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At least 1,153 records · Page 64

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2014

Biosentinel: Developing a Space Radiation Biosensor

Ionizing radiation presents a major challenge to human exploration and long-term residence in space. The deep-space radiation spectrum includes highly energetic particles that generate double strand breaks (DSBs), deleterious DNA lesions that are usually repaired without errors via homologous recombination (HR), a conserved pathway in all eukaryotes. While progress identifying and characterizing biological radiation effects using Earth-based facilities has been significant, no terrestrial source duplicates the unique space radiation environment.We are developing a biosensor-based nanosatellite to fly aboard NASAs Space Launch System Exploration Mission 1, expected to launch in 2017 and reach a 1AU (astronomic unit) heliocentric orbit. Our biosensor (called BioSentinel) uses the yeast S. cerevisiae to measure DSBs in response to ambient space radiation. The BioSentinel strain contains engineered genetic defects that prevent growth until and unless a radiation-induced DSB near a reporter gene activates the yeasts HR repair mechanisms. Thus, culture growth and metabolic activity directly indicate a successful DSB-and-repair event. In parallel, HR-defective and wild type strains will provide survival data. Desiccated cells will be carried within independent culture microwells, built into 96-well microfluidic cards. Each microwell set will be activated by media addition at different time points over 18 months, and cell growth will be tracked continuously via optical density. One reserve set will be activated only in the occurrence of a solar particle event. Biological measurements will be compared to data provided by onboard physical dosimeters and to Earth-based experiments.BioSentinel will conduct the first study of biological response to space radiation outside Low Earth Orbit in over 40 years. BioSentinel will thus address strategic knowledge gaps related to the biological effects of space radiation and will provide an adaptable platform to perform human-relevant measurements in multiple space environments. We hope that it can therefore be used on the ISS, on and around other planetary bodies as well as other exploration platforms as a self-contained system that will allow us to compare and calibrate different radiation environments.BioSentinels results will be critical for improving interpretation of the effects of space radiation exposure, and for reducing the risk associated with long-term human exploration.

space radiation↗

DOE OSTI2015

The correlation study of parallel feature extractor and noise reduction approaches

This paper presents literature reviews that show variety of techniques to develop parallel feature extractor and finding its correlation with noise reduction approaches for low light intensity images. Low light intensity images are normally displayed as darker images and low contrast. Without proper handling techniques, those images regularly become evidences of misperception of objects and textures, the incapability to section them. The visual illusions regularly clues to disorientation, user fatigue, poor detection and classification performance of humans and computer algorithms. Noise reduction approaches (NR) therefore is an essential step for other image processing steps such as edge detection, image segmentation, image compression, etc. Parallel Feature Extractor (PFE) meant to capture visual contents of images involves partitioning images into segments, detecting image overlaps if any, and controlling distributed and redistributed segments to extract the features. Working on low light intensity images make the PFE face challenges and closely depend on the quality of its pre-processing steps. Some papers have suggested many well established NR as well as PFE strategies however only few resources have suggested or mentioned the correlation between them. This paper reviews best approaches of the NR and the PFE with detailed explanation on the suggested correlation. This finding may suggest relevant strategies of the PFE development. With the help of knowledge based reasoning, computational approaches and algorithms, we present the correlation study between the NR and the PFE that can be useful for the development and enhancement of other existing PFE.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Managing HRP’S External Deliverables: The Process and the Customers

The Human Research Program’s (HRP) external deliverables (EDs) are the final outcomes of the research that the HRP Elements develop and execute. Four categories of HRP EDs exist: standards, requirements, countermeasures, and tools/technology. The NASA Human Health and Performance directorate’s primary stakeholders, i.e., the customers for the EDs, include the Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer (OCHMO) (Standards Team, Chief Health and Performance Officers and Chief Medical Officers, Human System Risk Board), and the agency’s System Capability Leadership Teams. The EDs may address the need of a specific customer, a specific design reference mission, or a vehicle lifecycle milestone. HRP’s Maturation and Integration Office External Programs facilitates the process of delivering the EDs to the targeted customers according to the customer’s expectations. This presentation describes this coordinated process and provides an overview of the nature of different types of EDs and how they impact the customers’ products. Successful transfer of the EDs to the customers will help mitigate the health and performance risks that crewmembers will face during NASA’s future exploration missions.

