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At least 1,153 records · Page 64

Pathologic Validation of a Model Based on Diffusion-Weighted Imaging and Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Tumor Delineation in the Prostate Peripheral Zone

Purpose: For focal boost strategies in the prostate, the robustness of magnetic resonance imaging-based tumor delineations needs to be improved. To this end we developed a statistical model that predicts tumor presence on a voxel level (2.5 Multiplication-Sign 2.5 Multiplication-Sign 2.5 mm3) inside the peripheral zone. Furthermore, we show how this model can be used to derive a valuable input for radiotherapy treatment planning. Methods and Materials: The model was created on 87 radiotherapy patients. For the validation of the voxelwise performance of the model, an independent group of 12 prostatectomy patients was used. After model validation, the model was stratified to create three different risk levels for tumor presence: gross tumor volume (GTV), high-risk clinical target volume (CTV), and low-risk CTV. Results: The model gave an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.70 for the prediction of tumor presence in the prostatectomy group. When the registration error between magnetic resonance images and pathologic delineation was taken into account, the area under the curve further improved to 0.89. We propose that model outcome values with a high positive predictive value can be used to define the GTV. Model outcome values with a high negative predictive value can be used to define low-risk CTV regions. The intermediate outcome values can be used to define a high-risk CTV. Conclusions: We developed a logistic regression with a high diagnostic performance for voxelwise prediction of tumor presence. The model output can be used to define different risk levels for tumor presence, which in turn could serve as an input for dose planning. In this way the robustness of tumor delineations for focal boost therapy can be greatly improved.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Comparison of temperature adaptive calibration methods for laser induced fluorescence based fuel-in-oil instrument

Fuel dilution of engine oil (or fuel-in-oil, FiO) is an important issue as multiple and late-cycle fuel injection, integral to many combustion efficiency and emissions improvements (e.g., downsized boosted gasoline engines and catalyst thermal management) increases FiO rate. In addition to causing general wear and corrosion in engine due to decreased oil viscosity and pH buffering, FiO is also believed to cause destructive low speed pre-ignition (or super knock) in boosted SI engines. To understand the effects of engine operating conditions on the FiO rate, an optical diagnostic capable of measuring transient FiO on minute timescales was recently developed and demonstrated on a modified GM Ecotech engine system (Neupane et al., Applied Spectroscopy 2021). The measurement is based on adding a dye to the fuel and monitoring for its presence in oil via laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The measured LIF signal is related to FiO concentration via pre-determined calibration factors using a multivariate classical least square (CLS) method.Since fluorescence quantum yield is a function of temperature, measured LIF intensity not only depends on FiO concentration but also oil temperature. To expand the applicability of the FiO diagnostic to transient oil-temperature conditions (e.g., cold start in practical engines), this study develops a method to account for oil-temperature variations. The effect of oil temperature (20°C - 95°C) on the LIF spectra of eight FiO samples ranging from ~0.8-15% was investigated. LIF intensities of the FiO samples decreased linearly with increasing temperature; the reductions being more significant at dye peaks. We develop a new calibration model (T-adaptive CLS) incorporating the temperature (T) effects on LIF intensity that enables simultaneous calculation of FiO and oil temperature. The improved FiO diagnostic with T-adaptive calibration is more robust, and applicable to varying oil-temperature conditions. For example, when strategies such as multiple/late fuel injections are applied to overcome cold-start instability due to use of low vaporization bio-based fuels such as ethanol, FiO rate is expected to be very high; the improved T-adaptive FiO diagnostic is hence relevant for engine- and fuel-system calibration and optimization. The diagnostic could also provide validation data for flow-field and spray interaction CFD models, further broadening the diagnostic’s utility for advancing engine technology and efficiency.

