The Digital North Denmark Programme -Promoting Regional Change?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Christian Richter

2007-01-01

The Digital North Denmark (DDN) was an IT programme running from 2000 to 2003 in the North Jutland County in Denmark with national government support of € 23 million. The Danish government initiated the programme with the aim of further strengthening regions with an already proven ICT capability...... (Dybkjær and Lindegaard, 1999, p.96-100). The declared approach was to build on the existing competencies in industry as well as at universities. The national government chose two regions – Ørestaden, a new concentration of knowledge-based institutions near Copenhagen Airport, and North Jutland......-offers within four themes. The participants - meant to be project consortia of ideally private firms, public or private organisations as well as regional and municipal government bodies - could get a maximum national government support of one third of the total project sum.This chapter investigates how...

Digitally programmable microfluidic automaton for multiscale combinatorial mixing and sample processing†

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Erik C.; Stockton, Amanda M.; Chiesl, Thomas N.; Kim, Jungkyu; Bera, Abhisek; Mathies, Richard A.

2013-01-01

A digitally programmable microfluidic Automaton consisting of a 2-dimensional array of pneumatically actuated microvalves is programmed to perform new multiscale mixing and sample processing operations. Large (µL-scale) volume processing operations are enabled by precise metering of multiple reagents within individual nL-scale valves followed by serial repetitive transfer to programmed locations in the array. A novel process exploiting new combining valve concepts is developed for continuous rapid and complete mixing of reagents in less than 800 ms. Mixing, transfer, storage, and rinsing operations are implemented combinatorially to achieve complex assay automation protocols. The practical utility of this technology is demonstrated by performing automated serial dilution for quantitative analysis as well as the first demonstration of on-chip fluorescent derivatization of biomarker targets (carboxylic acids) for microchip capillary electrophoresis on the Mars Organic Analyzer. A language is developed to describe how unit operations are combined to form a microfluidic program. Finally, this technology is used to develop a novel microfluidic 6-sample processor for combinatorial mixing of large sets (>26 unique combinations) of reagents. The digitally programmable microfluidic Automaton is a versatile programmable sample processor for a wide range of process volumes, for multiple samples, and for different types of analyses. PMID:23172232

Extraction of Urban Trees from Integrated Airborne Based Digital Image and LIDAR Point Cloud Datasets - Initial Results

Science.gov (United States)

Dogon-yaro, M. A.; Kumar, P.; Rahman, A. Abdul; Buyuksalih, G.

2016-10-01

Timely and accurate acquisition of information on the condition and structural changes of urban trees serves as a tool for decision makers to better appreciate urban ecosystems and their numerous values which are critical to building up strategies for sustainable development. The conventional techniques used for extracting tree features include; ground surveying and interpretation of the aerial photography. However, these techniques are associated with some constraint, such as labour intensive field work, a lot of financial requirement, influences by weather condition and topographical covers which can be overcome by means of integrated airborne based LiDAR and very high resolution digital image datasets. This study presented a semi-automated approach for extracting urban trees from integrated airborne based LIDAR and multispectral digital image datasets over Istanbul city of Turkey. The above scheme includes detection and extraction of shadow free vegetation features based on spectral properties of digital images using shadow index and NDVI techniques and automated extraction of 3D information about vegetation features from the integrated processing of shadow free vegetation image and LiDAR point cloud datasets. The ability of the developed algorithms shows a promising result as an automated and cost effective approach to estimating and delineated 3D information of urban trees. The research also proved that integrated datasets is a suitable technology and a viable source of information for city managers to be used in urban trees management.

Digital Instrumentation and Control working group (DICWG) - MDEP DICWG Programme Plan 2012 2013

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-02-01

The Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP) Digital Instrumentation and Controls Working Group (DICWG) was approved by MDEP's Policy Group in March 2008 and meets approximately 3 times a year. All MDEP members and the IAEA are invited to participate in this working group's activities. The DICWG's main objectives are as follows: - to document common positions in the DI and C safety systems design areas; - to harmonise and converge national codes, standards and regulatory requirements and practices in this area while recognising the sovereign rights and responsibilities of national regulators in carrying out their safety reviews of new reactor designs (see the DICWG programme plan for more details of the group's work). The DICWG interacts regularly with the following organisations: - IEC (International Electro-technical Commission) Subcommittee 45A, Instrumentation and Control of Nuclear Facilities; - IEEE (Institute of Electric and Electronics Engineers); - other organisations involved in the design of digital I and C safety systems for nuclear power plants. The DICWG reports its status to the MDEP Steering Technical Committee at the latter's thrice annual meetings. This document presents the 2012 and 2013 programme plan and its products: the Generic Common Position DICWG-02 on Software Tools; the Generic Common Position DICWG-03 on Verification and Validation throughout the Life Cycle of Safety Systems Using Digital Computers; the Generic Common Position DICWG-04 on Communication Independence; the Generic Common Position DICWG-05 on Treatment of Hardware Description Language (HDL) Programmed Devices for Use in Nuclear Safety Systems; the Generic Common Position DICWG-06 on Simplicity in Design; the Generic Common Position DICWG-08 on Impact of Cyber Security Features on Digital I and C Safety Systems

Digital mammography in a screening programme and its implications for pathology: a comparative study.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Feeley, Linda

2011-03-01

Most studies comparing full-field digital mammography (FFDM) with conventional screen-film mammography (SFM) have been radiology-based. The pathological implications of FFDM have received little attention in the literature, especially in the context of screening programmes. The primary objective of this retrospective study is to compare FFDM with SFM in a population-based screening programme with regard to a number of pathological parameters.

Finnish experiences on licensing and using of programmable digital systems in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapanen, P.; Maskuniitty, M.; Heimburger, H.; Hall, L.E.; Manninen, T.

1993-01-01

Finnish utility companies, Imatran Voima Oy (IVO) and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), and the licensing authority, the Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (STUK), are preparing for a new nuclear power plant in Finland. Plant vendors are proposing programmable digital automation systems for both the safety-related and the operational I and C (instrumentation and control) systems in this new unit. Also in existing plant units the replacement of certain old analog systems with state-of-the-art digital ones will become necessary in the years to come. Licensing of programmable systems for safety critical applications requires a new approach due to the special properties and failure modes of these systems. The major difficulties seem to be in the assessment and quantification of software reliability. The Technical Research Centre of Finland has in co-operation with the authority and the utilities conducted a project (AJA) to develop domestically applicable licensing requirements, guidelines and practices. International standards, guidelines and licensing practices have been analyzed in order to specify national licensing requirements. The paper describes and discusses the findings and experiences of the AJA project so far. The experience in introducing advanced programmable digital control and computer systems in the operating nuclear power plants will be covered briefly. Although these systems are not safety-related but systems of more general interest regarding nuclear safety, some routines regarding the licensing of safety- related systems have been followed. In these backfitting and replacement projects some experience have been gained in how to license safety-related programmable systems. (Author) 31 refs., 2 figs

Implementation of Adaptive Digital Controllers on Programmable Logic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Gwaltney, David A.; King, Kenneth D.; Smith, Keary J.; Monenegro, Justino (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Much has been made of the capabilities of FPGA's (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) in the hardware implementation of fast digital signal processing. Such capability also makes an FPGA a suitable platform for the digital implementation of closed loop controllers. Other researchers have implemented a variety of closed-loop digital controllers on FPGA's. Some of these controllers include the widely used proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller, state space controllers, neural network and fuzzy logic based controllers. There are myriad advantages to utilizing an FPGA for discrete-time control functions which include the capability for reconfiguration when SRAM-based FPGA's are employed, fast parallel implementation of multiple control loops and implementations that can meet space level radiation tolerance requirements in a compact form-factor. Generally, a software implementation on a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or microcontroller is used to implement digital controllers. At Marshall Space Flight Center, the Control Electronics Group has been studying adaptive discrete-time control of motor driven actuator systems using digital signal processor (DSP) devices. While small form factor, commercial DSP devices are now available with event capture, data conversion, pulse width modulated (PWM) outputs and communication peripherals, these devices are not currently available in designs and packages which meet space level radiation requirements. In general, very few DSP devices are produced that are designed to meet any level of radiation tolerance or hardness. The goal of this effort is to create a fully digital, flight ready controller design that utilizes an FPGA for implementation of signal conditioning for control feedback signals, generation of commands to the controlled system, and hardware insertion of adaptive control algorithm approaches. An alternative is required for compact implementation of such functionality to withstand the harsh environment

The Digital Heart Manual: A pilot study of an innovative cardiac rehabilitation programme developed for and with users.

Science.gov (United States)

Deighan, C; Michalova, L; Pagliari, C; Elliott, J; Taylor, L; Ranaldi, H

2017-08-01

Patients are seeking greater choice and flexibility in how they engage with self-management programmes. While digital innovations offer opportunities to deliver supportive interventions to patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation little is known about how accessible, useful and acceptable they are for this group. This project developed a digital version of a leading evidenced cardiac rehabilitation programme, the Heart Manual (HM). The prototype was developed and evaluated iteratively in collaboration with end users. Using a mixed methods design 28 participants provided feedback using semi-structured questionnaires and telephone interviews. Rich data revealed the perceived user-friendliness of the HM digital format and its effectiveness at communicating the programme's key messages. It flagged areas requiring development, such as more flexible and intuitive navigation pathways. These suggestions informed the refinement of the resource. This evaluation offers support for the new Digital Heart Manual and confirms the value of employing a user-centred approach when developing and improving online interventions. The system is now in use and recommendations from the evaluation are being translated into quality improvements. The Digital Heart Manual is user friendly and accessible to patients and health professionals, regardless of age, presenting a suitable alternative to the paper version. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Third-Order Elliptic Lowpass Filter for Multi-Standard Baseband Chain Using Highly Linear Digitally Programmable OTA

Science.gov (United States)

Elamien, Mohamed B.; Mahmoud, Soliman A.

2018-03-01

In this paper, a third-order elliptic lowpass filter is designed using highly linear digital programmable balanced OTA. The filter exhibits a cutoff frequency tuning range from 2.2 MHz to 7.1 MHz, thus, it covers W-CDMA, UMTS, and DVB-H standards. The programmability concept in the filter is achieved by using digitally programmable operational transconductors amplifier (DPOTA). The DPOTA employs three linearization techniques which are the source degeneration, double differential pair and the adaptive biasing. Two current division networks (CDNs) are used to control the value of the transconductance. For the DPOTA, the third-order harmonic distortion (HD3) remains below -65 dB up to 0.4 V differential input voltage at 1.2 V supply voltage. The DPOTA and the filter are designed and simulated in 90 nm CMOS technology with LTspice simulator.

Ground target geolocation based on digital elevation model for airborne wide-area reconnaissance system

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, Chuan; Ding, Yalin; Xu, Yongsen; Xiu, Jihong

2018-01-01

To obtain the geographical position of the ground target accurately, a geolocation algorithm based on the digital elevation model (DEM) is developed for an airborne wide-area reconnaissance system. According to the platform position and attitude information measured by the airborne position and orientation system and the gimbal angles information from the encoder, the line-of-sight pointing vector in the Earth-centered Earth-fixed coordinate frame is solved by the homogeneous coordinate transformation. The target longitude and latitude can be solved with the elliptical Earth model and the global DEM. The influences of the systematic error and measurement error on ground target geolocation calculation accuracy are analyzed by the Monte Carlo method. The simulation results show that this algorithm can improve the geolocation accuracy of ground target in rough terrain area obviously. The geolocation accuracy of moving ground target can be improved by moving average filtering (MAF). The validity of the geolocation algorithm is verified by the flight test in which the plane flies at a geodetic height of 15,000 m and the outer gimbal angle is <47°. The geolocation root mean square error of the target trajectory is <45 and <7 m after MAF.

Programmable electronic system for analog and digital gamma cameras modernization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osorio Deliz, J. F.; Diaz Garcia, A.; Arista Omeu, E. J.

2013-01-01

At present the use of analog and digital gamma cameras is continuously increasing in developing countries. Many of them still largely rely in old hardware electronics, which in many cases limits their use in actual nuclear medicine diagnostic studies. For this reason worldwide there are different medical equipment manufacturing companies engaged into partial or total Gamma Cameras modernization. Nevertheless in several occasions acquisition prices are not affordable for developing countries. This work describes the basic features of a programmable electronic system that allows improving acquisitions functions and processing of analog and digital gamma cameras. This system is based on an electronic board for the acquisition and digitization of nuclear pulses which have been generated by gamma camera detector. It comprises a hardware interface with PC and the associated software to fully signal processing. Signal shaping and image processing are included. The extensive use of reference tables in the processing and signal imaging software allowed the optimization of the processing speed. Time design and system cost were also decreased. (Author)

Networked Airborne Communications Using Adaptive Multi Beam Directional Links

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-05

Networked Airborne Communications Using Adaptive Multi-Beam Directional Links R. Bruce MacLeod Member, IEEE, and Adam Margetts Member, IEEE MIT...provide new techniques for increasing throughput in airborne adaptive directional net- works. By adaptive directional linking, we mean systems that can...techniques can dramatically increase the capacity in airborne networks. Advances in digital array technology are beginning to put these gains within reach

Accuracy assessment of TanDEM-X IDEM using airborne LiDAR on the area of Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woroszkiewicz Małgorzata

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement (TanDEM-X mission launched in 2010 is another programme – after the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM in 2000 – that uses space-borne radar interferometry to build a global digital surface model. This article presents the accuracy assessment of the TanDEM-X intermediate Digital Elevation Model (IDEM provided by the German Aerospace Center (DLR under the project “Accuracy assessment of a Digital Elevation Model based on TanDEM-X data” for the southwestern territory of Poland. The study area included: open terrain, urban terrain and forested terrain. Based on a set of 17,498 reference points acquired by airborne laser scanning, the mean errors of average heights and standard deviations were calculated for areas with a terrain slope below 2 degrees, between 2 and 6 degrees and above 6 degrees. The absolute accuracy of the IDEM data for the analysed area, expressed as a root mean square error (Total RMSE, was 0.77 m.

Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station Joint Tactical Radio System (AMF JTRS)

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) RCS: DD-A&T(Q&A)823-421 Airborne & Maritime/Fixed Station Joint Tactical Radio System (AMF JTRS) As of FY 2017...Information Program Name Airborne & Maritime/Fixed Station Joint Tactical Radio System (AMF JTRS) DoD Component Army Responsible Office References SAR...UNCLASSIFIED 5 Mission and Description Airborne & Maritime/Fixed Station Joint Tactical Radio System (AMF JTRS) products are software programmable

Digital innovations and emerging technologies for enhanced recovery programmes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michard, F; Gan, T J; Kehlet, H

2017-01-01

Enhanced recovery programmes (ERPs) are increasingly used to improve post-surgical recovery. However, compliance to various components of ERPs-a key determinant of success-remains sub-optimal. Emerging technologies have the potential to help patients and caregivers to improve compliance with ERPs...... of the above-mentioned ERP elements is omitted during the surgical journey.By optimizing compliance to the multiple components of ERPs, digital innovations, non-invasive techniques and wearable sensors have the potential to magnify the clinical and economic benefits of ERPs. Among the growing number...... of technical innovations, studies are needed to clarify which tools and solutions have real clinical value and are cost-effective....

Aerodigitalni senzori - LH Systems ADS 40 / Airborne digital sensors: LH Systems ADS 40

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marko Pejić

2004-01-01

Full Text Available U radu su prezentovane osnove prikupljanja prostornih podataka metodom daljinske detekcije i klasičnim fotogrametrijskim metodom. Ukazano je na kompromis između dva metoda koji nudi digitalna aerokamera. Kompanija LH Systems proizvela je digitalnu aerokameru ADS 40 koja nudi sasvim nov koncept prikupljanja prostornih podataka. Sistem kamere obezbeđuje panhromatske i trodimenzionalne informacije koristeći tri CCD linije i opciono još pet linija iz multispektralnog opsega. Kamera skenira teren sa prostornom rezolucijom od 25 cm, površine od 300 kvadratnih kilometara, uz vreme trajanja leta koje je nešto kraće od jednog sata. / This paper presents basics of collecting spatial data with remote sensing and the classical photogrammetric method. A compromise between two methods, offered by a digital aero camera, is also suggested. The LH Systems has produced a new camera concept called Airborne Digital Sensor (ADS 40 which uses a new way of collecting spatial data. The camera system provides panchromatic and stereo information using three CCD lines and up to five more lines for multispectral imagery. The performance of the camera allows a three dimensional and multispectral image with a ground sample distance of 25 cm for an area of 300 square miles within a flight time shorter than one hour.

Digital Signal Processing Applications and Implementation for Accelerators Digital Notch Filter with Programmable Delay and Betatron Phase Adjustment for the PS, SPS and LHC Transverse Dampers

CERN Document Server

Rossi, V

2002-01-01

In the framework of the LHC project and the modifications of the SPS as its injector, I present the concept of global digital signal processing applied to a particle accelerator, using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology. The approach of global digital synthesis implements in numerical form the architecture of a system, from the start up of a project and the very beginning of the signal flow. It takes into account both the known parameters and the future evolution, whenever possible. Due to the increased performance requirements of today's projects, the CAE design methodology becomes more and more necessary to handle successfully the added complexity and speed of modern electronic circuits. Simulation is performed both for behavioural analysis, to ensure conformity to functional requirements, and for time signal analysis (speed requirements). The digital notch filter with programmable delay for the SPS Transverse Damper is now fully operational with fixed target and LHC-type beams circulating in t...

A Digitally Programmable Differential Integrator with Enlarged Time Constant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. K. Debroy

1994-12-01

Full Text Available A new Operational Amplifier (OA-RC integrator network is described. The novelties of the design are used of single grounded capacitor, ideal integration function realization with dual-input capability and design flexibility for extremely large time constant involving an enlargement factor (K using product of resistor ratios. The aspect of the digital control of K through a programmable resistor array (PRA controlled by a microprocessor has also been implemented. The effect of the OA-poles has been analyzed which indicates degradation of the integrator-Q at higher frequencies. An appropriate Q-compensation design scheme exhibiting 1 : |A|2 order of Q-improvement has been proposed with supporting experimental observations.

Microwave metamaterials—from passive to digital and programmable controls of electromagnetic waves

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Tie Jun

2017-08-01

Since 2004, my group at Southeast University has been carrying out research into microwave metamaterials, which are classified into three catagories: metamaterials based on the effective medium model, plasmonic metamaterials for spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), and coding and programmable metamaterials. For effective-medium metamaterials, we have developed a general theory to accurately describe effective permittivity and permeability in semi-analytical forms, from which we have designed and realized a three dimensional (3D) wideband ground-plane invisibility cloak, a free-space electrostatic invisibility cloak, an electromagnetic black hole, optical/radar illusions, and radially anisotropic zero-index metamaterial for omni-directional radiation and a nearly perfect power combination of source array, etc. We have also considered the engineering applications of microwave metamaterials, such as a broadband and low-loss 3D transformation-optics lens for wide-angle scanning, a 3D planar gradient-index lens for high-gain radiations, and a random metasurface for reducing radar cross sections. In the area of plasmonic metamaterials, we proposed an ultrathin, narrow, and flexible corrugated metallic strip to guide SPPs with a small bending loss and radiation loss, from which we designed and realized a series of SPP passive devices (e.g. power divider, coupler, filter, and resonator) and active devices (e.g. amplifier and duplexer). We also showed a significant feature of the ultrathin SPP waveguide in overcoming the challenge of signal integrity in traditional integrated circuits, which will help build a high-performance SPP wireless communication system. In the area of coding and programmable metamaterials, we proposed a new measure to describe a metamaterial from the viewpoint of information theory. We have illustrated theoretically and experimentally that coding metamaterials composed of digital units can be controlled by coding sequences, leading to different

Development of a fast time-to-digital converter (TDC) using a programmable gate array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mine, Shun-ichi; Tokushuku, Katsuo; Yamada, Sakue.

1994-09-01

A fast time-to-digital converter with a 5 ns step was designed and tested by utilizing a user-programmable gate array. The stabilities against temperature and supply voltage variation were measured. A module was built with this TDC, and was successfully used in the first-level trigger system of the ZEUS detector to reject proton-beam induced background events. (author)

Statistical correction of lidar-derived digital elevation models with multispectral airborne imagery in tidal marshes

Science.gov (United States)

Buffington, Kevin J.; Dugger, Bruce D.; Thorne, Karen M.; Takekawa, John Y.

2016-01-01

Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) is a valuable tool for collecting large amounts of elevation data across large areas; however, the limited ability to penetrate dense vegetation with lidar hinders its usefulness for measuring tidal marsh platforms. Methods to correct lidar elevation data are available, but a reliable method that requires limited field work and maintains spatial resolution is lacking. We present a novel method, the Lidar Elevation Adjustment with NDVI (LEAN), to correct lidar digital elevation models (DEMs) with vegetation indices from readily available multispectral airborne imagery (NAIP) and RTK-GPS surveys. Using 17 study sites along the Pacific coast of the U.S., we achieved an average root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.072 m, with a 40–75% improvement in accuracy from the lidar bare earth DEM. Results from our method compared favorably with results from three other methods (minimum-bin gridding, mean error correction, and vegetation correction factors), and a power analysis applying our extensive RTK-GPS dataset showed that on average 118 points were necessary to calibrate a site-specific correction model for tidal marshes along the Pacific coast. By using available imagery and with minimal field surveys, we showed that lidar-derived DEMs can be adjusted for greater accuracy while maintaining high (1 m) resolution.

Alternative analysis of airborne laser data collected within conventional multi-parameter airborne geophysical surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Ahl, Andreas; Supper, R.; Motschka, K.; Schattauer, I.

2010-05-01

For the interpretation of airborne gamma-ray spectrometry as well as airborne electromagnetics it is of great importance to determine the distance between the geophysical sensor and the ground surface. Since radar altimeters do not penetrate vegetation, laser altimeters became popular in airborne geophysics over the past years. Currently the airborne geophysical platform of the Geological Survey of Austria (GBA) is equipped with a Riegl LD90-3800VHS-FLP high resolution laser altimeter, measuring the distances according to the first and the last reflected pulse. The goal of the presented study was to explore the possibilities of deriving additional information about the survey area from the laser data and to determine the accuracy of such results. On one hand the difference between the arrival time of the first and the last reflected pulse can be used to determine the height of the vegetation. This parameter is for example important for the correction of damping effects on airborne gamma-ray measurements caused by vegetation. Moreover especially for groundwater studies at catchment scale, this parameter can also be applied to support the spatial assessment of evapotranspiration. In combination with the altitude above geoid, determined by a GPS receiver, a rough digital elevation model of the survey area can be derived from the laser altimetry. Based on a data set from a survey area in the northern part of Austria, close to the border with the Czech Republic, the reliability of such a digital elevation model and the calculated vegetation height was tested. In this study a mean deviation of -1.4m, with a standard deviation of ±3.4m, between the digital elevation model from Upper Austria (25m spatial resolution) and the determined elevation model was determined. We also found an obvious correlation between the calculated vegetation heights greater 15m and the mapped forest published by the ‘Department of Forest Inventory' of the ‘Federal Forest Office' of Austria

Experience with the european quality assurance guidelines for digital mammography systems in a national screening programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCullagh, J.; Keavey, E.; Egan, G.; Phelan, N.

2013-01-01

The transition to a fully digital breast screening programme, utilising three different full-field digital mammography (FFDM) systems has presented many challenges to the implementation of the European guidelines for physico-technical quality assurance (QA) testing. An analysis of the QA results collected from the FFDM systems in the screening programme over a 2-y period indicates that the three different systems have similar QA performances. Generally, the same tests were failed by all systems and failure rates were low. The findings provide some assurance that the QA guidelines are being correctly implemented. They also suggest that there is more scope for the development of the relevance of the guidelines with respect to modern FFDM systems. This study has also shown that a summary review of the QA data can be achieved by simple organisation of the QA data storage and by automation of data query and retrieval using commonly available software. (authors)

Precision Rectification of Airborne SAR Image

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dall, Jørgen; Liao, M.; Zhang, Zhe

1997-01-01

A simple and direct procedure for the rectification of a certain class of airborne SAR data is presented. The relief displacements of SAR data are effectively removed by means of a digital elevation model and the image is transformed to the ground coordinate system. SAR data from the Danish EMISAR...

Development and Implementation of Augmented Quality Programmable Digital System in NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandic, D.; Linke, B.; Thomas, M. S.; Boh, F.

2008-01-01

In order to continue meeting safety and reliability requirements and in the same time controlling NPP (Nuclear Power Plant) operating costs, operators of NPPs must be able to replace and upgrade equipment in a cost effective manner. In spite of the fact, that in the last thirty years no other plant technology has passed through so spectacular development process as instrumentation and control (I and C) systems, digital I and C upgrades in NPPs were hindered because of several reasons. Upgrades of I and C systems typically involve replacement of analog devices or old digital ones with programmable digital technology. While planning and implementing design changes and upgrades in an operating NPP, quality and achievement of excellence in the final products as well as in the implemented processes becomes an unavoidable requirement that is larger challenge to be achieved, if it includes programmable digital systems (PDS). The term 'Augmented Quality' describes special quality requirements that were imposed by licensee and it is related to the subset of the Non-Safety Related (NSR) systems, structures and components (SSC) which are very important for plant reliability, operability, and availability, or like in this particular case, the NSR PDS that could have reasonable potential to cause a transient or turbine trip, which could result in a challenge to safeguard systems, functions or equipment, and because of that is identified also as ITS - Important To Safety equipment. Owing to the specifics of the PDS life cycle, they have to be treated in a different way than other plant equipment, related processes and documentation. It is well known fact that the quality of the integrated PDS can not be achieved, verified and validated solely by the post development and post installation system testing. To achieve non compromising quality and excellence as a final goal, specific quality planning requirements have to be built in all processes and products throughout the PDS life

Using Airborne SAR Interferometry to Measure the Elevation of a Greenland Ice Cap

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dall, Jørgen; Keller, K.; Madsen, S.N.

2000-01-01

A digital elevation model (DEM) of an ice cap in Greenland has been generated from airborne SAR interferometry data, calibrated with a new algorithm, and compared with airborne laser altimetry profiles and carrier-phase differential GPS measurements of radar reflectors deployed on the ice cap...... with GPS data and calibrated laser data....

An FPGA-Integrated Time-to-Digital Converter Based on a Ring Oscillator for Programmable Delay Line Resolution Measurement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chao Chen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We describe the architecture of a time-to-digital converter (TDC, specially intended to measure the delay resolution of a programmable delay line (PDL. The configuration, which consists of a ring oscillator, a frequency divider (FD, and a period measurement circuit (PMC, is implemented in a field programmable gate array (FPGA device. The ring oscillator realized in loop containing a PDL and a look-up table (LUT generates periodic oscillatory pulses. The FD amplifies the oscillatory period from nanosecond range to microsecond range. The time-to-digital conversion is based on counting the number of clock cycles between two consecutive pulses of the FD by the PMC. Experiments have been conducted to verify the performance of the TDC. The achieved relative errors for four PDLs are within 0.50%–1.21% and the TDC has an equivalent resolution of about 0.4 ps.

Airborne laser: a tool to study landscape surface features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritchie, J.C.; Jackson, T.J.; Everitt, J.H.; Escobar, D.E.; Murphey, J.B.; Grissinger, E.H.

1992-01-01

Landscape surface features related to erosion and hydrology were measured using an airborne laser profiler. The airborne laser profiler made 4,000 measurements per second with a recording accuracy of 5 cm (1.9 inches) on a single measurement. Digital data from the laser are recorded and analyzed with a personal computer. These airborne laser profiles provide information on surface landscape features. Topography and canopy heights, cover, and distribution of natural vegetation were determined in studies in South Texas. Laser measurements of shrub cover along flightlines were highly correlated (R 2 = 0.98) with ground measurements made with line-intercept methods. Stream channel cross sections on Goodwin Creek in Mississippi were measured quickly and accurately with airborne laser data. Airborne laser profile data were used to measure small gullies in a level fallow field and in field with mature soybeans. While conventional ground-based techniques can be used to make these measurements, airborne laser profiler techniques allow data to be collected quickly, at a high density, and in areas that are essentially inaccessible for ground surveys. Airborne laser profiler data can quantify landscape features related to erosion and runoff, and the laser proler has the potential to be a useful tool for providing other data for studying and managing natural resources

Above-ground biomass assessment of Mediterranean forests using airborne imaging spectrometry: the DAIS Peyne experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jong, de S.M.; Pebesma, E.; Lacaze, B.

2003-01-01

In July of 1997, various experimental flights were carried out with the Digital Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (DAIS7915). DAIS7915, or DAIS for short, is a European airborne imaging spectrometer and is maintained and operated by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) at Oberpfaffenhofen. One of the 1997

Elementary analysis of airborne dust (preliminary findings of the AFR Coordinated Airborne Dust Programme (LVPr))

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-03-01

In March 1981 the systematic measuring of 15 elements of airborne dust was started in the Coordinated Airborne Dust Program (LVPr) by the Association for the Promotion of Radionuclide Technology (AFR). The sampling was done under comparable conditions at five selected places within the Federal Republic of Germany by using especially developed large-filter High Volume Samplers. The aim of this research is to establish the foundation for further investigations on the effects of the current given element concentrations on human life. When the results of the first half-year (summer period) were in hand, these element concentrations, which had been analysed using different methods, were presented to a group of experts, also with the experience gained with the analytical methods, in order to critically assess procedure and philosophy of this study. This evaluation was done on the occasion of a colloquium on Jun 29th, 1982 at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Centre. The presented AFR-Report contains the papers and the discussions of this meeting as well as the average element data with respect to the sampling time between 15th and 40th week of the year 1981. The discussion contributions presented here correspond to the essential statements that have been given and recorded. A total classification of all data relating to the whole sampling time of the LVPr will be given in AFR-Report No. 007. (orig.) [de

Digital innovations and emerging technologies for enhanced recovery programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

Michard, F; Gan, T J; Kehlet, H

2017-07-01

Enhanced recovery programmes (ERPs) are increasingly used to improve post-surgical recovery. However, compliance to various components of ERPs-a key determinant of success-remains sub-optimal. Emerging technologies have the potential to help patients and caregivers to improve compliance with ERPs.Preoperative physical condition, a major determinant of postoperative outcome, could be optimized with the use of text messages (SMS) or digital applications (Apps) designed to facilitate smoking cessation, modify physical activity, and better manage hypertension and diabetes. Several non-invasive haemodynamic monitoring techniques and decision support tools are now available to individualize perioperative fluid management, a key component of ERPs. Objective nociceptive assessment may help to rationalize the use of pain medications, including opioids. Wearable sensors designed to monitor cardio-respiratory function may help in the early detection of clinical deterioration during the postoperative recovery and to address 'failure to rescue'. Activity trackers may be useful to monitor early mobilization, another major element of ERPs. Finally, electronic checklists have been developed to ensure that none of the above-mentioned ERP elements is omitted during the surgical journey.By optimizing compliance to the multiple components of ERPs, digital innovations, non-invasive techniques and wearable sensors have the potential to magnify the clinical and economic benefits of ERPs. Among the growing number of technical innovations, studies are needed to clarify which tools and solutions have real clinical value and are cost-effective. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

An airborne dispersion/dose assessment computer program. Phase 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, C.K.; Kennedy, E.R.; Hughs, R.

1991-05-01

The Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) staff have a need for an airborne dispersion-dose assessment computer programme for a microcomputer. The programme must be capable of analyzing the dispersion of both radioactive and non-radioactive materials. A further requirement of the programme is that it be implemented on the AECB complex of microcomputers and that it have an advanced graphical user interface. A survey of computer programs was conducted to determine which, if any, could meet the AECB's requirements in whole or in part. Ten programmes were selected for detailed review including programs for nuclear and non-radiological emergencies. None of the available programmes for radiation dose assessment meets all the requirements for reasons of user interaction, method of source term estimation or site specificity. It is concluded that the best option for meeting the AECB requirements is to adopt the CAMEO programme (specifically the ALOHA portion) which has a superior graphical user interface and add the necessary models for radiation dose assessment

Programmable Digital Controller

Science.gov (United States)

Wassick, Gregory J.

2012-01-01

An existing three-channel analog servo loop controller has been redesigned for piezoelectric-transducer-based (PZT-based) etalon control applications to a digital servo loop controller. This change offers several improvements over the previous analog controller, including software control over proportional-integral-derivative (PID) parameters, inclusion of other data of interest such as temperature and pressure in the control laws, improved ability to compensate for PZT hysteresis and mechanical mount fluctuations, ability to provide pre-programmed scanning and stepping routines, improved user interface, expanded data acquisition, and reduced size, weight, and power.

Measuring canopy structure with an airborne laser altimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritchie, J.C.; Evans, D.L.; Jacobs, D.; Everitt, J.H.; Weltz, M.A.