HRP research external deliverables↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Managing HRP's External Deliverables: The Process and the Customers

The Human Research Program’s (HRP) external deliverables (EDs) are the final outcomes of the research that the HRP Elements develop and execute. The NASA Human Health and Performance directorate’s primary stakeholders, i.e., the customers for the EDs, include the Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer (OCHMO) (Standards Team, Chief Health and Performance Officers and Chief Medical Officers, Human System Risk Board), and the agency’s System Capability Leadership Teams. The EDs may address the need of a specific customer, a specific design reference mission, or a vehicle lifecycle milestone. HRP’s Maturation and Integration Office External Programs facilitates the process of delivering the EDs to the targeted customers according to the customer’s expectations. This presentation describes this coordinated process and provides an overview of the nature of different types of EDs and how they impact the customers’ products. Successful transfer of the EDs to the customers will help mitigate the health and performance risks that crewmembers will face during NASA’s future exploration missions.

research↗

DOE OSTI2026

Synaptic Functionality and Neuromorphic Information Processing in Membrane Ion Channel Junctions

The human brain performs complex memory and computational tasks with high energy efficiency by regulating ion transport through membrane channels. These signaling mechanisms have been inspiring the development of nanofluidic memristors that emulate synaptic behavior. Here, in this study, we describe a membrane ion channel synapse (MICS), constructed from aqueous droplets linked by gramicidin A channels, that achieves neuromorphic functionality. MICS exhibits memristive ion transport with hysteretic current–voltage behavior arising from voltage-dependent channel formation and ion transport dynamics. MICS emulates a range of synaptic behaviors including associative learning. We further demonstrate its application in reservoir computing by performing handwritten digit classification and tic-tac-toe game and explore the system parameters that improve the computational performance. This droplet-based biomimetic synapse offers a potentially scalable and energy-efficient platform for next-generation neuromorphic computing systems.

Droplet interface bilayer↗

DOE OSTI2016

Full Scale Evaluation of How Task-Based Overview Displays Impact Operator Workload and Situation Awareness When in Emergency Procedure Space

Control room modernization is critical to extending the life of the 99 operating commercial nuclear power plants (NPP) within the United States. However, due to the lack of evidence demonstrating the efficiency and effectiveness of recent candidate technologies, current NPP control rooms operate without the benefit of various newer technologies now available. As nuclear power plants begin to extend their licenses to continue operating for another 20 years, there is increased interest in modernizing the control room and supplementing the existing control boards with advanced technologies. As part of a series of studies investigating the benefits of advanced control room technologies, the researchers conducted an experimental study to observe the effect of Task-Based Overview Displays (TODs) on operator workload and situation awareness (SA) while completing typical operating scenarios. Researchers employed the Situation Awareness Rating Technique (SART) and the NASA Task Load Index (TLX) as construct measures.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2014

Bio-corrosion and cytotoxicity studies on novel Zr 55 Co 30 Ti 15 and Cu 60 Zr 20 Ti 20 metallic glasses

Metallic glasses are a potential and compatible implant candidate for biomedical applications. In the present investigation, a comparative study between novel Zr 55 Co 30 Ti 15 and Cu 60 Zr 20 Ti 20 metallic glasses is carried out to evaluate in vitro biocompatibility using simulated body fluids. The bio-corrosion behavior of Zr- and Cu-based metallic glasses in different types of artificial body fluids such as artificial saliva solution, phosphate-buffered saline solution, artificial blood plasma solution, and Hank’s balanced saline solution is evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization studies at a constant body temperature of 310.15 K (37 °C). Surface morphology of samples after bio-corrosion experiments was observed by scanning electron microscopy. In vitro cytotoxicity test on glassy alloys were performed using human osteosarcoma cell line as per 10993-5 guidelines from International Organization for Standardization. As a result, the comparative study between Zr- and Cu-based glassy alloys provides vital information about the effect of elemental composition on biocompatibility of metallic glasses.

