Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Preservation”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3

Optimization-based, property-preserving finite element methods for scalar advection equations and their connection to Algebraic Flux Correction

In this paper, we continue our efforts to exploit optimization and control ideas as a common foundation for the development of property-preserving numerical methods. Here we focus on a class of scalar advection equations whose solutions have fixed mass in a given Eulerian region and constant bounds in any Lagrangian volume. Our approach separates discretization of the equations from the preservation of their solution properties by treating the latter as optimization constraints. This relieves the discretization process from having to comply with additional restrictions and makes stability and accuracy the sole considerations in its design. A property-preserving solution is then sought as a state that minimizes the distance to an optimally accurate but not property-preserving target solution computed by the scheme, subject to constraints enforcing discrete proxies of the desired properties. Furthermore, we consider two such formulations in which the optimization variables are given by the nodal solution values and suitably defined nodal fluxes, respectively. A key result of the paper reveals that a standard Algebraic Flux Correction (AFC) scheme is a modified version of the second formulation obtained by shrinking its feasible set to a hypercube. In conclusion, we present numerical studies illustrating the optimization-based formulations and comparing them with AFC

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A Survey on Privacy in Graph Neural Networks: Attacks, Preservation, and Applications

Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have gained significant attention owing to their ability to handle graph-structured data and the improvement in practical applications. However, many of these models prioritize high utility performance, such as accuracy, with a lack of privacy consideration, which is a major concern in modern society where privacy attacks are rampant. To address this issue, researchers have started to develop privacy-preserving GNNs. Despite this progress, there is a lack of a comprehensive overview of the attacks and the techniques for preserving privacy in the graph domain. In this survey, we aim to address this gap by summarizing the attacks on graph data according to the targeted information, categorizing the privacy preservation techniques in GNNs, and reviewing the datasets and applications that could be used for analyzing/solving privacy issues in GNNs. We also outline potential directions for future research in order to build better privacy-preserving GNNs.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

TopoSZ: Preserving Topology in Error-Bounded Lossy Compression

Existing error-bounded lossy compression techniques control the pointwise error during compression to guarantee the integrity of the decompressed data. However, they typically do not explicitly preserve the topological features in data. When performing post hoc analysis with decompressed data using topological methods, preserving topology in the compression process to obtain topologically consistent and correct scientific insights is desirable. In this paper, we introduce TopoSZ, an error-bounded lossy compression method that preserves the topological features in 2D and 3D scalar fields. Specifically, we aim to preserve the types and locations of local extrema as well as the level set relations among critical points captured by contour trees in the decompressed data. The main idea is to derive topological constraints from contour-tree-induced segmentation from the data domain, and incorporate such constraints with a customized error-controlled quantization strategy from the SZ compressor (version 1.4). In conclusion, our method allows users to control the pointwise error and the loss of topological features during the compression process with a global error bound and a persistence threshold.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Maximizing Science Return from Future Rodent Experiments on the International Space Station (ISS): Tissue Preservation

To better understand how mammals adapt to long duration habitation in space, a system for performing rodent experiments on the ISS is under development; Rodent Research-1 is the first flight and will include validation of both on-orbit animal support and tissue preservation. To evaluate plans for on-orbit sample dissection and preservation, we simulated conditions for euthanasia, tissue dissection, and prolonged sample storage on the ISS, and we also developed methods for post-flight dissection and recovery of high quality RNA from multiple tissues following prolonged storage in situ for future science. Mouse livers and spleens were harvested under conditions that simulated nominal, on-orbit euthanasia and dissection operations including storage at -80 C for 4 months. The RNA recovered was of high quality (RNA Integrity Number, RIN(is) greater than 8) and quantity, and the liver enzyme contents and activities (catalase, glutathione reductase, GAPDH) were similar to positive controls, which were collected under standard laboratory conditions. We also assessed the impact of possible delayed on-orbit dissection scenarios (off-nominal) by dissecting and preserving the spleen (RNAlater) and liver (fast-freezing) at various time points post-euthanasia (from 5 min up to 105 min). The RNA recovered was of high quality (spleen, RIN (is) greater than 8; liver, RIN (is) greater than 6) and liver enzyme activities were similar to positive controls at all time points, although an apparent decline in select enzyme activities was evident at the latest time (105 min). Additionally, various tissues were harvested from either intact or partially dissected, frozen carcasses after storage for approximately 2 months; most of the tissues (brain, heart, kidney, eye, adrenal glands and muscle) were of acceptable RNA quality for science return, whereas some tissues (small intestine, bone marrow and bones) were not. These data demonstrate: 1) The protocols developed for future flight experiments will support science return despite delayed preservation post-euthanasia or prolonged storage, and 2) Many additional tissues for gene expression analysis can be obtained by dissection following prolonged storage of the tissue in situ at -80 C. These findings have relevance both to high value, ground-based experiments when sample collection capability is severely constrained, and to all future spaceflight experiments that entail on-orbit sample recovery by the ISS crew.

