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At least 1,423 records · Page 79

Advances in information extraction techniques

Sundry recent developments are presented which show some potential for affecting the automatic extraction of information from remotely sensed data. Pattern representations more abstract than Euclidean vector spaces offer some hope of unifying structural and decision theoretical approaches. The estimation of expected classification error rates is becoming more sophisticated and rigorous, but useful finite-sample results for nonparametric distributions appear unobtainable. Focus on computational complexity allows comparison of algorithms, while software engineering techniques reduce the effort necessary to develop and maintain complex image processing systems. Advances in computer systems architecture, commercial database technology, and man-machine communications should be closely monitored by the remote sensing community. A NASA-sponsored recommendation for research directions in mathematical pattern recognition are offered.

Nagy, G.↗

Vertebrate Development in Space: Gravity Is a Drag (and Has Been for Eons and Eons)

Brief sketches of developmental biology studies during spaceflight presented are intended to be complete in scope and to provide the reader with an overview of the present status of such studies. Means of evaluating both the direct role of gravity on all processes of mammalian reproduction and development as well as defining the means of assessing indirect transplacemental aspects are considered. The potential present in the development of a spaceflight system/program specifically designed to provide chronic exposure of a representative variety of mammalian species with periodic sampling for multiple generations to fully assess the potential impact of an altered gravitational vector on general mammalian development is also considered.

Keefe, J. R.↗

Scattering-induced optical polarization in thick accretion disks

A general formalism for calculating the linear polarization induced by scattering within the central funnel of a thick accretion disk is presented, and it is shown that multiple photon reflections off the funnel walls can produce polarization values of up to about 10 percent, with the polarization position angle aligned parallel to the disk symmetry axis. It is suggested that this process is responsible for the observed optical polarization levels in X-ray-selected BL Lac objects (XBLs), which generally show linear polarization percentages P less than about 10 percent. According to this interpretation, XBLs with high optical polarization are viewed at an angle of less than about 60 deg to the funnel axis and their projected polarization vectors should be preferentially aligned with the associated radio jets. The possible relevance of this model to Seyfer 1 galaxies and quasars is also discussed.

Kartje, John F.↗

Carrier Estimation Using Classic Spectral Estimation Techniques for the Proposed Demand Assignment Multiple Access Service

In any satellite communication, the Doppler shift associated with the satellite's position and velocity must be calculated in order to determine the carrier frequency. If the satellite state vector is unknown then some estimate must be formed of the Doppler-shifted carrier frequency. One elementary technique is to examine the signal spectrum and base the estimate on the dominant spectral component. If, however, the carrier is spread (as in most satellite communications) this technique may fail unless the chip rate-to-data rate ratio (processing gain) associated with the carrier is small. In this case, there may be enough spectral energy to allow peak detection against a noise background. In this thesis, we present a method to estimate the frequency (without knowledge of the Doppler shift) of a spread-spectrum carrier assuming a small processing gain and binary-phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation. Our method relies on an averaged discrete Fourier transform along with peak detection on spectral match filtered data. We provide theory and simulation results indicating the accuracy of this method. In addition, we will describe an all-digital hardware design based around a Motorola DSP56303 and high-speed A/D which implements this technique in real-time. The hardware design is to be used in NMSU's implementation of NASA's demand assignment, multiple access (DAMA) service.

Scaife, Bradley James↗

Condition Monitoring for Helicopter Data

In this paper the classical "Westland" set of empirical accelerometer helicopter data is analyzed with the aim of condition monitoring for diagnostic purposes. The goal is to determine features for failure events from these data, via a proprietary signal processing toolbox, and to weigh these according to a variety of classification algorithms. As regards signal processing, it appears that the autoregressive (AR) coefficients from a simple linear model encapsulate a great deal of information in a relatively few measurements; it has also been found that augmentation of these by harmonic and other parameters can improve classification significantly. As regards classification, several techniques have been explored, among these restricted Coulomb energy (RCE) networks, learning vector quantization (LVQ), Gaussian mixture classifiers and decision trees. A problem with these approaches, and in common with many classification paradigms, is that augmentation of the feature dimension can degrade classification ability. Thus, we also introduce the Bayesian data reduction algorithm (BDRA), which imposes a Dirichlet prior on training data and is thus able to quantify probability of error in an exact manner, such that features may be discarded or coarsened appropriately.

