Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Personality”

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 1,369 records · Page 76

Anomaly Detection in Multiple Scale for Insider Threat Analysis

We propose a method to quantify malicious insider activity with statistical and graph-based analysis aided with semantic scoring rules. Different types of personal activities or interactions are monitored to form a set of directed weighted graphs. The semantic scoring rules assign higher scores for the events more significant and suspicious. Then we build personal activity profiles in the form of score tables. Profiles are created in multiple scales where the low level profiles are aggregated toward more stable higherlevel profiles within the subject or object hierarchy. Further, the profiles are created in different time scales such as day, week, or month. During operation, the insider s current activity profile is compared to the historical profiles to produce an anomaly score. For each subject with a high anomaly score, a subgraph of connected subjects is extracted to look for any related score movement. Finally the subjects are ranked by their anomaly scores to help the analysts focus on high-scored subjects. The threat-ranking component supports the interaction between the User Dashboard and the Insider Threat Knowledge Base portal. The portal includes a repository for historical results, i.e., adjudicated cases containing all of the information first presented to the user and including any additional insights to help the analysts. In this paper we show the framework of the proposed system and the operational algorithms.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Characterizing Walk Trips in communities by Using Data from 2009 National Household Travel Survey, American Community Survey, and Other Sources

Non-motorized travel (i.e. walking and bicycling) are of increasing interest to the transportation profession, especially in context with energy consumption, reducing vehicular congestion, urban development patterns, and promotion of healthier life styles. This research project aimed to identify factors impacting the amount of travel for both walk and bike trips at the Census block group or tract level, using several public and private data sources. The key survey of travel behavior is the 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) which had over 87,000 walk trips for persons 16 and over, and over 6000 bike trips for persons 16 and over. The NHTS, in conjunction with the Census Bureau s American Community Survey, street density measures using Census Bureau TIGER, WalkScore , Nielsen Claritas employment estimates, and several other sources were used for this study. Stepwise Logistic Regression modeling techniques as well as Discriminant Analysis were applied using the integrated data set. While the models performed reasonably well for walk trips, travel by bike was abandoned due to sparseness of data. This paper discusses data sources utilized and modeling processes conducted under this study. It also presents a summary of findings and addresses data challenges and lesson-learned from this research effort.

NHTS↗

Understanding Social Media’s Take on Climate Change through Large-Scale Analysis of Targeted Opinions and Emotions

Social media is a powerful data source for researchers interested in understanding population-level behavior, having been successfully leveraged in a number of different application areas including flu and illness prediction models, detecting civil unrest, and measuring public sentiment towards a given topic of interest within the public discourse. In this work, we present a study of a large collection of Twitter data centered on the social conversation around global cli- mate change during the UN Climate Change Conference, held in Paris, France during December 2015 (COP21). We first developed a mechanism for distinguishing between personal and non-personal accounts. We then analyzed demographics and emotion and opinion dynamics over time and location in order to understand how the different user types converse around meaningful topics on social media. This methodology offers an in-depth insight into the behavior and opinions around a topic where multiple distinct narratives are present, and lays the groundwork for future work in studying narratives in social media.

social media research↗

Secure Sensor Platform Software Utilities v.2.0

The SSP Software package allows a user to connect to a CoCIM via a Personality Programmer and: Reset the firmware of the CoCIM using the SSP Personality Programmer. The changes that can be made include things such as: Recovering from a tamper event; Resetting the initialization date and message counter; Change configuration values of the CoCIM using the SSP Seal Configuration or the RMSA Configuration File Editor programs. Configuration values that can be set will depend on what version of the CoCIM firmware is being used, but can include: The IP address of the translator with which this CoCIM (or RMSA) communicates; The number of attempts the CoCIM (or RMSA) will attempt to contact the translator; The primary CoCIM (or RMSA) channel; The secondary CoCIM (or RMSA) channel; Locations of files containing CoCIM (or RMSA) encryption keys SSPSerialDataDumper downloads a CoCIM’s stored messages to a computer connected to the CoCIM via a serial cable; SSPLogAnalyzer decrypts and authenticates messages that have been downloaded using the Serial Data Dumper program and then displays the messages values.

