose rigorous definitions of horizontal and vertical maneuver correctness that yield horizontal and vertical separation, respectively, in a bounded amount of time. We also provide sufficient conditions for independent correctness, i.e., separation under the assumption that only one aircraft maneuvers, and for implicitly coordinated correctness, i.e., separation under the assumption that both aircraft maneuver. An important benefit of this approach is that different aircraft can execute different algorithms and implicit coordination will still be achieved, as long as they all meet the explicit criteria of the framework. Towards this end we have sought to make the criteria as general as possible. The framework presented in this paper has been formalized and mechanically verified in the Prototype Verification System (PVS).

  2. Verification of RDX Photolysis Mechanism

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1999-11-01

    which re-addition of HN02 was proposed to yield a hydroxydiazo intermediate that then decomposed to an alcohol . This sequence is shown for...various organic products such as alcohols , or undergo carbon- nitrogen (C-N) bond cleavage (Noller 1965). This reaction is sufficiently quanti...carbon-centered functional group such as the alcohol shown below, or C-N bond cleavage. 42 CERL TR 99/93 N02 N02 No2 ^Nv. N ’ ( ^| H2

  3. S14 as a Therapeutic Target in Breast Cancer

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-08-01

    dimethylthiazol-2yl)-5-(3-carboxymethyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay (Promega). Oxidation of MTS by viable mitochondria yields a...potential mediators of the observed superinduction. The amplified signal could not be attributed to progestin induction of PPAR Gamma Coactivator-113 (PGC-lf3...quantitation of siRNA transfection efficiency, verification of localization of the siRNA to the interior of the cells, using more than one siRNA, and the

  4. North Korea’s 2009 Nuclear Test: Containment, Monitoring, Implications

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-04-02

    inspections as prima facie evidence of a violation. One generally-accepted means of evading detection of nuclear tests, especially low-yield tests...In an attempt to extend these bans to cover all nuclear tests, negotiations on the CTBT were completed in 1996. The treaty’s basic obligation is to...Verification refers to determining whether a nation is in compliance with its treaty obligations , which in this case means determining whether a suspicious

  5. Database Development for Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical (EEE) Parts for the International Space Station Alpha

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wassil-Grimm, Andrew D.

    1997-01-01

    More effective electronic communication processes are needed to transfer contractor and international partner data into NASA and prime contractor baseline database systems. It is estimated that the International Space Station Alpha (ISSA) parts database will contain up to one million parts each of which may require database capabilities for approximately one thousand bytes of data for each part. The resulting gigabyte database must provide easy access to users who will be preparing multiple analyses and reports in order to verify as-designed, as-built, launch, on-orbit, and return configurations for up to 45 missions associated with the construction of the ISSA. Additionally, Internet access to this data base is strongly indicated to allow multiple user access from clients located in many foreign countries. This summer's project involved familiarization and evaluation of the ISSA Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical (EEE) Parts data and the process of electronically managing these data. Particular attention was devoted to improving the interfaces among the many elements of the ISSA information system and its global customers and suppliers. Additionally, prototype queries were developed to facilitate the identification of data changes in the data base, verifications that the designs used only approved parts, and certifications that the flight hardware containing EEE parts was ready for flight. This project also resulted in specific recommendations to NASA for further development in the area of EEE parts database development and usage.

  6. A Unified Flash Flood Database across the United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gourley, Jonathan J.; Hong, Yang; Flamig, Zachary L.; Arthur, Ami; Clark, Robert; Calianno, Martin; Ruin, Isabelle; Ortel, Terry W.; Wieczorek, Michael; Kirstetter, Pierre-Emmanuel; Clark, Edward; Krajewski, Witold F.

    2013-01-01

    Despite flash flooding being one of the most deadly and costly weather-related natural hazards worldwide, individual datasets to characterize them in the United States are hampered by limited documentation and can be difficult to access. This study is the first of its kind to assemble, reprocess, describe, and disseminate a georeferenced U.S. database providing a long-term, detailed characterization of flash flooding in terms of spatiotemporal behavior and specificity of impacts. The database is composed of three primary sources: 1) the entire archive of automated discharge observations from the U.S. Geological Survey that has been reprocessed to describe individual flooding events, 2) flash-flooding reports collected by the National Weather Service from 2006 to the present, and 3) witness reports obtained directly from the public in the Severe Hazards Analysis and Verification Experiment during the summers 2008–10. Each observational data source has limitations; a major asset of the unified flash flood database is its collation of relevant information from a variety of sources that is now readily available to the community in common formats. It is anticipated that this database will be used for many diverse purposes, such as evaluating tools to predict flash flooding, characterizing seasonal and regional trends, and improving understanding of dominant flood-producing processes. We envision the initiation of this community database effort will attract and encompass future datasets.

  7. From a Viewpoint of Clinical Settings: Pharmacoepidemiology as Reverse Translational Research (rTR).

    PubMed

    Kawakami, Junichi

    2017-01-01

    Clinical pharmacology and pharmacoepidemiology research may converge in practise. Pharmacoepidemiology is the study of pharmacotherapy and risk management in patient groups. For many drugs, adverse reaction(s) that were not seen and/or clarified during research and development stages have been reported in the real world. Pharmacoepidemiology can detect and verify adverse drug reactions as reverse translational research. Recently, development and effective use of medical information databases (MID) have been conducted in Japan and elsewhere for the purpose of post-marketing safety of drugs. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan has been promoting the development of 10-million scale database in 10 hospitals and hospital groups as "the infrastructure project of medical information database (MID-NET)". This project enables estimation of the frequency of adverse reactions, the distinction between drug-induced reactions and basal health-condition changes, and usefulness verification of administrative measures of drug safety. However, because the database information is different from detailed medical records, construction of methodologies for the detection and evaluation of adverse reactions is required. We have been performing database research using medical information system in some hospitals to establish and demonstrate useful methods for post-marketing safety. In this symposium, we aim to discuss the possibility of reverse translational research from clinical settings and provide an introduction to our research.

  8. Open source database of images DEIMOS: extension for large-scale subjective image quality assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vítek, Stanislav

    2014-09-01

    DEIMOS (Database of Images: Open Source) is an open-source database of images and video sequences for testing, verification and comparison of various image and/or video processing techniques such as compression, reconstruction and enhancement. This paper deals with extension of the database allowing performing large-scale web-based subjective image quality assessment. Extension implements both administrative and client interface. The proposed system is aimed mainly at mobile communication devices, taking into account advantages of HTML5 technology; it means that participants don't need to install any application and assessment could be performed using web browser. The assessment campaign administrator can select images from the large database and then apply rules defined by various test procedure recommendations. The standard test procedures may be fully customized and saved as a template. Alternatively the administrator can define a custom test, using images from the pool and other components, such as evaluating forms and ongoing questionnaires. Image sequence is delivered to the online client, e.g. smartphone or tablet, as a fully automated assessment sequence or viewer can decide on timing of the assessment if required. Environmental data and viewing conditions (e.g. illumination, vibrations, GPS coordinates, etc.), may be collected and subsequently analyzed.

  9. Dosimetric accuracy of Kodak EDR2 film for IMRT verifications.

    PubMed

    Childress, Nathan L; Salehpour, Mohammad; Dong, Lei; Bloch, Charles; White, R Allen; Rosen, Isaac I

    2005-02-01

    Patient-specific intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) verifications require an accurate two-dimensional dosimeter that is not labor-intensive. We assessed the precision and reproducibility of film calibrations over time, measured the elemental composition of the film, measured the intermittency effect, and measured the dosimetric accuracy and reproducibility of calibrated Kodak EDR2 film for single-beam verifications in a solid water phantom and for full-plan verifications in a Rexolite phantom. Repeated measurements of the film sensitometric curve in a single experiment yielded overall uncertainties in dose of 2.1% local and 0.8% relative to 300 cGy. 547 film calibrations over an 18-month period, exposed to a range of doses from 0 to a maximum of 240 MU or 360 MU and using 6 MV or 18 MV energies, had optical density (OD) standard deviations that were 7%-15% of their average values. This indicates that daily film calibrations are essential when EDR2 film is used to obtain absolute dose results. An elemental analysis of EDR2 film revealed that it contains 60% as much silver and 20% as much bromine as Kodak XV2 film. EDR2 film also has an unusual 1.69:1 silver:halide molar ratio, compared with the XV2 film's 1.02:1 ratio, which may affect its chemical reactions. To test EDR2's intermittency effect, the OD generated by a single 300 MU exposure was compared to the ODs generated by exposing the film 1 MU, 2 MU, and 4 MU at a time to a total of 300 MU. An ion chamber recorded the relative dose of all intermittency measurements to account for machine output variations. Using small MU bursts to expose the film resulted in delivery times of 4 to 14 minutes and lowered the film's OD by approximately 2% for both 6 and 18 MV beams. This effect may result in EDR2 film underestimating absolute doses for patient verifications that require long delivery times. After using a calibration to convert EDR2 film's OD to dose values, film measurements agreed within 2% relative difference and 2 mm criteria to ion chamber measurements for both sliding window and step-and-shoot fluence map verifications. Calibrated film results agreed with ion chamber measurements to within 5 % /2 mm criteria for transverse-plane full-plan verifications, but were consistently low. When properly calibrated, EDR2 film can be an adequate two-dimensional dosimeter for IMRT verifications, although it may underestimate doses in regions with long exposure times.

  10. Hydrodynamics with strength: scaling-invariant solutions for elastic-plastic cavity expansion models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Albright, Jason; Ramsey, Scott; Baty, Roy

    2017-11-01

    Spherical cavity expansion (SCE) models are used to describe idealized detonation and high-velocity impact in a variety of materials. The common theme in SCE models is the presence of a pressure-driven cavity or void within a domain comprised of plastic and elastic response sub-regions. In past work, the yield criterion characterizing material strength in the plastic sub-region is usually taken for granted and assumed to take a known functional form restrictive to certain classes of materials, e.g. ductile metals or brittle geologic materials. Our objective is to systematically determine a general functional form for the yield criterion under the additional requirement that the SCE admits a similarity solution. Solutions determined under this additional requirement have immediate implications toward development of new compressible flow algorithm verification test problems. However, more importantly, these results also provide novel insight into modeling the yield criteria from the perspective of hydrodynamic scaling.

  11. Could what that ESCO sales rep said really be true? Savings realization rates in ESPC versus bid-to-spec projects

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

    Coleman, Philip; Earni, Shankar; Williams, Charles

    2014-08-11

    Claims that savings realization is greater in energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) are rampant at least among energy service company representatives and other ESPC cheerleaders. But hard supporting evidence for these claims has been virtually non-existent. The Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program uses its Compliance Tracking System (CTS) database to document the performance of federal buildings and projects towards meeting various federal energy-saving goals. This paper focuses on preliminary analysis from CTS to understand and compare the performance of federal ESPCs with projects that have been implemented with more conventional government appropriations funding. The authors have found preliminarymore » evidence using CTS that shows markedly higher savings realization rates among ESPC projects than appropriations-funded ones. There are numerous caveats to the data comparison that clamor for further study, but the difference is still intriguing. If borne out, this finding will provide concrete support to the idea that ESPCs guarantees and measurement and verification, long touted by energy service companies (ESCOs) as offering savings assurance, may truly yield substantial benefits. If ESPCs actually do perform better (i.e., have higher realization rates and savings persistence) than conventional bid-to-spec projects, the perceived premium for conducting them may look like a very good deal after all.« less

  12. Chandra monitoring, trends, and response

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spitzbart, Brad D.; Wolk, Scott J.; Isobe, Takashi

    2002-12-01

    The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched in July, 1999 and has yielded extraordinary scientific results. Behind the scenes, our Monitoring and Trends Analysis (MTA) system has proven to be a valuable resource. With three years worth of on-orbit data, we have available a vast array of both telescope diagnostic information and analysis of scientific data to access Observatory performance. As part of Chandra's Science Operations Team (SOT), the primary goal of MTA is to provide tools for effective decision making leading to the most efficient production of quality science output from the Observatory. We occupy a middle ground between flight operations, chiefly concerned with the health and safety of the spacecraft, and validation and verification, concerned with the scientific validity of the data taken and whether or not they fulfill the observer's requirements. In that role we provide and receive support from systems engineers, instrument experts, operations managers, and scientific users. MTA tools, products, and services include real-time monitoring and alert generation for the most mission critical components, long term trending of all spacecraft systems, detailed analysis of various subsystems for life expectancy or anomaly resolution, and creating and maintaining a large SQL database of relevant information. This is accomplished through the use of a wide variety of input data sources and flexible, accessible programming and analysis techniques. This paper will discuss the overall design of the system, its evolution and the resources available.

  13. Space shuttle propellant constitutive law verification tests

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thompson, James R.

    1995-01-01

    As part of the Propellants Task (Task 2.0) on the Solid Propulsion Integrity Program (SPIP), a database of material properties was generated for the Space Shuttle Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) PBAN-based propellant. A parallel effort on the Propellants Task was the generation of an improved constitutive theory for the PBAN propellant suitable for use in a finite element analysis (FEA) of the RSRM. The outcome of an analysis with the improved constitutive theory would be more reliable prediction of structural margins of safety. The work described in this report was performed by Materials Laboratory personnel at Thiokol Corporation/Huntsville Division under NASA contract NAS8-39619, Mod. 3. The report documents the test procedures for the refinement and verification tests for the improved Space Shuttle RSRM propellant material model, and summarizes the resulting test data. TP-H1148 propellant obtained from mix E660411 (manufactured February 1989) which had experienced ambient igloo storage in Huntsville, Alabama since January 1990, was used for these tests.

  14. Finger vein verification system based on sparse representation.

    PubMed

    Xin, Yang; Liu, Zhi; Zhang, Haixia; Zhang, Hong

    2012-09-01

    Finger vein verification is a promising biometric pattern for personal identification in terms of security and convenience. The recognition performance of this technology heavily relies on the quality of finger vein images and on the recognition algorithm. To achieve efficient recognition performance, a special finger vein imaging device is developed, and a finger vein recognition method based on sparse representation is proposed. The motivation for the proposed method is that finger vein images exhibit a sparse property. In the proposed system, the regions of interest (ROIs) in the finger vein images are segmented and enhanced. Sparse representation and sparsity preserving projection on ROIs are performed to obtain the features. Finally, the features are measured for recognition. An equal error rate of 0.017% was achieved based on the finger vein image database, which contains images that were captured by using the near-IR imaging device that was developed in this study. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is faster and more robust than previous methods.

  15. Development of Biomarkers for Screening Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using Global Data Mining and Multiple Reaction Monitoring

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Su Jong; Jang, Eun Sun; Yu, Jiyoung; Cho, Geunhee; Yoon, Jung-Hwan; Kim, Youngsoo

    2013-01-01

    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and aggressive cancers and is associated with a poor survival rate. Clinically, the level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has been used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of HCC. The discovery of useful biomarkers for HCC, focused solely on the proteome, has been difficult; thus, wide-ranging global data mining of genomic and proteomic databases from previous reports would be valuable in screening biomarker candidates. Further, multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), based on triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, has been effective with regard to high-throughput verification, complementing antibody-based verification pipelines. In this study, global data mining was performed using 5 types of HCC data to screen for candidate biomarker proteins: cDNA microarray, copy number variation, somatic mutation, epigenetic, and quantitative proteomics data. Next, we applied MRM to verify HCC candidate biomarkers in individual serum samples from 3 groups: a healthy control group, patients who have been diagnosed with HCC (Before HCC treatment group), and HCC patients who underwent locoregional therapy (After HCC treatment group). After determining the relative quantities of the candidate proteins by MRM, we compared their expression levels between the 3 groups, identifying 4 potential biomarkers: the actin-binding protein anillin (ANLN), filamin-B (FLNB), complementary C4-A (C4A), and AFP. The combination of 2 markers (ANLN, FLNB) improved the discrimination of the before HCC treatment group from the healthy control group compared with AFP. We conclude that the combination of global data mining and MRM verification enhances the screening and verification of potential HCC biomarkers. This efficacious integrative strategy is applicable to the development of markers for cancer and other diseases. PMID:23717429

  16. Remote age verification to prevent underage alcohol sales. First results from Dutch liquor stores and the economic viability of national adoption.

    PubMed

    van Hoof, Joris J; van Velthoven, Ben C J

    2015-04-01

    Alcohol consumption among minors is a popular topic in the public health debate, also in the Netherlands. Compliance with the legal age limits for selling alcohol proves to be rather low. Some Dutch liquor stores (outlets with an exclusive license to sell off-premise drinks with 15% alcohol or more) have recently adopted a remote age verification system. This paper discusses the first results of the use of the system. We use data from 67 liquor stores that adopted Ageviewers, a remote age verification system, in 2011. A remote validator judges the customer's age using camera footage and asks for an ID if there is any doubt. The system then sends a signal to the cash register, which approves or rejects the alcohol purchase. From the 367346 purchase attempts in the database, 8374 were rejected or aborted for age-related reasons. This figure amounts to an average ratio of 1.12 underage alcohol purchase attempts per sales day in each participating liquor store. Scaling up to a national level, the figures suggest at least 1 million underage alcohol purchase attempts per year in Dutch liquor stores. Underage alcohol purchases can be prevented by the nationwide adoption of remote age verification. However, given the lax enforcement of the age limits by the government, adopting such a system on a voluntary basis is generally not in the economic interest of the liquor stores. Obligatory installation of the system in off-premise alcohol outlets may pass a social cost-benefit test if certain conditions are fulfilled. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. A new approach to hand-based authentication

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amayeh, G.; Bebis, G.; Erol, A.; Nicolescu, M.

    2007-04-01

    Hand-based authentication is a key biometric technology with a wide range of potential applications both in industry and government. Traditionally, hand-based authentication is performed by extracting information from the whole hand. To account for hand and finger motion, guidance pegs are employed to fix the position and orientation of the hand. In this paper, we consider a component-based approach to hand-based verification. Our objective is to investigate the discrimination power of different parts of the hand in order to develop a simpler, faster, and possibly more accurate and robust verification system. Specifically, we propose a new approach which decomposes the hand in different regions, corresponding to the fingers and the back of the palm, and performs verification using information from certain parts of the hand only. Our approach operates on 2D images acquired by placing the hand on a flat lighting table. Using a part-based representation of the hand allows the system to compensate for hand and finger motion without using any guidance pegs. To decompose the hand in different regions, we use a robust methodology based on morphological operators which does not require detecting any landmark points on the hand. To capture the geometry of the back of the palm and the fingers in suffcient detail, we employ high-order Zernike moments which are computed using an effcient methodology. The proposed approach has been evaluated on a database of 100 subjects with 10 images per subject, illustrating promising performance. Comparisons with related approaches using the whole hand for verification illustrate the superiority of the proposed approach. Moreover, qualitative comparisons with state-of-the-art approaches indicate that the proposed approach has comparable or better performance.

  18. Development of biomarkers for screening hepatocellular carcinoma using global data mining and multiple reaction monitoring.

    PubMed

    Kim, Hyunsoo; Kim, Kyunggon; Yu, Su Jong; Jang, Eun Sun; Yu, Jiyoung; Cho, Geunhee; Yoon, Jung-Hwan; Kim, Youngsoo

    2013-01-01

    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and aggressive cancers and is associated with a poor survival rate. Clinically, the level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has been used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of HCC. The discovery of useful biomarkers for HCC, focused solely on the proteome, has been difficult; thus, wide-ranging global data mining of genomic and proteomic databases from previous reports would be valuable in screening biomarker candidates. Further, multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), based on triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, has been effective with regard to high-throughput verification, complementing antibody-based verification pipelines. In this study, global data mining was performed using 5 types of HCC data to screen for candidate biomarker proteins: cDNA microarray, copy number variation, somatic mutation, epigenetic, and quantitative proteomics data. Next, we applied MRM to verify HCC candidate biomarkers in individual serum samples from 3 groups: a healthy control group, patients who have been diagnosed with HCC (Before HCC treatment group), and HCC patients who underwent locoregional therapy (After HCC treatment group). After determining the relative quantities of the candidate proteins by MRM, we compared their expression levels between the 3 groups, identifying 4 potential biomarkers: the actin-binding protein anillin (ANLN), filamin-B (FLNB), complementary C4-A (C4A), and AFP. The combination of 2 markers (ANLN, FLNB) improved the discrimination of the before HCC treatment group from the healthy control group compared with AFP. We conclude that the combination of global data mining and MRM verification enhances the screening and verification of potential HCC biomarkers. This efficacious integrative strategy is applicable to the development of markers for cancer and other diseases.

  19. Ramifications of the Children's Surgery Verification Program for Patients and Hospitals.

    PubMed

    Baxter, Katherine J; Gale, Bonnie F; Travers, Curtis D; Heiss, Kurt F; Raval, Mehul V

    2018-05-01

    The American College of Surgeons in 2015 instituted the Children's Surgery Verification program delineating requirements for hospitals providing pediatric surgical care. Our purpose was to examine possible effects of the Children's Surgery Verification program by evaluating neonates undergoing high-risk operations. Using the Kid's Inpatient Database 2009, we identified infants undergoing operations for 5 high-risk neonatal conditions. We considered all children's hospitals and children's units Level I centers and considered all others Level II/III. We estimated the number of neonates requiring relocation and the additional distance traveled. We used propensity score adjusted logistic regression to model mortality at Level I vs Level II/III hospitals. Overall, 7,938 neonates were identified across 21 states at 91 Level I and 459 Level II/III hospitals. Based on our classifications, 2,744 (34.6%) patients would need to relocate to Level I centers. The median additional distance traveled was 6.6 miles. The maximum distance traveled varied by state, from <55 miles (New Jersey and Rhode Island) to >200 miles (Montana, Oregon, Colorado, and California). The adjusted odds of mortality at Level II/III vs Level I centers was 1.67 (95% CI 1.44 to 1.93). We estimate 1 life would be saved for every 32 neonates moved. Although this conservative estimate demonstrates that more than one-third of complex surgical neonates in 2009 would have needed to relocate under the Children's Surgery Verification program, the additional distance traveled is relatively short for most but not all, and this program might improve mortality. Local level ramifications of this novel national program require additional investigation. Copyright © 2018 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Development of an inpatient operational pharmacy productivity model.

    PubMed

    Naseman, Ryan W; Lopez, Ben R; Forrey, Ryan A; Weber, Robert J; Kipp, Kris M

    2015-02-01

    An innovative model for measuring the operational productivity of medication order management in inpatient settings is described. Order verification within a computerized prescriber order-entry system was chosen as the pharmacy workload driver. To account for inherent variability in the tasks involved in processing different types of orders, pharmaceutical products were grouped by class, and each class was assigned a time standard, or "medication complexity weight" reflecting the intensity of pharmacist and technician activities (verification of drug indication, verification of appropriate dosing, adverse-event prevention and monitoring, medication preparation, product checking, product delivery, returns processing, nurse/provider education, and problem-order resolution). The resulting "weighted verifications" (WV) model allows productivity monitoring by job function (pharmacist versus technician) to guide hiring and staffing decisions. A 9-month historical sample of verified medication orders was analyzed using the WV model, and the calculations were compared with values derived from two established models—one based on the Case Mix Index (CMI) and the other based on the proprietary Pharmacy Intensity Score (PIS). Evaluation of Pearson correlation coefficients indicated that values calculated using the WV model were highly correlated with those derived from the CMI-and PIS-based models (r = 0.845 and 0.886, respectively). Relative to the comparator models, the WV model offered the advantage of less period-to-period variability. The WV model yielded productivity data that correlated closely with values calculated using two validated workload management models. The model may be used as an alternative measure of pharmacy operational productivity. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Design of experiments confirms optimization of lithium administration parameters for enhanced fracture healing.

    PubMed

    Vachhani, Kathak; Pagotto, Andrea; Wang, Yufa; Whyne, Cari; Nam, Diane

    2018-01-03

    Fracture healing is a lengthy process which fails in 5-10% of cases. Lithium, a low-cost therapeutic used in psychiatric medicine, up-regulates the canonical Wingless pathway crucial for osteoblastic mineralization in fracture healing. A design-of-experiments (DOE) methodology was used to optimize lithium administration parameters (dose, onset time and treatment duration) to enhance healing in a rat femoral fracture model. In the previously completed first stage (screening), onset time was found to significantly impact healing, with later (day 7 vs. day 3 post-fracture) treatment yielding improved maximum yield torque. The greatest strength was found in healing femurs treated at day 7 post fracture, with a low lithium dose (20 mg/kg) for 2 weeks duration. This paper describes the findings of the second (optimization) and third (verification) stages of the DOE investigation. Closed traumatic diaphyseal femur fractures were induced in 3-month old rats. Healing was evaluated on day 28 post fracture by CT-based morphometry and torsional loading. In optimization, later onset times of day 10 and 14 did not perform as well as day 7 onset. As such, efficacy of the best regimen (20 mg/kg dose given at day 7 onset for 2 weeks duration) was reassessed in a distinct cohort of animals to complete the DOE verification. A significant 44% higher maximum yield torque (primary outcome) was seen with optimized lithium treatment vs. controls, which paralleled the 46% improvement seen in the screening stage. Successful completion of this robustly designed preclinical DOE study delineates the optimal lithium regimen for enhancing preclinical long-bone fracture healing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Improving the modelling of irradiation-induced brain activation for in vivo PET verification of proton therapy.

    PubMed

    Bauer, Julia; Chen, Wenjing; Nischwitz, Sebastian; Liebl, Jakob; Rieken, Stefan; Welzel, Thomas; Debus, Juergen; Parodi, Katia

    2018-04-24

    A reliable Monte Carlo prediction of proton-induced brain tissue activation used for comparison to particle therapy positron-emission-tomography (PT-PET) measurements is crucial for in vivo treatment verification. Major limitations of current approaches to overcome include the CT-based patient model and the description of activity washout due to tissue perfusion. Two approaches were studied to improve the activity prediction for brain irradiation: (i) a refined patient model using tissue classification based on MR information and (ii) a PT-PET data-driven refinement of washout model parameters. Improvements of the activity predictions compared to post-treatment PT-PET measurements were assessed in terms of activity profile similarity for six patients treated with a single or two almost parallel fields delivered by active proton beam scanning. The refined patient model yields a generally higher similarity for most of the patients, except in highly pathological areas leading to tissue misclassification. Using washout model parameters deduced from clinical patient data could considerably improve the activity profile similarity for all patients. Current methods used to predict proton-induced brain tissue activation can be improved with MR-based tissue classification and data-driven washout parameters, thus providing a more reliable basis for PT-PET verification. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Property-Based Monitoring of Analog and Mixed-Signal Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Havlicek, John; Little, Scott; Maler, Oded; Nickovic, Dejan

    In the recent past, there has been a steady growth of the market for consumer embedded devices such as cell phones, GPS and portable multimedia systems. In embedded systems, digital, analog and software components are combined on a single chip, resulting in increasingly complex designs that introduce richer functionality on smaller devices. As a consequence, the potential insertion of errors into a design becomes higher, yielding an increasing need for automated analog and mixed-signal validation tools. In the purely digital setting, formal verification based on properties expressed in industrial specification languages such as PSL and SVA is nowadays successfully integrated in the design flow. On the other hand, the validation of analog and mixed-signal systems still largely depends on simulation-based, ad-hoc methods. In this tutorial, we consider some ingredients of the standard verification methodology that can be successfully exported from digital to analog and mixed-signal setting, in particular property-based monitoring techniques. Property-based monitoring is a lighter approach to the formal verification, where the system is seen as a "black-box" that generates sets of traces, whose correctness is checked against a property, that is its high-level specification. Although incomplete, monitoring is effectively used to catch faults in systems, without guaranteeing their full correctness.

  4. Comprehensive analysis of a multidimensional liquid chromatography mass spectrometry dataset acquired on a quadrupole selecting, quadrupole collision cell, time-of-flight mass spectrometer: I. How much of the data is theoretically interpretable by search engines?

    PubMed

    Chalkley, Robert J; Baker, Peter R; Hansen, Kirk C; Medzihradszky, Katalin F; Allen, Nadia P; Rexach, Michael; Burlingame, Alma L

    2005-08-01

    An in-depth analysis of a multidimensional chromatography-mass spectrometry dataset acquired on a quadrupole selecting, quadrupole collision cell, time-of-flight (QqTOF) geometry instrument was carried out. A total of 3269 CID spectra were acquired. Through manual verification of database search results and de novo interpretation of spectra 2368 spectra could be confidently determined as predicted tryptic peptides. A detailed analysis of the non-matching spectra was also carried out, highlighting what the non-matching spectra in a database search typically are composed of. The results of this comprehensive dataset study demonstrate that QqTOF instruments produce information-rich data of which a high percentage of the data is readily interpretable.

  5. Imperceptible watermarking for security of fundus images in tele-ophthalmology applications and computer-aided diagnosis of retina diseases.

    PubMed

    Singh, Anushikha; Dutta, Malay Kishore

    2017-12-01

    The authentication and integrity verification of medical images is a critical and growing issue for patients in e-health services. Accurate identification of medical images and patient verification is an essential requirement to prevent error in medical diagnosis. The proposed work presents an imperceptible watermarking system to address the security issue of medical fundus images for tele-ophthalmology applications and computer aided automated diagnosis of retinal diseases. In the proposed work, patient identity is embedded in fundus image in singular value decomposition domain with adaptive quantization parameter to maintain perceptual transparency for variety of fundus images like healthy fundus or disease affected image. In the proposed method insertion of watermark in fundus image does not affect the automatic image processing diagnosis of retinal objects & pathologies which ensure uncompromised computer-based diagnosis associated with fundus image. Patient ID is correctly recovered from watermarked fundus image for integrity verification of fundus image at the diagnosis centre. The proposed watermarking system is tested in a comprehensive database of fundus images and results are convincing. results indicate that proposed watermarking method is imperceptible and it does not affect computer vision based automated diagnosis of retinal diseases. Correct recovery of patient ID from watermarked fundus image makes the proposed watermarking system applicable for authentication of fundus images for computer aided diagnosis and Tele-ophthalmology applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. SU-E-T-490: Independent Three-Dimensional (3D) Dose Verification of VMAT/SBRT Using EPID and Cloud Computing

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

    Ding, A; Han, B; Bush, K

    Purpose: Dosimetric verification of VMAT/SBRT is currently performed on one or two planes in a phantom with either film or array detectors. A robust and easy-to-use 3D dosimetric tool has been sought since the advent of conformal radiation therapy. Here we present such a strategy for independent 3D VMAT/SBRT plan verification system by a combined use of EPID and cloud-based Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculation. Methods: The 3D dosimetric verification proceeds in two steps. First, the plan was delivered with a high resolution portable EPID mounted on the gantry, and the EPID-captured gantry-angle-resolved VMAT/SBRT field images were converted into fluencemore » by using the EPID pixel response function derived from MC simulations. The fluence was resampled and used as the input for an in-house developed Amazon cloud-based MC software to reconstruct the 3D dose distribution. The accuracy of the developed 3D dosimetric tool was assessed using a Delta4 phantom with various field sizes (square, circular, rectangular, and irregular MLC fields) and different patient cases. The method was applied to validate VMAT/SBRT plans using WFF and FFF photon beams (Varian TrueBeam STX). Results: It was found that the proposed method yielded results consistent with the Delta4 measurements. For points on the two detector planes, a good agreement within 1.5% were found for all the testing fields. Patient VMAT/SBRT plan studies revealed similar level of accuracy: an average γ-index passing rate of 99.2± 0.6% (3mm/3%), 97.4± 2.4% (2mm/2%), and 72.6± 8.4 % ( 1mm/1%). Conclusion: A valuable 3D dosimetric verification strategy has been developed for VMAT/SBRT plan validation. The technique provides a viable solution for a number of intractable dosimetry problems, such as small fields and plans with high dose gradient.« less

  7. ANFIS modeling for the assessment of landslide susceptibility for the Cameron Highland (Malaysia)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pradhan, Biswajeet; Sezer, Ebru; Gokceoglu, Candan; Buchroithner, Manfred F.

    2010-05-01

    Landslides are one of the recurrent natural hazard problems throughout most of Malaysia. In landslide literature, there are several approaches such as probabilistic, bivariate and multivariate statistical models, fuzzy and artificial neural network models etc. However, a neuro-fuzzy application on the landslide susceptibility assessment has not been encountered in the literature. For this reason, this study presents the results of an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) using remote sensing data and GIS for landslide susceptibility analysis in a part of the Cameron Highland areas in Malaysia. Landslide locations in the study area were identified by interpreting aerial photographs and satellite images, supported by extensive field surveys. Landsat TM satellite imagery was used to map vegetation index. Maps of topography, lineaments, NDVI and land cover were constructed from the spatial datasets. Seven landslide conditioning factors such as altitude, slope angle, curvature, distance from drainage, lithology, distance from faults and NDVI were extracted from the spatial database. These factors were analyzed using an ANFIS to produce the landslide susceptibility maps. During the model development works, total 5 landslide susceptibility models were constructed. For verification, the results of the analyses were then compared with the field-verified landslide locations. Additionally, the ROC curves for all landslide susceptibility models were drawn and the area under curve values were calculated. Landslide locations were used to validate results of the landslide susceptibility map and the verification results showed 97% accuracy for the model 5 employing all parameters produced in the present study as the landslide conditioning factors. The validation results showed sufficient agreement between the obtained susceptibility map and the existing data on landslide areas. Qualitatively, the model yields reasonable results which can be used for preliminary land-use planning purposes. As a final conclusion, the results revealed that the ANFIS modeling is a very useful and powerful tool for the regional landslide susceptibility assessments. However, the results to be obtained from the ANFIS modeling should be assessed carefully because the overlearning may cause misleading results. To prevent overlerning, the numbers of membership functions of inputs and the number of training epochs should be selected optimally and carefully.

  8. A comparison of two adaptive multivariate analysis methods (PLSR and ANN) for winter wheat yield forecasting using Landsat-8 OLI images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Pengfei; Jing, Qi

    2017-02-01

    An assumption that the non-linear method is more reasonable than the linear method when canopy reflectance is used to establish the yield prediction model was proposed and tested in this study. For this purpose, partial least squares regression (PLSR) and artificial neural networks (ANN), represented linear and non-linear analysis method, were applied and compared for wheat yield prediction. Multi-period Landsat-8 OLI images were collected at two different wheat growth stages, and a field campaign was conducted to obtain grain yields at selected sampling sites in 2014. The field data were divided into a calibration database and a testing database. Using calibration data, a cross-validation concept was introduced for the PLSR and ANN model construction to prevent over-fitting. All models were tested using the test data. The ANN yield-prediction model produced R2, RMSE and RMSE% values of 0.61, 979 kg ha-1, and 10.38%, respectively, in the testing phase, performing better than the PLSR yield-prediction model, which produced R2, RMSE, and RMSE% values of 0.39, 1211 kg ha-1, and 12.84%, respectively. Non-linear method was suggested as a better method for yield prediction.

  9. Perspectives of human verification via binary QRS template matching of single-lead and 12-lead electrocardiogram.

    PubMed

    Krasteva, Vessela; Jekova, Irena; Schmid, Ramun

    2018-01-01

    This study aims to validate the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) as a biometric modality based on two straightforward binary QRS template matching characteristics. Different perspectives of the human verification problem are considered, regarding the optimal lead selection and stability over sample size, gender, age, heart rate (HR). A clinical 12-lead resting ECG database, including a population of 460 subjects with two-session recordings (>1 year apart) is used. Cost-effective strategies for extraction of personalized QRS patterns (100ms) and binary template matching estimate similarity in the time scale (matching time) and dissimilarity in the amplitude scale (mismatch area). The two-class person verification task, taking the decision to validate or to reject the subject identity is managed by linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Non-redundant LDA models for different lead configurations (I,II,III,aVF,aVL,aVF,V1-V6) are trained on the first half of 230 subjects by stepwise feature selection until maximization of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC AUC). The operating point on the training ROC at equal error rate (EER) is tested on the independent dataset (second half of 230 subjects) to report unbiased validation of test-ROC AUC and true verification rate (TVR = 100-EER). The test results are further evaluated in groups by sample size, gender, age, HR. The optimal QRS pattern projection for single-lead ECG biometric modality is found in the frontal plane sector (60°-0°) with best (Test-AUC/TVR) for lead II (0.941/86.8%) and slight accuracy drop for -aVR (-0.017/-1.4%), I (-0.01/-1.5%). Chest ECG leads have degrading accuracy from V1 (0.885/80.6%) to V6 (0.799/71.8%). The multi-lead ECG improves verification: 6-chest (0.97/90.9%), 6-limb (0.986/94.3%), 12-leads (0.995/97.5%). The QRS pattern matching model shows stable performance for verification of 10 to 230 individuals; insignificant degradation of TVR in women by (1.2-3.6%), adults ≥70 years (3.7%), younger <40 years (1.9%), HR<60bpm (1.2%), HR>90bpm (3.9%), no degradation for HR change (0 to >20bpm).

  10. Discriminative Projection Selection Based Face Image Hashing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karabat, Cagatay; Erdogan, Hakan

    Face image hashing is an emerging method used in biometric verification systems. In this paper, we propose a novel face image hashing method based on a new technique called discriminative projection selection. We apply the Fisher criterion for selecting the rows of a random projection matrix in a user-dependent fashion. Moreover, another contribution of this paper is to employ a bimodal Gaussian mixture model at the quantization step. Our simulation results on three different databases demonstrate that the proposed method has superior performance in comparison to previously proposed random projection based methods.

  11. [Development of Chinese forensic Y-STR DNA database].

    PubMed

    Ge, Jian-Ye; Yan, Jiang-Wei; Xie, Qun; Sun, Hong-Yu; Zhou, Huai-Gu; Li, Bin

    2013-06-01

    Y chromosome is a male-specific paternal inherited chromosome. The STR markers on Y chromosome have been widely used in forensic practices. This article summarizes the characteristics of Y-STR and some factors are considered of selecting appropriate Y-STR markers for Chinese population. The prospects of existing and potential forensic applications of Y-STR profiles are discussed including familial excluding, familial searching, crowd source deducing, mixture sample testing, and kinship identifying. The research, development, verification of Y-STR kit, Y-STR mutation rate, and search software are explored and some suggestions are given.

  12. Patterns of use and impact of standardised MedDRA query analyses on the safety evaluation and review of new drug and biologics license applications.

    PubMed

    Chang, Lin-Chau; Mahmood, Riaz; Qureshi, Samina; Breder, Christopher D

    2017-01-01

    Standardised MedDRA Queries (SMQs) have been developed since the early 2000's and used by academia, industry, public health, and government sectors for detecting safety signals in adverse event safety databases. The purpose of the present study is to characterize how SMQs are used and the impact in safety analyses for New Drug Application (NDA) and Biologics License Application (BLA) submissions to the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). We used the PharmaPendium database to capture SMQ use in Summary Basis of Approvals (SBoAs) of drugs and biologics approved by the USFDA. Characteristics of the drugs and the SMQ use were employed to evaluate the role of SMQ safety analyses in regulatory decisions and the veracity of signals they revealed. A comprehensive search of the SBoAs yielded 184 regulatory submissions approved from 2006 to 2015. Search strategies more frequently utilized restrictive searches with "narrow terms" to enhance specificity over strategies using "broad terms" to increase sensitivity, while some involved modification of search terms. A majority (59%) of 1290 searches used descriptive statistics, however inferential statistics were utilized in 35% of them. Commentary from reviewers and supervisory staff suggested that a small, yet notable percentage (18%) of 1290 searches supported regulatory decisions. The searches with regulatory impact were found in 73 submissions (40% of the submissions investigated). Most searches (75% of 227 searches) with regulatory implications described how the searches were confirmed, indicating prudence in the decision-making process. SMQs have an increasing role in the presentation and review of safety analysis for NDAs/BLAs and their regulatory reviews. This study suggests that SMQs are best used for screening process, with descriptive statistics, description of SMQ modifications, and systematic verification of cases which is crucial for drawing regulatory conclusions.

  13. Patterns of use and impact of standardised MedDRA query analyses on the safety evaluation and review of new drug and biologics license applications

    PubMed Central

    Chang, Lin-Chau; Mahmood, Riaz; Qureshi, Samina

    2017-01-01

    Purpose Standardised MedDRA Queries (SMQs) have been developed since the early 2000’s and used by academia, industry, public health, and government sectors for detecting safety signals in adverse event safety databases. The purpose of the present study is to characterize how SMQs are used and the impact in safety analyses for New Drug Application (NDA) and Biologics License Application (BLA) submissions to the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Methods We used the PharmaPendium database to capture SMQ use in Summary Basis of Approvals (SBoAs) of drugs and biologics approved by the USFDA. Characteristics of the drugs and the SMQ use were employed to evaluate the role of SMQ safety analyses in regulatory decisions and the veracity of signals they revealed. Results A comprehensive search of the SBoAs yielded 184 regulatory submissions approved from 2006 to 2015. Search strategies more frequently utilized restrictive searches with “narrow terms” to enhance specificity over strategies using “broad terms” to increase sensitivity, while some involved modification of search terms. A majority (59%) of 1290 searches used descriptive statistics, however inferential statistics were utilized in 35% of them. Commentary from reviewers and supervisory staff suggested that a small, yet notable percentage (18%) of 1290 searches supported regulatory decisions. The searches with regulatory impact were found in 73 submissions (40% of the submissions investigated). Most searches (75% of 227 searches) with regulatory implications described how the searches were confirmed, indicating prudence in the decision-making process. Conclusions SMQs have an increasing role in the presentation and review of safety analysis for NDAs/BLAs and their regulatory reviews. This study suggests that SMQs are best used for screening process, with descriptive statistics, description of SMQ modifications, and systematic verification of cases which is crucial for drawing regulatory conclusions. PMID:28570569

  14. Customized sampling plans : a guide to alternative sampling techniques for National Transit Database reporting

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2004-05-01

    For estimating the system total unlinked passenger trips and passenger miles of a fixed-route bus system for the National Transit Database (NTD), the FTA approved sampling plans may either over-sample or do not yield FTAs required confidence and p...