Wen, Fang↗

Auxins and tropisms

Differential growth of plants in response to the changes in the light and gravity vectors requires a complex signal transduction cascade. Although many of the details of the mechanisms by which these differential growth responses are induced are as yet unknown, auxin has been implicated in both gravitropism and phototropism. Specifically, the redistribution of auxin across gravity or light-stimulated tissues has been detected and shown to be required for this process. The approaches by which auxin has been implicated in tropisms include isolation of mutants altered in auxin transport or response with altered gravitropic or phototropic response, identification of auxin gradients with radiolabeled auxin and auxin-inducible gene reporter systems, and by use of inhibitors of auxin transport that block gravitropism and phototropism. Proteins that transport auxin have been identified and the mechanisms which determine auxin transport polarity have been explored. In addition, recent evidence that reversible protein phosphorylation controls this process is summarized. Finally, the data in support of several hypotheses for mechanisms by which auxin transport could be differentially regulated during gravitropism are examined. Although many details of the mechanisms by which plants respond to gravity and light are not yet clear, numerous recent studies demonstrate the role of auxin in these processes.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗

Passive Tracking System and Method

System and methods are disclosed for passively determining the location of a moveable transmitter utilizing a pair of phase shifts at a receiver for extracting a direction vector from a receiver to the transmitter. In a preferred embodiment, a phase difference between the transmitter and receiver is extracted utilizing a noncoherent demodulator in the receiver. The receiver includes antenna array with three antenna elements, which preferably are patch antenna elements placed apart by one-half wavelength. Three receiver channels are preferably utilized for simultaneously processing the received signal from each of the three antenna elements. Multipath transmission paths for each of the three receiver channels are indexed so that comparisons of the same multipath component are made for each of the three receiver channels. The phase difference for each received signal is determined by comparing only the magnitudes of received and stored modulation signals to determine a winning modulation symbol.

Arndt, G. Dickey↗

The Way Point Planning Tool: Real Time Flight Planning for Airborne Science

Airborne real time observation are a major component of NASA's Earth Science research and satellite ground validation studies. For mission scientist, planning a research aircraft mission within the context of meeting the science objective is a complex task because it requires real time situational awareness of the weather conditions that affect the aircraft track. Multiple aircraft are often involved in the NASA field campaigns the coordination of the aircraft with satellite overpasses, other airplanes and the constantly evolving dynamic weather conditions often determine the success of the campaign. A flight planning tool is needed to provide situational awareness information to the mission scientist and help them plan and modify the flight tracks successfully. Scientists at the University of Alabama Huntsville and the NASA Marshal Space Flight Center developed the Waypoint Planning Tool (WPT), an interactive software tool that enables scientist to develop their own flight plans (also known as waypoints), with point and click mouse capabilities on a digital map filled with time raster and vector data. The development of this Waypoint Planning Tool demonstrates the significance of mission support in responding to the challenges presented during NASA field campaigns. Analyses during and after each campaign helped identify both issues and new requirements, initiating the next wave of development. Currently the Waypoint Planning Tool has gone through three rounds of development and analysis processes. The development of this waypoint tool is directly affected by the technology advances on GIS/Mapping technologies. From the standalone Google Earth application and simple KML functionalities to the Google Earth Plugin and Java Web Start/Applet on web platform, as well as to the rising open source GIS tools with new JavaScript frameworks, the Waypoint planning Tool has entered its third phase of technology advancement. The newly innovated, cross-platform, modular designed JavaScript-controled Waypoint tool is planned to be integrated with the NASA Airborne Science Mission Tool Suite. Adapting new technologies for the Waypoint Planning Tool ensures its success in helping scientist reach their mission objectives. This presentation will discuss the development process of the Waypoint Planning Tool in responding to field campaign challenges, identifying new information technologies, and describing the capabilities and features of the Waypoint Planning Tool with the real time aspect, interactive nature, and the resultant benefits to the airborne science community.