Neupane, Sneha↗

Measurements and modeling of contemporary radiocarbon in the stratosphere

Measurements of the 14 C content of carbon dioxide in air collected by high-altitude balloon flights in 2003–2005 reveal the contemporary radiocarbon distribution in the northern midlatitude stratosphere, four decades after the Limited Test Ban Treaty restricted atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. Comparisons with results from a 3-D chemical-transport model show that the 14 CO 2 distribution is now largely governed by the altitude/latitude dependence of the natural cosmogenic production rate, stratospheric transport, and propagation into the stratosphere of the decreasing radiocarbon trend in tropospheric CO 2 due to fossil fuel combustion. From the observed correlation of 14 CO 2 with N 2 O mixing ratios, an annual global mean net flux of 14 CO 2 to the troposphere of 1.6(±0.4) × 10 17 ‰ mol CO 2 yr –1 and a global production rate of 2.2(±0.6) × 10 26 atoms 14 C yr –1 are empirically derived. Furthermore, the results also indicate that contemporary 14 CO 2 observations provide highly sensitive diagnostics for stratospheric transport and residence times in models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Demonstration of x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy as a sensitive temperature diagnostic for high-energy-density physics experiments

We present the use of x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XFS) to a sensitive temperature diagnostic in shocked foams at temperatures of 30–75 eV. Cobalt-doped foams were shock compressed using a planar drive at the OMEGA laser facility and photo-pumped with a Zn He⁢𝛼 x-ray source. Analysis of the resulting cobalt 𝐾⁢𝛽 x-ray fluorescence spectra using collisional radiative codes allows the temperature to be determined in the shocked foams. Furthermore, this method provides a sensitive and robust technique to determine temperatures in high-energy-density physics experiments in the tens of electronvolts temperature range. In these experiments, we find that radiation hydrodynamic simulations predict a lower temperature in the shocked foams compared to analysis of the XFS data using collisional radiative models. Although additional experiments with an independent temperature diagnostic to absolutely calibrate XFS spectra for these conditions will be required to resolve this discrepancy, these results demonstrate the excellent temperature sensitivity of XFS spectra for high-energy-density physics experiments.

Atomic spectra↗

Magnetohydrodynamic models of coronal transients in the meridional plane. II - Simulation of the coronal transient of 1973 August 21

A two-dimensional planar MHD model of solar atmospheric transient events is used to simulate the flare-associated events of August 21, 1973. This event, observed in H-alpha, He II 304 A, soft X-ray, and coronal white light, provided sufficient information (especially in the latter diagnostic) for an assessment to be made of the model's ability to simulate major features of an actual solar event. It was found that a thermodynamic input pulse based on data provided by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center-Aerospace Corporation X-ray telescope (S-056) on Skylab was sufficient to produce the global geometry, shock and contact-surface velocities, excess mass contours, and energy budget which were, for the most part, observed by the High Altitude Observatory white-light coronagraph (S-052) on Skylab in the form of a forerunner and coronal transient.

Dryer, M.↗

Chemistry and transport in a multi-dimensional model

The focus of our research program is the achievement of a quantitative understanding of the spatial distribution and temporal variation of chemical species in the terrestrial middle atmosphere, with emphasis on ozone. Although not directed at assessments of anthropogenic impacts, our activities contribute to a refinement of model descriptions of chemical and dynamical processes that are needed for assessment tasks. A unique feature of our research effort is a close interaction with the chemical kinetics group at JPL and the field measurement groups at JPL. The principal tools used in our investigations are l-D and 2-D photochemical models. The advective component of the meridional transport in these models is approximated by the diabatic circulation, which is derived diagnostically from the net radiative heating rates. We are developing accurate radiative transfer algorithms to find the net heating rates and the diabatic circulation for use in the 2-D model.

Yung, Yuk L.↗

Assimilation of SMOS Brightness Temperatures or Soil Moisture Retrievals into a Land Surface Model

Three different data products from the Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission are assimilated separately into the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, version 5 (GEOS-5) to improve estimates of surface and root-zone soil moisture. The first product consists of multi-angle, dual-polarization brightness temperature (Tb) observations at the bottom of the atmosphere extracted from Level 1 data. The second product is a derived SMOS Tb product that mimics the data at a 40 degree incidence angle from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. The third product is the operational SMOS Level 2 surface soil moisture (SM) retrieval product. The assimilation system uses a spatially distributed ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) with seasonally varying climatological bias mitigation for Tb assimilation, whereas a time-invariant cumulative density function matching is used for SM retrieval assimilation. All assimilation experiments improve the soil moisture estimates compared to model-only simulations in terms of unbiased root-mean-square differences and anomaly correlations during the period from 1 July 2010 to 1 May 2015 and for 187 sites across the US. Especially in areas where the satellite data are most sensitive to surface soil moisture, large skill improvements (e.g., an increase in the anomaly correlation by 0.1) are found in the surface soil moisture. The domain-average surface and root-zone skill metrics are similar among the various assimilation experiments, but large differences in skill are found locally. The observation-minus-forecast residuals and analysis increments reveal large differences in how the observations add value in the Tb and SM retrieval assimilation systems. The distinct patterns of these diagnostics in the two systems reflect observation and model errors patterns that are not well captured in the assigned EnKF error parameters. Consequently, a localized optimization of the EnKF error parameters is needed to further improve Tb or SM retrieval assimilation.