  15. Impact of derived global weather data on simulated crop yields

    PubMed Central

    van Wart, Justin; Grassini, Patricio; Cassman, Kenneth G

    2013-01-01

    Crop simulation models can be used to estimate impact of current and future climates on crop yields and food security, but require long-term historical daily weather data to obtain robust simulations. In many regions where crops are grown, daily weather data are not available. Alternatively, gridded weather databases (GWD) with complete terrestrial coverage are available, typically derived from: (i) global circulation computer models; (ii) interpolated weather station data; or (iii) remotely sensed surface data from satellites. The present study's objective is to evaluate capacity of GWDs to simulate crop yield potential (Yp) or water-limited yield potential (Yw), which can serve as benchmarks to assess impact of climate change scenarios on crop productivity and land use change. Three GWDs (CRU, NCEP/DOE, and NASA POWER data) were evaluated for their ability to simulate Yp and Yw of rice in China, USA maize, and wheat in Germany. Simulations of Yp and Yw based on recorded daily data from well-maintained weather stations were taken as the control weather data (CWD). Agreement between simulations of Yp or Yw based on CWD and those based on GWD was poor with the latter having strong bias and large root mean square errors (RMSEs) that were 26–72% of absolute mean yield across locations and years. In contrast, simulated Yp or Yw using observed daily weather data from stations in the NOAA database combined with solar radiation from the NASA-POWER database were in much better agreement with Yp and Yw simulated with CWD (i.e. little bias and an RMSE of 12–19% of the absolute mean). We conclude that results from studies that rely on GWD to simulate agricultural productivity in current and future climates are highly uncertain. An alternative approach would impose a climate scenario on location-specific observed daily weather databases combined with an appropriate upscaling method. PMID:23801639

  16. Impact of derived global weather data on simulated crop yields.

    PubMed

    van Wart, Justin; Grassini, Patricio; Cassman, Kenneth G

    2013-12-01

    Crop simulation models can be used to estimate impact of current and future climates on crop yields and food security, but require long-term historical daily weather data to obtain robust simulations. In many regions where crops are grown, daily weather data are not available. Alternatively, gridded weather databases (GWD) with complete terrestrial coverage are available, typically derived from: (i) global circulation computer models; (ii) interpolated weather station data; or (iii) remotely sensed surface data from satellites. The present study's objective is to evaluate capacity of GWDs to simulate crop yield potential (Yp) or water-limited yield potential (Yw), which can serve as benchmarks to assess impact of climate change scenarios on crop productivity and land use change. Three GWDs (CRU, NCEP/DOE, and NASA POWER data) were evaluated for their ability to simulate Yp and Yw of rice in China, USA maize, and wheat in Germany. Simulations of Yp and Yw based on recorded daily data from well-maintained weather stations were taken as the control weather data (CWD). Agreement between simulations of Yp or Yw based on CWD and those based on GWD was poor with the latter having strong bias and large root mean square errors (RMSEs) that were 26-72% of absolute mean yield across locations and years. In contrast, simulated Yp or Yw using observed daily weather data from stations in the NOAA database combined with solar radiation from the NASA-POWER database were in much better agreement with Yp and Yw simulated with CWD (i.e. little bias and an RMSE of 12-19% of the absolute mean). We conclude that results from studies that rely on GWD to simulate agricultural productivity in current and future climates are highly uncertain. An alternative approach would impose a climate scenario on location-specific observed daily weather databases combined with an appropriate upscaling method. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Understanding the Changes in Global Crop Yields Through Changes in Climate and Technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Najafi, Ehsan; Devineni, Naresh; Khanbilvardi, Reza M.; Kogan, Felix

    2018-03-01

    During the last few decades, the global agricultural production has risen and technology enhancement is still contributing to yield growth. However, population growth, water crisis, deforestation, and climate change threaten the global food security. An understanding of the variables that caused past changes in crop yields can help improve future crop prediction models. In this article, we present a comprehensive global analysis of the changes in the crop yields and how they relate to different large-scale and regional climate variables, climate change variables and technology in a unified framework. A new multilevel model for yield prediction at the country level is developed and demonstrated. The structural relationships between average yield and climate attributes as well as trends are estimated simultaneously. All countries are modeled in a single multilevel model with partial pooling to automatically group and reduce estimation uncertainties. El Niño-southern oscillation (ENSO), Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), geopotential height anomalies (GPH), historical carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and country-based time series of GDP per capita as an approximation of technology measurement are used as predictors to estimate annual agricultural crop yields for each country from 1961 to 2013. Results indicate that these variables can explain the variability in historical crop yields for most of the countries and the model performs well under out-of-sample verifications. While some countries were not generally affected by climatic factors, PDSI and GPH acted both positively and negatively in different regions for crop yields in many countries.

  18. [The opening of the French national health database: Opportunities and difficulties. The experience of the Gazel and Constances cohorts].

    PubMed

    Goldberg, M; Carton, M; Gourmelen, J; Genreau, M; Montourcy, M; Le Got, S; Zins, M

    2016-09-01

    In France, the national health database (SNIIRAM) is an administrative health database that collects data on hospitalizations and healthcare consumption for more than 60 million people. Although it does not record behavioral and environmental data, these data have a major interest for epidemiology, surveillance and public health. One of the most interesting uses of SNIIRAM is its linkage with surveys collecting data directly from persons. Access to the SNIIRAM data is currently relatively limited, but in the near future changes in regulations will largely facilitate open access. However, it is a huge and complex database and there are some important methodological and technical difficulties for using it due to its volume and architecture. We are developing tools for facilitating the linkage of the Gazel and Constances cohorts to the SNIIRAM: interactive documentation on the SNIIRAM database, software for the verification of the completeness and validity of the data received from the SNIIRAM, methods for constructing indicators from the raw data in order to flag the presence of certain events (specific diagnosis, procedure, drug…), standard queries for producing a set of variables on a specific area (drugs, diagnoses during a hospital stay…). Moreover, the REDSIAM network recently set up aims to develop, evaluate and make available algorithms to identify pathologies in SNIIRAM. In order to fully benefit from the exceptional potential of the SNIIRAM database, it is essential to develop tools to facilitate its use. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  19. Updated database for K-shell fluorescence yields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Akdemir, Fatma; Araz, Aslı; Akman, Ferdi; Kaçal, Mustafa Recep; Durak, Rıdvan

    2017-04-01

    This study presents a summary of experimental data of K-shell fluorescence yields (ωK) published in the period of time between 2010 to february-2017. The fluorescence yields (ωK) of elements in the range 23≤Z≤60 taken directly from different sources were reviewed and presented in a table form. Finally, the experimental and empirical values in the literature have been reported and commented.

  20. IAU Meteor Data Center-the shower database: A status report

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jopek, Tadeusz Jan; Kaňuchová, Zuzana

    2017-09-01

    Currently, the meteor shower part of Meteor Data Center database includes: 112 established showers, 563 in the working list, among them 36 have the pro tempore status. The list of shower complexes contains 25 groups, 3 have established status and 1 has the pro tempore status. In the past three years, new meteor showers submitted to the MDC database were detected amongst the meteors observed by CAMS stations (Cameras for Allsky Meteor Surveillance), those included in the EDMOND (European viDeo MeteOr Network Database), those collected by the Japanese SonotaCo Network, recorded in the IMO (International Meteor Organization) database, observed by the Croatian Meteor Network and on the Southern Hemisphere by the SAAMER radar. At the XXIX General Assembly of the IAU in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2015, the names of 18 showers were officially accepted and moved to the list of established ones. Also, one shower already officially named (3/SIA the Southern iota Aquariids) was moved back to the working list of meteor showers. At the XXIX GA IAU the basic shower nomenclature rule was modified, the new formulation predicates ;The general rule is that a meteor shower (and a meteoroid stream) should be named after the constellation that contains the nearest star to the radiant point, using the possessive Latin form;. Over the last three years the MDC database was supplemented with the earlier published original data on meteor showers, which permitted verification of the correctness of the MDC data and extension of bibliographic information. Slowly but surely new database software options are implemented, and software bugs are corrected.

  1. Development and Experimental Verification of a High Resolution, Tunable LIDAR Computer Simulation Model for Atmospheric Laser Remote Sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilcox, William Edward, Jr.

    1995-01-01

    A computer program (LIDAR-PC) and associated atmospheric spectral databases have been developed which accurately simulate the laser remote sensing of the atmosphere and the system performance of a direct-detection Lidar or tunable Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) system. This simulation program allows, for the first time, the use of several different large atmospheric spectral databases to be coupled with Lidar parameter simulations on the same computer platform to provide a real-time, interactive, and easy to use design tool for atmospheric Lidar simulation and modeling. LIDAR -PC has been used for a range of different Lidar simulations and compared to experimental Lidar data. In general, the simulations agreed very well with the experimental measurements. In addition, the simulation offered, for the first time, the analysis and comparison of experimental Lidar data to easily determine the range-resolved attenuation coefficient of the atmosphere and the effect of telescope overlap factor. The software and databases operate on an IBM-PC or compatible computer platform, and thus are very useful to the research community for Lidar analysis. The complete Lidar and atmospheric spectral transmission modeling program uses the HITRAN database for high-resolution molecular absorption lines of the atmosphere, the BACKSCAT/LOWTRAN computer databases and models for the effects of aerosol and cloud backscatter and attenuation, and the range-resolved Lidar equation. The program can calculate the Lidar backscattered signal-to-noise for a slant path geometry from space and simulate the effect of high resolution, tunable, single frequency, and moderate line width lasers on the Lidar/DIAL signal. The program was used to model and analyze the experimental Lidar data obtained from several measurements. A fixed wavelength, Ho:YSGG aerosol Lidar (Sugimoto, 1990) developed at USF and a tunable Ho:YSGG DIAL system (Cha, 1991) for measuring atmospheric water vapor at 2.1 μm were analyzed. The simulations agreed very well with the measurements, and also yielded, for the first time, the ability to easily deduce the atmospheric attentuation coefficient, alpha, from the Lidar data. Simulations and analysis of other Lidar measurements included that of a 1.57 mu m OPO aerosol Lidar system developed at USF (Harrell, 1995) and of the NASA LITE (Laser-in-Space Technology Experiment) Lidar recently flown in the Space shuttle. Finally, an extensive series of laboratory experiments were made with the 1.57 μm OPO Lidar system to test calculations of the telescope/laser overlap and the effect of different telescope sizes and designs. The simulations agreed well with the experimental data for the telescope diameter and central obscuration test cases. The LIDAR-PC programs are available on the Internet from the USAF Lidar Home Page Web site, http://www.cas.usf.edu/physics/lidar.html/.

  2. Unique identification code for medical fundus images using blood vessel pattern for tele-ophthalmology applications.

    PubMed

    Singh, Anushikha; Dutta, Malay Kishore; Sharma, Dilip Kumar

    2016-10-01

    Identification of fundus images during transmission and storage in database for tele-ophthalmology applications is an important issue in modern era. The proposed work presents a novel accurate method for generation of unique identification code for identification of fundus images for tele-ophthalmology applications and storage in databases. Unlike existing methods of steganography and watermarking, this method does not tamper the medical image as nothing is embedded in this approach and there is no loss of medical information. Strategic combination of unique blood vessel pattern and patient ID is considered for generation of unique identification code for the digital fundus images. Segmented blood vessel pattern near the optic disc is strategically combined with patient ID for generation of a unique identification code for the image. The proposed method of medical image identification is tested on the publically available DRIVE and MESSIDOR database of fundus image and results are encouraging. Experimental results indicate the uniqueness of identification code and lossless recovery of patient identity from unique identification code for integrity verification of fundus images. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. On Applicability of Tunable Filter Bank Based Feature for Ear Biometrics: A Study from Constrained to Unconstrained.

    PubMed

    Chowdhury, Debbrota Paul; Bakshi, Sambit; Guo, Guodong; Sa, Pankaj Kumar

    2017-11-27

    In this paper, an overall framework has been presented for person verification using ear biometric which uses tunable filter bank as local feature extractor. The tunable filter bank, based on a half-band polynomial of 14th order, extracts distinct features from ear images maintaining its frequency selectivity property. To advocate the applicability of tunable filter bank on ear biometrics, recognition test has been performed on available constrained databases like AMI, WPUT, IITD and unconstrained database like UERC. Experiments have been conducted applying tunable filter based feature extractor on subparts of the ear. Empirical experiments have been conducted with four and six subdivisions of the ear image. Analyzing the experimental results, it has been found that tunable filter moderately succeeds to distinguish ear features at par with the state-of-the-art features used for ear recognition. Accuracies of 70.58%, 67.01%, 81.98%, and 57.75% have been achieved on AMI, WPUT, IITD, and UERC databases through considering Canberra Distance as underlying measure of separation. The performances indicate that tunable filter is a candidate for recognizing human from ear images.

  4. Predictive landslide susceptibility mapping using spatial information in the Pechabun area of Thailand

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oh, Hyun-Joo; Lee, Saro; Chotikasathien, Wisut; Kim, Chang Hwan; Kwon, Ju Hyoung

    2009-04-01

    For predictive landslide susceptibility mapping, this study applied and verified probability model, the frequency ratio and statistical model, logistic regression at Pechabun, Thailand, using a geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing. Landslide locations were identified in the study area from interpretation of aerial photographs and field surveys, and maps of the topography, geology and land cover were constructed to spatial database. The factors that influence landslide occurrence, such as slope gradient, slope aspect and curvature of topography and distance from drainage were calculated from the topographic database. Lithology and distance from fault were extracted and calculated from the geology database. Land cover was classified from Landsat TM satellite image. The frequency ratio and logistic regression coefficient were overlaid for landslide susceptibility mapping as each factor’s ratings. Then the landslide susceptibility map was verified and compared using the existing landslide location. As the verification results, the frequency ratio model showed 76.39% and logistic regression model showed 70.42% in prediction accuracy. The method can be used to reduce hazards associated with landslides and to plan land cover.

  5. Validation of a Quality Management Metric

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2000-09-01

    quality management metric (QMM) was used to measure the performance of ten software managers on Department of Defense (DoD) software development programs. Informal verification and validation of the metric compared the QMM score to an overall program success score for the entire program and yielded positive correlation. The results of applying the QMM can be used to characterize the quality of software management and can serve as a template to improve software management performance. Future work includes further refining the QMM, applying the QMM scores to provide feedback

  6. Explosion Source Modeling, Seismic Waveform Prediction and Yield Verification Research

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1976-05-01

    TITLE (and S..bsdtl.) S. TYPE Of REPORT & PERIOD COVERED- r~r.s~oNscu ~ ~ ~ Q arterly Technical1 Report nicri~ ~ ~n v c~’i ~ ESE ~ ~ Feb. 1, 1976 -i...Description of the techni- que and the constitutive models may be found in Cherry, et al. (1975). KASSERI was detonated in ash flow tuff at Area 20...With these theoretical records we can reduce the measurement errors to nearly vanishing. Rather ’ than measuring by eye, a parabola is fit to the

  7. Developing an automated database for monitoring ultrasound- and computed tomography-guided procedure complications and diagnostic yield.

    PubMed

    Itri, Jason N; Jones, Lisa P; Kim, Woojin; Boonn, William W; Kolansky, Ana S; Hilton, Susan; Zafar, Hanna M

    2014-04-01

    Monitoring complications and diagnostic yield for image-guided procedures is an important component of maintaining high quality patient care promoted by professional societies in radiology and accreditation organizations such as the American College of Radiology (ACR) and Joint Commission. These outcome metrics can be used as part of a comprehensive quality assurance/quality improvement program to reduce variation in clinical practice, provide opportunities to engage in practice quality improvement, and contribute to developing national benchmarks and standards. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and successful implementation of an automated web-based software application to monitor procedural outcomes for US- and CT-guided procedures in an academic radiology department. The open source tools PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) and MySQL were used to extract relevant procedural information from the Radiology Information System (RIS), auto-populate the procedure log database, and develop a user interface that generates real-time reports of complication rates and diagnostic yield by site and by operator. Utilizing structured radiology report templates resulted in significantly improved accuracy of information auto-populated from radiology reports, as well as greater compliance with manual data entry. An automated web-based procedure log database is an effective tool to reliably track complication rates and diagnostic yield for US- and CT-guided procedures performed in a radiology department.

  8. Searching CINAHL did not add value to clinical questions posed in NICE guidelines.

    PubMed

    Beckles, Zosia; Glover, Sarah; Ashe, Joanna; Stockton, Sarah; Boynton, Janette; Lai, Rosalind; Alderson, Philip

    2013-09-01

    This study aims to quantify the unique useful yield from the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) database to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines. A secondary objective is to investigate the relationship between this yield and different clinical question types. It is hypothesized that the unique useful yield from CINAHL is low, and this database can therefore be relegated to selective rather than routine searching. A retrospective sample of 15 NICE guidelines published between 2005 and 2009 was taken. Information on clinical review question type, number of references, and reference source was extracted. Only 0.33% (95% confidence interval: 0.01-0.64%) of references per guideline were unique to CINAHL. Nursing- or allied health (AH)-related questions were nearly three times as likely to have references unique to CINAHL as non-nursing- or AH-related questions (14.89% vs. 5.11%), and this relationship was found to be significant (P<0.05). No significant relationship was found between question type and unique CINAHL yield for drug-related questions. The very low proportion of references unique to CINAHL strongly suggests that this database can be safely relegated to selective rather than routine searching. Nursing- and AH-related questions would benefit from selective searching of CINAHL. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Energy- and time-resolved detection of prompt gamma-rays for proton range verification.

    PubMed

    Verburg, Joost M; Riley, Kent; Bortfeld, Thomas; Seco, Joao

    2013-10-21

    In this work, we present experimental results of a novel prompt gamma-ray detector for proton beam range verification. The detection system features an actively shielded cerium-doped lanthanum(III) bromide scintillator, coupled to a digital data acquisition system. The acquisition was synchronized to the cyclotron radio frequency to separate the prompt gamma-ray signals from the later-arriving neutron-induced background. We designed the detector to provide a high energy resolution and an effective reduction of background events, enabling discrete proton-induced prompt gamma lines to be resolved. Measuring discrete prompt gamma lines has several benefits for range verification. As the discrete energies correspond to specific nuclear transitions, the magnitudes of the different gamma lines have unique correlations with the proton energy and can be directly related to nuclear reaction cross sections. The quantification of discrete gamma lines also enables elemental analysis of tissue in the beam path, providing a better prediction of prompt gamma-ray yields. We present the results of experiments in which a water phantom was irradiated with proton pencil-beams in a clinical proton therapy gantry. A slit collimator was used to collimate the prompt gamma-rays, and measurements were performed at 27 positions along the path of proton beams with ranges of 9, 16 and 23 g cm(-2) in water. The magnitudes of discrete gamma lines at 4.44, 5.2 and 6.13 MeV were quantified. The prompt gamma lines were found to be clearly resolved in dimensions of energy and time, and had a reproducible correlation with the proton depth-dose curve. We conclude that the measurement of discrete prompt gamma-rays for in vivo range verification of clinical proton beams is feasible, and plan to further study methods and detector designs for clinical use.

  10. Ductile fracture of cylindrical vessels containing a large flaw

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Erdogan, F.; Irwin, G. R.; Ratwani, M.

    1976-01-01

    The fracture process in pressurized cylindrical vessels containing a relatively large flaw is considered. The flaw is assumed to be a part-through or through meridional crack. The flaw geometry, the yield behavior of the material, and the internal pressure are assumed to be such that in the neighborhood of the flaw the cylinder wall undergoes large-scale plastic deformations. Thus, the problem falls outside the range of applicability of conventional brittle fracture theories. To study the problem, plasticity considerations are introduced into the shell theory through the assumptions of fully-yielded net ligaments using a plastic strip model. Then a ductile fracture criterion is developed which is based on the concept of net ligament plastic instability. A limited verification is attempted by comparing the theoretical predictions with some existing experimental results.

  11. Detection and Prevention of Insider Threats in Database Driven Web Services

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chumash, Tzvi; Yao, Danfeng

    In this paper, we take the first step to address the gap between the security needs in outsourced hosting services and the protection provided in the current practice. We consider both insider and outsider attacks in the third-party web hosting scenarios. We present SafeWS, a modular solution that is inserted between server side scripts and databases in order to prevent and detect website hijacking and unauthorized access to stored data. To achieve the required security, SafeWS utilizes a combination of lightweight cryptographic integrity and encryption tools, software engineering techniques, and security data management principles. We also describe our implementation of SafeWS and its evaluation. The performance analysis of our prototype shows the overhead introduced by security verification is small. SafeWS will allow business owners to significantly reduce the security risks and vulnerabilities of outsourcing their sensitive customer data to third-party providers.

  12. Detecting non-orthology in the COGs database and other approaches grouping orthologs using genome-specific best hits.

    PubMed

    Dessimoz, Christophe; Boeckmann, Brigitte; Roth, Alexander C J; Gonnet, Gaston H

    2006-01-01

    Correct orthology assignment is a critical prerequisite of numerous comparative genomics procedures, such as function prediction, construction of phylogenetic species trees and genome rearrangement analysis. We present an algorithm for the detection of non-orthologs that arise by mistake in current orthology classification methods based on genome-specific best hits, such as the COGs database. The algorithm works with pairwise distance estimates, rather than computationally expensive and error-prone tree-building methods. The accuracy of the algorithm is evaluated through verification of the distribution of predicted cases, case-by-case phylogenetic analysis and comparisons with predictions from other projects using independent methods. Our results show that a very significant fraction of the COG groups include non-orthologs: using conservative parameters, the algorithm detects non-orthology in a third of all COG groups. Consequently, sequence analysis sensitive to correct orthology assignments will greatly benefit from these findings.

  13. Offline Signature Verification Using the Discrete Radon Transform and a Hidden Markov Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Coetzer, J.; Herbst, B. M.; du Preez, J. A.

    2004-12-01

    We developed a system that automatically authenticates offline handwritten signatures using the discrete Radon transform (DRT) and a hidden Markov model (HMM). Given the robustness of our algorithm and the fact that only global features are considered, satisfactory results are obtained. Using a database of 924 signatures from 22 writers, our system achieves an equal error rate (EER) of 18% when only high-quality forgeries (skilled forgeries) are considered and an EER of 4.5% in the case of only casual forgeries. These signatures were originally captured offline. Using another database of 4800 signatures from 51 writers, our system achieves an EER of 12.2% when only skilled forgeries are considered. These signatures were originally captured online and then digitally converted into static signature images. These results compare well with the results of other algorithms that consider only global features.

  14. Structural Deterministic Safety Factors Selection Criteria and Verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Verderaime, V.

    1992-01-01

    Though current deterministic safety factors are arbitrarily and unaccountably specified, its ratio is rooted in resistive and applied stress probability distributions. This study approached the deterministic method from a probabilistic concept leading to a more systematic and coherent philosophy and criterion for designing more uniform and reliable high-performance structures. The deterministic method was noted to consist of three safety factors: a standard deviation multiplier of the applied stress distribution; a K-factor for the A- or B-basis material ultimate stress; and the conventional safety factor to ensure that the applied stress does not operate in the inelastic zone of metallic materials. The conventional safety factor is specifically defined as the ratio of ultimate-to-yield stresses. A deterministic safety index of the combined safety factors was derived from which the corresponding reliability proved the deterministic method is not reliability sensitive. The bases for selecting safety factors are presented and verification requirements are discussed. The suggested deterministic approach is applicable to all NASA, DOD, and commercial high-performance structures under static stresses.

  15. Verification tests of the US Electricar Corporation Lectric Leopard

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

    Dowgiallo, E.J. Jr.; Snellings, I.R.; Chapman, R.D.

    1982-04-01

    The Lectric Leopard, manufactured by US Electricar Corporation, was tested during the period 3 August 1981 to 25 September 1981. Part of the verification results are summarized below (complete tests results are contained in Section V): Acceleration: 0-50 km/h (31.1 mi/h) in 9.9 s. Range: SAE J227a cycle ''C'' on level (+-1-percent grade) terrain yielded 66.2 km (41.2 mi) and 120 cycles. Forward Speed Capability: Forward speed of 80 km/h (50 mi/h) was maintained for more than 5 min on the level (+-1-percent grade) portion of the MERADCOM Test Track. Gradeability at Speed: At 25 km/h (15.5 mi/h) the vehiclemore » can traverse a 15.5-percent grade based on calculations from acceleration tests. Gradeability Limit: Calculations based on drawbar-pull test indicate a 35.2-percent forward and a 36.4-percent gradeability for at least 20 s.« less

  16. NEST: a comprehensive model for scintillation yield in liquid xenon

    DOE PAGES

    Szydagis, M.; Barry, N.; Kazkaz, K.; ...

    2011-10-03

    Here, a comprehensive model for explaining scintillation yield in liquid xenon is introduced. We unify various definitions of work function which abound in the literature and incorporate all available data on electron recoil scintillation yield. This results in a better understanding of electron recoil, and facilitates an improved description of nuclear recoil. An incident gamma energy range of O(1 keV) to O(1 MeV) and electric fields between 0 and O(10 kV/cm) are incorporated into this heuristic model. We show results from a Geant4 implementation, but because the model has a few free parameters, implementation in any simulation package should bemore » simple. We use a quasi-empirical approach, with an objective of improving detector calibrations and performance verification. The model will aid in the design and optimization of future detectors. This model is also easy to extend to other noble elements. In this paper we lay the foundation for an exhaustive simulation code which we call NEST (Noble Element Simulation Technique).« less

  17. Calibration methodology for proportional counters applied to yield measurements of a neutron burst.

    PubMed

    Tarifeño-Saldivia, Ariel; Mayer, Roberto E; Pavez, Cristian; Soto, Leopoldo

    2014-01-01

    This paper introduces a methodology for the yield measurement of a neutron burst using neutron proportional counters. This methodology is to be applied when single neutron events cannot be resolved in time by nuclear standard electronics, or when a continuous current cannot be measured at the output of the counter. The methodology is based on the calibration of the counter in pulse mode, and the use of a statistical model to estimate the number of detected events from the accumulated charge resulting from the detection of the burst of neutrons. The model is developed and presented in full detail. For the measurement of fast neutron yields generated from plasma focus experiments using a moderated proportional counter, the implementation of the methodology is herein discussed. An experimental verification of the accuracy of the methodology is presented. An improvement of more than one order of magnitude in the accuracy of the detection system is obtained by using this methodology with respect to previous calibration methods.

  18. The problem with coal-waste dumps inventory in Upper Silesian Coal Basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abramowicz, Anna; Chybiorz, Ryszard

    2017-04-01

    Coal-waste dumps are the side effect of coal mining, which has lasted in Poland for 250 years. They have negative influence on the landscape and the environment, and pollute soil, vegetation and groundwater. Their number, size and shape is changing over time, as new wastes have been produced and deposited changing their shape and enlarging their size. Moreover deposited wastes, especially overburned, are exploited for example road construction, also causing the shape and size change up to disappearing. Many databases and inventory systems were created in order to control these hazards, but some disadvantages prevent reliable statistics. Three representative databases were analyzed according to their structure and type of waste dumps description, classification and visualization. The main problem is correct classification of dumps in terms of their name and type. An additional difficulty is the accurate quantitative description (area and capacity). A complex database was created as a result of comparison, verification of the information contained in existing databases and its supplementation based on separate documentation. A variability analysis of coal-waste dumps over time is also included. The project has been financed from the funds of the Leading National Research Centre (KNOW) received by the Centre for Polar Studies for the period 2014-2018.

  19. Linear models to perform treaty verification tasks for enhanced information security

    DOE PAGES

    MacGahan, Christopher J.; Kupinski, Matthew A.; Brubaker, Erik M.; ...

    2016-11-12

    Linear mathematical models were applied to binary-discrimination tasks relevant to arms control verification measurements in which a host party wishes to convince a monitoring party that an item is or is not treaty accountable. These models process data in list-mode format and can compensate for the presence of variability in the source, such as uncertain object orientation and location. The Hotelling observer applies an optimal set of weights to binned detector data, yielding a test statistic that is thresholded to make a decision. The channelized Hotelling observer applies a channelizing matrix to the vectorized data, resulting in a lower dimensionalmore » vector available to the monitor to make decisions. We demonstrate how incorporating additional terms in this channelizing-matrix optimization offers benefits for treaty verification. We present two methods to increase shared information and trust between the host and monitor. The first method penalizes individual channel performance in order to maximize the information available to the monitor while maintaining optimal performance. Second, we present a method that penalizes predefined sensitive information while maintaining the capability to discriminate between binary choices. Data used in this study was generated using Monte Carlo simulations for fission neutrons, accomplished with the GEANT4 toolkit. Custom models for plutonium inspection objects were measured in simulation by a radiation imaging system. Model performance was evaluated and presented using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.« less

  20. Linear models to perform treaty verification tasks for enhanced information security

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

    MacGahan, Christopher J.; Kupinski, Matthew A.; Brubaker, Erik M.

    Linear mathematical models were applied to binary-discrimination tasks relevant to arms control verification measurements in which a host party wishes to convince a monitoring party that an item is or is not treaty accountable. These models process data in list-mode format and can compensate for the presence of variability in the source, such as uncertain object orientation and location. The Hotelling observer applies an optimal set of weights to binned detector data, yielding a test statistic that is thresholded to make a decision. The channelized Hotelling observer applies a channelizing matrix to the vectorized data, resulting in a lower dimensionalmore » vector available to the monitor to make decisions. We demonstrate how incorporating additional terms in this channelizing-matrix optimization offers benefits for treaty verification. We present two methods to increase shared information and trust between the host and monitor. The first method penalizes individual channel performance in order to maximize the information available to the monitor while maintaining optimal performance. Second, we present a method that penalizes predefined sensitive information while maintaining the capability to discriminate between binary choices. Data used in this study was generated using Monte Carlo simulations for fission neutrons, accomplished with the GEANT4 toolkit. Custom models for plutonium inspection objects were measured in simulation by a radiation imaging system. Model performance was evaluated and presented using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.« less

  1. Linear models to perform treaty verification tasks for enhanced information security

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    MacGahan, Christopher J.; Kupinski, Matthew A.; Brubaker, Erik M.; Hilton, Nathan R.; Marleau, Peter A.

    2017-02-01

    Linear mathematical models were applied to binary-discrimination tasks relevant to arms control verification measurements in which a host party wishes to convince a monitoring party that an item is or is not treaty accountable. These models process data in list-mode format and can compensate for the presence of variability in the source, such as uncertain object orientation and location. The Hotelling observer applies an optimal set of weights to binned detector data, yielding a test statistic that is thresholded to make a decision. The channelized Hotelling observer applies a channelizing matrix to the vectorized data, resulting in a lower dimensional vector available to the monitor to make decisions. We demonstrate how incorporating additional terms in this channelizing-matrix optimization offers benefits for treaty verification. We present two methods to increase shared information and trust between the host and monitor. The first method penalizes individual channel performance in order to maximize the information available to the monitor while maintaining optimal performance. Second, we present a method that penalizes predefined sensitive information while maintaining the capability to discriminate between binary choices. Data used in this study was generated using Monte Carlo simulations for fission neutrons, accomplished with the GEANT4 toolkit. Custom models for plutonium inspection objects were measured in simulation by a radiation imaging system. Model performance was evaluated and presented using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.

  2. Space Shuttle Day-of-Launch Trajectory Design and Verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Harrington, Brian E.

    2010-01-01

    A top priority of any launch vehicle is to insert as much mass into the desired orbit as possible. This requirement must be traded against vehicle capability in terms of dynamic control, thermal constraints, and structural margins. The vehicle is certified to a specific structural envelope which will yield certain performance characteristics of mass to orbit. Some envelopes cannot be certified generically and must be checked with each mission design. The most sensitive envelopes require an assessment on the day-of-launch. To further minimize vehicle loads while maximizing vehicle performance, a day-of-launch trajectory can be designed. This design is optimized according to that day s wind and atmospheric conditions, which will increase the probability of launch. The day-of-launch trajectory verification is critical to the vehicle's safety. The Day-Of-Launch I-Load Uplink (DOLILU) is the process by which the Space Shuttle Program redesigns the vehicle steering commands to fit that day's environmental conditions and then rigorously verifies the integrated vehicle trajectory's loads, controls, and performance. The Shuttle methodology is very similar to other United States unmanned launch vehicles. By extension, this method would be similar to the methods employed for any future NASA launch vehicles. This presentation will provide an overview of the Shuttle's day-of-launch trajectory optimization and verification as an example of a more generic application of dayof- launch design and validation.

  3. Protein, fat, moisture, and cooking yields from a nationwide study of retail beef cuts.

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Nutrient data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are an important resource for U.S. and international databases. To ensure the data for retail beef cuts in USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR) are current, a comprehensive, nationwide, multiyear study was conducte...

  4. Requirements Development for the NASA Advanced Engineering Environment (AEE)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rogers, Eric; Hale, Joseph P.; Zook, Keith; Gowda, Sanjay; Salas, Andrea O.

    2003-01-01

    The requirements development process for the Advanced Engineering Environment (AEE) is presented. This environment has been developed to allow NASA to perform independent analysis and design of space transportation architectures and technologies. Given the highly collaborative and distributed nature of AEE, a variety of organizations are involved in the development, operations and management of the system. Furthermore, there are additional organizations involved representing external customers and stakeholders. Thorough coordination and effective communication is essential to translate desired expectations of the system into requirements. Functional, verifiable requirements for this (and indeed any) system are necessary to fulfill several roles. Requirements serve as a contractual tool, configuration management tool, and as an engineering tool, sometimes simultaneously. The role of requirements as an engineering tool is particularly important because a stable set of requirements for a system provides a common framework of system scope and characterization among team members. Furthermore, the requirements provide the basis for checking completion of system elements and form the basis for system verification. Requirements are at the core of systems engineering. The AEE Project has undertaken a thorough process to translate the desires and expectations of external customers and stakeholders into functional system-level requirements that are captured with sufficient rigor to allow development planning, resource allocation and system-level design, development, implementation and verification. These requirements are maintained in an integrated, relational database that provides traceability to governing Program requirements and also to verification methods and subsystem-level requirements.

  5. AdaBoost-based on-line signature verifier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hongo, Yasunori; Muramatsu, Daigo; Matsumoto, Takashi

    2005-03-01

    Authentication of individuals is rapidly becoming an important issue. The authors previously proposed a Pen-input online signature verification algorithm. The algorithm considers a writer"s signature as a trajectory of pen position, pen pressure, pen azimuth, and pen altitude that evolve over time, so that it is dynamic and biometric. Many algorithms have been proposed and reported to achieve accuracy for on-line signature verification, but setting the threshold value for these algorithms is a problem. In this paper, we introduce a user-generic model generated by AdaBoost, which resolves this problem. When user- specific models (one model for each user) are used for signature verification problems, we need to generate the models using only genuine signatures. Forged signatures are not available because imposters do not give forged signatures for training in advance. However, we can make use of another's forged signature in addition to the genuine signatures for learning by introducing a user generic model. And Adaboost is a well-known classification algorithm, making final decisions depending on the sign of the output value. Therefore, it is not necessary to set the threshold value. A preliminary experiment is performed on a database consisting of data from 50 individuals. This set consists of western-alphabet-based signatures provide by a European research group. In this experiment, our algorithm gives an FRR of 1.88% and an FAR of 1.60%. Since no fine-tuning was done, this preliminary result looks very promising.

  6. Coronary Artery Diagnosis Aided by Neural Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stefko, Kamil

    2007-01-01

    Coronary artery disease is due to atheromatous narrowing and subsequent occlusion of the coronary vessel. Application of optimised feed forward multi-layer back propagation neural network (MLBP) for detection of narrowing in coronary artery vessels is presented in this paper. The research was performed using 580 data records from traditional ECG exercise test confirmed by coronary arteriography results. Each record of training database included description of the state of a patient providing input data for the neural network. Level and slope of ST segment of a 12 lead ECG signal recorded at rest and after effort (48 floating point values) was the main component of input data for neural network was. Coronary arteriography results (verified the existence or absence of more than 50% stenosis of the particular coronary vessels) were used as a correct neural network training output pattern. More than 96% of cases were correctly recognised by especially optimised and a thoroughly verified neural network. Leave one out method was used for neural network verification so 580 data records could be used for training as well as for verification of neural network.

  7. MesoNAM Verification Phase II

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Watson, Leela R.

    2011-01-01

    The 45th Weather Squadron Launch Weather Officers use the 12-km resolution North American Mesoscale model (MesoNAM) forecasts to support launch weather operations. In Phase I, the performance of the model at KSC/CCAFS was measured objectively by conducting a detailed statistical analysis of model output compared to observed values. The objective analysis compared the MesoNAM forecast winds, temperature, and dew point to the observed values from the sensors in the KSC/CCAFS wind tower network. In Phase II, the AMU modified the current tool by adding an additional 15 months of model output to the database and recalculating the verification statistics. The bias, standard deviation of bias, Root Mean Square Error, and Hypothesis test for bias were calculated to verify the performance of the model. The results indicated that the accuracy decreased as the forecast progressed, there was a diurnal signal in temperature with a cool bias during the late night and a warm bias during the afternoon, and there was a diurnal signal in dewpoint temperature with a low bias during the afternoon and a high bias during the late night.

  8. CaveMan Enterprise version 1.0 Software Validation and Verification.

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

    Hart, David

    The U.S. Department of Energy Strategic Petroleum Reserve stores crude oil in caverns solution-mined in salt domes along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas. The CaveMan software program has been used since the late 1990s as one tool to analyze pressure mea- surements monitored at each cavern. The purpose of this monitoring is to catch potential cavern integrity issues as soon as possible. The CaveMan software was written in Microsoft Visual Basic, and embedded in a Microsoft Excel workbook; this method of running the CaveMan software is no longer sustainable. As such, a new version called CaveMan Enter- prisemore » has been developed. CaveMan Enterprise version 1.0 does not have any changes to the CaveMan numerical models. CaveMan Enterprise represents, instead, a change from desktop-managed work- books to an enterprise framework, moving data management into coordinated databases and porting the numerical modeling codes into the Python programming language. This document provides a report of the code validation and verification testing.« less

  9. Model development and validation of geometrically complex eddy current coils using finite element methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown, Alexander; Eviston, Connor

    2017-02-01

    Multiple FEM models of complex eddy current coil geometries were created and validated to calculate the change of impedance due to the presence of a notch. Capable realistic simulations of eddy current inspections are required for model assisted probability of detection (MAPOD) studies, inversion algorithms, experimental verification, and tailored probe design for NDE applications. An FEM solver was chosen to model complex real world situations including varying probe dimensions and orientations along with complex probe geometries. This will also enable creation of a probe model library database with variable parameters. Verification and validation was performed using other commercially available eddy current modeling software as well as experimentally collected benchmark data. Data analysis and comparison showed that the created models were able to correctly model the probe and conductor interactions and accurately calculate the change in impedance of several experimental scenarios with acceptable error. The promising results of the models enabled the start of an eddy current probe model library to give experimenters easy access to powerful parameter based eddy current models for alternate project applications.

  10. A Local DCT-II Feature Extraction Approach for Personal Identification Based on Palmprint

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choge, H. Kipsang; Oyama, Tadahiro; Karungaru, Stephen; Tsuge, Satoru; Fukumi, Minoru

    Biometric applications based on the palmprint have recently attracted increased attention from various researchers. In this paper, a method is presented that differs from the commonly used global statistical and structural techniques by extracting and using local features instead. The middle palm area is extracted after preprocessing for rotation, position and illumination normalization. The segmented region of interest is then divided into blocks of either 8×8 or 16×16 pixels in size. The type-II Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) is applied to transform the blocks into DCT space. A subset of coefficients that encode the low to medium frequency components is selected using the JPEG-style zigzag scanning method. Features from each block are subsequently concatenated into a compact feature vector and used in palmprint verification experiments with palmprints from the PolyU Palmprint Database. Results indicate that this approach achieves better results than many conventional transform-based methods, with an excellent recognition accuracy above 99% and an Equal Error Rate (EER) of less than 1.2% in palmprint verification.

  11. Implementation of an RBF neural network on embedded systems: real-time face tracking and identity verification.

    PubMed

    Yang, Fan; Paindavoine, M

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes a real time vision system that allows us to localize faces in video sequences and verify their identity. These processes are image processing techniques based on the radial basis function (RBF) neural network approach. The robustness of this system has been evaluated quantitatively on eight video sequences. We have adapted our model for an application of face recognition using the Olivetti Research Laboratory (ORL), Cambridge, UK, database so as to compare the performance against other systems. We also describe three hardware implementations of our model on embedded systems based on the field programmable gate array (FPGA), zero instruction set computer (ZISC) chips, and digital signal processor (DSP) TMS320C62, respectively. We analyze the algorithm complexity and present results of hardware implementations in terms of the resources used and processing speed. The success rates of face tracking and identity verification are 92% (FPGA), 85% (ZISC), and 98.2% (DSP), respectively. For the three embedded systems, the processing speeds for images size of 288 /spl times/ 352 are 14 images/s, 25 images/s, and 4.8 images/s, respectively.

  12. Impact of Finger Type in Fingerprint Authentication

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gafurov, Davrondzhon; Bours, Patrick; Yang, Bian; Busch, Christoph

    Nowadays fingerprint verification system is the most widespread and accepted biometric technology that explores various features of the human fingers for this purpose. In general, every normal person has 10 fingers with different size. Although it is claimed that recognition performance with little fingers can be less accurate compared to other finger types, to our best knowledge, this has not been investigated yet. This paper presents our study on the topic of influence of the finger type into fingerprint recognition performance. For analysis we employ two fingerprint verification software packages (one public and one commercial). We conduct test on GUC100 multi sensor fingerprint database which contains fingerprint images of all 10 fingers from 100 subjects. Our analysis indeed confirms that performance with small fingers is less accurate than performance with the others fingers of the hand. It also appears that best performance is being obtained with thumb or index fingers. For example, performance deterioration from the best finger (i.e. index or thumb) to the worst fingers (i.e. small ones) can be in the range of 184%-1352%.

  13. Feature genes in metastatic breast cancer identified by MetaDE and SVM classifier methods.

    PubMed

    Tuo, Youlin; An, Ning; Zhang, Ming

    2018-03-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the feature genes in metastatic breast cancer samples. A total of 5 expression profiles of metastatic breast cancer samples were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, which were then analyzed using the MetaQC and MetaDE packages in R language. The feature genes between metastasis and non‑metastasis samples were screened under the threshold of P<0.05. Based on the protein‑protein interactions (PPIs) in the Biological General Repository for Interaction Datasets, Human Protein Reference Database and Biomolecular Interaction Network Database, the PPI network of the feature genes was constructed. The feature genes identified by topological characteristics were then used for support vector machine (SVM) classifier training and verification. The accuracy of the SVM classifier was then evaluated using another independent dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Finally, function and pathway enrichment analyses for genes in the SVM classifier were performed. A total of 541 feature genes were identified between metastatic and non‑metastatic samples. The top 10 genes with the highest betweenness centrality values in the PPI network of feature genes were Nuclear RNA Export Factor 1, cyclin‑dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), myelocytomatosis proto‑oncogene protein (MYC), Cullin 5, SHC Adaptor Protein 1, Clathrin heavy chain, Nucleolin, WD repeat domain 1, proteasome 26S subunit non‑ATPase 2 and telomeric repeat binding factor 2. The cyclin‑dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A), E2F transcription factor 1 (E2F1), and MYC interacted with CDK2. The SVM classifier constructed by the top 30 feature genes was able to distinguish metastatic samples from non‑metastatic samples [correct rate, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value >0.89; sensitivity >0.84; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) >0.96]. The verification of the SVM classifier in an independent dataset (35 metastatic samples and 143 non‑metastatic samples) revealed an accuracy of 94.38% and AUROC of 0.958. Cell cycle associated functions and pathways were the most significant terms of the 30 feature genes. A SVM classifier was constructed to assess the possibility of breast cancer metastasis, which presented high accuracy in several independent datasets. CDK2, CDKN1A, E2F1 and MYC were indicated as the potential feature genes in metastatic breast cancer.

  14. Record linkage for pharmacoepidemiological studies in cancer patients.

    PubMed

    Herk-Sukel, Myrthe P P van; Lemmens, Valery E P P; Poll-Franse, Lonneke V van de; Herings, Ron M C; Coebergh, Jan Willem W

    2012-01-01

    An increasing need has developed for the post-approval surveillance of (new) anti-cancer drugs by means of pharmacoepidemiology and outcomes research in the area of oncology. To create an overview that makes researchers aware of the available database linkages in Northern America and Europe which facilitate pharmacoepidemiology and outcomes research in cancer patients. In addition to our own database, i.e. the Eindhoven Cancer Registry (ECR) linked to the PHARMO Record Linkage System, we considered database linkages between a population-based cancer registry and an administrative healthcare database that at least contains information on drug use and offers a longitudinal perspective on healthcare utilization. Eligible database linkages were limited to those that had been used in multiple published articles in English language included in Pubmed. The HMO Cancer Research Network (CRN) in the US was excluded from this review, as an overview of the linked databases participating in the CRN is already provided elsewhere. Researchers who had worked with the data resources included in our review were contacted for additional information and verification of the data presented in the overview. The following database linkages were included: the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results-Medicare; cancer registry data linked to Medicaid; Canadian cancer registries linked to population-based drug databases; the Scottish cancer registry linked to the Tayside drug dispensing data; linked databases in the Nordic Countries of Europe: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark; and the ECR-PHARMO linkage in the Netherlands. Descriptives of the included database linkages comprise population size, generalizability of the population, year of first data availability, contents of the cancer registry, contents of the administrative healthcare database, the possibility to select a cancer-free control cohort, and linkage to other healthcare databases. The linked databases offer a longitudinal perspective, allowing for observations of health care utilization before, during, and after cancer diagnosis. They create new powerful data resources for the monitoring of post-approval drug utilization, as well as a framework to explore the (cost-)effectiveness of new, often expensive, anti-cancer drugs as used in everyday practice. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. The reference ballistic imaging database revisited.