tissues↗

Preservation of a Preglacial Landscape Under the Center of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Continental ice sheets typically sculpt landscapes via erosion; under certain conditions, ancient landscapes can be preserved beneath ice and can survive extensive and repeated glaciation. We used concentrations of atmospherically produced cosmogenic beryllium-10, carbon, and nitrogen to show that ancient soil has been preserved in basal ice for millions of years at the center of the ice sheet at Summit, Greenland. This finding suggests ice sheet stability through the Pleistocene (i.e., the past 2.7 million years). The preservation of this soil implies that the ice has been non-erosive and frozen to the bed for much of that time, that there was no substantial exposure of central Greenland once the ice sheet became fully established, and that preglacial landscapes can remain preserved for long periods under continental ice sheets

Preservation↗

Maximizing Science Return from Future Rodent Experiments on the International Space Station (ISS): Tissue Preservation

To better understand how mammals adapt to long duration habitation in space, a system for performing rodent experiments on the ISS is under development. Rodent Research-1 is the first flight and will include validation of both on-orbit animal support and tissue preservation. To evaluate plans for on-orbit sample dissection and preservation, we simulated conditions for euthanasia, tissue dissection, and prolonged sample storage on the ISS, and we also developed methods for post-flight dissection and recovery of high quality RNA from multiple tissues following prolonged storage in situ for future science return. Livers and spleens from mice were harvested under conditions that simulated nominal, on-orbit euthanasia and dissection procedures including storage at minus 80 degrees Centigrade for 4 months. The RNA recovered was of high quality (RNA Integrity Number, RNA Integrity Number (RIN) greater than 8) and quantity, and the liver enzyme contents and activities (catalase, glutathione reductase, GAPDH) were similar to positive controls, which were collected under standard laboratory conditions. We also assessed the impact of possible delayed on-orbit dissection scenarios (off-nominal) by dissecting and preserving the spleen (RNA, later) and liver (fast-freezing) at various time points post-euthanasia (from 5 minutes up to 105 minutes). The RNA recovered was of high quality (spleen, RIN greater than 8; liver, RIN greater than 6) and liver enzyme activities were similar to positive controls at all time points, although an apparent decline in select enzyme activities was evident at 105 minutes. Additionally, various tissues were harvested from either intact or partially dissected, frozen carcasses after storage for approximately 2 months; most of the tissues (brain, heart, kidney, eye, adrenal glands and muscle) were of acceptable RNA quality for science return, whereas some tissues (small intestine, bone marrow and bones) were not. These data demonstrate: 1) The protocols developed for future flight experiments will support science return despite delayed preservation post-euthanasia or prolonged storage, and 2) High-quality RNA samples from many different tissues can be recovered by dissection following prolonged storage of the tissue in situ at minus 80 degrees Centigrade. These findings have relevance both to high-value, ground-based experiments when sample collection capability is severely constrained, and to future spaceflight experiments that entail on-orbit sample recovery by the ISS crew.

tissues↗

Preservation of Provenance and Context to Ensure Future Understandability of Airborne Earth Observations and Derived Data Products

Open-source science goes beyond making data from scientific projects (e.g., on-orbit/satellite missions, airborne and field investigations, and other data producing activities) openly available after they are generated, but involves and open sharing of information throughout the project lifecycle. Preservation of the data and associated information required for understanding and reusing the data well after the scientific projects is a contributor to open-source science as well. Considering the high investment in the on-orbit/satellite missions, we had developed a document titled “NASA Earth Science Data Preservation Content Specification (PCS)” in 2011. This document has been used as a requirement for recent on-orbit/satellite missions by NASA. Recently it became clear that the specifications should be applied to other scientific projects as well. Therefore, the document was revised to cover other types of projects, and a Preservation Content Implementation Guidance (PCIG) document was also developed. The revised PCS, and the PCIG, were published in 2022. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight the contents of these documents as they apply to suborbital/airborne investigations. The PCS calls for content preservation in eight general categories - Measuring Instrument/Platform Description, Instrument and Science Data Products and Metadata, Science Raw Data, Product and Algorithm Documentation, Instrument Calibration, Science Algorithm Software, Science Data Product Algorithm Inputs, Science Data Product Validation, and Science Data Access and Analysis Tools. While all these categories apply to various types of projects, a few clarifying sentences have been added to the descriptions of contents in each of the categories to show which categories are especially important to airborne and field investigations and where some contents are not applicable (or difficult to obtain). The PCIG document provides some general guidance applicable to all types of projects and specific guidance in a separate section for airborne and field investigations. This section calls out typical artifacts produced during such investigations that can meet the spirit of the various PCS categories.