1993-01-01

Quantification of vegetation patterns and properties is needed to determine their role on the landscape and to develop management plans to conserve our natural resources. Quantifying vegetation patterns from the ground, or by using aerial photography or satellite imagery is difficult, time consuming, and often expensive. Digital data from an airborne laser altimeter offer an alternative method to quantify selected vegetation properties and patterns of forest and range vegetation. Airborne laser data found canopy heights varied from 2 to 6 m within even-aged pine forests. Maximum canopy heights measured with the laser altimeter were significantly correlated to measurements made with ground-based methods. Canopy shape could be used to distinguish deciduous and evergreen trees. In rangeland areas, vegetation heights, spatial patterns, and canopy cover measured with the laser altimeter were significantly related with field measurements. These studies demonstrate the potential of airborne laser data to measure canopy structure and properties for large areas quickly and quantitatively

Digital signal processing

CERN Document Server

O'Shea, Peter; Hussain, Zahir M

2011-01-01

In three parts, this book contributes to the advancement of engineering education and that serves as a general reference on digital signal processing. Part I presents the basics of analog and digital signals and systems in the time and frequency domain. It covers the core topics: convolution, transforms, filters, and random signal analysis. It also treats important applications including signal detection in noise, radar range estimation for airborne targets, binary communication systems, channel estimation, banking and financial applications, and audio effects production. Part II considers sel

A digital optical phase-locked loop for diode lasers based on field programmable gate array

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zhouxiang; Zhang, Xian; Huang, Kaikai; Lu, Xuanhui

2012-09-01

We have designed and implemented a highly digital optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) for diode lasers in atom interferometry. The three parts of controlling circuit in this OPLL, including phase and frequency detector (PFD), loop filter and proportional integral derivative (PID) controller, are implemented in a single field programmable gate array chip. A structure type compatible with the model MAX9382/MCH12140 is chosen for PFD and pipeline and parallelism technology have been adapted in PID controller. Especially, high speed clock and twisted ring counter have been integrated in the most crucial part, the loop filter. This OPLL has the narrow beat note line width below 1 Hz, residual mean-square phase error of 0.14 rad2 and transition time of 100 μs under 10 MHz frequency step. A main innovation of this design is the completely digitalization of the whole controlling circuit in OPLL for diode lasers.

Digital Beamforming Scatterometer

Science.gov (United States)

Rincon, Rafael F.; Vega, Manuel; Kman, Luko; Buenfil, Manuel; Geist, Alessandro; Hillard, Larry; Racette, Paul

2009-01-01

This paper discusses scatterometer measurements collected with multi-mode Digital Beamforming Synthetic Aperture Radar (DBSAR) during the SMAP-VEX 2008 campaign. The 2008 SMAP Validation Experiment was conducted to address a number of specific questions related to the soil moisture retrieval algorithms. SMAP-VEX 2008 consisted on a series of aircraft-based.flights conducted on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware in the fall of 2008. Several other instruments participated in the campaign including the Passive Active L-Band System (PALS), the Marshall Airborne Polarimetric Imaging Radiometer (MAPIR), and the Global Positioning System Reflectometer (GPSR). This campaign was the first SMAP Validation Experiment. DBSAR is a multimode radar system developed at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center that combines state-of-the-art radar technologies, on-board processing, and advances in signal processing techniques in order to enable new remote sensing capabilities applicable to Earth science and planetary applications [l]. The instrument can be configured to operate in scatterometer, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), or altimeter mode. The system builds upon the L-band Imaging Scatterometer (LIS) developed as part of the RadSTAR program. The radar is a phased array system designed to fly on the NASA P3 aircraft. The instrument consists of a programmable waveform generator, eight transmit/receive (T/R) channels, a microstrip antenna, and a reconfigurable data acquisition and processor system. Each transmit channel incorporates a digital attenuator, and digital phase shifter that enables amplitude and phase modulation on transmit. The attenuators, phase shifters, and calibration switches are digitally controlled by the radar control card (RCC) on a pulse by pulse basis. The antenna is a corporate fed microstrip patch-array centered at 1.26 GHz with a 20 MHz bandwidth. Although only one feed is used with the present configuration, a provision was made for separate corporate

USGS QA Plan: Certification of digital airborne mapping products

Science.gov (United States)

Christopherson, J.

2007-01-01

To facilitate acceptance of new digital technologies in aerial imaging and mapping, the US Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners have launched a Quality Assurance (QA) Plan for Digital Aerial Imagery. This should provide a foundation for the quality of digital aerial imagery and products. It introduces broader considerations regarding processes employed by aerial flyers in collecting, processing and delivering data, and provides training and information for US producers and users alike.

Picosecond resolution programmable delay line

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suchenek, Mariusz

2009-01-01

The note presents implementation of a programmable delay line for digital signals. The tested circuit has a subnanosecond delay range programmable with a resolution of picoseconds. Implementation of the circuit was based on low-cost components, easily available on the market. (technical design note)

User guide programmer's reference. NUDOS: A computer programme for assessing the consequences of airborne releases of radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grupa, J.

1996-10-01

NUDOS is a computer program that can be used to evaluate the consequences of airborne releases of radioactive materials. The consequences evaluated are individual dose and associated radiological risk, collective dose and the contamination of land. The code is capable of dealing with both routine and accidental releases. For accidental releases both deterministic and probabilistic calculations can be performed and the impact and effectiveness of emergency actions can be evaluated. (orig.)

Efficient Design of OFDMA-Based Programmable Wireless Radios

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shah SFA

2008-01-01

Full Text Available With the increasing demand for efficient spectrum management, programmable wireless radios can potentially play a key role in shaping our future spectrum use. In this paper, we consider the design of low-power programmable wireless radios based on orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA. To meet the demands of higher data rate communications, we split OFDMA symbols carrying multiuser data across several noncontiguous bands of available spectrum. To relax power consumption in analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, we use a programmable narrowband RF front end comprising of programmable synthesizers and fixed low-pass filters. To perform digital baseband signal processing in an energy efficient manner, we propose efficient designs for the fast Fourier transform (FFT and inverse FFT (IFFT modules. Our designs of the FFT/IFFT modules reduce power consumption and chip area, and are capable of handling the dynamic nature of spectrum in programmable radios. To recover data that falls within the transition band of the filters, we propose a combiner similar to maximal ratio combiner. We also present the complete design of programmable wireless radios in accordance with the IEEE 802.22 (draft standard.

Efficient Design of OFDMA-Based Programmable Wireless Radios

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. H. Tewfik

2008-03-01

Full Text Available With the increasing demand for efficient spectrum management, programmable wireless radios can potentially play a key role in shaping our future spectrum use. In this paper, we consider the design of low-power programmable wireless radios based on orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA. To meet the demands of higher data rate communications, we split OFDMA symbols carrying multiuser data across several noncontiguous bands of available spectrum. To relax power consumption in analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, we use a programmable narrowband RF front end comprising of programmable synthesizers and fixed low-pass filters. To perform digital baseband signal processing in an energy efficient manner, we propose efficient designs for the fast Fourier transform (FFT and inverse FFT (IFFT modules. Our designs of the FFT/IFFT modules reduce power consumption and chip area, and are capable of handling the dynamic nature of spectrum in programmable radios. To recover data that falls within the transition band of the filters, we propose a combiner similar to maximal ratio combiner. We also present the complete design of programmable wireless radios in accordance with the IEEE 802.22 (draft standard.

A digital optical phase-locked loop for diode lasers based on field programmable gate array

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu Zhouxiang; Zhang Xian; Huang Kaikai; Lu Xuanhui [Physics Department, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027 (China)

2012-09-15

We have designed and implemented a highly digital optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) for diode lasers in atom interferometry. The three parts of controlling circuit in this OPLL, including phase and frequency detector (PFD), loop filter and proportional integral derivative (PID) controller, are implemented in a single field programmable gate array chip. A structure type compatible with the model MAX9382/MCH12140 is chosen for PFD and pipeline and parallelism technology have been adapted in PID controller. Especially, high speed clock and twisted ring counter have been integrated in the most crucial part, the loop filter. This OPLL has the narrow beat note line width below 1 Hz, residual mean-square phase error of 0.14 rad{sup 2} and transition time of 100 {mu}s under 10 MHz frequency step. A main innovation of this design is the completely digitalization of the whole controlling circuit in OPLL for diode lasers.

Typical Applications of Airborne LIDAR Technolagy in Geological Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, X.; Xiao, C.

2018-05-01

The technology of airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), also referred to as Airborne Laser Scanning, is widely used for high-resolution topographic data acquisition (even under forest cover) with sub-meter planimetric and vertical accuracy. This contribution constructs the real digital terrain model to provide the direct observation data for the landscape analysis in geological domains. Based on the advantage of LiDAR, the authors mainly deal with the applications of LiDAR data to such fields as surface land collapse, landslide and fault structure extraction. The review conclusion shows that airborne LiDAR technology is becoming an indispensable tool for above mentioned issues, especially in the local and large scale investigations of micro-topography. The technology not only can identify the surface collapse, landslide boundary and subtle faulted landform, but also be able to extract the filling parameters of collapsed surface, the geomorphic parameters of landslide stability evaluation and cracks. This technology has extensive prospect of applications in geological investigation.

TYPICAL APPLICATIONS OF AIRBORNE LIDAR TECHNOLAGY IN GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Zheng

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The technology of airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR, also referred to as Airborne Laser Scanning, is widely used for high-resolution topographic data acquisition (even under forest cover with sub-meter planimetric and vertical accuracy. This contribution constructs the real digital terrain model to provide the direct observation data for the landscape analysis in geological domains. Based on the advantage of LiDAR, the authors mainly deal with the applications of LiDAR data to such fields as surface land collapse, landslide and fault structure extraction. The review conclusion shows that airborne LiDAR technology is becoming an indispensable tool for above mentioned issues, especially in the local and large scale investigations of micro-topography. The technology not only can identify the surface collapse, landslide boundary and subtle faulted landform, but also be able to extract the filling parameters of collapsed surface, the geomorphic parameters of landslide stability evaluation and cracks. This technology has extensive prospect of applications in geological investigation.

Semi-Global Filtering of Airborne LiDAR Data for Fast Extraction of Digital Terrain Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiangyun Hu

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Automatic extraction of ground points, called filtering, is an essential step in producing Digital Terrain Models from airborne LiDAR data. Scene complexity and computational performance are two major problems that should be addressed in filtering, especially when processing large point cloud data with diverse scenes. This paper proposes a fast and intelligent algorithm called Semi-Global Filtering (SGF. The SGF models the filtering as a labeling problem in which the labels correspond to possible height levels. A novel energy function balanced by adaptive ground saliency is employed to adapt to steep slopes, discontinuous terrains, and complex objects. Semi-global optimization is used to determine labels that minimize the energy. These labels form an optimal classification surface based on which the points are classified as either ground or non-ground. The experimental results show that the SGF algorithm is very efficient and able to produce high classification accuracy. Given that the major procedure of semi-global optimization using dynamic programming is conducted independently along eight directions, SGF can also be paralleled and sped up via Graphic Processing Unit computing, which runs at a speed of approximately 3 million points per second.

Better Visualisation of Air-borne Laser Scanning for geomorphological and archaeological interpretation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ljungberg, Thomas; Scott, D; Kristiansen, Søren Munch

Digital elevation models derived from high-precision Air-borne Laser Scanning (ALS or LiDAR) point clouds are becoming increasingly available throughout the world. These elevation models presents a very valuable tool for locating and interpreting geomorphological as well as archaeological features...

A flexible 32-channel time-to-digital converter implemented in a Xilinx Zynq-7000 field programmable gate array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yonggang; Kuang, Jie; Liu, Chong; Cao, Qiang; Li, Deng

2017-01-01

A high performance multi-channel time-to-digital converter (TDC) is implemented in a Xilinx Zynq-7000 field programmable gate array (FPGA). It can be flexibly configured as either 32 TDC channels with 9.9 ps time-interval RMS precision, 16 TDC channels with 6.9 ps RMS precision, or 8 TDC channels with 5.8 ps RMS precision. All TDCs have a 380 M Samples/second measurement throughput and a 2.63 ns measurement dead time. The performance consistency and temperature dependence of TDC channels are also evaluated. Because Zynq-7000 FPGA family integrates a feature-rich dual-core ARM based processing system and 28 nm Xilinx programmable logic in a single device, the realization of high performance TDCs on it will make the platform more widely used in time-measuring related applications.

A flexible 32-channel time-to-digital converter implemented in a Xilinx Zynq-7000 field programmable gate array

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yonggang, E-mail: wangyg@ustc.edu.cn; Kuang, Jie; Liu, Chong; Cao, Qiang; Li, Deng

2017-03-01

A high performance multi-channel time-to-digital converter (TDC) is implemented in a Xilinx Zynq-7000 field programmable gate array (FPGA). It can be flexibly configured as either 32 TDC channels with 9.9 ps time-interval RMS precision, 16 TDC channels with 6.9 ps RMS precision, or 8 TDC channels with 5.8 ps RMS precision. All TDCs have a 380 M Samples/second measurement throughput and a 2.63 ns measurement dead time. The performance consistency and temperature dependence of TDC channels are also evaluated. Because Zynq-7000 FPGA family integrates a feature-rich dual-core ARM based processing system and 28 nm Xilinx programmable logic in a single device, the realization of high performance TDCs on it will make the platform more widely used in time-measuring related applications.

Airborne pollutants. Transports, effects and critical loads; Lufttransporterte forurensninger. Tilfoersler, virkninger og taalegrenser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Floeysand, I; Loebersli, E [eds.

1996-01-01

The report from a conference concerns two Norwegian research programmes. The first one deals with the transports and effects of airborne pollutants, and the second one relates to the critical loads of nature. A number of 17 papers from the conference are prepared. 318 refs., 57 figs., 22 tabs.

CAMAC modular programmable function generator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turner, G.W.; Suehiro, S.; Hendricks, R.W.

1980-12-01

A CAMAC modular programmable function generator has been developed. The device contains a 1024 word by 12-bit memory, a 12-bit digital-to-analog converter with a 600 ns settling time, an 18-bit programmable frequency register, and two programmable trigger output registers. The trigger registers can produce programmed output logic transitions at various (binary) points in the output function curve, and are used to synchronize various other data acquisition devices with the function curve.

CAMAC modular programmable function generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, G.W.; Suehiro, S.; Hendricks, R.W.

1980-12-01

A CAMAC modular programmable function generator has been developed. The device contains a 1024 word by 12-bit memory, a 12-bit digital-to-analog converter with a 600 ns settling time, an 18-bit programmable frequency register, and two programmable trigger output registers. The trigger registers can produce programmed output logic transitions at various (binary) points in the output function curve, and are used to synchronize various other data acquisition devices with the function curve

Fast digitization and digital receiver technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimball, Ralph C.

2002-01-01

The potentially lucrative wireless market has led to technological advances in mixed signal devices such as high speed, high resolution A/D and D/A converters. This same market has also driven the development of high performance multi-channel digital receiver and digital transmitter ICs. Similarly, advances in semiconductor processes, coupled with the need for reduced time-to-market, has led to the development of large, enhanced performance, in-circuit programmable logic devices. A review of the key characteristics of these mixed-signal, signal processing and programmable logic devices is presented. The application of these devices and technologies to the instrumentation of Accelerators and Storage Rings is discussed and presented by way of examples. Issues relating to the requirements associated with real-time processing, I/O throughput, reconfigurability, reliability, maintainability and packaging requirements are also addressed

Radiological surveillance of airborne contaminants in the working environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

Contamination of the air of the working environment may result from incidental or accidental releases during the handling of radioactive materials. Representative sampling and measurement are complicated by a variety of factors, arising mainly from the physical and chemical properties of radioactive aerosols. The following topics are presented in detail: sources and types of airborne contaminants, sampling techniques and instruments, measurement techniques and instruments, interpretation of measurements, examples of air monitoring programmes

Environmental radioactivity surveillance programme 1994-1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollard, D.; Smith, V.; Howett, D.; Hayden, E.; Fegan, M.; O'Colmain, M.; Cunningham, J.D.

1997-12-01

This report presents the results of the terrestrial monitoring programme implemented by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland during the period 1994 to 1996. This monitoring programme includes the routine sampling and testing for radioactivity of samples of air, rainwater, drinking water and milk. Atmospheric concentrations of krypton-85 continued to rise over the period. No abnormal readings were observed for gamma dose rate, radioactivity in airborne particulates or radioactivity in rainwater. Significant variation in the concentrations of natural radioactivity was observed between drinking water supplies.The levels of anthropogenic radioactivity recorded during this reporting period in air, rainwater, drinking water and milk continue to be insignificant from a radiological safety point of view

A Fastbus module for trigger applications based on a digital signal processor and on programmable gate arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Battaiotto, P.; Colavita, A.; Fratnik, F.; Lanceri, L.; Udine Univ.

1991-01-01

The new generation of DSP microprocessors based on RISC and Harvard-like architectures can conveniently take the place of specially built processors in fast trigger circuits for high-energy physics experiments. Presently available programmable gate arrays are well matched to them in speed and contribute to simplify the design of trigger circuits. Using these components, we designed and constructed a Fastbus module. We describe an application for the total-energy trigger of DELPHI, performing the readout of digitized calorimeter trigger data and some simple computations in less than 3 μs. (orig.)

Environmental radioactivity surveillance programme: results for UK for 1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, D.M.; McAllister, G.; Welham, D.; Orr, D.

1984-11-01

The fourth report of a series giving the results of the NRPB's environmental radioactivity surveillance programme is presented. Samples of airborne dust, rainwater and milk are collected routinely throughout the UK; the concentrations of various radionuclides are measured and the resulting exposure of the population is evaluated. The radionuclides detected result predominantly from nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, although the programme would also be sensitive to other sources of environmental contamination. The annual average concentrations and depositions of radionuclides from fallout are now at the lowest levels since the inception of the Board's monitoring programme. The average annual effective dose equivalent from fallout is evaluated and compared with that from natural background radiation. (author)

Firmware-only implementation of Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) in Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jinyuan Wu; Zonghan Shi; Irena Y Wang

2003-01-01

A Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) implemented in general purpose field-programmable gate array (FPGA) for the Fermilab CKM experiment will be presented. The TDC uses a delay chain and register array structure to produce lower bits in addition to higher bits from a clock counter. Lacking the direct controls custom chips, the FPGA implementation of the delay chain and register array structure had to address two major problems: (1) the logic elements used for the delay chain and register array structure must be placed and routed by the FPGA compiler in a predictable manner, to assure uniformity of the TDC binning and short-term stability. (2) The delay variation due to temperature and power supply voltage must be compensated for to assure long-term stability. They used the chain structures in the existing FPGAs that the venders designed for general purpose such as carry algorithm or logic expansion to solve the first problem. To compensate for delay variations, they studied several digital compensation strategies that can be implemented in the same FPGA device. Some bench-top test results will also be presented in this document

Volumetric evolution of Surtsey, Iceland, from topographic maps and scanning airborne laser altimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Garvin, J.B.; Williams, R.S.; Frawley, J.J.; Krabill, W.B.

2000-01-01

The volumetric evolution of Surtsey has been estimated on the basis of digital elevation models derived from NASA scanning airborne laser altimeter surveys (20 July 1998), as well as digitized 1:5,000-scale topographic maps produced by the National Land Survey of Iceland and by Norrman. Subaerial volumes have been computed from co-registered digital elevation models (DEM's) from 6 July 1968, 11 July 1975, 16 July 1993, and 20 July 1998 (scanning airborne laser altimetry), as well as true surface area (above mean sea level). Our analysis suggests that the subaerial volume of Surtsey has been reduced from nearly 0.100 km3 on 6 July 1968 to 0.075 km3 on 20 July 1998. Linear regression analysis of the temporal evolution of Surtsey's subaerial volume indicates that most of its subaerial surface will be at or below mean sea-level by approximately 2100. This assumes a conservative estimate of continuation of the current pace of marine erosion and mass-wasting on the island, including the indurated core of the conduits of the Surtur I and Surtur II eruptive vents. If the conduits are relatively resistant to marine erosion they will become sea stacks after the rest of the island has become a submarine shoal, and some portions of the island could survive for centuries. The 20 July 1998 scanning laser altimeter surveys further indicate rapid enlargement of erosional canyons in the northeastern portion of the partial tephra ring associated with Surtur I. Continued airborne and eventually spaceborne topographic surveys of Surtsey are planned to refine the inter-annual change of its subaerial volume.

Airborne geoid determination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forsberg, René; Olesen, Arne Vestergaard; Bastos, L.

2000-01-01

Airborne geoid mapping techniques may provide the opportunity to improve the geoid over vast areas of the Earth, such as polar areas, tropical jungles and mountainous areas, and provide an accurate "seam-less" geoid model across most coastal regions. Determination of the geoid by airborne methods...... relies on the development of airborne gravimetry, which in turn is dependent on developments in kinematic GPS. Routine accuracy of airborne gravimetry are now at the 2 mGal level, which may translate into 5-10 cm geoid accuracy on regional scales. The error behaviour of airborne gravimetry is well......-suited for geoid determination, with high-frequency survey and downward continuation noise being offset by the low-pass gravity to geoid filtering operation. In the paper the basic principles of airborne geoid determination are outlined, and examples of results of recent airborne gravity and geoid surveys...

TECHNICAL DESIGN NOTE: Picosecond resolution programmable delay line

Science.gov (United States)

Suchenek, Mariusz

2009-11-01

The note presents implementation of a programmable delay line for digital signals. The tested circuit has a subnanosecond delay range programmable with a resolution of picoseconds. Implementation of the circuit was based on low-cost components, easily available on the market.

Technology-Enhanced Physics Programme for Community-Based Science Learning: Innovative Design and Programme Evaluation in a Theme Park

Science.gov (United States)

Tho, Siew Wei; Chan, Ka Wing; Yeung, Yau Yuen

2015-01-01

In this study, a new physics education programme is specifically developed for a famous theme park in Hong Kong to provide community-based science learning to her visitors, involving her three newly constructed rides. We make innovative use of digital technologies in this programme and incorporate a rigorous evaluation of the learning…

A multiparametric automatic method to monitor long-term reproducibility in digital mammography: results from a regional screening programme.

Science.gov (United States)

Gennaro, G; Ballaminut, A; Contento, G

2017-09-01

This study aims to illustrate a multiparametric automatic method for monitoring long-term reproducibility of digital mammography systems, and its application on a large scale. Twenty-five digital mammography systems employed within a regional screening programme were controlled weekly using the same type of phantom, whose images were analysed by an automatic software tool. To assess system reproducibility levels, 15 image quality indices (IQIs) were extracted and compared with the corresponding indices previously determined by a baseline procedure. The coefficients of variation (COVs) of the IQIs were used to assess the overall variability. A total of 2553 phantom images were collected from the 25 digital mammography systems from March 2013 to December 2014. Most of the systems showed excellent image quality reproducibility over the surveillance interval, with mean variability below 5%. Variability of each IQI was 5%, with the exception of one index associated with the smallest phantom objects (0.25 mm), which was below 10%. The method applied for reproducibility tests-multi-detail phantoms, cloud automatic software tool to measure multiple image quality indices and statistical process control-was proven to be effective and applicable on a large scale and to any type of digital mammography system. • Reproducibility of mammography image quality should be monitored by appropriate quality controls. • Use of automatic software tools allows image quality evaluation by multiple indices. • System reproducibility can be assessed comparing current index value with baseline data. • Overall system reproducibility of modern digital mammography systems is excellent. • The method proposed and applied is cost-effective and easily scalable.

Airborne laser altimeter measurements of landscape topography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritchie, J.C.

1995-01-01

Measurements of topography can provide a wealth of information on landscape properties for managing hydrologic and geologic systems and conserving natural and agricultural resources. This article discusses the application of an airborne laser altimeter to measure topography and other landscape surface properties. The airborne laser altimeter makes 4000 measurements per second with a vertical recording resolution of 5 cm. Data are collected digitally with a personal computer. A video camera, borehole sighted with the laser, records an image for locating flight lines. GPS data are used to locate flight line positions on the landscape. Laser data were used to measure vegetation canopy topography, height, cover, and distribution and to measure microtopography of the land surface and gullies with depths of 15–20 cm. Macrotopography of landscape profiles for segments up to 4 km were in agreement with available topographic maps but provided more detail. Larger gullies with and without vegetation, and stream channel cross sections and their associated floodplains have also been measured and reported in other publications. Landscape segments for any length could be measured for either micro- or macrotopography. Airborne laser altimeter measurements of landscape profiles can provide detailed information on landscape properties or specific needs that will allow better decisions on the design and location of structures (i.e., roads, pipe, and power lines) and for improving the management and conservation of natural and agricultural landscapes. (author)

The alpine Swiss-French airborne gravity survey

Science.gov (United States)

Verdun, Jérôme; Klingelé, Emile E.; Bayer, Roger; Cocard, Marc; Geiger, Alain; Kahle, Hans-Gert

2003-01-01

In February 1998, a regional-scale, airborne gravity survey was carried out over the French Occidental Alps within the framework of the GéoFrance 3-D research program.The survey consisted of 18 NS and 16 EW oriented lines with a spacing of 10 and 20 km respectively, covering the whole of the Western French Alps (total area: 50 000 km2; total distance of lines flown: 10 000 km). The equipment was mounted in a medium-size aircraft (DeHavilland Twin Otter) flowing at a constant altitude of 5100 m a.s.l, and at a mean ground speed of about 280 km h-1. Gravity was measured using a LaCoste & Romberg relative, air/sea gravimeter (type SA) mounted on a laser gyro stabilized platform. Data from 5 GPS antennae located on fuselage and wings and 7 ground-based GPS reference stations were used to determine position and aircraft induced accelerations.The gravimeter passband was derived by comparing the vertical accelerations provided by the gravimeter with those estimated from the GPS positions. This comparison showed that the gravimeter is not sensitive to very short wavelength aircraft accelerations, and therefore a simplified formulation for computing airborne gravity measurements was developed. The intermediate and short wavelength, non-gravitational accelerations were eliminated by means of digital, exponential low-pass filters (cut-off wavelength: 16 km). An important issue in airborne gravimetry is the reliability of the airborne gravity surveys when compared to ground surveys. In our studied area, the differences between the airborne-acquired Bouguer anomaly and the ground upward-continued Bouguer anomaly of the Alps shows a good agreement: the rms of these differences is equal to 7.68 mGal for a spatial resolution of 8 km. However, in some areas with rugged topography, the amplitudes of those differences have a striking correlation with the topography. We then argue that the choice of an appropriate density (reduction by a factor of 10 per cent) for computing the

Organisational aspects of mammography screening in digital settings: First experiences of Luxembourg

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shannoun, F.; Schanck, J. M.; Scharpantgen, A.; Wagnon, M. C.; Ben Daoud, M.; Back, C.

2008-01-01

Luxembourg has been conducting a breast cancer screening programme since 1992, like a large number of other European countries, as early detection and treatment of breast cancer have been proven to reduce mortality. The majority of these screening programmes are based on analogue X-ray technology and have optimised their organisation of transporting, archiving and reading with respect to films. Last decade is marked by enormous developments in digital mammography. Different technologies such as flat panel-, computed radiography- and scanning systems became available. Digital mammography is expected to have a major impact on quality and organisation of breast cancer screening programmes. Screening programmes are now faced with a huge challenge of incorporating the digital technology, including implementation of electronic image exchange, conception of new electronic work-flow, establishing adapted quality assurance programmes and training of radiologists and technical personnel. Initial experiences of the Luxembourg approach in organising digital mammography screening and its quality assurance are reported. (authors)

Digital divide across borders : A cross-national study of adolescents’ use of digital technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Notten, N.; Peter, J.; Kraaykamp, G.; Valkenburg, P.M.

2009-01-01

In this study, we analyse digital divides in terms of social inequality in digital access and use patterns from a hierarchical perspective. Using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 in 30 nations, we focus on social cleavages in mid-adolescents’ access and use of

IMPROVED TOPOGRAPHIC MODELS VIA CONCURRENT AIRBORNE LIDAR AND DENSE IMAGE MATCHING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Mandlburger

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Modern airborne sensors integrate laser scanners and digital cameras for capturing topographic data at high spatial resolution. The capability of penetrating vegetation through small openings in the foliage and the high ranging precision in the cm range have made airborne LiDAR the prime terrain acquisition technique. In the recent years dense image matching evolved rapidly and outperforms laser scanning meanwhile in terms of the achievable spatial resolution of the derived surface models. In our contribution we analyze the inherent properties and review the typical processing chains of both acquisition techniques. In addition, we present potential synergies of jointly processing image and laser data with emphasis on sensor orientation and point cloud fusion for digital surface model derivation. Test data were concurrently acquired with the RIEGL LMS-Q1560 sensor over the city of Melk, Austria, in January 2016 and served as basis for testing innovative processing strategies. We demonstrate that (i systematic effects in the resulting scanned and matched 3D point clouds can be minimized based on a hybrid orientation procedure, (ii systematic differences of the individual point clouds are observable at penetrable, vegetated surfaces due to the different measurement principles, and (iii improved digital surface models can be derived combining the higher density of the matching point cloud and the higher reliability of LiDAR point clouds, especially in the narrow alleys and courtyards of the study site, a medieval city.

High-performance computing for airborne applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quinn, Heather M.; Manuzatto, Andrea; Fairbanks, Tom; Dallmann, Nicholas; Desgeorges, Rose

2010-01-01

Recently, there has been attempts to move common satellite tasks to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). UAVs are significantly cheaper to buy than satellites and easier to deploy on an as-needed basis. The more benign radiation environment also allows for an aggressive adoption of state-of-the-art commercial computational devices, which increases the amount of data that can be collected. There are a number of commercial computing devices currently available that are well-suited to high-performance computing. These devices range from specialized computational devices, such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and digital signal processors (DSPs), to traditional computing platforms, such as microprocessors. Even though the radiation environment is relatively benign, these devices could be susceptible to single-event effects. In this paper, we will present radiation data for high-performance computing devices in a accelerated neutron environment. These devices include a multi-core digital signal processor, two field-programmable gate arrays, and a microprocessor. From these results, we found that all of these devices are suitable for many airplane environments without reliability problems.

Airborne laser altimetry and multispectral imagery for modeling Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) density

Science.gov (United States)

Steven E. Sesnie; James M. Mueller; Sarah E. Lehnen; Scott M. Rowin; Jennifer L. Reidy; Frank R. Thompson

2016-01-01

Robust models of wildlife population size, spatial distribution, and habitat relationships are needed to more effectively monitor endangered species and prioritize habitat conservation efforts. Remotely sensed data such as airborne laser altimetry (LiDAR) and digital color infrared (CIR) aerial photography combined with well-designed field studies can help fill these...

The filtering effect of buildings on airborne particulate matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christensen, G.C.; Mustonen, R.

1987-06-01

Within the radioecological programme of the Nordic Liaison Committee for Atomic Energy (NKA), the possible consequences of a major reactor accident are one of its main research branches. This study of the filtering effect of buildings on airborne particulate matter has been one part of this branch. The absorbed dose to a person from a passing radioactive cloud will be lower if he has been indoors and not ourdoors during the cloud passage. The aim of this study has been to find filtering factors for typical Finnish and Norwegian houses to use in model work

Airborne wireless communication systems, airborne communication methods, and communication methods

Science.gov (United States)

Deaton, Juan D [Menan, ID; Schmitt, Michael J [Idaho Falls, ID; Jones, Warren F [Idaho Falls, ID

2011-12-13

An airborne wireless communication system includes circuitry configured to access information describing a configuration of a terrestrial wireless communication base station that has become disabled. The terrestrial base station is configured to implement wireless communication between wireless devices located within a geographical area and a network when the terrestrial base station is not disabled. The circuitry is further configured, based on the information, to configure the airborne station to have the configuration of the terrestrial base station. An airborne communication method includes answering a 911 call from a terrestrial cellular wireless phone using an airborne wireless communication system.

Block adjustment of airborne InSAR based on interferogram phase and POS data

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Xijuan; Zhao, Yinghui; Han, Chunming; Dou, Changyong

2015-12-01

High-precision surface elevation information in large scale can be obtained efficiently by airborne Interferomatric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) system, which is recently becoming an important tool to acquire remote sensing data and perform mapping applications in the area where surveying and mapping is difficult to be accomplished by spaceborne satellite or field working. . Based on the study of the three-dimensional (3D) positioning model using interferogram phase and Position and Orientation System (POS) data and block adjustment error model, a block adjustment method to produce seamless wide-area mosaic product generated from airborne InSAR data is proposed in this paper. The effect of 6 parameters, including trajectory and attitude of the aircraft, baseline length and incline angle, slant range, and interferometric phase, on the 3D positioning accuracy is quantitatively analyzed. Using the data acquired in the field campaign conducted in Mianyang county Sichuan province, China in June 2011, a mosaic seamless Digital Elevation Model (DEM) product was generated from 76 images in 4 flight strips by the proposed block adjustment model. The residuals of ground control points (GCPs), the absolute positioning accuracy of check points (CPs) and the relative positioning accuracy of tie points (TPs) both in same and adjacent strips were assessed. The experimental results suggest that the DEM and Digital Orthophoto Map (DOM) product generated by the airborne InSAR data with sparse GCPs can meet mapping accuracy requirement at scale of 1:10 000.