    PubMed

    De Ceuster, Jan; Dujardin, Sylvain

    2015-03-01

    A reference ballistic image database (RBID) contains images of cartridge cases fired in firearms that are in circulation: a ballistic fingerprint database. The performance of an RBID was investigated a decade ago by De Kinder et al. using IBIS(®) Heritage™ technology. The results of that study were published in this journal, issue 214. Since then, technologies have evolved quite significantly and novel apparatus have become available on the market. The current research article investigates the efficiency of another automated ballistic imaging system, Evofinder(®) using the same database as used by De Kinder et al. The results demonstrate a significant increase in correlation efficiency: 38% of all matches were on first position of the Evofinder correlation list in comparison to IBIS(®) Heritage™ where only 19% were on the first position. Average correlation times are comparable to the IBIS(®) Heritage™ system. While Evofinder(®) demonstrates specific improvement for mutually correlating different ammunition brands, ammunition dependence of the markings is still strongly influencing the correlation result because the markings may vary considerably. As a consequence a great deal of potential hits (36%) was still far down in the correlation lists (positions 31 and lower). The large database was used to examine the probability of finding a match as a function of correlation list verification. As an example, the RBID study on Evofinder(®) demonstrates that to find at least 90% of all potential matches, at least 43% of the items in the database need to be compared on screen and this for breech face markings and firing pin impression separately. These results, although a clear improvement to the original RBID study, indicate that the implementation of such a database should still not be considered nowadays. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) Overview

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ijames, Gayleen N.

    2012-01-01

    Objectives and Goals: Maintain and operate the POIC and support integrated Space Station command and control functions. Provide software and hardware systems to support ISS payloads and Shuttle for the POIF cadre, Payload Developers and International Partners. Provide design, development, independent verification &validation, configuration, operational product/system deliveries and maintenance of those systems for telemetry, commanding, database and planning. Provide Backup Control Center for MCC-H in case of shutdown. Provide certified personnel and systems to support 24x7 facility operations per ISS Program. Payloads CoFR Implementation Plan (SSP 52054) and MSFC Payload Operations CoFR Implementation Plan (POIF-1006).

  17. Finger-Vein Verification Based on Multi-Features Fusion

    PubMed Central

    Qin, Huafeng; Qin, Lan; Xue, Lian; He, Xiping; Yu, Chengbo; Liang, Xinyuan

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a new scheme to improve the performance of finger-vein identification systems. Firstly, a vein pattern extraction method to extract the finger-vein shape and orientation features is proposed. Secondly, to accommodate the potential local and global variations at the same time, a region-based matching scheme is investigated by employing the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) matching method. Finally, the finger-vein shape, orientation and SIFT features are combined to further enhance the performance. The experimental results on databases of 426 and 170 fingers demonstrate the consistent superiority of the proposed approach. PMID:24196433

  18. Fire Detection Organizing Questions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    Verified models of fire precursor transport in low and partial gravity: a. Development of models for large-scale transport in reduced gravity. b. Validated CFD simulations of transport of fire precursors. c. Evaluation of the effect of scale on transport and reduced gravity fires. Advanced fire detection system for gaseous and particulate pre-fire and fire signaturesa: a. Quantification of pre-fire pyrolysis products in microgravity. b. Suite of gas and particulate sensors. c. Reduced gravity evaluation of candidate detector technologies. d. Reduced gravity verification of advanced fire detection system. e. Validated database of fire and pre-fire signatures in low and partial gravity.

  19. Comparative study of minutiae selection algorithms for ISO fingerprint templates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vibert, B.; Charrier, C.; Le Bars, J.-M.; Rosenberger, C.

    2015-03-01

    We address the selection of fingerprint minutiae given a fingerprint ISO template. Minutiae selection plays a very important role when a secure element (i.e. a smart-card) is used. Because of the limited capability of computation and memory, the number of minutiae of a stored reference in the secure element is limited. We propose in this paper a comparative study of 6 minutiae selection methods including 2 methods from the literature and 1 like reference (No Selection). Experimental results on 3 fingerprint databases from the Fingerprint Verification Competition show their relative efficiency in terms of performance and computation time.

  20. Nutrient database improvement project: the influence of USDA quality and yield grade on the separable components and proximate composition of raw and cooked retail cuts from the beef chuck.

    PubMed

    West, S E; Harris, K B; Haneklaus, A N; Savell, J W; Thompson, L D; Brooks, J C; Pool, J K; Luna, A M; Engle, T E; Schutz, J S; Woerner, D R; Arcibeque, S L; Belk, K E; Douglass, L; Leheska, J M; McNeill, S; Howe, J C; Holden, J M; Duvall, M; Patterson, K

    2014-08-01

    This study was designed to provide updated information on the separable components, cooking yields, and proximate composition of retail cuts from the beef chuck. Additionally, the impact the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Quality and Yield Grade may have on such factors was investigated. Ultimately, these data will be used in the USDA - Nutrient Data Laboratory's (NDL) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR). To represent the current United States beef supply, seventy-two carcasses were selected from six regions of the country based on USDA Yield Grade, USDA Quality Grade, gender, and genetic type. Whole beef chuck primals from selected carcasses were shipped to three university laboratories for subsequent retail cut fabrication, raw and cooked cut dissection, and proximate analyses. The incorporation of these data into the SR will improve dietary education, product labeling, and other applications both domestically and abroad, thus emphasizing the importance of accurate and relevant beef nutrient data. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  1. Citation searches are more sensitive than keyword searches to identify studies using specific measurement instruments.

    PubMed

    Linder, Suzanne K; Kamath, Geetanjali R; Pratt, Gregory F; Saraykar, Smita S; Volk, Robert J

    2015-04-01

    To compare the effectiveness of two search methods in identifying studies that used the Control Preferences Scale (CPS), a health care decision-making instrument commonly used in clinical settings. We searched the literature using two methods: (1) keyword searching using variations of "Control Preferences Scale" and (2) cited reference searching using two seminal CPS publications. We searched three bibliographic databases [PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (WOS)] and one full-text database (Google Scholar). We report precision and sensitivity as measures of effectiveness. Keyword searches in bibliographic databases yielded high average precision (90%) but low average sensitivity (16%). PubMed was the most precise, followed closely by Scopus and WOS. The Google Scholar keyword search had low precision (54%) but provided the highest sensitivity (70%). Cited reference searches in all databases yielded moderate sensitivity (45-54%), but precision ranged from 35% to 75% with Scopus being the most precise. Cited reference searches were more sensitive than keyword searches, making it a more comprehensive strategy to identify all studies that use a particular instrument. Keyword searches provide a quick way of finding some but not all relevant articles. Goals, time, and resources should dictate the combination of which methods and databases are used. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Citation searches are more sensitive than keyword searches to identify studies using specific measurement instruments

    PubMed Central

    Linder, Suzanne K.; Kamath, Geetanjali R.; Pratt, Gregory F.; Saraykar, Smita S.; Volk, Robert J.

    2015-01-01

    Objective To compare the effectiveness of two search methods in identifying studies that used the Control Preferences Scale (CPS), a healthcare decision-making instrument commonly used in clinical settings. Study Design & Setting We searched the literature using two methods: 1) keyword searching using variations of “control preferences scale” and 2) cited reference searching using two seminal CPS publications. We searched three bibliographic databases [PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (WOS)] and one full-text database (Google Scholar). We report precision and sensitivity as measures of effectiveness. Results Keyword searches in bibliographic databases yielded high average precision (90%), but low average sensitivity (16%). PubMed was the most precise, followed closely by Scopus and WOS. The Google Scholar keyword search had low precision (54%) but provided the highest sensitivity (70%). Cited reference searches in all databases yielded moderate sensitivity (45–54%), but precision ranged from 35–75% with Scopus being the most precise. Conclusion Cited reference searches were more sensitive than keyword searches, making it a more comprehensive strategy to identify all studies that use a particular instrument. Keyword searches provide a quick way of finding some but not all relevant articles. Goals, time and resources should dictate the combination of which methods and databases are used. PMID:25554521

  3. Electron and Positron Stopping Powers of Materials

    National Institute of Standards and Technology Data Gateway

    SRD 7 NIST Electron and Positron Stopping Powers of Materials (PC database for purchase)   The EPSTAR database provides rapid calculations of stopping powers (collisional, radiative, and total), CSDA ranges, radiation yields and density effect corrections for incident electrons or positrons with kinetic energies from 1 keV to 10 GeV, and for any chemically defined target material.

  4. A method for verification of treatment delivery in HDR prostate brachytherapy using a flat panel detector for both imaging and source tracking.

    PubMed

    Smith, Ryan L; Haworth, Annette; Panettieri, Vanessa; Millar, Jeremy L; Franich, Rick D

    2016-05-01

    Verification of high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment delivery is an important step, but is generally difficult to achieve. A technique is required to monitor the treatment as it is delivered, allowing comparison with the treatment plan and error detection. In this work, we demonstrate a method for monitoring the treatment as it is delivered and directly comparing the delivered treatment with the treatment plan in the clinical workspace. This treatment verification system is based on a flat panel detector (FPD) used for both pre-treatment imaging and source tracking. A phantom study was conducted to establish the resolution and precision of the system. A pretreatment radiograph of a phantom containing brachytherapy catheters is acquired and registration between the measurement and treatment planning system (TPS) is performed using implanted fiducial markers. The measured catheter paths immediately prior to treatment were then compared with the plan. During treatment delivery, the position of the (192)Ir source is determined at each dwell position by measuring the exit radiation with the FPD and directly compared to the planned source dwell positions. The registration between the two corresponding sets of fiducial markers in the TPS and radiograph yielded a registration error (residual) of 1.0 mm. The measured catheter paths agreed with the planned catheter paths on average to within 0.5 mm. The source positions measured with the FPD matched the planned source positions for all dwells on average within 0.6 mm (s.d. 0.3, min. 0.1, max. 1.4 mm). We have demonstrated a method for directly comparing the treatment plan with the delivered treatment that can be easily implemented in the clinical workspace. Pretreatment imaging was performed, enabling visualization of the implant before treatment delivery and identification of possible catheter displacement. Treatment delivery verification was performed by measuring the source position as each dwell was delivered. This approach using a FPD for imaging and source tracking provides a noninvasive method of acquiring extensive information for verification in HDR prostate brachytherapy.

  5. A method for verification of treatment delivery in HDR prostate brachytherapy using a flat panel detector for both imaging and source tracking

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

    Smith, Ryan L., E-mail: ryan.smith@wbrc.org.au; Millar, Jeremy L.; Franich, Rick D.

    Purpose: Verification of high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment delivery is an important step, but is generally difficult to achieve. A technique is required to monitor the treatment as it is delivered, allowing comparison with the treatment plan and error detection. In this work, we demonstrate a method for monitoring the treatment as it is delivered and directly comparing the delivered treatment with the treatment plan in the clinical workspace. This treatment verification system is based on a flat panel detector (FPD) used for both pre-treatment imaging and source tracking. Methods: A phantom study was conducted to establish the resolutionmore » and precision of the system. A pretreatment radiograph of a phantom containing brachytherapy catheters is acquired and registration between the measurement and treatment planning system (TPS) is performed using implanted fiducial markers. The measured catheter paths immediately prior to treatment were then compared with the plan. During treatment delivery, the position of the {sup 192}Ir source is determined at each dwell position by measuring the exit radiation with the FPD and directly compared to the planned source dwell positions. Results: The registration between the two corresponding sets of fiducial markers in the TPS and radiograph yielded a registration error (residual) of 1.0 mm. The measured catheter paths agreed with the planned catheter paths on average to within 0.5 mm. The source positions measured with the FPD matched the planned source positions for all dwells on average within 0.6 mm (s.d. 0.3, min. 0.1, max. 1.4 mm). Conclusions: We have demonstrated a method for directly comparing the treatment plan with the delivered treatment that can be easily implemented in the clinical workspace. Pretreatment imaging was performed, enabling visualization of the implant before treatment delivery and identification of possible catheter displacement. Treatment delivery verification was performed by measuring the source position as each dwell was delivered. This approach using a FPD for imaging and source tracking provides a noninvasive method of acquiring extensive information for verification in HDR prostate brachytherapy.« less

  6. The impact of particle size and initial solid loading on thermochemical pretreatment of wheat straw for improving sugar recovery.

    PubMed

    Rojas-Rejón, Oscar A; Sánchez, Arturo

    2014-07-01

    This work studies the effect of initial solid load (4-32 %; w/v, DS) and particle size (0.41-50 mm) on monosaccharide yield of wheat straw subjected to dilute H(2)SO(4) (0.75 %, v/v) pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on a full factorial design (FFD) was used for the statistical analysis of pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. The highest xylose yield obtained during pretreatment (ca. 86 %; of theoretical) was achieved at 4 % (w/v, DS) and 25 mm. The solid fraction obtained from the first set of experiments was subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis at constant enzyme dosage (17 FPU/g); statistical analysis revealed that glucose yield was favored with solids pretreated at low initial solid loads and small particle sizes. Dynamic experiments showed that glucose yield did not increase after 48 h of enzymatic hydrolysis. Once established pretreatment conditions, experiments were carried out with several initial solid loading (4-24 %; w/v, DS) and enzyme dosages (5-50 FPU/g). Two straw sizes (0.41 and 50 mm) were used for verification purposes. The highest glucose yield (ca. 55 %; of theoretical) was achieved at 4 % (w/v, DS), 0.41 mm and 50 FPU/g. Statistical analysis of experiments showed that at low enzyme dosage, particle size had a remarkable effect over glucose yield and initial solid load was the main factor for glucose yield.

  7. Materials Characterization at Utah State University: Facilities and Knowledge-base of Electronic Properties of Materials Applicable to Spacecraft Charging

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dennison, J. R.; Thomson, C. D.; Kite, J.; Zavyalov, V.; Corbridge, Jodie

    2004-01-01

    In an effort to improve the reliability and versatility of spacecraft charging models designed to assist spacecraft designers in accommodating and mitigating the harmful effects of charging on spacecraft, the NASA Space Environments and Effects (SEE) Program has funded development of facilities at Utah State University for the measurement of the electronic properties of both conducting and insulating spacecraft materials. We present here an overview of our instrumentation and capabilities, which are particularly well suited to study electron emission as related to spacecraft charging. These measurements include electron-induced secondary and backscattered yields, spectra, and angular resolved measurements as a function of incident energy, species and angle, plus investigations of ion-induced electron yields, photoelectron yields, sample charging and dielectric breakdown. Extensive surface science characterization capabilities are also available to fully characterize the samples in situ. Our measurements for a wide array of conducting and insulating spacecraft materials have been incorporated into the SEE Charge Collector Knowledge-base as a Database of Electronic Properties of Materials Applicable to Spacecraft Charging. This Database provides an extensive compilation of electronic properties, together with parameterization of these properties in a format that can be easily used with existing spacecraft charging engineering tools and with next generation plasma, charging, and radiation models. Tabulated properties in the Database include: electron-induced secondary electron yield, backscattered yield and emitted electron spectra; He, Ar and Xe ion-induced electron yields and emitted electron spectra; photoyield and solar emittance spectra; and materials characterization including reflectivity, dielectric constant, resistivity, arcing, optical microscopy images, scanning electron micrographs, scanning tunneling microscopy images, and Auger electron spectra. Further details of the instrumentation used for insulator measurements and representative measurements of insulating spacecraft materials are provided in other Spacecraft Charging Conference presentations. The NASA Space Environments and Effects Program, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Boeing Corporation, NASA Graduate Research Fellowships, and the NASA Rocky Mountain Space Grant Consortium have provided support.

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

    Cheng, Jing-Jy; Flood, Paul E.; LePoire, David

    In this report, the results generated by RESRAD-RDD version 2.01 are compared with those produced by RESRAD-RDD version 1.7 for different scenarios with different sets of input parameters. RESRAD-RDD version 1.7 is spreadsheet-driven, performing calculations with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. RESRAD-RDD version 2.01 revamped version 1.7 by using command-driven programs designed with Visual Basic.NET to direct calculations with data saved in Microsoft Access database, and re-facing the graphical user interface (GUI) to provide more flexibility and choices in guideline derivation. Because version 1.7 and version 2.01 perform the same calculations, the comparison of their results serves as verification of both versions.more » The verification covered calculation results for 11 radionuclides included in both versions: Am-241, Cf-252, Cm-244, Co-60, Cs-137, Ir-192, Po-210, Pu-238, Pu-239, Ra-226, and Sr-90. At first, all nuclidespecific data used in both versions were compared to ensure that they are identical. Then generic operational guidelines and measurement-based radiation doses or stay times associated with a specific operational guideline group were calculated with both versions using different sets of input parameters, and the results obtained with the same set of input parameters were compared. A total of 12 sets of input parameters were used for the verification, and the comparison was performed for each operational guideline group, from A to G, sequentially. The verification shows that RESRAD-RDD version 1.7 and RESRAD-RDD version 2.01 generate almost identical results; the slight differences could be attributed to differences in numerical precision with Microsoft Excel and Visual Basic.NET. RESRAD-RDD version 2.01 allows the selection of different units for use in reporting calculation results. The results of SI units were obtained and compared with the base results (in traditional units) used for comparison with version 1.7. The comparison shows that RESRAD-RDD version 2.01 correctly reports calculation results in the unit specified in the GUI.« less

  9. TU-C-BRE-11: 3D EPID-Based in Vivo Dosimetry: A Major Step Forward Towards Optimal Quality and Safety in Radiation Oncology Practice

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

    Mijnheer, B; Mans, A; Olaciregui-Ruiz, I

    Purpose: To develop a 3D in vivo dosimetry method that is able to substitute pre-treatment verification in an efficient way, and to terminate treatment delivery if the online measured 3D dose distribution deviates too much from the predicted dose distribution. Methods: A back-projection algorithm has been further developed and implemented to enable automatic 3D in vivo dose verification of IMRT/VMAT treatments using a-Si EPIDs. New software tools were clinically introduced to allow automated image acquisition, to periodically inspect the record-and-verify database, and to automatically run the EPID dosimetry software. The comparison of the EPID-reconstructed and planned dose distribution is donemore » offline to raise automatically alerts and to schedule actions when deviations are detected. Furthermore, a software package for online dose reconstruction was also developed. The RMS of the difference between the cumulative planned and reconstructed 3D dose distributions was used for triggering a halt of a linac. Results: The implementation of fully automated 3D EPID-based in vivo dosimetry was able to replace pre-treatment verification for more than 90% of the patient treatments. The process has been fully automated and integrated in our clinical workflow where over 3,500 IMRT/VMAT treatments are verified each year. By optimizing the dose reconstruction algorithm and the I/O performance, the delivered 3D dose distribution is verified in less than 200 ms per portal image, which includes the comparison between the reconstructed and planned dose distribution. In this way it was possible to generate a trigger that can stop the irradiation at less than 20 cGy after introducing large delivery errors. Conclusion: The automatic offline solution facilitated the large scale clinical implementation of 3D EPID-based in vivo dose verification of IMRT/VMAT treatments; the online approach has been successfully tested for various severe delivery errors.« less

  10. Multimodal fusion of polynomial classifiers for automatic person recgonition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Broun, Charles C.; Zhang, Xiaozheng

    2001-03-01

    With the prevalence of the information age, privacy and personalization are forefront in today's society. As such, biometrics are viewed as essential components of current evolving technological systems. Consumers demand unobtrusive and non-invasive approaches. In our previous work, we have demonstrated a speaker verification system that meets these criteria. However, there are additional constraints for fielded systems. The required recognition transactions are often performed in adverse environments and across diverse populations, necessitating robust solutions. There are two significant problem areas in current generation speaker verification systems. The first is the difficulty in acquiring clean audio signals in all environments without encumbering the user with a head- mounted close-talking microphone. Second, unimodal biometric systems do not work with a significant percentage of the population. To combat these issues, multimodal techniques are being investigated to improve system robustness to environmental conditions, as well as improve overall accuracy across the population. We propose a multi modal approach that builds on our current state-of-the-art speaker verification technology. In order to maintain the transparent nature of the speech interface, we focus on optical sensing technology to provide the additional modality-giving us an audio-visual person recognition system. For the audio domain, we use our existing speaker verification system. For the visual domain, we focus on lip motion. This is chosen, rather than static face or iris recognition, because it provides dynamic information about the individual. In addition, the lip dynamics can aid speech recognition to provide liveness testing. The visual processing method makes use of both color and edge information, combined within Markov random field MRF framework, to localize the lips. Geometric features are extracted and input to a polynomial classifier for the person recognition process. A late integration approach, based on a probabilistic model, is employed to combine the two modalities. The system is tested on the XM2VTS database combined with AWGN in the audio domain over a range of signal-to-noise ratios.

  11. Simulating and Predicting Cereal Crop Yields in Ethiopia: Model Calibration and Verification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, M.; Wang, G.; Ahmed, K. F.; Eggen, M.; Adugna, B.; Anagnostou, E. N.

    2017-12-01

    Agriculture in developing countries are extremely vulnerable to climate variability and changes. In East Africa, most people live in the rural areas with outdated agriculture techniques and infrastructure. Smallholder agriculture continues to play a key role in this area, and the rate of irrigation is among the lowest of the world. As a result, seasonal and inter-annual weather patterns play an important role in the spatiotemporal variability of crop yields. This study investigates how various climate variables (e.g., temperature, precipitation, sunshine) and agricultural practice (e.g., fertilization, irrigation, planting date) influence cereal crop yields using a process-based model (DSSAT) and statistical analysis, and focuses on the Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia. The DSSAT model is driven with meteorological forcing from the ECMWF's latest reanalysis product that cover the past 35 years; the statistical model will be developed by linking the same meteorological reanalysis data with harvest data at the woreda level from the Ethiopian national dataset. Results from this study will set the stage for the development of a seasonal prediction system for weather and crop yields in Ethiopia, which will serve multiple sectors in coping with the agricultural impact of climate variability.

  12. An Investigation of Widespread Ozone Damage to the Soybean Crop in the Upper Midwest Determined From Ground-Based and Satellite Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fishman, Jack; Creilson, John K.; Parker, Peter A.; Ainsworth, Elizabeth A.; Vining, G. Geoffrey; Szarka, John; Booker, Fitzgerald L.; Xu, Xiaojing

    2010-01-01

    Elevated concentrations of ground-level ozone (O3) are frequently measured over farmland regions in many parts of the world. While numerous experimental studies show that O3 can significantly decrease crop productivity, independent verifications of yield losses at current ambient O3 concentrations in rural locations are sparse. In this study, soybean crop yield data during a 5-year period over the Midwest of the United States were combined with ground and satellite O3 measurements to provide evidence that yield losses on the order of 10% could be estimated through the use of a multiple linear regression model. Yield loss trends based on both conventional ground-based instrumentation and satellite-derived tropospheric O3 measurements were statistically significant and were consistent with results obtained from open-top chamber experiments and an open-air experimental facility (SoyFACE, Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment) in central Illinois. Our analysis suggests that such losses are a relatively new phenomenon due to the increase in background tropospheric O3 levels over recent decades. Extrapolation of these findings supports previous studies that estimate the global economic loss to the farming community of more than $10 billion annually.

  13. How well should probabilistic seismic hazard maps work?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vanneste, K.; Stein, S.; Camelbeeck, T.; Vleminckx, B.

    2016-12-01

    Recent large earthquakes that gave rise to shaking much stronger than shown in earthquake hazard maps have stimulated discussion about how well these maps forecast future shaking. These discussions have brought home the fact that although the maps are designed to achieve certain goals, we know little about how well they actually perform. As for any other forecast, this question involves verification and validation. Verification involves assessing how well the algorithm used to produce hazard maps implements the conceptual PSHA model ("have we built the model right?"). Validation asks how well the model forecasts the shaking that actually occurs ("have we built the right model?"). We explore the verification issue by simulating the shaking history of an area with assumed distribution of earthquakes, frequency-magnitude relation, temporal occurrence model, and ground-motion prediction equation. We compare the "observed" shaking at many sites over time to that predicted by a hazard map generated for the same set of parameters. PSHA predicts that the fraction of sites at which shaking will exceed that mapped is p = 1 - exp(t/T), where t is the duration of observations and T is the map's return period. This implies that shaking in large earthquakes is typically greater than shown on hazard maps, as has occurred in a number of cases. A large number of simulated earthquake histories yield distributions of shaking consistent with this forecast, with a scatter about this value that decreases as t/T increases. The median results are somewhat lower than predicted for small values of t/T and approach the predicted value for larger values of t/T. Hence, the algorithm appears to be internally consistent and can be regarded as verified for this set of simulations. Validation is more complicated because a real observed earthquake history can yield a fractional exceedance significantly higher or lower than that predicted while still being consistent with the hazard map in question. As a result, given that in the real world we have only a single sample, it is hard to assess whether a misfit between a map and observations arises by chance or reflects a biased map.

  14. Improving database enrichment through ensemble docking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rao, Shashidhar; Sanschagrin, Paul C.; Greenwood, Jeremy R.; Repasky, Matthew P.; Sherman, Woody; Farid, Ramy

    2008-09-01

    While it may seem intuitive that using an ensemble of multiple conformations of a receptor in structure-based virtual screening experiments would necessarily yield improved enrichment of actives relative to using just a single receptor, it turns out that at least in the p38 MAP kinase model system studied here, a very large majority of all possible ensembles do not yield improved enrichment of actives. However, there are combinations of receptor structures that do lead to improved enrichment results. We present here a method to select the ensembles that produce the best enrichments that does not rely on knowledge of active compounds or sophisticated analyses of the 3D receptor structures. In the system studied here, the small fraction of ensembles of up to 3 receptors that do yield good enrichments of actives were identified by selecting ensembles that have the best mean GlideScore for the top 1% of the docked ligands in a database screen of actives and drug-like "decoy" ligands. Ensembles of two receptors identified using this mean GlideScore metric generally outperform single receptors, while ensembles of three receptors identified using this metric consistently give optimal enrichment factors in which, for example, 40% of the known actives outrank all the other ligands in the database.

  15. A rare variant of the mtDNA HVS1 sequence in the hairs of Napoléon's family.

    PubMed

    Lucotte, Gérard

    2010-10-04

    This paper describes the finding of a rare variant in the sequence of the hypervariable segment (HVS1) of mitochondrial (mtDNA) extracted from two preserved hairs, authenticated as belonging to the French Emperor Napoléon I (Napoléon Bonaparte). This rare variant is a mutation that changes the base C to T at position 16,184 (16184C→T), and it constitutes the only mutation found in this HVS1 sequence. This mutation is rare, because it was not found in a reference database (P < 0.05). In a personal database (M. Pala) comprising 37,000 different sequences, the 16184C→T mutation was found in only three samples, thus in this database the mutation frequency was 0.00008%. This mutation 16184C→T was also the only variant found subsequently in the HVS1 sequences of mtDNAs extracted from Napoléon's mother (Letizia) and from his youngest sister (Caroline), confirming that this mutation is maternally inherited. This 16184C→T variant could be used for genetic verification to authenticate any doubtful material and determine whether it should indeed be attributed to Napoléon.

  16. A rare variant of the mtDNA HVS1 sequence in the hairs of Napoléon's family

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes the finding of a rare variant in the sequence of the hypervariable segment (HVS1) of mitochondrial (mtDNA) extracted from two preserved hairs, authenticated as belonging to the French Emperor Napoléon I (Napoléon Bonaparte). This rare variant is a mutation that changes the base C to T at position 16,184 (16184C→T), and it constitutes the only mutation found in this HVS1 sequence. This mutation is rare, because it was not found in a reference database (P < 0.05). In a personal database (M. Pala) comprising 37,000 different sequences, the 16184C→T mutation was found in only three samples, thus in this database the mutation frequency was 0.00008%. This mutation 16184C→T was also the only variant found subsequently in the HVS1 sequences of mtDNAs extracted from Napoléon's mother (Letizia) and from his youngest sister (Caroline), confirming that this mutation is maternally inherited. This 16184C→T variant could be used for genetic verification to authenticate any doubtful material and determine whether it should indeed be attributed to Napoléon. PMID:21092341

  17. Déjà vu: a database of highly similar citations in the scientific literature

    PubMed Central

    Errami, Mounir; Sun, Zhaohui; Long, Tara C.; George, Angela C.; Garner, Harold R.

    2009-01-01

    In the scientific research community, plagiarism and covert multiple publications of the same data are considered unacceptable because they undermine the public confidence in the scientific integrity. Yet, little has been done to help authors and editors to identify highly similar citations, which sometimes may represent cases of unethical duplication. For this reason, we have made available Déjà vu, a publicly available database of highly similar Medline citations identified by the text similarity search engine eTBLAST. Following manual verification, highly similar citation pairs are classified into various categories ranging from duplicates with different authors to sanctioned duplicates. Déjà vu records also contain user-provided commentary and supporting information to substantiate each document's categorization. Déjà vu and eTBLAST are available to authors, editors, reviewers, ethicists and sociologists to study, intercept, annotate and deter questionable publication practices. These tools are part of a sustained effort to enhance the quality of Medline as ‘the’ biomedical corpus. The Déjà vu database is freely accessible at http://spore.swmed.edu/dejavu. The tool eTBLAST is also freely available at http://etblast.org. PMID:18757888

  18. Deja vu: a database of highly similar citations in the scientific literature.

    PubMed

    Errami, Mounir; Sun, Zhaohui; Long, Tara C; George, Angela C; Garner, Harold R

    2009-01-01

    In the scientific research community, plagiarism and covert multiple publications of the same data are considered unacceptable because they undermine the public confidence in the scientific integrity. Yet, little has been done to help authors and editors to identify highly similar citations, which sometimes may represent cases of unethical duplication. For this reason, we have made available Déjà vu, a publicly available database of highly similar Medline citations identified by the text similarity search engine eTBLAST. Following manual verification, highly similar citation pairs are classified into various categories ranging from duplicates with different authors to sanctioned duplicates. Déjà vu records also contain user-provided commentary and supporting information to substantiate each document's categorization. Déjà vu and eTBLAST are available to authors, editors, reviewers, ethicists and sociologists to study, intercept, annotate and deter questionable publication practices. These tools are part of a sustained effort to enhance the quality of Medline as 'the' biomedical corpus. The Déjà vu database is freely accessible at http://spore.swmed.edu/dejavu. The tool eTBLAST is also freely available at http://etblast.org.

  19. On compensation of mismatched recording conditions in the Bayesian approach for forensic automatic speaker recognition.

    PubMed

    Botti, F; Alexander, A; Drygajlo, A

    2004-12-02

    This paper deals with a procedure to compensate for mismatched recording conditions in forensic speaker recognition, using a statistical score normalization. Bayesian interpretation of the evidence in forensic automatic speaker recognition depends on three sets of recordings in order to perform forensic casework: reference (R) and control (C) recordings of the suspect, and a potential population database (P), as well as a questioned recording (QR) . The requirement of similar recording conditions between suspect control database (C) and the questioned recording (QR) is often not satisfied in real forensic cases. The aim of this paper is to investigate a procedure of normalization of scores, which is based on an adaptation of the Test-normalization (T-norm) [2] technique used in the speaker verification domain, to compensate for the mismatch. Polyphone IPSC-02 database and ASPIC (an automatic speaker recognition system developed by EPFL and IPS-UNIL in Lausanne, Switzerland) were used in order to test the normalization procedure. Experimental results for three different recording condition scenarios are presented using Tippett plots and the effect of the compensation on the evaluation of the strength of the evidence is discussed.

  20. In search of the emotional face: anger versus happiness superiority in visual search.

    PubMed

    Savage, Ruth A; Lipp, Ottmar V; Craig, Belinda M; Becker, Stefanie I; Horstmann, Gernot

    2013-08-01

    Previous research has provided inconsistent results regarding visual search for emotional faces, yielding evidence for either anger superiority (i.e., more efficient search for angry faces) or happiness superiority effects (i.e., more efficient search for happy faces), suggesting that these results do not reflect on emotional expression, but on emotion (un-)related low-level perceptual features. The present study investigated possible factors mediating anger/happiness superiority effects; specifically search strategy (fixed vs. variable target search; Experiment 1), stimulus choice (Nimstim database vs. Ekman & Friesen database; Experiments 1 and 2), and emotional intensity (Experiment 3 and 3a). Angry faces were found faster than happy faces regardless of search strategy using faces from the Nimstim database (Experiment 1). By contrast, a happiness superiority effect was evident in Experiment 2 when using faces from the Ekman and Friesen database. Experiment 3 employed angry, happy, and exuberant expressions (Nimstim database) and yielded anger and happiness superiority effects, respectively, highlighting the importance of the choice of stimulus materials. Ratings of the stimulus materials collected in Experiment 3a indicate that differences in perceived emotional intensity, pleasantness, or arousal do not account for differences in search efficiency. Across three studies, the current investigation indicates that prior reports of anger or happiness superiority effects in visual search are likely to reflect on low-level visual features associated with the stimulus materials used, rather than on emotion. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  1. Financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness and monitoring, measurement, reporting and verification in the Congo Basin

    PubMed Central

    Maniatis, Danae; Gaugris, Jérôme; Mollicone, Danilo; Scriven, Joel; Corblin, Alexis; Ndikumagenge, Cleto; Aquino, André; Crete, Philippe; Sanz-Sanchez, Maria-José

    2013-01-01

    This paper provides the first critical analysis of the financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness in the Congo Basin, with a particular focus on the REDD+ component of national forest monitoring and measurement, reporting and verification (M&MRV). We focus on three areas of analysis: (i) general financing for REDD+ readiness especially M&MRV; (ii) capacity and information for REDD+ implementation and M&MRV; (iii) prospects and challenges for REDD+ and M&MRV readiness in terms of financing and capacity. For the first area of analysis, a REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing database was created based on the information from the REDD+ voluntary database and Internet searches. For the second area of analysis, a qualitative approach to data collection was adopted (semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, surveys and observations). All 10 countries were visited between 2010 and 2012. We find that: (i) a significant amount of REDD+ financing flows into the Congo Basin (±US$550 million or almost half of the REDD+ financing for the African continent); (ii) across countries, there is an important disequilibrium in terms of REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing, political engagement, comprehension and capacity, which also appears to be a key barrier to countries receiving equal resources; (iii) most financing appears to go to smaller scale (subnational) REDD+ projects; (iv) four distinct country groups in terms of REDD+ readiness and M&MRV status are identified; and (v) the Congo Basin has a distinct opportunity to have a specific REDD+ financing window for large-scale and more targeted national REDD+ programmes through a specific fund for the region. PMID:23878337

  2. CLSI-based transference and verification of CALIPER pediatric reference intervals for 29 Ortho VITROS 5600 chemistry assays.

    PubMed

    Higgins, Victoria; Truong, Dorothy; Woroch, Amy; Chan, Man Khun; Tahmasebi, Houman; Adeli, Khosrow

    2018-03-01

    Evidence-based reference intervals (RIs) are essential to accurately interpret pediatric laboratory test results. To fill gaps in pediatric RIs, the Canadian Laboratory Initiative on Pediatric Reference Intervals (CALIPER) project developed an age- and sex-specific pediatric RI database based on healthy pediatric subjects. Originally established for Abbott ARCHITECT assays, CALIPER RIs were transferred to assays on Beckman, Roche, Siemens, and Ortho analytical platforms. This study provides transferred reference intervals for 29 biochemical assays for the Ortho VITROS 5600 Chemistry System (Ortho). Based on Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines, a method comparison analysis was performed by measuring approximately 200 patient serum samples using Abbott and Ortho assays. The equation of the line of best fit was calculated and the appropriateness of the linear model was assessed. This equation was used to transfer RIs from Abbott to Ortho assays. Transferred RIs were verified using 84 healthy pediatric serum samples from the CALIPER cohort. RIs for most chemistry analytes successfully transferred from Abbott to Ortho assays. Calcium and CO 2 did not meet statistical criteria for transference (r 2 <0.70). Of the 32 transferred reference intervals, 29 successfully verified with approximately 90% of results from reference samples falling within transferred confidence limits. Transferred RIs for total bilirubin, magnesium, and LDH did not meet verification criteria and are not reported. This study broadens the utility of the CALIPER pediatric RI database to laboratories using Ortho VITROS 5600 biochemical assays. Clinical laboratories should verify CALIPER reference intervals for their specific analytical platform and local population as recommended by CLSI. Copyright © 2018 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Prevalence of plagiarism in recent submissions to the Croatian Medical Journal.

    PubMed

    Baždarić, Ksenija; Bilić-Zulle, Lidija; Brumini, Gordana; Petrovečki, Mladen

    2012-06-01

    To assess the prevalence of plagiarism in manuscripts submitted for publication in the Croatian Medical Journal (CMJ). All manuscripts submitted in 2009-2010 were analyzed using plagiarism detection software: eTBLAST, CrossCheck, and WCopyfind. Plagiarism was suspected in manuscripts with more than 10% of the text derived from other sources. These manuscripts were checked against the Déjà vu database and manually verified by investigators. Of 754 submitted manuscripts, 105 (14%) were identified by the software as suspicious of plagiarism. Manual verification confirmed that 85 (11%) manuscripts were plagiarized: 63 (8%) were true plagiarism and 22 (3%) were self-plagiarism. Plagiarized manuscripts were mostly submitted from China (21%), Croatia (14%), and Turkey (19%). There was no significant difference in the text similarity rate between plagiarized and self-plagiarized manuscripts (25% [95% CI 22-27%] vs. 28% [95% CI 20-33%]; U = 645.50; P = 0.634). Differences in text similarity rate were found between various sections of self-plagiarized manuscripts (H = 12.65, P = 0.013). The plagiarism rate in the Materials and Methods (61% (95% CI 41-68%) was higher than in the Results (23% [95% CI 17-36%], U = 33.50; P = 0.009) or Discussion (25.5 [95% CI 15-35%]; U = 57.50; P < 0.001) sections. Three authors were identified in the Déjà vu database. Plagiarism detection software combined with manual verification may be used to detect plagiarized manuscripts and prevent their publication. The prevalence of plagiarized manuscripts submitted to the CMJ, a journal dedicated to promoting research integrity, was 11% in the 2-year period 2009-2010.

  4. Financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness and monitoring, measurement, reporting and verification in the Congo Basin.

    PubMed

    Maniatis, Danae; Gaugris, Jérôme; Mollicone, Danilo; Scriven, Joel; Corblin, Alexis; Ndikumagenge, Cleto; Aquino, André; Crete, Philippe; Sanz-Sanchez, Maria-José

    2013-01-01

    This paper provides the first critical analysis of the financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness in the Congo Basin, with a particular focus on the REDD+ component of national forest monitoring and measurement, reporting and verification (M&MRV). We focus on three areas of analysis: (i) general financing for REDD+ readiness especially M&MRV; (ii) capacity and information for REDD+ implementation and M&MRV; (iii) prospects and challenges for REDD+ and M&MRV readiness in terms of financing and capacity. For the first area of analysis, a REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing database was created based on the information from the REDD+ voluntary database and Internet searches. For the second area of analysis, a qualitative approach to data collection was adopted (semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, surveys and observations). All 10 countries were visited between 2010 and 2012. We find that: (i) a significant amount of REDD+ financing flows into the Congo Basin (±US$550 million or almost half of the REDD+ financing for the African continent); (ii) across countries, there is an important disequilibrium in terms of REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing, political engagement, comprehension and capacity, which also appears to be a key barrier to countries receiving equal resources; (iii) most financing appears to go to smaller scale (subnational) REDD+ projects; (iv) four distinct country groups in terms of REDD+ readiness and M&MRV status are identified; and (v) the Congo Basin has a distinct opportunity to have a specific REDD+ financing window for large-scale and more targeted national REDD+ programmes through a specific fund for the region.

  5. Strategies for medical data extraction and presentation part 2: creating a customizable context and user-specific patient reference database.

    PubMed

    Reiner, Bruce

    2015-06-01

    One of the greatest challenges facing healthcare professionals is the ability to directly and efficiently access relevant data from the patient's healthcare record at the point of care; specific to both the context of the task being performed and the specific needs and preferences of the individual end-user. In radiology practice, the relative inefficiency of imaging data organization and manual workflow requirements serves as an impediment to historical imaging data review. At the same time, clinical data retrieval is even more problematic due to the quality and quantity of data recorded at the time of order entry, along with the relative lack of information system integration. One approach to address these data deficiencies is to create a multi-disciplinary patient referenceable database which consists of high-priority, actionable data within the cumulative patient healthcare record; in which predefined criteria are used to categorize and classify imaging and clinical data in accordance with anatomy, technology, pathology, and time. The population of this referenceable database can be performed through a combination of manual and automated methods, with an additional step of data verification introduced for data quality control. Once created, these referenceable databases can be filtered at the point of care to provide context and user-specific data specific to the task being performed and individual end-user requirements.

  6. A review of the UK methodology used for monitoring cigarette smoke yields, aspects of analytical data variability and their impact on current and future regulatory compliance.

    PubMed

    Purkis, Stephen W; Drake, Linda; Meger, Michael; Mariner, Derek C

    2010-04-01

    The European Union (EU) requires that tobacco products are regulated by Directive 2001/37/EC through testing and verification of results on the basis of standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In 2007, the European Commission provided guidance to EU Member States by issuing criteria for competent laboratories which includes accreditation to ISO 17025:2005. Another criterion requires regular laboratory participation in collaborative studies that predict the measurement tolerance that must be observed to conclude that test results on any particular product are different. However, differences will always occur when comparing overall data across products between different laboratories. A forum for technical discussion between laboratories testing products as they are manufactured and a Government appointed verification laboratory gives transparency, ensures consistency and reduces apparent compliance issues to the benefit of all parties. More than 30years ago, such a forum was set up in the UK that continued until 2007 and will be described in this document. Anticipating further testing requirements in future product regulation as proposed by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, cooperation between accredited laboratories, whether for testing or verification, should be established to share know-how, to ensure a standardised level of quality and to offer competent technical dialogue in the best interest of regulators and manufacturers alike. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Neutron Source Facility Training Simulator Based on EPICS

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

    Park, Young Soo; Wei, Thomas Y.; Vilim, Richard B.

