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At least 1,495 records · Page 83

NGDS Final Report

The ultimate goal of the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) is to support the discovery and generation of geothermal sources of energy. The NGDS was designed and has been implemented to provide online access to important geothermal-related data from a network of data providers in order to: • Increase the efficiency of exploration, development and usage of geothermal energy by providing a basis for financial risk analysis of potential sites • Assist state and federal agencies in making land and resource management assessments • Foster the discovery of new geothermal resources by supporting ongoing and future geothermal-related research • Increase public awareness of geothermal energy It is through the implementation of this distributed data system and its subsequent use that substantial increases to the general access and understanding of geothermal related data will result. NGDS provides a mechanism for the sharing of data thereby fostering the discovery of new resources and supporting ongoing geothermal research.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Schema Elements for Granta Annual Report: FY2022

Granta: Materials Intelligence, also known as Granta:MI or Granta, is a commercial database software by Ansys, Inc. that is utilized by the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) to organize and store relevant materials data. For a complete discussion of the use of Granta:MI at NSE sites, see the FY21 annual report. Granta:MI is used by five NSE sites locally, and all NSE sites have access to an enterprise instance on the Enterprise Secure Network (ESN) as well as an unclassified development instance. It has been recognized by NNSA management that a shared repository for additive manufacturing (AM) data would not only ensure data and knowledge is not lost but would provide a pool of information relating AM inputs (build parameters, raw materials properties, post-processing information) to the as-built properties of AM parts. Such a pool of data would enable optimization of AM build design and help NNSA achieve the goals of shortening fielding times for new components.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Coccidioidomycosis Dynamics in Relation to Climate in the Southwestern United States: Cocci. and climate in the SW U.S.

Valley fever is endemic to the southwestern United States. Humans contract this fungal disease by inhaling spores of Coccidioides spp. Changes in the environment can influence the abundance and dispersal of Coccidioides spp., causing fluctuations in valley fever incidence. We combined county-level case records from state health agencies to create a regional valley fever database for the southwestern United States, including Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. We used this data set to explore how environmental factors influenced the spatial pattern and temporal dynamics of valley fever incidence during 2000–2015. We compiled climate and environmental geospatial data sets from multiple sources to compare with valley fever incidence. These variables included air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, surface dust concentration, normalized difference vegetation index, and cropland area. We found that valley fever incidence was greater in areas with warmer air temperatures and drier soils. The mean annual cycle of incidence varied throughout the southwestern United States and peaked following periods of low precipitation and soil moisture. From year-to-year, however, autumn incidence was higher following cooler, wetter, and productive springs in the San Joaquin Valley of California. In southcentral Arizona, incidence increased significantly through time. By 2015, incidence in this region was more than double the rate in the San Joaquin Valley. Our analysis provides a framework for interpreting the influence of climate change on valley fever incidence dynamics. Our results may allow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improve their estimates of the spatial pattern and intensity of valley fever endemicity.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Database for the Tribological Properties of Self-Lubricating Materials

A test program to determine the tribological properties of several self-lubricating composites was performed. Testing was done using an LFW-1 Friction and Wear machine. Each material was tested at four load levels (66 N, 133 N, 266 N, and 400 N) under ambient conditions. The coefficient of friction and wear rate was determined for each material, and a relative ranking of the composites was made.

Jett, T. R.↗

The future of legume genetic data resources: Challenges, opportunities, and priorities

Abstract Legumes, comprising one of the largest, most diverse, and most economically important plant families, are the subject of vibrant research and development worldwide. Continued improvement of legume crops will benefit from the recent proliferation of genetic (including genomic) resources; but the diversity, scale, and complexity of these resources presents challenges to those managing and using them. A workshop held in March of 2019 addressed questions of data resources and priorities for the legumes. The workshop identified various needs and recommendations: (a) Develop strategies to effectively store, integrate, and relate genetic resources collected in different projects. (b) Leverage information collected across many legume species by standardizing data formats and ontologies, improving the state of metadata about datasets, and increasing use of the FAIR data principles. (c) Advocate for the critical role that curators exercise in integrating complex datasets into databases and adding high value metadata that enable downstream analytics and facilitate practical applications. (d) Implement standardized software and database development practices to best leverage limited developer time and expertise gained from the various legume (and other) species. (e) Develop tools and databases that can manage genetic information for the world's plant genetic resources, enabling efficient incorporation of important traits into breeding programs. (f) Centralize information on databases, tools, and training materials and establish funding streams to support training and outreach.