Current instrument status of the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Eastwood, Michael L.; Sarture, Charles M.; Chrien, Thomas G.; Green, Robert O.; Porter, Wallace M.

1991-01-01

An upgraded version of AVIRIS, an airborne imaging spectrometer based on a whiskbroom-type scanner coupled via optical fibers to four dispersive spectrometers, that has been in operation since 1987 is described. Emphasis is placed on specific AVIRIS subsystems including foreoptics, fiber optics, and an in-flight reference source; spectrometers and detector dewars; a scan drive mechanism; a signal chain; digital electronics; a tape recorder; calibration systems; and ground support requirements.

Reshaping the DCC Institutional Engagement Programme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Jones

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This paper shares results from the Digital Curation Centre’s programme of Institutional Engagements (IEs, and describes how we continue to provide tailored support on Research Data Management (RDM to the UK higher education sector.Between Spring 2011 and Spring 2013, the DCC ran a series of 21 Institutional Engagements. The engagement programme involved helping institutions to assess their needs, develop policy and strategy, and begin to implement a range of RDM services.We have conducted a synthesis and evaluation of the programme, analysing the types of assistance requested and the impact of our support. The findings and lessons to emerge from these exercises have informed our future strategy and helped reshape the programme.

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2008 Digital Orthophotos - Manatee County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR half-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 2,258 cells (approximately 2,025 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor....

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2008 Digital Orthophotos - Hillsborough County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR half-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 1,384 cells (approximately 1,241 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor....

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2008 Digital Orthophotos - Pinellas County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR half-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 2,258 cells (approximately 2,025 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor....

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2008 Digital Orthophotos - Sarasota County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR half-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 2,258 cells (approximately 2,025 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor....

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2009 Digital Orthophotos - Monroe County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB, 8-bit, one-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 810 cells (approximately 727 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor. The...

Digital Library Education: Global Trends and Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Shem, Magaji

2015-01-01

The paper examines trends and issues in digital education programmes globally, drawing examples of developmental growth of Library Information Science (LIS), schools and digital education courses in North America, Britain, and Southern Asia, the slow growth of LIS schools and digital education in Nigeria and some countries in Africa and India. The…

Use of Digital Signal Processors (DSP) in high energy physics experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crosetto, D.

1988-01-01

The FDDP - Fast Digital Data Processor - is a modular system for executing parallel digital processing algorithms to perform programmable trigger decisions or programmable on-line data reduction. Typical application involve zero suppression and pulse shape analysis. The characteristics of the system are: modularity, expandability and flexibility. (author). 4 refs, 5 figs

A 45 ps time digitizer with a two-phase clock and dual-edge two-stage interpolation in a field programmable gate array device

Science.gov (United States)

Szplet, R.; Kalisz, J.; Jachna, Z.

2009-02-01

We present a time digitizer having 45 ps resolution, integrated in a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device. The time interval measurement is based on the two-stage interpolation method. A dual-edge two-phase interpolator is driven by the on-chip synthesized 250 MHz clock with precise phase adjustment. An improved dual-edge double synchronizer was developed to control the main counter. The nonlinearity of the digitizer's transfer characteristic is identified and utilized by the dedicated hardware code processor for the on-the-fly correction of the output data. Application of presented ideas has resulted in the measurement uncertainty of the digitizer below 70 ps RMS over the time interval ranging from 0 to 1 s. The use of the two-stage interpolation and a fast FIFO memory has allowed us to obtain the maximum measurement rate of five million measurements per second.

A 45 ps time digitizer with a two-phase clock and dual-edge two-stage interpolation in a field programmable gate array device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szplet, R; Kalisz, J; Jachna, Z

2009-01-01

We present a time digitizer having 45 ps resolution, integrated in a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device. The time interval measurement is based on the two-stage interpolation method. A dual-edge two-phase interpolator is driven by the on-chip synthesized 250 MHz clock with precise phase adjustment. An improved dual-edge double synchronizer was developed to control the main counter. The nonlinearity of the digitizer's transfer characteristic is identified and utilized by the dedicated hardware code processor for the on-the-fly correction of the output data. Application of presented ideas has resulted in the measurement uncertainty of the digitizer below 70 ps RMS over the time interval ranging from 0 to 1 s. The use of the two-stage interpolation and a fast FIFO memory has allowed us to obtain the maximum measurement rate of five million measurements per second

Analysis of airborne LiDAR surveys to quantify the characteristic morphologies of northern forested wetlands

Science.gov (United States)

Murray C. Richardson; Carl P. J. Mitchell; Brian A. Branfireun; Randall K. Kolka

2010-01-01

A new technique for quantifying the geomorphic form of northern forested wetlands from airborne LiDAR surveys is introduced, demonstrating the unprecedented ability to characterize the geomorphic form of northern forested wetlands using high-resolution digital topography. Two quantitative indices are presented, including the lagg width index (LWI) which objectively...

Multi-image Matching of Airborne SAR Imagery by SANCC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DING Hao

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In order to improve accuracy of SAR matching, a multi-image matching method based on sum of adaptive normalized cross-correlation (SANCC is proposed. It utilizes geometrical and radiometric information of multi-baselinesynthetic aperture radar (SARimages effectively. Firstly, imaging parameters, platform parameters and approximate digital surface model (DSM are used to predict matching line. Secondly, similarity and proximity in Gestalt theory are introduced to SANCC, and SANCC measures of potential matching points along the matching line are calculated. Thirdly, multi-image matching results and object coordinates of matching points are obtained by winner-take-all (WTA optimization strategy. The approach has been demonstrated with airborne SAR images acquired by a Chinese airborne SAR system (CASMSAR system. The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm is effective for providing dense and accuracy matching points, reducing the number of mismatches caused by repeated textures, and offering a better solution to match in poor textured areas.

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2010 Digital Orthophotos - Manatee County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR ONE-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 4,362 cells (approximately 3,912 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor. The...

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2010 Digital Orthophotos - Pinellas County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR ONE-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 4,362 cells (approximately 3,912 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor. The...

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2010 Digital Orthophotos - Charlotte County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR ONE-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 4,362 cells (approximately 3,912 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor. The...

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2010 Digital Orthophotos - Hardee County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR ONE-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 4,362 cells (approximately 3,912 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor. The...

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2010 Digital Orthophotos - Hillsborough County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR ONE-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 4,362 cells (approximately 3,912 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor. The...

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2010 Digital Orthophotos - Sarasota County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR ONE-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 4,362 cells (approximately 3,912 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor. The...

Sampling and analytical methodologies for energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis of airborne particulate matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The present document represents an attempt to summarize the most important features of the different forms of ED-XFR as applied to the analysis of airborne particulate matter. It is intended to serve as a set of guidelines for use by participants in the IAEA's own programmes, and other scientists, who are not yet fully experienced in the application of ED-XRF to airborne particulate samples, and who wish either to make a start on using this technique or to improve their existing procedures. The methodologies for sampling described in this document are of rather general applicability. Emphasis is also placed on the sources of errors affecting the sampling of airborne particulate matter. The analytical part of the document describes the different forms of ED-XRF and their potential applications. Spectrum evaluation, a key step in X-ray spectrometry, is covered in depth, including discussion on several calibration and peak fitting techniques and computer programs especially designed for this purpose. 148 refs, 25 figs, 13 tabs

Research note: Digital divide across borders: A cross-national study of adolescents' use of digital technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Notten, N.J.W.R.; Peter, J.; Kraaykamp, G.L.M.; Valkenburg, P.M.

2009-01-01

In this study, we analyse digital divides in terms of social inequality in digital access and use patterns from a hierarchical perspective. Using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 in 30 nations, we focus on social cleavages in mid-adolescents access and use of

Research note: digital divide across borders: a cross-national study of adolescents’ use of digital technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Notten, N.; Peter, J.; Kraaykamp, G.; Valkenburg, P.M.

2009-01-01

In this study, we analyse digital divides in terms of social inequality in digital access and use patterns from a hierarchical perspective. Using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 in 30 nations, we focus on social cleavages in mid-adolescents’ access and use of

Field-programmable gate array implementation of an all-digital IEEE 802.15.4-compliant transceiver

Science.gov (United States)

Cornetta, Gianluca; Touhafi, Abdellah; Santos, David J.; Vázquez, José M.

2010-12-01

An architecture for a low-cost, low-complexity digital transceiver is presented in this article. The proposed architecture targets the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for short-range wireless personal area networks and has been implemented as a synthesisable VHDL register transfer level description. The system has been evaluated and tested using a Xilinx 90 nm Virtex-4 field-programmable gate array as the target technology. Bit error rate (BER) and error vector magnitude (EVM) have been used as the figures of merit for modem performance. Simulations show that the recommended minimum BER is achieved at E b/N 0 = 8.7 dB, whereas the EVM is 19.5%. The implemented device occupies 10% of the target FPGA and has a normalised maximum power consumption of 44 mW in transmit mode and 53 mW in receiver mode.

FPGA-based digital convolution for wireless applications

CERN Document Server

Guan, Lei

2017-01-01

This book presents essential perspectives on digital convolutions in wireless communications systems and illustrates their corresponding efficient real-time field-programmable gate array (FPGA) implementations. Covering these digital convolutions from basic concept to vivid simulation/illustration, the book is also supplemented with MS PowerPoint presentations to aid in comprehension. FPGAs or generic all programmable devices will soon become widespread, serving as the “brains” of all types of real-time smart signal processing systems, like smart networks, smart homes and smart cities. The book examines digital convolution by bringing together the following main elements: the fundamental theory behind the mathematical formulae together with corresponding physical phenomena; virtualized algorithm simulation together with benchmark real-time FPGA implementations; and detailed, state-of-the-art case studies on wireless applications, including popular linear convolution in digital front ends (DFEs); nonlinear...

Preliminary Assessment of Operational Hazards and Safety Requirements for Airborne Trajectory Management (ABTM) Roadmap Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Cotton, William B.; Hilb, Robert; Koczo, Stefan, Jr.; Wing, David J.

2016-01-01

A set of five developmental steps building from the NASA TASAR (Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests) concept are described, each providing incrementally more efficiency and capacity benefits to airspace system users and service providers, culminating in a Full Airborne Trajectory Management capability. For each of these steps, the incremental Operational Hazards and Safety Requirements are identified for later use in future formal safety assessments intended to lead to certification and operational approval of the equipment and the associated procedures. Two established safety assessment methodologies that are compliant with the FAA's Safety Management System were used leading to Failure Effects Classifications (FEC) for each of the steps. The most likely FEC for the first three steps, Basic TASAR, Digital TASAR, and 4D TASAR, is "No effect". For step four, Strategic Airborne Trajectory Management, the likely FEC is "Minor". For Full Airborne Trajectory Management (Step 5), the most likely FEC is "Major".

Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey data of the Paradox and San Luis Valleys, Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Ball, Lyndsay B.; Bloss, Benjamin R.; Bedrosian, Paul A.; Grauch, V.J.S.; Smith, Bruce D.

2015-01-01

In October 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) contracted airborne magnetic and electromagnetic surveys of the Paradox and San Luis Valleys in southern Colorado, United States. These airborne geophysical surveys provide high-resolution and spatially comprehensive datasets characterizing the resistivity structure of the shallow subsurface of each survey region, accompanied by magnetic-field information over matching areas. These data were collected to provide insight into the distribution of groundwater brine in the Paradox Valley, the extent of clay aquitards in the San Luis Valley, and to improve our understanding of the geologic framework for both regions. This report describes these contracted surveys and releases digital data supplied under contract to the USGS.

Airborne Compositae dermatitis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Lars Porskjær; Jakobsen, Henrik Byrial; Paulsen, E.

1999-01-01

The air around intact feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) plants was examined for the presence of airborne parthenolide and other potential allergens using a high-volume air sampler and a dynamic headspace technique. No particle-bound parthenolide was detected in the former. Among volatiles emitted f...... for airborne Compositae dermatitis. Potential allergens were found among the emitted monoterpenes and their importance in airborne Compositae dermatitis is discussed....

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2009 Digital Orthophotos - Miami-Dade County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB one-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 1,306 cells (approximately 1,174 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor. The...

Outlines of RTE's R and D programme for 2017-2020

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

RTE is publishing the outlines of its R and D programme for the 2017-2020 period. The programme is aimed at strengthening RTE's capacity for anticipating the major disruptive transformations with which it will be confronted. RTE is therefore pursuing the efforts initiated during the first roadmap over the 2013-2016 period and is embarking on new efforts. Thus, RTE's R and D efforts for the 2017-2020 period will be structured into six programmes: - The 'asset management' programme. This programme continues on with activities undertaken to reach the use phase for research initiated during the first roadmap. - The 'grid infrastructure evolution' programme. This programme continues the efforts initiated under the 'Grid of the future' programme with a reinforcement of the equipments' eco-design dimension and increased use of digital technologies to implement the equipments' control systems, protection devices and associated defence plans. - The 'environment and society' programme. This programme will be strengthened in relation to the existing programme, particularly as regards the eco-design and biodiversity dimensions. - The 'power system functioning and operation' programme. Firstly, this programme continues on from a large part of the 'Power system' programme with the dual objective of ensuring that the system remains secure with all the major physical transformations leading to a true power system 2.0 (i.e. based on power electronics) and, secondly, it aims to substantially upgrade the system's operating tools through the integration of big data processing and visualisation capabilities. - The 'optimal grid development for the energy transition' programme. This programme is aimed at rethinking grid development study methods and tools in the context of the energy, societal and digital transitions currently underway, with a view to: better integrating cross-functionality with respect to operation / maintenance and asset management / development, and to proposing the

Aerial Photography and Imagery, Ortho-Corrected - 2010 Digital Orthophotos - DeSoto County

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — The RGB/CIR ONE-foot orthophotos to be mapped consists of 4,362 cells (approximately 3,912 square miles) flown with a Z/I Intergraph DMC airborne digital sensor. The...

Object based classification of high resolution data in urban areas considering digital surface models

OpenAIRE

Oczipka, Martin Eckhard

2010-01-01

Over the last couple of years more and more analogue airborne cameras were replaced by digital cameras. Digitally recorded image data have significant advantages to film based data. Digital aerial photographs have a much better radiometric resolution. Image information can be acquired in shaded areas too. This information is essential for a stable and continuous classification, because no data or unclassified areas should be as small as possible. Considering this technological progress, on...

Airborne digital-image data for monitoring the Colorado River corridor below Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, 2009 - Image-mosaic production and comparison with 2002 and 2005 image mosaics

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Philip A.

2012-01-01

Airborne digital-image data were collected for the Arizona part of the Colorado River ecosystem below Glen Canyon Dam in 2009. These four-band image data are similar in wavelength band (blue, green, red, and near infrared) and spatial resolution (20 centimeters) to image collections of the river corridor in 2002 and 2005. These periodic image collections are used by the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) of the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor the effects of Glen Canyon Dam operations on the downstream ecosystem. The 2009 collection used the latest model of the Leica ADS40 airborne digital sensor (the SH52), which uses a single optic for all four bands and collects and stores band radiance in 12-bits, unlike the image sensors that GCMRC used in 2002 and 2005. This study examined the performance of the SH52 sensor, on the basis of the collected image data, and determined that the SH52 sensor provided superior data relative to the previously employed sensors (that is, an early ADS40 model and Zeiss Imaging's Digital Mapping Camera) in terms of band-image registration, dynamic range, saturation, linearity to ground reflectance, and noise level. The 2009 image data were provided as orthorectified segments of each flightline to constrain the size of the image files; each river segment was covered by 5 to 6 overlapping, linear flightlines. Most flightline images for each river segment had some surface-smear defects and some river segments had cloud shadows, but these two conditions did not generally coincide in the majority of the overlapping flightlines for a particular river segment. Therefore, the final image mosaic for the 450-kilometer (km)-long river corridor required careful selection and editing of numerous flightline segments (a total of 513 segments, each 3.2 km long) to minimize surface defects and cloud shadows. The final image mosaic has a total of only 3 km of surface defects. The final image mosaic for the western end of the corridor has

Multiple channel programmable coincidence counter

Science.gov (United States)

Arnone, Gaetano J.

1990-01-01

A programmable digital coincidence counter having multiple channels and featuring minimal dead time. Neutron detectors supply electrical pulses to a synchronizing circuit which in turn inputs derandomized pulses to an adding circuit. A random access memory circuit connected as a programmable length shift register receives and shifts the sum of the pulses, and outputs to a serializer. A counter is input by the adding circuit and downcounted by the seralizer, one pulse at a time. The decoded contents of the counter after each decrement is output to scalers.

Airborne Video Surveillance

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Blask, Steven

2002-01-01

The DARPA Airborne Video Surveillance (AVS) program was established to develop and promote technologies to make airborne video more useful, providing capabilities that achieve a UAV force multiplier...

Analog and digital appliance technology for the control and monitoring of space HVAC systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gyoeri, M

1987-01-01

Both analog and digital devices are expected to meet the required control functions. The analog control device meets this function by way of a complicated circuitry and wiring technology of varying sophistication. In the digital control by a preprogrammed microprocessor. Digital technology allows to use the copied programme in different devices. Any change in the control of a system can be implemented and met by a programme change in digital technology. In analog technology, this change involves a change in wiring. (orig./HW).

Airborne hyperspectral observations of surface and cloud directional reflectivity using a commercial digital camera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Ehrlich

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Spectral radiance measurements by a digital single-lens reflex camera were used to derive the directional reflectivity of clouds and different surfaces in the Arctic. The camera has been calibrated radiometrically and spectrally to provide accurate radiance measurements with high angular resolution. A comparison with spectral radiance measurements with the Spectral Modular Airborne Radiation measurement sysTem (SMART-Albedometer showed an agreement within the uncertainties of both instruments (6% for both. The directional reflectivity in terms of the hemispherical directional reflectance factor (HDRF was obtained for sea ice, ice-free ocean and clouds. The sea ice, with an albedo of ρ = 0.96 (at 530 nm wavelength, showed an almost isotropic HDRF, while sun glint was observed for the ocean HDRF (ρ = 0.12. For the cloud observations with ρ = 0.62, the cloudbow – a backscatter feature typically for scattering by liquid water droplets – was covered by the camera. For measurements above heterogeneous stratocumulus clouds, the required number of images to obtain a mean HDRF that clearly exhibits the cloudbow has been estimated at about 50 images (10 min flight time. A representation of the HDRF as a function of the scattering angle only reduces the image number to about 10 (2 min flight time.

The measured cloud and ocean HDRF have been compared to radiative transfer simulations. The ocean HDRF simulated with the observed surface wind speed of 9 m s⁻¹ agreed best with the measurements. For the cloud HDRF, the best agreement was obtained by a broad and weak cloudbow simulated with a cloud droplet effective radius of R_eff = 4 μm. This value agrees with the particle sizes derived from in situ measurements and retrieved from the spectral radiance of the SMART-Albedometer.

Programmable Toys and Free Play in Early Childhood Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Newhouse, Christopher Paul; Cooper, Martin; Cordery, Zina

2017-01-01

This paper reports on a study that investigated the ways that young children interact with discrete programmable digital toys in a free play setting. One intention was to see whether this interaction would address some of the requirements of the Digital Technologies subject in the Australian Curriculum. The study was implemented in two phases in…

Airborne gamma ray spectrometer surveying

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its role as collector and disseminator of information on nuclear techniques has long had an interest in gamma ray spectrometer methods and has published a number of Technical Reports on various aspects of the subject. At an Advisory Group Meeting held in Vienna in November 1986 to review appropriate activities the IAEA could take following the Chernobyl accident, it was recommended that preparation begin on a new Technical Report on airborne gamma ray spectrometer surveying, taking into account the use of the technique for environmental monitoring as well as for nuclear emergency response requirements. Shortly thereafter the IAEA became the lead organization in the Radioelement Geochemical Mapping section of the International Geological Correlation Programme/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Project on International Geochemical Mapping. These two factors led to the preparation of the present Technical Report. 18 figs, 4 tabs

The year 2000 (Y2k) Programme at AECL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pauksens, J.; Jung, D.

1998-01-01

In the nuclear industry we make, in total, very extensive use of digital computers and equipment. While use of dates in our application may not be quite so extensive as in other businesses such as banking or insurance, dates are nonetheless employed, and are important in a variety of applications. Furthermore, date-related problems can sometimes propagate into overall system failures or computer crashes. Digital system or digital infrastructure failure can have serious potential consequences in a power plant, utility, or engineering design office. This in turn can have potential impact on public safety or the reliability of power production and delivery of electrical power to the public. A concerted effort is needed, and is underway by nuclear design organizations, and the nuclear utilities in order to identify and fix or avoid the problems in the short time that remains between now and the Year 2000. AECL have a substantial Year 2000 programme underway, addressing both the infrastructure systems at AECL, and AECL's products and services. High priority is placed, in the programme, on assisting AECL's customers with the Year 2000 issue. The programme, and some of the lesson learned to date, are described in this paper. The relationship to equipment vendors' and customers' Year 2000 programs is explained, and the importance of Year 2000 programmes conducted by the customers, to address systems and equipment which are under their control, is highlighted. (authors)

The development of a digital airborne gamma-ray spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ge Liangquan; Zeng Guoqiang; Lai Wanchang; Fan Zhengguo; Xiong Shengqing; Ni Weichong

2011-01-01

In this paper,we report a newly developed AGS instrument. The probe is composed of five 5 NaI(Tl) scintillators of 10 mm x 10 mm x 40 mm size. Four of them detect the ground, and the fifth detects the sky. A temperature sensor, a preamplifier with circuit negative feedback and a high voltage supply with lower noise are designed. A Y/U double channel digital controlled gain amplifier for fine adjustment of the spectral drift,and high speed ADC and CPLD, are designed to perform digital spectroscopy and improve the energy resolution and pulse through output rate(>100 k/s). Two self-stabilization spectrum loops are designed for spectrum stability. The first loop performs rough adjustment (temperature), and the second loop does the fine adjustment by a Kalman filter. The AGS system has the following specifications: energy range of detection, 0.02-10.0 MeV; the spectral drift, ±1 channel; and spectrum collection time of 0.5-1 s. The 20 NaI(Tl)+PMT scintillation counters can be operated at the same time. (authors)

MULTISPECTRAL AIRBORNE LASER SCANNING - A NEW TREND IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LIDAR TECHNOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bakuła Krzysztof

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Airborne laser scanning (ALS is the one of the most accurate remote sensing techniques for data acquisition where the terrain and its coverage is concerned. Modern scanners have been able to scan in two or more channels (frequencies of the laser recently. This gives the rise to the possibility of obtaining diverse information about an area with the different spectral properties of objects. The paper presents an example of a multispectral ALS system - Titan by Optech - with the possibility of data including the analysis of digital elevation models accuracy and data density. As a result of the study, the high relative accuracy of LiDAR acquisition in three spectral bands was proven. The mean differences between digital terrain models (DTMs were less than 0.03 m. The data density analysis showed the influence of the laser wavelength. The points clouds that were tested had average densities of 25, 23 and 20 points per square metre respectively for green (G, near-infrared (NIR and shortwave-infrared (SWIR lasers. In this paper, the possibility of the generation of colour composites using orthoimages of laser intensity reflectance and its classification capabilities using data from airborne multispectral laser scanning for land cover mapping are also discussed and compared with conventional photogrammetric techniques.

Evaluating airborne and ground based gamma spectrometry methods for detecting particulate radioactivity in the environment: a case study of Irish Sea beaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Cresswell, A J; Sanderson, D C W

2012-10-15

In several places, programmes are in place to locate and recover radioactive particles that have the potential to cause detrimental health effects in any member of the public who may encounter them. A model has been developed to evaluate the use of mobile gamma spectrometry systems within such programmes, with particular emphasis on large volume (16l) NaI(Tl) detectors mounted in low flying helicopters. This model uses a validated Monte Carlo code with assessment of local geochemistry and natural and anthropogenic background radiation concentrations and distributions. The results of the model, applied to the example of particles recovered from beaches in the vicinity of Sellafield, clearly show the ability of rapid airborne surveys conducted at 75 m ground clearance and 120 kph speeds to demonstrate the absence of sources greater than 5 MBq (137)Cs within large areas (10-20 km(2)h(-1)), and identify areas requiring further ground based investigation. Lowering ground clearance for airborne surveys to 15m whilst maintaining speeds covering 1-2 km(2) h(-1) can detect buried (137)Cs sources of 0.5MBq or greater activity. A survey design to detect 100 kBq (137)Cs sources at 10 cm depth has also been defined, requiring surveys at <15m ground clearance and <2 ms(-1) ground speed. The response of airborne systems to the Sellafield particles recovered to date has also been simulated, and the proportion of the existing radiocaesium background in the vicinity of the nuclear site has been established. Finally the rates of area coverage and sensitivities of both airborne and ground based approaches are compared, demonstrating the ability of airborne systems to increase the rate of particle recovery in a cost effective manner. The potential for equipment and methodological developments to improve performance are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

What so What - participatory research of TV2/North-Digital

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørner, Thomas

Abstract: TV2/North-Digital is the first channel that broadcast interactive services on DVB-T in Denmark. There is a predominance of young viewers interested in TV2/North-Digital even though the programmes addressing older viewers. The young viewers are interested in the channel because of the new...... technology and the old viewers are more interested in the programmes but more sceptical of the interactive services. The men in the residence show also much higher enthusiasm about the interactive services than the women. There seems to be different ways of perception when multi tasking between the digital...

EUFAR the unique portal for airborne research in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Gérard, Elisabeth; Brown, Philip

2016-04-01

Created in 2000 and supported by the EU Framework Programmes since then, EUFAR was born out of the necessity to create a central network and access point for the airborne research community in Europe. With the aim to support researchers by granting them access to research infrastructures, not accessible in their home countries, EUFAR also provides technical support and training in the field of airborne research for the environmental and geo-sciences. Today, EUFAR2 (2014-2018) coordinates and facilitates transnational access to 18 instrumented aircraft and 3 remote-sensing instruments through the 13 operators who are part of EUFAR's current 24-partner European consortium. In addition, the current project supports networking and research activities focused on providing an enabling environment for and promoting airborne research. The EUFAR2 activities cover three objectives, supported by the internet website www.eufar.net: (I - Institutional) improvement of the access to the research infrastructures and development of the future fleet according to the strategic advisory committee (SAC) recommendations; (ii - Innovation) improvement of the scientific knowledge and promotion of innovating instruments, processes and services for the emergence of new industrial technologies, with an identification of industrial needs by the SAC; (iii - Service) optimisation and harmonisation of the use of the research infrastructures through the development of the community of young researches in airborne science, of the standards and protocols and of the airborne central database. With the launch of a brand new website (www.eufar.net) in mid-November 2015, EUFAR aims to improve user experience on the website, which serves as a source of information and a hub where users are able to collaborate, learn, share expertise and best practices, and apply for transnational access, and education and training funded opportunities within the network. With its newly designed eye-catching interface

Essential Climate Variables for the Ice Sheets from Space and Airborne measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fredenslund Levinsen, Joanna

The Greenland Ice Sheet is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.Over the past decade, it has undergone substantial changes in e.g. mass balance,surface velocity, and ice thickness. The latter is reflected by surfaceelevation changes, which are detectable with altimetry. Therefore......, this studyexploits the advantages of radar and laser altimetry to analyze surface elevationchanges and build a Digital Elevation Model of the ice sheet. Selected advantagesare radar data’s continuity in time and laser data’s higher horizontal andvertical accuracy. Therefore, ESA Envisat and CryoSat-2 radar altimetry...... dataare used in conjunction with laser data from NASA’s ICESat and airborneATM and LVIS instruments, and from ESA’s airborne CryoVEx campaign.The study is part of the ESA Ice Sheets CCI project. With the release ofREAPER data, one goal is to use the more than two decades of ESA radaraltimetry to develop...

TESTING OF LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION FROM MULTISPECTRAL AIRBORNE LASER SCANNING DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Bakuła

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Multispectral Airborne Laser Scanning provides a new opportunity for airborne data collection. It provides high-density topographic surveying and is also a useful tool for land cover mapping. Use of a minimum of three intensity images from a multiwavelength laser scanner and 3D information included in the digital surface model has the potential for land cover/use classification and a discussion about the application of this type of data in land cover/use mapping has recently begun. In the test study, three laser reflectance intensity images (orthogonalized point cloud acquired in green, near-infrared and short-wave infrared bands, together with a digital surface model, were used in land cover/use classification where six classes were distinguished: water, sand and gravel, concrete and asphalt, low vegetation, trees and buildings. In the tested methods, different approaches for classification were applied: spectral (based only on laser reflectance intensity images, spectral with elevation data as additional input data, and spectro-textural, using morphological granulometry as a method of texture analysis of both types of data: spectral images and the digital surface model. The method of generating the intensity raster was also tested in the experiment. Reference data were created based on visual interpretation of ALS data and traditional optical aerial and satellite images. The results have shown that multispectral ALS data are unlike typical multispectral optical images, and they have a major potential for land cover/use classification. An overall accuracy of classification over 90% was achieved. The fusion of multi-wavelength laser intensity images and elevation data, with the additional use of textural information derived from granulometric analysis of images, helped to improve the accuracy of classification significantly. The method of interpolation for the intensity raster was not very helpful, and using intensity rasters with both first and

Airborne polarimetric Doppler weather radar: trade-offs between various engineering specifications

Science.gov (United States)

Vivekanandan, Jothiram; Loew, Eric

2018-01-01

NCAR EOL is investigating potential configurations for the next-generation airborne phased array radar (APAR) that is capable of retrieving dynamic and microphysical characteristics of clouds and precipitation. The APAR will operate at C band. The APAR will use the electronic scanning (e-scan) feature to acquire the optimal number of independent samples for recording research-quality measurements. Since the airborne radar has only a limited time for collecting measurements over a specified region (moving aircraft platform ˜ 100 m s-1), beam multiplexing will significantly enhance its ability to collect high-resolution, research-quality measurements. Beam multiplexing reduces errors in radar measurements while providing rapid updates of scan volumes. Beamwidth depends on the size of the antenna aperture. Beamwidth and directivity of elliptical, circular, and rectangular antenna apertures are compared and radar sensitivity is evaluated for various polarimetric configurations and transmit-receive (T/R) elements. In the case of polarimetric measurements, alternate transmit with alternate receive (single-channel receiver) and simultaneous reception (dual-channel receiver) is compared. From an overall architecture perspective, element-level digitization of T/R module versus digital sub-array is considered with regard to flexibility in adaptive beamforming, polarimetric performance, calibration, and data quality. Methodologies for calibration of the radar and removing bias in polarimetric measurements are outlined. The above-mentioned engineering options are evaluated for realizing an optimal APAR system suitable for measuring the high temporal and spatial resolutions of Doppler and polarimetric measurements of precipitation and clouds.

Altimetric surveying with airborne laser system; Medicao altimetrica utilizando sistema a laser aerotransportado

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sallem Filho, Silas; Paoletto, Silvia M.; Bonatto, Amarildo [Esteio Engenharia, Curitiba, PR (Brazil)

2003-07-01

Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) makes faster and more accurate the obtaining of Digital Elevation Model and Digital Terrain Model compared to conventional photogrammetry. The system generates Laser pulses towards the terrain, perpendicular to the flight line, scanning the terrain surface and recording the distances from the sensor to the soil for each pulse . The main characteristics of the system is the measurement of the first and the last return for each pulse, allowing the objects identification that are above the ground like vegetation. With this function it is possible the determination of volumes and biomass estimate, besides the virtual removal of vegetation covering. The Digital Terrain Models are used for Digital Orthophotos rectification and to obtain contour lines for topography maps. The correct points classification according the elevation, allows the identification of man-made features road and river crossings and human use in the the pipeline corridor. Some additional products, as hypsometric images and intensity images helps in the identification of features on pipeline projects as well as the obtaining of the obstacles height. (author)

The development of an airborne information management system for flight test

Science.gov (United States)

Bever, Glenn A.

1992-01-01

An airborne information management system is being developed at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility. This system will improve the state of the art in management data acquisition on-board research aircraft. The design centers around highly distributable, high-speed microprocessors that allow data compression, digital filtering, and real-time analysis. This paper describes the areas of applicability, approach to developing the system, potential for trouble areas, and reasons for this development activity. System architecture (including the salient points of what makes it unique), design philosophy, and tradeoff issues are also discussed.