remote sensing↗

Evaluation of preservation protocols for oxygen-sensitive minerals within laminated aquatic sediments

Laminated sediments can record seasonal changes in sedimentation of material from anoxic waters, including minerals of the redox-sensitive elements Fe, Mn, and S that form under varying oxygen levels, mineral saturation conditions, and from microbial metabolism. However, preserving the oxygen-sensitive minerals for identification is challenging when preservation of the spatial arrangement of laminae is also required. In this study, we compare methods for embedding sedimentary materials from anoxic waters and sediments from Brownie Lake, Minnesota, USA for analysis of the speciation for Fe, Mn, and S using synchrotron-based X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES). We found that acetone dehydration and resin replacement in a 100% N 2 glovebox successfully preserved the speciation of Fe and Mn minerals within laminated sediments. However, acetone removed some sulfur species from sediments, and epoxies contained sulfur species, which challenged identification of native sulfur species. Results from this study will aid researchers who are interested in spatial analysis of oxygen sensitive sediments, soils, or microbial mats in choosing a preservation method.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Large CO 2 removal potential of woody debris preservation in managed forests

Limiting climate warming to 1.5 °C requires reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and CO 2 removal. While various CO 2 removal strategies have been explored to achieve global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and account for legacy emissions, additional exploration is warranted to examine more durable, scalable and sustainable approaches to achieve climate targets. Here, in this study, we show that preserving woody debris in managed forests can remove gigatonnes of CO 2 from the atmosphere sustainably based on a carbon cycle analysis using three Earth system models. Woody debris is produced from logging, sawmill wastes and abandoned woody products, and can be preserved in deep soil to lengthen its residence time (a measure of durability) by thousands of years. Preserving annual woody debris production in managed forests has the capacity to remove 769–937 GtCO 2 from the atmosphere cumulatively (10.1–12.4 GtCO 2 yr −1 on average) from 2025 to 2100, if its residence time is lengthened for 100–2,000 years and after 5% CO 2 removal is discounted to account for CO 2 emission due to machine operation for wood debris preservation. This translates to a reduction in global temperatures of 0.35–0.42 °C. Given the large potential, relatively low cost and long durability, future efforts should be focused on establishing large-scale demonstration projects for this technology in a variety of contexts, with rigorous monitoring of CO 2 removal, its co-benefits and side-effects.

Luo, Yiqi [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United State↗

Preservation of high-pressure volatiles in nanostructured diamond capsules

High pressure induces dramatic changes and novel phenomena in condensed volatiles(1,2) that are usually not preserved after recovery from pressure vessels. In this study we report a process that pressurizes volatiles into nanopores of type 1 glassy carbon precursors, converts glassy carbon into nanocrystalline diamond by heating and synthesizes free-standing nanostructured diamond capsules (NDCs) capable of permanently preserving volatiles at high pressures, even after release back to ambient conditions for various vacuum-based diagnostic probes including electron microscopy. As a demonstration, we perform a comprehensive study of a high-pressure argon sample preserved in NDCs. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy show nanometre-sized argon crystals at around 22.0 gigapascals embedded in nanocrystalline diamond, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy provides quantitative compositional analysis and electron energy-loss spectroscopy details the chemical bonding nature of high-pressure argon. The preserved pressure of the argon sample inside NDCs can be tuned by controlling NDC synthesis pressure. To test the general applicability of the NDC process, we show that high-pressure neon can also be trapped in NDCs and that type 2 glassy carbon can be used as the precursor container material. Additional experiments on other volatiles and carbon allotropes open the possibility of bringing high-pressure explorations on a par with mainstream condensed-matter investigations and applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Microbially induced precipitation of silica by anaerobic methane-oxidizing consortia and implications for microbial fossil preservation