Bauchet, Guillaume J.↗

Radiotherapy Technical Considerations in the Management of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: American-French Consensus Recommendations

Summary: Pancreatic carcinoma is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Approximately 30% of pancreatic cancer patients present with locally advanced, unresectable nonmetastatic disease. For these patients, two therapeutic options exist: systemic chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. Within this context, the optimal technique for pancreatic irradiation is not clearly defined. A search to identify relevant studies was undertaken using the Medline database. All Phase III randomized trials evaluating the modalities of radiotherapy in locally advanced pancreatic cancer were included, as were some noncontrolled Phase II and retrospective studies. An expert panel convened with members of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and GERCOR cooperative groups to review identified studies and prepare the guidelines. Each member of the working group independently evaluated five endpoints: total dose, target volume definition, radiotherapy planning technique, dose constraints to organs at risk, and quality assurance. Based on this analysis of the literature, we recommend either three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy to a total dose of 50 to 54 Gy at 1.8 to 2 Gy per fraction. We propose gross tumor volume identification to be followed by an expansion of 1.5 to 2 cm anteriorly, posteriorly, and laterally, and 2 to 3 cm craniocaudally to generate the planning target volume. The craniocaudal margins can be reduced with the use of respiratory gating. Organs at risk are liver, kidneys, spinal cord, stomach, and small bowel. Stereotactic body radiation therapy should not be used for pancreatic cancer outside of clinical trials. Radiotherapy quality assurance is mandatory in clinical trials. These consensus recommendations are proposed for use in the development of future trials testing new chemotherapy combinations with radiotherapy. Not all of these recommendations will be appropriate for trials testing radiotherapy dose or dose intensity concepts.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

R –8 Dispersion Interaction: Derivation and Application to the Effective Fragment Potential Method

The anisotropic and isotropic R –8 dispersion contributions (disp8) are derived and implemented within the framework of the effective fragment potential (EFP) method formulated with imaginary frequency-dependent Cartesian polarizability tensors distributed at the centroids of the localized molecular orbitals (LMOs). Two forms of damping functions, intermolecular overlap-based and Tang–Toennies, are extended for disp8. To obtain LMO polarizability tensors centered at LMO centroids, an origin-shifting transformation is derived and implemented for the dipole–octopole polarizability tensor and the quadrupole–quadrupole polarizability tensor. The analytic gradient is derived and implemented for the isotropic disp8 contribution. Relative to the previously implemented empirical EFP disp8 energy, the isotropic disp8 component of the interaction energy improves the overall agreement of the EFP dispersion energies with the symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) benchmarks, reducing the mean absolute errors (MAEs) and mean absolute percentage errors for most of the databases examined in this work. Further, while the anisotropic disp8 can further enhance the accuracy of the EFP dispersion energy and yield smaller MAEs, significantly overbound dispersion energies are predicted by the anisotropic disp8 when the maximum element in the intermolecular overlap matrix is greater than 0.1, possibly due to the breakdown of the approximations made in the EFP dispersion derivation at a short range. For potential energy scan databases, the newly developed EFP dispersion model with isotropic disp8 yields the overall correct curvature and good agreement with SAPT benchmarks around equilibrium and longer but overestimates the dispersion interactions at a short range. While the overlap-based dispersion-damping functions produce better MAEs than Tang–Toennies damping functions, further improvement is needed to better screen the large attractive dispersion energies at a short range (overlap >0.1).