Tout cela est bien quelque chose: Digital Preservation Today: how European Commission programmes and policy have brought us here: Festschrift for Patricia (Pat Manson

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janet Delve

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Patricia (Pat Manson worked with the European Commission's (EC’s research programmes from the early 1990s, initially as project officer (December 1991-March 2003 and then as Head of Unit (April 2003-2011 for Cultural Heritage and Technology Enhanced Learning which was part of the Directorate General Information Society and Media. The unit focused primarily on research in digital libraries, digital preservation, and in the use of ICTs for improving learning, but was also involved in the development of the i2010 digital libraries policies and actions. Prior to joining the Commission, she worked in the UK providing a national advisory and market watch service to libraries on the use of new technologies. She is now Head of the Inclusion, Skills & Youth Unit of the EC’s Directorate General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT, where the unit’s goal is to ensure that citizens, especially youth and those at risk of exclusion, are best able to benefit from the Internet and have the necessary skills so to do. This article sets out Pat’s leadership of EC-funded Digital Preservation, and examines her legacy in terms of lasting best practices, contributions to standardisation activities etc.

King George Island ice cap geometry updated with airborne GPR measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Rückamp

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Ice geometry is a mandatory requirement for numerical modelling purposes. In this paper we present a consistent data set for the ice thickness, the bedrock topography and the ice surface topography of the King George Island ice cap (Arctowski icefield and the adjacent central part. The new data set is composed of ground based and airborne ground penetrating radar (GPR and differential GPS (DGPS measurements, obtained during several field campaigns. Blindow et al. (2010 already provided a comprehensive overview of the ground based measurements carried out in the safely accessible area of the ice cap. The updated data set incorporates airborne measurements in the heavily crevassed coastal areas. Therefore, in this paper special attention is paid to the airborne measurements by addressing the instrument used, survey procedure, and data processing in more detail. In particular, the inclusion of airborne GPR measurements with the 30 MHz BGR-P30-System developed at the Institute of Geophysics (University of Münster completes the picture of the ice geometry substantially. The compiled digital elevation model of the bedrock shows a rough, highly variable topography with pronounced valleys, ridges, and troughs. Mean ice thickness is 240 ± 6 m, with a maximum value of 422 ± 10 m in the surveyed area. Noticeable are bounded areas in the bedrock topography below sea level where marine based ice exists. The provided data set is required as a basis for future monitoring attempts or as input for numerical modelling experiments. The data set is available from the PANGAEA database at http://dx.doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.770567.

Examination of welds by digital radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekinci, S.

2004-01-01

Industrial radiography is the oldest and most reliable non-destructive test method in the examination and two dimensional evaluation of weld defects. Digital radiographic methods provide more sensitive, faster and more reliable evaluation of defect images. One of the most important factors influencing the contrast and consequently the image quality is the noise on the film caused by scattered radiation. The digital image processing technique can eliminate the noise and improve the image quality. Digital radiography also enables three dimensional evaluation of weld defects. This work describes the use of digital radiography in the evaluation of defects in welds of different configurations by using a laser film digitizing system and an appropriate software programme. Advantages and limitations of the digital technique and conventional film radiography were discussed. (author)

Examination of welds by digital radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekinci, S.

2004-01-01

Full text: Industrial radiography is the oldest and most reliable non-destructive test method in the examination and two dimensional evaluation of weld defects. Digital radiographic methods provide more sensitive, faster and more reliable evaluation of defect images. One of the most important factors influencing the contrast and consequently the image quality is the noise on the film caused by scattered radiation. The digital image processing technique can eliminate the noise and improve the image quality. Digital radiography also enables three dimensional evaluation of weld defects. This work describes the use of digital radiography in the evaluation of defects in welds of different configurations by using a laser film digitizing system and an appropriate software programme. Advantages and limitations of the digital technique and conventional film radiography were discussed

Implementation of programmable logic controller for proposed new instrumentation and control system of RTP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Khairulezwan Abdul Manan; Mohd Idris Taib; Mohd Dzul Aiman Aslan

2010-01-01

Reactor Monitoring System is one of very important part of Reactor Instrumentation and Control system. Current monitoring system is using analog system whereby all circuits are discrete circuit and all displays and indicators are not digitalized. The proposed new system will use using a Commercial Off-The-Shelf, state of the art, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system such as Programmable Logic Controller as well as Computer System. The implementations of Programmable Logic Controller are used for Data Acquisition System and as a sub-system for Computer System where all the activities involved are stored for operation record and report as well as use for research purposes. Programmable Logic Controller receives galvanised or optically isolated signal from Reactor Protection System. Programmable Logic Controller also receives signal from other parameters as a digital and analog input related to reactor system. (author)

Acquisition of airborne imagery in support of Deepwater Horizon oil spill recovery assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Bostater, Charles R., Jr.; Muller-Karger, Frank E.

2012-09-01

Remote sensing imagery was collected from a low flying aircraft along the near coastal waters of the Florida Panhandle and northern Gulf of Mexico and into Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA, during March 2011. Imagery was acquired from an aircraft that simultaneously collected traditional photogrammetric film imagery, digital video, digital still images, and digital hyperspectral imagery. The original purpose of the project was to collect airborne imagery to support assessment of weathered oil in littoral areas influenced by the Deepwater Horizon oil and gas spill that occurred during the spring and summer of 2010. This paper describes the data acquired and presents information that demonstrates the utility of small spatial scale imagery to detect the presence of weathered oil along littoral areas in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Flight tracks and examples of imagery collected are presented and methods used to plan and acquire the imagery are described. Results suggest weathered oil in littoral areas after the spill was contained at the source.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION : HOW APIS DRIVE BUSINESS MODEL CHANGE AND INNOVATION

OpenAIRE

Hellbe, Simon; Leung, Peter

2015-01-01

Over the years, information technology has created opportunities to improve and extend businesses and to start conducting business in new ways. With the evolution of IT, all businesses and industries are becoming increasingly digitized. This process, or coevolution, of IT and business coming together is called digital transformation. One of the recent trends in this digital transformation is the use of application programmable interfaces (APIs). APIs are standardized digital communication int...

Airborne radionuclide waste-management reference document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, R.A.; Christian, J.D.; Thomas, T.R.

1983-07-01

This report provides the detailed data required to develop a strategy for airborne radioactive waste management by the Department of Energy (DOE). The airborne radioactive materials of primary concern are tritium (H-3), carbon-14 (C-14), krypton-85 (Kr-85), iodine-129 (I-129), and radioactive particulate matter. The introductory section of the report describes the nature and broad objectives of airborne waste management. The relationship of airborne waste management to other waste management programs is described. The scope of the strategy is defined by considering all potential sources of airborne radionuclides and technologies available for their management. Responsibilities of the regulatory agencies are discussed. Section 2 of this document deals primarily with projected inventories, potential releases, and dose commitments of the principal airborne wastes from the light water reactor (LWR) fuel cycle. In Section 3, dose commitments, technologies, costs, regulations, and waste management criteria are analyzed. Section 4 defines goals and objectives for airborne waste management

Airborne relay-based regional positioning system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kyuman; Noh, Hongjun; Lim, Jaesung

2015-05-28

Ground-based pseudolite systems have some limitations, such as low vertical accuracy, multipath effects and near-far problems. These problems are not significant in airborne-based pseudolite systems. However, the monitoring of pseudolite positions is required because of the mobility of the platforms on which the pseudolites are mounted, and this causes performance degradation. To address these pseudolite system limitations, we propose an airborne relay-based regional positioning system that consists of a master station, reference stations, airborne relays and a user. In the proposed system, navigation signals are generated from the reference stations located on the ground and are relayed via the airborne relays. Unlike in conventional airborne-based systems, the user in the proposed system sequentially estimates both the locations of airborne relays and his/her own position. Therefore, a delay due to monitoring does not occur, and the accuracy is not affected by the movement of airborne relays. We conducted several simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed system. Based on the simulation results, we demonstrated that the proposed system guarantees a higher accuracy than airborne-based pseudolite systems, and it is feasible despite the existence of clock offsets among reference stations.

Efficacy of the Danish epilepsy surgery programme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, E; Foged, M T; Beniczky, S

2018-01-01

lobe after ICR were free of disabling seizures. 12% of MTLE patients developed de novo depression after epilepsy surgery despite good surgical outcome. Three patients required rehabilitation due to post-operative hemiplegia. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of the Danish epilepsy surgery programme align...... epilepsy surgery programme from 2009 to 2014. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 169 consecutive patients, operated at Rigshospitalet, were included. Information was gathered from digital patient records. Before 1-year follow-up, two patients were lost to follow-up and three were referred to new surgery...

Optical Airborne Tracker System

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Optical Airborne Tracker System (OATS) is an airborne dual-axis optical tracking system capable of pointing at any sky location or ground target.  The objectives...

Krypton-85 and other airborne radioactivity measurements throughout Ireland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, K.J.; Murray, M.; Wong, J.; Sequeira, S.; Long, S.C.; Rafferty, B.

2004-01-01

In compliance with articles 35 and 36 of the EURATOM Treaty, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) undertakes a comprehensive programme of radioactivity monitoring in the Irish terrestrial environment. Radioactivity is present in the terrestrial environment due to natural processes, the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, accidents such as the Chernobyl accident and the routine discharge of radionuclides from nuclear installations. The RPII monitors airborne radioactivity concentrations at ten stations throughout Ireland, of which, nine are equipped with low volume particulate samplers and one, in Dublin, with a high volume particulate sampler. The low volume particulate samples are assessed for total beta activity and high volume samples for gamma emitting radionuclides such as caesium-137 and beryllium-7. In addition, air sampled at the RPII laboratory in Dublin, is monitored for krypton-85, a radioactive noble gas, released into the environment primarily as a result of the reprocessing of nuclear fuel at installations such as Sellafield in the UK and La Hague in France. Since the inception of the krypton measurements in 1993 a trend of increasing atmospheric concentrations has been observed. The results of the krypton-85 monitoring, as well as the airborne radioactivity concentration measurements, will be presented and discussed in this paper. (author)

Relevant training issues for introduction of digital radiology: Results of a survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peer, S.; Faulkner, K.; Torbica, P.; Peer, R.; Busch, H. P.; Vetter, S.; Neofotistou, E.; Back, C.; Bosmans, H.; Vano, E.

2005-01-01

Council Directive 97/43/Euratom establishes the need for adequate training of radiology staff. The transition to digital radiology implies changes in various imaging aspects, which are not sufficiently covered by current institutional training programmes. This work aimed to assess how professionals, experienced in digital imaging, acquired their expertise and hence, what form institutional training should take. Within DIMOND III, a survey on training and resources was performed among radiology professionals. A lack of institutional education for digital radiology was found. In the transition to digital radiology, 30-35% train on the job and another 23-28% receive training from digital equipment vendors. A general agreement exists on the need for new quality criteria and strategies for dose management. Issues relevant for conventional/digital transition are only sparsely covered in EC training programmes. Based on these results, a set of training issues was produced, to be included in future European guidelines. (authors)

Multichannel Digital Emulator of Radiation Detection Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abba, A.; Caponio, F.; Geraci, A.

2013-06-01

A digital system for emulating in real time signals from generic setups for radiation detection is presented. The instrument is not a pulse generator of recorded shapes but a synthesizer of random pulses compliant to programmable statistics for energy and occurrence time. Completely programmable procedures for emulation of noise, disturbances and reference level variation can be implemented. The instrument has been realized and fully tested. (authors)

Inselect: Automating the Digitization of Natural History Collections.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lawrence N Hudson

Full Text Available The world's natural history collections constitute an enormous evidence base for scientific research on the natural world. To facilitate these studies and improve access to collections, many organisations are embarking on major programmes of digitization. This requires automated approaches to mass-digitization that support rapid imaging of specimens and associated data capture, in order to process the tens of millions of specimens common to most natural history collections. In this paper we present Inselect-a modular, easy-to-use, cross-platform suite of open-source software tools that supports the semi-automated processing of specimen images generated by natural history digitization programmes. The software is made up of a Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux desktop application, together with command-line tools that are designed for unattended operation on batches of images. Blending image visualisation algorithms that automatically recognise specimens together with workflows to support post-processing tasks such as barcode reading, label transcription and metadata capture, Inselect fills a critical gap to increase the rate of specimen digitization.

Applying emerging digital video interface standards to airborne avionics sensor and digital map integrations: benefits outweigh the initial costs

Science.gov (United States)

Kuehl, C. Stephen

1996-06-01

Video signal system performance can be compromised in a military aircraft cockpit management system (CMS) with the tailoring of vintage Electronics Industries Association (EIA) RS170 and RS343A video interface standards. Video analog interfaces degrade when induced system noise is present. Further signal degradation has been traditionally associated with signal data conversions between avionics sensor outputs and the cockpit display system. If the CMS engineering process is not carefully applied during the avionics video and computing architecture development, extensive and costly redesign will occur when visual sensor technology upgrades are incorporated. Close monitoring and technical involvement in video standards groups provides the knowledge-base necessary for avionic systems engineering organizations to architect adaptable and extendible cockpit management systems. With the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the process of adopting the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance System standard proposed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), the entertainment and telecommunications industries are adopting and supporting the emergence of new serial/parallel digital video interfaces and data compression standards that will drastically alter present NTSC-M video processing architectures. The re-engineering of the U.S. Broadcasting system must initially preserve the electronic equipment wiring networks within broadcast facilities to make the transition to HDTV affordable. International committee activities in technical forums like ITU-R (former CCIR), ANSI/SMPTE, IEEE, and ISO/IEC are establishing global consensus on video signal parameterizations that support a smooth transition from existing analog based broadcasting facilities to fully digital computerized systems. An opportunity exists for implementing these new video interface standards over existing video coax/triax cabling in military aircraft cockpit management systems. Reductions in signal

Airborne Tactical Crossload Planner

Science.gov (United States)

2017-12-01

Regiment AGL above ground level AO area of operation APA American psychological association ASOP airborne standard operating procedure A/C aircraft...awarded a research contract to develop a tactical crossload tool. [C]omputer assisted Airborne Planning Application ( APA ) that provides a

INTEGRATING SMARTPHONE IMAGES AND AIRBORNE LIDAR DATA FOR COMPLETE URBAN BUILDING MODELLING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Zhang

2016-06-01

Full Text Available A complete building model reconstruction needs data collected from both air and ground. The former often has sparse coverage on building façades, while the latter usually is unable to observe the building rooftops. Attempting to solve the missing data issues in building reconstruction from single data source, we describe an approach for complete building reconstruction that integrates airborne LiDAR data and ground smartphone imagery. First, by taking advantages of GPS and digital compass information embedded in the image metadata of smartphones, we are able to find airborne LiDAR point clouds for the corresponding buildings in the images. In the next step, Structure-from-Motion and dense multi-view stereo algorithms are applied to generate building point cloud from multiple ground images. The third step extracts building outlines respectively from the LiDAR point cloud and the ground image point cloud. An automated correspondence between these two sets of building outlines allows us to achieve a precise registration and combination of the two point clouds, which ultimately results in a complete and full resolution building model. The developed approach overcomes the problem of sparse points on building façades in airborne LiDAR and the deficiency of rooftops in ground images such that the merits of both datasets are utilized.

On regulation of radioactive airborne discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stroganov, A.A.; Kuryndin, A.V.; Shapovalov, A.S.; Orlov, M.Yu.

2013-01-01

Authors present the Russian regulatory basis of radioactive airborne discharges which was updated after enactment of the Methodology for airborne discharge limits development. Criteria for establishing of airborne discharge limits, scope and other features of methodology are also considered in the article [ru

Design of digital logic control for accelerator magnet power supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long Fengli; Hu Wei; Cheng Jian

2008-01-01

For the accelerator magnet power supply, usually the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is used to server as the controller for logic protection and control. Along with the development of modern accelerator technology, it is a trend to use fully-digital control to the magnet power supply. It is possible to integrate the logic control part into the digital control component of the power supply, for example, the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The paper introduces to different methods which are designed for the logic protection and control for accelerator magnet power supplies with the FPGA as the control component. (authors)

Airborne geophysical radon hazard mapping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, P.

1993-01-01

Shales containing uranium pose a radon health hazard even when covered by several meters of overburden. Such an alum shale in southern Norway has been mapped with a joint helicopter borne electromagnetic (HEM) and radiometric survey. Results are compared with ground spectrometer, radon emanometer and radon gas measurements in dwellings, and a model to predict radon gas concentrations from the airborne data is developed. Since the shale is conductive, combining the HEM data with the radiometric channel allows the shale to be mapped with greater reliability than if the radiometric channel were used alone. Radiometrically more active areas which do not pose a radon gas hazard can thus be separated from the shales which do. The ground follow-up work consisted of spectrometer and radon emanometer measurements over a uranium anomaly coinciding with a conductor. The correlation between the airborne uranium channel, the ground uranium channel and emanometry is extremely good, indicating that airborne geophysics can, in this case, be used to predict areas having a high radon potential. Contingency tables comparing both radon exhalation and concentration in dwellings with the airborne uranium data show a strong relationship exists between exhalation and the airborne data and while a relationship between concentration and the airborne data is present, but weaker

Routing architecture and security for airborne networks

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Hongmei; Xie, Peng; Li, Jason; Xu, Roger; Levy, Renato

2009-05-01

Airborne networks are envisioned to provide interconnectivity for terrestial and space networks by interconnecting highly mobile airborne platforms. A number of military applications are expected to be used by the operator, and all these applications require proper routing security support to establish correct route between communicating platforms in a timely manner. As airborne networks somewhat different from traditional wired and wireless networks (e.g., Internet, LAN, WLAN, MANET, etc), security aspects valid in these networks are not fully applicable to airborne networks. Designing an efficient security scheme to protect airborne networks is confronted with new requirements. In this paper, we first identify a candidate routing architecture, which works as an underlying structure for our proposed security scheme. And then we investigate the vulnerabilities and attack models against routing protocols in airborne networks. Based on these studies, we propose an integrated security solution to address routing security issues in airborne networks.

A counting-weighted calibration method for a field-programmable-gate-array-based time-to-digital converter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Yuan-Ho

2017-01-01

In this work, we propose a counting-weighted calibration method for field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA)-based time-to-digital converter (TDC) to provide non-linearity calibration for use in positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. To deal with the non-linearity in FPGA, we developed a counting-weighted delay line (CWD) to count the delay time of the delay cells in the TDC in order to reduce the differential non-linearity (DNL) values based on code density counts. The performance of the proposed CWD-TDC with regard to linearity far exceeds that of TDC with a traditional tapped delay line (TDL) architecture, without the need for nonlinearity calibration. When implemented in a Xilinx Vertix-5 FPGA device, the proposed CWD-TDC achieved time resolution of 60 ps with integral non-linearity (INL) and DNL of [−0.54, 0.24] and [−0.66, 0.65] least-significant-bit (LSB), respectively. This is a clear indication of the suitability of the proposed FPGA-based CWD-TDC for use in PET scanners.

A counting-weighted calibration method for a field-programmable-gate-array-based time-to-digital converter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Yuan-Ho, E-mail: chenyh@mail.cgu.edu.tw [Department of Electronic Engineering, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan 333, Taiwan (China); Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Tao-Yuan 333, Taiwan (China); Center for Reliability Sciences and Technologies, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan 333, Taiwan (China)

2017-05-11

In this work, we propose a counting-weighted calibration method for field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA)-based time-to-digital converter (TDC) to provide non-linearity calibration for use in positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. To deal with the non-linearity in FPGA, we developed a counting-weighted delay line (CWD) to count the delay time of the delay cells in the TDC in order to reduce the differential non-linearity (DNL) values based on code density counts. The performance of the proposed CWD-TDC with regard to linearity far exceeds that of TDC with a traditional tapped delay line (TDL) architecture, without the need for nonlinearity calibration. When implemented in a Xilinx Vertix-5 FPGA device, the proposed CWD-TDC achieved time resolution of 60 ps with integral non-linearity (INL) and DNL of [−0.54, 0.24] and [−0.66, 0.65] least-significant-bit (LSB), respectively. This is a clear indication of the suitability of the proposed FPGA-based CWD-TDC for use in PET scanners.

Derivation of Ground Surface and Vegetation in a Coastal Florida Wetland with Airborne Laser Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Raabe, Ellen A.; Harris, Melanie S.; Shrestha, Ramesh L.; Carter, William E.

2008-01-01

The geomorphology and vegetation of marsh-dominated coastal lowlands were mapped from airborne laser data points collected on the Gulf Coast of Florida near Cedar Key. Surface models were developed using low- and high-point filters to separate ground-surface and vegetation-canopy intercepts. In a non-automated process, the landscape was partitioned into functional landscape units to manage the modeling of key landscape features in discrete processing steps. The final digital ground surface-elevation model offers a faithful representation of topographic relief beneath canopies of tidal marsh and coastal forest. Bare-earth models approximate field-surveyed heights by + 0.17 m in the open marsh and + 0.22 m under thick marsh or forest canopy. The laser-derived digital surface models effectively delineate surface features of relatively inaccessible coastal habitats with a geographic coverage and vertical detail previously unavailable. Coastal topographic details include tidal-creek tributaries, levees, modest topographic undulations in the intertidal zone, karst features, silviculture, and relict sand dunes under coastal-forest canopy. A combination of laser-derived ground-surface and canopy-height models and intensity values provided additional mapping capabilities to differentiate between tidal-marsh zones and forest types such as mesic flatwood, hydric hammock, and oak scrub. Additional derived products include fine-scale shoreline and topographic profiles. The derived products demonstrate the capability to identify areas of concern to resource managers and unique components of the coastal system from laser altimetry. Because the very nature of a wetland system presents difficulties for access and data collection, airborne coverage from remote sensors has become an accepted alternative for monitoring wetland regions. Data acquisition with airborne laser represents a viable option for mapping coastal topography and for evaluating habitats and coastal change on marsh

Point Lepreau refurbishment project programmable digital comparator (PDC) replacement for SDS1 and SDS2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichiyen, N.M.; Chan, D.; Thompson, P.D.

2003-01-01

NB Power is tentatively planning to conduct an 18-month maintenance outage of the Point Lepreau Generating Station (PLGS) starting in April 2007. The scope of the outage was determined from the outcome of a two year study (Phase 1) involving a detailed condition assessment of the station which examined issues relating to ageing and obsolescence, along with a detailed review of Safety and Licensing issues associated with extended operation. In order to minimize schedule and regulatory risk for the Refurbishment project, pre-project work was initiated in early 2002. This program is called Phase 2 ESA (Early Start Activities). As part of the Phase 1 assessments it was concluded that replacement of the PDCs (Programmable Digital Comparators) for both shutdown systems was required in order to ensure operation of the plant for a further 25-30 years. Critical tasks were identified related to PDC replacement as part of the Phase 2 ESA program. This paper describes the activities that have taken place in the Phase 2 ESA program as well as the plan for future work for the PDC replacement for SDS 1 (Shutdown System Number One) and SDS2 (Shutdown System Number Two). (author)

Digital Modeling and Shaping of Design Practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reijonen, Satu

This paper focuses on the role of digital modeling in shaping coordinative practices between architects and energy engineers in construction design. The paper presents a case study of the use of an energy performance calculation programme, a numeric digital modeling tool, that not only enables...... coordination between the two communities but also shapes coordinative practices around the emerging building. The paper draws on two interlinked strands of literature that have engaged in the role of material artefacts in the social: the entanglement of technology in organizing and management (Orlikowski 2000......, 2010), and the socio-material constructivist studies of technology (Akrich 1992, Akrich et al. 2000, Latour 1991). The programme influences the coordinative practices in following ways: it shapes the modus of interaction between energy engineers and architects and enforces particular jurisdictional...

How can the digital library contribute to employability?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Harbo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The DEFF project, E-learning, Information literacy and Library services, supports the education policy ambition of enhancing links between education and employment. The project consortium includes libraries from all Danish universities, university colleges and one business academy. Timeframe for the project is 2014-16. The project understands employability as: In close cooperation with study programmes libraries will strengthen students’ ability to perform independently and critically in a professional context by being able to identify, collect, evaluate, organize and present information via digital platforms. A partnership is made between the digital library (partner libraries involved and the virtual learning environment (educational institutions, based on the above definition of employability. This is done within the framework of Learning Management Systems (LMS and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs. The libraries and academic programmes will collaborate to create e-learning objects based on the relevant digital library systems and information resources. Departments from three Danish universities will contribute by strengthening the project participants’ skills in e-didactics and the development of e-learning objects (SDUUP, University of Southern Denmark, developing a range of flexible concepts for the integration of the virtual library into learning environments (IVA, Copenhagen University and evaluating the project’s activities (E-Learning Lab, Aalborg University. Sustainable results include the training of library staff to work together with academic programmes via the virtual learning environments, the development of flexible concepts for integrating the virtual library with study environments and knowledge on how inputs, created by the project for each study programme, should function.

EUFAR the key portal and network for airborne research in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Gérard, Elisabeth; Brown, Philip

2017-04-01

Created in 2000 and supported by the EU Framework Programmes since then as an Integrating Activities' project, EUFAR (European Facility of Airborne Research in environmental and Geo-sciences) was born out of the necessity to create a central network and access point for the airborne research community in Europe. With the aim to support researchers by granting them access to aircraft and instrumentation most suited to the needs of researchers across Europe, not accessible in their home countries, EUFAR also provides technical support and training in the field of airborne research for the environmental and geosciences, and enables the sharing of expertise and harmonisation of research practices. Today, EUFAR2 (2014-2018) coordinates and facilitates transnational access to 19 instrumented aircraft and 5 remote-sensing instruments through the 14 operators who are part of EUFAR's current 24-partner European consortium. In addition, the current project supports networking and joint research activities focused on providing an enabling environment for and to promote airborne research. Examples of some of these recent activities will be shown EUFAR is currently seeking to establish itself as an AISBL (international non-profit association) to ensure its existence and operations beyond January 2018 when our present EC funding comes to an end. The objectives of the EUFAR AISBL will include continuing to develop the integration of the research aircraft community in Europe and also its links with other environmental research infrastructures, such as the community of research infrastructures under the umbrella of ENVRIplus. Another objective will be to continue to broaden access to research facilities beyond that supported solely by national funding streams so that EUFAR better approaches the status of a European open research infrastructure. Together with the implementation of an Open Access scheme by means of resource-sharing envisaged in late 2017, such a sustainable structure

Airborne Cloud Computing Environment (ACCE)

Science.gov (United States)

Hardman, Sean; Freeborn, Dana; Crichton, Dan; Law, Emily; Kay-Im, Liz

2011-01-01

Airborne Cloud Computing Environment (ACCE) is JPL's internal investment to improve the return on airborne missions. Improve development performance of the data system. Improve return on the captured science data. The investment is to develop a common science data system capability for airborne instruments that encompasses the end-to-end lifecycle covering planning, provisioning of data system capabilities, and support for scientific analysis in order to improve the quality, cost effectiveness, and capabilities to enable new scientific discovery and research in earth observation.

Flexible digital modulation and coding synthesis for satellite communications

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderaar, Mark; Budinger, James; Hoerig, Craig; Tague, John

1991-01-01

An architecture and a hardware prototype of a flexible trellis modem/codec (FTMC) transmitter are presented. The theory of operation is built upon a pragmatic approach to trellis-coded modulation that emphasizes power and spectral efficiency. The system incorporates programmable modulation formats, variations of trellis-coding, digital baseband pulse-shaping, and digital channel precompensation. The modulation formats examined include (uncoded and coded) binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quatenary phase shift keying (QPSK), octal phase shift keying (8PSK), 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM), and quadrature quadrature phase shift keying (Q squared PSK) at programmable rates up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps). The FTMC is part of the developing test bed to quantify modulation and coding concepts.

Sampling and analytical methodologies for instrumental neutron activation analysis of airborne particulate matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The IAEA supports a number of projects having to do with the analysis of airborne particulate matter by nuclear techniques. Most of this work involves the use of activation analysis in its various forms, particularly instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). This technique has been widely used in many different countries for the analysis of airborne particulate matter, and there are already many publications in scientific journals, books and reports describing such work. The present document represents an attempt to summarize the most important features of INAA as applied to the analysis of airborne particulate matter. It is intended to serve as a set of guidelines for use by participants in the IAEA's own programmes, and other scientists, who are not yet fully experienced in the application of INAA to airborne particulate samples, and who wish either to make a start on using this technique or to improve their existing procedures. The methodologies for sampling described in this document are of rather general applicability, although they are presented here in a way that takes account of the particular requirements arising from the use of INAA as the analytical technique. The analytical part of the document, however, is presented in a form that is applicable only to INAA. (Subsequent publications in this series are expected to deal specifically with other nuclear related techniques such as energy dispersive X ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) and particle induced X ray emission (PIXE) analysis). Although the methods and procedures described here have been found through experience to yield acceptable results, they should not be considered mandatory. Any other procedure used should, however, be chosen to be capable of yielding results at least of equal quality to those described

Sampling and analytical methodologies for instrumental neutron activation analysis of airborne particulate matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1992-12-01

The IAEA supports a number of projects having to do with the analysis of airborne particulate matter by nuclear techniques. Most of this work involves the use of activation analysis in its various forms, particularly instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). This technique has been widely used in many different countries for the analysis of airborne particulate matter, and there are already many publications in scientific journals, books and reports describing such work. The present document represents an attempt to summarize the most important features of INAA as applied to the analysis of airborne particulate matter. It is intended to serve as a set of guidelines for use by participants in the IAEA's own programmes, and other scientists, who are not yet fully experienced in the application of INAA to airborne particulate samples, and who wish either to make a start on using this technique or to improve their existing procedures. The methodologies for sampling described in this document are of rather general applicability, although they are presented here in a way that takes account of the particular requirements arising from the use of INAA as the analytical technique. The analytical part of the document, however, is presented in a form that is applicable only to INAA. (Subsequent publications in this series are expected to deal specifically with other nuclear related techniques such as energy dispersive X ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) and particle induced X ray emission (PIXE) analysis). Although the methods and procedures described here have been found through experience to yield acceptable results, they should not be considered mandatory. Any other procedure used should, however, be chosen to be capable of yielding results at least of equal quality to those described.

CERN Technical Training 2003: Learning for the LHC ! DISP-2003 - Digital Signal Processing

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

DISP-2003 - Digital Signal Processing DISP-2003 is a two-term course given by CERN and University of Lausanne (UNIL) experts within the framework of the Technical Training Programme. The course will review the current techniques dealing with Digital Signal Processing, and it is intended for an audience who work or will work on digital signal processing aspects, and who need an introductory or refresher/update course. The course will be in English, with question and answers also in French. Spring 2 Term: DISP-2003: Advanced Digital Signal Processing 30 April 2003 - 21 May 2003, 4 lectures, Wednesdays afternoon (attendance cost: 40.- CHF, registration required) Lecturers: Léonard Studer, UNIL; Laurent Deniau, AT-MTM; Elena Wildner, AT-MAS Programme: Intelligent signal processing (ISP). Non-linear time series analysis. Image processing. Wavelets. (Basic concepts and definitions have been introduced during the previous Spring 1 Term: DISP-2003: Introduction to Digital Signal Processing). DISP-2003 is open...

Metadata Harvesting in Regional Digital Libraries in the PIONIER Network

Science.gov (United States)

Mazurek, Cezary; Stroinski, Maciej; Werla, Marcin; Weglarz, Jan

2006-01-01

Purpose: The paper aims to present the concept of the functionality of metadata harvesting for regional digital libraries, based on the OAI-PMH protocol. This functionality is a part of regional digital libraries platform created in Poland. The platform was required to reach one of main objectives of the Polish PIONIER Programme--to enrich the…

Monitoring and evaluation techniques for airborne contamination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yihua, Xia [China Inst. of Atomic Energy, Beijing (China)

1997-06-01

Monitoring and evaluation of airborne contamination are of great importance for the purpose of protection of health and safety of workers in nuclear installations. Because airborne contamination is one of the key sources to cause exposure to individuals by inhalation and digestion, and to cause diffusion of contaminants in the environment. The main objectives of monitoring and evaluation of airborne contamination are: to detect promptly a loss of control of airborne material, to help identify those individuals and predict exposure levels, to assess the intake and dose commitment to the individuals, and to provide sufficient documentation of airborne radioactivity. From the viewpoint of radiation protection, the radioactive contaminants in air can be classified into the following types: airborne aerosol, gas and noble gas, and volatile gas. In this paper, the following items are described: sampling methods and techniques, measurement and evaluation, and particle size analysis. (G.K.)