    A plant operator training simulator is developed for training the plant operators as well as for design verification of plant control system (PCS) and plant protection system (PPS) for the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology Neutron Source Facility. The simulator provides the operator interface for the whole plant including the sub-critical assembly coolant loop, target coolant loop, secondary coolant loop, and other facility systems. The operator interface is implemented based on Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS), which is a comprehensive software development platform for distributed control systems. Since its development at Argonne National Laboratory, it has beenmore » widely adopted in the experimental physics community, e.g. for control of accelerator facilities. This work is the first implementation for a nuclear facility. The main parts of the operator interface are the plant control panel and plant protection panel. The development involved implementation of process variable database, sequence logic, and graphical user interface (GUI) for the PCS and PPS utilizing EPICS and related software tools, e.g. sequencer for sequence logic, and control system studio (CSS-BOY) for graphical use interface. For functional verification of the PCS and PPS, a plant model is interfaced, which is a physics-based model of the facility coolant loops implemented as a numerical computer code. The training simulator is tested and demonstrated its effectiveness in various plant operation sequences, e.g. start-up, shut-down, maintenance, and refueling. It was also tested for verification of the plant protection system under various trip conditions.« less

  8. An Overview and Empirical Comparison of Distance Metric Learning Methods.

    PubMed

    Moutafis, Panagiotis; Leng, Mengjun; Kakadiaris, Ioannis A

    2016-02-16

    In this paper, we first offer an overview of advances in the field of distance metric learning. Then, we empirically compare selected methods using a common experimental protocol. The number of distance metric learning algorithms proposed keeps growing due to their effectiveness and wide application. However, existing surveys are either outdated or they focus only on a few methods. As a result, there is an increasing need to summarize the obtained knowledge in a concise, yet informative manner. Moreover, existing surveys do not conduct comprehensive experimental comparisons. On the other hand, individual distance metric learning papers compare the performance of the proposed approach with only a few related methods and under different settings. This highlights the need for an experimental evaluation using a common and challenging protocol. To this end, we conduct face verification experiments, as this task poses significant challenges due to varying conditions during data acquisition. In addition, face verification is a natural application for distance metric learning because the encountered challenge is to define a distance function that: 1) accurately expresses the notion of similarity for verification; 2) is robust to noisy data; 3) generalizes well to unseen subjects; and 4) scales well with the dimensionality and number of training samples. In particular, we utilize well-tested features to assess the performance of selected methods following the experimental protocol of the state-of-the-art database labeled faces in the wild. A summary of the results is presented along with a discussion of the insights obtained and lessons learned by employing the corresponding algorithms.

  9. A preliminary experimental examination of worldview verification, perceived racism, and stress reactivity in African Americans.

    PubMed

    Lucas, Todd; Lumley, Mark A; Flack, John M; Wegner, Rhiana; Pierce, Jennifer; Goetz, Stefan

    2016-04-01

    According to worldview verification theory, inconsistencies between lived experiences and worldviews are psychologically threatening. These inconsistencies may be key determinants of stress processes that influence cardiovascular health disparities. This preliminary examination considers how experiencing injustice can affect perceived racism and biological stress reactivity among African Americans. Guided by worldview verification theory, it was hypothesized that responses to receiving an unfair outcome would be moderated by fairness of the accompanying decision process, and that this effect would further depend on the consistency of the decision process with preexisting justice beliefs. A sample of 118 healthy African American adults completed baseline measures of justice beliefs, followed by a laboratory-based social-evaluative stressor task. Two randomized fairness manipulations were implemented during the task: participants were given either high or low levels of distributive (outcome) and procedural (decision process) justice. Glucocorticoid (cortisol) and inflammatory (C-reactive protein) biological responses were measured in oral fluids, and attributions of racism were also measured. The hypothesized 3-way interaction was generally obtained. Among African Americans with a strong belief in justice, perceived racism, cortisol, and C-reactive protein responses to low distributive justice were higher when procedural justice was low. Among African Americans with a weak belief in justice however, these responses were higher when a low level of distributive justice was coupled with high procedural justice. Biological and psychological processes that contribute to cardiovascular health disparities are affected by consistency between individual-level and contextual justice factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Soil and Land Resources Information System (SLISYS-Tarim) for Sustainable Management of River Oases along the Tarim River, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Othmanli, Hussein; Zhao, Chengyi; Stahr, Karl

    2017-04-01

    The Tarim River Basin is the largest continental basin in China. The region has extremely continental desert climate characterized by little rainfall <50 mm/a and high potential evaporation >3000 mm/a. The climate change is affecting severely the basin causing soil salinization, water shortage, and regression in crop production. Therefore, a Soil and Land Resources Information System (SLISYS-Tarim) for the regional simulation of crop yield production in the basin was developed. The SLISYS-Tarim consists of a database and an agro-ecological simulation model EPIC (Environmental Policy Integrated Climate). The database comprises relational tables including information about soils, terrain conditions, land use, and climate. The soil data implicate information of 50 soil profiles which were dug, analyzed, described and classified in order to characterize the soils in the region. DEM data were integrated with geological maps to build a digital terrain structure. Remote sensing data of Landsat images were applied for soil mapping, and for land use and land cover classification. An additional database for climate data, land management and crop information were linked to the system, too. Construction of the SLISYS-Tarim database was accomplished by integrating and overlaying the recommended thematic maps within environment of the geographic information system (GIS) to meet the data standard of the global and national SOTER digital database. This database forms appropriate input- and output data for the crop modelling with the EPIC model at various scales in the Tarim Basin. The EPIC model was run for simulating cotton production under a constructed scenario characterizing the current management practices, soil properties and climate conditions. For the EPIC model calibration, some parameters were adjusted so that the modeled cotton yield fits to the measured yield on the filed scale. The validation of the modeling results was achieved in a later step based on remote sensing data. The simulated cotton yield varied according to field management, soil type and salinity level, where soil salinity was the main limiting factor. Furthermore, the calibrated and validated EPIC model was run under several scenarios of climate conditions and land management practices to estimate the effect of climate change on cotton production and sustainability of agriculture systems in the basin. The application of SLISYS-Tarim showed that this database can be a suitable framework for storage and retrieval of soil and terrain data at various scales. The simulation with the EPIC model can assess the impact of climate change and management strategies. Therefore, SLISYS-Tarim can be a good tool for regional planning and serve the decision support system on regional and national scale.

  11. Verification test of the Battronic Truck Volta Electric Pickup, July 1980-January 1981

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

    Dowgiallo, E.J. Jr.; Snellings, I.R.; Chapman, R.D.

    1982-04-01

    The Volta pickup truck is an electric, multipurpose utility vehicle manufactured by the Battronic Truck Corporation of Boyertown, Pennsylvania. The vehicle was teted from July 1980 to September 1981. Complete test results are contained in Section V of this report. Part of the verification test results are summarized below: (1) Acceleration: 0 to 50 km/h (31.1 mi/h) in 10.0 s. (2) Range: SAE J227a ''B'' cycle on level (+-1-percent grade) terrain yielded 55.2 km (34.3 mi) and 162 cycles. (3) Forward Speed Capability: The vehicle maintained 70 km/h (43.5 mi/h) for more than 5 min on the level (+-1-percent) portionmore » of the MERADCOM test track. (4) Gradeability at Speed: At 25 km/h (15.5 mi/h) the vehicle can traverse a 13-percent grade based on calculations from acceleration tests. (5) Gradeability Limit: Calculations based on drawbar-pull tests indicate a 11.5-percent forward and 12.4-percent reverse gradeability for at least 20 s.« less

  12. A sharp image or a sharp knife: norms for the modality-exclusivity of 774 concept-property items.

    PubMed

    van Dantzig, Saskia; Cowell, Rosemary A; Zeelenberg, René; Pecher, Diane

    2011-03-01

    According to recent embodied cognition theories, mental concepts are represented by modality-specific sensory-motor systems. Much of the evidence for modality-specificity in conceptual processing comes from the property-verification task. When applying this and other tasks, it is important to select items based on their modality-exclusivity. We collected modality ratings for a set of 387 properties, each of which was paired with two different concepts, yielding a total of 774 concept-property items. For each item, participants rated the degree to which the property could be experienced through five perceptual modalities (vision, audition, touch, smell, and taste). Based on these ratings, we computed a measure of modality exclusivity, the degree to which a property is perceived exclusively through one sensory modality. In this paper, we briefly sketch the theoretical background of conceptual knowledge, discuss the use of the property-verification task in cognitive research, provide our norms and statistics, and validate the norms in a memory experiment. We conclude that our norms are important for researchers studying modality-specific effects in conceptual processing.

  13. BiKEGG: a COBRA toolbox extension for bridging the BiGG and KEGG databases.

    PubMed

    Jamialahmadi, Oveis; Motamedian, Ehsan; Hashemi-Najafabadi, Sameereh

    2016-10-18

    Development of an interface tool between the Biochemical, Genetic and Genomic (BiGG) and KEGG databases is necessary for simultaneous access to the features of both databases. For this purpose, we present the BiKEGG toolbox, an open source COBRA toolbox extension providing a set of functions to infer the reaction correspondences between the KEGG reaction identifiers and those in the BiGG knowledgebase using a combination of manual verification and computational methods. Inferred reaction correspondences using this approach are supported by evidence from the literature, which provides a higher number of reconciled reactions between these two databases compared to the MetaNetX and MetRxn databases. This set of equivalent reactions is then used to automatically superimpose the predicted fluxes using COBRA methods on classical KEGG pathway maps or to create a customized metabolic map based on the KEGG global metabolic pathway, and to find the corresponding reactions in BiGG based on the genome annotation of an organism in the KEGG database. Customized metabolic maps can be created for a set of pathways of interest, for the whole KEGG global map or exclusively for all pathways for which there exists at least one flux carrying reaction. This flexibility in visualization enables BiKEGG to indicate reaction directionality as well as to visualize the reaction fluxes for different static or dynamic conditions in an animated manner. BiKEGG allows the user to export (1) the output visualized metabolic maps to various standard image formats or save them as a video or animated GIF file, and (2) the equivalent reactions for an organism as an Excel spreadsheet.

  14. Enhanced global Radionuclide Source Attribution for the Nuclear-Test-Ban Verification by means of the Adjoint Ensemble Dispersion Modeling Technique applied at the IDC/CTBTO.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Becker, A.; Wotawa, G.; de Geer, L.

    2006-05-01

    The Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission maintains and permanently updates a source-receptor matrix (SRM) describing the global monitoring capability of a highly sensitive 80 stations radionuclide (RN) network in order to verify states signatories' compliance of the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty (CTBT). This is done by means of receptor-oriented Lagrangian particle dispersion modeling (LPDM) to help determine the region from which suspicious radionuclides may originate. In doing so the LPDM FLEXPART5.1 is integrated backward in time based on global analysis wind fields yielding global source-receptor sensitivity (SRS) fields stored in three-hour frequency and at 1º horizontal resolution. A database of these SRS fields substantially helps in improving the interpretation of the RN samples measurements and categorizations because it enables the testing of source-hypothesis's later on in a pure post-processing (SRM inversion) step being feasible on hardware with specifications comparable to currently sold PC's or Notebooks and at any place (decentralized), provided access to the SRS fields is warranted. Within the CTBT environment it is important to quickly achieve decision-makers confidence in the SRM based backtracking products issued by the PTS in the case of the occurrence of treaty relevant radionuclides. Therefore the PTS has set up a highly automated response system together with the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers of the World Meteorological Organization in the field of dispersion modeling who committed themselves to provide the PTS with the same standard SRS fields as calculated by their systems for CTBT relevant cases. This system was twice utilized in 2005 in order to perform adjoint ensemble dispersion modeling (EDM) and demonstrated the potential of EDM based backtracking to improve the accuracy of the source location related to singular nuclear events thus serving the backward analogue to the findings of the ensemble dispersion modeling (EDM) technique No. 5 efforts performed by Galmarini et al, 2004 (Atmos. Env. 38, 4607-4617). As the scope of the adjoint EDM methodology is not limited to CTBT verification but can be applied to any kind of nuclear event monitoring and location it bears the potential to improve the design of manifold emergency response systems towards preparedness concepts as needed for mitigation of disasters (like Chernobyl) and pre-emptive estimation of pollution hazards.

  15. Commissioning results of an automated treatment planning verification system

    PubMed Central

    Mason, Bryan E.; Robinson, Ronald C.; Kisling, Kelly D.; Kirsner, Steven M.

    2014-01-01

    A dose calculation verification system (VS) was acquired and commissioned as a second check on the treatment planning system (TPS). This system reads DICOM CT datasets, RT plans, RT structures, and RT dose from the TPS and automatically, using its own collapsed cone superposition/convolution algorithm, computes dose on the same CT dataset. The system was commissioned by extracting basic beam parameters for simple field geometries and dose verification for complex treatments. Percent depth doses (PDD) and profiles were extracted for field sizes using jaw settings 3 × 3 cm2 ‐ 40 × 40 cm2 and compared to measured data, as well as our TPS model. Smaller fields of 1 × 1 cm2 and 2 × 2 cm2 generated using the multileaf collimator (MLC) were analyzed in the same fashion as the open fields. In addition, 40 patient plans consisting of both IMRT and VMAT were computed and the following comparisons were made: 1) TPS to the VS, 2) VS to measured data, and 3) TPS to measured data where measured data is both ion chamber (IC) and film measurements. Our results indicated for all field sizes using jaw settings PDD errors for the VS on average were less than 0.87%, 1.38%, and 1.07% for 6x, 15x, and 18x, respectively, relative to measured data. PDD errors for MLC field sizes were less than 2.28%, 1.02%, and 2.23% for 6x, 15x, and 18x, respectively. The infield profile analysis yielded results less than 0.58% for 6x, 0.61% for 15x, and 0.77% for 18x for the VS relative to measured data. Analysis of the penumbra region yields results ranging from 66.5% points, meeting the DTA criteria to 100% of the points for smaller field sizes for all energies. Analysis of profile data for field sizes generated using the MLC saw agreement with infield DTA analysis ranging from 68.8%–100% points passing the 1.5%/1.5 mm criteria. Results from the dose verification for IMRT and VMAT beams indicated that, on average, the ratio of TPS to IC and VS to IC measurements was 100.5 ± 1.9% and 100.4 ± 1.3%, respectively, while our TPS to VS was 100.1 ± 1.0%. When comparing the TPS and VS to film measurements, the average percentage pixels passing a 3%/3 mm criteria based gamma analysis were 96.6 ± 4.2% and 97 ± 5.6%, respectively. When the VS was compared to the TPS, on average 98.1 ± 5.3% of pixels passed the gamma analysis. Based upon these preliminary results, the VS system should be able to calculate dose adequately as a verification tool of our TPS. PACS number: 87.55.km PMID:25207567

  16. Nutrient database improvement project: the influence of U.S.D.A. Quality and Yield Grade on the separable components and proximate composition of raw and cooked retail cuts from the beef rib and plate.

    PubMed

    Martin, J N; Brooks, J C; Thompson, L D; Savell, J W; Harris, K B; May, L L; Haneklaus, A N; Schutz, J L; Belk, K E; Engle, T; Woerner, D R; Legako, J F; Luna, A M; Douglass, L W; Douglass, S E; Howe, J; Duvall, M; Patterson, K Y; Leheska, J L

    2013-11-01

    Beef nutrition is important to the worldwide beef industry. The objective of this study was to analyze proximate composition of eight beef rib and plate cuts to update the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR). Furthermore, this study aimed to determine the influence of USDA Quality Grade on the separable components and proximate composition of the examined retail cuts. Carcasses (n=72) representing a composite of Yield Grade, Quality Grade, gender and genetic type were identified from six regions across the U.S. Beef plates and ribs (IMPS #109 and 121C and D) were collected from the selected carcasses and shipped to three university meat laboratories for storage, retail fabrication, cooking, and dissection and analysis of proximate composition. These data provide updated information regarding the nutrient content of beef and emphasize the influence of common classification systems (Yield Grade and Quality Grade) on the separable components, cooking yield, and proximate composition of retail beef cuts. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Computer-aided system for detecting runway incursions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sridhar, Banavar; Chatterji, Gano B.

    1994-07-01

    A synthetic vision system for enhancing the pilot's ability to navigate and control the aircraft on the ground is described. The system uses the onboard airport database and images acquired by external sensors. Additional navigation information needed by the system is provided by the Inertial Navigation System and the Global Positioning System. The various functions of the system, such as image enhancement, map generation, obstacle detection, collision avoidance, guidance, etc., are identified. The available technologies, some of which were developed at NASA, that are applicable to the aircraft ground navigation problem are noted. Example images of a truck crossing the runway while the aircraft flies close to the runway centerline are described. These images are from a sequence of images acquired during one of the several flight experiments conducted by NASA to acquire data to be used for the development and verification of the synthetic vision concepts. These experiments provide a realistic database including video and infrared images, motion states from the Inertial Navigation System and the Global Positioning System, and camera parameters.

  18. EPA Facility Registry System (FRS): NCES

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry System (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The primary federal database for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the United States and other Nations, NCES is located in the U.S. Department of Education, within the Institute of Education Sciences. FRS identifies and geospatially locates facilities, sites or places subject to environmental regulations or of environmental interest. Using vigorous verification and data management procedures, FRS integrates facility data from EPA00e2??s national program systems, other federal agencies, and State and tribal master facility records and provides EPA with a centrally managed, single source of comprehensive and authoritative information on facilities. This data set contains the subset of FRS integrated facilities that link to NCES school facilities once the NCES data has been integrated into the FRS database. Additional information on FRS is available at the EPA website http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/fii/index.html.

  19. A lightweight approach for biometric template protection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Al-Assam, Hisham; Sellahewa, Harin; Jassim, Sabah

    2009-05-01

    Privacy and security are vital concerns for practical biometric systems. The concept of cancelable or revocable biometrics has been proposed as a solution for biometric template security. Revocable biometric means that biometric templates are no longer fixed over time and could be revoked in the same way as lost or stolen credit cards are. In this paper, we describe a novel and an efficient approach to biometric template protection that meets the revocability property. This scheme can be incorporated into any biometric verification scheme while maintaining, if not improving, the accuracy of the original biometric system. However, we shall demonstrate the result of applying such transforms on face biometric templates and compare the efficiency of our approach with that of the well-known random projection techniques. We shall also present the results of experimental work on recognition accuracy before and after applying the proposed transform on feature vectors that are generated by wavelet transforms. These results are based on experiments conducted on a number of well-known face image databases, e.g. Yale and ORL databases.

  20. A Comprehensive Validation Methodology for Sparse Experimental Data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Norman, Ryan B.; Blattnig, Steve R.

    2010-01-01

    A comprehensive program of verification and validation has been undertaken to assess the applicability of models to space radiation shielding applications and to track progress as models are developed over time. The models are placed under configuration control, and automated validation tests are used so that comparisons can readily be made as models are improved. Though direct comparisons between theoretical results and experimental data are desired for validation purposes, such comparisons are not always possible due to lack of data. In this work, two uncertainty metrics are introduced that are suitable for validating theoretical models against sparse experimental databases. The nuclear physics models, NUCFRG2 and QMSFRG, are compared to an experimental database consisting of over 3600 experimental cross sections to demonstrate the applicability of the metrics. A cumulative uncertainty metric is applied to the question of overall model accuracy, while a metric based on the median uncertainty is used to analyze the models from the perspective of model development by analyzing subsets of the model parameter space.

  1. Validation Database Based Thermal Analysis of an Advanced RPS Concept

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Balint, Tibor S.; Emis, Nickolas D.

    2006-01-01

    Advanced RPS concepts can be conceived, designed and assessed using high-end computational analysis tools. These predictions may provide an initial insight into the potential performance of these models, but verification and validation are necessary and required steps to gain confidence in the numerical analysis results. This paper discusses the findings from a numerical validation exercise for a small advanced RPS concept, based on a thermal analysis methodology developed at JPL and on a validation database obtained from experiments performed at Oregon State University. Both the numerical and experimental configurations utilized a single GPHS module enabled design, resembling a Mod-RTG concept. The analysis focused on operating and environmental conditions during the storage phase only. This validation exercise helped to refine key thermal analysis and modeling parameters, such as heat transfer coefficients, and conductivity and radiation heat transfer values. Improved understanding of the Mod-RTG concept through validation of the thermal model allows for future improvements to this power system concept.

  2. DCT-based iris recognition.

    PubMed

    Monro, Donald M; Rakshit, Soumyadip; Zhang, Dexin

    2007-04-01

    This paper presents a novel iris coding method based on differences of discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients of overlapped angular patches from normalized iris images. The feature extraction capabilities of the DCT are optimized on the two largest publicly available iris image data sets, 2,156 images of 308 eyes from the CASIA database and 2,955 images of 150 eyes from the Bath database. On this data, we achieve 100 percent Correct Recognition Rate (CRR) and perfect Receiver-Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curves with no registered false accepts or rejects. Individual feature bit and patch position parameters are optimized for matching through a product-of-sum approach to Hamming distance calculation. For verification, a variable threshold is applied to the distance metric and the False Acceptance Rate (FAR) and False Rejection Rate (FRR) are recorded. A new worst-case metric is proposed for predicting practical system performance in the absence of matching failures, and the worst case theoretical Equal Error Rate (EER) is predicted to be as low as 2.59 x 10(-4) on the available data sets.

  3. Probabilistic combination of static and dynamic gait features for verification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bazin, Alex I.; Nixon, Mark S.

    2005-03-01

    This paper describes a novel probabilistic framework for biometric identification and data fusion. Based on intra and inter-class variation extracted from training data, posterior probabilities describing the similarity between two feature vectors may be directly calculated from the data using the logistic function and Bayes rule. Using a large publicly available database we show the two imbalanced gait modalities may be fused using this framework. All fusion methods tested provide an improvement over the best modality, with the weighted sum rule giving the best performance, hence showing that highly imbalanced classifiers may be fused in a probabilistic setting; improving not only the performance, but also generalized application capability.

  4. Quarterly environmental data summary for first quarter 1999

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

    NONE

    In support of the Weldon Spring Site Remedial Action Project Federal Facilities Agreement, a copy of the Quarterly Environmental Data Summary (QEDS) for the first quarter of 1999 is enclosed. The data presented in this constitute the QEDS. The data, except for air monitoring data and site KPA generated data (uranium analyses), were received from the contract laboratories, verified by the Weldon Spring Site verification group and merged into the database during the first quarter of 1999. KPA results for on-site total uranium analyses performed during first quarter 1999 are included. Air monitoring data presented are the most recent completemore » sets of quarterly data.« less

  5. FY09 Final Report for LDRD Project: Understanding Viral Quasispecies Evolution through Computation and Experiment

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

    Zhou, C

    2009-11-12

    In FY09 they will (1) complete the implementation, verification, calibration, and sensitivity and scalability analysis of the in-cell virus replication model; (2) complete the design of the cell culture (cell-to-cell infection) model; (3) continue the research, design, and development of their bioinformatics tools: the Web-based structure-alignment-based sequence variability tool and the functional annotation of the genome database; (4) collaborate with the University of California at San Francisco on areas of common interest; and (5) submit journal articles that describe the in-cell model with simulations and the bioinformatics approaches to evaluation of genome variability and fitness.

  6. Verification of Experimental Techniques for Flow Surface Determination

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lissenden, Cliff J.; Lerch, Bradley A.; Ellis, John R.; Robinson, David N.

    1996-01-01

    The concept of a yield surface is central to the mathematical formulation of a classical plasticity theory. However, at elevated temperatures, material response can be highly time-dependent, which is beyond the realm of classical plasticity. Viscoplastic theories have been developed for just such conditions. In viscoplastic theories, the flow law is given in terms of inelastic strain rate rather than the inelastic strain increment used in time-independent plasticity. Thus, surfaces of constant inelastic strain rate or flow surfaces are to viscoplastic theories what yield surfaces are to classical plasticity. The purpose of the work reported herein was to validate experimental procedures for determining flow surfaces at elevated temperatures. Since experimental procedures for determining yield surfaces in axial/torsional stress space are well established, they were employed -- except inelastic strain rates were used rather than total inelastic strains. In yield-surface determinations, the use of small-offset definitions of yield minimizes the change of material state and allows multiple loadings to be applied to a single specimen. The key to the experiments reported here was precise, decoupled measurement of axial and torsional strain. With this requirement in mind, the performance of a high-temperature multi-axial extensometer was evaluated by comparing its results with strain gauge results at room temperature. Both the extensometer and strain gauges gave nearly identical yield surfaces (both initial and subsequent) for type 316 stainless steel (316 SS). The extensometer also successfully determined flow surfaces for 316 SS at 650 C. Furthermore, to judge the applicability of the technique for composite materials, yield surfaces were determined for unidirectional tungsten/Kanthal (Fe-Cr-Al).

  7. Information Security and Integrity Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1990-01-01

    Viewgraphs from the Information Security and Integrity Systems seminar held at the University of Houston-Clear Lake on May 15-16, 1990 are presented. A tutorial on computer security is presented. The goals of this tutorial are the following: to review security requirements imposed by government and by common sense; to examine risk analysis methods to help keep sight of forest while in trees; to discuss the current hot topic of viruses (which will stay hot); to examine network security, now and in the next year to 30 years; to give a brief overview of encryption; to review protection methods in operating systems; to review database security problems; to review the Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (Orange Book); to comment on formal verification methods; to consider new approaches (like intrusion detection and biometrics); to review the old, low tech, and still good solutions; and to give pointers to the literature and to where to get help. Other topics covered include security in software applications and development; risk management; trust: formal methods and associated techniques; secure distributed operating system and verification; trusted Ada; a conceptual model for supporting a B3+ dynamic multilevel security and integrity in the Ada runtime environment; and information intelligence sciences.

  8. Optimum-AIV: A planning and scheduling system for spacecraft AIV

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arentoft, M. M.; Fuchs, Jens J.; Parrod, Y.; Gasquet, Andre; Stader, J.; Stokes, I.; Vadon, H.

    1991-01-01

    A project undertaken for the European Space Agency (ESA) is presented. The project is developing a knowledge based software system for planning and scheduling of activities for spacecraft assembly, integration, and verification (AIV). The system extends into the monitoring of plan execution and the plan repair phase. The objectives are to develop an operational kernel of a planning, scheduling, and plan repair tool, called OPTIMUM-AIV, and to provide facilities which will allow individual projects to customize the kernel to suit its specific needs. The kernel shall consist of a set of software functionalities for assistance in initial specification of the AIV plan, in verification and generation of valid plans and schedules for the AIV activities, and in interactive monitoring and execution problem recovery for the detailed AIV plans. Embedded in OPTIMUM-AIV are external interfaces which allow integration with alternative scheduling systems and project databases. The current status of the OPTIMUM-AIV project, as of Jan. 1991, is that a further analysis of the AIV domain has taken place through interviews with satellite AIV experts, a software requirement document (SRD) for the full operational tool was approved, and an architectural design document (ADD) for the kernel excluding external interfaces is ready for review.

  9. A Study of Feature Combination for Vehicle Detection Based on Image Processing

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Video analytics play a critical role in most recent traffic monitoring and driver assistance systems. In this context, the correct detection and classification of surrounding vehicles through image analysis has been the focus of extensive research in the last years. Most of the pieces of work reported for image-based vehicle verification make use of supervised classification approaches and resort to techniques, such as histograms of oriented gradients (HOG), principal component analysis (PCA), and Gabor filters, among others. Unfortunately, existing approaches are lacking in two respects: first, comparison between methods using a common body of work has not been addressed; second, no study of the combination potentiality of popular features for vehicle classification has been reported. In this study the performance of the different techniques is first reviewed and compared using a common public database. Then, the combination capabilities of these techniques are explored and a methodology is presented for the fusion of classifiers built upon them, taking into account also the vehicle pose. The study unveils the limitations of single-feature based classification and makes clear that fusion of classifiers is highly beneficial for vehicle verification. PMID:24672299

  10. Experimental Verification of the Individual Energy Dependencies of the Partial L-Shell Photoionization Cross Sections of Pd and Mo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hönicke, Philipp; Kolbe, Michael; Müller, Matthias; Mantler, Michael; Krämer, Markus; Beckhoff, Burkhard

    2014-10-01

    An experimental method for the verification of the individually different energy dependencies of L1-, L2-, and L3- subshell photoionization cross sections is described. The results obtained for Pd and Mo are well in line with theory regarding both energy dependency and absolute values, and confirm the theoretically calculated cross sections by Scofield from the early 1970 s and, partially, more recent data by Trzhaskovskaya, Nefedov, and Yarzhemsky. The data also demonstrate the questionability of quantitative x-ray spectroscopical results based on the widely used fixed jump ratio approximated cross sections with energy independent ratios. The experiments are carried out by employing the radiometrically calibrated instrumentation of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt at the electron storage ring BESSY II in Berlin; the obtained fluorescent intensities are thereby calibrated at an absolute level in reference to the International System of Units. Experimentally determined fixed fluorescence line ratios for each subshell are used for a reliable deconvolution of overlapping fluorescence lines. The relevant fundamental parameters of Mo and Pd are also determined experimentally in order to calculate the subshell photoionization cross sections independently of any database.

  11. Verification of Data Accuracy in Japan Congenital Cardiovascular Surgery Database Including Its Postprocedural Complication Reports.

    PubMed

    Takahashi, Arata; Kumamaru, Hiraku; Tomotaki, Ai; Matsumura, Goki; Fukuchi, Eriko; Hirata, Yasutaka; Murakami, Arata; Hashimoto, Hideki; Ono, Minoru; Miyata, Hiroaki

    2018-03-01

    Japan Congenital Cardiovascluar Surgical Database (JCCVSD) is a nationwide registry whose data are used for health quality assessment and clinical research in Japan. We evaluated the completeness of case registration and the accuracy of recorded data components including postprocedural mortality and complications in the database via on-site data adjudication. We validated the records from JCCVSD 2010 to 2012 containing congenital cardiovascular surgery data performed in 111 facilities throughout Japan. We randomly chose nine facilities for site visit by the auditor team and conducted on-site data adjudication. We assessed whether the records in JCCVSD matched the data in the source materials. We identified 1,928 cases of eligible surgeries performed at the facilities, of which 1,910 were registered (99.1% completeness), with 6 cases of duplication and 1 inappropriate case registration. Data components including gender, age, and surgery time (hours) were highly accurate with 98% to 100% concordance. Mortality at discharge and at 30 and 90 postoperative days was 100% accurate. Among the five complications studied, reoperation was the most frequently observed, with 16 and 21 cases recorded in the database and source materials, respectively, having a sensitivity of 0.67 and a specificity of 0.99. Validation of JCCVSD database showed high registration completeness and high accuracy especially in the categorical data components. Adjudicated mortality was 100% accurate. While limited in numbers, the recorded cases of postoperative complications all had high specificities but had lower sensitivity (0.67-1.00). Continued activities for data quality improvement and assessment are necessary for optimizing the utility of these registries.

  12. Progress in developing analytical and label-based dietary supplement databases at the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements

    PubMed Central

    Dwyer, Johanna T.; Picciano, Mary Frances; Betz, Joseph M.; Fisher, Kenneth D.; Saldanha, Leila G.; Yetley, Elizabeth A.; Coates, Paul M.; Milner, John A.; Whitted, Jackie; Burt, Vicki; Radimer, Kathy; Wilger, Jaimie; Sharpless, Katherine E.; Holden, Joanne M.; Andrews, Karen; Roseland, Janet; Zhao, Cuiwei; Schweitzer, Amy; Harnly, James; Wolf, Wayne R.; Perry, Charles R.

    2013-01-01

    Although an estimated 50% of adults in the United States consume dietary supplements, analytically substantiated data on their bioactive constituents are sparse. Several programs funded by the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health enhance dietary supplement database development and help to better describe the quantitative and qualitative contributions of dietary supplements to total dietary intakes. ODS, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture, is developing a Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID) verified by chemical analysis. The products chosen initially for analytical verification are adult multivitamin-mineral supplements (MVMs). These products are widely used, analytical methods are available for determining key constituents, and a certified reference material is in development. Also MVMs have no standard scientific, regulatory, or marketplace definitions and have widely varying compositions, characteristics, and bioavailability. Furthermore, the extent to which actual amounts of vitamins and minerals in a product deviate from label values is not known. Ultimately, DSID will prove useful to professionals in permitting more accurate estimation of the contribution of dietary supplements to total dietary intakes of nutrients and better evaluation of the role of dietary supplements in promoting health and well-being. ODS is also collaborating with the National Center for Health Statistics to enhance the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey dietary supplement label database. The newest ODS effort explores the feasibility and practicality of developing a database of all dietary supplement labels marketed in the US. This article describes these and supporting projects. PMID:25346570

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

    Cassata, W. S.; Velsko, C. A.; Stoeffl, W.

    We determined fission yields of xenon ( 133mXe, 135Xe, 135mXe, 137Xe, 138Xe, and 139Xe) resulting from 14 MeV neutron induced fission of depleted uranium at the National Ignition Facility. Measurements begin approximately 20 s after shot time, and yields have been determined for nuclides with half-lives as short as tens of seconds. We determined the relative independent yields of 133mXe, 135Xe, and 135mXe to significantly higher precision than previously reported. The relative fission yields of all nuclides are statistically indistinguishable from values reported by England and Rider (ENDF-349. LA-UR-94-3106, 1994), with exception of the cumulative yield of 139Xe. Furthermore, considerablemore » differences exist between our measured yields and the JEFF-3.1 database values.« less

  14. A Pilot Study Assesing Climate Change Impacts on Cereals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Topcu, Sevilay; Sen, Burak; Turkes, Murat

    2010-05-01

    The spatial and temporal impacts of climate change on the growth and yield of major cereals (first and second-crop corn) as well as wheat grown in Cukurova Region in the southern Turkey have been assessed, by combining the outputs from a regional climate model with a crop growth simulation model. With its 1.1 million ha of agricultural land, the Cukurova Region is one of the major agricultural production regions in Turkey. Wheat dominates in rain-fed areas while corn crops are grown in more than 50 % of the irrigated land in the region. Thus, the Region is providing half of the country's total cereal production. Since the region has a typical Mediterranean climate with almost no rain and high temperatures during the summer months, agricultural production is vulnerable to changes in climate in terms of decreasing rainfall and increasing temperatures and consequently shortage of water resources. To predict the future climate for the period 2070-2100, the regional climate model RegCM3 conditions was performed using IPCC's SRESS-A2 scenario, and climatic parameter such as daily mean, maximum and minimum temperatures, radiation as well as total annual precipitation were selected for the simulation study. Data for the period 1961 to 1990 were used as historical reference. The WOFOST model was used to simulate cereal growths and yields for two different water availability senarios: 1) potential production and 2) water-limited production conditions. Potential growth represents the conditions where no limiting factor such as water and nutrients is present, however due to the water-limited production situation, water for irrigation is limited as a consequence of water shortage. The detailed results of previous field experiments carried out with three cereal crops in different locations with different regional soil and climate conditions were used for the verification of the WOFOST model. According to the verification results, the model simulated the yield with less than 5% deviation for all three cereal crops. According to projections of the regional climate model RegCM3, the annual average temperature will likely increase by 3.4 to 4.8 °C, while approximately a 25% decrease in rainfall amounts is expected in the Cukurova Region during the period 2071-2100. Similar results for temperatures were estimated for entire country, however predicted changes in rainfall varies in a wide range for the country. The study showed that with climate change, wheat yield could decrease drastically in rainfed areas, however supplemental irrigation could help to sustain the yield on the current level. Yields of first and second-crop corn are expected to decrease by 58% and 43.4%, respectively, compared to the reference value under water shortages.

  15. Achieving high confidence protein annotations in a sea of unknowns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Timmins-Schiffman, E.; May, D. H.; Noble, W. S.; Nunn, B. L.; Mikan, M.; Harvey, H. R.

    2016-02-01

    Increased sensitivity of mass spectrometry (MS) technology allows deep and broad insight into community functional analyses. Metaproteomics holds the promise to reveal functional responses of natural microbial communities, whereas metagenomics alone can only hint at potential functions. The complex datasets resulting from ocean MS have the potential to inform diverse realms of the biological, chemical, and physical ocean sciences, yet the extent of bacterial functional diversity and redundancy has not been fully explored. To take advantage of these impressive datasets, we need a clear bioinformatics pipeline for metaproteomics peptide identification and annotation with a database that can provide confident identifications. Researchers must consider whether it is sufficient to leverage the vast quantities of available ocean sequence data or if they must invest in site-specific metagenomic sequencing. We have sequenced, to our knowledge, the first western arctic metagenomes from the Bering Strait and the Chukchi Sea. We have addressed the long standing question: Is a metagenome required to accurately complete metaproteomics and assess the biological distribution of metabolic functions controlling nutrient acquisition in the ocean? Two different protein databases were constructed from 1) a site-specific metagenome and 2) subarctic/arctic groups available in NCBI's non-redundant database. Multiple proteomic search strategies were employed, against each individual database and against both databases combined, to determine the algorithm and approach that yielded the balance of high sensitivity and confident identification. Results yielded over 8200 confidently identified proteins. Our comparison of these results allows us to quantify the utility of investing resources in a metagenome versus using the constantly expanding and immediately available public databases for metaproteomic studies.

  16. A novel biometric authentication approach using ECG and EMG signals.

    PubMed

    Belgacem, Noureddine; Fournier, Régis; Nait-Ali, Amine; Bereksi-Reguig, Fethi

    2015-05-01

    Security biometrics is a secure alternative to traditional methods of identity verification of individuals, such as authentication systems based on user name and password. Recently, it has been found that the electrocardiogram (ECG) signal formed by five successive waves (P, Q, R, S and T) is unique to each individual. In fact, better than any other biometrics' measures, it delivers proof of subject's being alive as extra information which other biometrics cannot deliver. The main purpose of this work is to present a low-cost method for online acquisition and processing of ECG signals for person authentication and to study the possibility of providing additional information and retrieve personal data from an electrocardiogram signal to yield a reliable decision. This study explores the effectiveness of a novel biometric system resulting from the fusion of information and knowledge provided by ECG and EMG (Electromyogram) physiological recordings. It is shown that biometrics based on these ECG/EMG signals offers a novel way to robustly authenticate subjects. Five ECG databases (MIT-BIH, ST-T, NSR, PTB and ECG-ID) and several ECG signals collected in-house from volunteers were exploited. A palm-based ECG biometric system was developed where the signals are collected from the palm of the subject through a minimally intrusive one-lead ECG set-up. A total of 3750 ECG beats were used in this work. Feature extraction was performed on ECG signals using Fourier descriptors (spectral coefficients). Optimum-Path Forest classifier was used to calculate the degree of similarity between individuals. The obtained results from the proposed approach look promising for individuals' authentication.

  17. MSAT boom joint testing and load absorber design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Klinker, D. H.; Shuey, K.; St.clair, D. R.

    1994-01-01

    Through a series of component and system-level tests, the torque margin for the MSAT booms is being determined. The verification process has yielded a number of results and lessons that can be applied to many other types of deployable spacecraft mechanisms. The MSAT load absorber has proven to be an effective way to provide high energy dissipation using crushable honeycomb. Using two stages of crushable honeycomb and a fusible link, a complex crush load profile has been designed and implemented. The design features of the load absorber lend themselves to use in other spacecraft applications.

  18. The inverse skin effect in the Z-pinch and plasma focus

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

    Usenko, P. L., E-mail: otd4@expd.vniief.ru; Gaganov, V. V.

    The inverse skin effect and its influence on the dynamics of high-current Z-pinch and plasma focus discharges in deuterium are analyzed. It is shown that the second compression responsible for the major fraction of the neutron yield can be interpreted as a result of the inverse skin effect resulting in the axial concentration of the longitudinal current density and the appearance of a reversed current in the outer layers of plasma pinches. Possible conditions leading to the enhancement of the inverse skin effect and accessible for experimental verification by modern diagnostics are formulated.

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

    Easton, C. R.

    The objectives of this program are to establish a heliostat design with the associated manufacturing, assembly, installation and maintenance approaches that will: (1) yield a significant reduction of capital and operating costs; (2) meet performance specifications for large collector subsystems; and (3) can be produced and deployed throughout the southwestern United States. In addition, cost plans and schedules to develop, fabricate, and operate the heliostat are to be developed. This volume presents the collector design, including trade study and test results, and the manufacturing, installation and checkout, and operations and maintenance concepts. Also, a discussion of specification verification and optimizationmore » is included. (WHK)« less

  20. Highly reliable oxide VCSELs for datacom applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aeby, Ian; Collins, Doug; Gibson, Brian; Helms, Christopher J.; Hou, Hong Q.; Lou, Wenlin; Bossert, David J.; Wang, Charlie X.

    2003-06-01

    In this paper we describe the processes and procedures that have been developed to ensure high reliability for Emcore"s 850 nm oxide confined GaAs VCSELs. Evidence from on-going accelerated life testing and other reliability studies that confirm that this process yields reliable products will be discussed. We will present data and analysis techniques used to determine the activation energy and acceleration factors for the dominant wear-out failure mechanisms for our devices as well as our estimated MTTF of greater than 2 million use hours. We conclude with a summary of internal verification and field return rate validation data.

  1. 30 CFR 250.913 - When must I resubmit Platform Verification Program plans?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Structures Platform Verification Program § 250.913 When must I resubmit Platform Verification Program plans? (a) You must resubmit any design verification, fabrication verification, or installation verification... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false When must I resubmit Platform Verification...

  2. Comparison of PHITS, GEANT4, and HIBRAC simulations of depth-dependent yields of β(+)-emitting nuclei during therapeutic particle irradiation to measured data.

    PubMed

    Rohling, Heide; Sihver, Lembit; Priegnitz, Marlen; Enghardt, Wolfgang; Fiedler, Fine

    2013-09-21

    For quality assurance in particle therapy, a non-invasive, in vivo range verification is highly desired. Particle therapy positron-emission-tomography (PT-PET) is the only clinically proven method up to now for this purpose. It makes use of the β(+)-activity produced during the irradiation by the nuclear fragmentation processes between the therapeutic beam and the irradiated tissue. Since a direct comparison of β(+)-activity and dose is not feasible, a simulation of the expected β(+)-activity distribution is required. For this reason it is essential to have a quantitatively reliable code for the simulation of the yields of the β(+)-emitting nuclei at every position of the beam path. In this paper results of the three-dimensional Monte-Carlo simulation codes PHITS, GEANT4, and the one-dimensional deterministic simulation code HIBRAC are compared to measurements of the yields of the most abundant β(+)-emitting nuclei for carbon, lithium, helium, and proton beams. In general, PHITS underestimates the yields of positron-emitters. With GEANT4 the overall most accurate results are obtained. HIBRAC and GEANT4 provide comparable results for carbon and proton beams. HIBRAC is considered as a good candidate for the implementation to clinical routine PT-PET.

  3. Comparison of PHITS, GEANT4, and HIBRAC simulations of depth-dependent yields of β+-emitting nuclei during therapeutic particle irradiation to measured data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rohling, Heide; Sihver, Lembit; Priegnitz, Marlen; Enghardt, Wolfgang; Fiedler, Fine

    2013-09-01

    For quality assurance in particle therapy, a non-invasive, in vivo range verification is highly desired. Particle therapy positron-emission-tomography (PT-PET) is the only clinically proven method up to now for this purpose. It makes use of the β+-activity produced during the irradiation by the nuclear fragmentation processes between the therapeutic beam and the irradiated tissue. Since a direct comparison of β+-activity and dose is not feasible, a simulation of the expected β+-activity distribution is required. For this reason it is essential to have a quantitatively reliable code for the simulation of the yields of the β+-emitting nuclei at every position of the beam path. In this paper results of the three-dimensional Monte-Carlo simulation codes PHITS, GEANT4, and the one-dimensional deterministic simulation code HIBRAC are compared to measurements of the yields of the most abundant β+-emitting nuclei for carbon, lithium, helium, and proton beams. In general, PHITS underestimates the yields of positron-emitters. With GEANT4 the overall most accurate results are obtained. HIBRAC and GEANT4 provide comparable results for carbon and proton beams. HIBRAC is considered as a good candidate for the implementation to clinical routine PT-PET.

