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At least 289 records · Page 16

ProgLIMI: Programmable LInk Metric Identification in Software-Defined Networks

In this paper, we propose the Programmable LInk Metric Identification (ProgLIMI) infrastructure for software-defined networking (SDN) networks. ProgLIMI identifies round-trip link metrics (RTLMs) from accumulated end-to-end metrics of selected measurement paths by leveraging the flexible routing control capability of SDN networks. ProgLIMI mainly solves three sub-problems: (1) monitor placement; (2) linearly independent measurement path construction; and (3) flow rule design. To reduce measurement cost, ProgLIMI tries to minimize the number of required monitors and flow rules. In this paper, we address the three sub-problems for both full and hybrid SDN networks. For full SDN networks, ProgLIMI can achieve full RTLM identification using only one monitor and two flow rules in each SDN switch. In contrast, the RTLM identification in hybrid SDN networks is more complicated due to the routing constraint of hybrid SDN networks. We first prove that the monitor placement problem in hybrid SDN networks is NP-hard. We then formulate the monitor placement and measurement path selection problem in hybrid SDN networks and propose a greedy heuristic algorithm to solve the problem efficiently. Our evaluations on both physical testbed and simulation platform reveal that ProgLIMI can accurately identify the RTLMs (delay and loss rate). Besides, ProgLIMI is also resource efficient, i.e., it only requires two flow rules in each SDN switch and a small number of monitors, and the extra probing traffic load incurred by ProgLIMI is also low.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Early growth response 2 (EGR2) is a novel regulator of the senescence programme

Abstract Senescence, a state of stable growth arrest, plays an important role in ageing and age‐related diseases in vivo. Although the INK4/ARF locus is known to be essential for senescence programmes, the key regulators driving p16 and ARF transcription remain largely underexplored. Using siRNA screening for modulators of the p16/pRB and ARF/p53/p21 pathways in deeply senescent human mammary epithelial cells (DS HMECs) and fibroblasts (DS HMFs), we identified EGR2 as a novel regulator of senescence. EGR2 expression is up‐regulated during senescence, and its ablation by siRNA in DS HMECs and HMFs transiently reverses the senescent phenotype. We demonstrate that EGR2 activates the ARF and p16 promoters and directly binds to both the ARF and p16 promoters. Loss of EGR2 down‐regulates p16 levels and increases the pool of p16− p21− ‘reversed’ cells in the population. Moreover, EGR2 overexpression is sufficient to induce senescence. Our data suggest that EGR2 is a direct transcriptional activator of the p16/pRB and ARF/p53/p21 pathways in senescence and a novel marker of senescence.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Demonstrating solarpilot ’s Python Application Programmable Interface Through Heliostat Optimal Aimpoint Strategy Use Case

solarpilot is a software package that generates solar field layouts and characterizes the optical performance of concentrating solar power (CSP) tower systems. solarpilot was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as a stand-alone desktop application but has also been incorporated into NREL’s System Advisor Model (SAM) in a simplified format. Prior means for user interaction with solarpilot have included the application’s graphical interface, the SAM routines with limited configurability, and through a built-in scripting language called “LK.” This article presents a new, full-featured, python-based application programmable interface (API) for solarpilot, which we hereafter refer to as CoPylot. CoPylot enables python users to perform detailed CSP tower analysis utilizing either the Hermite expansion technique (analytical) or the SolTrace ray-tracing engine. CoPylot’s enables CSP researchers to perform analysis that was previously not possible through solarpilot’s existing interfaces. This article discusses the capabilities of CoPylot and presents a use case wherein we populate a model that obtains optimal solar field aiming strategies.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

The Belgian R and D feasibility programme on the geological disposal of high-level and long-lived radioactive waste

ONDRAF/NIRAS, the Belgian Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials, considers geological disposal in poorly indurated clay as the reference solution for the long-term management of high-level waste (HLW) and intermediate and low level waste, long-lived (ILLW-LL). The disposal concept entails the post-conditioning of the waste in disposal packages and the subsequent disposal of these packages in an underground repository. The R and D feasibility programme on geological disposal aims at demonstrating, at a conceptual level, that the proposed disposal system can be constructed, operated and closed. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

SU-C-BRF-05: Design and Geometric Validation of An Externally and Internally Deformable, Programmable Lung Motion Phantom