Monitoring and evaluation techniques for airborne contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia Yihua

1997-01-01

Monitoring and evaluation of airborne contamination are of great importance for the purpose of protection of health and safety of workers in nuclear installations. Because airborne contamination is one of the key sources to cause exposure to individuals by inhalation and digestion, and to cause diffusion of contaminants in the environment. The main objectives of monitoring and evaluation of airborne contamination are: to detect promptly a loss of control of airborne material, to help identify those individuals and predict exposure levels, to assess the intake and dose commitment to the individuals, and to provide sufficient documentation of airborne radioactivity. From the viewpoint of radiation protection, the radioactive contaminants in air can be classified into the following types: airborne aerosol, gas and noble gas, and volatile gas. In this paper, the following items are described: sampling methods and techniques, measurement and evaluation, and particle size analysis. (G.K.)

An Open Source Software and Web-GIS Based Platform for Airborne SAR Remote Sensing Data Management, Distribution and Sharing

Science.gov (United States)

Changyong, Dou; Huadong, Guo; Chunming, Han; Ming, Liu

2014-03-01

With more and more Earth observation data available to the community, how to manage and sharing these valuable remote sensing datasets is becoming an urgent issue to be solved. The web based Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology provides a convenient way for the users in different locations to share and make use of the same dataset. In order to efficiently use the airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing data acquired in the Airborne Remote Sensing Center of the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), a Web-GIS based platform for airborne SAR data management, distribution and sharing was designed and developed. The major features of the system include map based navigation search interface, full resolution imagery shown overlaid the map, and all the software adopted in the platform are Open Source Software (OSS). The functions of the platform include browsing the imagery on the map navigation based interface, ordering and downloading data online, image dataset and user management, etc. At present, the system is under testing in RADI and will come to regular operation soon.

Unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverage advertising on children's, youth and family free-to-air and digital television programmes in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaichuen, Nongnuch; Vandevijvere, Stefanie; Kelly, Bridget; Vongmongkol, Vuthiphan; Phulkerd, Sirinya; Tangcharoensathien, Viroj

2018-06-15

Food advertising is a key factor which influences children's food preferences. This study assessed the rates, nutritional quality and contents of food and beverage advertising in children's, youth and family television programmes in Thailand. Free TV was recorded for two weeks in March 2014 from six to ten am and three to eight pm on weekends and three to eight pm on weekdays across all four channels; a total of 344 h recorded. Digital TV was recorded across three channels for one week for 24 h per day in October 2014; a total 504 h recorded. For Free TV, 1359 food advertisements were identified, with on average 2.9 non-core food advertisements per hour per channel. The most frequently advertised food products on free TV were sugar-sweetened drinks. The rates of advertisements containing promotional characters and premium offers were significantly higher for non-core than core foods, 1.2 versus 0.03 and 0.6 versus 0.0 per hour respectively. For Digital TV, 693 food advertisements were identified, with an average of one non-core food advertisement per hour per channel. The most frequently advertised food products on digital TV were baby and toddler milk formulae. Food and beverage advertising on Thai television is predominantly unhealthy. Therefore, the Government and related agencies should introduce and enforce policies to address this issue. Current regulations should be adapted to control both the frequency and nature of unhealthy on-air food marketing to protect the health of Thai children.

Reactor physics in support of the naval nuclear propulsion programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lisley, P.G.; Beeley, P.A.

1994-01-01

Reactor physics is a core component of all courses but in particular two postgraduate courses taught at the department in support of the naval nuclear propulsion programme. All of the courses include the following elements: lectures and problem solving exercises, laboratory work, experiments on the Jason zero power Argonaut reactor, demonstration of PWR behavior on a digital computer simulator and project work. This paper will highlight the emphasis on reactor physics in all elements of the education and training programme. (authors). 9 refs

Simulation of multistatic and backscattering cross sections for airborne radar

Science.gov (United States)

Biggs, Albert W.

1986-07-01

In order to determine susceptibilities of airborne radar to electronic countermeasures and electronic counter-countermeasures simulations of multistatic and backscattering cross sections were developed as digital modules in the form of algorithms. Cross section algorithms are described for prolate (cigar shape) and oblate (disk shape) spheroids. Backscattering cross section algorithms are also described for different categories of terrain. Backscattering cross section computer programs were written for terrain categorized as vegetation, sea ice, glacial ice, geological (rocks, sand, hills, etc.), oceans, man-made structures, and water bodies. PROGRAM SIGTERRA is a file for backscattering cross section modules of terrain (TERRA) such as vegetation (AGCROP), oceans (OCEAN), Arctic sea ice (SEAICE), glacial snow (GLASNO), geological structures (GEOL), man-made structures (MAMMAD), or water bodies (WATER). AGCROP describes agricultural crops, trees or forests, prairies or grassland, and shrubs or bush cover. OCEAN has the SLAR or SAR looking downwind, upwind, and crosswind at the ocean surface. SEAICE looks at winter ice and old or polar ice. GLASNO is divided into a glacial ice and snow or snowfields. MANMAD includes buildings, houses, roads, railroad tracks, airfields and hangars, telephone and power lines, barges, trucks, trains, and automobiles. WATER has lakes, rivers, canals, and swamps. PROGRAM SIGAIR is a similar file for airborne targets such as prolate and oblate spheroids.

Active airborne contamination control using electrophoresis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veatch, B.D.

1994-01-01

In spite of our best efforts, radioactive airborne contamination continues to be a formidable problem at many of the Department of Energy (DOE) weapons complex sites. For workers that must enter areas with high levels of airborne contamination, personnel protective equipment (PPE) can become highly restrictive, greatly diminishing productivity. Rather than require even more restrictive PPE for personnel in some situations, the Rocky Flats Plant (RFP) is actively researching and developing methods to aggressively combat airborne contamination hazards using electrophoretic technology. With appropriate equipment, airborne particulates can be effectively removed and collected for disposal in one simple process. The equipment needed to implement electrophoresis is relatively inexpensive, highly reliable, and very compact. Once airborne contamination levels are reduced, less PPE is required and a significant cost savings may be realized through decreased waste and maximized productivity. Preliminary ''cold,'' or non-radioactive, testing results at the RFP have shown the technology to be effective on a reasonable scale, with several potential benefits and an abundance of applications

ZPR-9 airborne plutonium monitoring system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusch, G.K.; McDowell, W.P.; Knapp, W.G.

1975-01-01

An airborne plutonium monitoring system which is installed in the ZPR-9 (Zero Power Reactor No. 9) facility at Argonne National Laboratory is described. The design and operational experience are discussed. This monitoring system utilizes particle size and density discrimination, alpha particle energy discrimination, and a background-subtraction techique operating in cascade to separate airborne-plutonium activity from other, naturally occurring, airborne activity. Relatively high sensitivity and reliability are achieved

Point Lepreau Refurbishment Project. Programmable digital comparator (PDC) replacement for SDS1 and SDS2 - update 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fraser, K.G.; Ichiyen, N.M.; Condor, A.E.; Thompson, P.D.

2005-01-01

NB Power is tentatively planning to conduct an 18-month maintenance outage of the Point Lepreau Generating Station starting in April 2008. The scope of the outage was determined from the outcome of a two year study (Phase 1) involving a detailed condition assessment of the station which examined issues relating to ageing and obsolescence, along with a detailed review of Safety and Licensing issues associated with extended operation. In order to minimize schedule and regulatory risk for the Refurbishment project, pre-project work was initiated in early 2002. This program is called Phase 2 ESA (Early Start Activities). As part of the Phase 1 assessments it was concluded that replacement of the Programmable Digital Comparators for both shutdown systems was required in order to ensure operation of the plant for a further 25-30 years. Critical tasks were identified related to PDC replacement as part of the Phase 2 ESA program. This paper describes the progress of the Phase 2 ESA program as well as the planned future (Phase 2) work for the PDC replacement for both shutdown systems. (author)

Software for airborne radiation monitoring system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheinfeld, M.; Kadmon, Y.; Tirosh, D.; Elhanany, I.; Gabovitch, A.; Barak, D.

1997-01-01

The Airborne Radiation Monitoring System monitors radioactive contamination in the air or on the ground. The contamination source can be a radioactive plume or an area contaminated with radionuclides. This system is composed of two major parts: Airborne Unit carried by a helicopter, and Ground Station carried by a truck. The Airborne software is intended to be the core of a computerized airborne station. The software is written in C++ under MS-Windows with object-oriented methodology. It has been designed to be user-friendly: function keys and other accelerators are used for vital operations, a help file and help subjects are available, the Human-Machine-Interface is plain and obvious. (authors)

Digital integration of geological and aeroradiometric data for probability mapping of uranium occurrences in parts of south-eastern Rajasthan, India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chawla, A.S.; Katti, V.J.; Kak, S.N.; Das, S.K.

1993-01-01

Integration and evaluation of geological, radio geochemical, and magnetic information of Umra-Udaisagar and Sarara inlier area, Udaipur district, Rajasthan was attempted. Seventeen lithostructural variables from colour infrared (CIR) photo geological analogue maps were interpreted, radio geochemical and magnetic variables thematically evaluated from airborne gamma-ray spectrometric (AGRS) and aero magnetic (AM) digital data were co-registered using a sequential grid matrix of 500 m x 500 m. The variables were quantified using theme-specific equations and digitized in simple Boolean representation format, depending on the presence or absence of a variable, its positive or negative interest, and/or greater than or less than a theme-specific value in each cell. The database so generated was subjected to a software programme weighted modelling wherein, weights for each variable are computed based on conditional probability method, and favorability index maps are generated by discriminant objective analysis. Areas with high probability for uranium mineralisation were delineated by computing composite coincidence of cells with high favorability index value considering each variable as a control variable. Critical analysis of weights computed for each variable in different sets predicts the importance of control of the variable to uranium mineralisation. This attempt has resulted in delineating several new high-probability zones of uranium enrichment and indicated a regional structural control in the area. (author). 11 refs., 4 figs

Application of Digital Terrain Model to volcanology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Achilli

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Three-dimensional reconstruction of the ground surface (Digital Terrain Model, DTM, derived by airborne GPS photogrammetric surveys, is a powerful tool for implementing morphological analysis in remote areas. High accurate 3D models, with submeter elevation accuracy, can be obtained by images acquired at photo scales between 1:5000-1:20000. Multitemporal DTMs acquired periodically over volcanic area allow the monitoring of areas interested by crustal deformations and the evaluation of mass balance when large instability phenomena or lava flows have occurred. The work described the results obtained from the analysis of photogrammetric data collected over the Vulcano Island from 1971 to 2001. The data, processed by means of the Digital Photogrammetry Workstation DPW 770, provided DTM with accuracy ranging between few centimeters to few decimeters depending on the geometric image resolution, terrain configuration and quality of photographs.

Digital Signal Processing in Beam Instrumentation Latest Trends and Typical Applications

CERN Document Server

Angoletta, Maria Elena

2003-01-01

The last decade has seen major improvements in digital hardware, algortithms and software, which have trickled down to the Beam Instrumentation (BI) area. An advantageous transition is taking place towards systems with an ever-stronger digital presence. Digital systems are assembled by means of a rather small number of basic building blocks, with improved speed, precision, signal-to-noise ratio, dynamic range, flexibility, and accompanied by a range of powerful and user-friendly development tools. The paper reviews current digital BI trends, including using Digital Signal Processors, Field Programmable Gate Arrays, Digital Receivers and General Purpose Processors as well as some useful processing algorithms. Selected digital applications are illustrated on control/feedback and beam diagnostics.

The DigCurV Curriculum Framework for Digital Curation in the Cultural Heritage Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Molloy

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In 2013, the DigCurV collaborative network completed development of a Curriculum Framework for digital curation skills in the European cultural heritage sector. DigCurV synthesised a variety of established skills and competence models in the digital curation and LIS sectors with expertise from digital curation professionals, in order to develop a new Curriculum Framework. The resulting Framework provides a common language and helps define the skills, knowledge and abilities that are necessary for the development of digital curation training; for benchmarking existing programmes; and for promoting the continuing production, improvement and refinement of digital curation training programmes. This paper describes the salient points of this work, including how the project team conducted the research necessary to develop the Framework, the structure of the Framework, the processes used to validate the Framework, and three ‘lenses’ onto the Framework. The paper also provides suggestions as to how the Framework might be used, including a description of potential audiences and purposes.

A sophisticated programmable miniaturised pump for insulin delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, J C; Slama, G

1980-09-01

We have conceived a truly pre-programmable infusion system usable for intravenous administration of insulin in diabetic subjects. The original system has been built into a small, commercially available, syringe-pump of which only the case and the mechanical parts have been kept. The computing until has a timer, a programmable memory of 512 words by 8 bits and a digital-to-frequency converter to run the motor which drives the syringe. The memory contains 8 profiles of insulin injections stored in digital form over 64 words. Each profile is selected by the patient before eating according to the carbohydrate content of the planned meal and last about two hours, starting from and returning to the basal rate of insulin, at which it remains until next profile selection. Amount, profiles and duration of insulin injection are either mean values deduced from previous studies with a closed-loop artificial pancreas or personally fitted values; they are stored in an instantly replaceable memory cell. This device allows the patient to choose the time, nature and amount of his food intake.

Recent developments in airborne gamma ray surveying

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grasty, Robert L.

1999-01-01

Standardized procedures have been developed for converting airborne gamma ray measurements to ground concentrations of potassium, uranium and thorium. These procedures make use of an airborne calibration range whose ground concentrations should be measured with a calibrated portable spectrometer rather than by taking geochemical samples. Airborne sensitivities and height attenuation coefficients are normally determined from flights over the calibration range but may not be applicable in mountainous areas. Mathematical techniques have been now developed to reduce statistical noise in the airborne measurements by utilizing up to 256 channels of spectral information. (author)

Use of ALS data for digital terrain extraction and roughness parametrization in floodplain areas

Science.gov (United States)

Idda, B.; Nardinocchi, C.; Marsella, M.

2009-04-01

In order to undertake structural and land planning actions aimed at improving risk thresholds and vulnerability associated to floodplain inundation, the evaluation of the area concerning the channel overflowing from his natural embankments it is of essential importance. Floodplain models requires the analysis of historical floodplains extensions, ground's morphological structure and hydraulic measurements. Within this set of information, a more detailed characterization about the hydraulic roughness, which controls the velocity to the hydraulic flow, is a interesting challenge to achieve a 2D spatial distribution into the model. Remote sensing optical and radar sensors techniques can be applied to generate 2D and 3D map products useful to perimeter floodplains extension during the main event and extrapolate river cross-sections. Among these techniques, it is unquestionable the enhancement that the Airborne Laser Scanner (ALS) have brought for its capability to extract high resolution and accurate Digital Terrain Models. In hydraulic applications, a number of studies investigated the use of ALS for DTM generation and approached the quantitative estimations of the hydraulic roughness. The aim of this work is the generation of a digital terrain model and the estimation of hydraulic parameters useful for floodplains models from Airborne Laser Scanner data collected in a test area, which encloses a portion of a drainage basin of the Mela river (Sicily, Italy). From the Airborne Laser Scanner dataset, a high resolution Digital Elevation Model was first created, then after applying filtering and classification processes, a dedicated procedure was implemented to assess automatically a value for the hydraulic roughness coefficient (in Manning's formulation) per each point interested in the floodplain. The obtained results allowed to generate maps of equal roughness, hydraulic level depending, based on the application of empirical formulas for specific-type vegetation at

Airborne iodine-125 arising from surface contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwok, C.S.; Hilditch, T.E.

1982-01-01

Measurements of airborne 125 I were made during the subdivision of 740 MBq stocks of 125 I iodide solution in a hospital dispensary. Within the fume cupboard the mean airborne 125 I concentration was 3.5 +- 2.9 kBqm -3 . No airborne concentration contamination was found outside the fume cupboard during these dispensing sessions. The airborne 125 I concentration arising from deliberate surface contamination (50 μl, 3.7-6.3 MBq) of the top of a lead pot was measured at a height simulating face level at an open work bench. There was a progressive fall in airborne concentration over seven days but even then the level was still significantly above background. Measurements made with the extraction system of the fume cupboard in operation were 2-3 times lower. (U.K.)

Geological Mapping of Sabah, Malaysia, Using Airborne Gravity Survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fauzi Nordin, Ahmad; Jamil, Hassan; Noor Isa, Mohd

2016-01-01

Airborne gravimetry is an effective tool for mapping local gravity fields using a combination of airborne sensors, aircraft and positioning systems. It is suitable for gravity surveys over difficult terrains and areas mixed with land and ocean. This paper describes the geological mapping of Sabah...... using airborne gravity surveys. Airborne gravity data over land areas of Sabah has been combined with the marine airborne gravity data to provide a seamless land-to-sea gravity field coverage in order to produce the geological mapping. Free-air and Bouguer anomaly maps (density 2.67 g/cm3) have been...... derived from the airborne data both as simple ad-hoc plots (at aircraft altitude), and as final plots from the downward continued airborne data, processed as part of the geoids determination. Data are gridded at 0.025 degree spacing which is about 2.7 km and the data resolution of the filtered airborne...

Diversity and testing requirements of programmable automation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapanen, P.; Maskuniitty, M.

1993-04-01

In the report programmable digital operation and safety automation systems for nuclear power plants are discussed. The programmable systems deviate by their properties and behaviour from the conventional non-programmable systems in such extent, that their verification and validation for safety critical applications requires new methods and practices. The safety assessment can not be based on conventional probabilistic methods due to the difficulties in the quantification of the reliability of the software and hardware. A safety critical programmable system shall include diverse redundant parts so that no residual program fault can not cause the failure of the intended function of the system. Although complete testing of a programmable system is impossible, different tests have a central role in the production and validation process of the system. Diversity is important also in confidence building measures for the implemented system. Independent analysis and testing of the system should use different methods and tools from those used in the production and validation process by the system vendor. Use of diversity and testing are concluded to be central issues in producing safe programmable system and in proving them to be safe enough. By combining functional and programming diversity in a suitable way one can produce a system that is safe enough without having a non-programmable back-up system. (48 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.)

Programmable pulse generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xue Zhihua; Lou Binqiao; Duan Xiaohui

2002-01-01

The author introduces the design of programmable pulse generator that is based on a micro-controller and controlled by RS232 interface of personal computer. The whole system has good stability. The pulse generator can produce TTL pulse and analog pulse. The pulse frequency can be selected by EPLD. The voltage amplitude and pulse width of analog pulse can be adjusted by analog switches and digitally-controlled potentiometers. The software development tools of computer is National Instruments LabView5.1. The front panel of this virtual instrumentation is intuitive and easy-to-use. Parameters can be selected and changed conveniently by knob and slide

SGA-WZ: A New Strapdown Airborne Gravimeter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huang, Yangming; Olesen, Arne Vestergaard; Wu, Meiping

2012-01-01

Inertial navigation systems and gravimeters are now routinely used to map the regional gravitational quantities from an aircraft with mGal accuracy and a spatial resolution of a few kilometers. However, airborne gravimeter of this kind is limited by the inaccuracy of the inertial sensor performance......, the integrated navigation technique and the kinematic acceleration determination. As the GPS technique developed, the vehicle acceleration determination is no longer the limiting factor in airborne gravity due to the cancellation of the common mode acceleration in differential mode. A new airborne gravimeter...... and discussion of the airborne field test results are also given....

Data Acquisition and Digital Filtering for Infrasonic Records on Active Volcanoes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Chilo

2007-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the design of a digital data acquisition system for volcanic infrasound records. The system includes four electret condenser element microphones, a QF4A512 programmable signal converter from Quickfilter Technologies and a MSP430 microcontroller from Texas Instruments. The signal output of every microphone is converted to digital via a 16-bit Analog to Digital Converter (ADC. To prevent errors in the conversion process, Anti-Aliasing Filters are employed prior to the ADC. Digital filtering is performed after the ADC using a Digital Signal Processor, which is implemented on the QF4A512. The four digital signals are summed to get only one signal. Data storing and digital wireless data transmission will be described in a future paper.

CERN Technical Training 2003: Learning for the LHC ! DISP-2003  -  Digital Signal Processing

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

DISP-2003 is a two-term course given by CERN and University of Lausanne (UNIL) experts within the framework of the Technical Training Programme. The course will review the current techniques dealing with Digital Signal Processing. The DISP-2003 lecture series is composed of two Terms, and it is intended for an audience who work or will work on digital signal processing aspects, and who need an introductory or refresher/update course. The course will be in English, with questions and answers also in French. Spring 1 Term: DISP-2003: Introduction to Digital Signal Processing 20 February 2003 - 3 April 2003, 7 lectures, Thursdays (attendance cost: 70.- CHF, registration required) Lecturers: Maria Elena Angoletta, AB-BDI; Guy Baribaud, AB-BDI; Philippe Baudrenghien, AB-RF; Laurent Deniau, AT-MTM Programme: 'Classical' digital signal processing. Fourier analysis. The Laplace transform. The z-transform. Digital filters. Statistics for Signal Processing. Signal Estimation and Spectral Analysis. Spring 2 T...

CERN Technical Training 2003: Learning for the LHC! DISP-2003 - Digital Signal Processing

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

DISP-2003 is a two-term course given by CERN and University of Lausanne (UNIL) experts within the framework of the Technical Training Programme. The course will review the current techniques dealing with Digital Signal Processing, and it is intended for an audience who work or will work on digital signal processing aspects, and who need an introductory or refresher/update course. The course will be in English, with question and answers also in French. Spring 2 Term: DISP-2003: Advanced Digital Signal Processing 30 April 2003 - 21 May 2003, 4 lectures, Wednesdays afternoon. Attendance cost: 40.- CHF, registration required. Lecturers: Léonard Studer, UNIL; Laurent Deniau, AT-MTM; Elena Wildner, AT-MAS. Programme: Intelligent signal processing (ISP). Non-linear time series analysis. Image processing. Wavelets. Basic concepts and definitions have been introduced during the previous Spring 1 Term: DISP-2003: Introduction to Digital Signal Processing. DISP-2003 is open to all people interested, but registrat...

Digital-Analog Hybrid Scheme and Its Application to Chaotic Random Number Generators

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Zeshi; Li, Hongtao; Miao, Yunchi; Hu, Wen; Zhu, Xiaohua

2017-12-01

Practical random number generation (RNG) circuits are typically achieved with analog devices or digital approaches. Digital-based techniques, which use field programmable gate array (FPGA) and graphics processing units (GPU) etc. usually have better performances than analog methods as they are programmable, efficient and robust. However, digital realizations suffer from the effect of finite precision. Accordingly, the generated random numbers (RNs) are actually periodic instead of being real random. To tackle this limitation, in this paper we propose a novel digital-analog hybrid scheme that employs the digital unit as the main body, and minimum analog devices to generate physical RNs. Moreover, the possibility of realizing the proposed scheme with only one memory element is discussed. Without loss of generality, we use the capacitor and the memristor along with FPGA to construct the proposed hybrid system, and a chaotic true random number generator (TRNG) circuit is realized, producing physical RNs at a throughput of Gbit/s scale. These RNs successfully pass all the tests in the NIST SP800-22 package, confirming the significance of the scheme in practical applications. In addition, the use of this new scheme is not restricted to RNGs, and it also provides a strategy to solve the effect of finite precision in other digital systems.

An Embedded Based Digital Controller for Thermal Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Lakshmi Sangeetha

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a low cost virtual instrumentation (VI system to monitor and control the electrically heated water bath temperature. The PIC16F877 based digital microcontroller is used as thermostat which controls and monitors the temperature. The digital controller also allows the user to modify the sensor (PT100 calibration data values if necessary. The developed programmable on/off control function provides on-line display of measuring temperature, set point as well as the control function output plots through the parallel port. This bus interaction is realized in Visual Basic/Assembly Language and uses a 16 bit, 10 ms sampling analog-to-digital converter (ADS 7805 for monitoring and controlling the parameters of the temperature local digital controller.

Integrated Digital Platform for the Valorization of a Cultural Landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Angheluţǎ, L. M.; Ratoiu, L.; Chelmus, A. I.; Rǎdvan, R.; Petculescu, A.

2017-05-01

This paper presents a newly started demonstrative project regarding the implementation and validation of an interdisciplinary research model for the Aluniş-Bozioru (Romania) cultural landscape, with the development of an online interactive digital product. This digital product would provide complementary data about the historical monuments and their environment, and also, constant updates and statistical comparison in order to generate an accurate evaluation of the state of conservation for this specific cultural landscape. Furthermore, the resulted information will contribute in the decision making process for the regional development policies. The project is developed by an interdisciplinary joint team of researchers consisted of technical scientists with great experience in advanced non-invasive characterization of the cultural heritage (NIRD for Optoelectronics - INOE 2000) and a group of experts from geology and biology (Romanian Academy's "Emil Racoviţǎ" Institute of Speleology - ISER). Resulted scientific data will include: 3D digital models of the selected historical monuments, microclimate monitoring, Ground Penetrating Radar survey, airborne LIDAR, multispectral and thermal imaging, soil and rock characterization, environmental studies. This digital product is constituted by an intuitive website with a database that allows data corroboration, visualization and comparison of the 3D digital models, as well as a digital mapping in the GIS system.

Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics

KAUST Repository

Behzad, H.

2015-05-06

Recent metagenomic studies of environments, such as marine and soil, have significantly enhanced our understanding of the diverse microbial communities living in these habitats and their essential roles in sustaining vast ecosystems. The increase in the number of publications related to soil and marine metagenomics is in sharp contrast to those of air, yet airborne microbes are thought to have significant impacts on many aspects of our lives from their potential roles in atmospheric events such as cloud formation, precipitation, and atmospheric chemistry to their major impact on human health. In this review, we will discuss the current progress in airborne metagenomics, with a special focus on exploring the challenges and opportunities of undertaking such studies. The main challenges of conducting metagenomic studies of airborne microbes are as follows: 1) Low density of microorganisms in the air, 2) efficient retrieval of microorganisms from the air, 3) variability in airborne microbial community composition, 4) the lack of standardized protocols and methodologies, and 5) DNA sequencing and bioinformatics-related challenges. Overcoming these challenges could provide the groundwork for comprehensive analysis of airborne microbes and their potential impact on the atmosphere, global climate, and our health. Metagenomic studies offer a unique opportunity to examine viral and bacterial diversity in the air and monitor their spread locally or across the globe, including threats from pathogenic microorganisms. Airborne metagenomic studies could also lead to discoveries of novel genes and metabolic pathways relevant to meteorological and industrial applications, environmental bioremediation, and biogeochemical cycles.

Airborne gravimetry for geoid and GOCE

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forsberg, R.; Olesen, A. V.; Nielsen, E.

2014-01-01

DTU-Space has since 1996 carried out large area airborne surveys over both polar, tropical and temperate regions, especially for geoid determination and global geopotential models. Recently we have started flying two gravimeters (LCR and Chekan-AM) side by side for increased reliability and redun......DTU-Space has since 1996 carried out large area airborne surveys over both polar, tropical and temperate regions, especially for geoid determination and global geopotential models. Recently we have started flying two gravimeters (LCR and Chekan-AM) side by side for increased reliability...... in Antarctica and Tanzania based on DTU-Space aerogravity and GOCE. In both cases the airborne data validate GOCE to very high degrees, and confirms the synergy of airborne gravity and GOCE. For Antarctica, the deep interior Antarctic survey (continued in 2013 from a remote field camp), shows...... that it is possible efficiently to cover even the most remote regions on the planet with good aerogravity. With the recent termination of the GOCE mission, it is therefore timely to initiate a coordinated, preferably international, airborne gravity effort to cover the polar gap south of 83° S; such a survey can...

Precision digital control systems

Science.gov (United States)

Vyskub, V. G.; Rozov, B. S.; Savelev, V. I.

This book is concerned with the characteristics of digital control systems of great accuracy. A classification of such systems is considered along with aspects of stabilization, programmable control applications, digital tracking systems and servomechanisms, and precision systems for the control of a scanning laser beam. Other topics explored are related to systems of proportional control, linear devices and methods for increasing precision, approaches for further decreasing the response time in the case of high-speed operation, possibilities for the implementation of a logical control law, and methods for the study of precision digital control systems. A description is presented of precision automatic control systems which make use of electronic computers, taking into account the existing possibilities for an employment of computers in automatic control systems, approaches and studies required for including a computer in such control systems, and an analysis of the structure of automatic control systems with computers. Attention is also given to functional blocks in the considered systems.

Elevated airborne manganese and low executive function in school-aged children in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, Chrissie F; Menezes-Filho, José A; de Matos, Vitor P; Bessa, Jonatas Reis; Coelho-Santos, Juliana; Viana, Gustavo F S; Argollo, Nayara; Abreu, Neander

2014-12-01

Exposure to airborne manganese (Mn) has been associated with neurotoxic effects, including motor and cognitive deficits. The main deficits related to excessive exposure to Mn are predominantly the dysfunction of fronto-striatal and dopaminergic circuits observed in animal experimental studies, which are involved in attention, working memory and motor function. The present study aims to assess the association between elevated Mn exposure and performance on executive function and attention neuropsychological tests in children living in two communities near a ferro-manganese alloy plant. Seventy children aged between 7 and 12 years with no history of neurologic disease and an estimated IQ >68 (Vocabulary and Block Design subtests) that had lived near the iron-Mn production alloy plant for at least 1.5 years were included. Participants were assessed for cognitive functioning with neuropsychological measures for sustained attention (Test of Visual Attention - TAVIS-3R), cognitive flexibility (WCST), and verbal and visual working memory (WISC-III Digit Span subtest and Corsi Block). Manganese hair (MnH) levels were used as a biomarker of exposure. Mean scores among study participants were lower than general population norms/averages for block design, digit span, reaction time and commission errors. The median MnH level was 11.48 (range 0.52-55.74) μg/g, and no difference between sexes was observed. Spearman's correlation analysis showed a significant inverse correlation between MnH levels and estimated IQ (rho=-0.448, p=0.0001), Vocabulary (rho=-0.272, p=0.02), Block Design (rho=-0.485, p=0.00002) and Digit Span (rho=-0.410, p=0.0004). Multiple regression analyses detected inverse associations between log MnH and scores on estimated IQ (β=-9.67; 95%CI=-16.97 to -2.37), Block Design (β=-2.50; 95%CI=-3.91 to -1.10) and Digit Span Total (β=-2.59; 95%CI=-4.13 to -1.05) standardized scores and the number of correct answers in forward and backward Digit Span methods, after

Evaluation of the AccessIT Project and the Distance LearningProgramme on Digitization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bülent Yılmaz

2013-11-01

Full Text Available AccessIT is an EU-funded project under EU’s Education and Culture Program aiming to digitize a certain amount of sources that are part of the cultural heritage, to transfer them to Europeana, and to sustain the education infrastructure to achieve this goal in the partner countries of Greece, Poland, Serbia, Turkey and UK. In this study, in addition to the general evaluation of the AccessIT Project, it is aimed to investigate the awareness of participants in thefield on digitization and digital content management, their self-efficiency perceptions, and to evaluate the education program based on the data acquired from the survey of544participants who were enrolled in the distance education program offered within the scope of the project.It was found out in the study that the AccessIT Project has had an important function in Turkey and the distance education program significantly contributed to participants ’ self-efficiency perceptions about digitization.

Regulatory issues on using programmable logic device in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, G. Y.; Yu, Y. J.; Kim, H. T.; Kwon, Y. I.; Park, H. S.; Jeong, C. H.

2012-01-01

For replacing obsolete analog equipment in nuclear power plant, the Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) using Hardware Description Language (HDL) have been widely adopted in digitalized Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems because of its flexibility. For safety reviews on Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs,) qualifying digitalized safety I and C system using PLDs is an important issue. As an effort to provide regulatory position on using PLDs in safety I and C system, there is a research project to provide the regulatory positions against emerging issues involved with digitalisation of I and C system including using PLDs. Therefore, this paper addresses the important considerations for using PLDs in safety I and C systems such as diversity, independence and qualification, etc. In this point, this study focuses on technical reports for Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) from EPRI,. U.S. NRC, and relevant technical standards

Regulatory issues on using programmable logic device in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, G. Y.; Yu, Y. J.; Kim, H. T.; Kwon, Y. I.; Park, H. S.; Jeong, C. H. [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-10-15

For replacing obsolete analog equipment in nuclear power plant, the Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) using Hardware Description Language (HDL) have been widely adopted in digitalized Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems because of its flexibility. For safety reviews on Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs,) qualifying digitalized safety I and C system using PLDs is an important issue. As an effort to provide regulatory position on using PLDs in safety I and C system, there is a research project to provide the regulatory positions against emerging issues involved with digitalisation of I and C system including using PLDs. Therefore, this paper addresses the important considerations for using PLDs in safety I and C systems such as diversity, independence and qualification, etc. In this point, this study focuses on technical reports for Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) from EPRI,. U.S. NRC, and relevant technical standards.

Improved progressive morphological filter for digital terrain model generation from airborne lidar data.

