Estimation of the mean of a discrete parameter, covariance stationary, stochastic process in rotation sampling
Constrained optimization procedure for deriving linear estimator of population mean in rotation sampling
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Constrained optimization procedure for deriving linear estimator of population mean in rotation sampling
A graphic description is given of the Census Cities ERTS experiment in urban change detection using remote sensors. The relationship or model between land use data from sensors and socio-demographic data from the census is partly demonstrated. The example suggests how knowledge of land use changes acquired by sensors can be used to make estimates of population, and other attributes. The feasibility of nationwide mapping of land use, and land use changes, by direct computer classification of ERTS-1 multispectral digital data is also demonstrated. Potential applications in state and regional planning are many, and some are named. But the longer-range gains are likely to be improved understanding by legislators, managers and voters as to what it is that makes the country tick. One of the specific tasks could be the allocation of revenues to be shared.
Improved classification and mapping of grizzly habitat will permit better estimates of population density and distribution, and allow accurate evaluation of the potential effects of changes in land use, hunting regulation, and management policies on existing populations. Methods of identifying favorable habitat from ERTS-1 multispectral scanner imagery were investigated and described. This technique could reduce the time and effort required to classify large wilderness areas in the Western United States.
The present work gathers together numerous papers describing the use of remote sensing technology for mapping, monitoring, and management of earth resources and man's environment. Studies using various types of sensing equipment are described, including multispectral scanners, radar imagery, spectrometers, lidar, and aerial photography, and both manual and computer-aided data processing techniques are described. Some of the topics covered include: estimation of population density in Tokyo districts from ERTS-1 data, a clustering algorithm for unsupervised crop classification, passive microwave sensing of moist soils, interactive computer processing for land use planning, the use of remote sensing to delineate floodplains, moisture detection from Skylab, scanning thermal plumes, electrically scanning microwave radiometers, oil slick detection by X-band synthetic aperture radar, and the use of space photos for search of oil and gas fields. Individual items are announced in this issue.
The heat resistance of Bacillus subtilis var. niger was measured from 85 to 125 C using moisture levels of % RH or = 0.001 to 100. Curves are presented which characterize thermal destruction using thermal death times defined as F values at a given combination of three moisture and temperature conditions. The times required at 100 C for reductions of 99.99% of the initial population were estimated for the three moisture conditions. The linear model (from which estimates of D are obtained) was satisfactory for estimating thermal death times (% RH or = 0.07) in the plate count range. Estimates based on observed thermal death times and D values for % RH = 100 diverged so that D values generally gave a more conservative estimate over the temperature range 90 to 125 C. Estimates of Z sub F and Z sub L ranged from 32.1 to 58.3 C for % RH of or = 0.07 and 100. A Z sub D = 30.0 was obtained for data observed at % RH or = 0.07.
The characteristics of intrinsically variable stars are examined, reviewing the results of observations obtained with the IUE satellite since its launch in 1978. Selected data on both medium-spectral-class pulsating stars (Delta Cep stars, W Vir stars, and related groups) and late-type variables (M, S, and C giants and supergiants) are presented in spectra, graphs, and tables and described in detail. Topics addressed include the calibration of the the period-luminosity relation, Cepheid distance determination, checking stellar evolution theory by the giant companions of Cepheids, Cepheid masses, the importance of the hydrogen convection zone in Cepheids, temperature and abundance estimates for Population II pulsating stars, mass loss in Population II Cepheids, SWP and LWP images of cold giants and supergiants, temporal variations in the UV lines of cold stars, C-rich cold stars, and cold stars with highly ionized emission lines.
The optimal sampling theory is evaluated in applications to studies related to the distribution and elimination of several drugs (including ceftazidime, piperacillin, and ciprofloxacin), using the SAMPLE module of the ADAPT II package of programs developed by D'Argenio and Schumitzky (1979, 1988) and comparing the pharmacokinetic parameter values with results obtained by traditional ten-sample design. The impact of the use of optimal sampling was demonstrated in conjunction with NONMEM (Sheiner et al., 1977) approach, in which the population is taken as the unit of analysis, allowing even fragmentary patient data sets to contribute to population parameter estimates. It is shown that this technique is applicable in both the single-dose and the multiple-dose environments. The ability to study real patients made it possible to show that there was a bimodal distribution in ciprofloxacin nonrenal clearance.