  4. Yield enhancement of 3D flash devices through broadband brightfield inspection of the channel hole process module

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Jung-Youl; Seo, Il-Seok; Ma, Seong-Min; Kim, Hyeon-Soo; Kim, Jin-Woong; Kim, DoOh; Cross, Andrew

    2013-03-01

    The migration to a 3D implementation for NAND flash devices is seen as the leading contender to replace traditional planar NAND architectures. However the strategy of replacing shrinking design rules with greater aspect ratios is not without its own set of challenges. The yield-limiting defect challenges for the planar NAND front end were primarily bridges, protrusions and residues at the bottom of the gates, while the primary challenges for front end 3D NAND is buried particles, voids and bridges in the top, middle and bottom of high aspect ratio structures. Of particular interest are the yield challenges in the channel hole process module and developing an understanding of the contribution of litho and etch defectivity for this challenging new integration scheme. The key defectivity and process challenges in this module are missing, misshapen channel holes or under-etched channel holes as well as reducing noise sources related to other none yield limiting defect types and noise related to the process integration scheme. These challenges are expected to amplify as the memory density increases. In this study we show that a broadband brightfield approach to defect monitoring can be uniquely effective for the channel hole module. This approach is correlated to end-of-line (EOL) Wafer Bin Map for verification of capability.

  5. An experimental approach to improve the Monte Carlo modelling of offline PET/CT-imaging of positron emitters induced by scanned proton beams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bauer, J.; Unholtz, D.; Kurz, C.; Parodi, K.

    2013-08-01

    We report on the experimental campaign carried out at the Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center (HIT) to optimize the Monte Carlo (MC) modelling of proton-induced positron-emitter production. The presented experimental strategy constitutes a pragmatic inverse approach to overcome the known uncertainties in the modelling of positron-emitter production due to the lack of reliable cross-section data for the relevant therapeutic energy range. This work is motivated by the clinical implementation of offline PET/CT-based treatment verification at our facility. Here, the irradiation induced tissue activation in the patient is monitored shortly after the treatment delivery by means of a commercial PET/CT scanner and compared to a MC simulated activity expectation, derived under the assumption of a correct treatment delivery. At HIT, the MC particle transport and interaction code FLUKA is used for the simulation of the expected positron-emitter yield. For this particular application, the code is coupled to externally provided cross-section data of several proton-induced reactions. Studying experimentally the positron-emitting radionuclide yield in homogeneous phantoms provides access to the fundamental production channels. Therefore, five different materials have been irradiated by monoenergetic proton pencil beams at various energies and the induced β+ activity subsequently acquired with a commercial full-ring PET/CT scanner. With the analysis of dynamically reconstructed PET images, we are able to determine separately the spatial distribution of different radionuclide concentrations at the starting time of the PET scan. The laterally integrated radionuclide yields in depth are used to tune the input cross-section data such that the impact of both the physical production and the imaging process on the various positron-emitter yields is reproduced. The resulting cross-section data sets allow to model the absolute level of measured β+ activity induced in the investigated targets within a few per cent. Moreover, the simulated distal activity fall-off positions, representing the central quantity for treatment monitoring in terms of beam range verification, are found to agree within 0.6 mm with the measurements at different initial beam energies in both homogeneous and heterogeneous targets. Based on work presented at the Third European Workshop on Monte Carlo Treatment Planning (Seville, 15-18 May 2012).

  6. Creating a sampling frame for population-based veteran research: representativeness and overlap of VA and Department of Defense databases.

    PubMed

    Washington, Donna L; Sun, Su; Canning, Mark

    2010-01-01

    Most veteran research is conducted in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare settings, although most veterans obtain healthcare outside the VA. Our objective was to determine the adequacy and relative contributions of Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and Department of Defense (DOD) administrative databases for representing the U.S. veteran population, using as an example the creation of a sampling frame for the National Survey of Women Veterans. In 2008, we merged the VHA, VBA, and DOD databases. We identified the number of unique records both overall and from each database. The combined databases yielded 925,946 unique records, representing 51% of the 1,802,000 U.S. women veteran population. The DOD database included 30% of the population (with 8% overlap with other databases). The VHA enrollment database contributed an additional 20% unique women veterans (with 6% overlap with VBA databases). VBA databases contributed an additional 2% unique women veterans (beyond 10% overlap with other databases). Use of VBA and DOD databases substantially expands access to the population of veterans beyond those in VHA databases, regardless of VA use. Adoption of these additional databases would enhance the value and generalizability of a wide range of studies of both male and female veterans.

  7. XML: James Webb Space Telescope Database Issues, Lessons, and Status

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Detter, Ryan; Mooney, Michael; Fatig, Curtis

    2003-01-01

    This paper will present the current concept using extensible Markup Language (XML) as the underlying structure for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) database. The purpose of using XML is to provide a JWST database, independent of any portion of the ground system, yet still compatible with the various systems using a variety of different structures. The testing of the JWST Flight Software (FSW) started in 2002, yet the launch is scheduled for 2011 with a planned 5-year mission and a 5-year follow on option. The initial database and ground system elements, including the commands, telemetry, and ground system tools will be used for 19 years, plus post mission activities. During the Integration and Test (I&T) phases of the JWST development, 24 distinct laboratories, each geographically dispersed, will have local database tools with an XML database. Each of these laboratories database tools will be used for the exporting and importing of data both locally and to a central database system, inputting data to the database certification process, and providing various reports. A centralized certified database repository will be maintained by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. One of the challenges for the database is to be flexible enough to allow for the upgrade, addition or changing of individual items without effecting the entire ground system. Also, using XML should allow for the altering of the import and export formats needed by the various elements, tracking the verification/validation of each database item, allow many organizations to provide database inputs, and the merging of the many existing database processes into one central database structure throughout the JWST program. Many National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) projects have attempted to take advantage of open source and commercial technology. Often this causes a greater reliance on the use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS), which is often limiting. In our review of the database requirements and the COTS software available, only very expensive COTS software will meet 90% of requirements. Even with the high projected initial cost of COTS, the development and support for custom code over the 19-year mission period was forecasted to be higher than the total licensing costs. A group did look at reusing existing database tools and formats. If the JWST database was already in a mature state, the reuse made sense, but with the database still needing to handing the addition of different types of command and telemetry structures, defining new spacecraft systems, accept input and export to systems which has not been defined yet, XML provided the flexibility desired. It remains to be determined whether the XML database will reduce the over all cost for the JWST mission.

  8. Prevalence and risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the catering industry: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Xu, Yan-Wen; Cheng, Andy S K; Li-Tsang, Cecilia W P

    2013-01-01

    This paper aims to systematically explore the prevalence and risk factors of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) in the catering industry by reviewing relevant published literature with the goal of developing future prevention strategies. The systematic review was carried out in nine English medical databases, two Chinese-dominated full-text databases and seven web sites with the designated search strategies. Studies were included if they met the defined inclusion criteria hierarchically to investigate prevalence and or risk factors associated with WMSDs in the catering industry with appropriate epidemiological methodology. Nine English databases yielded 634 citations, and two Chinese databases yielded 401 citations, although only five English and three Chinese studies passed the inclusion criteria. Three-fourths of the studies were cross-sectional. The prevalence of WMSDs varied from 3% to 86% depending on the type of establishment and positions. The most important risk factors were physical job demands, such as work posture, force applied, and repeated movement. The lack of epidemiological information about WMSDs in the catering industry is apparent. Further studies are needed to investigate the relation among prevalence, risk factors and forms of WMSDs, in particular the interaction of risk factors in psychosocial aspects of the catering industry.

  9. Evaluation of a speaker identification system with and without fusion using three databases in the presence of noise and handset effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    S. Al-Kaltakchi, Musab T.; Woo, Wai L.; Dlay, Satnam; Chambers, Jonathon A.

    2017-12-01

    In this study, a speaker identification system is considered consisting of a feature extraction stage which utilizes both power normalized cepstral coefficients (PNCCs) and Mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC). Normalization is applied by employing cepstral mean and variance normalization (CMVN) and feature warping (FW), together with acoustic modeling using a Gaussian mixture model-universal background model (GMM-UBM). The main contributions are comprehensive evaluations of the effect of both additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and non-stationary noise (NSN) (with and without a G.712 type handset) upon identification performance. In particular, three NSN types with varying signal to noise ratios (SNRs) were tested corresponding to street traffic, a bus interior, and a crowded talking environment. The performance evaluation also considered the effect of late fusion techniques based on score fusion, namely, mean, maximum, and linear weighted sum fusion. The databases employed were TIMIT, SITW, and NIST 2008; and 120 speakers were selected from each database to yield 3600 speech utterances. As recommendations from the study, mean fusion is found to yield overall best performance in terms of speaker identification accuracy (SIA) with noisy speech, whereas linear weighted sum fusion is overall best for original database recordings.

  10. Hydroponics Database and Handbook for the Advanced Life Support Test Bed

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nash, Allen J.

    1999-01-01

    During the summer 1998, I did student assistance to Dr. Daniel J. Barta, chief plant growth expert at Johnson Space Center - NASA. We established the preliminary stages of a hydroponic crop growth database for the Advanced Life Support Systems Integration Test Bed, otherwise referred to as BIO-Plex (Biological Planetary Life Support Systems Test Complex). The database summarizes information from published technical papers by plant growth experts, and it includes bibliographical, environmental and harvest information based on plant growth under varying environmental conditions. I collected 84 lettuce entries, 14 soybean, 49 sweet potato, 16 wheat, 237 white potato, and 26 mix crop entries. The list will grow with the publication of new research. This database will be integrated with a search and systems analysis computer program that will cross-reference multiple parameters to determine optimum edible yield under varying parameters. Also, we have made preliminary effort to put together a crop handbook for BIO-Plex plant growth management. It will be a collection of information obtained from experts who provided recommendations on a particular crop's growing conditions. It includes bibliographic, environmental, nutrient solution, potential yield, harvest nutritional, and propagation procedure information. This handbook will stand as the baseline growth conditions for the first set of experiments in the BIO-Plex facility.

  11. Generic Verification Protocol for Verification of Online Turbidimeters

    EPA Science Inventory

    This protocol provides generic procedures for implementing a verification test for the performance of online turbidimeters. The verification tests described in this document will be conducted under the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program. Verification tests will...

  12. Determination of gaseous fission product yields from 14 MeV neutron induced fission of 238U at the National Ignition Facility

    DOE PAGES

    Cassata, W. S.; Velsko, C. A.; Stoeffl, W.; ...

    2016-01-14

    We determined fission yields of xenon ( 133mXe, 135Xe, 135mXe, 137Xe, 138Xe, and 139Xe) resulting from 14 MeV neutron induced fission of depleted uranium at the National Ignition Facility. Measurements begin approximately 20 s after shot time, and yields have been determined for nuclides with half-lives as short as tens of seconds. We determined the relative independent yields of 133mXe, 135Xe, and 135mXe to significantly higher precision than previously reported. The relative fission yields of all nuclides are statistically indistinguishable from values reported by England and Rider (ENDF-349. LA-UR-94-3106, 1994), with exception of the cumulative yield of 139Xe. Furthermore, considerablemore » differences exist between our measured yields and the JEFF-3.1 database values.« less

  13. Hyper-X Engine Testing in the NASA Langley 8-Foot High Temperature Tunnel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huebner, Lawrence D.; Rock, Kenneth E.; Witte, David W.; Ruf, Edward G.; Andrews, Earl H., Jr.

    2000-01-01

    Airframe-integrated scramjet engine tests have 8 completed at Mach 7 in the NASA Langley 8-Foot High Temperature Tunnel under the Hyper-X program. These tests provided critical engine data as well as design and database verification for the Mach 7 flight tests of the Hyper-X research vehicle (X-43), which will provide the first-ever airframe- integrated scramjet flight data. The first model tested was the Hyper-X Engine Model (HXEM), and the second was the Hyper-X Flight Engine (HXFE). The HXEM, a partial-width, full-height engine that is mounted on an airframe structure to simulate the forebody features of the X-43, was tested to provide data linking flowpath development databases to the complete airframe-integrated three-dimensional flight configuration and to isolate effects of ground testing conditions and techniques. The HXFE, an exact geometric representation of the X-43 scramjet engine mounted on an airframe structure that duplicates the entire three-dimensional propulsion flowpath from the vehicle leading edge to the vehicle base, was tested to verify the complete design as it will be flight tested. This paper presents an overview of these two tests, their importance to the Hyper-X program, and the significance of their contribution to scramjet database development.

  14. Verification Games: Crowd-Sourced Formal Verification

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-03-01

    VERIFICATION GAMES : CROWD-SOURCED FORMAL VERIFICATION UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON MARCH 2016 FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT...DATES COVERED (From - To) JUN 2012 – SEP 2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE VERIFICATION GAMES : CROWD-SOURCED FORMAL VERIFICATION 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8750...clarification memorandum dated 16 Jan 09. 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Over the more than three years of the project Verification Games : Crowd-sourced

  15. Thermal and Chemical Characterization of Composite Materials. MSFC Center Director's Discretionary Fund Final Report, Project No. ED36-18

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stanley, D. C.; Huff, T. L.

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of this research effort was to: (1) provide a concise and well-defined property profile of current and developing composite materials using thermal and chemical characterization techniques and (2) optimize analytical testing requirements of materials. This effort applied a diverse array of methodologies to ascertain composite material properties. Often, a single method of technique will provide useful, but nonetheless incomplete, information on material composition and/or behavior. To more completely understand and predict material properties, a broad-based analytical approach is required. By developing a database of information comprised of both thermal and chemical properties, material behavior under varying conditions may be better understood. THis is even more important in the aerospace community, where new composite materials and those in the development stage have little reference data. For example, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy spectral databases available for identification of vapor phase spectra, such as those generated during experiments, generally refer to well-defined chemical compounds. Because this method renders a unique thermal decomposition spectral pattern, even larger, more diverse databases, such as those found in solid and liquid phase FTIR spectroscopy libraries, cannot be used. By combining this and other available methodologies, a database specifically for new materials and materials being developed at Marshall Space Flight Center can be generated . In addition, characterizing materials using this approach will be extremely useful in the verification of materials and identification of anomalies in NASA-wide investigations.

  16. SU-E-T-764: Track Repeating Algorithm for Proton Therapy Applied to Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy for Head-And-Neck Patients

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

    Yepes, P; Mirkovic, D; Mohan, R

    Purpose: To determine the suitability of fast Monte Carlo techniques for dose calculation in particle therapy based on track-repeating algorithm for Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy, IMPT. The application of this technique will make possible detailed retrospective studies of large cohort of patients, which may lead to a better determination of Relative Biological Effects from the analysis of patient data. Methods: A cohort of six head-and-neck patients treated at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center with IMPT were utilized. The dose distributions were calculated with the standard Treatment Plan System, TPS, MCNPX, GEANT4 and FDC, a fast track-repeating algorithmmore » for proton therapy for the verification and the patient plans. FDC is based on a GEANT4 database of trajectories of protons in a water. The obtained dose distributions were compared to each other utilizing the g-index criteria for 3mm-3% and 2mm-2%, for the maximum spatial and dose differences. The γ-index was calculated for voxels with a dose at least 10% of the maximum delivered dose. Dose Volume Histograms are also calculated for the various dose distributions. Results: Good agreement between GEANT4 and FDC is found with less than 1% of the voxels with a γ-index larger than 1 for 2 mm-2%. The agreement between MCNPX with FDC is within the requirements of clinical standards, even though it is slightly worse than the comparison with GEANT4.The comparison with TPS yielded larger differences, what is also to be expected because pencil beam algorithm do not always performed well in highly inhomogeneous areas like head-and-neck. Conclusion: The good agreement between a track-repeating algorithm and a full Monte Carlo for a large cohort of patients and a challenging, site like head-and-neck, opens the path to systematic and detailed studies of large cohorts, which may yield better understanding of biological effects.« less

  17. Bimodal Biometric Verification Using the Fusion of Palmprint and Infrared Palm-Dorsum Vein Images

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Chih-Lung; Wang, Shih-Hung; Cheng, Hsu-Yung; Fan, Kuo-Chin; Hsu, Wei-Lieh; Lai, Chin-Rong

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we present a reliable and robust biometric verification method based on bimodal physiological characteristics of palms, including the palmprint and palm-dorsum vein patterns. The proposed method consists of five steps: (1) automatically aligning and cropping the same region of interest from different palm or palm-dorsum images; (2) applying the digital wavelet transform and inverse wavelet transform to fuse palmprint and vein pattern images; (3) extracting the line-like features (LLFs) from the fused image; (4) obtaining multiresolution representations of the LLFs by using a multiresolution filter; and (5) using a support vector machine to verify the multiresolution representations of the LLFs. The proposed method possesses four advantages: first, both modal images are captured in peg-free scenarios to improve the user-friendliness of the verification device. Second, palmprint and vein pattern images are captured using a low-resolution digital scanner and infrared (IR) camera. The use of low-resolution images results in a smaller database. In addition, the vein pattern images are captured through the invisible IR spectrum, which improves antispoofing. Third, since the physiological characteristics of palmprint and vein pattern images are different, a hybrid fusing rule can be introduced to fuse the decomposition coefficients of different bands. The proposed method fuses decomposition coefficients at different decomposed levels, with different image sizes, captured from different sensor devices. Finally, the proposed method operates automatically and hence no parameters need to be set manually. Three thousand palmprint images and 3000 vein pattern images were collected from 100 volunteers to verify the validity of the proposed method. The results show a false rejection rate of 1.20% and a false acceptance rate of 1.56%. It demonstrates the validity and excellent performance of our proposed method comparing to other methods. PMID:26703596

  18. Development and Assessment of CTF for Pin-resolved BWR Modeling

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

    Salko, Robert K; Wysocki, Aaron J; Collins, Benjamin S

    2017-01-01

    CTF is the modernized and improved version of the subchannel code, COBRA-TF. It has been adopted by the Consortium for Advanced Simulation for Light Water Reactors (CASL) for subchannel analysis applications and thermal hydraulic feedback calculations in the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications Core Simulator (VERA-CS). CTF is now jointly developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and North Carolina State University. Until now, CTF has been used for pressurized water reactor modeling and simulation in CASL, but in the future it will be extended to boiling water reactor designs. This required development activities to integrate the code into the VERA-CSmore » workflow and to make it more ecient for full-core, pin resolved simulations. Additionally, there is a significant emphasis on producing high quality tools that follow a regimented software quality assurance plan in CASL. Part of this plan involves performing validation and verification assessments on the code that are easily repeatable and tied to specific code versions. This work has resulted in the CTF validation and verification matrix being expanded to include several two-phase flow experiments, including the General Electric 3 3 facility and the BWR Full-Size Fine Mesh Bundle Tests (BFBT). Comparisons with both experimental databases is reasonable, but the BFBT analysis reveals a tendency of CTF to overpredict void, especially in the slug flow regime. The execution of these tests is fully automated, analysis is documented in the CTF Validation and Verification manual, and the tests have become part of CASL continuous regression testing system. This paper will summarize these recent developments and some of the two-phase assessments that have been performed on CTF.« less

  19. Bimodal Biometric Verification Using the Fusion of Palmprint and Infrared Palm-Dorsum Vein Images.

    PubMed

    Lin, Chih-Lung; Wang, Shih-Hung; Cheng, Hsu-Yung; Fan, Kuo-Chin; Hsu, Wei-Lieh; Lai, Chin-Rong

    2015-12-12

    In this paper, we present a reliable and robust biometric verification method based on bimodal physiological characteristics of palms, including the palmprint and palm-dorsum vein patterns. The proposed method consists of five steps: (1) automatically aligning and cropping the same region of interest from different palm or palm-dorsum images; (2) applying the digital wavelet transform and inverse wavelet transform to fuse palmprint and vein pattern images; (3) extracting the line-like features (LLFs) from the fused image; (4) obtaining multiresolution representations of the LLFs by using a multiresolution filter; and (5) using a support vector machine to verify the multiresolution representations of the LLFs. The proposed method possesses four advantages: first, both modal images are captured in peg-free scenarios to improve the user-friendliness of the verification device. Second, palmprint and vein pattern images are captured using a low-resolution digital scanner and infrared (IR) camera. The use of low-resolution images results in a smaller database. In addition, the vein pattern images are captured through the invisible IR spectrum, which improves antispoofing. Third, since the physiological characteristics of palmprint and vein pattern images are different, a hybrid fusing rule can be introduced to fuse the decomposition coefficients of different bands. The proposed method fuses decomposition coefficients at different decomposed levels, with different image sizes, captured from different sensor devices. Finally, the proposed method operates automatically and hence no parameters need to be set manually. Three thousand palmprint images and 3000 vein pattern images were collected from 100 volunteers to verify the validity of the proposed method. The results show a false rejection rate of 1.20% and a false acceptance rate of 1.56%. It demonstrates the validity and excellent performance of our proposed method comparing to other methods.

  20. Retina verification system based on biometric graph matching.

    PubMed

    Lajevardi, Seyed Mehdi; Arakala, Arathi; Davis, Stephen A; Horadam, Kathy J

    2013-09-01

    This paper presents an automatic retina verification framework based on the biometric graph matching (BGM) algorithm. The retinal vasculature is extracted using a family of matched filters in the frequency domain and morphological operators. Then, retinal templates are defined as formal spatial graphs derived from the retinal vasculature. The BGM algorithm, a noisy graph matching algorithm, robust to translation, non-linear distortion, and small rotations, is used to compare retinal templates. The BGM algorithm uses graph topology to define three distance measures between a pair of graphs, two of which are new. A support vector machine (SVM) classifier is used to distinguish between genuine and imposter comparisons. Using single as well as multiple graph measures, the classifier achieves complete separation on a training set of images from the VARIA database (60% of the data), equaling the state-of-the-art for retina verification. Because the available data set is small, kernel density estimation (KDE) of the genuine and imposter score distributions of the training set are used to measure performance of the BGM algorithm. In the one dimensional case, the KDE model is validated with the testing set. A 0 EER on testing shows that the KDE model is a good fit for the empirical distribution. For the multiple graph measures, a novel combination of the SVM boundary and the KDE model is used to obtain a fair comparison with the KDE model for the single measure. A clear benefit in using multiple graph measures over a single measure to distinguish genuine and imposter comparisons is demonstrated by a drop in theoretical error of between 60% and more than two orders of magnitude.

  1. Image Hashes as Templates for Verification

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

    Janik, Tadeusz; Jarman, Kenneth D.; Robinson, Sean M.

    2012-07-17

    Imaging systems can provide measurements that confidently assess characteristics of nuclear weapons and dismantled weapon components, and such assessment will be needed in future verification for arms control. Yet imaging is often viewed as too intrusive, raising concern about the ability to protect sensitive information. In particular, the prospect of using image-based templates for verifying the presence or absence of a warhead, or of the declared configuration of fissile material in storage, may be rejected out-of-hand as being too vulnerable to violation of information barrier (IB) principles. Development of a rigorous approach for generating and comparing reduced-information templates from images,more » and assessing the security, sensitivity, and robustness of verification using such templates, are needed to address these concerns. We discuss our efforts to develop such a rigorous approach based on a combination of image-feature extraction and encryption-utilizing hash functions to confirm proffered declarations, providing strong classified data security while maintaining high confidence for verification. The proposed work is focused on developing secure, robust, tamper-sensitive and automatic techniques that may enable the comparison of non-sensitive hashed image data outside an IB. It is rooted in research on so-called perceptual hash functions for image comparison, at the interface of signal/image processing, pattern recognition, cryptography, and information theory. Such perceptual or robust image hashing—which, strictly speaking, is not truly cryptographic hashing—has extensive application in content authentication and information retrieval, database search, and security assurance. Applying and extending the principles of perceptual hashing to imaging for arms control, we propose techniques that are sensitive to altering, forging and tampering of the imaged object yet robust and tolerant to content-preserving image distortions and noise. Ensuring that the information contained in the hashed image data (available out-of-IB) cannot be used to extract sensitive information about the imaged object is of primary concern. Thus the techniques are characterized by high unpredictability to guarantee security. We will present an assessment of the performance of our techniques with respect to security, sensitivity and robustness on the basis of a methodical and mathematically precise framework.« less

  2. Simulation and experimental verification of prompt gamma-ray emissions during proton irradiation.

    PubMed

    Schumann, A; Petzoldt, J; Dendooven, P; Enghardt, W; Golnik, C; Hueso-González, F; Kormoll, T; Pausch, G; Roemer, K; Fiedler, F

    2015-05-21

    Irradiation with protons and light ions offers new possibilities for tumor therapy but has a strong need for novel imaging modalities for treatment verification. The development of new detector systems, which can provide an in vivo range assessment or dosimetry, requires an accurate knowledge of the secondary radiation field and reliable Monte Carlo simulations. This paper presents multiple measurements to characterize the prompt γ-ray emissions during proton irradiation and benchmarks the latest Geant4 code against the experimental findings. Within the scope of this work, the total photon yield for different target materials, the energy spectra as well as the γ-ray depth profile were assessed. Experiments were performed at the superconducting AGOR cyclotron at KVI-CART, University of Groningen. Properties of the γ-ray emissions were experimentally determined. The prompt γ-ray emissions were measured utilizing a conventional HPGe detector system (Clover) and quantitatively compared to simulations. With the selected physics list QGSP_BIC_HP, Geant4 strongly overestimates the photon yield in most cases, sometimes up to 50%. The shape of the spectrum and qualitative occurrence of discrete γ lines is reproduced accurately. A sliced phantom was designed to determine the depth profile of the photons. The position of the distal fall-off in the simulations agrees with the measurements, albeit the peak height is also overestimated. Hence, Geant4 simulations of prompt γ-ray emissions from irradiation with protons are currently far less reliable as compared to simulations of the electromagnetic processes. Deviations from experimental findings were observed and quantified. Although there has been a constant improvement of Geant4 in the hadronic sector, there is still a gap to close.

  3. Spectrally-Based Assessment of Crop Seasonal Performance and Yield

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kancheva, Rumiana; Borisova, Denitsa; Georgiev, Georgy

    The rapid advances of space technologies concern almost all scientific areas from aeronautics to medicine, and a wide range of application fields from communications to crop yield predictions. Agricultural monitoring is among the priorities of remote sensing observations for getting timely information on crop development. Monitoring agricultural fields during the growing season plays an important role in crop health assessment and stress detection provided that reliable data is obtained. Successfully spreading is the implementation of hyperspectral data to precision farming associated with plant growth and phenology monitoring, physiological state assessment, and yield prediction. In this paper, we investigated various spectral-biophysical relationships derived from in-situ reflectance measurements. The performance of spectral data for the assessment of agricultural crops condition and yield prediction was examined. The approach comprisesd development of regression models between plant spectral and state-indicative variables such as biomass, vegetation cover fraction, leaf area index, etc., and development of yield forecasting models from single-date (growth stage) and multitemporal (seasonal) reflectance data. Verification of spectral predictions was performed through comparison with estimations from biophysical relationships between crop growth variables. The study was carried out for spring barley and winter wheat. Visible and near-infrared reflectance data was acquired through the whole growing season accompanied by detailed datasets on plant phenology and canopy structural and biochemical attributes. Empirical relationships were derived relating crop agronomic variables and yield to various spectral predictors. The study findings were tested using airborne remote sensing inputs. A good correspondence was found between predicted and actual (ground-truth) estimates

  4. Progressive calibration and averaging for tandem mass spectrometry statistical confidence estimation: Why settle for a single decoy?

    PubMed Central

    Keich, Uri; Noble, William Stafford

    2017-01-01

    Estimating the false discovery rate (FDR) among a list of tandem mass spectrum identifications is mostly done through target-decoy competition (TDC). Here we offer two new methods that can use an arbitrarily small number of additional randomly drawn decoy databases to improve TDC. Specifically, “Partial Calibration” utilizes a new meta-scoring scheme that allows us to gradually benefit from the increase in the number of identifications calibration yields and “Averaged TDC” (a-TDC) reduces the liberal bias of TDC for small FDR values and its variability throughout. Combining a-TDC with “Progressive Calibration” (PC), which attempts to find the “right” number of decoys required for calibration we see substantial impact in real datasets: when analyzing the Plasmodium falciparum data it typically yields almost the entire 17% increase in discoveries that “full calibration” yields (at FDR level 0.05) using 60 times fewer decoys. Our methods are further validated using a novel realistic simulation scheme and importantly, they apply more generally to the problem of controlling the FDR among discoveries from searching an incomplete database. PMID:29326989

  5. Preliminary Results Obtained in Integrated Safety Analysis of NASA Aviation Safety Program Technologies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2001-01-01

    This is a listing of recent unclassified RTO technical publications processed by the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information from January 1, 2001 through March 31, 2001 available on the NASA Aeronautics and Space Database. Contents include 1) Cognitive Task Analysis; 2) RTO Educational Notes; 3) The Capability of Virtual Reality to Meet Military Requirements; 4) Aging Engines, Avionics, Subsystems and Helicopters; 5) RTO Meeting Proceedings; 6) RTO Technical Reports; 7) Low Grazing Angle Clutter...; 8) Verification and Validation Data for Computational Unsteady Aerodynamics; 9) Space Observation Technology; 10) The Human Factor in System Reliability...; 11) Flight Control Design...; 12) Commercial Off-the-Shelf Products in Defense Applications.

  6. Caveat emptor: limitations of the automated reconstruction of metabolic pathways in Plasmodium.

    PubMed

    Ginsburg, Hagai

    2009-01-01

    The functional reconstruction of metabolic pathways from an annotated genome is a tedious and demanding enterprise. Automation of this endeavor using bioinformatics algorithms could cope with the ever-increasing number of sequenced genomes and accelerate the process. Here, the manual reconstruction of metabolic pathways in the functional genomic database of Plasmodium falciparum--Malaria Parasite Metabolic Pathways--is described and compared with pathways generated automatically as they appear in PlasmoCyc, metaSHARK and the Kyoto Encyclopedia for Genes and Genomes. A critical evaluation of this comparison discloses that the automatic reconstruction of pathways generates manifold paths that need an expert manual verification to accept some and reject most others based on manually curated gene annotation.

  7. Validation and discovery of genotype-phenotype associations in chronic diseases using linked data.

    PubMed

    Pathak, Jyotishman; Kiefer, Richard; Freimuth, Robert; Chute, Christopher

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates federated SPARQL queries over Linked Open Data (LOD) in the Semantic Web to validate existing, and potentially discover new genotype-phenotype associations from public datasets. In particular, we report our preliminary findings for identifying such associations for commonly occurring chronic diseases using the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) and Database for SNPs (dbSNP) within the LOD knowledgebase and compare them with Gene Wiki for coverage and completeness. Our results indicate that Semantic Web technologies can play an important role for in-silico identification of novel disease-gene-SNP associations, although additional verification is required before such information can be applied and used effectively.

  8. Biometric recognition using 3D ear shape.

    PubMed

    Yan, Ping; Bowyer, Kevin W

    2007-08-01

    Previous works have shown that the ear is a promising candidate for biometric identification. However, in prior work, the preprocessing of ear images has had manual steps and algorithms have not necessarily handled problems caused by hair and earrings. We present a complete system for ear biometrics, including automated segmentation of the ear in a profile view image and 3D shape matching for recognition. We evaluated this system with the largest experimental study to date in ear biometrics, achieving a rank-one recognition rate of 97.8 percent for an identification scenario and an equal error rate of 1.2 percent for a verification scenario on a database of 415 subjects and 1,386 total probes.

  9. The U.S. Geological Survey coal quality (COALQUAL) database version 3.0

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Palmer, Curtis A.; Oman, Charles L.; Park, Andy J.; Luppens, James A.

    2015-12-21

    Because of database size limits during the development of COALQUAL Version 1.3, many analyses of individual bench samples were merged into whole coal bed averages. The methodology for making these composite intervals was not consistent. Size limits also restricted the amount of georeferencing information and forced removal of qualifier notations such as "less than detection limit" (<) information, which can cause problems when using the data. A review of the original data sheets revealed that COALQUAL Version 2.0 was missing information that was needed for a complete understanding of a coal section. Another important database issue to resolve was the USGS "remnant moisture" problem. Prior to 1998, tests for remnant moisture (as-determined moisture in the sample at the time of analysis) were not performed on any USGS major, minor, or trace element coal analyses. Without the remnant moisture, it is impossible to convert the analyses to a usable basis (as-received, dry, etc.). Based on remnant moisture analyses of hundreds of samples of different ranks (and known residual moisture) reported after 1998, it was possible to develop a method to provide reasonable estimates of remnant moisture for older data to make it more useful in COALQUAL Version 3.0. In addition, COALQUAL Version 3.0 is improved by (1) adding qualifiers, including statistical programming to deal with the qualifiers; (2) clarifying the sample compositing problems; and (3) adding associated samples. Version 3.0 of COALQUAL also represents the first attempt to incorporate data verification by mathematically crosschecking certain analytical parameters. Finally, a new database system was designed and implemented to replace the outdated DOS program used in earlier versions of the database.

  10. Data-driven reduced order models for effective yield strength and partitioning of strain in multiphase materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Latypov, Marat I.; Kalidindi, Surya R.

    2017-10-01

    There is a critical need for the development and verification of practically useful multiscale modeling strategies for simulating the mechanical response of multiphase metallic materials with heterogeneous microstructures. In this contribution, we present data-driven reduced order models for effective yield strength and strain partitioning in such microstructures. These models are built employing the recently developed framework of Materials Knowledge Systems that employ 2-point spatial correlations (or 2-point statistics) for the quantification of the heterostructures and principal component analyses for their low-dimensional representation. The models are calibrated to a large collection of finite element (FE) results obtained for a diverse range of microstructures with various sizes, shapes, and volume fractions of the phases. The performance of the models is evaluated by comparing the predictions of yield strength and strain partitioning in two-phase materials with the corresponding predictions from a classical self-consistent model as well as results of full-field FE simulations. The reduced-order models developed in this work show an excellent combination of accuracy and computational efficiency, and therefore present an important advance towards computationally efficient microstructure-sensitive multiscale modeling frameworks.

  11. Optimization of Biomass and 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Production by Rhodobacter sphaeroides ATCC17023 via Response Surface Methodology.

    PubMed

    Liu, Shuli; Zhang, Guangming; Li, Jianzheng; Li, Xiangkun; Zhang, Jie

    2016-06-01

    Microbial 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) produced from wastewater is considered as potential renewable energy. However, many hurdles are needed to be overcome such as the regulation of key influencing factors on ALA yield. Biomass and ALA production by Rhodobacter sphaeroides was optimized using response surface methodology. The culturing medium was artificial volatile fatty acids wastewater. Three additives were optimized, namely succinate and glycine that are precursors of ALA biosynthesis, and D-glucose that is an inhibitor of ALA dehydratase. The optimal conditions were achieved by analyzing the response surface plots. Statistical analysis showed that succinate at 8.56 mmol/L, glycine at 5.06 mmol/L, and D-glucose at 7.82 mmol/L were the best conditions. Under these optimal conditions, the highest biomass production and ALA yield of 3.55 g/L and 5.49 mg/g-biomass were achieved. Subsequent verification experiments at optimal values had the maximum biomass production of 3.41 ± 0.002 g/L and ALA yield of 5.78 ± 0.08 mg/g-biomass.

  12. Ultrasonic Method for Deployment Mechanism Bolt Element Preload Verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnson, Eric C.; Kim, Yong M.; Morris, Fred A.; Mitchell, Joel; Pan, Robert B.

    2014-01-01

    Deployment mechanisms play a pivotal role in mission success. These mechanisms often incorporate bolt elements for which a preload within a specified range is essential for proper operation. A common practice is to torque these bolt elements to a specified value during installation. The resulting preload, however, can vary significantly with applied torque for a number of reasons. The goal of this effort was to investigate ultrasonic methods as an alternative for bolt preload verification in such deployment mechanisms. A family of non-explosive release mechanisms widely used by satellite manufacturers was chosen for the work. A willing contractor permitted measurements on a sampling of bolt elements for these release mechanisms that were installed by a technician following a standard practice. A variation of approximately 50% (+/- 25%) in the resultant preloads was observed. An alternative ultrasonic method to set the preloads was then developed and calibration data was accumulated. The method was demonstrated on bolt elements installed in a fixture instrumented with a calibrated load cell and designed to mimic production practice. The ultrasonic method yielded results within +/- 3% of the load cell reading. The contractor has since adopted the alternative method for its future production. Introduction

  13. User Guidelines and Best Practices for CASL VUQ Analysis Using Dakota

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

    Adams, Brian M.; Coleman, Kayla; Hooper, Russell W.

    2016-10-04

    In general, Dakota is the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) delivery vehicle for verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification (VUQ) algorithms. It permits ready application of the VUQ methods described above to simulation codes by CASL researchers, code developers, and application engineers. More specifically, the CASL VUQ Strategy [33] prescribes the use of Predictive Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) assessments [37]. PCMM is an expert elicitation tool designed to characterize and communicate completeness of the approaches used for computational model definition, verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification associated with an intended application. Exercising a computational model with the methodsmore » in Dakota will yield, in part, evidence for a predictive capability maturity model (PCMM) assessment. Table 1.1 summarizes some key predictive maturity related activities (see details in [33]), with examples of how Dakota fits in. This manual offers CASL partners a guide to conducting Dakota-based VUQ studies for CASL problems. It motivates various classes of Dakota methods and includes examples of their use on representative application problems. On reading, a CASL analyst should understand why and how to apply Dakota to a simulation problem.« less

  14. The SeaHorn Verification Framework

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gurfinkel, Arie; Kahsai, Temesghen; Komuravelli, Anvesh; Navas, Jorge A.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we present SeaHorn, a software verification framework. The key distinguishing feature of SeaHorn is its modular design that separates the concerns of the syntax of the programming language, its operational semantics, and the verification semantics. SeaHorn encompasses several novelties: it (a) encodes verification conditions using an efficient yet precise inter-procedural technique, (b) provides flexibility in the verification semantics to allow different levels of precision, (c) leverages the state-of-the-art in software model checking and abstract interpretation for verification, and (d) uses Horn-clauses as an intermediate language to represent verification conditions which simplifies interfacing with multiple verification tools based on Horn-clauses. SeaHorn provides users with a powerful verification tool and researchers with an extensible and customizable framework for experimenting with new software verification techniques. The effectiveness and scalability of SeaHorn are demonstrated by an extensive experimental evaluation using benchmarks from SV-COMP 2015 and real avionics code.

  15. Using an electronic medical record (EMR) to conduct clinical trials: Salford Lung Study feasibility.

    PubMed

    Elkhenini, Hanaa F; Davis, Kourtney J; Stein, Norman D; New, John P; Delderfield, Mark R; Gibson, Martin; Vestbo, Jorgen; Woodcock, Ashley; Bakerly, Nawar Diar

    2015-02-07

    Real-world data on the benefit/risk profile of medicines is needed, particularly in patients who are ineligible for randomised controlled trials conducted for registration purposes. This paper describes the methodology and source data verification which enables the conduct of pre-licensing clinical trials of COPD and asthma in the community using the electronic medical record (EMR), NorthWest EHealth linked database (NWEH-LDB) and alert systems. Dual verification of extracts into NWEH-LDB was performed using two independent data sources (Salford Integrated Record [SIR] and Apollo database) from one primary care practice in Salford (N = 3504). A feasibility study was conducted to test the reliability of the NWEH-LDB to support longitudinal data analysis and pragmatic clinical trials in asthma and COPD. This involved a retrospective extraction of data from all registered practices in Salford to identify a cohort of patients with a diagnosis of asthma (aged ≥18) and/or COPD (aged ≥40) and ≥2 prescriptions for inhaled bronchodilators during 2008. Health care resource utilisation (HRU) outcomes during 2009 were assessed. Exacerbations were defined as: prescription for oral corticosteroids (OCS) in asthma and prescription of OCS or antibiotics in COPD; and/or hospitalisation for a respiratory cause. Dual verification demonstrated consistency between SIR and Apollo data sources: 3453 (98.6%) patients were common to both systems; 99.9% of prescription records were matched and of 29,830 diagnosis records, one record was missing from Apollo and 272 (0.9%) from SIR. Identified COPD patients were also highly concordant (Kappa coefficient = 0.98). A total of 7981 asthma patients and 4478 COPD patients were identified within the NWEH-LDB. Cohort analyses enumerated the most commonly prescribed respiratory medication classes to be: inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) (42%) and ICS plus long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) (40%) in asthma; ICS plus LABA (55%) and long-acting muscarinic antagonists (36%) in COPD. During 2009 HRU was greater in the COPD versus asthma cohorts, and exacerbation rates in 2009 were higher in patients who had ≥2 exacerbations versus ≤1 exacerbation in 2008 for both asthma (137.5 vs. 20.3 per 100 person-years, respectively) and COPD (144.6 vs. 41.0, respectively). Apollo and SIR data extracts into NWEH-LDB showed a high level of concordance for asthma and COPD patients. Longitudinal data analysis characterized the COPD and asthma populations in Salford including medications prescribed and health care utilisation outcomes suitable for clinical trial planning.

  16. Systematic approach to verification and validation: High explosive burn models

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

    Menikoff, Ralph; Scovel, Christina A.

    2012-04-16

    Most material models used in numerical simulations are based on heuristics and empirically calibrated to experimental data. For a specific model, key questions are determining its domain of applicability and assessing its relative merits compared to other models. Answering these questions should be a part of model verification and validation (V and V). Here, we focus on V and V of high explosive models. Typically, model developers implemented their model in their own hydro code and use different sets of experiments to calibrate model parameters. Rarely can one find in the literature simulation results for different models of the samemore » experiment. Consequently, it is difficult to assess objectively the relative merits of different models. This situation results in part from the fact that experimental data is scattered through the literature (articles in journals and conference proceedings) and that the printed literature does not allow the reader to obtain data from a figure in electronic form needed to make detailed comparisons among experiments and simulations. In addition, it is very time consuming to set up and run simulations to compare different models over sufficiently many experiments to cover the range of phenomena of interest. The first difficulty could be overcome if the research community were to support an online web based database. The second difficulty can be greatly reduced by automating procedures to set up and run simulations of similar types of experiments. Moreover, automated testing would be greatly facilitated if the data files obtained from a database were in a standard format that contained key experimental parameters as meta-data in a header to the data file. To illustrate our approach to V and V, we have developed a high explosive database (HED) at LANL. It now contains a large number of shock initiation experiments. Utilizing the header information in a data file from HED, we have written scripts to generate an input file for a hydro code, run a simulation, and generate a comparison plot showing simulated and experimental velocity gauge data. These scripts are then applied to several series of experiments and to several HE burn models. The same systematic approach is applicable to other types of material models; for example, equations of state models and material strength models.« less

  17. Experimental verification of Space Platform battery discharger design optimization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sable, Dan M.; Deuty, Scott; Lee, Fred C.; Cho, Bo H.

    The detailed design of two candidate topologies for the Space Platform battery discharger, a four module boost converter (FMBC) and a voltage-fed push-pull autotransformer (VFPPAT), is presented. Each has unique problems. The FMBC requires careful design and analysis in order to obtain good dynamic performance. This is due to the presence of a right-half-plane (RHP) zero in the control-to-output transfer function. The VFPPAT presents a challenging power stage design in order to yield high efficiency and light component weight. The authors describe the design of each of these converters and compare their efficiency, weight, and dynamic characteristics.

  18. Nonlinear propagation model for ultrasound hydrophones calibration in the frequency range up to 100 MHz.

    PubMed

    Radulescu, E G; Wójcik, J; Lewin, P A; Nowicki, A

    2003-06-01

    To facilitate the implementation and verification of the new ultrasound hydrophone calibration techniques described in the companion paper (somewhere in this issue) a nonlinear propagation model was developed. A brief outline of the theoretical considerations is presented and the model's advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The results of simulations yielding spatial and temporal acoustic pressure amplitude are also presented and compared with those obtained using KZK and Field II models. Excellent agreement between all models is evidenced. The applicability of the model in discrete wideband calibration of hydrophones is documented in the companion paper somewhere in this volume.