Science.gov (United States)

Hui, Zhenyang; Wu, Beiping; Hu, Youjian; Ziggah, Yao Yevenyo

2017-12-01

Obtaining high-precision filtering results from airborne lidar point clouds in complex environments has always been a hot topic. Mathematical morphology was widely used for filtering, owing to its simplicity and high efficiency. However, the morphology-based algorithms are deficient in preserving terrain details. In order to obtain a better filtering effect, this paper proposed an improved progressive morphological filter based on hierarchical radial basis function interpolation (PMHR) to refine the classical progressive morphological filter. PMHR involved two main improvements, namely, automatic setting of self-adaptive thresholds and terrain details preservation, respectively. The performance of PMHR was evaluated using datasets provided by the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Experimental results show that PMHR achieved good performance under variant terrain features with an average total error of 4.27% and average Kappa coefficient of 84.57%.

Optical Doppler tomography based on a field programmable gate array

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Henning Engelbrecht; Nilsson, Ronnie Thorup; Thrane, Lars

2008-01-01

We report the design of and results obtained by using a field programmable gate array (FPGA) to digitally process optical Doppler tomography signals. The processor fits into the analog signal path in an existing optical coherence tomography setup. We demonstrate both Doppler frequency and envelope...... extraction using the Hilbert transform, all in a single FPGA. An FPGA implementation has certain advantages over general purpose digital signal processor (DSP) due to the fact that the processing elements operate in parallel as opposed to the DSP. which is primarily a sequential processor....

Modelling the deposition of airborne radionuclides into the urban environment. First report of the VAMP Urban Working Group. Part of the IAEA/CEC co-ordinated research programme on the validation of environmental model predictions (VAMP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-08-01

A co-ordinated research programme was begun at the IAEA in 1988 with the short title of Validation of Environmental Model Predictions (VAMP). The VAMP Urban Working Group aims to examine, by means of expert review combined with formal validation exercises, modelling for the assessment of the radiation exposure of urban populations through the external irradiation and inhalation pathways. An aim of the studies is to evaluate the lessons learned and to document the improvements in modelling capability as a result of experience gained following the Chernobyl accident. This Technical Document, the first report of the Group, addresses the subject of the deposition of airborne radionuclides into the urban environment. It summarizes not only the present status of modelling in this field, but also the results of a limited validation exercise that was performed under the auspices of VAMP. 42 refs, figs and tabs

Configuration and debug of field programmable gate arrays using MATLAB[reg)/SIMULINK[reg

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grout, I; Ryan, J; O'Shea, T

2005-01-01

Increasingly, the need to seamlessly link high-level behavioural descriptions of electronic hardware for modelling and simulation purposes to the final application hardware highlights the gap between the high-level behavioural descriptions of the required circuit functionality (considering here digital logic) in commonly used mathematical modelling tools, and the hardware description languages such as VHDL and Verilog-HDL. In this paper, the linking of a MATLAB[reg] model for digital algorithm for implementation on a programmable logic device for design synthesis from the MATLAB[reg] model into VHDL is discussed. This VHDL model is itself synthesised and downloaded to the target Field Programmable Gate Array, for normal operation and also for design debug purposes. To demonstrate this, a circuit architecture mapped from a SIMULINK[reg] model is presented. The rationale is for a seamless interface between the initial algorithm development and the target hardware, enabling the hardware to be debugged and compared to the simulated model from a single interface for use with by a non-expert in the programmable logic and hardware description language use

development of microcontroller based binaural digital hearing aids

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HOD

but only a small portion of human population seek help and use them [3], though the ... stigma of putting on of digital hearing aid will no longer be there as before. ... 36, No. 3, July 2017 911 aids including the programmability, self-monitoring,.

Authoring of digital games via card games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valente, Andrea; Marchetti, Emanuela

2014-01-01

Literature and previous studies show that creative play is easy to emerge when children interact with tangible, low-tech toys and games than with digital games. This paradoxical situation is linked to the long-standing problem of end-users (or players) authoring of digital contents and systems. We...... are to show how card games can represent digital games, how playful play can emerge in card games and digital games, and to begin defining a new way to express game behavior without the use of universal programming languages....... propose a new scenario in which trading card games help making sense and re-design computer games, to support players express themselves aesthetically and in a highly creative way. Our aim is to look for a middle ground between players becoming programmers and simply editing levels. The main contributions...

Digital intermediate frequency QAM modulator using parallel processing

Science.gov (United States)

Pao, Hsueh-Yuan [Livermore, CA; Tran, Binh-Nien [San Ramon, CA

2008-05-27

The digital Intermediate Frequency (IF) modulator applies to various modulation types and offers a simple and low cost method to implement a high-speed digital IF modulator using field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The architecture eliminates multipliers and sequential processing by storing the pre-computed modulated cosine and sine carriers in ROM look-up-tables (LUTs). The high-speed input data stream is parallel processed using the corresponding LUTs, which reduces the main processing speed, allowing the use of low cost FPGAs.

FERMI: a digital Front End and Readout MIcrosystem for high resolution calorimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alexanian, H.; Appelquist, G.; Bailly, P.

1995-01-01

We present a digital solution for the front-end electronics of high resolution calorimeters at future colliders. It is based on analogue signal compression, high speed A/D converters, a fully programmable pipeline and a digital signal processing (DSP) chain with local intelligence and system supervision. This digital solution is aimed at providing maximal front-end processing power by performing waveform analysis using DSP methods. For the system integration of the multichannel device a multi-chip, silicon-on-silicon multi-chip module (MCM) has been adopted. This solution allows a high level of integration of complex analogue and digital functions, with excellent flexibility in mixing technologies for the different functional blocks. This type of multichip integration provides a high degree of reliability and programmability at both the function and the system level, with the additional possibility of customising the microsystem to detector-specific requirements. For enhanced reliability in high radiation environments, fault tolerance strategies, i.e. redundancy, reconfigurability, majority voting and coding for error detection and correction, are integrated into the design. ((orig.))

High Performance Low Cost Digitally Controlled Power Conversion Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Lars Tønnes

2008-01-01

in order to reduce the power consumption of servers and datacenters. The work presented in this thesis includes digital control methods for switch-mode converters implemented in microcontrollers, digital signal controllers and field programmable gate arrays. Microcontrollers are cheap devices that can...... be used for real-time control of switch-mode converters. Software design in the assembly language of the microcontroller is important because of the limited resources of the microcontroller. Microcontrollers are best suited for power electronics applications with low bandwidth requirements because...... the execution time of the software algorithm that realises the digital control law will constitute a considerable delay in the control loop. Digital signal controllers are powerful devices capable of performing arithmetic functions much faster than a microcontroller can. Digital signal controllers are well...

Monitoring of airborne bacteria and aerosols in different wards of hospitals - Particle counting usefulness in investigation of airborne bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirhoseini, Seyed Hamed; Nikaeen, Mahnaz; Khanahmd, Hossein; Hatamzadeh, Maryam; Hassanzadeh, Akbar

2015-01-01

The presence of airborne bacteria in hospital environments is of great concern because of their potential role as a source of hospital-acquired infections (HAI). The aim of this study was the determination and comparison of the concentration of airborne bacteria in different wards of four educational hospitals, and evaluation of whether particle counting could be predictive of airborne bacterial concentration in different wards of a hospital. The study was performed in an operating theatre (OT), intensive care unit (ICU), surgery ward (SW) and internal medicine (IM) ward of four educational hospitals in Isfahan, Iran. A total of 80 samples were analyzed for the presence of airborne bacteria and particle levels. The average level of bacteria ranged from 75-1194 CFU/m (3) . Mean particle levels were higher than class 100,000 cleanrooms in all wards. A significant correlation was observed between the numbers of 1-5 µm particles and levels of airborne bacteria in operating theatres and ICUs. The results showed that factors which may influence the airborne bacterial level in hospital environments should be properly managed to minimize the risk of HAIs especially in operating theaters. Microbial air contamination of hospital settings should be performed by the monitoring of airborne bacteria, but particle counting could be considered as a good operative method for the continuous monitoring of air quality in operating theaters and ICUs where higher risks of infection are suspected.

Airborne Lidar Surface Topography (LIST) Simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Anthony W.; Krainak, Michael A.; Harding, David J.; Abshire, James B.; Sun, Xiaoli; Cavanaugh, John; Valett, Susan; Ramos-Izquierdo, Luis; Winkert, Tom; Plants, Michael;

Digital BPM Systems for Hadron Accelerators

CERN Document Server

Belleman, J; Kasprowicz, G; Raich, U

2009-01-01

The CERN Proton Synchrotron has been fitted with a new trajectory measurement system (TMS). Analogue signals from forty beam position monitors are digitized at 125MS/s, and then further treated entirely in the digital domain to derive the positions of all individual particle bunches on the fly. Large FPGAs handle all digital processing. The system fits in fourteen plug-in modules distributed over three half-width cPCI crates. Data are stored in circular buffers of large enough size to keep a fewseconds-worth of position data. Multiple clients can then request selected portions of the data, possibly representing many thousands of consecutive turns, for display on operator consoles. The system uses digital phase-locked loops to derive its beamlocked timing reference. Programmable state machines, driven by accelerator timing pulses and information from the accelerator control system, direct the order of operations. The cPCI crates are connected to a standard Linux computer by means of a private Gigabit Ethernet ...

Airborne radioactive contamination following aerosol ventilation studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mackie, A.; Hart, G.C.; Ibbett, D.A.; Whitehead, R.J.S.

1994-01-01

Lung aerosol ventilation studies may be accompanied by airborne contamination, with subsequent surface contamination. Airborne contamination has been measured prior to, during and following 59 consecutive 99 Tc m -diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (DTPA) aerosol studies using a personal air sampler. Airborne contamination ranging between 0 and 20 330 kBq m -3 has been measured. Airborne contamination increases with degree of patient breathing difficulty. The effective dose equivalent (EDE) to staff from ingested activity has been calculated to be 0.3 μSv per study. This figure is supported by data from gamma camera images of a contaminated staff member. However, surface contamination measurements reveal that 60% of studies exceed maximum permissible contamination limits for the hands; 16% of studies exceed limits for controlled area surfaces. (author)

Introduction to embedded system design using field programmable gate arrays

CERN Document Server

Dubey, Rahul

2009-01-01

Offers information on the use of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in the design of embedded systems. This text considers a hypothetical robot controller as an embedded application and weaves around it related concepts of FPGA-based digital design. It is suitable for both students and designers who have worked with microprocessors.

Airborne geophysical surveys conducted in western Nebraska, 2010: contractor reports and data

Science.gov (United States)

,

2014-01-01

This report contains three contractor reports and data files for an airborne electromagnetic survey flown from June 28 to July 7, 2010. The first report; “SkyTEM Survey: Nebraska, USA, Data” describes data aquisition and processing from a time-domain electromagnetic and magnetic survey performed by SkyTEM Canada, Inc. (the North American SkyTEM subsidiary), in western Nebraska, USA. Digital data for this report are given in Appendix 1. The airborne geophysical data from the SkyTEM survey subsequently were processed and inverted by Aarhus Geophysics ApS, Aarhus, Denmark, to produce resistivity depth sections along each flight line. The result of that processing is described in two reports presented in Appendix 2, “Processing and inversion of SkyTEM data from USGS Area UTM–13” and “Processing and inversion of SkyTEM data from USGS Area UTM–14.” Funding for these surveys was provided by the North Platte Natural Resources District, the South Platte Natural Resources District, and the Twin Platte Natural Resources District, in Scottsbluff, Sidney, and North Platte, Nebraska, respectively. Any additional information concerning the geophysical data may be obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey Crustal Geophysics and Geochemistry Science Center, Denver Colorado.

CALIOPE airborne CO{sub 2} DIAL (CACDI) system design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mietz, D.; Archuleta, B.; Archuleta, J. [and others

1997-09-01

Los Alamos National Laboratory is currently developing an airborne CO{sub 2} Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) system based on second generation technology demonstrated last summer at NTS. The CALIOPE Airborne CO{sub 2} DIAL (CACDI) system requirements have been compiled based on the mission objectives and SONDIAL model trade studies. Subsystem designs have been developed based on flow down from these system requirements, as well as experience gained from second generation ground tests and N-ABLE (Non-proliferation AirBorne Lidar Experiments) airborne experiments. This paper presents the CACDI mission objectives, system requirements, the current subsystem design, and provides an overview of the airborne experimental plan.

Challenges and opportunities of airborne metagenomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Behzad, Hayedeh; Gojobori, Takashi; Mineta, Katsuhiko

2015-05-06

Recent metagenomic studies of environments, such as marine and soil, have significantly enhanced our understanding of the diverse microbial communities living in these habitats and their essential roles in sustaining vast ecosystems. The increase in the number of publications related to soil and marine metagenomics is in sharp contrast to those of air, yet airborne microbes are thought to have significant impacts on many aspects of our lives from their potential roles in atmospheric events such as cloud formation, precipitation, and atmospheric chemistry to their major impact on human health. In this review, we will discuss the current progress in airborne metagenomics, with a special focus on exploring the challenges and opportunities of undertaking such studies. The main challenges of conducting metagenomic studies of airborne microbes are as follows: 1) Low density of microorganisms in the air, 2) efficient retrieval of microorganisms from the air, 3) variability in airborne microbial community composition, 4) the lack of standardized protocols and methodologies, and 5) DNA sequencing and bioinformatics-related challenges. Overcoming these challenges could provide the groundwork for comprehensive analysis of airborne microbes and their potential impact on the atmosphere, global climate, and our health. Metagenomic studies offer a unique opportunity to examine viral and bacterial diversity in the air and monitor their spread locally or across the globe, including threats from pathogenic microorganisms. Airborne metagenomic studies could also lead to discoveries of novel genes and metabolic pathways relevant to meteorological and industrial applications, environmental bioremediation, and biogeochemical cycles. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Airborne Evaluation Facility

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — AFRL's Airborne Evaluation Facility (AEF) utilizes Air Force Aero Club resources to conduct test and evaluation of a variety of equipment and concepts. Twin engine...

Predictors of Airborne Endotoxin Concentrations in Inner City Homes

Science.gov (United States)

Mazique, D; Diette, GB; Breysse, PN; Matsui, EC; McCormack, MC; Curtin-Brosnan, J; Williams, D; Peng, RD; Hansel, NN

2011-01-01

Few studies have assessed in-home factors which contribute to airborne endotoxin concentrations. In 85 inner-city Baltimore homes, we found no significant correlation between settled dust and airborne endotoxin concentrations. Certain household activities and characteristics, including frequency of dusting, air conditioner use and type of flooring, explained 36–42% of the variability of airborne concentrations. Measurements of both airborne and settled dust endotoxin concentrations may be needed to fully characterize domestic exposure in epidemiologic investigations. PMID:21429483

Description and Flight Test Results of the NASA F-8 Digital Fly-by-Wire Control System

Science.gov (United States)

1975-01-01

A NASA program to develop digital fly-by-wire (DFBW) technology for aircraft applications is discussed. Phase I of the program demonstrated the feasibility of using a digital fly-by-wire system for aircraft control through developing and flight testing a single channel system, which used Apollo hardware, in an F-8C airplane. The objective of Phase II of the program is to establish a technology base for designing practical DFBW systems. It will involve developing and flight testing a triplex digital fly-by-wire system using state-of-the-art airborne computers, system hardware, software, and redundancy concepts. The papers included in this report describe the Phase I system and its development and present results from the flight program. Man-rated flight software and the effects of lightning on digital flight control systems are also discussed.

Ka-Band Digital Beamforming and SweepSAR Demonstration for Ice and Solid Earth Topography

Science.gov (United States)

Sadowy, Gregory; Ghaemi, Hirad; Heavy, Brandon; Perkovic, Dragana; Quddus, Momin; Zawadzki, Mark; Moller, Delwyn

2010-01-01

GLISTIN is an instrument concept for a single-pass interferometric SAR operating at 35.6 GHz. To achieve large swath widths using practical levels of transmitter power, a digitally-beamformed planar waveguide array is used. This paper describes results from a ground-based demonstration of a 16-receiver prototype. Furthermore, SweepSAR is emerging as promising technique for achieving very wide swaths for surface change detection. NASA and DLR are studying this approach for the DESDynI and Tandem-L missions. SweepSAR employs a reflector with a digitally-beamformed array feed. We will describe development of an airborne demonstration of SweepSAR using the GLISTIN receiver array and a reflector.

14 CFR 135.175 - Airborne weather radar equipment requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Airborne weather radar equipment... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.175 Airborne weather radar equipment requirements. (a) No person may operate a large, transport category aircraft in passenger-carrying operations unless approved airborne weather...

14 CFR 135.173 - Airborne thunderstorm detection equipment requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Airborne thunderstorm detection equipment... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.173 Airborne thunderstorm detection equipment requirements. (a) No person may... the aircraft is equipped with either approved thunderstorm detection equipment or approved airborne...

Towards airborne nanoparticle mass spectrometry with nanomechanical string resonators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmid, Silvan; Kurek, Maksymilian; Boisen, Anja

2013-01-01

airborne nanoparticle sensors. Recently, nanomechanical mass spectrometry was established. One of the biggest challenges of nanomechanical sensors is the low efficiency of diffusion-based sampling. We developed an inertial-based sampling method that enables the efficient sampling of airborne nanoparticles...... mode. Mass spectrometry of airborne nanoparticles requires the simultaneous operation in the first and second mode, which can be implemented in the transduction scheme of the resonator. The presented results lay the cornerstone for the realization of a portable airborne nanoparticle mass spectrometer....

Early Learnings from the National Library of New Zealand's National Digital Heritage Archive Project

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Steve

2010-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief description of the digital preservation programme at the National Library of New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach: Following a description of the legislative and strategic context for digital preservation in New Zealand, details are provided of the system for the National Digital…

14 CFR 125.223 - Airborne weather radar equipment requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Airborne weather radar equipment... Equipment Requirements § 125.223 Airborne weather radar equipment requirements. (a) No person may operate an airplane governed by this part in passenger-carrying operations unless approved airborne weather radar...

14 CFR 121.357 - Airborne weather radar equipment requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Airborne weather radar equipment... § 121.357 Airborne weather radar equipment requirements. (a) No person may operate any transport... December 31, 1964, unless approved airborne weather radar equipment has been installed in the airplane. (b...

Semi-physical Simulation of the Airborne InSAR based on Rigorous Geometric Model and Real Navigation Data

Science.gov (United States)

Changyong, Dou; Huadong, Guo; Chunming, Han; yuquan, Liu; Xijuan, Yue; Yinghui, Zhao

2014-03-01

Raw signal simulation is a useful tool for the system design, mission planning, processing algorithm testing, and inversion algorithm design of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Due to the wide and high frequent variation of aircraft's trajectory and attitude, and the low accuracy of the Position and Orientation System (POS)'s recording data, it's difficult to quantitatively study the sensitivity of the key parameters, i.e., the baseline length and inclination, absolute phase and the orientation of the antennas etc., of the airborne Interferometric SAR (InSAR) system, resulting in challenges for its applications. Furthermore, the imprecise estimation of the installation offset between the Global Positioning System (GPS), Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and the InSAR antennas compounds the issue. An airborne interferometric SAR (InSAR) simulation based on the rigorous geometric model and real navigation data is proposed in this paper, providing a way for quantitatively studying the key parameters and for evaluating the effect from the parameters on the applications of airborne InSAR, as photogrammetric mapping, high-resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) generation, and surface deformation by Differential InSAR technology, etc. The simulation can also provide reference for the optimal design of the InSAR system and the improvement of InSAR data processing technologies such as motion compensation, imaging, image co-registration, and application parameter retrieval, etc.

Semi-physical Simulation of the Airborne InSAR based on Rigorous Geometric Model and Real Navigation Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Changyong, Dou; Huadong, Guo; Chunming, Han; Yuquan, Liu; Xijuan, Yue; Yinghui, Zhao

2014-01-01

Raw signal simulation is a useful tool for the system design, mission planning, processing algorithm testing, and inversion algorithm design of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Due to the wide and high frequent variation of aircraft's trajectory and attitude, and the low accuracy of the Position and Orientation System (POS)'s recording data, it's difficult to quantitatively study the sensitivity of the key parameters, i.e., the baseline length and inclination, absolute phase and the orientation of the antennas etc., of the airborne Interferometric SAR (InSAR) system, resulting in challenges for its applications. Furthermore, the imprecise estimation of the installation offset between the Global Positioning System (GPS), Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and the InSAR antennas compounds the issue. An airborne interferometric SAR (InSAR) simulation based on the rigorous geometric model and real navigation data is proposed in this paper, providing a way for quantitatively studying the key parameters and for evaluating the effect from the parameters on the applications of airborne InSAR, as photogrammetric mapping, high-resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) generation, and surface deformation by Differential InSAR technology, etc. The simulation can also provide reference for the optimal design of the InSAR system and the improvement of InSAR data processing technologies such as motion compensation, imaging, image co-registration, and application parameter retrieval, etc

Examining effectiveness of tailorable computer-assisted therapy programmes for substance misuse: Programme usage and clinical outcomes data from Breaking Free Online.

Science.gov (United States)

Elison, Sarah; Jones, Andrew; Ward, Jonathan; Davies, Glyn; Dugdale, Stephanie

2017-11-01

When evaluating complex, tailorable digital behavioural interventions, additional approaches may be required alongside established methodologies such as randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Research evaluating a computer-assisted therapy (CAT) programme for substance misuse, Breaking Free Online (BFO), is informed by Medical Research Council (MRC) guidance recommending examination of 'mechanisms of action' of individual intervention strategies, which is relevant when evaluating digital interventions with content that may evolve over time. To report findings from examination of mechanisms of action of tailoring advice within the BFO programme and outcomes from specific intervention strategies. Analysis of covariance and linear regressions were used to assess intervention completion data, and psychometric and clinical outcomes, for 2311 service users accessing drug and alcohol treatment services across the UK. Tailoring advice provided to users appeared to prompt them to prioritise completion of intervention strategies associated with their areas of highest biopsychosocial impairment. Completion of specific intervention strategies within BFO were associated with specific clinical outcomes, with a dose response also being found. Mechanisms of action analyses revealed the primacy of cognitions, with cognitive restructuring strategies being associated with improvements in mental health, severity of substance dependence, quality of life and global biopsychosocial functioning. The MRC framework provides an evolved research paradigm within the field of digital behavioural change. By assessing baseline profiles of need, BFO can target the most appropriate clinical content for individual users. Mechanisms of action research can be used to inform modifications to BFO to continually update clinical content and the technology platform. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Challenges in the Management and Stewardship of Airborne Observational Data at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL)

Science.gov (United States)

Aquino, J.; Daniels, M. D.

2015-12-01

The National Science Foundation (NSF) provides the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL) funding for the operation, maintenance and upgrade of two research aircraft: the NSF/NCAR High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) Gulfstream V and the NSF/NCAR Hercules C-130. A suite of in-situ and remote sensing airborne instruments housed at the EOL Research Aviation Facility (RAF) provide a basic set of measurements that are typically deployed on most airborne field campaigns. In addition, instruments to address more specific research requirements are provided by collaborating participants from universities, industry, NASA, NOAA or other agencies (referred to as Principal Investigator, or PI, instruments). At the 2014 AGU Fall Meeting, a poster (IN13B-3639) was presented outlining the components of Airborne Data Management included field phase data collection, formats, data archival and documentation, version control, storage practices, stewardship and obsolete data formats, and public data access. This talk will cover lessons learned, challenges associated with the above components, and current developments to address these challenges, including: tracking data workflows for aircraft instrumentation to facilitate identification, and correction, of gaps in these workflows; implementation of dataset versioning guidelines; and assignment of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to data and instrumentation to facilitate tracking data and facility use in publications.

Digital Airborne Photogrammetry—A New Tool for Quantitative Remote Sensing?—A State-of-the-Art Review On Radiometric Aspects of Digital Photogrammetric Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolaj Veje

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The transition from film imaging to digital imaging in photogrammetric data capture is opening interesting possibilities for photogrammetric processes. A great advantage of digital sensors is their radiometric potential. This article presents a state-of-the-art review on the radiometric aspects of digital photogrammetric images. The analysis is based on a literature research and a questionnaire submitted to various interest groups related to the photogrammetric process. An important contribution to this paper is a characterization of the photogrammetric image acquisition and image product generation systems. The questionnaire revealed many weaknesses in current processes, but the future prospects of radiometrically quantitative photogrammetry are promising.

A system for airborne SAR interferometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Søren Nørvang; Skou, Niels; Granholm, Johan

1996-01-01

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (INSAR) systems have already demonstrated that elevation maps can be generated rapidly with single pass airborne across-track interferometry systems (XTT), and satellite repeat track interferometry (RTT) techniques have been used to map both elevation...... and perturbations of the surface of the Earth. The Danish Center for Remote Sensing (DCRS) has experimented with airborne INSAR since 1993. Multiple track data are collected in a special mode in which the radar directly steers the aircraft which allows for very precise control of the flight path. Such data sets......) the status of the airborne interferometry activities at DCRS, including the present system configuration, recent results, and some scientific applications of the system....

Implementing a model and processes for mapping digital literacy in the curriculum (online badges)

OpenAIRE

Evangelinous, G.; Holley, Debbie; Kerrigan, M.

2016-01-01

Digital literacy has been identified as an essential part of a number of other skills and competences that should be developed and are collectively known as 21st Century Skills (The Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2015; United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2008). The increasing demand for the workforce to become digitally competent compels educational institutions to review their programmes and ensure that digital skills become embedded as a graduate attribute...

Radiation risk, medical surveillance programme and radiation protection in mining and milling of uranium ores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rakshit, A.K.

1991-01-01

Mining and milling of uranium ores comprise multiple operations such as developement, drilling, blasting, handling, crushing, grinding, leaching of the ore and concentration, drying, packaging and storing of the concentrate product. Apart from the hazards of any metal mining and milling operations due to dust, noise, chemicals, accidents etc there are radiation risks also resulting from exposure to airborne radioactivity and external radiation. The inhalation risk is of more concern in underground mines than in open pit mines. The objective of a Medical Surveillance Programme (an occupational Health Programme) is to ensure a healthy work force. It should ultimately lead to health maintenance and improvement, less absenteeism increased productivity and the achievement of worker and corporate goals. The programme includes prevention, acute care, counselling and rehabilitation. Radiological workers require special monitoring for their work-related radiation exposure effect by film monitoring service, whole body counting and bioassay. Radiation protection in the mining and milling of Uranium ores include the use of personal protective equipment, work station protection, personal hygiene and house keeping. (author). 15 refs

Remote classification from an airborne camera using image super-resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Matthew; Katsaggelos, Aggelos

2017-02-01

The image processing technique known as super-resolution (SR), which attempts to increase the effective pixel sampling density of a digital imager, has gained rapid popularity over the last decade. The majority of literature focuses on its ability to provide results that are visually pleasing to a human observer. In this paper, we instead examine the ability of SR to improve the resolution-critical capability of an imaging system to perform a classification task from a remote location, specifically from an airborne camera. In order to focus the scope of the study, we address and quantify results for the narrow case of text classification. However, we expect the results generalize to a large set of related, remote classification tasks. We generate theoretical results through simulation, which are corroborated by experiments with a camera mounted on a DJI Phantom 3 quadcopter.

Consequences of digital mammography in population-based breast cancer screening: initial changes and long-term impact on referral rates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bluekens, Adriana M.J. [National Expert and Training Centre for Breast Cancer Screening, Nijmegen (Netherlands); St. Elisabeth Hospital, Department of Radiology, Tilburg (Netherlands); Karssemeijer, Nico [Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Department of Radiology, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Beijerinck, David; Deurenberg, Jan J.M. [Preventicon Screening Centre/Mid-West, Utrecht (Netherlands); Engen, Ruben E. van [National Expert and Training Centre for Breast Cancer Screening, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Broeders, Mireille J.M. [National Expert and Training Centre for Breast Cancer Screening, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and HTA, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Heeten, Gerard J. den [National Expert and Training Centre for Breast Cancer Screening, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Academic Medical Centre (AMC), Department of Radiology, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2010-09-15

To investigate the referral pattern after the transition to full-field digital mammography (FFDM) in a population-based breast cancer screening programme. Preceding the nationwide digitalisation of the Dutch screening programme, an FFDM feasibility study was conducted. Detection and referral rates for FFDM and screen-film mammography (SFM) were compared for first and subsequent screens. Furthermore, radiological characteristics of referrals in digital screening were assessed. A total of 312,414 screening mammograms were performed (43,913 digital and 268,501 conventional), with 4,473 consecutive referrals (966 following FFDM). Initially the FFDM referral rate peaked, and many false-positive results were noted as a consequence of pseudolesions and increased detection of (benign) microcalcifications. A higher overall referral rate was observed in FFDM screening in both first and subsequent examinations (p <.001), with a significant increase in cancer detection (p =.010). As a result of initial inexperience with digital screening images implementing FFDM in a population-based breast cancer screening programme may lead to a strong, but temporary increase in referral. Dedicated training in digital screening for radiographers and screening radiologists is therefore recommended. Referral rates decrease and stabilise (learning curve effect) at a higher level than in conventional screening, yet with significantly enhanced cancer detection. (orig.)

Consequences of digital mammography in population-based breast cancer screening: initial changes and long-term impact on referral rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Bluekens, Adriana M J; Karssemeijer, Nico; Beijerinck, David; Deurenberg, Jan J M; van Engen, Ruben E; Broeders, Mireille J M; den Heeten, Gerard J

2010-09-01

To investigate the referral pattern after the transition to full-field digital mammography (FFDM) in a population-based breast cancer screening programme. Preceding the nationwide digitalisation of the Dutch screening programme, an FFDM feasibility study was conducted. Detection and referral rates for FFDM and screen-film mammography (SFM) were compared for first and subsequent screens. Furthermore, radiological characteristics of referrals in digital screening were assessed. A total of 312,414 screening mammograms were performed (43,913 digital and 268,501 conventional), with 4,473 consecutive referrals (966 following FFDM). Initially the FFDM referral rate peaked, and many false-positive results were noted as a consequence of pseudolesions and increased detection of (benign) microcalcifications. A higher overall referral rate was observed in FFDM screening in both first and subsequent examinations (p < .001), with a significant increase in cancer detection (p = .010). As a result of initial inexperience with digital screening images implementing FFDM in a population-based breast cancer screening programme may lead to a strong, but temporary increase in referral. Dedicated training in digital screening for radiographers and screening radiologists is therefore recommended. Referral rates decrease and stabilise (learning curve effect) at a higher level than in conventional screening, yet with significantly enhanced cancer detection.

Consequences of digital mammography in population-based breast cancer screening: initial changes and long-term impact on referral rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bluekens, Adriana M.J.; Karssemeijer, Nico; Beijerinck, David; Deurenberg, Jan J.M.; Engen, Ruben E. van; Broeders, Mireille J.M.; Heeten, Gerard J. den

2010-01-01

To investigate the referral pattern after the transition to full-field digital mammography (FFDM) in a population-based breast cancer screening programme. Preceding the nationwide digitalisation of the Dutch screening programme, an FFDM feasibility study was conducted. Detection and referral rates for FFDM and screen-film mammography (SFM) were compared for first and subsequent screens. Furthermore, radiological characteristics of referrals in digital screening were assessed. A total of 312,414 screening mammograms were performed (43,913 digital and 268,501 conventional), with 4,473 consecutive referrals (966 following FFDM). Initially the FFDM referral rate peaked, and many false-positive results were noted as a consequence of pseudolesions and increased detection of (benign) microcalcifications. A higher overall referral rate was observed in FFDM screening in both first and subsequent examinations (p <.001), with a significant increase in cancer detection (p =.010). As a result of initial inexperience with digital screening images implementing FFDM in a population-based breast cancer screening programme may lead to a strong, but temporary increase in referral. Dedicated training in digital screening for radiographers and screening radiologists is therefore recommended. Referral rates decrease and stabilise (learning curve effect) at a higher level than in conventional screening, yet with significantly enhanced cancer detection. (orig.)

CLASSIFICATION OF WATER SURFACES USING AIRBORNE TOPOGRAPHIC LIDAR DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Smeeckaert

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Accurate Digital Terrain Models (DTM are inevitable inputs for mapping areas subject to natural hazards. Topographic airborne laser scanning has become an established technique to characterize the Earth surface: lidar provides 3D point clouds allowing a fine reconstruction of the topography. For flood hazard modeling, the key step before terrain modeling is the discrimination of land and water surfaces within the delivered point clouds. Therefore, instantaneous shoreline, river borders, inland waters can be extracted as a basis for more reliable DTM generation. This paper presents an automatic, efficient, and versatile workflow for land/water classification of airborne topographic lidar data. For that purpose, a classification framework based on Support Vector Machines (SVM is designed. First, a restricted set of features, based only 3D lidar point coordinates and flightline information, is defined. Then, the SVM learning step is performed on small but well-targeted areas thanks to an automatic region growing strategy. Finally, label probabilities given by the SVM are merged during a probabilistic relaxation step in order to remove pixel-wise misclassification. Results show that survey of millions of points are labelled with high accuracy (>95% in most cases for coastal areas, and >89% for rivers and that small natural and anthropic features of interest are still well classified though we work at low point densities (0.5–4 pts/m2. Our approach is valid for coasts and rivers, and provides a strong basis for further discrimination of land-cover classes and coastal habitats.