Purpose: Most clinically-deployed strategies for respiratory motion management in lung radiotherapy (e.g., gating, tracking) use external markers that serve as surrogates for tumor motion. However, typical lung phantoms used to validate these strategies are rigid-exterior+rigid-interior or rigid-exterior+deformable-interior. Neither class adequately represents the human anatomy, which is deformable internally as well as externally. We describe the construction and experimental validation of a more realistic, externally- and internally-deformable, programmable lung phantom. Methods: The outer shell of a commercially-available lung phantom (RS- 1500, RSD Inc.) was used. The shell consists of a chest cavity with a flexible anterior surface, and embedded vertebrae, rib-cage and sternum. A 3-axis platform was programmed with sinusoidal and six patient-recorded lung tumor trajectories. The platform was used to drive a rigid foam ‘diaphragm’ that compressed/decompressed the phantom interior. Experimental characterization comprised of mapping the superior-inferior (SI) and anterior-posterior (AP) trajectories of external and internal radioopaque markers with kV x-ray fluoroscopy and correlating these with optical surface monitoring using the in-room VisionRT system. Results: The phantom correctly reproduced the programmed motion as well as realistic effects such as hysteresis. The reproducibility of marker trajectories over multiple runs for sinusoidal as well as patient traces, as characterized by fluoroscopy, was within 0.4 mm RMS error for internal as well as external markers. The motion trajectories of internal and external markers as measured by fluoroscopy were found to be highly correlated (R=0.97). Furthermore, motion trajectories of arbitrary points on the deforming phantom surface, as recorded by the VisionRT system also showed a high correlation with respect to the fluoroscopically-measured trajectories of internal markers (R=0.92). Conclusion: We have developed a realistic externally- and internally-deformable lung phantom that will serve as a valuable tool for clinical QA and motion management research. This work was supported through funding from the NIH and VisionRT Ltd. Amit Sawant has research funding from Varian Medical Systems, VisionRT and Elekta.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

SU-G-JeP1-07: Development of a Programmable Motion Testbed for the Validation of Ultrasound Tracking Algorithms

Purpose: To develop an advanced testbed that combines a 3D motion stage and ultrasound phantom to optimize and validate 2D and 3D tracking algorithms for real-time motion management during radiation therapy. Methods: A Siemens S2000 Ultrasound scanner utilizing a 9L4 transducer was coupled with the Washington University 4D Phantom to simulate patient motion. The transducer was securely fastened to the 3D stage and positioned to image three cylinders of varying contrast in a Gammex 404GS LE phantom. The transducer was placed within a water bath above the phantom in order to maintain sufficient coupling for the entire range of simulated motion. A programmed motion sequence was used to move the transducer during image acquisition and a cine video was acquired for one minute to allow for long sequence tracking. Images were analyzed using a normalized cross-correlation block matching tracking algorithm and compared to the known motion of the transducer relative to the phantom. Results: The setup produced stable ultrasound motion traces consistent with those programmed into the 3D motion stage. The acquired ultrasound images showed minimal artifacts and an image quality that was more than suitable for tracking algorithm verification. Comparisons of a block matching tracking algorithm with the known motion trace for the three features resulted in an average tracking error of 0.59 mm. Conclusion: The high accuracy and programmability of the 4D phantom allows for the acquisition of ultrasound motion sequences that are highly customizable; allowing for focused analysis of some common pitfalls of tracking algorithms such as partial feature occlusion or feature disappearance, among others. The design can easily be modified to adapt to any probe such that the process can be extended to 3D acquisition. Further development of an anatomy specific phantom better resembling true anatomical landmarks could lead to an even more robust validation. This work is partially funded by NIH grant R01CA190298.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Three-dimensional nanoscale metal, metal oxide, and semiconductor frameworks through DNA-programmable assembly and templating