Authigenic carbonate minerals can preserve biosignatures of microbial anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in the rock record. It is not currently known whether the microorganisms that mediate sulfate-coupled AOM—often occurring as multicelled consortia of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB)—are preserved as microfossils. Electron microscopy of ANME-SRB consortia in methane seep sediments has shown that these microorganisms can be associated with silicate minerals such as clays [Chen et al., Sci. Rep. 4, 1–9 (2014)], but the biogenicity of these phases, their geochemical composition, and their potential preservation in the rock record is poorly constrained. Long-term laboratory AOM enrichment cultures in sediment-free artificial seawater [Yu et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 88, e02109-21 (2022)] resulted in precipitation of amorphous silicate particles (~200 nm) within clusters of exopolymer-rich AOM consortia from media undersaturated with respect to silica, suggestive of a microbially mediated process. The use of techniques like correlative fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) on AOM consortia from methane seep authigenic carbonates and sediments further revealed that they are enveloped in a silica-rich phase similar to the mineral phase on ANME-SRB consortia in enrichment cultures. Like in cyanobacteria [Moore et al., Geology 48, 862–866 (2020)], the Si-rich phases on ANME-SRB consortia identified here may enhance their preservation as microfossils. Finally, the morphology of these silica-rich precipitates, consistent with amorphous-type clay-like spheroids formed within organic assemblages, provides an additional mineralogical signature that may assist in the search for structural remnants of microbial consortia in rocks which formed in methane-rich environments from Earth and other planetary bodies.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Preservation of erniettomorph fossils in clay-rich siliciclastic deposits from the Ediacaran Wood Canyon Formation, Nevada

Three-dimensionally preserved Ediacaran fossils occur globally within sandstone beds. Sandy siliciclastic deposits of the Ediacaran Wood Canyon Formation (WCF) in the Montgomery Mountains, Nevada, contain two fossil morphologies with similar shapes and sizes: one exhibits mm-scale ridges and a distinct lower boundary and the other is devoid of these diagnostic features. We interpret these as taphomorphs of erniettomorphs, soft-bodied organisms with uncertain taxonomic affinities. We explore the cast-and-mould preservation of both taphomorphs by petrography, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence microprobe and X-ray diffraction. All fossils and the surrounding sedimentary matrix contain quartz grains, iron-rich chlorite and muscovite. The ridged fossils contain about 70% larger quartz grains compared to the ridgeless taphomorph, indicating a lower abundance of clay minerals in the ridged fossil. Chlorite and muscovite likely originated from smectite and kaolinite precursors that underwent lower greenschist facies metamorphism. Kaolinite and smectite are inferred to have been abundant in sediments around the ridged fossil, which enabled the preservation of a continuous, distinct, clay- and kerogen-rich bottom boundary. The prevalence of quartz in the ridged fossils of the WCF and in erniettomorphs from other localities also suggests a role for this mineral in three-dimensional preservation of erniettomorphs in sandstone and siltstone deposits.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Construction of bias-preserving operations for pair-cat codes

Fault-tolerant quantum computation with depolarization error often requires demanding error threshold and resource overhead. If the operations can maintain high noise bias—dominated by dephasing error with small bit-flip error—we can achieve hardware-efficient fault-tolerant quantum computation with a more favorable error threshold. Distinct from two-level physical systems, multilevel systems (such as harmonic oscillators) can achieve a desirable set of bias-preserving quantum operations while using continuous engineered dissipation or Hamiltonian protection to stabilize to the encoding subspace. For example, cat codes stabilized with driven-dissipation or Kerr nonlinearity can possess a set of bias-preserving gates while continuously correcting bosonic dephasing error. However, cat codes are not compatible with continuous quantum error correction against excitation loss error, because it is challenging to continuously monitor the parity to correct photon loss errors. In this work, we generalize the bias-preserving operations to pair-cat codes, which can be regarded as a multimode generalization of cat codes, to be compatible with continuous quantum error correction against both bosonic loss and dephasing errors. In conclusion, our results open the door towards hardware-efficient robust quantum information processing with both bias-preserving operations and continuous quantum error correction simultaneously correcting bosonic loss and dephasing errors.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Privacy-Preserving Artificial Intelligence on Edge Devices: A Homomorphic Encryption Approach