Airborne radiometric: Data evaluation and calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wendt, I.; Sengpiel, K.P.; Lenz, H.

1984-01-01

The airborne geophysical system of the BGR (German Geological Survey) consists of a helicopter equipped with an electromagnetic system with two transmittors and two receivers, a proton resonance magnetometer and a 16 L NaJ-crystal with four channel recording. All these data together with navigation data and flight altitude above ground are recorded each second on a nine track magnetic tape for further data evaluation. Different corrections have to be applied to the rough data such as: smoothing by means of a digital filter to reduce statistical noise, altitude correction, Compton-correction, and drift correction (cross-profile evaluation). Then the corrected measuring data are combined with the navigation data in order to be able to produce iso-line maps. The final results are presented as: line plots for U, Th, and K (and EM-data and magnetometer data); actual flight line plots; iso-line maps for U, Th, and K; iso-line maps for conductivity; depth of conducting layer; and magnetometry maps. The procedures of correction and evaluation of the above mentioned data as well as the calibration of the NaJ-detector in terms of ppm U, Th, and %K are dicussed in the paper. (author)

A 3D airborne ultrasound scanner

Science.gov (United States)

Capineri, L.; Masotti, L.; Rocchi, S.

1998-06-01

This work investigates the feasibility of an ultrasound scanner designed to reconstruct three-dimensional profiles of objects in air. There are many industrial applications in which it is important to obtain quickly and accurately the digital reconstruction of solid objects with contactless methods. The final aim of this project was the profile reconstruction of shoe lasts in order to eliminate the mechanical tracers from the reproduction process of shoe prototypes. The feasibility of an ultrasonic scanner was investigated in laboratory conditions on wooden test objects with axial symmetry. A bistatic system based on five airborne polyvinylidenedifluoride (PVDF) transducers was mechanically moved to emulate a cylindrical array transducer that can host objects of maximum width and height 20 cm and 40 cm respectively. The object reconstruction was based on a simplified version of the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT): the time of flight (TOF) of the first in time echo for each receiving transducer was taken into account, a coarse spatial sampling of the ultrasonic field reflected on the array transducer was delivered and the reconstruction algorithm was based on the ellipsoidal backprojection. Measurements on a wooden cone section provided submillimetre accuracy in a controlled environment.

Involving a young person in the development of a digital resource in nurse education.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenton, Gaynor

2014-01-01

Health policies across western societies have embedded the need for service user and carer perspectives in service design and delivery of educational programmes. There is a growing recognition of the need to include the perspectives of children and young people as service users in the design and delivery of child focused educational programmes. Digital storytelling provides a strategy for student nurses to gain insight into the lived experiences of children and young people. Engaging with these stories enables students to develop an understanding of a young persons' experience of healthcare. This paper outlines a project that developed a digital learning object based upon a young person's experience of cancer and student evaluations of the digital learning object as a teaching and learning strategy. Over 80% of students rated the digital learning object as interesting and were motivated to explore its content. In addition, the evaluation highlighted that listening to the young person's experiences of her treatment regimes was informative and assisted understanding of a patients' perspective of care delivery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Relationships between air conditioning, airborne microorganisms and health].

Science.gov (United States)

Parat, S; Perdrix, A; Baconnier, P

1999-01-01

Concurrently with the increase of air-conditioning, potentially severe or frequent new diseases have emerged, giving rise to social and economical consequences. The first part of this work is a state of the art review of the relationships between air-conditioning, airborne microorganisms and health, through a technical, metrological and medical approach. The second part presents four studies performed in this field. Two of them deal with the relationship between airborne microorganisms and technical features of air-conditioning. Measurements performed on actual sites demonstrated the benefit of using high efficiency filters and low risk components in air-conditioning systems. The third study was aimed to look for a relationship between airborne microorganisms and sick building syndrome symptoms. Statistical analyses of individual data revealed significant associations between airborne bacteria or fungi and symptoms. These results may be the first step in determining a dose-response relationship, in order to define threshold limit values in this field. In the fourth study, the contribution of particle counting in assessing exposure to airborne microorganisms was explored by monitoring simultaneous variations of microbial and particle concentrations. The results showed that associating particle counting may allow to detect microbial variations instantaneously, and therefore improve the assessment of exposure to airborne microorganisms.

Characterisation of particulate matter on airborne pollen grains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribeiro, Helena; Guimarães, Fernanda; Duque, Laura; Noronha, Fernando; Abreu, Ilda

2015-01-01

A characterization of the physical–chemical composition of the atmospheric PM adsorbed to airborne pollen was performed. Airborne pollen was sampled using a Hirst-type volumetric spore sampler and observed using a Field Emission Electron Probe Microanalyser for PM analysis. A secondary electron image was taken of each pollen grain and EDS spectra were obtained for individually adsorbed particles. All images were analysed and the size parameters of the particles adsorbed to pollen was determined. The measured particles’ equivalent diameter varied between 0.1 and 25.8 μm, mostly in the fine fraction. The dominant particulates identified were Si-rich, Organic-rich, SO-rich, Metals & Oxides and Cl-rich. Significant daily differences were observed in the physical–chemical characteristics of particles adsorbed to the airborne pollen wall. These differences were correlated with weather parameters and atmospheric PM concentration. Airborne pollen has the ability to adsorb fine particles that may enhance its allergenicity. - Highlights: • Airborne pollen sorbs other PM found in suspension. • 84% of the particles sorbed belonged to the fine aerosol fraction. • Adsorbed PM presented daily physical–chemical variations. • Particles sorbed dominated by Si-rich, Organic-rich, SO-rich, Fe-rich and Cl-rich. - Airborne pollen is able to transport finer particulate matter, which presents daily physical–chemical variations.

Reconfigurable digital receiver design and application for instantaneous polarimetric measurement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, Z.; Krasnov, O.A.; Babur, G.P.; Ligthart, L.P.; Van der Zwan, F.

2011-01-01

This paper presents the development of a reconfigurable receiver to undertake challenging signal processing tasks for a novel polarimetric radar system. The field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)-based digital receiver samples incoming signals at intermediate frequency (IF) and processes signals

Digital implementation of the preloaded filter pulse processor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Westphal, G.P.; Cadek, G.R.; Keroe, N.; Sauter, TH.; Thorwartl, P.C.

1995-01-01

Adapting it's processing time to the respective pulse intervals, the Preloaded Filter (PLF) pulse processor offers optimum resolution together with highest possible throughput rates. The PLF algorithm could be formulated in a recursive manner which made possible it's implementation by means of a large field-programmable gate array, as a fast, pipe-lined digital processor with 10 MHz maximum throughput rate. While pre-filter digitization by an ADC with 12 bit resolution and 10M Hz sampling rate resulted in a poorer resolution than that of an analog filter, a digital PLF based on an ADC with 14 bit resolution and 10 MHz sampling rate, surpassed high-quality analog filters in resolution, throughput rate and long-term stability. (author) 6 refs.; 7 figs

30 CFR 57.5001 - Exposure limits for airborne contaminants.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Exposure limits for airborne contaminants. 57... Underground § 57.5001 Exposure limits for airborne contaminants. Except as permitted by § 57.5005— (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the exposure to airborne contaminants shall not exceed, on the basis of...

Characterization of airborne uranium from test firing of XM774 ammunition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glissmeyer, J.A.; Mishima, J.

1979-11-01

Pacific Northwest Laboratory conducted experiments at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, to characterize the airborne depleted uranium (DU) resulting from the test firings of 105-mm, APFSDS-T XM774 ammunition. The goal was to obtain data pertinent to evaluations of human inhalation exposure to the airborne DU. Data was desired concerning the following: (1) size distribution of airborne DU; (2) quantity of airborne DU; (3) dispersion of airborne DU from the target vicinity; (4) amount of DU deposited on the ground; (5) solubility of airborne DU compounds in lung fluid; and (6) oxide forms of airborne and fallout DU. The experiments involved extensive air sampling for total airborne DU particulates and respirable DU particles both above the targets and at distances downwind. Fallout and fragments were collected around the target area. High-speed movies of the smoke generated from the impact of the penetrators were taken to estimate the cloud volumes. Results of the experiments are presented

Digital optical computer II

Science.gov (United States)

Guilfoyle, Peter S.; Stone, Richard V.

1991-12-01

OptiComp is currently completing a 32-bit, fully programmable digital optical computer (DOC II) that is designed to operate in a UNIX environment running RISC microcode. OptiComp's DOC II architecture is focused toward parallel microcode implementation where data is input in a dual rail format. By exploiting the physical principals inherent to optics (speed and low power consumption), an architectural balance of optical interconnects and software code efficiency can be achieved including high fan-in and fan-out. OptiComp's DOC II program is jointly sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Strategic Defense Initiative Office (SDIO), NASA space station group and Rome Laboratory (USAF). This paper not only describes the motivational basis behind DOC II but also provides an optical overview and architectural summary of the device that allows the emulation of any digital instruction set.

Performance Analysis of Measurement Inaccuracies of IMU/GPS on Airborne Repeat-pass Interferometric SAR in the Presence of Squint

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deng Yuan

2014-08-01

Full Text Available In the MOtion COmpensation (MOCO approach to airborne repeat-pass interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR based on motion measurement data, the measurement inaccuracies of Inertial Measurement Unit/Global Positioning System (IMU/GPS and the positioning errors of the target, which may contribute to the residual uncompensated motion errors, affect the imaging result and interferometric measurement. Considering the effects of the two types of error, this paper builds a mathematical model of residual motion errors in presence of squint, and analyzes the effects on the residual motion errors induced by the measurement inaccuracies of IMU/GPS and the positioning errors of the target. In particular, the effects of various measurement inaccuracies of IMU/GPS on interferometric SAR image quality, interferometric phase, and digital elevation model precision are disscussed. Moreover, the paper quantitatively researches the effects of residual motion errors on airborne repeat-pass interferometric SAR through theoretical and simulated analyses and provides theoretical bases for system design and signal processing.

Airborne Nicotine, Secondhand Smoke, and Precursors to Adolescent Smoking.

Science.gov (United States)

McGrath, Jennifer J; Racicot, Simon; Okoli, Chizimuzo T C; Hammond, S Katharine; O'Loughlin, Jennifer

2018-01-01

Secondhand smoke (SHS) directly increases exposure to airborne nicotine, tobacco's main psychoactive substance. When exposed to SHS, nonsmokers inhale 60% to 80% of airborne nicotine, absorb concentrations similar to those absorbed by smokers, and display high levels of nicotine biomarkers. Social modeling, or observing other smokers, is a well-established predictor of smoking during adolescence. Observing smokers also leads to increased pharmacological exposure to airborne nicotine via SHS. The objective of this study is to investigate whether greater exposure to airborne nicotine via SHS increases the risk for smoking initiation precursors among never-smoking adolescents. Secondary students ( N = 406; never-smokers: n = 338, 53% girls, mean age = 12.9, SD = 0.4) participated in the AdoQuest II longitudinal cohort. They answered questionnaires about social exposure to smoking (parents, siblings, peers) and known smoking precursors (eg, expected benefits and/or costs, SHS aversion, smoking susceptibility, and nicotine dependence symptoms). Saliva and hair samples were collected to derive biomarkers of cotinine and nicotine. Adolescents wore a passive monitor for 1 week to measure airborne nicotine. Higher airborne nicotine was significantly associated with greater expected benefits ( R 2 = 0.024) and lower expected costs ( R 2 = 0.014). Higher social exposure was significantly associated with more temptation to try smoking ( R 2 = 0.025), lower aversion to SHS ( R 2 = 0.038), and greater smoking susceptibility ( R 2 = 0.071). Greater social exposure was significantly associated with more nicotine dependence symptoms; this relation worsened with higher nicotine exposure (cotinine R 2 = 0.096; airborne nicotine R 2 = 0.088). Airborne nicotine exposure via SHS is a plausible risk factor for smoking initiation during adolescence. Public health implications include limiting airborne nicotine through smoking bans in homes and cars, in addition to stringent restrictions

Network-Embedded Management and Applications Understanding Programmable Networking Infrastructure

CERN Document Server

Wolter, Ralf

2013-01-01

Despite the explosion of networking services and applications in the past decades, the basic technological underpinnings of the Internet have remained largely unchanged. At its heart are special-purpose appliances that connect us to the digital world, commonly known as switches and routers. Now, however, the traditional framework is being increasingly challenged by new methods that are jostling for a position in the next-generation Internet. The concept of a network that is becoming more programmable is one of the aspects that are taking center stage. This opens new possibilities to embed software applications inside the network itself and to manage networks and communications services with unprecedented ease and efficiency. In this edited volume, distinguished experts take the reader on a tour of different facets of programmable network infrastructure and application exploit it. Presenting the state of the art in network embedded management and applications and programmable network infrastructure, the book c...

Airborne measurements of reactive organic trace gases in the atmosphere - with a focus on PTR-MS measurements onboard NASA's flying laboratories

Science.gov (United States)

Wisthaler, Armin; Mikoviny, Tomas; Müller, Markus; Schiller, Sven Arne; Feil, Stefan; Hanel, Gernot; Jordan, Alfons; Mutschlechner, Paul; Crawford, James H.; Singh, Hanwant B.; Millet, Dylan

2017-04-01

Reactive organic gases (ROGs) play an important role in atmospheric chemistry as they affect the rates of ozone production, particle formation and growth, and oxidant consumption. Measurements of ROGs are analytically challenging because of their large variety and low concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere, and because they are easily affected by measurement artefacts. On aircraft, ROGs are typically measured by canister sampling followed by off-line analysis in the laboratory, fast online gas chromatography or online chemical ionization mass spectrometry. In this work, we will briefly sum up the state-of-the-art in this field before focusing on proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) and its deployment onboard NASA's airborne science laboratories. We will show how airborne PTR-MS was successfully used in NASA missions for characterizing emissions of ROGs from point sources, for following the photochemical evolution of ROGs in a biomass burning plume, for determining biosphere-atmosphere fluxes of selected ROGs and for validating satellite data. We will also present the airborne PTR-MS instrument in its most recent evolution which includes a radiofrequency ion funnel and ion guide combined with a compact time-of-flight mass spectrometer and discuss its superior performance characteristics. The development of the airborne PTR-MS instrument was supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (bmvit) through the Austrian Space Applications Programme (ASAP) of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) (grants #833451, #847967). This work was also partly supported by NASA under grant #NNX14AP89G.

Digital Inclusion & Health Communication: A Rapid Review of Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Borg, Kim; Boulet, Mark; Smith, Liam; Bragge, Peter

2018-06-11

Information and communication technologies can be a valuable tool for enhancing health communication. However, not everyone is utilising the wide suite of digital opportunities. This disparity has the potential to exacerbate existing social and health inequalities, particularly among vulnerable groups such as those who are in poor health and the elderly. This review aimed to systematically identify the common barriers to, and facilitators of, digital inclusion. A comprehensive database search yielded 969 citations. Following screening, seven systematic reviews and three non-systematic reviews were identified. Collectively, the reviews found that physical access continues to be a barrier to digital inclusion. However, provision of access alone is insufficient, as digital ability and attitude were also potential barriers. Social support, direct user experience and collaborative learning/design were identified as key strategies to improve inclusion. These review findings provide guidance for health communication practitioners in designing and implementing effective programmes in the digital environment.

The impact of digital imaging on patient doses during barium studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broadhead, D.A.; Chapple, C.-L.; Faulkner, K.

1995-01-01

Barium studies performed on 10 digital and four non-digital fluoroscopic systems were monitored with dose-area product meters as part of a Regional Patient Dosimetry Audit programme. The data have been collected using a computer to read and reset the dose-area product meter and also to collect patient and examination details. A comparison of dose-area product measurements from digital and non-digital fluoroscopy units on over 10 000 barium studies is presented. The data have been corrected according to patient size. The mean size corrected dose-area product for a barium meal examination was found to be 7.62 Gy cm -2 for a digital set compared with 15.45 Gy cm -2 for a non-digital set with 2462 and 1308 patients included in each measurement series, respectively. Dose-area products were also a factor of approximately two lower for barium enema, barium swallow and barium follow-through examinations performed on digital systems. (author)

Design and development of an airborne multispectral imaging system

Science.gov (United States)

Kulkarni, Rahul R.; Bachnak, Rafic; Lyle, Stacey; Steidley, Carl W.

2002-08-01

Advances in imaging technology and sensors have made airborne remote sensing systems viable for many applications that require reasonably good resolution at low cost. Digital cameras are making their mark on the market by providing high resolution at very high rates. This paper describes an aircraft-mounted imaging system (AMIS) that is being designed and developed at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (A&M-CC) with the support of a grant from NASA. The approach is to first develop and test a one-camera system that will be upgraded into a five-camera system that offers multi-spectral capabilities. AMIS will be low cost, rugged, portable and has its own battery power source. Its immediate use will be to acquire images of the Coastal area in the Gulf of Mexico for a variety of studies covering vast spectra from near ultraviolet region to near infrared region. This paper describes AMIS and its characteristics, discusses the process for selecting the major components, and presents the progress.

Syrians' Acceptance of Digital Lectures: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Ramadan, Reem

2016-01-01

Technology-based learning modules are mostly challenged by their acceptance. A single-case study and mixed research method are used to explore a unique situation of applying digital lectures at the postgraduate Programmes at the Faculty of Tourism at Damascus University as a solution for brain drain in the Syrian higher education system. Results…

Voxel inversion of airborne EM data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fiandaca, Gianluca G.; Auken, Esben; Christiansen, Anders Vest C A.V.C.

2013-01-01

We present a geophysical inversion algorithm working directly in a voxel grid disconnected from the actual measuring points, which allows for straightforward integration of different data types in joint inversion, for informing geological/hydrogeological models directly and for easier incorporation...... of prior information. Inversion of geophysical data usually refers to a model space being linked to the actual observation points. For airborne surveys the spatial discretization of the model space reflects the flight lines. Often airborne surveys are carried out in areas where other ground......-based geophysical data are available. The model space of geophysical inversions is usually referred to the positions of the measurements, and ground-based model positions do not generally coincide with the airborne model positions. Consequently, a model space based on the measuring points is not well suited...

Introducing Programmable Logic to Undergraduate Engineering Students in a Digital Electronics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Todorovich, E.; Marone, J. A.; Vazquez, M.

2012-01-01

Due to significant technological advances and industry requirements, many universities have introduced programmable logic and hardware description languages into undergraduate engineering curricula. This has led to a number of logistical and didactical challenges, in particular for computer science students. In this paper, the integration of some…

THE DIGITAL VON FAHRENHEID PYRAMID

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Bura

2017-08-01

Full Text Available 3D Scanners Lab from Digital Humanities Laboratory at the University of Warsaw initiated the scientific project, the purpose of which was to call attention to systematically penetrated and devastated pyramid-shaped tomb from the XVIII/XIX century, of family von Fahrenheid in Rapa in Banie Mazurskie commune (NE Poland. By conducting a series of non-invasive studies, such as 3D inventory using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS, thermal imaging, georadar measurements (around and inside the tomb and anthropological research of mummified remains as well - the complete dataset was collected. Through the integration of terrestrial (TLS and airborne laser scanning (ALS authors managed to analyse the surroundings of Fahrenheid pyriamid and influence of some objects (like trees on the condition and visibility of the Pyramids in the landscape.

Multinational Design Evaluation Programme. Annual Report - April 2014-April 2015

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-06-01

The Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP) is a multinational initiative to leverage the resources and knowledge of national regulatory authorities who are, or will shortly be, undertaking the review of new reactor power plant designs. MDEP incorporates a broad range of activities including enhancing multilateral co-operation within existing regulatory frameworks, and increasing multinational convergence of codes, standards, guides and safety goals. A key concept throughout the work of MDEP is that national regulators retain sovereign authority for all licensing and regulatory decisions. Working groups are implementing the activities in accordance with programme plans with specific activities and goals, and have established the necessary interfaces both within and outside of MDEP. This report provides a status of the programme after its seventh year of implementation. Content: Executive summary; 1. Introduction; 2. Programme goals and outcomes; 3. Programme implementation (Membership, Organisational structure, MDEP Library, Common positions); 4. Interactions with other organisations; 5. Current activities (EPR Working Group (EPRWG), AP1000 Working Group (AP1000WG), APR1400 Working Group (APR1400WG), VVER Working Group (VVERWG), AVBWR Working Group (ABWRWG), Vendor Inspection Co-operation Working Group (VICWG), Codes and Standards Working Group (CSWG), Digital Instrumentation and Controls Working Group (DICWG)); 6. Interim results; 7. Next steps - Future of the programme; Appendix 1 - List of abbreviations and acronyms; Appendix 2 - Revised documents and publications; Appendix 3 - Photographs of reactors considered within MDEP

Data processing of remotely sensed airborne hyperspectral data using the Airborne Processing Library (APL): Geocorrection algorithm descriptions and spatial accuracy assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Warren, Mark A.; Taylor, Benjamin H.; Grant, Michael G.; Shutler, Jamie D.

2014-03-01

Remote sensing airborne hyperspectral data are routinely used for applications including algorithm development for satellite sensors, environmental monitoring and atmospheric studies. Single flight lines of airborne hyperspectral data are often in the region of tens of gigabytes in size. This means that a single aircraft can collect terabytes of remotely sensed hyperspectral data during a single year. Before these data can be used for scientific analyses, they need to be radiometrically calibrated, synchronised with the aircraft's position and attitude and then geocorrected. To enable efficient processing of these large datasets the UK Airborne Research and Survey Facility has recently developed a software suite, the Airborne Processing Library (APL), for processing airborne hyperspectral data acquired from the Specim AISA Eagle and Hawk instruments. The APL toolbox allows users to radiometrically calibrate, geocorrect, reproject and resample airborne data. Each stage of the toolbox outputs data in the common Band Interleaved Lines (BILs) format, which allows its integration with other standard remote sensing software packages. APL was developed to be user-friendly and suitable for use on a workstation PC as well as for the automated processing of the facility; to this end APL can be used under both Windows and Linux environments on a single desktop machine or through a Grid engine. A graphical user interface also exists. In this paper we describe the Airborne Processing Library software, its algorithms and approach. We present example results from using APL with an AISA Eagle sensor and we assess its spatial accuracy using data from multiple flight lines collected during a campaign in 2008 together with in situ surveyed ground control points.

Airborne Gravity: NGS' Airborne Gravity Data for AN01 (2009-2010)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Airborne gravity data for Alaska collected in 2009-2010 over 2 surveys. This data set is part of the Gravity for the Re-definition of the American Vertical Datum...

Multinational design evaluation programme - Annual report March 2013-March 2014

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-04-01

The Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP) is a multinational initiative to leverage the resources and knowledge of national regulatory authorities who are, or will shortly be, undertaking the review of new reactor power plant designs. MDEP incorporates a broad range of activities including enhancing multilateral cooperation within existing regulatory frameworks, and increasing multinational convergence of codes, standards, guides, and safety goals. A key concept throughout the work of MDEP is that national regulators retain sovereign authority for all licensing and regulatory decisions. Working groups are implementing the activities in accordance with programme plans with specific activities and goals, and have established the necessary interfaces both within and outside of the MDEP members. In the past year, MDEP has expanded to include cooperation on the VVER and ABWR designs and additional members have begun participating in the programme to share their experiences on these design reviews. This report provides the current status of the programme. Significant progress is being made on the overall MDEP goals of increased cooperation and enhanced convergence of requirements and practices. In addition, the lessons learnt from the 11 March 2011, events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are being incorporated into MDEP activities through the programme plans of design-specific working groups (DSWG). On this topic, the EPR Working Group has issued a common position which will be supplemented by five technical appendices by the end of 2014. Other DSWG are in the process of drafting such common positions. Several DSWGs' are facilitating the MDEP programme goal of enhanced cooperation: the EPRWG, the Vendor Inspection Cooperation Working Group (VICWG), the Digital Instrumentation and Controls Working Group (DICWG), the Codes and Standards Working Group (CSWG). Accomplishments to date provide confidence that the MDEP membership, structure and processes

30 CFR 57.5005 - Control of exposure to airborne contaminants.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control of exposure to airborne contaminants... Underground § 57.5005 Control of exposure to airborne contaminants. Control of employee exposure to harmful airborne contaminants shall be, insofar as feasible, by prevention of contamination, removal by exhaust...

Appendix : airborne incidents : an econometric analysis of severity

Science.gov (United States)

2014-12-19

This is the Appendix for Airborne Incidents: An Econometric Analysis of Severity Report. : Airborne loss of separation incidents occur when an aircraft breaches the defined separation limit (vertical and/or horizontal) with another aircraft or terrai...

Cryocooled wideband digital channelizing radio-frequency receiver based on low-pass ADC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vernik, Igor V; Kirichenko, Dmitri E; Dotsenko, Vladimir V; Miller, Robert; Webber, Robert J; Shevchenko, Pavel; Talalaevskii, Andrei; Gupta, Deepnarayan; Mukhanov, Oleg A

2007-01-01

We have demonstrated a digital receiver performing direct digitization of radio-frequency signals over a wide frequency range from kilohertz to gigahertz. The complete system, consisting of a cryopackaged superconductor all-digital receiver (ADR) chip followed by room-temperature interface electronics and a field programmable gate array (FPGA) based post-processing module, has been developed. The ADR chip comprises a low-pass analog-to-digital converter (ADC) delta modulator with phase modulation-demodulation architecture together with digital in-phase and quadrature mixer and a pair of digital decimation filters. The chip is fabricated using a 4.5 kA cm -2 process and is cryopackaged using a commercial-off-the-shelf cryocooler. Experimental results in HF, VHF, UHF and L bands and their analysis, proving consistent operation of the cryopackaged ADR chip up to 24.32 GHz clock frequency, are presented and discussed

A digital instantaneous frequency measurement technique utilising high speed analogue to digital converters and field programmable gate arrays

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Herselman, PLR

2007-09-01

Full Text Available In modern information and sensor systems, the timely estimation of the carrier frequency of received signals is of critical importance. This paper presents a digital instantaneous frequency measurement (DIFM) technique, which can measure the carrier...

Technical quality control - constancy controls for digital mammography systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pedersen, K.; Landmark, I.D.; Bredholt, K.; Hauge, I.H.R.

2009-04-01

To ensure the quality of mammographic images, so-called constancy control tests are performed frequently. The report contains a programme for constancy control of digital mammography systems, encompassing the mammography unit, computed radiography (CR) systems, viewing conditions and displays, printers, and procedures for data collection for patient dose calculations. (Author)

Utilizing Structure-from-Motion Photogrammetry with Airborne Visual and Thermal Images to Monitor Thermal Areas in Yellowstone National Park

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, B. B.; Vaughan, R. G.

2017-12-01

The thermal areas in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, USA) are constantly changing. Persistent monitoring of these areas is necessary to better understand the behavior and potential hazards of both the thermal features and the deeper hydrothermal system driving the observed surface activity. As part of the Park's monitoring program, thousands of visual and thermal infrared (TIR) images have been acquired from a variety of airborne platforms over the past decade. We have used structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry techniques to generate a variety of data products from these images, including orthomosaics, temperature maps, and digital elevation models (DEMs). Temperature maps were generated for Upper Geyser Basin and Norris Geyser Basin for the years 2009-2015, by applying SfM to nighttime TIR images collected from an aircraft-mounted forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera. Temperature data were preserved through the SfM processing by applying a uniform linear stretch over the entire image set to convert between temperature and a 16-bit digital number. Mosaicked temperature maps were compared to the original FLIR image frames and to ground-based temperature data to constrain the accuracy of the method. Due to pixel averaging and resampling, among other issues, the derived temperature values are typically within 5-10 ° of the values of the un-resampled image frame. We also created sub-meter resolution DEMs from airborne daytime visual images of individual thermal areas. These DEMs can be used for resource and hazard management, and in cases where multiple DEMs exist from different times, for measuring topographic change, including change due to thermal activity. For example, we examined the sensitivity of the DEMs to topographic change by comparing DEMs of the travertine terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs, which can grow at > 1 m per year. These methods are generally applicable to images from airborne platforms, including planes, helicopters, and unmanned aerial

Sound card based digital correlation detection of weak photoelectrical signals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Guanghui; Wang Jiangcheng

2005-01-01

A simple and low-cost digital correlation method is proposed to investigate weak photoelectrical signals, using a high-speed photodiode as detector, which is directly connected to a programmably triggered sound card analogue-to-digital converter and a personal computer. Two testing experiments, autocorrelation detection of weak flickering signals from a computer monitor under background of noisy outdoor stray light and cross-correlation measurement of the surface velocity of a motional tape, are performed, showing that the results are reliable and the method is easy to implement

30 CFR 56.5005 - Control of exposure to airborne contaminants.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control of exposure to airborne contaminants... Air Quality and Physical Agents Air Quality § 56.5005 Control of exposure to airborne contaminants. Control of employee exposure to harmful airborne contaminants shall be, insofar as feasible, by prevention...

Dispersion model for airborne particulates inside a building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perkins, W.C.; Stoddard, D.H.

1985-01-01

An empirical model has been developed for the spread of airborne radioactive particles after they are released inside a building. The model has been useful in performing safety analyses of actinide materials facilities at the Savannah River Plant (SRP). These facilities employ the multiple-air-zone concept; that is, ventilation air flows from rooms or areas of least radioactive material hazard, through zones of increasing hazard, to a treatment system. A composite of the data for dispersion of airborne activity during 12 actual case incidents at SRP forms the basis for this model. These incidents occurred during approximately 90 plant-years of experience at SRP with the chemical and metallurgical processing of purified neptunium and plutonium after their recovery from irradiated uranium. The model gives ratios of the airborne activity concentrations in rooms and corridors near the site of the release. The multiple-air-zone concept has been applied to many designs of nuclear facilities as a safety feature to limit the spread of airborne activity from a release. The model illustrates the limitations of this concept: it predicts an apparently anomalous behavior of airborne particulates; namely, a small migration against the flow of the ventilation air

Transforming 'Female' Programmes: Don’t Tell the Bride from International TV to Italian Digital Channels for Women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cecilia Penati

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Contemporary Italian digital channels explicitly targeting women (such as Real Time, Lei, Fox Life, La5, and La7d represent a privileged observatory for some general trends in the international circulation of content and incorporation of foreign formats into national television (TV. In fact, their schedules rely heavily on the genre of factual entertainment, which was first devised and used in international contexts, such as the UK and the US, and only in the second phase was imported into other national TV environments.After introducing this scenario and the main issues connected to the circulation of international content on these channels, the article will focus on the BBC docu-reality Don’t Tell the Bride. The show was extensively circulated (UK and US versions in the circuit of Italian women channels before a national version was produced by the pay-TV brand Lei. The article will reflect on how the national version Non ditelo alla sposa added further shades to the original meaning of the format. While the international version only allowed the Italian audience to engage with the programme through a romantic and escapist approach, the local adaptation inserted practical advice in the storytelling on how to arrange a low budget yet traditional wedding day, coupled with the sarcastic and ironic points of view of the characters involved.

Advances and perspectives in bathymetry by airborne lidar

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Guoqing; Wang, Chenxi; Li, Mingyan; Wang, Yuefeng; Ye, Siqi; Han, Caiyun

2015-12-01

In this paper, the history of the airborne lidar and the development stages of the technology are reviewed. The basic principle of airborne lidar and the method of processing point-cloud data were discussed. At present, single point laser scanning method is widely used in bathymetric survey. Although the method has high ranging accuracy, the data processing and hardware system is too much complicated and expensive. For this reason, this paper present a kind of improved dual-frequency method for bathymetric and sea surface survey, in this method 176 units of 1064nm wavelength laser has been used by push-broom scanning and due to the airborne power limits still use 532nm wavelength single point for bathymetric survey by zigzag scanning. We establish a spatial coordinates for obtaining the WGS-84 of point cloud by using airborne POS system.

Inter-agency Working Group for Airborne Data and Telemetry Systems (IWGADTS)

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, Chris; Freudinger, Lawrence; Sorenson, Carl; Myers, Jeff; Sullivan, Don; Oolman, Larry

2009-01-01

The Interagency Coordinating Committee for Airborne Geosciences Research and Applications (ICCAGRA) was established to improve cooperation and communication among agencies sponsoring airborne platforms and instruments for research and applications, and to serve as a resource for senior level management on airborne geosciences issues. The Interagency Working Group for Airborne Data and Telecommunications Systems (IWGADTS) is a subgroup to ICCAGRA for the purpose of developing recommendations leading to increased interoperability among airborne platforms and instrument payloads, producing increased synergy among research programs with similar goals, and enabling the suborbital layer of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems.