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

COMPILE: a GWAS computational pipeline for gene discovery in complex genomes

Abstract Background Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) are used to identify genes and alleles that contribute to quantitative traits in large and genetically diverse populations. However, traits with complex genetic architectures create an enormous computational load for discovery of candidate genes with acceptable statistical certainty. We developed a streamlined computational pipeline for GWAS (COMPILE) to accelerate identification and annotation of candidate maize genes associated with a quantitative trait, and then matches maize genes to their closest rice and Arabidopsis homologs by sequence similarity. Results COMPILE executed GWAS using a Mixed Linear Model that incorporated, without compression, recent advancements in population structure control, then linked significant Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) to candidate genes and RNA regulatory elements contained in any genome. COMPILE was validated using published data to identify QTL associated with the traits of α-tocopherol biosynthesis and flowering time, and identified published candidate genes as well as additional genes and non-coding RNAs. We then applied COMPILE to 274 genotypes of the maize Goodman Association Panel to identify candidate loci contributing to resistance of maize stems to penetration by larvae of the European Corn Borer ( Ostrinia nubilalis ). Candidate genes included those that encode a gene of unknown function, WRKY and MYB-like transcriptional factors, receptor-kinase signaling, riboflavin synthesis, nucleotide-sugar interconversion, and prolyl hydroxylation. Expression of the gene of unknown function has been associated with pathogen stress in maize and in rice homologs closest in sequence identity. Conclusions The relative speed of data analysis using COMPILE allowed comparison of population size and compression. Limitations in population size and diversity are major constraints for a trait and are not overcome by increasing marker density. COMPILE is customizable and is readily adaptable for application to species with robust genomic and proteome databases.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Nuclear data: progress report on sensitivity analysis at ANL in FY2012. The TRAPU Experiment

In the framework of the Nuclear Data Uncertainty Reduction project, one of the major activities assigned to ANL for FY2012 is related to the sensitivity study to be conducted for 82 isotope transmutations in specific samples of the PROFIL-1, PROFIL-2 and TRAPU irradiation experiments. The analysis of these irradiation experiments for the cross section adjustment of the Nuclear Data Uncertainty Reduction project is primarily intended to assess the experimental database on minor actinides made available by the CEA (France) and to validate and improve the current set of minor actinide cross sections and decay constants. The required sensitivity analyses for the PROFIL-1 and PROFIL-2 experiments have been described in a previous report distributed in June 2012. This document presents the now completed analyses on the TRAPU experiment.

Aliberti, G.↗

A Vacuum Drying Study of Simulated Failed Nuclear Fuel (FY23)

This report documents work performed under the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition’s (SFWD’s) Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology program for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). This work was performed to fulfill Level 4 milestone M4SF-23OR010203013. Over the 70 years of light-water reactor (LWR) operation, fuel rod failures have occurred during reactor operation. Based on the Unified Database that SFWD maintains, there are ~5,400 LWR fuel rods that developed leaks during reactor operation of the >19 million rods operated. The Unified Database indicates that ~4,200 of these rods remain in the spent fuel pool, and ~1,200 are in dry storage canisters. It is expected that all failed rods are “waterlogged” in the spent fuel pool, meaning the inside of the rods contain some volume of water. There are two related objectives of this work. The first is to develop a simple and inexpensive experiment to better understand removal of water from inside failed spent nuclear fuel (SNF) rods, and the second is to develop a model to predict drying of simulated failed fuel in the simple experiment. Once a model captures the phenomenon in the simple experiment, it can be extended to predict drying under more prototypical conditions.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Identifying Critical Infrastructure in Imagery Data Using Explainable Convolutional Neural Networks

To date, no method utilizing satellite imagery exists for detailing the locations and functions of critical infrastructure across the United States, making response to natural disasters and other events challenging due to complex infrastructural interdependencies. This paper presents a repeatable, transferable, and explainable method for critical infrastructure analysis and implementation of a robust model for critical infrastructure detection in satellite imagery. This model consists of a DenseNet-161 convolutional neural network, pretrained with the ImageNet database. The model was provided additional training with a custom dataset, containing nine infrastructure classes. The resultant analysis achieved an overall accuracy of 90%, with the highest accuracy for airports (97%), hydroelectric dams (96%), solar farms (94%), substations (91%), potable water tanks (93%), and hospitals (93%). Critical infrastructure types with relatively low accuracy are likely influenced by data commonality between similar infrastructure components for petroleum terminals (86%), water treatment plants (78%), and natural gas generation (78%). Local interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIME) was integrated into the overall modeling pipeline to establish trust for users in critical infrastructure applications. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of a convolutional neural network approach for critical infrastructure identification, with higher than 90% accuracy in identifying six of the critical infrastructure facility types.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

RCSED—A Value-added Reference Catalog of Spectral Energy Distributions of 800,299 Galaxies in 11 Ultraviolet, Optical, and Near-infrared Bands: Morphologies, Colors, Ionized Gas, and Stellar Population Properties