  19. Noise-Aided Logic in an Electronic Analog of Synthetic Genetic Networks

    PubMed Central

    Hellen, Edward H.; Dana, Syamal K.; Kurths, Jürgen; Kehler, Elizabeth; Sinha, Sudeshna

    2013-01-01

    We report the experimental verification of noise-enhanced logic behaviour in an electronic analog of a synthetic genetic network, composed of two repressors and two constitutive promoters. We observe good agreement between circuit measurements and numerical prediction, with the circuit allowing for robust logic operations in an optimal window of noise. Namely, the input-output characteristics of a logic gate is reproduced faithfully under moderate noise, which is a manifestation of the phenomenon known as Logical Stochastic Resonance. The two dynamical variables in the system yield complementary logic behaviour simultaneously. The system is easily morphed from AND/NAND to OR/NOR logic. PMID:24124531

  20. Experimental verification of Space Platform battery discharger design optimization

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sable, Dan M.; Deuty, Scott; Lee, Fred C.; Cho, Bo H.

    1991-01-01

    The detailed design of two candidate topologies for the Space Platform battery discharger, a four module boost converter (FMBC) and a voltage-fed push-pull autotransformer (VFPPAT), is presented. Each has unique problems. The FMBC requires careful design and analysis in order to obtain good dynamic performance. This is due to the presence of a right-half-plane (RHP) zero in the control-to-output transfer function. The VFPPAT presents a challenging power stage design in order to yield high efficiency and light component weight. The authors describe the design of each of these converters and compare their efficiency, weight, and dynamic characteristics.

  1. Verification of National Weather Service spot forecasts using surface observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lammers, Matthew Robert

    Software has been developed to evaluate National Weather Service spot forecasts issued to support prescribed burns and early-stage wildfires. Fire management officials request spot forecasts from National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices to provide detailed guidance as to atmospheric conditions in the vicinity of planned prescribed burns as well as wildfires that do not have incident meteorologists on site. This open source software with online display capabilities is used to examine an extensive set of spot forecasts of maximum temperature, minimum relative humidity, and maximum wind speed from April 2009 through November 2013 nationwide. The forecast values are compared to the closest available surface observations at stations installed primarily for fire weather and aviation applications. The accuracy of the spot forecasts is compared to those available from the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD). Spot forecasts for selected prescribed burns and wildfires are used to illustrate issues associated with the verification procedures. Cumulative statistics for National Weather Service County Warning Areas and for the nation are presented. Basic error and accuracy metrics for all available spot forecasts and the entire nation indicate that the skill of the spot forecasts is higher than that available from the NDFD, with the greatest improvement for maximum temperature and the least improvement for maximum wind speed.

  2. Automatic extraction of numeric strings in unconstrained handwritten document images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haji, M. Mehdi; Bui, Tien D.; Suen, Ching Y.

    2011-01-01

    Numeric strings such as identification numbers carry vital pieces of information in documents. In this paper, we present a novel algorithm for automatic extraction of numeric strings in unconstrained handwritten document images. The algorithm has two main phases: pruning and verification. In the pruning phase, the algorithm first performs a new segment-merge procedure on each text line, and then using a new regularity measure, it prunes all sequences of characters that are unlikely to be numeric strings. The segment-merge procedure is composed of two modules: a new explicit character segmentation algorithm which is based on analysis of skeletal graphs and a merging algorithm which is based on graph partitioning. All the candidate sequences that pass the pruning phase are sent to a recognition-based verification phase for the final decision. The recognition is based on a coarse-to-fine approach using probabilistic RBF networks. We developed our algorithm for the processing of real-world documents where letters and digits may be connected or broken in a document. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is shown by extensive experiments done on a real-world database of 607 documents which contains handwritten, machine-printed and mixed documents with different types of layouts and levels of noise.

  3. The advantage of being oneself: The role of applicant self-verification in organizational hiring decisions.

    PubMed

    Moore, Celia; Lee, Sun Young; Kim, Kawon; Cable, Daniel M

    2017-11-01

    In this paper, we explore whether individuals who strive to self-verify flourish or flounder on the job market. Using placement data from 2 very different field samples, we found that individuals rated by the organization as being in the top 10% of candidates were significantly more likely to receive a job offer if they have a stronger drive to self-verify. A third study, using a quasi-experimental design, explored the mechanism behind this effect and tested whether individuals who are high and low on this disposition communicate differently in a structured mock job interview. Text analysis (LIWC) of interview transcripts revealed systematic differences in candidates' language use as a function of their self-verification drives. These differences led an expert rater to perceive candidates with a strong drive to self-verify as less inauthentic and less misrepresentative than their low self-verifying peers, making her more likely to recommend these candidates for a job. Taken together, our results suggest that authentic self-presentation is an unidentified route to success on the job market, amplifying the chances that high-quality candidates can convert organizations' positive evaluations into tangible job offers. We discuss implications for job applicants, organizations, and the labor market. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. SDO FlatSat Facility

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Amason, David L.

    2008-01-01

    The goal of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is to understand and, ideally, predict the solar variations that influence life and society. It's instruments will measure the properties of the Sun and will take hifh definition images of the Sun every few seconds, all day every day. The FlatSat is a high fidelity electrical and functional representation of the SDO spacecraft bus. It is a high fidelity test bed for Integration & Test (I & T), flight software, and flight operations. For I & T purposes FlatSat will be a driver to development and dry run electrical integration procedures, STOL test procedures, page displays, and the command and telemetry database. FlatSat will also serve as a platform for flight software acceptance and systems testing for the flight software system component including the spacecraft main processors, power supply electronics, attitude control electronic, gimbal control electrons and the S-band communications card. FlatSat will also benefit the flight operations team through post-launch flight software code and table update development and verification and verification of new and updated flight operations products. This document highlights the benefits of FlatSat; describes the building of FlatSat; provides FlatSat facility requirements, access roles and responsibilities; and, and discusses FlatSat mechanical and electrical integration and functional testing.

  5. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): TRI

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) System. TRI is a publicly available EPA database reported annually by certain covered industry groups, as well as federal facilities. It contains information about more than 650 toxic chemicals that are being used, manufactured, treated, transported, or released into the environment, and includes information about waste management and pollution prevention activities. FRS identifies and geospatially locates facilities, sites or places subject to environmental regulations or of environmental interest. Using vigorous verification and data management procedures, FRS integrates facility data from EPA's national program systems, other federal agencies, and State and tribal master facility records and provides EPA with a centrally managed, single source of comprehensive and authoritative information on facilities. This data set contains the subset of FRS integrated facilities that link to TRI facilities once the TRI data has been integrated into the FRS database. Additional information on FRS is available at the EPA website https://www.epa.gov/enviro/facility-registry-service-frs.

  6. Multiple-Feature Extracting Modules Based Leak Mining System Design

    PubMed Central

    Cho, Ying-Chiang; Pan, Jen-Yi

    2013-01-01

    Over the years, human dependence on the Internet has increased dramatically. A large amount of information is placed on the Internet and retrieved from it daily, which makes web security in terms of online information a major concern. In recent years, the most problematic issues in web security have been e-mail address leakage and SQL injection attacks. There are many possible causes of information leakage, such as inadequate precautions during the programming process, which lead to the leakage of e-mail addresses entered online or insufficient protection of database information, a loophole that enables malicious users to steal online content. In this paper, we implement a crawler mining system that is equipped with SQL injection vulnerability detection, by means of an algorithm developed for the web crawler. In addition, we analyze portal sites of the governments of various countries or regions in order to investigate the information leaking status of each site. Subsequently, we analyze the database structure and content of each site, using the data collected. Thus, we make use of practical verification in order to focus on information security and privacy through black-box testing. PMID:24453892

  7. Multiple-feature extracting modules based leak mining system design.

    PubMed

    Cho, Ying-Chiang; Pan, Jen-Yi

    2013-01-01

    Over the years, human dependence on the Internet has increased dramatically. A large amount of information is placed on the Internet and retrieved from it daily, which makes web security in terms of online information a major concern. In recent years, the most problematic issues in web security have been e-mail address leakage and SQL injection attacks. There are many possible causes of information leakage, such as inadequate precautions during the programming process, which lead to the leakage of e-mail addresses entered online or insufficient protection of database information, a loophole that enables malicious users to steal online content. In this paper, we implement a crawler mining system that is equipped with SQL injection vulnerability detection, by means of an algorithm developed for the web crawler. In addition, we analyze portal sites of the governments of various countries or regions in order to investigate the information leaking status of each site. Subsequently, we analyze the database structure and content of each site, using the data collected. Thus, we make use of practical verification in order to focus on information security and privacy through black-box testing.

  8. ECG Sensor Card with Evolving RBP Algorithms for Human Verification.

    PubMed

    Tseng, Kuo-Kun; Huang, Huang-Nan; Zeng, Fufu; Tu, Shu-Yi

    2015-08-21

    It is known that cardiac and respiratory rhythms in electrocardiograms (ECGs) are highly nonlinear and non-stationary. As a result, most traditional time-domain algorithms are inadequate for characterizing the complex dynamics of the ECG. This paper proposes a new ECG sensor card and a statistical-based ECG algorithm, with the aid of a reduced binary pattern (RBP), with the aim of achieving faster ECG human identity recognition with high accuracy. The proposed algorithm has one advantage that previous ECG algorithms lack-the waveform complex information and de-noising preprocessing can be bypassed; therefore, it is more suitable for non-stationary ECG signals. Experimental results tested on two public ECG databases (MIT-BIH) from MIT University confirm that the proposed scheme is feasible with excellent accuracy, low complexity, and speedy processing. To be more specific, the advanced RBP algorithm achieves high accuracy in human identity recognition and is executed at least nine times faster than previous algorithms. Moreover, based on the test results from a long-term ECG database, the evolving RBP algorithm also demonstrates superior capability in handling long-term and non-stationary ECG signals.

  9. Short tandem repeat DNA typing provides an international reference standard for authentication of human cell lines.

    PubMed

    Dirks, Wilhelm Gerhard; Faehnrich, Silke; Estella, Isabelle Annick Janine; Drexler, Hans Guenter

    2005-01-01

    Cell lines have wide applications as model systems in the medical and pharmaceutical industry. Much drug and chemical testing is now first carried out exhaustively on in vitro systems, reducing the need for complicated and invasive animal experiments. The basis for any research, development or production program involving cell lines is the choice of an authentic cell line. Microsatellites in the human genome that harbour short tandem repeat (STR) DNA markers allow individualisation of established cell lines at the DNA level. Fluorescence polymerase chain reaction amplification of eight highly polymorphic microsatellite STR loci plus gender determination was found to be the best tool to screen the uniqueness of DNA profiles in a fingerprint database. Our results demonstrate that cross-contamination and misidentification remain chronic problems in the use of human continuous cell lines. The combination of rapidly generated DNA types based on single-locus STR and their authentication or individualisation by screening the fingerprint database constitutes a highly reliable and robust method for the identification and verification of cell lines.

  10. United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries. Annual report, February 1, 2003 - January 31, 2004

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

    Alldredge, J. R.; Brumbaugh, T. L.; Ehrhart, Susan M.

    2004-01-31

    This year was my fourteenth year with the U. S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR). How time flies! Since I became the director of the program five years ago, one of my primary goals was to increase the usefulness of the large USTUR database that consists of six tables containing personal information, medical histories, radiation exposure histories, causes of death, and the results of radiochemical analysis of organ samples collected at autopsy. It is essential that a query of one or more of these tables by USTUR researchers or by collaborating researchers provides complete and reliable information. Also, some ofmore » the tables (those without personal identifiers) are destined to appear on the USTUR website for the use of the scientific community. I am pleased to report that most of the data in the database have now been verified and formatted for easy query. It is important to note that no data were discarded; copies of the original tables were retained and the original paper documents are still available for further verification of values as needed.« less

  11. High-Throughput Combinatorial Development of High-Entropy Alloys For Light-Weight Structural Applications

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

    Van Duren, Jeroen K; Koch, Carl; Luo, Alan

    The primary limitation of today’s lightweight structural alloys is that specific yield strengths (SYS) higher than 200MPa x cc/g (typical value for titanium alloys) are extremely difficult to achieve. This holds true especially at a cost lower than 5dollars/kg (typical value for magnesium alloys). Recently, high-entropy alloys (HEA) have shown promising SYS, yet the large composition space of HEA makes screening compositions complex and time-consuming. Over the course of this 2-year project we started from 150 billion compositions and reduced the number of potential low-density (<5g/cc), low-cost (<5dollars/kg) high-entropy alloy (LDHEA) candidates that are single-phase, disordered, solid-solution (SPSS) to amore » few thousand compositions. This was accomplished by means of machine learning to guide design for SPSS LDHEA based on a combination of recursive partitioning, an extensive, experimental HEA database compiled from 24 literature sources, and 91 calculated parameters serving as phenomenological selection rules. Machine learning shows an accuracy of 82% in identifying which compositions of a separate, smaller, experimental HEA database are SPSS HEA. Calculation of Phase Diagrams (CALPHAD) shows an accuracy of 71-77% for the alloys supported by the CALPHAD database, where 30% of the compiled HEA database is not supported by CALPHAD. In addition to machine learning, and CALPHAD, a third tool was developed to aid design of SPSS LDHEA. Phase diagrams were calculated by constructing the Gibbs-free energy convex hull based on easily accessible enthalpy and entropy terms. Surprisingly, accuracy was 78%. Pursuing these LDHEA candidates by high-throughput experimental methods resulted in SPSS LDHEA composed of transition metals (e.g. Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu) alloyed with Al, yet the high concentration of Al, necessary to bring the mass density below 5.0g/cc, makes these materials hard and brittle, body-centered-cubic (BCC) alloys. A related, yet multi-phase BCC alloy, based on Al-Cr-Fe-Ni, shows compressive strain >10% and specific compressive yield strength of 229 MPa x cc/g, yet does not show ductility in tensile tests due to cleavage. When replacing Cr in Al-Cr-Fe-based 4- and 5-element LDHEA with Mn, hardness drops 2x. Combined with compression test results, including those on the ternaries Al-Cr-Fe and Al-Mn-Fe suggest that Al-Mn-Fe-based LDHEA are still worth pursuing. These initial results only represent one compressive stress-strain curve per composition without any property optimization. As such, reproducibility needs to be followed by optimization to show their full potential. When including Li, Mg, and Zn, single-phase Li-Mg-Al-Ti-Zn LDHEA has been found with a specific ultimate compressive strength of 289MPa x cc/g. Al-Ti-Mn-Zn showed a specific ultimate compressive strength of 73MPa x cc/g. These initial results after hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of the ball-milled powders represent the lower end of what is possible, since no secondary processing (e.g. extrusion) has been performed to optimize strength and ductility. Compositions for multi-phase (e.g. dual-phase) LDHEA were identified largely by automated searches through CALPHAD databases, while screening for large face-centered-cubic (FCC) volume fractions, followed by experimental verification. This resulted in several new alloys. Li-Mg-Al-Mn-Fe and Mg-Mn-Fe-Co ball-milled powders upon HIP show specific ultimate compressive strengths of 198MPa x cc/g and 45MPa x cc/g, respectively. Several malleable quarternary Al-Zn-based alloys have been found upon arc/induction melting, yet with limited specific compressive yield strength (<75 MPa x cc/g). These initial results are all without any optimization for strength and/or ductility. High-throughput experimentation allowed us to triple the existing experimental HEA database as published in the past 10 years in less than 2 years which happened at a rate 10x higher than previous methods. Furthermore, we showed that high-throughput thin-film combinatorial methods can be used to get insight in isothermal phase diagram slices. Although it is straightforward to map hardness as a function of composition for sputtered, thin-film, compositional gradients by nano-indentation and compare the results to micro-indentation on bulk samples, the simultaneous impact of composition, roughness, film density, and microstructure on hardness requires monitoring all these properties as a function of location on the compositional gradient, including dissecting the impact of these 4 factors on the hardness map. These additional efforts impact throughput significantly. This work shows that a lot of progress has been made over the years in predicting phase formation that aids the discovery of new alloys, yet that a lot of work needs to be done to predict phases more accurately for LDHEA, whether done by CALPHAD or by other means. More importantly, more work needs to be done to predict mechanical properties of novel alloys, like yield strength, and ductility. Furthermore, this work shows that there is a need for the generation of an empirical alloy database covering strategic points in a multi-dimensional composition space to allow for faster and more accurate predictive interpolations to identify the oasis in the dessert more quickly. Finally, this work suggests that it is worth pursuing a ductile alloy with a SYS > 300 MPa x cc/g in a mass density range of 6-7 g/cc, since the chances for a single-phase or majority-phase FCC increase significantly. Today’s lightweight steels are in this density range.« less

  12. Lymph Node Yield as a Predictor of Survival in Pathologically Node Negative Oral Cavity Carcinoma.

    PubMed

    Lemieux, Aaron; Kedarisetty, Suraj; Raju, Sharat; Orosco, Ryan; Coffey, Charles

    2016-03-01

    Even after a pathologically node-negative (pN0) neck dissection for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), patients may develop regional recurrence. In this study, we (1) hypothesize that an increased number of lymph nodes removed (lymph node yield) in patients with pN0 oral SCC predicts improved survival and (2) explore predictors of survival in these patients using a multivariable model. Case series with chart review. Administrative database analysis. The SEER database was queried for patients diagnosed with all-stage oral cavity SCC between 1988 and 2009 who were determined to be pN0 after elective lymph node dissection. Demographic and treatment variables were extracted. The association of lymph node yield with 5-year all-cause survival was studied with multivariable survival analyses. A total of 4341 patients with pN0 oral SCC were included in this study. The 2 highest lymph node yield quartiles (representing >22 nodes removed) were found to be significant predictors of overall survival (22-35 nodes: hazard ratio [HR] = 0.854, P = .031; 36-98 nodes: HR = 0.827, P = .010). Each additional lymph node removed during neck dissection was associated with increased survival (HR = 0.995, P = .022). These data suggest that patients with oral SCC undergoing elective neck dissection may experience an overall survival benefit associated with greater lymph node yield. Mechanisms behind the demonstrated survival advantage are unknown. Larger nodal dissections may remove a greater burden of microscopic metastatic disease, diminishing the likelihood of recurrence. Lymph node yield may serve as an objective measure of the adequacy of lymphadenectomy. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

  13. Does supplementation of beef calves by creep feeding systems influence milk production and body condition of the dams?

    PubMed

    Lopes, Sidnei Antônio; Paulino, Mário Fonseca; Detmann, Edenio; Valente, Ériton Egídio Lisboa; de Barros, Lívia Vieira; Rennó, Luciana Navajas; de Campos Valadares Filho, Sebastião; Martins, Leandro Soares

    2016-08-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of beef calves' supplementation in creep feeding systems on milk yield, body weight (BW), and body condition score (BCS) of their dams on tropical pastures using a meta-analytical approach. The database was obtained from 11 experiments conducted between 2009 and 2014 in Brazil, totaling 485 observations (cows). The database consisted of 273 Nellore and 212 crossbred (7/8 Nellore × 1/8 Holstein) cows. All experiments were carried out in the suckling phase (from 3 to 8 months of age of calves) during the transition phase between rainy and dry seasons from February to June of different years. The data were analyzed by a meta-analytical approach using mixed models and taking into account random variation among experiments. Calves' supplementation (P ≥ 0.59) and the calves' sex (P ≥ 0.48) did not affect milk yield of cows. The average fat-corrected milk (FCM) yield was 6.71 and 6.83 kg/day for cows that had their calves supplemented and not supplemented, respectively. Differences were observed (P < 0.0001) for milk yield due to the genetic group where crossbred cows presented greater FCM yield (7.37 kg/day) compared with Nellore cows (6.17 kg/day). There was no effect of the calves' supplementation on BW change (P ≥ 0.11) and BCS change (P ≥ 0.23) of the cows. Therefore, it is concluded that supplementation of beef calves using creep feeding systems in tropical pastures does not affect milk yield, body weight, or body condition of their dams.

  14. NASA Data for Water Resources Applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Toll, David; Houser, Paul; Arsenault, Kristi; Entin, Jared

    2004-01-01

    Water Management Applications is one of twelve elements in the Earth Science Enterprise National Applications Program. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is supporting the Applications Program through partnering with other organizations to use NASA project results, such as from satellite instruments and Earth system models to enhance the organizations critical needs. The focus thus far has been: 1) estimating water storage including snowpack and soil moisture, 2) modeling and predicting water fluxes such as evapotranspiration (ET), precipitation and river runoff, and 3) remote sensing of water quality, including both point source (e.g., turbidity and productivity) and non-point source (e.g., land cover conversion such as forest to agriculture yielding higher nutrient runoff). The objectives of the partnering cover three steps of: 1) Evaluation, 2) Verification and Validation, and 3) Benchmark Report. We are working with the U.S. federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). We are using several of their Decision Support Systems (DSS) tools. This includes the DSS support tools BASINS used by EPA, Riverware and AWARDS ET ToolBox by USBR and SWAT by USDA and EPA. Regional application sites using NASA data across the US. are currently being eliminated for the DSS tools. The current NASA data emphasized thus far are from the Land Data Assimilation Systems WAS) and MODIS satellite products. We are currently in the first two steps of evaluation and verification validation. Water Management Applications is one of twelve elements in the Earth Science Enterprise s National Applications Program. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is supporting the Applications Program through partnering with other organizations to use NASA project results, such as from satellite instruments and Earth system models to enhance the organizations critical needs. The focus thus far has been: 1) estimating water storage including snowpack and soil moisture, 2) modeling and predicting water fluxes such as evapotranspiration (ET), precipitation and river runoff, and 3) remote sensing of water quality, including both point source (e.g., turbidity and productivity) and non-point source (e.g., land cover conversion such as forest to agriculture yielding higher nutrient runoff). The objectives of the partnering cover three steps of 1) Evaluation, 2) Verification and Validation, and 3) Benchmark Report. We are working with the U.S. federal agencies the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). We are using several of their Decision Support Systems (DSS) tools. T us includes the DSS support tools BASINS used by EPA, Riverware and AWARDS ET ToolBox by USBR and SWAT by USDA and EPA. Regional application sites using NASA data across the US. are currently being evaluated for the DSS tools. The current NASA data emphasized thus far are from the Land Data Assimilation Systems (LDAS) and MODIS satellite products. We are currently in the first two steps of evaluation and verification and validation.

  15. GHG MITIGATION TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS UNDERWAY AT THE GHG TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION CENTER

    EPA Science Inventory

    The paper outlines the verification approach and activities of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Technology Verification Center, one of 12 independent verification entities operating under the U.S. EPA-sponsored Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program. (NOTE: The ETV program...

  16. SU-F-J-72: A Clinical Usable Integrated Contouring Quality Evaluation Software for Radiotherapy

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

    Jiang, S; Dolly, S; Cai, B

    Purpose: To introduce the Auto Contour Evaluation (ACE) software, which is the clinical usable, user friendly, efficient and all-in-one toolbox for automatically identify common contouring errors in radiotherapy treatment planning using supervised machine learning techniques. Methods: ACE is developed with C# using Microsoft .Net framework and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) for elegant GUI design and smooth GUI transition animations through the integration of graphics engines and high dots per inch (DPI) settings on modern high resolution monitors. The industrial standard software design pattern, Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern, is chosen to be the major architecture of ACE for neat coding structure, deepmore » modularization, easy maintainability and seamless communication with other clinical software. ACE consists of 1) a patient data importing module integrated with clinical patient database server, 2) a 2D DICOM image and RT structure simultaneously displaying module, 3) a 3D RT structure visualization module using Visualization Toolkit or VTK library and 4) a contour evaluation module using supervised pattern recognition algorithms to detect contouring errors and display detection results. ACE relies on supervised learning algorithms to handle all image processing and data processing jobs. Implementations of related algorithms are powered by Accord.Net scientific computing library for better efficiency and effectiveness. Results: ACE can take patient’s CT images and RT structures from commercial treatment planning software via direct user input or from patients’ database. All functionalities including 2D and 3D image visualization and RT contours error detection have been demonstrated with real clinical patient cases. Conclusion: ACE implements supervised learning algorithms and combines image processing and graphical visualization modules for RT contours verification. ACE has great potential for automated radiotherapy contouring quality verification. Structured with MVVM pattern, it is highly maintainable and extensible, and support smooth connections with other clinical software tools.« less

  17. Evaluating the risk of patient re-identification from adverse drug event reports

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Our objective was to develop a model for measuring re-identification risk that more closely mimics the behaviour of an adversary by accounting for repeated attempts at matching and verification of matches, and apply it to evaluate the risk of re-identification for Canada’s post-marketing adverse drug event database (ADE).Re-identification is only demonstrably plausible for deaths in ADE. A matching experiment between ADE records and virtual obituaries constructed from Statistics Canada vital statistics was simulated. A new re-identification risk is considered, it assumes that after gathering all the potential matches for a patient record (all records in the obituaries that are potential matches for an ADE record), an adversary tries to verify these potential matches. Two adversary scenarios were considered: (a) a mildly motivated adversary who will stop after one verification attempt, and (b) a highly motivated adversary who will attempt to verify all the potential matches and is only limited by practical or financial considerations. Methods The mean percentage of records in ADE that had a high probability of being re-identified was computed. Results Under scenario (a), the risk of re-identification from disclosing the province, age at death, gender, and exact date of the report is quite high, but the removal of province brings down the risk significantly. By only generalizing the date of reporting to month and year and including all other variables, the risk is always low. All ADE records have a high risk of re-identification under scenario (b), but the plausibility of that scenario is limited because of the financial and practical deterrent even for highly motivated adversaries. Conclusions It is possible to disclose Canada’s adverse drug event database while ensuring that plausible re-identification risks are acceptably low. Our new re-identification risk model is suitable for such risk assessments. PMID:24094134

  18. Comparing phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive echolocation target images using a monaural audible sonar.

    PubMed

    Kuc, Roman

    2018-04-01

    This paper describes phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive processing of monaural echolocation waveforms to generate target maps. Composite waveforms containing both the emission and echoes are processed to estimate the target impulse response using an audible sonar. Phase-sensitive processing yields the composite signal envelope, while phase-insensitive processing that starts with the composite waveform power spectrum yields the envelope of the autocorrelation function. Analysis and experimental verification show that multiple echoes form an autocorrelation function that produces near-range phantom-reflector artifacts. These artifacts interfere with true target echoes when the first true echo occurs at a time that is less than the total duration of the target echoes. Initial comparison of phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive maps indicates that both display important target features, indicating that phase is not vital. A closer comparison illustrates the improved resolution of phase-sensitive processing, the near-range phantom-reflectors produced by phase-insensitive processing, and echo interference and multiple reflection artifacts that were independent of the processing.

  19. Modeling and prediction of extraction profile for microwave-assisted extraction based on absorbed microwave energy.

    PubMed

    Chan, Chung-Hung; Yusoff, Rozita; Ngoh, Gek-Cheng

    2013-09-01

    A modeling technique based on absorbed microwave energy was proposed to model microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of antioxidant compounds from cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) leaves. By adapting suitable extraction model at the basis of microwave energy absorbed during extraction, the model can be developed to predict extraction profile of MAE at various microwave irradiation power (100-600 W) and solvent loading (100-300 ml). Verification with experimental data confirmed that the prediction was accurate in capturing the extraction profile of MAE (R-square value greater than 0.87). Besides, the predicted yields from the model showed good agreement with the experimental results with less than 10% deviation observed. Furthermore, suitable extraction times to ensure high extraction yield at various MAE conditions can be estimated based on absorbed microwave energy. The estimation is feasible as more than 85% of active compounds can be extracted when compared with the conventional extraction technique. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Dynamic fracture toughness of ASME SA508 Class 2a ASME SA533 grade A Class 2 base and heat affected zone material and applicable weld metals

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

    Logsdon, W.A.; Begley, J.A.; Gottshall, C.L.

    1978-03-01

    The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Article G-2000, requires that dynamic fracture toughness data be developed for materials with specified minimum yield strengths greater than 50 ksi to provide verification and utilization of the ASME specified minimum reference toughness K/sub IR/ curve. In order to qualify ASME SA508 Class 2a and ASME SA533 Grade A Class 2 pressure vessel steels (minimum yield strengths equal 65 kip/in./sup 2/ and 70 kip/in./sup 2/, respectively) per this requirement, dynamic fracture toughness tests were performed on these materials. All dynamic fracture toughness values of SA508 Class 2a base and HAZ material,more » SA533 Grade A Class 2 base and HAZ material, and applicable weld metals exceeded the ASME specified minimum reference toughness K/sub IR/ curve.« less

  1. Springback evaluation of friction stir welded TWB automotive sheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Junehyung; Lee, Wonoh; Chung, Kyung-Hwan; Kim, Daeyong; Kim, Chongmin; Okamoto, Kazutaka; Wagoner, R. H.; Chung, Kwansoo

    2011-02-01

    Springback behavior of automotive friction stir welded TWB (tailor welded blank) sheets was experimentally investigated and the springback prediction capability of the constitutive law was numerically validated. Four automotive sheets, aluminum alloy 6111-T4, 5083-H18, 5083-O and dual-phase DP590 steel sheets, each having one or two different thicknesses, were considered. To represent mechanical properties, the modified Chaboche type combined isotropic-kinematic hardening law was utilized along with the non-quadratic orthogonal anisotropic yield function, Yld2000-2d, while the anisotropy of the weld zone was ignored for simplicity. For numerical simulations, mechanical properties previously characterized [1] were applied. For validation purposes, three springback tests including the unconstrained cylindrical bending, 2-D draw bending and OSU draw-bend tests were carried out. The numerical method performed reasonably well in analyzing all verification tests and it was confirmed that the springback of TWB as well as of base samples is significantly affected by the ratio of the yield stress with respect to Young's modulus and thickness.

  2. A development and integration of database code-system with a compilation of comparator, k0 and absolute methods for INAA using microsoft access

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hoh, Siew Sin; Rapie, Nurul Nadiah; Lim, Edwin Suh Wen; Tan, Chun Yuan; Yavar, Alireza; Sarmani, Sukiman; Majid, Amran Ab.; Khoo, Kok Siong

    2013-05-01

    Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) is often used to determine and calculate the elemental concentrations of a sample at The National University of Malaysia (UKM) typically in Nuclear Science Programme, Faculty of Science and Technology. The objective of this study was to develop a database code-system based on Microsoft Access 2010 which could help the INAA users to choose either comparator method, k0-method or absolute method for calculating the elemental concentrations of a sample. This study also integrated k0data, Com-INAA, k0Concent, k0-Westcott and Abs-INAA to execute and complete the ECC-UKM database code-system. After the integration, a study was conducted to test the effectiveness of the ECC-UKM database code-system by comparing the concentrations between the experiments and the code-systems. 'Triple Bare Monitor' Zr-Au and Cr-Mo-Au were used in k0Concent, k0-Westcott and Abs-INAA code-systems as monitors to determine the thermal to epithermal neutron flux ratio (f). Calculations involved in determining the concentration were net peak area (Np), measurement time (tm), irradiation time (tirr), k-factor (k), thermal to epithermal neutron flux ratio (f), parameters of the neutron flux distribution epithermal (α) and detection efficiency (ɛp). For Com-INAA code-system, certified reference material IAEA-375 Soil was used to calculate the concentrations of elements in a sample. Other CRM and SRM were also used in this database codesystem. Later, a verification process to examine the effectiveness of the Abs-INAA code-system was carried out by comparing the sample concentrations between the code-system and the experiment. The results of the experimental concentration values of ECC-UKM database code-system were performed with good accuracy.

  3. Searching for religion and mental health studies required health, social science, and grey literature databases.

    PubMed

    Wright, Judy M; Cottrell, David J; Mir, Ghazala

    2014-07-01

    To determine the optimal databases to search for studies of faith-sensitive interventions for treating depression. We examined 23 health, social science, religious, and grey literature databases searched for an evidence synthesis. Databases were prioritized by yield of (1) search results, (2) potentially relevant references identified during screening, (3) included references contained in the synthesis, and (4) included references that were available in the database. We assessed the impact of databases beyond MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO by their ability to supply studies identifying new themes and issues. We identified pragmatic workload factors that influence database selection. PsycINFO was the best performing database within all priority lists. ArabPsyNet, CINAHL, Dissertations and Theses, EMBASE, Global Health, Health Management Information Consortium, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Sociological Abstracts were essential for our searches to retrieve the included references. Citation tracking activities and the personal library of one of the research teams made significant contributions of unique, relevant references. Religion studies databases (Am Theo Lib Assoc, FRANCIS) did not provide unique, relevant references. Literature searches for reviews and evidence syntheses of religion and health studies should include social science, grey literature, non-Western databases, personal libraries, and citation tracking activities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. 18 CFR 281.213 - Data Verification Committee.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... preparation. (e) The Data Verification Committee shall prepare a report concerning the proposed index of... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Data Verification....213 Data Verification Committee. (a) Each interstate pipeline shall establish a Data Verification...

  5. 18 CFR 281.213 - Data Verification Committee.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... preparation. (e) The Data Verification Committee shall prepare a report concerning the proposed index of... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Data Verification....213 Data Verification Committee. (a) Each interstate pipeline shall establish a Data Verification...

  6. The politics of verification and the control of nuclear tests, 1945-1980

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

    Gallagher, N.W.

    1990-01-01

    This dissertation addresses two questions: (1) why has agreement been reached on verification regimes to support some arms control accords but not others; and (2) what determines the extent to which verification arrangements promote stable cooperation. This study develops an alternative framework for analysis by examining the politics of verification at two levels. The logical politics of verification are shaped by the structure of the problem of evaluating cooperation under semi-anarchical conditions. The practical politics of verification are driven by players' attempts to use verification arguments to promote their desired security outcome. The historical material shows that agreements on verificationmore » regimes are reached when key domestic and international players desire an arms control accord and believe that workable verification will not have intolerable costs. Clearer understanding of how verification is itself a political problem, and how players manipulate it to promote other goals is necessary if the politics of verification are to support rather than undermine the development of stable cooperation.« less

  7. Prediction of enteric methane production, yield, and intensity in dairy cattle using an intercontinental database.

    PubMed

    Niu, Mutian; Kebreab, Ermias; Hristov, Alexander N; Oh, Joonpyo; Arndt, Claudia; Bannink, André; Bayat, Ali R; Brito, André F; Boland, Tommy; Casper, David; Crompton, Les A; Dijkstra, Jan; Eugène, Maguy A; Garnsworthy, Phil C; Haque, Md Najmul; Hellwing, Anne L F; Huhtanen, Pekka; Kreuzer, Michael; Kuhla, Bjoern; Lund, Peter; Madsen, Jørgen; Martin, Cécile; McClelland, Shelby C; McGee, Mark; Moate, Peter J; Muetzel, Stefan; Muñoz, Camila; O'Kiely, Padraig; Peiren, Nico; Reynolds, Christopher K; Schwarm, Angela; Shingfield, Kevin J; Storlien, Tonje M; Weisbjerg, Martin R; Yáñez-Ruiz, David R; Yu, Zhongtang

    2018-02-16

    Enteric methane (CH 4 ) production from cattle contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. Measurement of enteric CH 4 is complex, expensive, and impractical at large scales; therefore, models are commonly used to predict CH 4 production. However, building robust prediction models requires extensive data from animals under different management systems worldwide. The objectives of this study were to (1) collate a global database of enteric CH 4 production from individual lactating dairy cattle; (2) determine the availability of key variables for predicting enteric CH 4 production (g/day per cow), yield [g/kg dry matter intake (DMI)], and intensity (g/kg energy corrected milk) and their respective relationships; (3) develop intercontinental and regional models and cross-validate their performance; and (4) assess the trade-off between availability of on-farm inputs and CH 4 prediction accuracy. The intercontinental database covered Europe (EU), the United States (US), and Australia (AU). A sequential approach was taken by incrementally adding key variables to develop models with increasing complexity. Methane emissions were predicted by fitting linear mixed models. Within model categories, an intercontinental model with the most available independent variables performed best with root mean square prediction error (RMSPE) as a percentage of mean observed value of 16.6%, 14.7%, and 19.8% for intercontinental, EU, and United States regions, respectively. Less complex models requiring only DMI had predictive ability comparable to complex models. Enteric CH 4 production, yield, and intensity prediction models developed on an intercontinental basis had similar performance across regions, however, intercepts and slopes were different with implications for prediction. Revised CH 4 emission conversion factors for specific regions are required to improve CH 4 production estimates in national inventories. In conclusion, information on DMI is required for good prediction, and other factors such as dietary neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration, improve the prediction. For enteric CH 4 yield and intensity prediction, information on milk yield and composition is required for better estimation. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Investigation, Development, and Evaluation of Performance Proving for Fault-tolerant Computers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Levitt, K. N.; Schwartz, R.; Hare, D.; Moore, J. S.; Melliar-Smith, P. M.; Shostak, R. E.; Boyer, R. S.; Green, M. W.; Elliott, W. D.

    1983-01-01

    A number of methodologies for verifying systems and computer based tools that assist users in verifying their systems were developed. These tools were applied to verify in part the SIFT ultrareliable aircraft computer. Topics covered included: STP theorem prover; design verification of SIFT; high level language code verification; assembly language level verification; numerical algorithm verification; verification of flight control programs; and verification of hardware logic.

  9. Precipitation From a Multiyear Database of Convection-Allowing WRF Simulations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goines, D. C.; Kennedy, A. D.

    2018-03-01

    Convection-allowing models (CAMs) have become frequently used for operational forecasting and, more recently, have been utilized for general circulation model downscaling. CAM forecasts have typically been analyzed for a few case studies or over short time periods, but this limits the ability to judge the overall skill of deterministic simulations. Analysis over long time periods can yield a better understanding of systematic model error. Four years of warm season (April-August, 2010-2013)-simulated precipitation has been accumulated from two Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) models with 4 km grid spacing. The simulations were provided by the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), each with different dynamic cores and parameterization schemes. These simulations are evaluated against the NCEP Stage-IV precipitation data set with similar 4 km grid spacing. The spatial distribution and diurnal cycle of precipitation in the central United States are analyzed using Hovmöller diagrams, grid point correlations, and traditional verification skill scoring (i.e., ETS; Equitable Threat Score). Although NCEP-WRF had a high positive error in total precipitation, spatial characteristics were similar to observations. For example, the spatial distribution of NCEP-WRF precipitation correlated better than NSSL-WRF for the Northern Plains. Hovmöller results exposed a delay in initiation and decay of diurnal precipitation by NCEP-WRF while both models had difficulty in reproducing the timing and location of propagating precipitation. ETS was highest for NSSL-WRF in all domains at all times. ETS was also higher in areas of propagating precipitation compared to areas of unorganized diurnal scattered precipitation. Monthly analysis identified unique differences between the two models in their abilities to correctly simulate the spatial distribution and zonal motion of precipitation through the warm season.

  10. Development of risk-based trading farm scoring system to assist with the control of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in England and Wales.

    PubMed

    Adkin, A; Brouwer, A; Simons, R R L; Smith, R P; Arnold, M E; Broughan, J; Kosmider, R; Downs, S H

    2016-01-01

    Identifying and ranking cattle herds with a higher risk of being or becoming infected on known risk factors can help target farm biosecurity, surveillance schemes and reduce spread through animal trading. This paper describes a quantitative approach to develop risk scores, based on the probability of infection in a herd with bovine tuberculosis (bTB), to be used in a risk-based trading (RBT) scheme in England and Wales. To produce a practical scoring system the risk factors included need to be simple and quick to understand, sufficiently informative and derived from centralised national databases to enable verification and assess compliance. A logistic regression identified herd history of bTB, local bTB prevalence, herd size and movements of animals onto farms in batches from high risk areas as being significantly associated with the probability of bTB infection on farm. Risk factors were assigned points using the estimated odds ratios to weight them. The farm risk score was defined as the sum of these individual points yielding a range from 1 to 5 and was calculated for each cattle farm that was trading animals in England and Wales at the start of a year. Within 12 months, of those farms tested, 30.3% of score 5 farms had a breakdown (sensitivity). Of farms scoring 1-4 only 5.4% incurred a breakdown (1-specificity). The use of this risk scoring system within RBT has the potential to reduce infected cattle movements; however, there are cost implications in ensuring that the information underpinning any system is accurate and up to date. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Influenza forecasting with Google Flu Trends.

    PubMed

    Dugas, Andrea Freyer; Jalalpour, Mehdi; Gel, Yulia; Levin, Scott; Torcaso, Fred; Igusa, Takeru; Rothman, Richard E

    2013-01-01

    We developed a practical influenza forecast model based on real-time, geographically focused, and easy to access data, designed to provide individual medical centers with advanced warning of the expected number of influenza cases, thus allowing for sufficient time to implement interventions. Secondly, we evaluated the effects of incorporating a real-time influenza surveillance system, Google Flu Trends, and meteorological and temporal information on forecast accuracy. Forecast models designed to predict one week in advance were developed from weekly counts of confirmed influenza cases over seven seasons (2004-2011) divided into seven training and out-of-sample verification sets. Forecasting procedures using classical Box-Jenkins, generalized linear models (GLM), and generalized linear autoregressive moving average (GARMA) methods were employed to develop the final model and assess the relative contribution of external variables such as, Google Flu Trends, meteorological data, and temporal information. A GARMA(3,0) forecast model with Negative Binomial distribution integrating Google Flu Trends information provided the most accurate influenza case predictions. The model, on the average, predicts weekly influenza cases during 7 out-of-sample outbreaks within 7 cases for 83% of estimates. Google Flu Trend data was the only source of external information to provide statistically significant forecast improvements over the base model in four of the seven out-of-sample verification sets. Overall, the p-value of adding this external information to the model is 0.0005. The other exogenous variables did not yield a statistically significant improvement in any of the verification sets. Integer-valued autoregression of influenza cases provides a strong base forecast model, which is enhanced by the addition of Google Flu Trends confirming the predictive capabilities of search query based syndromic surveillance. This accessible and flexible forecast model can be used by individual medical centers to provide advanced warning of future influenza cases.

  12. Benchmarking and validation of a Geant4-SHADOW Monte Carlo simulation for dose calculations in microbeam radiation therapy.

    PubMed

    Cornelius, Iwan; Guatelli, Susanna; Fournier, Pauline; Crosbie, Jeffrey C; Sanchez Del Rio, Manuel; Bräuer-Krisch, Elke; Rosenfeld, Anatoly; Lerch, Michael

    2014-05-01

    Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) is a synchrotron-based radiotherapy modality that uses high-intensity beams of spatially fractionated radiation to treat tumours. The rapid evolution of MRT towards clinical trials demands accurate treatment planning systems (TPS), as well as independent tools for the verification of TPS calculated dose distributions in order to ensure patient safety and treatment efficacy. Monte Carlo computer simulation represents the most accurate method of dose calculation in patient geometries and is best suited for the purpose of TPS verification. A Monte Carlo model of the ID17 biomedical beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility has been developed, including recent modifications, using the Geant4 Monte Carlo toolkit interfaced with the SHADOW X-ray optics and ray-tracing libraries. The code was benchmarked by simulating dose profiles in water-equivalent phantoms subject to irradiation by broad-beam (without spatial fractionation) and microbeam (with spatial fractionation) fields, and comparing against those calculated with a previous model of the beamline developed using the PENELOPE code. Validation against additional experimental dose profiles in water-equivalent phantoms subject to broad-beam irradiation was also performed. Good agreement between codes was observed, with the exception of out-of-field doses and toward the field edge for larger field sizes. Microbeam results showed good agreement between both codes and experimental results within uncertainties. Results of the experimental validation showed agreement for different beamline configurations. The asymmetry in the out-of-field dose profiles due to polarization effects was also investigated, yielding important information for the treatment planning process in MRT. This work represents an important step in the development of a Monte Carlo-based independent verification tool for treatment planning in MRT.