Hymel, Ross↗

Methods and compositions for protection of cells and tissues from computed tomography radiation

Described are methods for preventing or inhibiting genomic instability and in cells affected by diagnostic radiology procedures employing ionizing radiation. Embodiments include methods of preventing or inhibiting genomic instability and in cells affected by computed tomography (CT) radiation. Subjects receiving ionizing radiation may be those persons suspected of having cancer, or cancer patients having received or currently receiving cancer therapy, and or those patients having received previous ionizing radiation, including those who are approaching or have exceeded the recommended total radiation dose for a person.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Building Cyber-Physical Security

Cyber-attacks are becoming more common and brazen. You may already have been a victim of one of these attacks and only find out when your credit card company calls to asks about suspicious activity. Many of the attacks that are in the news are focused on obtaining “personal identifiable information” such as credit card numbers, bank accounts and social security numbers. But there is a whole other target for these cyber criminals, and that is the area of cyber-physical systems including industrial control systems, infrastructure controls such as the electrical grid, and even controls for building systems. While not as well publicized as financial and personal information attacks are both a very real risk and a clear and present danger.

Cyber Physical Security↗

Measuring Mobility Potential: A Novel Metric to Quantify Mobility Energy Productivity (MEP) of Transportation Systems

For nearly a century, the automobile has been the primary mode of personal transportation in American life. This remains true today as millions of people rely heavily on cars to connect suburbs with cities or to travel long distances - often out of routine or convenience. However, advances in technology are fueling an era of transportation transformation, with the potential to transform a system that has remained virtually unchanged for decades. The challenges of interconnecting our cities and creating a cross-continental transportation system for military purposes spawned the interstate highway system, generating the age of the automobile. In this century, congestion and mobility challenges of rising urban populations are spawning ever-evolving mobility and communications technologies to connect people to goods, services, and employment within a metropolitan and national context - all of which define a high quality of life. Aspiring smart cities are wrestling with questions such as: How does mobility impact a person's quality of life? Would people make different travel choices if they were presented with better information about their mobility options? Would businesses make different location decisions if they could assess the quality of mobility in that area? The ability to quantify the quality of mobility at a given location is the first step toward answering these questions. In response, an interdisciplinary team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed the Mobility-Energy Productivity (MEP) metric. The MEP metric provides an avenue to not only measure the quality of mobility at a specific location in its current configuration, but also to test how various technological advances (e.g., connected and automated vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles, shared mobility) and infrastructure investments (e.g., building an additional highway lane, constructing a new shopping mall, implementing a transit-oriented development) impact the mobility of that location over time.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Understanding Occupancy Patterns in a Commercial Space

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is a prime source of energy consumption in the US. In 2006, approximately 35% of energy in the US was used for HVAC [1]. Usually building operators use a static schedule for controlling HVAC systems without having a deeper understanding of how many people use the building at different times of the day. In addition, HVAC systems operate by assuming maximum occupancy in each room, which leads to a significant energy waste, e.g., an HVAC system providing ventilation for 30 people when there are only 10 people in a room. Considering how many people use different rooms at different times of the day is very crucial for achieving building energy efficiency and providing occupant comfort. There have been several attempts to collect long term occupancy patterns from office buildings, e.g., Mitsubishi’s Electronic Research Lab (MERL) dataset [14] and Colorado School of Mines (CSMBB) dataset. However, PIR motion detectors are used in these projects for sensing occupancy and hence these datasets only reflect whether a room is occupied or not without revealing the actual person count. Similar datasets are also collected from households. Only a few datasets from commercial spaces capture actual person count, and even in these cases, the data collection period was very limited, e.g., in [3] only 5 days of occupancy data is collected as ground truth. We are the first to collect long term (9 months) occupancy data (people count) from an 11,000 square foot commercial office (second floor of Bosch Research and Technology Center Pittsburgh). In this paper, we outline some statistical results from our empirical study and explore their implications for saving energy.