We present RCSED, the value-added Reference Catalog of Spectral Energy Distributions of galaxies, which contains homogenized spectrophotometric data for 800,299 low- and intermediate-redshift galaxies (0.007<z<0.6) selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectroscopic sample. Accessible from the Virtual Observatory (VO) and complemented with detailed information on galaxy properties obtained with state-of-the-art data analysis, RCSED enables direct studies of galaxy formation and evolution over the last 5 Gyr. We provide tabulated color transformations for galaxies of different morphologies and luminosities, and analytic expressions for the red sequence shape in different colors. RCSED comprises integrated k-corrected photometry in up to 11 ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared bands published by the GALEX, SDSS, and UKIDSS wide-field imaging surveys; results of the stellar population fitting of SDSS spectra including best-fitting templates, velocity dispersions, parameterized star formation histories, and stellar metallicities computed for instantaneous starburst and exponentially declining star formation models; parametric and non-parametric emission line fluxes and profiles; and gas phase metallicities. We link RCSED to the Galaxy Zoo morphological classification and galaxy bulge+disk decomposition results of Simard et al. We construct the color–magnitude, Faber–Jackson, and mass–metallicity relations; compare them with the literature; and discuss systematic errors of the galaxy properties presented in our catalog. RCSED is accessible from the project web site and via VO simple spectrum access and table access services using VO-compliant applications. We describe several examples of SQL queries to the database. Finally, we briefly discuss existing and future scientific applications of RCSED and prospective catalog extensions to higher redshifts and different wavelengths.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Creep and creep-recovery of a thermoplastic resin and composite

The database on advanced thermoplastic composites, which is currently available to industry, contains little data on the creep and viscoelastic behavior. This behavior is nevertheless considered important, particularly for extended-service reliability in structural applications. The creep deformation of a specific thermoplastic resin and composite is reviewed. The problem to relate the data obtained on the resin to the data obtained on the composite is discussed.

Hiel, Clem↗

A passive microwave algorithm for tropical oceanic rainfall

This study discusses a rainfall algorithm utilizing six channels of microwave radiance data from the Nimbus-7 Scanning Multifrequency Microwave Radiometer. The algorithm is intended for short-term climate studies over the ocean at low latitudes. To find a set of functional relationships, rain rates are regressed on brightness temperatures for each channel. Next, these functions are integrated over a class of rain-rate distributions to find relations between mean brightness temperatures and mean rain rates. This step accounts for beam filling. Finally, weights are obtained for combining the rain rates from the individual channels. The weights vary with the rain rates, so that the optimum combination of channels is always used. Results are stored in a database grid 1 deg latitude x 1 deg longitude by one month. To test the algorithm, three years (1979-81) of data from the Indian Ocean are processed.

Hinton, Barry B.↗

Evaluation of RDBMS packages for use in astronomy

Tabular data sets arise in many areas of astronomical data analysis, from raw data (such as photon event lists) to final results (such as source catalogs). The Starlink catalog access and reporting package, SCAR, was originally developed to handle IRAS data and it has been the principal relational DBMS in the Starlink software collection for several years. But SCAR has many limitations and is VMS-specific, while Starlink is in transition from VMS to Unix. Rather than attempt a major re-write of SCAR for Unix, it seemed more sensible to see whether any existing database packages are suitable for general astronomical use. The authors first drew up a list of desirable properties for such a system and then used these criteria to evaluate a number of packages, both free ones and those commercially available. It is already clear that most commercial DBMS packages are not very well suited to the requirements; for example, most cannot carry out efficiently even fairly basic operations such as joining two catalogs on an approximate match of celestial positions. This paper reports the results of the evaluation exercise and notes the problems in using a standard DBMS package to process scientific data. In parallel with this the authors have started to develop a simple database engine that can handle tabular data in a range of common formats including simple direct-access files (such as SCAR and Exosat DBMS tables) and FITS tables (both ASCII and binary).