316L stainless steel↗

DOE OSTI2016

Riccardin D-N induces lysosomal membrane permeabilization by inhibiting acid sphingomyelinase and interfering with sphingomyelin metabolism in vivo

Lysosomes are important targets for anticancer drug discovery. Our previous study showed that Riccardin D-N (RD-N), a natural macrocylic bisbibenzyl derivative produced by Mannich reaction, induced cell death by accumulating in lysosomes. Experiments were performed on human lung squamous cell carcinoma tissue from left inferior lobar bronchus of patient xenografts and H460 cells. RD-N was administrated for 25 days. The specimens of xenografts in Balb/c athymic (nu +/nu +) male mice were removed for immunohistochemistry, subcellular fractionation, enzyme activities and Western blotting analysis. mRFP-GFP-LC3 reporter was used to examine autophagy in H460 cells. Sphingomyelin assay was evaluated by thin-layer chromatography and assay kit. Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) caused by acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) inhibition and subsequent changes of sphingomyelin (SM) metabolism selectively destabilized the cancer cell lysosomes in RD-N-treated H460 cells in vitro and tumor xenograft model in vivo. The destabilized lysosomes induced the release of cathepsins from the lysosomes into the cytosol and further triggered cell death. These results explain the underlying mechanism of RD-N induced LMP. It can be concluded that a more lysosomotropic derivative was synthesized by introduction of an amine group, which could have more potential applications in cancer therapy. - Highlights: • Riccardin D-N (RD-N) significantly downregulated LAMP1 expressions. • RD-N inhibited the acid sphingomyelinase activity. • RD-N induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization in vivo. • RD-N induced SM accumulation in the lysosomal membranes. • RD-N also induced the release of cathepsins from destabilized lysosomes.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

The field of human building interaction for convergent research and innovation for intelligent built environments

Human-Building Interaction (HBI) is a convergent field that represents the growing complexities of the dynamic interplay between human experience and intelligence within built environments. This paper provides core definitions, research dimensions, and an overall vision for the future of HBI as developed through consensus among 25 interdisciplinary experts in a series of facilitated workshops. Three primary areas contribute to and require attention in HBI research: humans (human experiences, performance, and well-being), buildings (building design and operations), and technologies (sensing, inference, and awareness). Three critical interdisciplinary research domains intersect these areas: control systems and decision making, trust and collaboration, and modeling and simulation. Finally, at the core, it is vital for HBI research to center on and support equity, privacy, and sustainability. Compelling research questions are posed for each primary area, research domain, and core principle. State-of-the-art methods used in HBI studies are discussed, and examples of original research are offered to illustrate opportunities for the advancement of HBI research.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2024

Machine learning-enabled computer vision for plant phenotyping: a primer on AI/ML and a case study on stomatal patterning

Abstract Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) can be used to automatically analyze large image datasets. One valuable application of this approach is estimation of plant trait data contained within images. Here we review 39 papers that describe the development and/or application of such models for estimation of stomatal traits from epidermal micrographs. In doing so, we hope to provide plant biologists with a foundational understanding of AI/ML and summarize the current capabilities and limitations of published tools. While most models show human-level performance for stomatal density (SD) quantification at superhuman speed, they are often likely to be limited in how broadly they can be applied across phenotypic diversity associated with genetic, environmental, or developmental variation. Other models can make predictions across greater phenotypic diversity and/or additional stomatal/epidermal traits, but require significantly greater time investment to generate ground-truth data. We discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by AI/ML-enabled computer vision analysis, and make recommendations for future work to advance accelerated stomatal phenotyping.