42 ENGINEERING↗

A Convergence of Public-Private Benefits in Denver: Surveys and Analyses to Inform Urban Mobility-, Energy-, Infrastructure- and Behavior-Related Innovation: Preprint

Cities, public transit agencies, and new private ride hailing services seek to understand emerging traveler dynamics, the shifting demographics of urban travelers,and new energy-efficient mobility opportunities. This includes exploring how new infrastructure investments, public and private mobility services, and smart-phone mobility apps are reshaping behaviors, demands (e.g. mobility-on-demand services), travel experiences and energy-efficient urban travel preferences. Currently, cities and metropolitan regions are providing and experimenting with many new mobility options, technologies, and personalized information services at the intersection of urban mobility, energy, and infrastructure systems (e.g., new commuter rail). To date, technology alone has not been able to crack the nut of 'creating faster trip times, less congestion, safer streets, and cleaner air for its citizens through fewer cars on the road'. This paper focuses on this gap by offering new concepts and potential for integrated approaches. Accommodating more vehicles miles traveled in cities, without increases in person miles traveled (PMT), could be costly, generating: 1) tremendous demands for new infrastructure, land, road space, materials, and energy; 2) higher traffic fatality risks; and 3) worsening air quality. Therefore, this study focuses on reducing single occupancy vehicle use by enhancing integrated mobility, helping transit and ridehailing increase occupancy in ways that also reduce energy use, and improve quality of life for urban travelers and communities. This study focuses on a survey of urban travelers in Denver, as a representative case study for metropolitan regions experiencing rapid growth, ageing populations, increased urban sprawl, traffic-related delays, and inefficient energy use per PMT.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Systems and methods for detection of occupancy using radio waves

Systems and methods are disclosed for detecting a presence of a person in an area of coverage using radar. A transmitter can transmit radio signals in a first direction in an area of coverage defined by a wall and a floor. A receiver can receive the transmitted radio signals reflected back from the area of coverage. A signal conditioning circuit can process the received radio signals. One or more hardware processors can be programmed to analyze the processed radio signals and detect a presence of a person in the area of coverage based on the analysis. The analysis of the processed signals can be performed in both time and frequency domain. In addition to radar, an input from an infrared sensor can also be used in conjunction with radar based detection.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Urban Traveler - Changes and Impacts: Mobility Energy Productivity (MEP) Metric

For nearly a century, the automobile has been the primary mode of personal transportation in American life. This remains true today as millions of people rely heavily on cars to connect suburbs with cities or to travel long distances—often out of routine or convenience. However, advances in technology are fueling an era of transportation transformation, with the potential to transform a system that has remained virtually unchanged for decades. Aspiring smart cities are wrestling with questions such as: How does mobility impact a person’s quality of life? Would people make different travel choices if they were presented with better information about their mobility options? The ability to quantify the mobility potential of a given location is the first step toward answering these questions. In response, an interdisciplinary team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed the Mobility-Energy Productivity (MEP) metric. The MEP metric provides an avenue to not only measure the mobility potential at a specific location in its current configuration, but also to test how various technological advances (e.g., connected and automated vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles, shared mobility) and infrastructure investments (e.g., building an additional highway lane, constructing a new shopping mall, implementing a transit-oriented development) impact the mobility of that location over time. This presentation details the FY19 progress on the MEP metric project funded through DOE VTO's SMART Mobility Consortium.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Methods and compositions for protection of cells and tissues from computed tomography radiation

Described are methods for preventing or inhibiting genomic instability and in cells affected by diagnostic radiology procedures employing ionizing radiation. Embodiments include methods of preventing or inhibiting genomic instability and in cells affected by computed tomography (CT) radiation. Subjects receiving ionizing radiation may be those persons suspected of having cancer, or cancer patients having received or currently receiving cancer therapy, and or those patients having received previous ionizing radiation, including those who are approaching or have exceeded the recommended total radiation dose for a person.

Grdina, David J.↗

A Privacy-Preserving Strategy for the Trust Layer of the Energy Grid of Things Distributed Energy Resource Management System