He, Yubin↗

A comprehensive data processing plan for crop calendar MSS signature development from satellite imagery: Crop identification using vegetation phenology

The author has identified the following significant results. The phenological method of crop identification involves the creation of crop signatures which characterize multispectral observations as phenological growth states. The phenological signature models spectral reflectance explicitly as a function of crop maturity rather than as a function of date. A correspondence of time to growth state is established which minimizes the smallest difference between the given multispectral multitemporal vector and a category mean vector. The application of the method to the identification of winter wheat and corn shows (1) the method is capable of discriminating crop type with about the same degree of accuracy as more traditional classifiers; (2) the use of LANDSAT observations on two or more dates yields better results than the use of a single observation; and (3) some potential is demonstrated for labeling the degree of maturity of the crop, as well as the crop type.

Hlavka, C. A.↗

Second Linear Response Theory and the Analytic Calculation of Excited-State Properties

We present a method based on second linear response time-dependent density func- tional theory (TDDFT) to calculate permanent and transition multipoles of excited states, which are required to compute excited-state absorption/emission spectra, multi- photon optical processes, among others. In previous work, we examined computations based on second linear response theory in which linear response TDDFT was employed twice. In contrast, the present methodology only requires information from a single linear response calculation to compute the excited-state properties. These are eval- uated analytically through various algebraic operations involving electron repulsion integrals and excitation vectors. The present derivation focuses on full many-body wave functions instead of single orbitals, as in our previous approach. Here, we test the proposed method by applying it to several diatomic and triatomic molecules. This shows that the computed excited-state dipoles are consistent with respect to reference equation-of-motion coupled cluster calculations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Synthetic Biology Toolbox for Nitrogen-Fixing Soil Microbes

The soil environment adjacent to plant roots, termed the rhizosphere, is home to a wide variety of microorganisms that can significantly affect the physiology of nearby plants. Microbes in the rhizosphere can provide nutrients, secrete signaling compounds, and inhibit pathogens. These processes could be manipulated with synthetic biology to enhance the agricultural performance of crops grown for food, energy, or environmental remediation, if methods can be implemented in these nonmodel microbes. A common first step for domesticating nonmodel organisms is the development of a set of genetic engineering tools, termed a synthetic biology toolbox. A toolbox comprises transformation protocols, replicating vectors, genome engineering (e.g., CRISPR/Cas9), constitutive and inducible promoter systems, and other gene expression control elements. Furthermore, this work validated synthetic biology toolboxes in three nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria: Azotobacter vinelandii, Stutzerimonas stutzeri (Pseudomonas stutzeri), and a new isolate of Klebsiella variicola. All three organisms were amenable to transformation and reporter protein expression, with several functional inducible systems available for each organism. S. stutzeri and K. variicola showed more reliable plasmid-based expression, resulting in successful Cas9 recombineering to create scarless deletions and insertions. Using these tools, we generated mutants with inducible nitrogenase activity and introduced heterologous genes to produce resorcinol products with relevant biological activity in the rhizosphere.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Measurement of beam asymmetry for π – Δ ++ photoproduction on the proton at E γ = 8.5 GeV

We report a measurement of the $\pi^-$ photoproduction beam asymmetry for the reaction $\vec{\gamma} p \rightarrow \pi^- \Delta^{++}$ using data from the GlueX experiment in the photon beam energy range 8.2--8.8 GeV. The asymmetry $\Sigma$ is measured as a function of four-momentum transfer $t$ to the $\Delta^{++}$ and compared to phenomenological models. We find that $\Sigma$ varies as a function of $t$: negative at smaller values and positive at higher values of $|t|$. The reaction can be described theoretically by $t$-channel particle exchange requiring pseudoscalar, vector, and tensor intermediaries. In particular, this reaction requires charge exchange, allowing us to probe pion exchange and the significance of higher-order corrections to one-pion exchange at low momentum transfer. Constraining production mechanisms of conventional mesons may aid in the search for and study of unconventional mesons. Furthermore, this is the first measurement of the process at this energy.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Resonance Control System for the CEBAF Separator Upgrade