Initial results of an extensive IR imaging survey of the young cluster NGC 2264 and a nearby galactic control field are presented. A large portion of the cluster was imaged in each of the three standard near-IR colors (J, H, and K) with an IR array camera. On the basis of a comparison of these observations, the size of the cluster population is estimated, and the nature of its members is investigated. The cluster is found to contain 360 +/- 130 members. The slope of the K luminosity function of the cluster is significantly steeper than that expected for a cluster of ZAMS stars, and appears to flatten out or turn over at an apparent K magnitude of roughly 13.0-14.0. An analysis of the JHK color-color diagrams of the cluster and control fields shows that approximately 170 sources observed toward the cluster have colors indicative of intrinsic excess IR emission.
We have examined the lifetimes of Near-Earth asteroids (NEA's) by directly computing the collision probabilities with other asteroids and with the terrestrial planets. We compare these to the dynamical lifetimes, and to collisional lifetimes assumed by other workers. We discuss the implications of the differences. The lifetimes of NEA's are important because, along with the statistics of craters on the Earth and Moon, they help us to compute the number of NEA's and the rate at which new NEA's are brought to the vicinity of the Earth. Assuming that the NEA population is in steady-state, the lifetimes determine the flux of new bodies needed to replenish the population. Earlier estimates of the lifetimes ignored (or incompletely accounted for) the differences in the velocities of asteroids as they move in their orbits, so our results differ from (for example) Greenberg and Chapman (1983, Icarus 55, 455) and Wetherill (1988, Icarus 76, 1) by factors of 2 to 10. We have computed the collision rates and relative velocities of NEA's with each other, the main-belt asteroids, and the terrestrial planets, using the corrected method described by Bottke et. al. (1992, GRL, in press). We find that NEA's typically have shorter collisional lifetimes than do main-belt asteroids of the same size, due to their high eccentricities, which typically give them aphelia in the main belt. Consequently, they spend a great deal of time in the main belt, and are moving much slower than the bodies around them, making them 'sitting ducks' for impacts with other asteroids. They cross the paths of many objects, and their typical collision velocities are much higher (10-15 km/s) than the collision velocities (5 km/s) among objects within the main belt. These factors combine to give them substantially shorter lifetimes than had been previously estimated.
Our goal was to use short (10 ksec) observations of selected fields in the halo of M31, to determine the size and characteristics of its X-ray population and to study the connection between globular clusters and X-ray sources. The program of observations has yet to be successfully completed. We received acceptable data from just 2 of the 5 approved fields. Nevertheless, the results were intriguing and we have submitted a paper based on this data to Nature. We find that the X-ray source density is significantly enhanced in the vicinity of one GC, providing the first observational evidence supporting the ejection hypothesis. We also find additional X-ray sources, including some which are very soft, in large enough numbers to suggest that not all could have been formed in GCs. That is, some must be descended from the same primordial halo population that produced any compact stars comprising part of the halo's dark matter. Extrapolating fiom the X-ray source population, we estimate that stellar remnants and dim old stars in the halo could comprise as much as 25% of the estimated mass (approx. 10(exp 12) Solar Mass) of the halo. These results suggest that the other approved fields should be observed soon and also provide strong motivation for the future XMM-Newton programs.
A method and apparatus for remote sensing of parasitic nematodes in plants, now undergoing development, is based on measurement of visible and infrared spectral reflectances of fields where the plants are growing. Initial development efforts have been concentrated on detecting reniform nematodes (Rotylenchulus reniformis) in cotton plants, because of the economic importance of cotton crops. The apparatus includes a hand-held spectroradiometer. The readings taken by the radiometer are processed to extract spectral reflectances at sixteen wavelengths between 451 and 949 nm that, taken together, have been found to be indicative of the presence of Rotylenchulus reniformis. The intensities of the spectral reflectances are used to estimate the population density of the nematodes in an area from which readings were taken.