Page, C. G.↗

ISO Key Project: Exploring The Full Range of Quasar/AGN Properties

While most of the work on this program has been completed, as previously reported, the portion of the program dealing with the sub topic of ISO LWS data analysis and reduction for the LWS Extragalactic Science Team and its leader, Dr. Howard Smith, is still active. This program in fact continues to generate results, and newly available computer modeling has extended the value of the datasets, As a result the team has requested and been granted an obtained a no-cost extension to this program, through December 31, 2003. The essence of the proposal is to perform ISO spectroscopic studies, including data analysis and modeling, of star formation regions using an ensemble of archival space-based data from the Infrared Space Observatory's Long Wavelength Spectrometer and Short Wavelength Spectrometer, but including as well some other spectroscopic data bases. Four kinds of regions are considered in the studies: (1) disks around more evolved objects; (2) young, low or high mass pre-main sequence stars in star formation regions; (3) star formation in external, bright IR galaxies; and (4) the galactic center. One prime focus of the program is the OH lines in the far infrared. The program has the following goals: (1) refine the data analysis of ISO observations, to obtain deeper and better SNR results on selected sources. The ISO data itself underwent "pipeline 10" reductions in early 2001, and additional "hands-on data reduction packages" were supplied by the ISO teams in 2001. The Fabry-Perot database in particularly sensitive to noise can slight calibration errors. (2) model the atomic and molecular line shapes, in particular the OH lines, using revised Monte-Carlo techniques developed by the SWAS team at the Center for Astrophysics; (3) attend scientific meetings and workshops; (4) do E&PO activities related to infrared astrophysics and/or spectroscopy.

Wilkes, Belinda↗

ISO Key Project: Exploring the Full Range of Quasar/Agn Properties

While most of the work on this program has been completed, as previously reported, the portion of the program dealing with the subtopic of ISO LWS data analysis and reduction for the LWS Extragalactic Science Team and its leader, Dr. Howard Smith, is still active. This program in fact continues to generate results, and newly available computer modeling has extended the value of the datasets. As a result the team requests a one-year no-cost extension to this program, through 31 December 2004. The essence of the proposal is to perform ISO spectroscopic studies, including data analysis and modeling, of star-formation regions using an ensemble of archival space-based data from the Infrared Space Observatory's Long Wavelength Spectrometer and Short Wavelength Spectrometer, but including as well some other spectroscopic databases. Four kinds of regions are considered in the studies: (1) disks around more evolved objects; (2) young, low or high mass pre-main sequence stars in star-formation regions; (3) star formation in external, bright IR galaxies; and (4) the galactic center. One prime focus of the program is the OH lines in the far infrared. The program has the following goals: 1) Refine the data analysis of ISO observations to obtain deeper and better SNR results on selected sources. The ISO data itself underwent 'pipeline 10' reductions in early 2001, and additional 'hands-on data reduction packages' were supplied by the ISO teams in 2001. The Fabry-Perot database is particularly sensitive to noise and slight calibration errors; 2) Model the atomic and molecular line shapes, in particular the OH lines, using revised Monte-Carlo techniques developed by the SWAS team at the Center for Astrophysics; 3) Attend scientific meetings and workshops; 4) Perform E&PO activities related to infrared astrophysics and/or spectroscopy.

Wilkes, Belinda↗

NASA's Global Change Master Directory: Discover and Access Earth Science Data Sets, Related Data Services, and Climate Diagnostics

NASA's Global Change Master Directory provides the scientific community with the ability to discover, access, and use Earth science data, data-related services, and climate diagnostics worldwide. The GCMD offers descriptions of Earth science data sets using the Directory Interchange Format (DIF) metadata standard; Earth science related data services are described using the Service Entry Resource Format (SERF); and climate visualizations are described using the Climate Diagnostic (CD) standard. The DIF, SERF and CD standards each capture data attributes used to determine whether a data set, service, or climate visualization is relevant to a user's needs. Metadata fields include: title, summary, science keywords, service keywords, data center, data set citation, personnel, instrument, platform, quality, related URL, temporal and spatial coverage, data resolution and distribution information. In addition, nine valuable sets of controlled vocabularies have been developed to assist users in normalizing the search for data descriptions. An update to the GCMD's search functionality is planned to further capitalize on the controlled vocabularies during database queries. By implementing a dynamic keyword "tree", users will have the ability to search for data sets by combining keywords in new ways. This will allow users to conduct more relevant and efficient database searches to support the free exchange and re-use of Earth science data. http://gcmd.nasa.gov/

Aleman, Alicia↗