SMOS↗

The Impact of the Evolving Satellite Data Record on Reanalysis Water and Energy Fluxes During the Past 30 Years

Retrospective analyses (reanalyses) use a fixed assimilation model to take diverse observations and synthesize consistent, time-dependent fields of state variables and fluxes (e.g. temperature, moisture, momentum, turbulent and radiative fluxes). Because they offer data sets of these quantities at regular space / time intervals, atmospheric reanalyses have become a mainstay of the climate community for diagnostic purposes and for driving offline ocean and land models. Of course, one weakness of these data sets is the susceptibility of the flux products to uncertainties because of shortcomings in parameterized model physics. Another issue, perhaps less appreciated, is the fact that the discreet changes in the evolving observational system, particularly from satellite sensors, may also introduce artifacts in the time series of quantities. In this paper we examine the ability of the NASA MERRA (Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications) and other recent reanalyses to determine variability in the climate system over the satellite record (~ the last 30 years). In particular we highlight the effect on reanalyses of discontinuities at the junctures of the onset of passive microwave imaging (Special Sensor Microwave Imager) in late 1987 as well as improved sounding and imaging with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit, AMSU-A, in 1998. We examine these data sets from two perspectives. The first is the ability to capture modes of variability that have coherent spatial structure (e.g. ENSO events and near-decadal coupling to SST changes) and how these modes are contained within trends in near global averages of key quantities. Secondly, we consider diagnostics that measure the consistency in energetic scaling in the hydrologic cycle, particularly the fractional changes in column-integrated water vapor versus precipitation as they are coupled to radiative flux constraints. These results will be discussed in the context of implications for science objectives and priorities of the NASA Energy and Water Cycle Study, NEWS.

Robertson, Franklin R.↗

Computational Simulations of the NASA Langley HyMETS Arc-Jet Facility

The Hypersonic Materials Environmental Test System (HyMETS) arc-jet facility located at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is primarily used for the research, development, and evaluation of high-temperature thermal protection systems for hypersonic vehicles and reentry systems. In order to improve testing capabilities and knowledge of the test article environment, an effort is underway to computationally simulate the flow-field using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A detailed three-dimensional model of the arc-jet nozzle and free-jet portion of the flow-field has been developed and compared to calibration probe Pitot pressure and stagnation-point heat flux for three test conditions at low, medium, and high enthalpy. The CFD model takes into account uniform pressure and non-uniform enthalpy profiles at the nozzle inlet as well as catalytic recombination efficiency effects at the probe surface. Comparing the CFD results and test data indicates an effectively fully-catalytic copper surface on the heat flux probe of about 10% efficiency and a 2-3 kpa pressure drop from the arc heater bore, where the pressure is measured, to the plenum section, prior to the nozzle. With these assumptions, the CFD results are well within the uncertainty of the stagnation pressure and heat flux measurements. The conditions at the nozzle exit were also compared with radial and axial velocimetry. This simulation capability will be used to evaluate various three-dimensional models that are tested in the HyMETS facility. An end-to-end aerothermal and thermal simulation of HyMETS test articles will follow this work to provide a better understanding of the test environment, test results, and to aid in test planning. Additional flow-field diagnostic measurements will also be considered to improve the modeling capability.

Brune, A. J.↗

Enhanced Self Tuning On-Board Real-Time Model (eSTORM) for Aircraft Engine Performance Health Tracking

A key technological concept for producing reliable engine diagnostics and prognostics exploits the benefits of fusing sensor data, information, and/or processing algorithms. This report describes the development of a hybrid engine model for a propulsion gas turbine engine, which is the result of fusing two diverse modeling methodologies: a physics-based model approach and an empirical model approach. The report describes the process and methods involved in deriving and implementing a hybrid model configuration for a commercial turbofan engine. Among the intended uses for such a model is to enable real-time, on-board tracking of engine module performance changes and engine parameter synthesis for fault detection and accommodation.