Emergent from the shadows of the traditional grid flaws, the Smart Grid (SG) idea was born and led by government mandates toward cleaner energy production. The SG represents the next generation of electricity distribution systems that subsume recent technological innovations. It uses digital communication between its components and entities to attain more automation, self-sufficiency, and reliability. Unfortunately, this relatively new concept is not flawless; the intrinsic reliance on increased digital communication spreads open attack paths for adversaries. Therefore, finding solutions that address information exchange vulnerabilities has become imperative. The Energy Grid of Things (EGoT) is Portland State University’s (PSU’s) implementation of a Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS). The EGoT DERMS requires access to customers’ information to achieve operational objectives. The system’s access to customers’ information needs to be restricted such that it does not violate customers’ privacy. Applying privacy protection models such as K-anonymity to EGoT DERMS sub-components safeguards that privacy. This thesis work proposes a strategy to ensure communication in the EGoT DERMS is privacy-preserving and secure. Specifically, it provides an approach to applying the Mondrian Algorithm to ensure data within the system excludes Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and provides means for securing the communication according to industry standards (IEEE 2030.5). Results suggest that the generalization hierarchy derived for the EGoT DERMS exhibits an Identical Generalization Hierarchy structure. Guarantees of sameness manifested in the test feeder topology would not hold in real-world scenarios. This thesis work proposes a strategy to ensure communication in the EGoT DERMS is privacy-preserving and secure. Specifically, it provides an approach to applying the Mondrian Algorithm to ensure data within the system excludes Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and provides means for securing the communication according to industry standards (IEEE 2030.5). Results suggest that the generalization hierarchy derived for the EGoT DERMS exhibits an Identical Generalization Hierarchy structure. Guarantees of sameness manifested in the test feeder topology would not hold in real-world scenarios.

Alsiad, Mohammed↗

Status of the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) has continued its work generating evaluations of new and historical criticality benchmark experiments since the last update to the nuclear criticality safety community at the 11th International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety (ICNC 2019) in Paris, France. Three additional versions of the ICSBEP Handbook have been published since that update, and the Technical Review Group (TRG) held two in-person (in 2019 and 2023) and three virtual (2020 and 2021) meetings to review and approve additional benchmarks. The 2019 edition of the ICSBEP Handbook included five new evaluations with 79 new configurations, the 2020 version of the ICSBEP Handbook contained five new evaluations totaling 76 new configurations, and the 2021 version of the ICSBEP handbook contained five new evaluations with a total of 57 different configurations. The ICSBEP TRG met in October and December 2021, to review benchmarks for potential inclusion in the 2022 ICSBEP Handbook, with seven evaluations receiving provisional approval pending resolution of review group comments. Final comment resolution for some of these evaluations is currently underway and handbook publication should be completed soon. The ICSBEP TRG met again in person in April 2023 to review benchmarks for the 2023 ICSBEP Handbook, provisionally approving 7 new evaluations. The ICSBEP continues to deliver high-quality, peer reviewed evaluations of experiments relevant to the nuclear criticality safety community.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Critical Dose of Internal Organs Internal Exposure - 13471

The health threat posed by radionuclides has stimulated increased efforts to developed characterization on the biological behavior of radionuclides in humans in all ages. In an effort motivated largely by the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is assembling a set of age specific biokinetic models for environmentally important radioelements. Radioactive substances in the air, mainly through the respiratory system and digestive tract, is inside the body. Radioactive substances are unevenly distributed in various organs and tissues. Therefore, the degree of damage will depend not only on the dose of radiation have but also on the critical organ, which is the most accumulation of radioactive substances, which leads to the defeat of the entire human body. The main objective of radiation protection, to avoid exceeding the maximum permissible doses of external and internal exposure of a person to prevent the physical and genetic damage people. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of radiation is called a dose of radiation a person in uniform getting her for 50 years does not cause changes in the health of the exposed individual and his progeny. The following classification of critical organs, depending on the category of exposure on their degree of sensitivity to radiation: First group: the whole body, gonads and red bone marrow; Second group: muscle, fat, liver, kidney, spleen, gastrointestinal tract, lungs and lens of the eye; The third group: bone, thyroid and skin; Fourth group: the hands, forearms, feet. MTD exposure whole body, gonads and bone marrow represent the maximum exposures (5 rem per year) experienced by people in their normal activities. The purpose of this article is intended dose received from various internal organs of the radionuclides that may enter the body by inhalation, and gastrointestinal tract. The biokinetic model describes the time dependent distribution and excretion of different radionuclides that have intake into the organism or absorbed into blood. Transport of different radionuclides between compartments is assumed to follow first order kinetics provided the concentration in red blood cells (RBCs) stays below a nonlinear threshold concentration. When the concentration in RBCs exceeds that threshold, the transfer rate from diffusible plasma to RBCs is assumed to decrease as the concentration in RBCs increases. For the calculations used capabilities AMBER by using the traces of radionuclides in the body. Model for the transfer of radionuclides in the body has been built on the basis of existing models at AMBER for lead. (authors)