  13. Deformable structure registration of bladder through surface mapping.

    PubMed

    Xiong, Li; Viswanathan, Akila; Stewart, Alexandra J; Haker, Steven; Tempany, Clare M; Chin, Lee M; Cormack, Robert A

    2006-06-01

    Cumulative dose distributions in fractionated radiation therapy depict the dose to normal tissues and therefore may permit an estimation of the risk of normal tissue complications. However, calculation of these distributions is highly challenging because of interfractional changes in the geometry of patient anatomy. This work presents an algorithm for deformable structure registration of the bladder and the verification of the accuracy of the algorithm using phantom and patient data. In this algorithm, the registration process involves conformal mapping of genus zero surfaces using finite element analysis, and guided by three control landmarks. The registration produces a correspondence between fractions of the triangular meshes used to describe the bladder surface. For validation of the algorithm, two types of balloons were inflated gradually to three times their original size, and several computerized tomography (CT) scans were taken during the process. The registration algorithm yielded a local accuracy of 4 mm along the balloon surface. The algorithm was then applied to CT data of patients receiving fractionated high-dose-rate brachytherapy to the vaginal cuff, with the vaginal cylinder in situ. The patients' bladder filling status was intentionally different for each fraction. The three required control landmark points were identified for the bladder based on anatomy. Out of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved study of 20 patients, 3 had radiographically identifiable points near the bladder surface that were used for verification of the accuracy of the registration. The verification point as seen in each fraction was compared with its predicted location based on affine as well as deformable registration. Despite the variation in bladder shape and volume, the deformable registration was accurate to 5 mm, consistently outperforming the affine registration. We conclude that the structure registration algorithm presented works with reasonable accuracy and provides a means of calculating cumulative dose distributions.

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

    Li Xiong; Viswanathan, Akila; Stewart, Alexandra J.

    Cumulative dose distributions in fractionated radiation therapy depict the dose to normal tissues and therefore may permit an estimation of the risk of normal tissue complications. However, calculation of these distributions is highly challenging because of interfractional changes in the geometry of patient anatomy. This work presents an algorithm for deformable structure registration of the bladder and the verification of the accuracy of the algorithm using phantom and patient data. In this algorithm, the registration process involves conformal mapping of genus zero surfaces using finite element analysis, and guided by three control landmarks. The registration produces a correspondence between fractionsmore » of the triangular meshes used to describe the bladder surface. For validation of the algorithm, two types of balloons were inflated gradually to three times their original size, and several computerized tomography (CT) scans were taken during the process. The registration algorithm yielded a local accuracy of 4 mm along the balloon surface. The algorithm was then applied to CT data of patients receiving fractionated high-dose-rate brachytherapy to the vaginal cuff, with the vaginal cylinder in situ. The patients' bladder filling status was intentionally different for each fraction. The three required control landmark points were identified for the bladder based on anatomy. Out of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved study of 20 patients, 3 had radiographically identifiable points near the bladder surface that were used for verification of the accuracy of the registration. The verification point as seen in each fraction was compared with its predicted location based on affine as well as deformable registration. Despite the variation in bladder shape and volume, the deformable registration was accurate to 5 mm, consistently outperforming the affine registration. We conclude that the structure registration algorithm presented works with reasonable accuracy and provides a means of calculating cumulative dose distributions.« less

  15. Mapping {sup 15}O Production Rate for Proton Therapy Verification

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

    Grogg, Kira; Alpert, Nathaniel M.; Zhu, Xuping

    Purpose: This work was a proof-of-principle study for the evaluation of oxygen-15 ({sup 15}O) production as an imaging target through the use of positron emission tomography (PET), to improve verification of proton treatment plans and to study the effects of perfusion. Methods and Materials: Dynamic PET measurements of irradiation-produced isotopes were made for a phantom and rabbit thigh muscles. The rabbit muscle was irradiated and imaged under both live and dead conditions. A differential equation was fitted to phantom and in vivo data, yielding estimates of {sup 15}O production and clearance rates, which were compared to live versus dead rates formore » the rabbit and to Monte Carlo predictions. Results: PET clearance rates agreed with decay constants of the dominant radionuclide species in 3 different phantom materials. In 2 oxygen-rich materials, the ratio of {sup 15}O production rates agreed with the expected ratio. In the dead rabbit thighs, the dynamic PET concentration histories were accurately described using {sup 15}O decay constant, whereas the live thigh activity decayed faster. Most importantly, the {sup 15}O production rates agreed within 2% (P>.5) between conditions. Conclusions: We developed a new method for quantitative measurement of {sup 15}O production and clearance rates in the period immediately following proton therapy. Measurements in the phantom and rabbits were well described in terms of {sup 15}O production and clearance rates, plus a correction for other isotopes. These proof-of-principle results support the feasibility of detailed verification of proton therapy treatment delivery. In addition, {sup 15}O clearance rates may be useful in monitoring permeability changes due to therapy.« less

  16. Exploring the e-cigarette e-commerce marketplace: Identifying Internet e-cigarette marketing characteristics and regulatory gaps.

    PubMed

    Mackey, Tim K; Miner, Angela; Cuomo, Raphael E

    2015-11-01

    The electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) market is maturing into a billion-dollar industry. Expansion includes new channels of access not sufficiently assessed, including Internet sales of e-cigarettes. This study identifies unique e-cigarette Internet vendor characteristics, including geographic location, promotional strategies, use of social networking, presence/absence of age verification, and consumer warning representation. We performed structured Internet search engine queries and used inclusion/exclusion criteria to identify e-cigarette vendors. We then conducted content analysis of characteristics of interest. Our examination yielded 57 e-cigarette Internet vendors including 54.4% (n=31) that sold exclusively online. The vast majority of websites (96.5%, n=55) were located in the U.S. Vendors used a variety of sales promotion strategies to market e-cigarettes including 70.2% (n=40) that used more than one social network service (SNS) and 42.1% (n=24) that used more than one promotional sales strategies. Most vendors (68.4%, n=39) displayed one or more health warnings on their website, but often displayed them in smaller font or in their terms and conditions. Additionally, 35.1% (n=20) of vendors did not have any detectable age verification process. E-cigarette Internet vendors are actively engaged in various promotional activities to increase the appeal and presence of their products online. In the absence of FDA regulations specific to the Internet, the e-cigarette e-commerce marketplace is likely to grow. This digital environment poses unique challenges requiring targeted policy-making including robust online age verification, monitoring of SNS marketing, and greater scrutiny of certain forms of marketing promotional practices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. A possible extension to the RInChI as a means of providing machine readable process data.

    PubMed

    Jacob, Philipp-Maximilian; Lan, Tian; Goodman, Jonathan M; Lapkin, Alexei A

    2017-04-11

    The algorithmic, large-scale use and analysis of reaction databases such as Reaxys is currently hindered by the absence of widely adopted standards for publishing reaction data in machine readable formats. Crucial data such as yields of all products or stoichiometry are frequently not explicitly stated in the published papers and, hence, not reported in the database entry for those reactions, limiting their usefulness for algorithmic analysis. This paper presents a possible extension to the IUPAC RInChI standard via an auxiliary layer, termed ProcAuxInfo, which is a standardised, extensible form in which to report certain key reaction parameters such as declaration of all products and reactants as well as auxiliaries known in the reaction, reaction stoichiometry, amounts of substances used, conversion, yield and operating conditions. The standard is demonstrated via creation of the RInChI including the ProcAuxInfo layer based on three published reactions and demonstrates accurate data recoverability via reverse translation of the created strings. Implementation of this or another method of reporting process data by the publishing community would ensure that databases, such as Reaxys, would be able to abstract crucial data for big data analysis of their contents.

  18. 40 CFR 1065.920 - PEMS calibrations and verifications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ....920 PEMS calibrations and verifications. (a) Subsystem calibrations and verifications. Use all the... verifications and analysis. It may also be necessary to limit the range of conditions under which the PEMS can... additional information or analysis to support your conclusions. (b) Overall verification. This paragraph (b...

  19. GENERIC VERIFICATION PROTOCOL FOR THE VERIFICATION OF PESTICIDE SPRAY DRIFT REDUCTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR ROW AND FIELD CROPS

    EPA Science Inventory

    This ETV program generic verification protocol was prepared and reviewed for the Verification of Pesticide Drift Reduction Technologies project. The protocol provides a detailed methodology for conducting and reporting results from a verification test of pesticide drift reductio...

  20. Technology Foresight and nuclear test verification: a structured and participatory approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Noack, Patrick; Gaya-Piqué, Luis; Haralabus, Georgios; Auer, Matthias; Jain, Amit; Grenard, Patrick

    2013-04-01

    As part of its mandate, the CTBTO's nuclear explosion monitoring programme aims to maintain its sustainability, effectiveness and its long-term relevance to the verification regime. As such, the PTS is conducting a Technology Foresight programme of activities to identify technologies, processes, concepts and ideas that may serve said purpose and become applicable within the next 20 years. Through the Technology Foresight activities (online conferences, interviews, surveys, workshops and other) we have involved the wider science community in the fields of seismology, infrasound, hydroacoustics, radionuclide technology, remote sensing and geophysical techniques. We have assembled a catalogue of over 200 items, which incorporate technologies, processes, concepts and ideas which will have direct future relevance to the IMS (International Monitoring System), IDC (International Data Centre) and OSI (On-Site Inspection) activities within the PTS. In order to render this catalogue as applicable and useful as possible for strategy and planning, we have devised a "taxonomy" based on seven categories, against which each technology is assessed through a peer-review mechanism. These categories are: 1. Focus area of the technology in question: identify whether the technology relates to (one or more of the following) improving our understanding of source and source physics; propagation modelling; data acquisition; data transport; data processing; broad modelling concepts; quality assurance and data storage. 2. Current Development Stage of the technology in question. Based on a scale from one to six, this measure is specific to PTS needs and broadly reflects Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). 3. Impact of the technology on each of the following capabilities: detection, location, characterization, sustainment and confidence building. 4. Development cost: the anticipated monetary cost of validating a prototype (i.e. Development Stage 3) of the technology in question. 5. Time to maturity: the number of years until the technology in question reaches Development Stage 3 (i.e. prototype validated). 6. Integration effort: the anticipated level of effort required by the PTS to fully integrate the technology, process, concept or idea into is verification environment. 7. Time to impact: the number of years until the technology is fully developed and integrated into the PTS verification environment and delivers on its full potential. The resulting database is coupled to Pivot, a novel information management software tool which offers powerful visualisation of the taxonomy's parameters for each technology. Pivot offers many advantages over conventional spreadhseet-interfaced database tools: based on shared categories in the taxonomy, users can quickly and intuitively discover linkages, communalities and various interpretations about prospective CTBT pertinent technologies. It is easily possible to visualise a resulting sub-set of technologies that conform to the specific user-selected attributes from the full range of taxonomy categories. In this presentation we will illustrate the range of future technologies, processes, concepts and ideas; we will demonstrate how the Pivot tool can be fruitfully applied to assist in strategic planning and development, and to identify gaps apparent on the technology development horizon. Finally, we will show how the Pivot tool together with the taxonomy offer real and emerging insights to make sense of large amounts of disparate technologies.

  1. Long-Term Pavement Performance Program

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-12-01

    The LTPP program will yield additional benefits as data are added to the database and as data analysis effortssome currently planned and some yet to be identifiedare completed. Continued monitoring of the test sections that remain in service is...

  2. Wavelet filtered shifted phase-encoded joint transform correlation for face recognition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moniruzzaman, Md.; Alam, Mohammad S.

    2017-05-01

    A new wavelet-filtered-based Shifted- phase-encoded Joint Transform Correlation (WPJTC) technique has been proposed for efficient face recognition. The proposed technique uses discrete wavelet decomposition for preprocessing and can effectively accommodate various 3D facial distortions, effects of noise, and illumination variations. After analyzing different forms of wavelet basis functions, an optimal method has been proposed by considering the discrimination capability and processing speed as performance trade-offs. The proposed technique yields better correlation discrimination compared to alternate pattern recognition techniques such as phase-shifted phase-encoded fringe-adjusted joint transform correlator. The performance of the proposed WPJTC has been tested using the Yale facial database and extended Yale facial database under different environments such as illumination variation, noise, and 3D changes in facial expressions. Test results show that the proposed WPJTC yields better performance compared to alternate JTC based face recognition techniques.

  3. Identifying new persistent and bioaccumulative organics among chemicals in commerce.

    PubMed

    Howard, Philip H; Muir, Derek C G

    2010-04-01

    The goal of this study was to identify commercial chemicals that might be persistent and bioaccumulative (P&B) and that were not being considered in current Great Lakes, North American, and Arctic contaminant measurement programs. We combined the Canadian Domestic Substance List (DSL), a list of 3059 substances of "unknown or variable composition complex reaction products and biological materials" (UVCBs), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Update Rule (IUR) database for years 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006 yielding a database of 22263 commercial chemicals. From that list, 610 chemicals were identified by estimates from U.S EPA EPISuite software and using expert judgment. This study has yielded some interesting and probable P&B chemicals that should be considered for further study. Recent studies, following up our initial reports and presentations on this work, have confirmed the presence of many of these chemicals in the environment.

  4. Initial experiences with building a health care infrastructure based on Java and object-oriented database technology.

    PubMed

    Dionisio, J D; Sinha, U; Dai, B; Johnson, D B; Taira, R K

    1999-01-01

    A multi-tiered telemedicine system based on Java and object-oriented database technology has yielded a number of practical insights and experiences on their effectiveness and suitability as implementation bases for a health care infrastructure. The advantages and drawbacks to their use, as seen within the context of the telemedicine system's development, are discussed. Overall, these technologies deliver on their early promise, with a few remaining issues that are due primarily to their relative newness.

  5. Limitation of Unloading in the Developing Grains Is a Possible Cause Responsible for Low Stem Non-structural Carbohydrate Translocation and Poor Grain Yield Formation in Rice through Verification of Recombinant Inbred Lines

    PubMed Central

    Li, Guohui; Pan, Junfeng; Cui, Kehui; Yuan, Musong; Hu, Qiuqian; Wang, Wencheng; Mohapatra, Pravat K.; Nie, Lixiao; Huang, Jianliang; Peng, Shaobing

    2017-01-01

    Remobilisation of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) from leaves and stems and unloading into developing grains are essential for yield formation of rice. In present study, three recombinant inbred lines of rice, R91, R156 and R201 have been tested for source-flow-sink related attributes determining the nature of NSC accumulation and translocation at two nitrogen levels in the field. Compared to R91 and R156, R201 had lower grain filling percentage, harvest index, and grain yield. Meanwhile, R201 had significantly lower stem NSC translocation during grain filling stage. Grain filling percentage, harvest index, and grain yield showed the consistent trend with stem NSC translocation among the three lines. In comparison with R91 and R156, R201 had similarity in leaf area index, specific leaf weight, stem NSC concentration at heading, biomass, panicles m-2, spikelets per panicle, remobilization capability of assimilation in stems, sink capacity, sink activity, number and cross sectional area of small vascular bundles, greater number and cross sectional area of large vascular bundles, and higher SPAD, suggesting that source, flow, and sink were not the limiting factors for low stem NSC translocation and grain filling percentage of R201. However, R201 had significant higher stem and rachis NSC concentrations at maturity, which implied that unloading in the developing grains might result in low NSC translocation in R201. The results indicate that stem NSC translocation could be beneficial for enhancement of grain yield potential, and poor unloading into caryopsis may be the possible cause of low stem NSC translocation, poor grain filling and yield formation in R201. PMID:28848573

  6. 30 CFR 250.913 - When must I resubmit Platform Verification Program plans?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... CONTINENTAL SHELF Platforms and Structures Platform Verification Program § 250.913 When must I resubmit Platform Verification Program plans? (a) You must resubmit any design verification, fabrication... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false When must I resubmit Platform Verification...

  7. 30 CFR 250.909 - What is the Platform Verification Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false What is the Platform Verification Program? 250... Platforms and Structures Platform Verification Program § 250.909 What is the Platform Verification Program? The Platform Verification Program is the MMS approval process for ensuring that floating platforms...

  8. Study of techniques for redundancy verification without disrupting systems, phases 1-3

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1970-01-01

    The problem of verifying the operational integrity of redundant equipment and the impact of a requirement for verification on such equipment are considered. Redundant circuits are examined and the characteristics which determine adaptability to verification are identified. Mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories for verification approaches are established. The range of applicability of these techniques is defined in terms of signal characteristics and redundancy features. Verification approaches are discussed and a methodology for the design of redundancy verification is developed. A case study is presented which involves the design of a verification system for a hypothetical communications system. Design criteria for redundant equipment are presented. Recommendations for the development of technological areas pertinent to the goal of increased verification capabilities are given.

  9. Requirement Assurance: A Verification Process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Alexander, Michael G.

    2011-01-01

    Requirement Assurance is an act of requirement verification which assures the stakeholder or customer that a product requirement has produced its "as realized product" and has been verified with conclusive evidence. Product requirement verification answers the question, "did the product meet the stated specification, performance, or design documentation?". In order to ensure the system was built correctly, the practicing system engineer must verify each product requirement using verification methods of inspection, analysis, demonstration, or test. The products of these methods are the "verification artifacts" or "closure artifacts" which are the objective evidence needed to prove the product requirements meet the verification success criteria. Institutional direction is given to the System Engineer in NPR 7123.1A NASA Systems Engineering Processes and Requirements with regards to the requirement verification process. In response, the verification methodology offered in this report meets both the institutional process and requirement verification best practices.

  10. TALYS/TENDL verification and validation processes: Outcomes and recommendations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fleming, Michael; Sublet, Jean-Christophe; Gilbert, Mark R.; Koning, Arjan; Rochman, Dimitri

    2017-09-01

    The TALYS-generated Evaluated Nuclear Data Libraries (TENDL) provide truly general-purpose nuclear data files assembled from the outputs of the T6 nuclear model codes system for direct use in both basic physics and engineering applications. The most recent TENDL-2015 version is based on both default and adjusted parameters of the most recent TALYS, TAFIS, TANES, TARES, TEFAL, TASMAN codes wrapped into a Total Monte Carlo loop for uncertainty quantification. TENDL-2015 contains complete neutron-incident evaluations for all target nuclides with Z ≤116 with half-life longer than 1 second (2809 isotopes with 544 isomeric states), up to 200 MeV, with covariances and all reaction daughter products including isomers of half-life greater than 100 milliseconds. With the added High Fidelity Resonance (HFR) approach, all resonances are unique, following statistical rules. The validation of the TENDL-2014/2015 libraries against standard, evaluated, microscopic and integral cross sections has been performed against a newly compiled UKAEA database of thermal, resonance integral, Maxwellian averages, 14 MeV and various accelerator-driven neutron source spectra. This has been assembled using the most up-to-date, internationally-recognised data sources including the Atlas of Resonances, CRC, evaluated EXFOR, activation databases, fusion, fission and MACS. Excellent agreement was found with a small set of errors within the reference databases and TENDL-2014 predictions.

  11. Random vs. systematic sampling from administrative databases involving human subjects.

    PubMed

    Hagino, C; Lo, R J

    1998-09-01

    Two sampling techniques, simple random sampling (SRS) and systematic sampling (SS), were compared to determine whether they yield similar and accurate distributions for the following four factors: age, gender, geographic location and years in practice. Any point estimate within 7 yr or 7 percentage points of its reference standard (SRS or the entire data set, i.e., the target population) was considered "acceptably similar" to the reference standard. The sampling frame was from the entire membership database of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. The two sampling methods were tested using eight different sample sizes of n (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 500, 800). From the profile/characteristics, summaries of four known factors [gender, average age, number (%) of chiropractors in each province and years in practice], between- and within-methods chi 2 tests and unpaired t tests were performed to determine whether any of the differences [descriptively greater than 7% or 7 yr] were also statistically significant. The strengths of the agreements between the provincial distributions were quantified by calculating the percent agreements for each (provincial pairwise-comparison methods). Any percent agreement less than 70% was judged to be unacceptable. Our assessments of the two sampling methods (SRS and SS) for the different sample sizes tested suggest that SRS and SS yielded acceptably similar results. Both methods started to yield "correct" sample profiles at approximately the same sample size (n > 200). SS is not only convenient, it can be recommended for sampling from large databases in which the data are listed without any inherent order biases other than alphabetical listing by surname.

  12. An application of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system to landslide susceptibility mapping (Klang valley, Malaysia)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sezer, Ebru; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Gokceoglu, Candan

    2010-05-01

    Landslides are one of the recurrent natural hazard problems throughout most of Malaysia. Recently, the Klang Valley area of Selangor state has faced numerous landslide and mudflow events and much damage occurred in these areas. However, only little effort has been made to assess or predict these events which resulted in serious damages. Through scientific analyses of these landslides, one can assess and predict landslide-susceptible areas and even the events as such, and thus reduce landslide damages through proper preparation and/or mitigation. For this reason , the purpose of the present paper is to produce landslide susceptibility maps of a part of the Klang Valley areas in Malaysia by employing the results of the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) analyses. Landslide locations in the study area were identified by interpreting aerial photographs and satellite images, supported by extensive field surveys. Landsat TM satellite imagery was used to map vegetation index. Maps of topography, lineaments and NDVI were constructed from the spatial datasets. Seven landslide conditioning factors such as altitude, slope angle, plan curvature, distance from drainage, soil type, distance from faults and NDVI were extracted from the spatial database. These factors were analyzed using an ANFIS to construct the landslide susceptibility maps. During the model development works, total 5 landslide susceptibility models were obtained by using ANFIS results. For verification, the results of the analyses were then compared with the field-verified landslide locations. Additionally, the ROC curves for all landslide susceptibility models were drawn and the area under curve values was calculated. Landslide locations were used to validate results of the landslide susceptibility map and the verification results showed 98% accuracy for the model 5 employing all parameters produced in the present study as the landslide conditioning factors. The validation results showed sufficient agreement between the obtained susceptibility map and the existing data on landslide areas. Qualitatively, the model yields reasonable results which can be used for preliminary land-use planning purposes. As a final conclusion, the results obtained from the study showed that the ANFIS modeling is a very useful and powerful tool for the regional landslide susceptibility assessments. However, the results to be obtained from the ANFIS modeling should be assessed carefully because the overlearning may cause misleading results. To prevent overlerning, the numbers of membership functions of inputs and the number of training epochs should be selected optimally and carefully.

  13. 30 CFR 250.909 - What is the Platform Verification Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What is the Platform Verification Program? 250... Verification Program § 250.909 What is the Platform Verification Program? The Platform Verification Program is the MMS approval process for ensuring that floating platforms; platforms of a new or unique design...

  14. Property-driven functional verification technique for high-speed vision system-on-chip processor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nshunguyimfura, Victor; Yang, Jie; Liu, Liyuan; Wu, Nanjian

    2017-04-01

    The implementation of functional verification in a fast, reliable, and effective manner is a challenging task in a vision chip verification process. The main reason for this challenge is the stepwise nature of existing functional verification techniques. This vision chip verification complexity is also related to the fact that in most vision chip design cycles, extensive efforts are focused on how to optimize chip metrics such as performance, power, and area. Design functional verification is not explicitly considered at an earlier stage at which the most sound decisions are made. In this paper, we propose a semi-automatic property-driven verification technique. The implementation of all verification components is based on design properties. We introduce a low-dimension property space between the specification space and the implementation space. The aim of this technique is to speed up the verification process for high-performance parallel processing vision chips. Our experimentation results show that the proposed technique can effectively improve the verification effort up to 20% for the complex vision chip design while reducing the simulation and debugging overheads.

  15. Hydrologic data-verification management program plan

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Alexander, C.W.

    1982-01-01

    Data verification refers to the performance of quality control on hydrologic data that have been retrieved from the field and are being prepared for dissemination to water-data users. Water-data users now have access to computerized data files containing unpublished, unverified hydrologic data. Therefore, it is necessary to develop techniques and systems whereby the computer can perform some data-verification functions before the data are stored in user-accessible files. Computerized data-verification routines can be developed for this purpose. A single, unified concept describing master data-verification program using multiple special-purpose subroutines, and a screen file containing verification criteria, can probably be adapted to any type and size of computer-processing system. Some traditional manual-verification procedures can be adapted for computerized verification, but new procedures can also be developed that would take advantage of the powerful statistical tools and data-handling procedures available to the computer. Prototype data-verification systems should be developed for all three data-processing environments as soon as possible. The WATSTORE system probably affords the greatest opportunity for long-range research and testing of new verification subroutines. (USGS)

  16. Methods for quality-assurance review of water-quality data in New Jersey

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brown, G. Allan; Pustay, Edward A.; Gibs, Jacob

    2003-01-01

    Because values that are identified by the program as questionable may or may not be in error, the reviewer looks at both qualitative and quantitative relations between analytes during the period of record and then uses technical judgement to decide whether to accept a questionable value or investigate further. Guidelines for, and the use of regression analysis in, making this decision are described. Instructions are given for requesting that the analyzing laboratory reanalyze a constituent or otherwise verify the reported value. If, upon reanalysis or verification, a value is still questionable, consideration must be given to deleting the value or marking the value in the USGS National Water Information System database as having been reviewed and rejected.

  17. Rotating Rake Turbofan Duct Mode Measurement System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sutliff, Daniel L.

    2005-01-01

    An experimental measurement system was developed and implemented by the NASA Glenn Research Center in the 1990s to measure turbofan duct acoustic modes. The system is a continuously rotating radial microphone rake that is inserted into the duct. This Rotating Rake provides a complete map of the acoustic duct modes present in a ducted fan and has been used on a variety of test articles: from a low-speed, concept test rig, to a full-scale production turbofan engine. The Rotating Rake has been critical in developing and evaluating a number of noise reduction concepts as well as providing experimental databases for verification of several aero-acoustic codes. More detailed derivation of the unique Rotating Rake equations are presented in the appendix.

  18. Privacy-Preserving Authentication of Users with Smart Cards Using One-Time Credentials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Jun-Cheol

    User privacy preservation is critical to prevent many sophisticated attacks that are based on the user's server access patterns and ID-related information. We propose a password-based user authentication scheme that provides strong privacy protection using one-time credentials. It eliminates the possibility of tracing a user's authentication history and hides the user's ID and password even from servers. In addition, it is resistant against user impersonation even if both a server's verification database and a user's smart card storage are disclosed. We also provide a revocation scheme for a user to promptly invalidate the user's credentials on a server when the user's smart card is compromised. The schemes use lightweight operations only such as computing hashes and bitwise XORs.

  19. CIVET: Continuous Integration, Verification, Enhancement, and Testing

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

    Alger, Brian; Gaston, Derek R.; Permann, Cody J

    A Git server (GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket) sends event notifications to the Civet server. These are either a " Pull Request" or a "Push" notification. Civet then checks the database to determine what tests need to be run and marks them as ready to run. Civet clients, running on dedicated machines, query the server for available jobs that are ready to run. When a client gets a job it executes the scripts attached to the job and report back to the server the output and exit status. When the client updates the server, the server will also update the Git servermore » with the result of the job, as well as updating the main web page.« less

  20. Statistical rice yield modeling using blended MODIS-Landsat based crop phenology metrics in Taiwan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, C. R.; Chen, C. F.; Nguyen, S. T.; Lau, K. V.

    2015-12-01

    Taiwan is a populated island with a majority of residents settled in the western plains where soils are suitable for rice cultivation. Rice is not only the most important commodity, but also plays a critical role for agricultural and food marketing. Information of rice production is thus important for policymakers to devise timely plans for ensuring sustainably socioeconomic development. Because rice fields in Taiwan are generally small and yet crop monitoring requires information of crop phenology associating with the spatiotemporal resolution of satellite data, this study used Landsat-MODIS fusion data for rice yield modeling in Taiwan. We processed the data for the first crop (Feb-Mar to Jun-Jul) and the second (Aug-Sep to Nov-Dec) in 2014 through five main steps: (1) data pre-processing to account for geometric and radiometric errors of Landsat data, (2) Landsat-MODIS data fusion using using the spatial-temporal adaptive reflectance fusion model, (3) construction of the smooth time-series enhanced vegetation index 2 (EVI2), (4) rice yield modeling using EVI2-based crop phenology metrics, and (5) error verification. The fusion results by a comparison bewteen EVI2 derived from the fusion image and that from the reference Landsat image indicated close agreement between the two datasets (R2 > 0.8). We analysed smooth EVI2 curves to extract phenology metrics or phenological variables for establishment of rice yield models. The results indicated that the established yield models significantly explained more than 70% variability in the data (p-value < 0.001). The comparison results between the estimated yields and the government's yield statistics for the first and second crops indicated a close significant relationship between the two datasets (R2 > 0.8), in both cases. The root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) used to measure the model accuracy revealed the consistency between the estimated yields and the government's yield statistics. This study demonstrates advantages of using EVI2-based phenology metrics (derived from Landsat-MODIS fusion data) for rice yield estimation in Taiwan prior to the harvest period.

  1. A Comparison of Machine Learning Approaches for Corn Yield Estimation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, N.; Lee, Y. W.

    2017-12-01

    Machine learning is an efficient empirical method for classification and prediction, and it is another approach to crop yield estimation. The objective of this study is to estimate corn yield in the Midwestern United States by employing the machine learning approaches such as the support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and deep neural networks (DNN), and to perform the comprehensive comparison for their results. We constructed the database using satellite images from MODIS, the climate data of PRISM climate group, and GLDAS soil moisture data. In addition, to examine the seasonal sensitivities of corn yields, two period groups were set up: May to September (MJJAS) and July and August (JA). In overall, the DNN showed the highest accuracies in term of the correlation coefficient for the two period groups. The differences between our predictions and USDA yield statistics were about 10-11 %.

  2. Climate Variability and Sugarcane Yield in Louisiana.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Greenland, David

    2005-11-01

    This paper seeks to understand the role that climate variability has on annual yield of sugarcane in Louisiana. Unique features of sugarcane growth in Louisiana and nonclimatic, yield-influencing factors make this goal an interesting and challenging one. Several methods of seeking and establishing the relations between yield and climate variables are employed. First, yield climate relations were investigated at a single research station where crop variety and growing conditions could be held constant and yield relations could be established between a predominant older crop variety and a newer one. Interviews with crop experts and a literature survey were used to identify potential climatic factors that control yield. A statistical analysis was performed using statewide yield data from the American Sugar Cane League from 1963 to 2002 and a climate database. Yield values for later years were adjusted downward to form an adjusted yield dataset. The climate database was principally constructed from daily and monthly values of maximum and minimum temperature and daily and monthly total precipitation for six cooperative weather-reporting stations representative of the area of sugarcane production. The influence of 74 different, though not independent, climate-related variables on sugarcane yield was investigated. The fact that a climate signal exists is demonstrated by comparing mean values of the climate variables corresponding to the upper and lower third of adjusted yield values. Most of these mean-value differences show an intuitively plausible difference between the high- and low-yield years. The difference between means of the climate variables for years corresponding to the upper and lower third of annual yield values for 13 of the variables is statistically significant at or above the 90% level. A correlation matrix was used to identify the variables that had the largest influence on annual yield. Four variables [called here critical climatic variables (CCV)], mean maximum August temperature, mean minimum February temperature, soil water surplus between April and September, and occurrence of autumn (fall) hurricanes, were built into a model to simulate adjusted yield values. The CCV model simulates the yield value with an rmse of 5.1 t ha-1. The mean of the adjusted yield data over the study period was 60.4 t ha-1, with values for the highest and lowest years being 73.1 and 50.6 t ha-1, respectively, and a standard deviation of 5.9 t ha-1. Presumably because of the almost constant high water table and soil water availability, higher precipitation totals, which are inversely related to radiation and temperature, tend to have a negative effect on the yields. Past trends in the values of critical climatic variables and general projections of future climate suggest that, with respect to the climatic environment and as long as land drainage is continued and maintained, future levels of sugarcane yield will rise in Louisiana.

  3. A Study of the Behavior and Micromechanical Modelling of Granular Soil. Volume 2. An Experimental Investigation of the Behavior of Granular Media Under Load

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-05-22

    infinite number of possi’le crystal orientations is assumed, this infinitely sided polyhedron becomes a curved yield surface. Plastic strain in the...families, each surface of yield polyhedron mentioned above expands and shifts differently. These slip directions are all more or less parallel to the...result, only the monotonic portion of test D29 was corrected for membrane compliance and used as part of the monotonic proportional test database

  4. Systematic Model-in-the-Loop Test of Embedded Control Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krupp, Alexander; Müller, Wolfgang

    Current model-based development processes offer new opportunities for verification automation, e.g., in automotive development. The duty of functional verification is the detection of design flaws. Current functional verification approaches exhibit a major gap between requirement definition and formal property definition, especially when analog signals are involved. Besides lack of methodical support for natural language formalization, there does not exist a standardized and accepted means for formal property definition as a target for verification planning. This article addresses several shortcomings of embedded system verification. An Enhanced Classification Tree Method is developed based on the established Classification Tree Method for Embeded Systems CTM/ES which applies a hardware verification language to define a verification environment.

  5. Verification of VLSI designs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Windley, P. J.

    1991-01-01

    In this paper we explore the specification and verification of VLSI designs. The paper focuses on abstract specification and verification of functionality using mathematical logic as opposed to low-level boolean equivalence verification such as that done using BDD's and Model Checking. Specification and verification, sometimes called formal methods, is one tool for increasing computer dependability in the face of an exponentially increasing testing effort.

  6. An Adaptive and Time-Efficient ECG R-Peak Detection Algorithm.

    PubMed

    Qin, Qin; Li, Jianqing; Yue, Yinggao; Liu, Chengyu

    2017-01-01

    R-peak detection is crucial in electrocardiogram (ECG) signal analysis. This study proposed an adaptive and time-efficient R-peak detection algorithm for ECG processing. First, wavelet multiresolution analysis was applied to enhance the ECG signal representation. Then, ECG was mirrored to convert large negative R-peaks to positive ones. After that, local maximums were calculated by the first-order forward differential approach and were truncated by the amplitude and time interval thresholds to locate the R-peaks. The algorithm performances, including detection accuracy and time consumption, were tested on the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database and the QT database. Experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm achieved mean sensitivity of 99.39%, positive predictivity of 99.49%, and accuracy of 98.89% on the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database and 99.83%, 99.90%, and 99.73%, respectively, on the QT database. By processing one ECG record, the mean time consumptions were 0.872 s and 0.763 s for the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database and QT database, respectively, yielding 30.6% and 32.9% of time reduction compared to the traditional Pan-Tompkins method.

  7. An Adaptive and Time-Efficient ECG R-Peak Detection Algorithm

    PubMed Central

    Qin, Qin

    2017-01-01

    R-peak detection is crucial in electrocardiogram (ECG) signal analysis. This study proposed an adaptive and time-efficient R-peak detection algorithm for ECG processing. First, wavelet multiresolution analysis was applied to enhance the ECG signal representation. Then, ECG was mirrored to convert large negative R-peaks to positive ones. After that, local maximums were calculated by the first-order forward differential approach and were truncated by the amplitude and time interval thresholds to locate the R-peaks. The algorithm performances, including detection accuracy and time consumption, were tested on the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database and the QT database. Experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm achieved mean sensitivity of 99.39%, positive predictivity of 99.49%, and accuracy of 98.89% on the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database and 99.83%, 99.90%, and 99.73%, respectively, on the QT database. By processing one ECG record, the mean time consumptions were 0.872 s and 0.763 s for the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database and QT database, respectively, yielding 30.6% and 32.9% of time reduction compared to the traditional Pan-Tompkins method. PMID:29104745

  8. Optimizing literature search in systematic reviews - are MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL enough for identifying effect studies within the area of musculoskeletal disorders?

    PubMed

    Aagaard, Thomas; Lund, Hans; Juhl, Carsten

    2016-11-22

    When conducting systematic reviews, it is essential to perform a comprehensive literature search to identify all published studies relevant to the specific research question. The Cochrane Collaborations Methodological Expectations of Cochrane Intervention Reviews (MECIR) guidelines state that searching MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL should be considered mandatory. The aim of this study was to evaluate the MECIR recommendations to use MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL combined, and examine the yield of using these to find randomized controlled trials (RCTs) within the area of musculoskeletal disorders. Data sources were systematic reviews published by the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Review Group, including at least five RCTs, reporting a search history, searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and adding reference- and hand-searching. Additional databases were deemed eligible if they indexed RCTs, were in English and used in more than three of the systematic reviews. Relative recall was calculated as the number of studies identified by the literature search divided by the number of eligible studies i.e. included studies in the individual systematic reviews. Finally, cumulative median recall was calculated for MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL combined followed by the databases yielding additional studies. Deemed eligible was twenty-three systematic reviews and the databases included other than MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL was AMED, CINAHL, HealthSTAR, MANTIS, OT-Seeker, PEDro, PsychINFO, SCOPUS, SportDISCUS and Web of Science. Cumulative median recall for combined searching in MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL was 88.9% and increased to 90.9% when adding 10 additional databases. Searching MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL was not sufficient for identifying all effect studies on musculoskeletal disorders, but additional ten databases did only increase the median recall by 2%. It is possible that searching databases is not sufficient to identify all relevant references, and that reviewers must rely upon additional sources in their literature search. However further research is needed.

  9. Using SysML for verification and validation planning on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Selvy, Brian M.; Claver, Charles; Angeli, George

    2014-08-01

    This paper provides an overview of the tool, language, and methodology used for Verification and Validation Planning on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Project. LSST has implemented a Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach as a means of defining all systems engineering planning and definition activities that have historically been captured in paper documents. Specifically, LSST has adopted the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) standard and is utilizing a software tool called Enterprise Architect, developed by Sparx Systems. Much of the historical use of SysML has focused on the early phases of the project life cycle. Our approach is to extend the advantages of MBSE into later stages of the construction project. This paper details the methodology employed to use the tool to document the verification planning phases, including the extension of the language to accommodate the project's needs. The process includes defining the Verification Plan for each requirement, which in turn consists of a Verification Requirement, Success Criteria, Verification Method(s), Verification Level, and Verification Owner. Each Verification Method for each Requirement is defined as a Verification Activity and mapped into Verification Events, which are collections of activities that can be executed concurrently in an efficient and complementary way. Verification Event dependency and sequences are modeled using Activity Diagrams. The methodology employed also ties in to the Project Management Control System (PMCS), which utilizes Primavera P6 software, mapping each Verification Activity as a step in a planned activity. This approach leads to full traceability from initial Requirement to scheduled, costed, and resource loaded PMCS task-based activities, ensuring all requirements will be verified.

  10. Curating and sharing structures and spectra for the environmental community

    EPA Science Inventory

    The increasing popularity of high mass accuracy non-target mass spectrometry methods has yielded extensive identification efforts based on spectral and chemical compound databases in the environmental community and beyond. Increasingly, new methods are relying on open data resour...

  11. Evaluation of a microwave high-power reception-conversion array for wireless power transmission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dickinson, R. M.

    1975-01-01

    Initial performance tests of a 24-sq m area array of rectenna elements are presented. The array is used as the receiving portion of a wireless microwave power transmission engineering verification test system. The transmitting antenna was located at a range of 1.54 km. Output dc voltage and power, input RF power, efficiency, and operating temperatures were obtained for a variety of dc load and RF incident power levels at 2388 MHz. Incident peak RF intensities of up to 170 mW/sq cm yielded up to 30.4 kW of dc output power. The highest derived collection-conversion efficiency of the array was greater than 80 percent.

  12. A more accurate analysis and design of coaxial-to-rectangular waveguide end launcher

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saad, Saad Michael

    1990-02-01

    An electromagnetic model is developed for the analysis of the coaxial-to-rectangular waveguide transition of the end-launcher type. The model describes the coupling mechanism in terms of an excitation probe which is fed by a transmission line intermediate section. The model is compared with a coupling loop model. The two models have a few analytical steps in common, but expressions for the probe model are easier to derive and compute. The two models are presented together with numerical examples and experimental verification. The superiority of the probe model is illustrated, and a design method yielding a maximum voltage standing wave ratio of 1.035 over 13 percent bandwidth is outlined.

  13. Heat pipe manufacturing study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Edelstein, F.

    1974-01-01

    Heat pipe manufacturing methods are examined with the goal of establishing cost effective procedures that will ultimately result in cheaper more reliable heat pipes. Those methods which are commonly used by all heat pipe manufacturers have been considered, including: (1) envelope and wick cleaning, (2) end closure and welding, (3) mechanical verification, (4) evacuation and charging, (5) working fluid purity, and (6) charge tube pinch off. The study is limited to moderate temperature aluminum and stainless steel heat pipes with ammonia, Freon-21 and methanol working fluids. Review and evaluation of available manufacturers techniques and procedures together with the results of specific manufacturing oriented tests have yielded a set of recommended cost-effective specifications which can be used by all manufacturers.

  14. Season of birth is associated with first-lactation milk yield in Holstein Friesian cattle.

    PubMed

    Van Eetvelde, M; Kamal, M M; Vandaele, L; Opsomer, G

    2017-12-01

    The aim of the present research was to assess factors associated with first-lactation milk yield in dairy heifers, including maternal and environmental factors, factors related to the development of the heifer and factors related to its offspring such as gender of the calf. In addition, the potential underlying mechanism, in particular metabolic adaptations, was further explored. Data on body growth, reproduction and milk yield of 74 Holstein Friesian heifers on three herds in Flanders (Belgium) were collected. At birth, body measurements of the heifers were recorded and blood samples were taken (in order) to determine basal glucose and insulin concentrations. Body measurements were assessed every 3 months until first calving, and gender and weight of their first calf were recorded. Information on fertility and milk yield of the heifer and its dam were collected from the herd databases. Daily temperature and photoperiod were recorded from the database of the Belgian Royal Meteorological Institute. Linear mixed models were run with herd as a random factor, to account for differences in herd management. Heifers grew 867±80.7 g/day during their first year of life and were inseminated at 14.8±1.34 months. First calving took place at 24.5±1.93 months, at a weight of 642±61.5 kg and heifers produced 8506±1064 kg energy corrected milk during their first 305-day lactation. Regression models revealed that none of the maternal factors such as milk yield and parity, nor the growth of the heifer during the 1st year of life were associated with milk yield during first lactation. Age, and to a lesser extent BW at first parturition were positively associated with first-lactation milk yield. In addition, the season of birth, but not calving, had a significant influence on milk yield, with winter-born heifers producing less than heifers born in any other season. The lower yielding winter-born heifers had higher insulin concentrations at birth, whereas glucose concentrations were similar, the latter being suggestive for lower insulin sensitivity of the peripheral tissues. Furthermore, environmental temperature at the end of gestation was negatively correlated with neonatal insulin concentrations. In conclusion, results of the present study suggest heifers born during the hotter months are born with a higher peripheral insulin sensitivity, finally leading to a higher first-lactation milk yield.

  15. Contamination-Free Manufacturing: Tool Component Qualification, Verification and Correlation with Wafers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Samantha H.; Chen, Ning; Liu, Shi; Wang, Kefei

    2003-09-01

    As part of the semiconductor industry "contamination-free manufacturing" effort, significant emphasis has been placed on reducing potential sources of contamination from process equipment and process equipment components. Process tools contain process chambers and components that are exposed to the process environment or process chemistry and in some cases are in direct contact with production wafers. Any contamination from these sources must be controlled or eliminated in order to maintain high process yields, device performance, and device reliability. This paper discusses new nondestructive analytical methods for quantitative measurement of the cleanliness of metal, quartz, polysilicon and ceramic components that are used in process equipment tools. The goal of these new procedures is to measure the effectiveness of cleaning procedures and to verify whether a tool component part is sufficiently clean for installation and subsequent routine use in the manufacturing line. These procedures provide a reliable "qualification method" for tool component certification and also provide a routine quality control method for reliable operation of cleaning facilities. Cost advantages to wafer manufacturing include higher yields due to improved process cleanliness and elimination of yield loss and downtime resulting from the installation of "bad" components in process tools. We also discuss a representative example of wafer contamination having been linked to a specific process tool component.