Abstract The Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) energy upgrade from 6 GeV to 12 GeV includes the installation of four new 748.5 MHz normal conducting deflecting cavities in the 5th pass extraction region. The RF system employs two digital LLRF systems controlling four normal conducting cavities in a vector sum setting. Cavity tune information of the individual cavities is obtained using a multiplexing scheme of the forward and reflected RF signals. Water skids equipped with heaters and valves are used to control resonance. A new FPGA-based hardware and EPICS-based predictive control algorithm has been developed to support reliable operation of the beam extraction process. This paper presents the architecture design of the existing hardware and software as well as a plan to develop a model predictive control system.

Plawski, Tomasz↗

Wind shear near the ground and aircraft operations.

The variance of wind shear in the first 150-200 m of the atmosphere is a function of the direction of the mean wind relative to the flight path, the zenith angle of the flight path, the standard deviation of the three components of the turbulence velocity vector, the surface friction velocity, the stability properties of the atmospheric boundary layer, and the heights above natural grade of the beginning and end points of the portion of the flight path over which the shear is to be calculated. The results are applied by calculating wind shear for various risks of occurrence assuming wind shear is a Gaussian process, and it is shown that turbulence produces significantly large dispersions in wind shear about the mean wind shear. The results are interpreted in terms of the ICAO interim shear criteria for reporting wind shear in qualitative terms.

Fichtl, G. H.↗

Evaluation of computer-aided procedure for detecting surface water

Results from an evaluation of a computer-aided procedure for processing ERTS-1 data to detect and locate surface water are presented. The procedure was evaluated using data from a study area in the vicinity of the Lake Somerville area in Washington County, Texas. The procedure consisted of (1) selecting water training fields, (2) aggregating the training samples together and clustering them into unimodal clusters, (3) computing the mean vector and covariance matrix for each cluster, (4) classifying all of the study area into classes corresponding to the clusters using the maximum likelihood classifier, and (5) thresholding out the nonwater pixels.

Source record↗

A simple method for designing structural models with closely spaced modes of vibration

A simple method for designing a mathematical model with closely spaced vibration modes is described. The design process begins with a reference model having specified geometry, continuous inertia and stiffness distributions, and degrees of freedom, all of which remain unchanged. Two natural frequencies of this model are then forced together by means of systematic perturbation of the model's discrete inertia and stiffness parameters. There is only one eigenvalue solution per design cycle, and the gradient vector is calculated directly from the resulting modal quantities. The minimization procedure employed is unconstrained. As applications, a cantilevered plane grid model with five degrees of freedom and a bending-torsion-oscillator with eleven degrees of freedom are treated.

Hallauer, W. L., Jr.↗

Middle atmosphere general circulation statistics

With the increased availability of remote sensing data for the middle atmosphere from satellites, more analyses of the middle atmosphere circulation are being published. Some of these are process studies for limited periods, and some are statistical analyses of middle atmosphere general circulation statistics. Results from the latter class of studies will be reviewed. These include analysis of the zonally averaged middle atmosphere structure, temperature, and zonal winds; analysis of planetary wave structures, analysis of heat and momentum fluxes; and analysis of Eliassen-and-Palm flux vectors and flux divergences. Emphasis is on the annual march of these quantities; Northern and Southern Hemisphere asymmetries; and interannual variability in these statistics. Statistics involving the global ozone distribution and transports of ozone are also discussed.

Geller, M. A.↗

Numerical solution of large nonsymmetric eigenvalue problems

Several methods are discribed for combinations of Krylov subspace techniques, deflation procedures and preconditionings, for computing a small number of eigenvalues and eigenvectors or Schur vectors of large sparse matrices. The most effective techniques for solving realistic problems from applications are those methods based on some form of preconditioning and one of several Krylov subspace techniques, such as Arnoldi's method or Lanczos procedure. Two forms of preconditioning are considered: shift-and-invert and polynomial acceleration. The latter presents some advantages for parallel/vector processing but may be ineffective if eigenvalues inside the spectrum are sought. Some algorithmic details are provided that improve the reliability and effectiveness of these techniques.

Saad, Youcef↗