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

PRD3000: A novel Personnel Radiation Detector with Radiation Exposure Monitoring

PRD3000{sup TM} is a novel Personal Radiation Detector (PRD) with personnel radiation dose exposure monitoring. It is intended for First Responders, Law Enforcement, Customs Inspectors protecting critical infrastructures for detecting unexpected radioactive sources, who also need real time Hp(10) dose equivalent information. Traditional PRD devices use scintillator materials instrumented through either a photomultiplier tube or a photodiode photodetector. While the former is bulky and sensitive to magnetic fields, the latter has to compromise radiation sensitivity and energy threshold given its current noise per unit of photo-detection surface. Recently, solid state photodetectors (SiPM), based on arrays of Geiger operated diodes, have emerged as a scalable digital photodetector for photon counting. Their strong breakdown voltage temperature dependence (on the order of tens of milli-volts per K) has however limited their use for portable instruments where strong temperature gradients can be experienced, and limited power is available to temperature stabilize. The PRD3000 is based on the industry standard DMC3000 active dosimeter that complies with IEC 61526 Ed. 3 and ANSI 42.20 for direct reading personal dose equivalent meters and active personnel radiation monitors. An extension module is based on a CsI(Tl) scintillator readout by a temperature compensated SiPM. Preliminary nuclear tests combined with a measured continuous operation in excess of 240 hours from a single AAA battery cell indicate that the PRD3000 complies with the IEC 62401 Ed.2 and ANSI 42.32 without sacrificing battery life time. We present a summary of the device test results, starting with performance stability over a temperature range of - 20 deg. C to 50 deg. C, false alarm rates and dynamic response time. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The Evolution of Wayfinding Within Airports

The process of navigating within airports has evolved over the years, with various technologies emerging to complement static signage. Historically, wayfinding began with static signage and airport staff members providing personal guidance, before progressing into digital signs, interactive kiosks, and displays. In recent years, wayfinding has continued along its digital path using mobile applications, indoor positioning technology, and even robot guides. With ever- larger airport facilities and a growing number of travelers, the future of wayfinding will likely be heavily linked to further digital developments such as facial recognition, augmented-reality technology, and autonomous vehicle navigation. This report delves into the history of interior wayfinding in airports, its present state, and the anticipated future. Key wayfinding technologies are discussed in detail, with an emphasis on emerging smartphone applications. Other considerations such as traveler stress, legal issues, pandemic safety, and language barriers are included. A wayfinding framework is proposed, with static wayfinding technologies serving as the base upon which dynamic and personalized digital technologies are built. In this framework, electronic wayfinding technologies do not replace - but rather augment - traditional methods. These technologies can be integrated into existing wayfinding systems for a seamless traveler experience.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

iOS Heart Rate Monitor

The objective of this research project is to create a heart rate monitor mobile application (app) that allows the user to receive an accurate heart rate reading by placing their finger on the camera for about fifteen seconds. The app will be designed to read the heart rate through blood flow, and because blood flow is directly proportional with blood pressure, this app will also allow the user to get a blood pressure estimate. This enables anyone to have an understanding of their health issues if any are present. The overall goal to integrate this heart rate and blood pressure monitoring app with a personal dosimeter to build a comprehensive health monitoring app. The personal dosimeter Bluetooth connection function is being developed by another student group at Texas A and M University-Kingsville. This allows a user to transfer radiation readings from the Geiger counter to an iOS device while being able to monitor their health as they are exposed to radiation. This app's Bluetooth Geiger counter and heart rate/blood pressure monitor features would prove beneficial to individuals in the nuclear industry who are exposed to various levels of radiation. The combination of those functions will allow workers to measure their heart rate and blood pressure conveniently and within short periods of time. The people this app can help include nuclear power plant workers, radiology technicians, hazardous materials removal workers, and nuclear medicine technologists. We strive to create a mobile app that will allow a nuclear field worker to have a faster and more efficient health monitoring method. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