Controlling the three-dimensional (3D) nanoarchitecture of inorganic materials is imperative for enabling their novel mechanical, optical, and electronic properties. Here, by exploiting DNA-programmable assembly, we establish a general approach for realizing designed 3D ordered inorganic frameworks. Through inorganic templating of DNA frameworks by liquid- and vapor-phase infiltrations, we demonstrate successful nanofabrication of diverse classes of inorganic frameworks from metal, metal oxide and semiconductor materials, as well as their combinations, including zinc, aluminum, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, indium, tin, and platinum, and composites such as aluminum-doped zinc oxide, indium tin oxide, and platinum/aluminum-doped zinc oxide. The open 3D frameworks have features on the order of nanometers with architecture prescribed by the DNA frames and self-assembled lattice. Structural and spectroscopic studies reveal the composition and organization of diverse inorganic frameworks, as well as the optoelectronic properties of selected materials. The work paves the road toward establishing a 3D nanoscale lithography.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Experimental Programme at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory

I shall summarise the main characteristics of the INFN Laboratorio Internazionale del Gran Sasso (LNGS), including a few historical elements, and its research programme, considering both the running experiments and the projects under development. I shall then give a few details on the main experiments, their recent result and the perspectives for the future.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

SSP Personality Programmer

The Personality Programmer software is used as means for entities to configure, deploy, and redeploy SSP devices. SAND2020-14337 O Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Hunt, TannerR.↗

Global Precipitation Experiment—A New World Climate Research Programme Lighthouse Activity

The future state of the global water cycle and the prediction of freshwater availability for humans around the world remain among the challenges of climate research and are relevant to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Global Precipitation Experiment (GPEX) takes on the challenge of improving the prediction of precipitation quantity, phase, timing, and intensity, characteristics that are products of a complex integrated system. It will achieve this by leveraging existing World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) activities and community capabilities in satellite, surface-based, and airborne observations, modeling, and experimental research and by conducting new and focused activities. It was launched in October 2023 as a WCRP Lighthouse Activity. Here, we present an overview of the GPEX Science Plan that articulates the primary science questions related to precipitation measurements, process understanding, model performance and improvements, and plans for capacity development. The central phase of GPEX is the WCRP Years of Precipitation for 2–3 years with coordinated global field campaigns focusing on different storm types (atmospheric rivers, mesoscale convective systems, monsoons, and tropical cyclones, among others) over different regions and seasons. Activities are planned over the three phases (before, during, and after the Years of Precipitation) spanning a decade. These include gridded data evaluation and development, advanced modeling, enhanced understanding of processes critical to precipitation, multiscale prediction of precipitation events across scales, and capacity development. These activities will be further developed as part of the GPEX Implementation Plan.

Climate change↗

Programmable-trajectory ultrafast flying focus pulses

“Flying focus” techniques produce laser pulses with dynamic focal points that travel distances much greater than a Rayleigh length. The implementation of these techniques in laser-based applications requires the design of optical configurations that can both extend the focal range and structure the radial group delay. This article describes a method for designing optical configurations that produce ultrashort flying focus pulses with programmable-trajectory focal points. The method is illustrated by several examples that employ an axiparabola for extending the focal range and either a reflective echelon or a deformable mirror-spatial light modulator pair for structuring the radial group delay. The latter configuration enables rapid exploration and optimization of flying foci, which could be ideal for experiments.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Programmable, direct space-to-time picosecond resolution pulse shaper with nanosecond record

In this work, we demonstrate a novel, to the best of our knowledge, extension of optical arbitrary waveform generation capable of picosecond resolution over nanosecond duration. The method, called space–time induced linearly encoded transcription for temporal optimization, is based on direct space-to-time pulse shaping and is extended here to single-mode output with a programmable temporal profile. We develop the theory of operation and discuss ultimate limits on resolution, record length, and efficiency. We report on the results of an experimental demonstration showing ~1ps resolution over 600 ps.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Plant Growth Environments with Programmable Relative Humidity and Homogeneous Nutrient Availability

We describe the design, characterization, and use of “programmable”, sterile growth environments for individual (or small sets of) plants. The specific relative humidities and nutrient availability experienced by the plant is established (RH between 15% and 95%; nutrient concentration as desired) during the setup of the growth environment, which takes about 5 minutes and <1$ in disposable cost. These systems maintain these environmental parameters constant for at least 14 days with minimal intervention (one minute every two days). The design is composed entirely of off-the-shelf components (e.g., LEGO1 bricks) and is characterized by (i) a separation of root and shoot environment (which is physiologically relevant and facilitates imposing specific conditions on the root system, e.g., darkness), (ii) the development of the root system on a flat surface, where the root enjoys constant contact with nutrient solution and air, (iii) a compatibility with root phenotyping. We demonstrate phenotyping by characterizing root systems of Brassica rapa plants growing in different relative humidities (55%, 75%, and 95%). While most phenotypes were found to be sensitive to these environmental changes, a phenotype tightly associated with root system topology– the size distribution of the areas encircled by roots–appeared to be remarkably and counterintuitively insensitive to humidity changes. These setups combine many of the advantages of hydroponics conditions (e.g., root phenotyping, complete control over nutrient composition, scalability) and soil conditions (e.g., aeration of roots, shading of roots), while being comparable in cost and setup time to Magenta1 boxes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The development programme of cathodes and electron guns for the Hollow Electron Lenses of the High Luminosity LHC project1