Plant Sciences↗

DOE OSTI2014

Effect of time-of-flight and point spread function modeling on detectability of myocardial defects in PET

Purpose: A study was designed to investigate the impact of time-of-flight (TOF) and point spread function (PSF) modeling on the detectability of myocardial defects. Methods: Clinical FDG-PET data were used to generate populations of defect-present and defect-absent images. Defects were incorporated at three contrast levels, and images were reconstructed by ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) iterative methods including ordinary Poisson, alone and with PSF, TOF, and PSF+TOF. Channelized Hotelling observer signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was the surrogate for human observer performance. Results: For three iterations, 12 subsets, and no postreconstruction smoothing, TOF improved overall defect detection SNR by 8.6% as compared to its non-TOF counterpart for all the defect contrasts. Due to the slow convergence of PSF reconstruction, PSF yielded 4.4% less SNR than non-PSF. For reconstruction parameters (iteration number and postreconstruction smoothing kernel size) optimizing observer SNR, PSF showed larger improvement for faint defects. The combination of TOF and PSF improved mean detection SNR as compared to non-TOF and non-PSF counterparts by 3.0% and 3.2%, respectively. Conclusions: For typical reconstruction protocol used in clinical practice, i.e., less than five iterations, TOF improved defect detectability. In contrast, PSF generally yielded less detectability. For large number of iterations, TOF+PSF yields the best observer performance.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

DOE OSTI2015

A computational model to generate simulated three-dimensional breast masses

Purpose: To develop algorithms for creating realistic three-dimensional (3D) simulated breast masses and embedding them within actual clinical mammograms. The proposed techniques yield high-resolution simulated breast masses having randomized shapes, with user-defined mass type, size, location, and shape characteristics. Methods: The authors describe a method of producing 3D digital simulations of breast masses and a technique for embedding these simulated masses within actual digitized mammograms. Simulated 3D breast masses were generated by using a modified stochastic Gaussian random sphere model to generate a central tumor mass, and an iterative fractal branching algorithm to add complex spicule structures. The simulated masses were embedded within actual digitized mammograms. The authors evaluated the realism of the resulting hybrid phantoms by generating corresponding left- and right-breast image pairs, consisting of one breast image containing a real mass, and the opposite breast image of the same patient containing a similar simulated mass. The authors then used computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) methods and expert radiologist readers to determine whether significant differences can be observed between the real and hybrid images. Results: The authors found no statistically significant difference between the CAD features obtained from the real and simulated images of masses with either spiculated or nonspiculated margins. Likewise, the authors found that expert human readers performed very poorly in discriminating their hybrid images from real mammograms. Conclusions: The authors’ proposed method permits the realistic simulation of 3D breast masses having user-defined characteristics, enabling the creation of a large set of hybrid breast images containing a well-characterized mass, embedded within real breast background. The computational nature of the model makes it suitable for detectability studies, evaluation of computer aided diagnosis algorithms, and teaching purposes.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2016

MO-DE-207A-01: Impact of Statistical Weights On Detection of Low-Contrast Details in Model-Based Iterative CT Reconstruction

Purpose: Penalized-weighted least-square reconstruction has become an important research topic in CT, to reduce dose without affecting image quality. Two components impact image quality in this reconstruction: the statistical weights and the use of an edge-preserving penalty term. We are interested in assessing the influence of statistical weights on their own, without the edge-preserving feature. Methods: The influence of statistical weights on image quality was assessed in terms of low-contrast detail detection using LROC analysis. The task amounted to detect and localize a 6-mm lesion with random contrast inside the FORBILD head phantom. A two-alternative forced-choice experiment was used with two human observers performing the task. Reconstructions without and with statistical weights were compared, both using the same quadratic penalty term. The beam energy was set to 30keV to amplify spatial differences in attenuation and thereby the role of statistical weights. A fan-beam data acquisition geometry was used. Results: Visual inspection of images clearly showed a difference in noise between the two reconstructions methods. As expected, the reconstruction without statistical weights exhibited noise streaks. The other reconstruction appeared better in this aspect, but presented other disturbing noise patterns and artifacts induced by the weights. The LROC analysis yield the following 95-percent confidence interval for the difference in reader-averaged AUC (reconstruction without weights minus reconstruction with weights): [0.0026,0.0599]. The mean AUC value was 0.9094. Conclusion: We have investigated the impact of statistical weights without the use of edge-preserving penalty in penalized weighted least-square reconstruction. A decrease rather than increase in image quality was observed when using statistical weights. Thus, the observers were better able to cope with the noise streaks than the noise patterns and artifacts induced by the statistical weights. It may be that different results would be obtained if the penalty term was used with a pixel-dependent weight. F Noo receives research support from Siemens Healthcare GmbH.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2013