Volponi, Al↗

Spectrum of IC 2149 and its central star

Although the asymmetric optical image of IC 2149 does not fall into any standard morphologies (Balick et al. 1993), the overall shape and its radio frequency image show a bilateral symmetry. The central star of spectral class O7.5 is a remarkable object with a rich spectrum showing many Fe ions. We discuss this spectrum in detail. The nebula has been studied utilizing our theoretical photoionization models. Detailed analyses of spectral data are done in both the UV region (lambda less than 3000 A; IUE) and the optical region (3500 A approximately 10500 A; the Hamilton Echelle at Lick Observatory). The plasma diagnostics suggest an electron temperature of 9000 approximately 10,000 K and an electron density near 5600 cm. Our model calculations were carried out with due regard to the above plasma diagnostics. The observations can be interpreted by a model of IC 2149 which consists of two components (an equatorial ring and a polar cone), but the total emission is dominated by the relatively denser equatorial shell. Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen appear to be depleted by a factor of about 3; ratios of other elements are also lower than in the Sun.

Feibelman, Walter A.↗

Models and Measurements Intercomparison 2

Models and Measurement Intercomparison II (MM II) summarizes the intercomparison of results from model simulations and observations of stratospheric species. Representatives from twenty-three modeling groups using twenty-nine models participated in these MM II exercises between 1996 and 1999. Twelve of the models were two- dimensional zonal-mean models while seventeen were three-dimensional models. This was an international effort as seven were from outside the United States. Six transport experiments and five chemistry experiments were designed for various models. Models participating in the transport experiments performed simulations of chemically inert tracers providing diagnostics for transport. The chemistry experiments involved simulating the distributions of chemically active trace cases including ozone. The model run conditions for dynamics and chemistry were prescribed in order to minimize the factors that caused differences in the models. The report includes a critical review of the results by the participants and a discussion of the causes of differences between modeled and measured results as well as between results from different models, A sizable effort went into preparation of the database of the observations. This included a new climatology for ozone. The report should help in evaluating the results from various predictive models for assessing humankind perturbations of the stratosphere.

Park, Jae H.↗

Method to Regioselectively Iodine-Tag Free-Phenolic Aromatic End-Groups in Lignin for 1 H– 13 C-HSQC NMR Analysis

Phenolic end-groups on lignin molecules are vital sites for continued lignification, their influence over lignin molecular properties, their ability to enhance lignin degradation, and their potential for derivatization to produce lignin materials. Here we use iodination to regioselectively tag, and HSQC-NMR to monitor, guaiacyl phenolic aromatic end-groups in lignins. Using dimeric lignin models, iodination at the 5-position of the phenolic ring was shown to be clean, and almost quantitative. Additionally, the 6-position C/H correlation peak shifted downfield in both carbon and proton dimensions in HSQC spectra. As phenolic aromatic rings could be selectively iodinated, and as their C6/H6 aromatic signals appear in a clear region of HSQC NMR spectra (different from the original position), we would have a new method for tagging and analyzing such phenolic aromatic rings in lignins if the method could be applied to the polymer. The new tagging approach was therefore applied to a synthetic guaiacyl lignin polymer (DHP) and a milled wood lignin (MWL) isolated from Japanese cedar ( Cryptomeria japonica ). The derivatization proceeded directly in the NMR tube, without needing isolation or purification, from which HSQC-NMR revealed that the diagnostic C6/H6 correlations matched one from the dimeric model compound. This phenolic unit tagging method adds a useful method to the lignin structural analysis toolbox, helping to gain a better understanding of lignin’s phenolic end-units.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Discriminating dark energy models by using the Statefinder hierarchy and the growth rate of matter perturbations