Compact groups of galaxies provide insight into the role of low-mass, dense environments in galaxy evolution because the low velocity dispersions and close proximity of galaxy members result in frequent interactions that take place over extended time-scales. We expand the census of star formation in compact group galaxies by Tzanavaris et al. (2010) and collaborators with Swift UVOT, Spitzer IRAC and MIPS 24 m photometry of a sample of 183 galaxies in 46 compact groups. After correcting luminosities for the contribution from old stellar populations, we estimate the dust-unobscured star formation rate (SFRUV) using the UVOT uvw2 photometry. Similarly, we use the MIPS 24 m photometry to estimate the component of the SFR that is obscured by dust (SFRIR). We find that galaxies which are MIR-active (MIR-red), also have bluer UV colours, higher specific SFRs, and tend to lie in Hi-rich groups, while galaxies that are MIR-inactive (MIR-blue) have redder UV colours, lower specific SFRs, and tend to lie in Hi-poor groups. We find the SFRs to be continuously distributed with a peak at about 1 M yr1, indicating this might be the most common value in compact groups. In contrast, the specific SFR distribution is bimodal, and there is a clear distinction between star-forming and quiescent galaxies. Overall, our results suggest that the specific SFR is the best tracer of gas depletion and galaxy evolution in compact groups.
Floods are the costliest natural disaster, causing approximately 6.8 million deaths in the twentieth century alone. Worldwide economic flood damage estimates in 2012 exceed $19 Billion USD. Extended duration floods also pose longer term threats to food security, water, sanitation, hygiene, and community livelihoods, particularly in developing countries. Projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest that precipitation extremes, rainfall intensity, storm intensity, and variability are increasing due to climate change. Increasing hydrologic uncertainty will likely lead to unprecedented extreme flood events. As such, there is a vital need to enhance and further develop traditional techniques used to rapidly assess flooding and extend analytical methods to estimate impacted population and infrastructure. Measuring flood extent in situ is generally impractical, time consuming, and can be inaccurate. Remotely sensed imagery acquired from space-borne and airborne sensors provides a viable platform for consistent and rapid wall-to-wall monitoring of large flood events through time. Terabytes of freely available satellite imagery are made available online each day by NASA, ESA, and other international space research institutions. Advances in cloud computing and data storage technologies allow researchers to leverage these satellite data and apply analytical methods at scale. Repeat-survey earth observations help provide insight about how natural phenomena change through time, including the progression and recession of floodwaters. In recent years, cloud-penetrating radar remote sensing techniques (e.g., Synthetic Aperture Radar) and high temporal resolution imagery platforms (e.g., MODIS and its 1-day return period), along with high performance computing infrastructure, have enabled significant advances in software systems that provide flood warning, assessments, and hazard reduction potential. By incorporating social and economic data, researchers can develop systems that automatically quantify the socioeconomic impacts resulting from flood disaster events.
Floods are the costliest natural disaster (United Nations 2004), causing approximately6.8 million deaths in the twentieth century alone (Doocy et al. 2013).Worldwide economic flood damage estimates in 2012 exceed $19 Billion USD(Munich Re 2013). Extended duration floods also pose longer term threats to food security, water, sanitation, hygiene, and community livelihoods, particularly in developing countries (Davies et al. 2014).Projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest that precipitation extremes, rainfall intensity, storm intensity, and variability are increasing due to climate change (IPCC 2007). Increasing hydrologic uncertainty will likely lead to unprecedented extreme flood events. As such, there is a vital need to enhance and further develop traditional techniques used to rapidly assessflooding and extend analytical methods to estimate impacted population and infrastructure.
Following an approach similar to that used for the Moon, Mercury's surface units were subdivided into five time-stratigraphic systems based on geologic mapping using Mariner 10 images. The absolute time scale originally suggested for the time periods associated with these systems was based on the assumption that the lunar impact flux history applied to Mercury. However, we find that the duration and onset of corresponding periods in the stratigraphic sequences on Mercury and the Moon are not the same. Using high-resolution and multiband image data obtained by the MErcury Surface, Space ENviroment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft, we identify and catalog fresh impact craters interpreted to have formed during Mercury's two most recent periods, the Mansurian and Kuiperian. We use the densities of the inferred Kuiperian- and Mansurian-aged crater populations to estimate new limits for the age boundaries of these time intervals. Results suggest that both the Mansurian and Kuiperian periods began more recently and extended for significantly shorter durations of time than previously suggested. The Kuiperian is estimated to have initiated as recently as approximately 280 plus or minus 60 Ma (million years) and the Mansurian as recently as approximately 1.7 plus or minus 0.2 Ga (billion years).