Draft Function Allocation Framework and Preliminary Technical Basis for Advanced SMR Concepts of Operations

This report presents preliminary research results from the investigation into the development of new models and guidance for Concepts of Operations in advanced small modular reactor (AdvSMR) designs. AdvSMRs are nuclear power plants (NPPs), but unlike conventional large NPPs that are constructed on site, AdvSMRs systems and components will be fabricated in a factory and then assembled on site. AdvSMRs will also use advanced digital instrumentation and control systems, and make greater use of automation. Some AdvSMR designs also propose to be operated in a multi-unit configuration with a single central control room as a way to be more cost-competitive with existing NPPs. These differences from conventional NPPs not only pose technical and operational challenges, but they will undoubtedly also have regulatory compliance implications, especially with respect to staffing requirements and safety standards.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2016

Determination of an Ergonomically Sound Glovebox Glove Port Center Line

Determine an ergonomic glovebox glove port center line location which will be used for standardization in new designs, thus allowing for predictable human work performance, reduced worker exposure to radiation and musculoskeletal injury risks, and improved worker comfort, efficiency, health, and safety.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2016

Learning Team Review 2016-0002 Parking Lot Event 2016

The purpose of a Learning Team is to transfer and communicate the information into operational feedback and improvement. We want to pay attention to the small things that go wrong because they are often early warning signals and may provide insight into the health of the whole system. The incident involved the collision of a van with a forklift having raised tines in rainy, overcast weather.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Physiological Characterization of Language Comprehension

In this project, our goal was to develop methods that would allow us to make accurate predictions about individual differences in human cognition. Understanding such differences is important for maximizing human and human-system performance. There is a large body of research on individual differences in the academic literature. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to connect this literature to applied problems, where we must predict how specific people will perform or process information. In an effort to bridge this gap, we set out to answer the question: can we train a model to make predictions about which people understand which languages? We chose language processing as our domain of interest because of the well- characterized differences in neural processing that occur when people are presented with linguistic stimuli that they do or do not understand. Although our original plan to conduct several electroencephalography (EEG) studies was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to collect data from one EEG study and a series of behavioral experiments in which data were collected online. The results of this project indicate that machine learning tools can make reasonably accurate predictions about an individual?s proficiency in different languages, using EEG data or behavioral data alone.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Introduction to Special Section: Machine Learning for Image-based Geologic Interpretation

Image-based geological interpretation has been a labor-intensive and time-consuming process because it requires well-trained geoscientists to identify geological structures, features, and textures from various types of images. These images include scanning electron microscopic images, optical microscopic images, optical photos, resistivity images, seismic volumes, remote-sensing images, etc. With fast-evolving machine learning (ML) technology and computing power in recent decades, computers can achieve nearhuman-level to super-human-level performance with scalable high efficiency in the computer vision field. These technological revolutions facilitated image-based geological interpretation in petroleum exploration and production. For example, a fault picking method applied to 3-D seismic volume data using deep learning can achieve superior performance in comparison to conventional auto-picking methods. In addition, under the new normal of low oil prices, the petroleum industry seeks cost-effective strategies such as automating traditionally labor-intensive processes. Nevertheless, the potential of applying ML to geological image interpretation is still facing a few key challenges including data scarcity, data distribution, poor data and/or label quality, data leakage, learning algorithms, model architecture, training methodologies, testing and evaluation metrics, hyper-parameters optimization, model drift, production deployment, and the like.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