  16. Self-verification motives at the collective level of self-definition.

    PubMed

    Chen, Serena; Chen, Karen Y; Shaw, Lindsay

    2004-01-01

    Three studies examined self-verification motives in relation to collective aspects of the self. Several moderators of collective self-verification were also examined--namely, the certainty with which collective self-views are held, the nature of one's ties to a source of self-verification, the salience of the collective self, and the importance of group identification. Evidence for collective self-verification emerged across all studies, particularly when collective self-views were held with high certainty (Studies 1 and 2), perceivers were somehow tied to the source of self-verification (Study 1), the collective self was salient (Study 2), and group identification was important (Study 3). To the authors' knowledge, these studies are the first to examine self-verification at the collective level of self-definition. The parallel and distinct ways in which self-verification processes may operate at different levels of self-definition are discussed.

  17. Design for Verification: Enabling Verification of High Dependability Software-Intensive Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mehlitz, Peter C.; Penix, John; Markosian, Lawrence Z.; Koga, Dennis (Technical Monitor)

    2003-01-01

    Strategies to achieve confidence that high-dependability applications are correctly implemented include testing and automated verification. Testing deals mainly with a limited number of expected execution paths. Verification usually attempts to deal with a larger number of possible execution paths. While the impact of architecture design on testing is well known, its impact on most verification methods is not as well understood. The Design for Verification approach considers verification from the application development perspective, in which system architecture is designed explicitly according to the application's key properties. The D4V-hypothesis is that the same general architecture and design principles that lead to good modularity, extensibility and complexity/functionality ratio can be adapted to overcome some of the constraints on verification tools, such as the production of hand-crafted models and the limits on dynamic and static analysis caused by state space explosion.

  18. A "Kane's Dynamics" Model for the Active Rack Isolation System Part Two: Nonlinear Model Development, Verification, and Simplification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Beech, G. S.; Hampton, R. D.; Rupert, J. K.

    2004-01-01

    Many microgravity space-science experiments require vibratory acceleration levels that are unachievable without active isolation. The Boeing Corporation's active rack isolation system (ARIS) employs a novel combination of magnetic actuation and mechanical linkages to address these isolation requirements on the International Space Station. Effective model-based vibration isolation requires: (1) An isolation device, (2) an adequate dynamic; i.e., mathematical, model of that isolator, and (3) a suitable, corresponding controller. This Technical Memorandum documents the validation of that high-fidelity dynamic model of ARIS. The verification of this dynamics model was achieved by utilizing two commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software tools: Deneb's ENVISION(registered trademark), and Online Dynamics Autolev(trademark). ENVISION is a robotics software package developed for the automotive industry that employs three-dimensional computer-aided design models to facilitate both forward and inverse kinematics analyses. Autolev is a DOS-based interpreter designed, in general, to solve vector-based mathematical problems and specifically to solve dynamics problems using Kane's method. The simplification of this model was achieved using the small-angle theorem for the joint angle of the ARIS actuators. This simplification has a profound effect on the overall complexity of the closed-form solution while yielding a closed-form solution easily employed using COTS control hardware.

  19. Verification of computed tomographic estimates of cochlear implant array position: a micro-CT and histologic analysis.

    PubMed

    Teymouri, Jessica; Hullar, Timothy E; Holden, Timothy A; Chole, Richard A

    2011-08-01

    To determine the efficacy of clinical computed tomographic (CT) imaging to verify postoperative electrode array placement in cochlear implant (CI) patients. Nine fresh cadaver heads underwent clinical CT scanning, followed by bilateral CI insertion and postoperative clinical CT scanning. Temporal bones were removed, trimmed, and scanned using micro-CT. Specimens were then dehydrated, embedded in either methyl methacrylate or LR White resin, and sectioned with a diamond wafering saw. Histology sections were examined by 3 blinded observers to determine the position of individual electrodes relative to soft tissue structures within the cochlea. Electrodes were judged to be within the scala tympani, scala vestibuli, or in an intermediate position between scalae. The position of the array could be estimated accurately from clinical CT scans in all specimens using micro-CT and histology as a criterion standard. Verification using micro-CT yielded 97% agreement, and histologic analysis revealed 95% agreement with clinical CT results. A composite, 3-dimensional image derived from a patient's preoperative and postoperative CT images using a clinical scanner accurately estimates the position of the electrode array as determined by micro-CT imaging and histologic analyses. Information obtained using the CT method provides valuable insight into numerous variables of interest to patient performance such as surgical technique, array design, and processor programming and troubleshooting.

  20. Photometric redshift analysis in the Dark Energy Survey Science Verification data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sánchez, C.; Carrasco Kind, M.; Lin, H.; Miquel, R.; Abdalla, F. B.; Amara, A.; Banerji, M.; Bonnett, C.; Brunner, R.; Capozzi, D.; Carnero, A.; Castander, F. J.; da Costa, L. A. N.; Cunha, C.; Fausti, A.; Gerdes, D.; Greisel, N.; Gschwend, J.; Hartley, W.; Jouvel, S.; Lahav, O.; Lima, M.; Maia, M. A. G.; Martí, P.; Ogando, R. L. C.; Ostrovski, F.; Pellegrini, P.; Rau, M. M.; Sadeh, I.; Seitz, S.; Sevilla-Noarbe, I.; Sypniewski, A.; de Vicente, J.; Abbot, T.; Allam, S. S.; Atlee, D.; Bernstein, G.; Bernstein, J. P.; Buckley-Geer, E.; Burke, D.; Childress, M. J.; Davis, T.; DePoy, D. L.; Dey, A.; Desai, S.; Diehl, H. T.; Doel, P.; Estrada, J.; Evrard, A.; Fernández, E.; Finley, D.; Flaugher, B.; Frieman, J.; Gaztanaga, E.; Glazebrook, K.; Honscheid, K.; Kim, A.; Kuehn, K.; Kuropatkin, N.; Lidman, C.; Makler, M.; Marshall, J. L.; Nichol, R. C.; Roodman, A.; Sánchez, E.; Santiago, B. X.; Sako, M.; Scalzo, R.; Smith, R. C.; Swanson, M. E. C.; Tarle, G.; Thomas, D.; Tucker, D. L.; Uddin, S. A.; Valdés, F.; Walker, A.; Yuan, F.; Zuntz, J.

    2014-12-01

    We present results from a study of the photometric redshift performance of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), using the early data from a Science Verification period of observations in late 2012 and early 2013 that provided science-quality images for almost 200 sq. deg. at the nominal depth of the survey. We assess the photometric redshift (photo-z) performance using about 15 000 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts available from other surveys. These galaxies are used, in different configurations, as a calibration sample, and photo-z's are obtained and studied using most of the existing photo-z codes. A weighting method in a multidimensional colour-magnitude space is applied to the spectroscopic sample in order to evaluate the photo-z performance with sets that mimic the full DES photometric sample, which is on average significantly deeper than the calibration sample due to the limited depth of spectroscopic surveys. Empirical photo-z methods using, for instance, artificial neural networks or random forests, yield the best performance in the tests, achieving core photo-z resolutions σ68 ˜ 0.08. Moreover, the results from most of the codes, including template-fitting methods, comfortably meet the DES requirements on photo-z performance, therefore, providing an excellent precedent for future DES data sets.

  1. Photometric redshift analysis in the Dark Energy Survey Science Verification data

    DOE PAGES

    Sanchez, C.; Carrasco Kind, M.; Lin, H.; ...

    2014-10-09

    In this study, we present results from a study of the photometric redshift performance of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), using the early data from a Science Verification period of observations in late 2012 and early 2013 that provided science-quality images for almost 200 sq. deg. at the nominal depth of the survey. We assess the photometric redshift (photo-z) performance using about 15 000 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts available from other surveys. These galaxies are used, in different configurations, as a calibration sample, and photo-z's are obtained and studied using most of the existing photo-z codes. A weighting method inmore » a multidimensional colour–magnitude space is applied to the spectroscopic sample in order to evaluate the photo-z performance with sets that mimic the full DES photometric sample, which is on average significantly deeper than the calibration sample due to the limited depth of spectroscopic surveys. In addition, empirical photo-z methods using, for instance, artificial neural networks or random forests, yield the best performance in the tests, achieving core photo-z resolutions σ68 ~ 0.08. Moreover, the results from most of the codes, including template-fitting methods, comfortably meet the DES requirements on photo-z performance, therefore, providing an excellent precedent for future DES data sets.« less

  2. Timing analysis by model checking

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Naydich, Dimitri; Guaspari, David

    2000-01-01

    The safety of modern avionics relies on high integrity software that can be verified to meet hard real-time requirements. The limits of verification technology therefore determine acceptable engineering practice. To simplify verification problems, safety-critical systems are commonly implemented under the severe constraints of a cyclic executive, which make design an expensive trial-and-error process highly intolerant of change. Important advances in analysis techniques, such as rate monotonic analysis (RMA), have provided a theoretical and practical basis for easing these onerous restrictions. But RMA and its kindred have two limitations: they apply only to verifying the requirement of schedulability (that tasks meet their deadlines) and they cannot be applied to many common programming paradigms. We address both these limitations by applying model checking, a technique with successful industrial applications in hardware design. Model checking algorithms analyze finite state machines, either by explicit state enumeration or by symbolic manipulation. Since quantitative timing properties involve a potentially unbounded state variable (a clock), our first problem is to construct a finite approximation that is conservative for the properties being analyzed-if the approximation satisfies the properties of interest, so does the infinite model. To reduce the potential for state space explosion we must further optimize this finite model. Experiments with some simple optimizations have yielded a hundred-fold efficiency improvement over published techniques.

  3. Simulation verification techniques study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schoonmaker, P. B.; Wenglinski, T. H.

    1975-01-01

    Results are summarized of the simulation verification techniques study which consisted of two tasks: to develop techniques for simulator hardware checkout and to develop techniques for simulation performance verification (validation). The hardware verification task involved definition of simulation hardware (hardware units and integrated simulator configurations), survey of current hardware self-test techniques, and definition of hardware and software techniques for checkout of simulator subsystems. The performance verification task included definition of simulation performance parameters (and critical performance parameters), definition of methods for establishing standards of performance (sources of reference data or validation), and definition of methods for validating performance. Both major tasks included definition of verification software and assessment of verification data base impact. An annotated bibliography of all documents generated during this study is provided.

  4. PERFORMANCE VERIFICATION OF ANIMAL WATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES THROUGH EPA'S ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created the Environmental Technology Verification Program (ETV) to further environmental protection by accelerating the commercialization of new and innovative technology through independent performance verification and dissemination of in...

  5. National Centers for Environmental Prediction

    Science.gov Websites

    Products Operational Forecast Graphics Experimental Forecast Graphics Verification and Diagnostics Model PARALLEL/EXPERIMENTAL MODEL FORECAST GRAPHICS OPERATIONAL VERIFICATION / DIAGNOSTICS PARALLEL VERIFICATION Developmental Air Quality Forecasts and Verification Back to Table of Contents 2. PARALLEL/EXPERIMENTAL GRAPHICS

  6. National Centers for Environmental Prediction

    Science.gov Websites

    Operational Forecast Graphics Experimental Forecast Graphics Verification and Diagnostics Model Configuration /EXPERIMENTAL MODEL FORECAST GRAPHICS OPERATIONAL VERIFICATION / DIAGNOSTICS PARALLEL VERIFICATION / DIAGNOSTICS Developmental Air Quality Forecasts and Verification Back to Table of Contents 2. PARALLEL/EXPERIMENTAL GRAPHICS

  7. Theoretical modeling of yields for proton-induced reactions on natural and enriched molybdenum targets.

    PubMed

    Celler, A; Hou, X; Bénard, F; Ruth, T

    2011-09-07

    Recent acute shortage of medical radioisotopes prompted investigations into alternative methods of production and the use of a cyclotron and ¹⁰⁰Mo(p,2n)(99m)Tc reaction has been considered. In this context, the production yields of (99m)Tc and various other radioactive and stable isotopes which will be created in the process have to be investigated, as these may affect the diagnostic outcome and radiation dosimetry in human studies. Reaction conditions (beam and target characteristics, and irradiation and cooling times) need to be optimized in order to maximize the amount of (99m)Tc and minimize impurities. Although ultimately careful experimental verification of these conditions must be performed, theoretical calculations can provide the initial guidance allowing for extensive investigations at little cost. We report the results of theoretically determined reaction yields for (99m)Tc and other radioactive isotopes created when natural and enriched molybdenum targets are irradiated by protons. The cross-section calculations were performed using a computer program EMPIRE for the proton energy range 6-30 MeV. A computer graphical user interface for automatic calculation of production yields taking into account various reaction channels leading to the same final product has been created. The proposed approach allows us to theoretically estimate the amount of (99m)Tc and its ratio relative to (99g)Tc and other radioisotopes which must be considered reaction contaminants, potentially contributing to additional patient dose in diagnostic studies.

  8. HDL to verification logic translator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gambles, J. W.; Windley, P. J.

    1992-01-01

    The increasingly higher number of transistors possible in VLSI circuits compounds the difficulty in insuring correct designs. As the number of possible test cases required to exhaustively simulate a circuit design explodes, a better method is required to confirm the absence of design faults. Formal verification methods provide a way to prove, using logic, that a circuit structure correctly implements its specification. Before verification is accepted by VLSI design engineers, the stand alone verification tools that are in use in the research community must be integrated with the CAD tools used by the designers. One problem facing the acceptance of formal verification into circuit design methodology is that the structural circuit descriptions used by the designers are not appropriate for verification work and those required for verification lack some of the features needed for design. We offer a solution to this dilemma: an automatic translation from the designers' HDL models into definitions for the higher-ordered logic (HOL) verification system. The translated definitions become the low level basis of circuit verification which in turn increases the designer's confidence in the correctness of higher level behavioral models.

  9. Effects of distributed database modeling on evaluation of transaction rollbacks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mukkamala, Ravi

    1991-01-01

    Data distribution, degree of data replication, and transaction access patterns are key factors in determining the performance of distributed database systems. In order to simplify the evaluation of performance measures, database designers and researchers tend to make simplistic assumptions about the system. The effect is studied of modeling assumptions on the evaluation of one such measure, the number of transaction rollbacks, in a partitioned distributed database system. Six probabilistic models and expressions are developed for the numbers of rollbacks under each of these models. Essentially, the models differ in terms of the available system information. The analytical results so obtained are compared to results from simulation. From here, it is concluded that most of the probabilistic models yield overly conservative estimates of the number of rollbacks. The effect of transaction commutativity on system throughout is also grossly undermined when such models are employed.

  10. Effects of distributed database modeling on evaluation of transaction rollbacks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mukkamala, Ravi

    1991-01-01

    Data distribution, degree of data replication, and transaction access patterns are key factors in determining the performance of distributed database systems. In order to simplify the evaluation of performance measures, database designers and researchers tend to make simplistic assumptions about the system. Here, researchers investigate the effect of modeling assumptions on the evaluation of one such measure, the number of transaction rollbacks in a partitioned distributed database system. The researchers developed six probabilistic models and expressions for the number of rollbacks under each of these models. Essentially, the models differ in terms of the available system information. The analytical results obtained are compared to results from simulation. It was concluded that most of the probabilistic models yield overly conservative estimates of the number of rollbacks. The effect of transaction commutativity on system throughput is also grossly undermined when such models are employed.

  11. 42 CFR 457.380 - Eligibility verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Eligibility verification. 457.380 Section 457.380... Requirements: Eligibility, Screening, Applications, and Enrollment § 457.380 Eligibility verification. (a) The... State may establish reasonable eligibility verification mechanisms to promote enrollment of eligible...

  12. PERFORMANCE VERIFICATION OF STORMWATER TREATMENT DEVICES UNDER EPA�S ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program was created to facilitate the deployment of innovative or improved environmental technologies through performance verification and dissemination of information. The program�s goal is to further environmental protection by a...

  13. Clarifying Normalization

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carpenter, Donald A.

    2008-01-01

    Confusion exists among database textbooks as to the goal of normalization as well as to which normal form a designer should aspire. This article discusses such discrepancies with the intention of simplifying normalization for both teacher and student. This author's industry and classroom experiences indicate such simplification yields quicker…

  14. Spring-summer temperatures reconstructed for northern Switzerland and southwestern Germany from winter rye harvest dates, 1454-1970

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wetter, O.; Pfister, C.

    2011-11-01

    This paper presents a unique 517-yr long documentary data-based reconstruction of spring-summer (MAMJJ) temperatures for northern Switzerland and south-western Germany from 1454 to 1970. It is composed of 25 partial series of winter grain (secale cereale) harvest starting dates (WGHD) that are partly based on harvest related bookkeeping of institutions (hospitals, municipalities), partly on (early) phenological observations. The resulting main Basel WGHD series was homogenised with regard to dating style, data type and altitude. The calibration and verification approach was applied using the homogenous HISTALP temperature series from 1774-1824 for calibration (r = 0.78) and from 1920-1970 for verification (r = 0.75). The latter result even suffers from the weak data base available for 1870-1950. Temperature reconstructions based on WGHD are more influenced by spring temperatures than those based on grape harvest dates (GHD), because rye in contrast to vines already begins to grow as soon as sunlight brings the plant to above freezing. The earliest and latest harvest dates were checked for consistency with narrative documentary weather reports. Comparisons with other European documentary-based GHD and WGHD temperature reconstructions generally reveal significant correlations decreasing with the distance from Switzerland. The new Basel WGHD series shows better skills in representing highly climate change sensitive variations of Swiss Alpine glaciers than available GHD series.

  15. Earth-Base: A Free And Open Source, RESTful Earth Sciences Platform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kishor, P.; Heim, N. A.; Peters, S. E.; McClennen, M.

    2012-12-01

    This presentation describes the motivation, concept, and architecture behind Earth-Base, a web-based, RESTful data-management, analysis and visualization platform for earth sciences data. Traditionally web applications have been built directly accessing data from a database using a scripting language. While such applications are great at bring results to a wide audience, they are limited in scope to the imagination and capabilities of the application developer. Earth-Base decouples the data store from the web application by introducing an intermediate "data application" tier. The data application's job is to query the data store using self-documented, RESTful URIs, and send the results back formatted as JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). Decoupling the data store from the application allows virtually limitless flexibility in developing applications, both web-based for human consumption or programmatic for machine consumption. It also allows outside developers to use the data in their own applications, potentially creating applications that the original data creator and app developer may not have even thought of. Standardized specifications for URI-based querying and JSON-formatted results make querying and developing applications easy. URI-based querying also allows utilizing distributed datasets easily. Companion mechanisms for querying data snapshots aka time-travel, usage tracking and license management, and verification of semantic equivalence of data are also described. The latter promotes the "What You Expect Is What You Get" (WYEIWYG) principle that can aid in data citation and verification.

  16. Establishment of apoptotic regulatory network for genetic markers of colorectal cancer.

    PubMed

    Hao, Yibin; Shan, Guoyong; Nan, Kejun

    2017-03-01

    Our purpose is to screen out genetic markers applicable to early diagnosis for colorectal cancer and to establish apoptotic regulatory network model for colorectal cancer, thereby providing theoretical evidence and targeted therapy for early diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Taking databases including CNKI, VIP, Wanfang data, Pub Med, and MEDLINE as main sources of literature retrieval, literatures associated with genetic markers applied to early diagnosis of colorectal cancer were searched to perform comprehensive and quantitative analysis by Meta analysis, hence screening genetic markers used in early diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were employed to establish apoptotic regulatory network model based on screened genetic markers, and then verification experiment was conducted. Through Meta analysis, seven genetic markers were screened out, including WWOX, K-ras, COX-2, p53, APC, DCC and PTEN, among which DCC shows highest diagnostic efficiency. GO analysis of genetic markers found that six genetic markers played role in biological process, molecular function and cellular component. It was indicated in apoptotic regulatory network built by KEGG analysis and verification experiment that WWOX could promote tumor cell apoptotic in colorectal cancer and elevate expression level of p53. The apoptotic regulatory model of colorectal cancer established in this study provides clinically theoretical evidence and targeted therapy for early diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

  17. Hyper-X Engine Design and Ground Test Program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Voland, R. T.; Rock, K. E.; Huebner, L. D.; Witte, D. W.; Fischer, K. E.; McClinton, C. R.

    1998-01-01

    The Hyper-X Program, NASA's focused hypersonic technology program jointly run by NASA Langley and Dryden, is designed to move hypersonic, air-breathing vehicle technology from the laboratory environment to the flight environment, the last stage preceding prototype development. The Hyper-X research vehicle will provide the first ever opportunity to obtain data on an airframe integrated supersonic combustion ramjet propulsion system in flight, providing the first flight validation of wind tunnel, numerical and analytical methods used for design of these vehicles. A substantial portion of the integrated vehicle/engine flowpath development, engine systems verification and validation and flight test risk reduction efforts are experimentally based, including vehicle aeropropulsive force and moment database generation for flight control law development, and integrated vehicle/engine performance validation. The Mach 7 engine flowpath development tests have been completed, and effort is now shifting to engine controls, systems and performance verification and validation tests, as well as, additional flight test risk reduction tests. The engine wind tunnel tests required for these efforts range from tests of partial width engines in both small and large scramjet test facilities, to tests of the full flight engine on a vehicle simulator and tests of a complete flight vehicle in the Langley 8-Ft. High Temperature Tunnel. These tests will begin in the summer of 1998 and continue through 1999. The first flight test is planned for early 2000.

  18. To share or not to share? Expected pros and cons of data sharing in radiological research.

    PubMed

    Sardanelli, Francesco; Alì, Marco; Hunink, Myriam G; Houssami, Nehmat; Sconfienza, Luca M; Di Leo, Giovanni

    2018-06-01

    The aims of this paper are to illustrate the trend towards data sharing, i.e. the regulated availability of the original patient-level data obtained during a study, and to discuss the expected advantages (pros) and disadvantages (cons) of data sharing in radiological research. Expected pros include the potential for verification of original results with alternative or supplementary analyses (including estimation of reproducibility), advancement of knowledge by providing new results by testing new hypotheses (not explored by the original authors) on pre-existing databases, larger scale analyses based on individual-patient data, enhanced multidisciplinary cooperation, reduced publication of false studies, improved clinical practice, and reduced cost and time for clinical research. Expected cons are outlined as the risk that the original authors could not exploit the entire potential of the data they obtained, possible failures in patients' privacy protection, technical barriers such as the lack of standard formats, and possible data misinterpretation. Finally, open issues regarding data ownership, the role of individual patients, advocacy groups and funding institutions in decision making about sharing of data and images are discussed. • Regulated availability of patient-level data of published clinical studies (data-sharing) is expected. • Expected benefits include verification/advancement of knowledge, reduced cost/time of research, clinical improvement. • Potential drawbacks include faults in patients' identity protection and data misinterpretation.

  19. Solid discharge and landslide activity at basin scale

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ardizzone, F.; Guzzetti, F.; Iadanza, C.; Rossi, M.; Spizzichino, D.; Trigila, A.

    2012-04-01

    This work presents a preliminary analysis aimed at understanding the relationship between landslide sediment supply and sediment yield at basin scale in central and southern Italy. A database of solid discharge measurements regarding 116 gauging stations, located along the Apennines chain in Italy, has been compiled by investigating the catalogues, named Annali Idrologici, published by Servizio Idrografico e Mareografico Italiano in the period from 1917 to 1997. The database records several information about the 116 gauging stations, and especially reports the sediment yield monthly measurements (103 ton) and the catchments area (km2). These data have been used to calculate the average solid yield and the normalized solid yield for each station in the observation period. The Italian Landslide Inventory (Progetto IFFI) has been used to obtained the size of the landslides, in order to estimate the landslide mobilization rates. The IFFI Project funded by the Italian Government is realized by ISPRA (Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research - Geological Survey of Italy) in partnership with the 21 Regions and Self Governing Provinces. 21 of the 116 gauging stations and the related catchments have been selected on the basis of the length of the solid discharge observation period and excluding the catchments with dams located upstream the stations. The landslides inside the selected catchments have been extracted from the IFFI inventory, calculating the planimetric area of each landslide. Considering both the shallow and deep landslides, the landslide volume has been estimated using an empirical power law relation (landslide area vs. volume). The total landslide volume in the study areas and the average sediment yield measured at the gauging stations have been compared, analysing the behaviour of the basins which drainage towards the Tyrrhenian sea and the basins which drainage towards the Adriatic sea.

  20. Application Program Interface for the Orion Aerodynamics Database

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Robinson, Philip E.; Thompson, James

    2013-01-01

    The Application Programming Interface (API) for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) Aerodynamic Database has been developed to provide the developers of software an easily implemented, fully self-contained method of accessing the CEV Aerodynamic Database for use in their analysis and simulation tools. The API is programmed in C and provides a series of functions to interact with the database, such as initialization, selecting various options, and calculating the aerodynamic data. No special functions (file read/write, table lookup) are required on the host system other than those included with a standard ANSI C installation. It reads one or more files of aero data tables. Previous releases of aerodynamic databases for space vehicles have only included data tables and a document of the algorithm and equations to combine them for the total aerodynamic forces and moments. This process required each software tool to have a unique implementation of the database code. Errors or omissions in the documentation, or errors in the implementation, led to a lengthy and burdensome process of having to debug each instance of the code. Additionally, input file formats differ for each space vehicle simulation tool, requiring the aero database tables to be reformatted to meet the tool s input file structure requirements. Finally, the capabilities for built-in table lookup routines vary for each simulation tool. Implementation of a new database may require an update to and verification of the table lookup routines. This may be required if the number of dimensions of a data table exceeds the capability of the simulation tools built-in lookup routines. A single software solution was created to provide an aerodynamics software model that could be integrated into other simulation and analysis tools. The highly complex Orion aerodynamics model can then be quickly included in a wide variety of tools. The API code is written in ANSI C for ease of portability to a wide variety of systems. The input data files are in standard formatted ASCII, also for improved portability. The API contains its own implementation of multidimensional table reading and lookup routines. The same aerodynamics input file can be used without modification on all implementations. The turnaround time from aerodynamics model release to a working implementation is significantly reduced

  1. Disease Prediction Models and Operational Readiness

    PubMed Central

    Corley, Courtney D.; Pullum, Laura L.; Hartley, David M.; Benedum, Corey; Noonan, Christine; Rabinowitz, Peter M.; Lancaster, Mary J.

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this manuscript is to present a systematic review of biosurveillance models that operate on select agents and can forecast the occurrence of a disease event. We define a disease event to be a biological event with focus on the One Health paradigm. These events are characterized by evidence of infection and or disease condition. We reviewed models that attempted to predict a disease event, not merely its transmission dynamics and we considered models involving pathogens of concern as determined by the US National Select Agent Registry (as of June 2011). We searched commercial and government databases and harvested Google search results for eligible models, using terms and phrases provided by public health analysts relating to biosurveillance, remote sensing, risk assessments, spatial epidemiology, and ecological niche modeling. After removal of duplications and extraneous material, a core collection of 6,524 items was established, and these publications along with their abstracts are presented in a semantic wiki at http://BioCat.pnnl.gov. As a result, we systematically reviewed 44 papers, and the results are presented in this analysis. We identified 44 models, classified as one or more of the following: event prediction (4), spatial (26), ecological niche (28), diagnostic or clinical (6), spread or response (9), and reviews (3). The model parameters (e.g., etiology, climatic, spatial, cultural) and data sources (e.g., remote sensing, non-governmental organizations, expert opinion, epidemiological) were recorded and reviewed. A component of this review is the identification of verification and validation (V&V) methods applied to each model, if any V&V method was reported. All models were classified as either having undergone Some Verification or Validation method, or No Verification or Validation. We close by outlining an initial set of operational readiness level guidelines for disease prediction models based upon established Technology Readiness Level definitions. PMID:24647562

  2. Meta-analysis of free-response studies, 1992-2008: assessing the noise reduction model in parapsychology.

    PubMed

    Storm, Lance; Tressoldi, Patrizio E; Di Risio, Lorenzo

    2010-07-01

    We report the results of meta-analyses on 3 types of free-response study: (a) ganzfeld (a technique that enhances a communication anomaly referred to as "psi"); (b) nonganzfeld noise reduction using alleged psi-enhancing techniques such as dream psi, meditation, relaxation, or hypnosis; and (c) standard free response (nonganzfeld, no noise reduction). For the period 1997-2008, a homogeneous data set of 29 ganzfeld studies yielded a mean effect size of 0.142 (Stouffer Z = 5.48, p = 2.13 x 10(-8)). A homogeneous nonganzfeld noise reduction data set of 16 studies yielded a mean effect size of 0.110 (Stouffer Z = 3.35, p = 2.08 x 10(-4)), and a homogeneous data set of 14 standard free-response studies produced a weak negative mean effect size of -0.029 (Stouffer Z = -2.29, p = .989). The mean effect size value of the ganzfeld database was significantly higher than the mean effect size of the standard free-response database but was not higher than the effect size of the nonganzfeld noise reduction database [corrected].We also found that selected participants (believers in the paranormal, meditators, etc.) had a performance advantage over unselected participants, but only if they were in the ganzfeld condition.

  3. Reference point detection for camera-based fingerprint image based on wavelet transformation.

    PubMed

    Khalil, Mohammed S

    2015-04-30

    Fingerprint recognition systems essentially require core-point detection prior to fingerprint matching. The core-point is used as a reference point to align the fingerprint with a template database. When processing a larger fingerprint database, it is necessary to consider the core-point during feature extraction. Numerous core-point detection methods are available and have been reported in the literature. However, these methods are generally applied to scanner-based images. Hence, this paper attempts to explore the feasibility of applying a core-point detection method to a fingerprint image obtained using a camera phone. The proposed method utilizes a discrete wavelet transform to extract the ridge information from a color image. The performance of proposed method is evaluated in terms of accuracy and consistency. These two indicators are calculated automatically by comparing the method's output with the defined core points. The proposed method is tested on two data sets, controlled and uncontrolled environment, collected from 13 different subjects. In the controlled environment, the proposed method achieved a detection rate 82.98%. In uncontrolled environment, the proposed method yield a detection rate of 78.21%. The proposed method yields promising results in a collected-image database. Moreover, the proposed method outperformed compare to existing method.

  4. Development of a Novel Bone Conduction Verification Tool Using a Surface Microphone: Validation With Percutaneous Bone Conduction Users.

    PubMed

    Hodgetts, William; Scott, Dylan; Maas, Patrick; Westover, Lindsey

    2018-03-23

    To determine if a newly-designed, forehead-mounted surface microphone would yield equivalent estimates of audibility when compared to audibility measured with a skull simulator for adult bone conduction users. Data was analyzed using a within subjects, repeated measures design. There were two different sensors (skull simulator and surface microphone) measuring the same hearing aid programmed to the same settings for all subjects. We were looking for equivalent results. Twenty-one adult percutaneous bone conduction users (12 females and 9 males) were recruited for this study. Mean age was 54.32 years with a standard deviation of 14.51 years. Nineteen of the subjects had conductive/mixed hearing loss and two had single-sided deafness. To define audibility, we needed to establish two things: (1) in situ-level thresholds at each audiometric frequency in force (skull simulator) and in sound pressure level (SPL; surface microphone). Next, we measured the responses of the preprogrammed test device in force on the skull simulator and in SPL on the surface mic in response to pink noise at three input levels: 55, 65, and 75 dB SPL. The skull simulator responses were converted to real head force responses by means of an individual real head to coupler difference transform. Subtracting the real head force level thresholds from the real head force output of the test aid yielded the audibility for each audiometric frequency for the skull simulator. Subtracting the SPL thresholds from the surface microphone from the SPL output of the test aid yielded the audibility for each audiometric frequency for the surface microphone. The surface microphone was removed and retested to establish the test-retest reliability of the tool. We ran a 2 (sensor) × 3 (input level) × 10 (frequency) mixed analysis of variance to determine if there were any significant main effects and interactions. There was a significant three-way interaction, so we proceeded to explore our planned comparisons. There were 90 planned comparisons of interest, three at each frequency (3 × 10) for the three input levels (30 × 3). Therefore, to minimize a type 1 error associated with multiple comparisons, we adjusted alpha using the Holm-Bonferroni method. There were five comparisons that yielded significant differences between the skull simulator and surface microphone (test and retest) in the estimation of audibility. However, the mean difference in these effects was small at 3.3 dB. Both sensors yielded equivalent results for the majority of comparisons. Models of bone conduction devices that have intact skin cannot be measured with the skull simulator. This study is the first to present and evaluate a new tool for bone conduction verification. The surface microphone is capable of yielding equivalent audibility measurements as the skull simulator for percutaneous bone conduction users at multiple input levels. This device holds potential for measuring other bone conduction devices (Sentio, BoneBridge, Attract, Soft headband devices) that do not have a percutaneous implant.

  5. Environmental Technology Verification Report -- Baghouse filtration products, GE Energy QG061 filtration media ( tested May 2007)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA has created the Environmental Technology Verification Program to facilitate the deployment of innovative or improved environmental technologies through performance verification and dissemination of information. The Air Pollution Control Technology Verification Center, a cente...

  6. 40 CFR 1066.240 - Torque transducer verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... POLLUTION CONTROLS VEHICLE-TESTING PROCEDURES Dynamometer Specifications § 1066.240 Torque transducer verification. Verify torque-measurement systems by performing the verifications described in §§ 1066.270 and... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Torque transducer verification. 1066...

  7. Artificial Neural Networks for differential diagnosis of breast lesions in MR-Mammography: a systematic approach addressing the influence of network architecture on diagnostic performance using a large clinical database.

    PubMed

    Dietzel, Matthias; Baltzer, Pascal A T; Dietzel, Andreas; Zoubi, Ramy; Gröschel, Tobias; Burmeister, Hartmut P; Bogdan, Martin; Kaiser, Werner A

    2012-07-01

    Differential diagnosis of lesions in MR-Mammography (MRM) remains a complex task. The aim of this MRM study was to design and to test robustness of Artificial Neural Network architectures to predict malignancy using a large clinical database. For this IRB-approved investigation standardized protocols and study design were applied (T1w-FLASH; 0.1 mmol/kgBW Gd-DTPA; T2w-TSE; histological verification after MRM). All lesions were evaluated by two experienced (>500 MRM) radiologists in consensus. In every lesion, 18 previously published descriptors were assessed and documented in the database. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was developed to process this database (The-MathWorks/Inc., feed-forward-architecture/resilient back-propagation-algorithm). All 18 descriptors were set as input variables, whereas histological results (malignant vs. benign) was defined as classification variable. Initially, the ANN was optimized in terms of "Training Epochs" (TE), "Hidden Layers" (HL), "Learning Rate" (LR) and "Neurons" (N). Robustness of the ANN was addressed by repeated evaluation cycles (n: 9) with receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis of the results applying 4-fold Cross Validation. The best network architecture was identified comparing the corresponding Area under the ROC curve (AUC). Histopathology revealed 436 benign and 648 malignant lesions. Enhancing the level of complexity could not increase diagnostic accuracy of the network (P: n.s.). The optimized ANN architecture (TE: 20, HL: 1, N: 5, LR: 1.2) was accurate (mean-AUC 0.888; P: <0.001) and robust (CI: 0.885-0.892; range: 0.880-0.898). The optimized neural network showed robust performance and high diagnostic accuracy for prediction of malignancy on unknown data. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. 48 CFR 4.1302 - Acquisition of approved products and services for personal identity verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... products and services for personal identity verification. 4.1302 Section 4.1302 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Personal Identity Verification 4.1302 Acquisition of approved products and services for personal identity verification. (a) In...

  9. 48 CFR 4.1302 - Acquisition of approved products and services for personal identity verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... products and services for personal identity verification. 4.1302 Section 4.1302 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Personal Identity Verification 4.1302 Acquisition of approved products and services for personal identity verification. (a) In...

  10. 48 CFR 4.1302 - Acquisition of approved products and services for personal identity verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... products and services for personal identity verification. 4.1302 Section 4.1302 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Personal Identity Verification 4.1302 Acquisition of approved products and services for personal identity verification. (a) In...

  11. 48 CFR 4.1302 - Acquisition of approved products and services for personal identity verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... products and services for personal identity verification. 4.1302 Section 4.1302 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Personal Identity Verification 4.1302 Acquisition of approved products and services for personal identity verification. (a) In...

  12. 48 CFR 4.1302 - Acquisition of approved products and services for personal identity verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... products and services for personal identity verification. 4.1302 Section 4.1302 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Personal Identity Verification 4.1302 Acquisition of approved products and services for personal identity verification. (a) In...

  13. Joint ETV/NOWATECH verification protocol for the Sorbisense GSW40 passive sampler

    EPA Science Inventory

    Environmental technology verification (ETV) is an independent (third party) assessment of the performance of a technology or a product for a specified application, under defined conditions and quality assurance. This verification is a joint verification with the US EPA ETV schem...

  14. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION REPORT - PERFORMANCE VERIFICATION OF THE W.L. GORE & ASSOCIATES GORE-SORBER SCREENING SURVEY

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created the Environmental Technology Verification Program (ETV) to facilitate the deployment of innovative or improved environmental technologies through performance verification and dissemination of information. The goal of the...

  15. Multi-canister overpack project -- verification and validation, MCNP 4A

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

    Goldmann, L.H.

    This supporting document contains the software verification and validation (V and V) package used for Phase 2 design of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Multi-Canister Overpack. V and V packages for both ANSYS and MCNP are included. Description of Verification Run(s): This software requires that it be compiled specifically for the machine it is to be used on. Therefore to facilitate ease in the verification process the software automatically runs 25 sample problems to ensure proper installation and compilation. Once the runs are completed the software checks for verification by performing a file comparison on the new output file and themore » old output file. Any differences between any of the files will cause a verification error. Due to the manner in which the verification is completed a verification error does not necessarily indicate a problem. This indicates that a closer look at the output files is needed to determine the cause of the error.« less

  16. Off-fault plasticity in three-dimensional dynamic rupture simulations using a modal Discontinuous Galerkin method on unstructured meshes: Implementation, verification, and application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wollherr, Stephanie; Gabriel, Alice-Agnes; Uphoff, Carsten

    2018-05-01

    The dynamics and potential size of earthquakes depend crucially on rupture transfers between adjacent fault segments. To accurately describe earthquake source dynamics, numerical models can account for realistic fault geometries and rheologies such as nonlinear inelastic processes off the slip interface. We present implementation, verification, and application of off-fault Drucker-Prager plasticity in the open source software SeisSol (www.seissol.org). SeisSol is based on an arbitrary high-order derivative modal Discontinuous Galerkin (ADER-DG) method using unstructured, tetrahedral meshes specifically suited for complex geometries. Two implementation approaches are detailed, modelling plastic failure either employing sub-elemental quadrature points or switching to nodal basis coefficients. At fine fault discretizations the nodal basis approach is up to 6 times more efficient in terms of computational costs while yielding comparable accuracy. Both methods are verified in community benchmark problems and by three dimensional numerical h- and p-refinement studies with heterogeneous initial stresses. We observe no spectral convergence for on-fault quantities with respect to a given reference solution, but rather discuss a limitation to low-order convergence for heterogeneous 3D dynamic rupture problems. For simulations including plasticity, a high fault resolution may be less crucial than commonly assumed, due to the regularization of peak slip rate and an increase of the minimum cohesive zone width. In large-scale dynamic rupture simulations based on the 1992 Landers earthquake, we observe high rupture complexity including reverse slip, direct branching, and dynamic triggering. The spatio-temporal distribution of rupture transfers are altered distinctively by plastic energy absorption, correlated with locations of geometrical fault complexity. Computational cost increases by 7% when accounting for off-fault plasticity in the demonstrating application. Our results imply that the combination of fully 3D dynamic modelling, complex fault geometries, and off-fault plastic yielding is important to realistically capture dynamic rupture transfers in natural fault systems.

  17. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): ICIS

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link to the Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS). When complete, ICIS will provide a database that will contain integrated enforcement and compliance information across most of EPA's programs. The vision for ICIS is to replace EPA's independent databases that contain enforcement data with a single repository for that information. Currently, ICIS contains all Federal Administrative and Judicial enforcement actions and a subset of the Permit Compliance System (PCS), which supports the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). ICIS exchanges non-sensitive enforcement/compliance activities, non-sensitive formal enforcement actions and NPDES information with FRS. This web feature service contains the enforcement/compliance activities and formal enforcement action related facilities; the NPDES facilities are contained in the PCS_NPDES web feature service. FRS identifies and geospatially locates facilities, sites or places subject to environmental regulations or of environmental interest. Using vigorous verification and data management procedures, FRS integrates facility data from EPA's national program systems, other federal agencies, and State and tribal master facility records and provides EPA with a centrally managed, single source of comprehensive and authoritative information on f

  18. MATD Operational Phase: Experiences and Lessons Learned

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Messidoro, P.; Bader, M.; Brunner, O.; Cerrato, A.; Sembenini, G.

    2004-08-01

    The Model And Test Effectiveness Database (MATD) initiative is ending the first year of its operational phase. MATD represents a common repository of project data, Assembly Integration and Verification (AIV) data, on ground and flight anomalies data, of recent space projects, and offers, with the application of specific methodologies, the possibility to analyze the collected data in order to improve the test philosophies and the related standards. Basically the following type of results can be derived from the database: - Statistics on ground failures and flight anomalies - Feed-back from the flight anomalies to the Test Philosophies - Test Effectiveness evaluation at system and lower levels - Estimate of the index of effectiveness of a specific Model and Test Philosophy in comparison with the applicable standards - Simulation of different Test philosophies and related balancing of Risk/cost/schedule on the basis of MATD data The paper after a short presentation of the status of the MATD initiative, summarises the most recent lessons learned which are resulting from the data analysis and highlights how MATD is being utilized for the actual risk/cost/schedule/Test effectiveness evaluations of the past programmes so as for the prediction of the new space projects.

  19. Complying with Executive Order 13148 using the Enterprise Environmental Safety And Occupational Health Management Information System.

    PubMed

    McFarland, Michael J; Nelson, Tim M; Rasmussen, Steve L; Palmer, Glenn R; Olivas, Arthur C

    2005-03-01

    All U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) facilities are required under Executive Order (EO) 13148, "Greening the Government through Leadership in Environmental Management," to establish quality-based environmental management systems (EMSs) that support environmental decision-making and verification of continuous environmental improvement by December 31, 2005. Compliance with EO 13148 as well as other federal, state, and local environmental regulations places a significant information management burden on DoD facilities. Cost-effective management of environmental data compels DoD facilities to establish robust database systems that not only address the complex and multifaceted environmental monitoring, record-keeping, and reporting requirements demanded by these rules but enable environmental management decision-makers to gauge improvements in environmental performance. The Enterprise Environmental Safety and Occupational Health Management Information System (EESOH-MIS) is a new electronic database developed by the U.S. Air Force to manage both the data needs associated with regulatory compliance programs across its facilities as well as the non-regulatory environmental information that supports installation business practices. The U.S. Air Force, which has adopted the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology as the EMS standard that it will employ to address EO 13148 requirements.

  20. Space Station automated systems testing/verification and the Galileo Orbiter fault protection design/verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Landano, M. R.; Easter, R. W.

    1984-01-01

    Aspects of Space Station automated systems testing and verification are discussed, taking into account several program requirements. It is found that these requirements lead to a number of issues of uncertainties which require study and resolution during the Space Station definition phase. Most, if not all, of the considered uncertainties have implications for the overall testing and verification strategy adopted by the Space Station Program. A description is given of the Galileo Orbiter fault protection design/verification approach. Attention is given to a mission description, an Orbiter description, the design approach and process, the fault protection design verification approach/process, and problems of 'stress' testing.

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