Recent advancements in privacy-preserving artificial intelligence (AI) have paved the way for enhanced privacy in computational processes. A standing challenge, however, is the robust privacy preservation in AI algorithms, especially when integrated into edge devices and Internet-of-Thing (IoT) infrastructures. Most prevailing solutions have adopted traditional encryption methods which, though secure, often introduce significant overhead and potential dips in accuracy. In this study, we put forth an innovative approach, utilizing the CKKS encryption scheme, aiming to harmoniously balance computational efficiency with stringent data privacy. By harnessing the capabilities of Full Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) under the CKKS scheme, we ensure the preservation of privacy, successfully curbing the inherent noise traditionally linked with accuracy reductions in similar encryption-oriented solutions. Through comprehensive experiments, our approach showcased its potential as a strong contender for privacy preservation, demonstrating commendable performance across all tests, affirming that FHE is indeed viable for devices with constrained computational power and energy resources.

Khan, Muhammad Jahanzeb↗

Preserving electronic records: Not the easiest task

The National Archives and Records Administration has had a program for accessioning, describing, preserving and providing reference service to the electronic records (machine-readable records) created by Federal agencies for more than twenty years. Although there have been many changes in the name of the office, its basic mission has remained the same: to preserve and make available those records created by Federal agencies that the National Archives has determined to have value beyond the short-term need of the originating agency. A phrase that was once coined for a preservation conference still applies: the National Archives, when it decides to accept the transfer of records into its custody, is committing itself to preserving these records for perpetuity.

Eaton, Fynnette↗

Knowledge Preservation and Web-tools

We propose a library of "netbooks" as part of a national effort, preserving the wisdom of the early Space Program. NASA is losing its rocket scientists who designed the great systems of the past. Few new systems of similar ambition are being built; much of the expertise that took us to the Moon is evaporating. With retiring NASA designers, we work to preserve something of the expertise of these individuals, developed at great national cost. We show others the tools that make preservation easy and cheap. Retiring engineers and scientists can be coached into speaking (without charge) into recording devices about ideas not widely appreciated but of potential future value. Transcripts of the recordings and the audio itself are combined (cheaply) in netbooks accessible via a standard web-browser (free). Selected netbooks are indexed into a rapidly searchable system, an electronic Library. We recruit support in establishing a standards committee for that Library. The system is to be a model for access by the blind as well as for preservation of important, technical knowledge.

Moreman, Douglas↗

Preservation of Data for Earth System Science- Towards a Content Standard

Various remote sensing agencies of the world have created a data rich environment for research and applications over the last three decades. Especially over the last decade, the volume and variety of data useful for Earth system science have increased quite rapidly. One of the key purposes of collecting these data and generating useful digital products containing derived geophysical parameters is to study the long-term trends in the Earth s behavior. Long-term observational data and derived products are essential for validating results from models that predict the future behavior of the Earth system. Given the significant resources expended in gathering the observational data and developing the derived products, it is important to preserve them for the benefit of future generations of users. Preservation involves maintaining the bits with no loss (or loss within scientifically acceptable bounds) as they move across systems as well as over time, ensuring readability over time, and providing for long-term understandability and repeatability of previously obtained results. In order to ensure long-term understandability and repeatability, it is necessary to identify all items of content that must be preserved and plan for such preservation. This paper discusses the need for a standard enumerating and describing such content items and reports on the progress made by NASA and the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP Federation) in the U.S. towards such a standard.

Ramapriyan, Hampapuram↗

Science Data Preservation: Implementation and Why It Is Important

Remote Sensing data generation by NASA to study Earth s geophysical processes was initiated in 1960 with the launch of the first Television Infrared Observation Satellite Program (TIROS), to develop a meteorological satellite information system. What would be deemed as a primitive data set by today s standards, early Earth science missions were the foundation upon which today s remote sensing instruments have built their scientific success, and tomorrow s instruments will yield science not yet imagined. NASA Scientific Data Stewardship requirements have been documented to ensure the long term preservation and usability of remote sensing science data. In recent years, the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners and NASA s Earth Science Data System Working Groups have organized committees that specifically examine standards, processes, and ontologies that can best be employed for the preservation of remote sensing data, supporting documentation, and data provenance information. This presentation describes the activities, issues, and implementations, guided by the NASA Earth Science Data Preservation Content Specification (423-SPEC-001), for preserving instrument characteristics, and data processing and science information generated for 20 Earth science instruments, spanning 40 years of geophysical measurements, at the NASA s Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). In addition, unanticipated preservation/implementation questions and issues in the implementation process are presented.

Kempler, Steven J.↗