The High Luminosity LHC project (HL-LHC) foresees the construction and installation of important new equipment to increase the performance of the LHC machine. The Hollow Electron Lens (HEL) is a promising system to control the beam halo. It improves the beam collimation system of the HL-LHC and mitigates possible equipment damage in case of failure scenarios from halo losses. The halo can store up to 30 MJ energy. The specifications for this new device are quite demanding. The source, an electron gun with an annular shaped cathode, has to deliver a current up to 5 A. This is five times higher than the current in the existing electron lenses in Fermi and Brookhaven national laboratories. This note describes the programme carried out to design and test high-perveance guns equipped with two types of high-performance scandate cathodes. The size of the final gun is now considerably smaller than the one of the first prototype, allowing a reduction of diameter and cost of the superconducting magnet system used to steer the electron beam. The tests carried out at FNAL, BVERI and BJUT demonstrated that the developed cathodes fulfil the specifications and can supply a 5 A fully Space Charge Limited (SCL) current.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Radiation-Hardened Circuitry Using Mask-Programmable Analog Arrays: Report 3

As the recent accident at Fukushima Daiichi so vividly demonstrated, telerobotic technologies capable of withstanding high radiation environments need to be readily available to enable operations, repair, and recovery under severe accident scenarios when human entry is extremely dangerous or not possible. Telerobotic technologies that enable remote operation in high dose rate environments have undergone revolutionary improvement over the past few decades. However, much of this technology cannot be employed in nuclear power environments because of the radiation sensitivity of the electronics and the organic insulator materials currently in use. This is a report of the activities involving Task 3 of the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) 2 project Radiation Hardened Circuitry Using Mask-Programmable Analog Arrays. Evaluation of the performance of the system for both pre- and post-irradiation as well as operation at elevated temperature will be performed. Detailed performance of the system will be documented to ensure the design meets requirements prior to any extended evaluation. A suite of tests will be developed which will allow evaluation before and after irradiation and during temperature. Selection of the radiation exposure facilities will be determined in the early phase of the project. Radiation exposure will consist of total integrated dose (TID) up to 200 kRad or above with several intermediate doses during test. Dose rates will be in various ranges determined by the facility that will be used with a target of 30 kRad/hr. Many samples of the pre-commercial devices to be used will have been tested in previous projects to doses of at least 300 kRad and temperatures up to 125C. The complete systems will therefore be tested for performance at intermediate doses. Extended temperature testing will be performed up to the limit of the commercial sensors. The test suite performed at each test point will consist of operational testing of the three basic measurement functions plus electronic functional testing (power dissipation, voltage offset changes, noise variations, etc.). This suite will be developed as part of this task.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Radiation-Hardened Circuitry Using Mask-Programmable Analog Arrays. Final Report

As the recent accident at Fukushima Daiichi so vividly demonstrated, telerobotic technologies capable of withstanding high radiation environments need to be readily available to enable operations, repair, and recovery under severe accident scenarios where human entry is extremely dangerous or not possible. Telerobotic technologies that enable remote operation in high dose rate environments have undergone revolutionary improvement over the past few decades. However, much of this technology cannot be employed in nuclear power environments due the radiation sensitivity of the electronics and the organic insulator materials currently in use. This is the final report of the activities involving the NEET 2 project Radiation Hardened Circuitry Using Mask-Programmable Analog Arrays. We present a detailed functional block diagram of the proposed data acquisition system, the thought process leading to technical decisions, the implemented system, and the tested results from the systems. This system will be capable of monitoring at least three parameters of importance to nuclear reactor monitoring: temperature, radiation level, and pressure.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