We apply the Statefinder hierarchy and the growth rate of matter perturbations to discriminate modified Chaplygin gas (MCG), generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG), superfluid Chaplygin gas (SCG), purely kinetic k-essence (PKK), and ΛCDM model. We plot the evolutional trajectories of these models in the Statefinder plane and in the composite diagnostic plane. We find that GCG, MCG, SCG, PKK, and ΛCDM can be distinguished well from each other at the present epoch by using the composite diagnostic (ε(z), S{sup (1)}{sub 5}). Using other combinations, such as (S{sup (1)}{sub 3}, S{sup (1)}{sub 4}), (S{sup (1)}{sub 3}, S{sub 5}), (ε(z), S{sup (1)}{sub 3}), and (ε(z), S{sub 4}), some of these five dark energy models cannot be distinguished.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A temperature profile diagnostic for radiation waves on OMEGA-60

Predicting and matching radiation wave propagation with computational models has proven difficult. Information provided by experiments studying radiation flow has been limited when only radiation breakout is measured. We have developed the COAX (co-axial) diagnostic platform to provide spatial temperature profiles of a radiation wave through low density foams as a more detailed constraint for simulations. COAX uses a standard, laser-driven OMEGA-60 halfraum to drive radiation down a titanium-laden silicon oxide foam. Point-projection X-ray absorption spectroscopy perpendicular to the radiation flow measures the spatial profile of titanium ionization. The spectroscopic measurement utilizes a broadband capsule backlighter. Imaging and streak spectroscopy are used to characterize the size and spectrum of this source. Radiography provides an additional constraint by capturing the developing shock as the radiation flow becomes subsonic. The DANTE diagnostic is used to measure the halfraum temperature. Here, we provide a spectroscopic analysis of COAX data to determine temperature, and we describe experimental sources of uncertainty. The temperature is obtained by comparison to multi-temperature synthetic spectra post-processed from radiation-hydrodynamics simulations. Quantitative comparison between data and synthetic spectra generated from temperature profiles at relevant simulation times enable determination of a peak temperature of 114 ± 8 eV at 265 ± 22.4 μm from the halfraum. This represents an improvement over the temperature uncertainties of previous radiation flow experiments. Further refinements to the spectroscopic analysis could achieve ±4 eV. The combination between space-resolved spectroscopy and radiography enables us to determine the distance from the halfraum of both the radiation front and the shock front at the time of measurement. For the example shown in this paper the radiation front position is 600–630 μm at 3.43 ± 0.16 ns and the shock front position is 633 μm at 3.3 ± 0.24 ns.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Understanding Water and Thermal Management in Polymer-Electrolyte Fuel Cells

The Parties developed understanding of water and thermal management in fuel cells using a detailed 1-D model for the through-plane direction, a gas-channel relation model for the flow-channel direction, and a method to account for the rib/channel direction. The model simulates and predicts the water transport phenomena occurring within the fuel-cell sandwich, including the complex interplay among the various phases. This model enables optimum designs, operating conditions, and material properties for use in commercial PEFCs for automotive applications. In addition, novel advanced diagnostic methods and submodels were developed to determine the critical properties and model parameters and explore specific phenomena (e.g., ionomer thin films).

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DATA-DRIVEN RADIATIVE HYDRODYNAMIC MODELING OF THE 2014 MARCH 29 X1.0 SOLAR FLARE

Spectroscopic observations of solar flares provide critical diagnostics of the physical conditions in the flaring atmosphere. Some key features in observed spectra have not yet been accounted for in existing flare models. Here we report a data-driven simulation of the well-observed X1.0 flare on 2014 March 29 that can reconcile some well-known spectral discrepancies. We analyzed spectra of the flaring region from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph ( IRIS ) in Mg ii h and k, the Interferometric BIdimensional Spectropolarimeter at the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST/IBIS) in H α 6563 Å and Ca ii 8542 Å, and the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscope Imager ( RHESSI ) in hard X-rays. We constructed a multithreaded flare loop model and used the electron flux inferred from RHESSI data as the input to the radiative hydrodynamic code RADYN to simulate the atmospheric response. We then synthesized various chromospheric emission lines and compared them with the IRIS and IBIS observations. In general, the synthetic intensities agree with the observed ones, especially near the northern footpoint of the flare. The simulated Mg ii line profile has narrower wings than the observed one. This discrepancy can be reduced by using a higher microturbulent velocity (27 km s{sup −1}) in a narrow chromospheric layer. In addition, we found that an increase of electron density in the upper chromosphere within a narrow height range of ≈800 km below the transition region can turn the simulated Mg ii line core into emission and thus reproduce the single peaked profile, which is a common feature in all IRIS flares.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