Context. After their acceleration and release at the Sun, solar energetic particles (SEPs) are injected into the interplanetary medium and are bound to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) by the Lorentz force. The expansion of the IMF close to the Sun focuses the particle pitch-angle distribution, and scattering counteracts this focusing. Solar Orbiter observed an unusual solar particle event on 9 April 2022 when it was at 0.43 astronomical units (au) from the Sun. Aims. We show that the inferred IMF along which the SEPs traveled was about three times longer than the nominal length of the Parker spiral and provide an explanation for this apparently long path. Methods. We used velocity dispersion analysis (VDA) information to infer the spiral length along which the electrons and ions traveled and infer their solar release times and arrival direction. Results. The path length inferred from VDA is approximately three times longer than the nominal Parker spiral. Nevertheless, the pitch-angle distribution of the particles of this event is highly anisotropic, and the electrons and ions appear to be streaming along the same IMF structures. The angular width of the streaming population is estimated to be approximately 30 degrees. The highly anisotropic ion beam was observed for more than 12 h. This may be due to the low level of fluctuations in the IMF, which in turn is very probably due to this event being inside an interplanetary coronal mass ejection The slow and small rotation in the IMF suggests a flux-rope structure. Small flux dropouts are associated with very small changes in pitch angle, which may be explained by different flux tubes connecting to different locations in the flare region. Conclusions. The unusually long path length along which the electrons and ions have propagated virtually scatter-free together with the short-term flux dropouts offer excellent opportunities to study the transport of SEPs within interplanetary structures. The 9 April 2022 solar particle event offers an especially rich number of unique observations that can be used to limit SEP transport models.
In preparation for the release of the Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) version 3.1, the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) revisited how orbiting debris populations of characteristic sizes smaller than 1 cm were modeled. The primary contributor to the population of sub-centimeter debris particles is the surface deterioration or erosion of spacecraft materials exposed to the outer-space environment. Because small particulates are not directly trackable by remote sensing, the primary means of detection is via historical counts of small impact features on flown radiator and window surfaces of the U.S. Space Transportation System (STS, also known as the Space Shuttle) from 1995-2011. Historic NASA studies of high-velocity impact tests have related impact-feature size to particle mass and velocity for certain STS surfaces, so that a corresponding particle size may be inferred from each small-impact feature observed. Micro-debris populations are then estimated by modeling the path and orientation of an STS mission through a simulated debris environment, and the densities of this simulated environment are rescaled to approximate the number of observed STS impact features. Monte-Carlo methods are further employed to gauge the estimation uncertainty of the rescaled environment. A description of the chosen methodologies for estimating and adjusting the micro-debris population model, and the results, are presented.
Size distributions of chondrules, volcanic fire-fountain or impact glass spherules, or of immiscible globules in silicate melts (e.g., in basaltic mesostasis, agglutinitic glass, impact melt sheets) are imperfectly known because the spherical objects are usually so strongly embedded in the bulk samples that they are nearly impossible to separate. Hence, measurements are confined to two-dimensional sections, e.g. polished thin sections that are commonly examined under reflected light optical or backscattered electron microscopy. Three kinds of approaches exist in the geologic literature for estimating the mean real diameter of a population of 3D spheres from 2D observations: (1) a stereological approach with complicated calculations; (2) an empirical approach in which independent 3D size measurements of a population of spheres separated from their parent sample and their 2D cross sectional diameters in thin sections have produced an array of somewhat contested conversion equations; and (3) measuring pairs of 2D diameters of upper and lower surfaces of cross sections each sphere in thin sections using transmitted light microscopy. We describe an entirely probabilistic approach and propose a simple factor of 4/x (approximately equal to 1.27) to convert the 2D mean size to 3D mean size.