General method of synthesis by PLIC/FPGA digital devices to ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A general method is proposed to synthesize digital devices in order to perform discrete orthogonal transformations (DOT) on programmable logic integrated circuits (PLIC) of FPGA class. The basic and the most "slow" operation during DOT performance is the operation of multiplying by a constant factor (constant) - OMC.

A Digital Phase Lock Loop for an External Cavity Diode Laser

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiao-Long; Tao, Tian-Jiong; Cheng, Bing; Wu, Bin; Xu, Yun-Fei; Wang, Zhao-Ying; Lin, Qiang

2011-08-01

A digital optical phase lock loop (OPLL) is implemented to synchronize the frequency and phase between two external cavity diode lasers (ECDL), generating Raman pulses for atom interferometry. The setup involves all-digital phase detection and a programmable digital proportional-integral-derivative (PID) loop in locking. The lock generates a narrow beat-note linewidth below 1 Hz and low phase-noise of 0.03rad2 between the master and slave ECDLs. The lock proves to be stable and robust, and all the locking parameters can be set and optimized on a computer interface with convenience, making the lock adaptable to various setups of laser systems.

An experimental hut study to quantify the effect of DDT and airborne pyrethroids on entomological parameters of malaria transmission

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Current malaria vector control programmes rely on insecticides with rapid contact toxicity. However, spatial repellents can also be applied to reduce man-vector contact, which might ultimately impact malaria transmission. The aim of this study was to quantify effects of airborne pyrethroids from coils and DDT used an indoor residual spray (IRS) on entomological parameters that influence malaria transmission. Methods The effect of Transfluthrin and Metofluthrin coils compared to DDT on house entry, exit and indoor feeding behaviour of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato were measured in experimental huts in the field and in the semi-field. Outcomes were deterrence - reduction in house entry of mosquitoes; irritancy or excito-repellency – induced premature exit of mosquitoes; blood feeding inhibition and effect on mosquito fecundity. Results Transfluthrin coils, Metofluthrin coils and DDT reduced human vector contact through deterrence by 38%, 30% and 8%, respectively and induced half of the mosquitoes to leave huts before feeding (56%, 55% and 48%, respectively). Almost all mosquitoes inside huts with Metofluthrin and Transfluthrin coils and more than three quarters of mosquitoes in the DDT hut did not feed, almost none laid eggs and 67%, 72% and 70% of all mosquitoes collected from Transfluthrin, Metofluthrin and DDT huts, respectively had died after 24 hours. Conclusion This study highlights that airborne pyrethroids and DDT affect a range of anopheline mosquito behaviours that are important parameters in malaria transmission, namely deterrence, irritancy/excito-repellency and blood-feeding inhibition. These effects are in addition to significant toxicity and reduced mosquito fecundity that affect mosquito densities and, therefore, provide community protection against diseases for both users and non-users. Airborne insecticides and freshly applied DDT had similar effects on deterrence, irritancy and feeding inhibition. Therefore, it is suggested that

An experimental hut study to quantify the effect of DDT and airborne pyrethroids on entomological parameters of malaria transmission.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogoma, Sheila B; Lorenz, Lena M; Ngonyani, Hassan; Sangusangu, Robert; Kitumbukile, Mohammed; Kilalangongono, Masoudi; Simfukwe, Emmanuel T; Mseka, Anton; Mbeyela, Edgar; Roman, Deogratius; Moore, Jason; Kreppel, Katharina; Maia, Marta F; Moore, Sarah J

2014-04-01

Current malaria vector control programmes rely on insecticides with rapid contact toxicity. However, spatial repellents can also be applied to reduce man-vector contact, which might ultimately impact malaria transmission. The aim of this study was to quantify effects of airborne pyrethroids from coils and DDT used an indoor residual spray (IRS) on entomological parameters that influence malaria transmission. The effect of Transfluthrin and Metofluthrin coils compared to DDT on house entry, exit and indoor feeding behaviour of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato were measured in experimental huts in the field and in the semi-field. Outcomes were deterrence--reduction in house entry of mosquitoes; irritancy or excito-repellency--induced premature exit of mosquitoes; blood feeding inhibition and effect on mosquito fecundity. Transfluthrin coils, Metofluthrin coils and DDT reduced human vector contact through deterrence by 38%, 30% and 8%, respectively and induced half of the mosquitoes to leave huts before feeding (56%, 55% and 48%, respectively). Almost all mosquitoes inside huts with Metofluthrin and Transfluthrin coils and more than three quarters of mosquitoes in the DDT hut did not feed, almost none laid eggs and 67%, 72% and 70% of all mosquitoes collected from Transfluthrin, Metofluthrin and DDT huts, respectively had died after 24 hours. This study highlights that airborne pyrethroids and DDT affect a range of anopheline mosquito behaviours that are important parameters in malaria transmission, namely deterrence, irritancy/excito-repellency and blood-feeding inhibition. These effects are in addition to significant toxicity and reduced mosquito fecundity that affect mosquito densities and, therefore, provide community protection against diseases for both users and non-users. Airborne insecticides and freshly applied DDT had similar effects on deterrence, irritancy and feeding inhibition. Therefore, it is suggested that airborne pyrethroids, if delivered in suitable

Airborne Test Bed Facility

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Laboratory operates the main hangar on the Hanscom Air Force Base flight line. This very large building (~93,000sqft) accommodates the Laboratory's airborne test...

OPTIMIZING THE PAKS METHOD FOR MEASURING AIRBORNE ACROLEIN

Science.gov (United States)

Airborne acrolein is produced from the combustion of fuel and tobacco and is of concern due to its potential for respiratory tract irritation and other adverse health effects. DNPH active-sampling is a method widely used for sampling airborne aldehydes and ketones (carbonyls); ...

Inverter-based successive approximation capacitance-to-digital converter

KAUST Repository

Omran, Hesham

2017-03-23

An energy-efficient capacitance-to-digital converter (CDC) is provided that utilizes a capacitance-domain successive approximation (SAR) technique. Unlike SAR analog- to-digital converters (ADCs), analysis shows that for SAR CDCs, the comparator offset voltage will result in signal-dependent and parasitic-dependent conversion errors, which necessitates an op-amp-based implementation. The inverter-based SAR CDC contemplated herein provides robust, energy-efficient, and fast operation. The inverter- based SAR CDC may include a hybrid coarse-fine programmable capacitor array. The design of example embodiments is insensitive to analog references, and thus achieves very low temperature sensitivity without the need for calibration. Moreover, this design achieves improved energy efficiency.

Airborne Magnetic Trackline Database

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (formerly National Geophysical Data Center) receive airborne magnetic survey data from US and non-US...

Development of Testing Platform for Digital I and C System in Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, G. Y.; Kim, Y. M.; Jeong, C. H. [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

According to digitalization of the NPP (Nuclear Power Plant) I and C (Instrumentation and Control) system, cyber threats against I and C system are increased. Moreover, the complexity of I and C system are increased due to adopt the up-to-date technologies (i. e., smart sensor, wireless network, and Field Programmable Gate Array / Complex Programmable Logic Device) into NPP's I and C system. For example, new issues such as cyber threat are introduced from digitalized I and C systems and components to replace obsolete analog equipment in existing NPPs. Furthermore, use of wireless communication, FPGA/CPLD, and smart sensor could introduce new considerations such as Defense-in-Depth and Diversity. Therefore, the proof testing for digital I and C system is required to verify the adverse effect from use of up-to-date digital technologies and identify the criteria to resolve and mitigate (or prevent) the (possibility of) effects. The objective of this study is developing the Testing Platform for the proof testing. The digital I and C System Test Platform is implemented using test platform hardware, component software, and architectural design. The digital I and C testing platform includes the safety-related PLC and relevant ladder logics, Windows-based C++ codes for host PC. For software, there are seven spike models to confirm the each module's functionality and generate/monitor the signals to/from PLCs. For future work, digital I and C System Test Platform architecture will be implemented using spike models. And a set of acceptance test against cyber security, smart sensor, wireless network, and FPGA/CPLD will be conducted using digital I and C System Test Platform.

Development of Testing Platform for Digital I and C System in Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, G. Y.; Kim, Y. M.; Jeong, C. H.

2013-01-01

According to digitalization of the NPP (Nuclear Power Plant) I and C (Instrumentation and Control) system, cyber threats against I and C system are increased. Moreover, the complexity of I and C system are increased due to adopt the up-to-date technologies (i. e., smart sensor, wireless network, and Field Programmable Gate Array / Complex Programmable Logic Device) into NPP's I and C system. For example, new issues such as cyber threat are introduced from digitalized I and C systems and components to replace obsolete analog equipment in existing NPPs. Furthermore, use of wireless communication, FPGA/CPLD, and smart sensor could introduce new considerations such as Defense-in-Depth and Diversity. Therefore, the proof testing for digital I and C system is required to verify the adverse effect from use of up-to-date digital technologies and identify the criteria to resolve and mitigate (or prevent) the (possibility of) effects. The objective of this study is developing the Testing Platform for the proof testing. The digital I and C System Test Platform is implemented using test platform hardware, component software, and architectural design. The digital I and C testing platform includes the safety-related PLC and relevant ladder logics, Windows-based C++ codes for host PC. For software, there are seven spike models to confirm the each module's functionality and generate/monitor the signals to/from PLCs. For future work, digital I and C System Test Platform architecture will be implemented using spike models. And a set of acceptance test against cyber security, smart sensor, wireless network, and FPGA/CPLD will be conducted using digital I and C System Test Platform

A high performance cost-effective digital complex correlator for an X-band polarimetry survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergano, Miguel; Rocha, Armando; Cupido, Luís; Barbosa, Domingos; Villela, Thyrso; Boas, José Vilas; Rocha, Graça; Smoot, George F

2016-01-01

The detailed knowledge of the Milky Way radio emission is important to characterize galactic foregrounds masking extragalactic and cosmological signals. The update of the global sky models describing radio emissions over a very large spectral band requires high sensitivity experiments capable of observing large sky areas with long integration times. Here, we present the design of a new 10 GHz (X-band) polarimeter digital back-end to map the polarization components of the galactic synchrotron radiation field of the Northern Hemisphere sky. The design follows the digital processing trends in radio astronomy and implements a large bandwidth (1 GHz) digital complex cross-correlator to extract the Stokes parameters of the incoming synchrotron radiation field. The hardware constraints cover the implemented VLSI hardware description language code and the preliminary results. The implementation is based on the simultaneous digitized acquisition of the Cartesian components of the two linear receiver polarization channels. The design strategy involves a double data rate acquisition of the ADC interleaved parallel bus, and field programmable gate array device programming at the register transfer mode. The digital core of the back-end is capable of processing 32 Gbps and is built around an Altera field programmable gate array clocked at 250 MHz, 1 GSps analog to digital converters and a clock generator. The control of the field programmable gate array internal signal delays and a convenient use of its phase locked loops provide the timing requirements to achieve the target bandwidths and sensitivity. This solution is convenient for radio astronomy experiments requiring large bandwidth, high functionality, high volume availability and low cost. Of particular interest, this correlator was developed for the Galactic Emission Mapping project and is suitable for large sky area polarization continuum surveys. The solutions may also be adapted to be used at signal processing

77 FR 3323 - Airborne Radar Altimeter Equipment (For Air Carrier Aircraft)

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-23

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Airborne Radar Altimeter Equipment... to cancel Technical Standard Order (TSO)-C67, Airborne Radar Altimeter Equipment (For Air Carrier Aircraft). SUMMARY: This notice announces the FAA's intent to cancel TSO-C67, Airborne Radar Altimeter...

Field-Deployable Acoustic Digital Systems for Noise Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Shams, Qamar A.; Wright, Kenneth D.; Lunsford, Charles B.; Smith, Charlie D.

2000-01-01

Langley Research Center (LaRC) has for years been a leader in field acoustic array measurement technique. Two field-deployable digital measurement systems have been developed to support acoustic research programs at LaRC. For several years, LaRC has used the Digital Acoustic Measurement System (DAMS) for measuring the acoustic noise levels from rotorcraft and tiltrotor aircraft. Recently, a second system called Remote Acquisition and Storage System (RASS) was developed and deployed for the first time in the field along with DAMS system for the Community Noise Flight Test using the NASA LaRC-757 aircraft during April, 2000. The test was performed at Airborne Airport in Wilmington, OH to validate predicted noise reduction benefits from alternative operational procedures. The test matrix was composed of various combinations of altitude, cutback power, and aircraft weight. The DAMS digitizes the acoustic inputs at the microphone site and can be located up to 2000 feet from the van which houses the acquisition, storage and analysis equipment. Digitized data from up to 10 microphones is recorded on a Jaz disk and is analyzed post-test by microcomputer system. The RASS digitizes and stores acoustic inputs at the microphone site that can be located up to three miles from the base station and can compose a 3 mile by 3 mile array of microphones. 16-bit digitized data from the microphones is stored on removable Jaz disk and is transferred through a high speed array to a very large high speed permanent storage device. Up to 30 microphones can be utilized in the array. System control and monitoring is accomplished via Radio Frequency (RF) link. This paper will present a detailed description of both systems, along with acoustic data analysis from both systems.

Resuscitation effects of catalase on airborne bacteria.

OpenAIRE

Marthi, B; Shaffer, B T; Lighthart, B; Ganio, L

1991-01-01

Catalase incorporation into enumeration media caused a significant increase (greater than 63%) in the colony-forming abilities of airborne bacteria. Incubation for 30 to 60 min of airborne bacteria in collection fluid containing catalase caused a greater than 95% increase in colony-forming ability. However, catalase did not have any effects on enumeration at high relative humidities (80 to 90%).

High resolution and simultaneous monitoring of airborne radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abe, T.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Muguntha Manikandan, N.; Komura, K.

2005-01-01

By using 11 extremely low background Ge detectors at Ogoya Underground Laboratory, it became possible to investigate temporal variations of airborne 212 Pb (T 1/2 =10.6 h) along with 210 Pb and 7 Be with order of magnitude higher time resolution. Then, we have measured airborne nuclides at three monitoring points, (1) roof of our laboratory (LLRL; 40 m ASL), (2) Shinshiku Plateau (640 m ASL) located about 8 km from LLRL as a comparison of vertical distribution, and (3) Hegura Island (10 m ASL) at about 50 km from Wajima located north of Noto Peninsula facing on the Sea of Japan (about 180 km to the north-northeast of LLRL), to investigate influence of Asian continent. Airborne nuclides were collected by high volume air samplers at intervals of a few hours at either two or three points simultaneously. In the same manner, high resolution monitoring was carried out also at the time of passage of typhoon and cold front. In this study, we observed drastic temporal variations of airborne radionuclides and correlations of multiple monitoring points. The results indicate that high resolution and simultaneous monitoring is very useful to understand dynamic state of variations of airborne nuclides due to short and long-term air-mass movement. (author)

A Dual Digital Signal Processor VME Board for Instrumentation and Control Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

H. Dong; R. Flood; C. Hovater; J. Musson

2001-01-01

A Dual Digital Signal Processing VME Board is being developed for the CEBAF Beam Current Monitor system at Jefferson Lab. It is a versatile general-purpose digital signal processing board using an open architecture, which allows for adaptation to various applications. The base design uses two independent Texas Instrument (TI) TMS320C6711, which are 900 MFLOPS floating-point digital signal processors (DSP). Applications that require a fixed point DSP can be implemented by replacing the baseline DSP with the pin-for-pin compatible TMS320C6211. Both parallel and serial protocols have been implemented for communicating with off board devices. The initial implementation makes use of TI Multi-channel Serial protocol and VME bus protocol. Other communication protocols can be implemented by reprogramming the FPGA. Each DSP is equipped with FLASH PROM and SDRAM for program and data storage. Additionally, each DSP has 16 bits of digital I/O, two digital analog converters, and two analog to digital converters. Dual 160 pins mezzanine connectors provide expansion capability without design modifications. The mezzanine interface conforms to the TI Expansion Daughter Card Interface standard. The design can be manufactured with a reduced chip set without redesigning the printed circuit board. For example, it can be implemented as a single-channel DSP with no analog I/O. The board supports JTAG 1149 boundary scan to facilitate testing, debugging, and programming. It is fully programmable using software development tools such as TI Code Composer Studio and a JTAG emulator such as Spectrum Digital DS510PP-PLUS. Using these tools allows one program the flash memory and FPGA through the JTAG ports, thus eliminating the need for a separate ROM/FPGA programmer. This work supported by U.S. DOE Contract No. DE-AC05-84ER40150

Study on analysis from sources of error for Airborne LIDAR

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, H. C.; Yan, Q.; Liu, Z. J.; Zuo, Z. Q.; Xu, Q. Q.; Li, F. F.; Song, C.

2016-11-01

With the advancement of Aerial Photogrammetry, it appears that to obtain geo-spatial information of high spatial and temporal resolution provides a new technical means for Airborne LIDAR measurement techniques, with unique advantages and broad application prospects. Airborne LIDAR is increasingly becoming a new kind of space for earth observation technology, which is mounted by launching platform for aviation, accepting laser pulses to get high-precision, high-density three-dimensional coordinate point cloud data and intensity information. In this paper, we briefly demonstrates Airborne laser radar systems, and that some errors about Airborne LIDAR data sources are analyzed in detail, so the corresponding methods is put forwarded to avoid or eliminate it. Taking into account the practical application of engineering, some recommendations were developed for these designs, which has crucial theoretical and practical significance in Airborne LIDAR data processing fields.

Development of FPGA-based digital signal processing system for radiation spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Pil Soo; Lee, Chun Sik; Lee, Ju Hahn

2013-01-01

We have developed an FPGA-based digital signal processing system that performs both online digital signal filtering and pulse-shape analysis for both particle and gamma-ray spectroscopy. Such functionalities were made possible by a state-of-the-art programmable logic device and system architectures employed. The system performance as measured, for example, in the system dead time and accuracy for pulse-height and rise-time determination, was evaluated with standard alpha- and gamma-ray sources using a CsI(Tl) scintillation detector. It is resulted that the present system has shown its potential application to various radiation-related fields such as particle identification, radiography, and radiation imaging. - Highlights: ► An FPGA-based digital processing system was developed for radiation spectroscopy. ► Our digital system has a 14-bit resolution and a 100-MHz sampling rate. ► The FPGA implements the online digital filtering and pulse-shape analysis. ► The pileup rejection is implemented in trigger logic before digital filtering process. ► Our digital system was verified in alpha-gamma measurements using a CsI detector

77 FR 21834 - Airborne Radar Altimeter Equipment (For Air Carrier Aircraft)

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-11

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Airborne Radar Altimeter Equipment... Technical Standard Order (TSO)-C67, Airborne Radar Altimeter Equipment (For Air Carrier Aircraft). SUMMARY: This is a confirmation notice of the cancellation of TSO-C67, Airborne Radar Altimeter Equipment (For...

Method and apparatus for digitally based high speed x-ray spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warburton, W.K.; Hubbard, B.

1997-01-01

A high speed, digitally based, signal processing system which accepts input data from a detector-preamplifier and produces a spectral analysis of the x-rays illuminating the detector. The system achieves high throughputs at low cost by dividing the required digital processing steps between a ''hardwired'' processor implemented in combinatorial digital logic, which detects the presence of the x-ray signals in the digitized data stream and extracts filtered estimates of their amplitudes, and a programmable digital signal processing computer, which refines the filtered amplitude estimates and bins them to produce the desired spectral analysis. One set of algorithms allow this hybrid system to match the resolution of analog systems while operating at much higher data rates. A second set of algorithms implemented in the processor allow the system to be self calibrating as well. The same processor also handles the interface to an external control computer. 19 figs

Multinational design evaluation programme. Annual Report April 2015-April 2016

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-05-01

The Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP) is a multinational initiative to leverage the resources and knowledge of national regulatory authorities that are, or will shortly be, undertaking the review of new reactor power plant designs. MDEP incorporates a broad range of activities including enhancing multilateral co-operation within existing regulatory frameworks, and increasing multinational convergence of codes, standards, guides, and safety goals. A key concept throughout the work of MDEP is that national regulators retain sovereign authority for all licensing and regulatory decisions. Working groups are implementing the activities in accordance with programme plans with specific activities and goals, and have established the necessary interfaces both within and outside of MDEP. This report provides a status of the programme after its eighth year of implementation. Content: Executive Summary; 1 - Introduction; 2 - Programme goals and outcomes; 3 - Programme implementation (Membership, Organizational structure, MDEP Library, Common positions); 4 - Interactions with other organizations; 5 - Current activities (EPR Working Group (EPRWG), AP1000 Working Group (AP1000WG), APR1400 Design-specific Working Group (APR1400WG), VVER Working Group (VVERWG), ABWR Working Group (ABWRWG), Vendor Inspection Co-operation Working Group (VICWG), Codes and Standards Working Group (CSWG), Digital Instrumentation and Controls Working Group (DICWG); 6 - Interim results; 7 - Next steps - future of the programme; appendix 1: List of abbreviations and acronyms; Appendix 2: Revised documents and publications; Appendix 3: Photographs of reactors considered within MDEP

AirborneWind Energy: Airfoil-Airmass Interaction

OpenAIRE

Zanon , Mario; Gros , Sebastien; Meyers , Johan; Diehl , Moritz

2014-01-01

The Airborne Wind Energy paradigm proposes to generate energy by flying a tethered airfoil across the wind flow at a high velocity. While Airborne Wind Energy enables flight in higher-altitude, stronger wind layers, the extra drag generated by the tether motion imposes a significant limit to the overall system efficiency. To address this issue, two airfoils with a shared tether can reduce overall system drag. A study proposed in Zanon et al. (2013) confirms this claim by showing that, in the ...

The Combined Use of Airborne Remote Sensing Techniques within a GIS Environment for the Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Urban Areas: An Operational Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Costanzo

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The knowledge of the topographic features, the building properties, and the road infrastructure settings are relevant operational tasks for managing post-crisis events, restoration activities, and for supporting search and rescue operations. Within such a framework, airborne remote sensing tools have demonstrated to be powerful instruments, whose joint use can provide meaningful analyses to support the risk assessment of urban environments. Based on this rationale, in this study, the operational benefits obtained by combining airborne LiDAR and hyperspectral measurements are shown. Terrain and surface digital models are gathered by using LiDAR data. Information about roads and roof materials are provided through the supervised classification of hyperspectral images. The objective is to combine such products within a geographic information system (GIS providing value-added maps to be used for the seismic vulnerability assessment of urban environments. Experimental results are gathered for the city of Cosenza, Italy.

Airborne plutonium and americium concentrations measured from the top of Rattlesnake Mountain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sehmel, G.A.

1979-01-01

Airborne plutonium-239+240 and americium-241 blowing from offsite was measured in an initial experiment at the top of Rattlesnake Mountain. Average airborne concentration measured was similar to fallout concentrations. Airborne plutonium concentrations were independent of wind speed for seven wind speed increments between 0.5 and 31 m/sec. In contrast the airborne americium concentration was a minimum at a wind speed of approximately 7 m/sec. Similarly, the airborne solids concentration in μg/m 3 was a minimum at an intermediate wind speed increment of 7 to 11 m/sec

SGA-WZ: A New Strapdown Airborne Gravimeter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaidong Zhang

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Inertial navigation systems and gravimeters are now routinely used to map the regional gravitational quantities from an aircraft with mGal accuracy and a spatial resolution of a few kilometers. However, airborne gravimeter of this kind is limited by the inaccuracy of the inertial sensor performance, the integrated navigation technique and the kinematic acceleration determination. As the GPS technique developed, the vehicle acceleration determination is no longer the limiting factor in airborne gravity due to the cancellation of the common mode acceleration in differential mode. A new airborne gravimeter taking full advantage of the inertial navigation system is described with improved mechanical design, high precision time synchronization, better thermal control and optimized sensor modeling. Apart from the general usage, the Global Positioning System (GPS after differentiation is integrated to the inertial navigation system which provides not only more precise altitude information along with the navigation aiding, but also an effective way to calculate the vehicle acceleration. Design description and test results on the performance of the gyroscopes and accelerations will be emphasized. Analysis and discussion of the airborne field test results are also given.

Terrestrial radioactivity monitoring programme (TRAMP) report for 1994. Radioactivity in food and agricultural products in England and Wales

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries monitoring programmes for radioactivity in the terrestrial environment of the United Kingdom during 1994 are described. The results of the analyses performed with a commentary are presented. Two complimentary programmes, TRAMP and FARM, are used to ensure that radiation doses received by the public from the consumption of foodstuffs are controlled ion accordance with national and international guidelines. TRAMP concentrates on the monitoring of agricultural produce from the vicinity of the 23 licensed nuclear sites in England and Wales. The focus of FARM is the safety of the general food supply through natural food monitoring; a representative selection of industrial and landfill sites which provide potential sources of radionuclide contamination of the food chain is also monitored. In addition, monitoring programmes are undertaken for airborne grass and soil contamination in the neighbourhood of 18 nuclear sites. The overall conclusion drawn from the results presented is that public exposure to anthropogenic radioactivity due to the consumption of milk and foodstuffs grown around licensed nuclear sites in 1994 was well within acceptable limits. (67 references; 97 tables). (UK)

A Programmable, Scalable-Throughput Interleaver

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. J. C. Rijshouwer

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The interleaver stages of digital communication standards show a surprisingly large variation in throughput, state sizes, and permutation functions. Furthermore, data rates for 4G standards such as LTE-Advanced will exceed typical baseband clock frequencies of handheld devices. Multistream operation for Software Defined Radio and iterative decoding algorithms will call for ever higher interleave data rates. Our interleave machine is built around 8 single-port SRAM banks and can be programmed to generate up to 8 addresses every clock cycle. The scalable architecture combines SIMD and VLIW concepts with an efficient resolution of bank conflicts. A wide range of cellular, connectivity, and broadcast interleavers have been mapped on this machine, with throughputs up to more than 0.5 Gsymbol/second. Although it was designed for channel interleaving, the application domain of the interleaver extends also to Turbo interleaving. The presented configuration of the architecture is designed as a part of a programmable outer receiver on a prototype board. It offers (near universal programmability to enable the implementation of new interleavers. The interleaver measures 2.09 mm2 in 65 nm CMOS (including memories and proves functional on silicon.

A Programmable, Scalable-Throughput Interleaver

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rijshouwer EJC

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The interleaver stages of digital communication standards show a surprisingly large variation in throughput, state sizes, and permutation functions. Furthermore, data rates for 4G standards such as LTE-Advanced will exceed typical baseband clock frequencies of handheld devices. Multistream operation for Software Defined Radio and iterative decoding algorithms will call for ever higher interleave data rates. Our interleave machine is built around 8 single-port SRAM banks and can be programmed to generate up to 8 addresses every clock cycle. The scalable architecture combines SIMD and VLIW concepts with an efficient resolution of bank conflicts. A wide range of cellular, connectivity, and broadcast interleavers have been mapped on this machine, with throughputs up to more than 0.5 Gsymbol/second. Although it was designed for channel interleaving, the application domain of the interleaver extends also to Turbo interleaving. The presented configuration of the architecture is designed as a part of a programmable outer receiver on a prototype board. It offers (near universal programmability to enable the implementation of new interleavers. The interleaver measures 2.09 m in 65 nm CMOS (including memories and proves functional on silicon.

Characterization of airborne bacteria at an underground subway station.

Science.gov (United States)

Dybwad, Marius; Granum, Per Einar; Bruheim, Per; Blatny, Janet Martha

2012-03-01

The reliable detection of airborne biological threat agents depends on several factors, including the performance criteria of the detector and its operational environment. One step in improving the detector's performance is to increase our knowledge of the biological aerosol background in potential operational environments. Subway stations are enclosed public environments, which may be regarded as potential targets for incidents involving biological threat agents. In this study, the airborne bacterial community at a subway station in Norway was characterized (concentration level, diversity, and virulence- and survival-associated properties). In addition, a SASS 3100 high-volume air sampler and a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry-based isolate screening procedure was used for these studies. The daytime level of airborne bacteria at the station was higher than the nighttime and outdoor levels, and the relative bacterial spore number was higher in outdoor air than at the station. The bacterial content, particle concentration, and size distribution were stable within each environment throughout the study (May to September 2010). The majority of the airborne bacteria belonged to the genera Bacillus, Micrococcus, and Staphylococcus, but a total of 37 different genera were identified in the air. These results suggest that anthropogenic sources are major contributors to airborne bacteria at subway stations and that such airborne communities could harbor virulence- and survival-associated properties of potential relevance for biological detection and surveillance, as well as for public health. Our findings also contribute to the development of realistic testing and evaluation schemes for biological detection/surveillance systems by providing information that can be used to mimic real-life operational airborne environments in controlled aerosol test chambers.

Characterization of Airborne Bacteria at an Underground Subway Station

Science.gov (United States)

Dybwad, Marius; Granum, Per Einar; Bruheim, Per

2012-01-01

The reliable detection of airborne biological threat agents depends on several factors, including the performance criteria of the detector and its operational environment. One step in improving the detector's performance is to increase our knowledge of the biological aerosol background in potential operational environments. Subway stations are enclosed public environments, which may be regarded as potential targets for incidents involving biological threat agents. In this study, the airborne bacterial community at a subway station in Norway was characterized (concentration level, diversity, and virulence- and survival-associated properties). In addition, a SASS 3100 high-volume air sampler and a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry-based isolate screening procedure was used for these studies. The daytime level of airborne bacteria at the station was higher than the nighttime and outdoor levels, and the relative bacterial spore number was higher in outdoor air than at the station. The bacterial content, particle concentration, and size distribution were stable within each environment throughout the study (May to September 2010). The majority of the airborne bacteria belonged to the genera Bacillus, Micrococcus, and Staphylococcus, but a total of 37 different genera were identified in the air. These results suggest that anthropogenic sources are major contributors to airborne bacteria at subway stations and that such airborne communities could harbor virulence- and survival-associated properties of potential relevance for biological detection and surveillance, as well as for public health. Our findings also contribute to the development of realistic testing and evaluation schemes for biological detection/surveillance systems by providing information that can be used to mimic real-life operational airborne environments in controlled aerosol test chambers. PMID:22247150

Airborne Microalgae: Insights, Opportunities, and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Skjøth, Carsten Ambelas; Šantl-Temkiv, Tina; Löndahl, Jakob

2016-01-01

Airborne dispersal of microalgae has largely been a blind spot in environmental biological studies because of their low concentration in the atmosphere and the technical limitations in investigating microalgae from air samples. Recent studies show that airborne microalgae can survive air transportation and interact with the environment, possibly influencing their deposition rates. This minireview presents a summary of these studies and traces the possible route, step by step, from established ecosystems to new habitats through air transportation over a variety of geographic scales. Emission, transportation, deposition, and adaptation to atmospheric stress are discussed, as well as the consequences of their dispersal on health and the environment and state-of-the-art techniques to detect and model airborne microalga dispersal. More-detailed studies on the microalga atmospheric cycle, including, for instance, ice nucleation activity and transport simulations, are crucial for improving our understanding of microalga ecology, identifying microalga interactions with the environment, and preventing unwanted contamination events or invasions. PMID:26801574

Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) Data Processing Manual

Science.gov (United States)

Bonisteel, Jamie M.; Nayegandhi, Amar; Wright, C. Wayne; Brock, John C.; Nagle, David

2009-01-01

The Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) is an example of a Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) system that utilizes a blue-green wavelength (532 nanometers) to determine the distance to an object. The distance is determined by recording the travel time of a transmitted pulse at the speed of light (fig. 1). This system uses raster laser scanning with full-waveform (multi-peak) resolving capabilities to measure submerged topography and adjacent coastal land elevations simultaneously (Nayegandhi and others, 2009). This document reviews procedures for the post-processing of EAARL data using the custom-built Airborne Lidar Processing System (ALPS). ALPS software was developed in an open-source programming environment operated on a Linux platform. It has the ability to combine the laser return backscatter digitized at 1-nanosecond intervals with aircraft positioning information. This solution enables the exploration and processing of the EAARL data in an interactive or batch mode. ALPS also includes modules for the creation of bare earth, canopy-top, and submerged topography Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The EAARL system uses an Earth-centered coordinate and reference system that removes the necessity to reference submerged topography data relative to water level or tide gages (Nayegandhi and others, 2006). The EAARL system can be mounted in an array of small twin-engine aircraft that operate at 300 meters above ground level (AGL) at a speed of 60 meters per second (117 knots). While other systems strive to maximize operational depth limits, EAARL has a narrow transmit beam and receiver field of view (1.5 to 2 milliradians), which improves the depth-measurement accuracy in shallow, clear water but limits the maximum depth to about 1.5 Secchi disk depth (~20 meters) in clear water. The laser transmitter [Continuum EPO-5000 yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG)] produces up to 5,000 short-duration (1.2 nanosecond), low-power (70 microjoules) pulses each second

A digital squarer system for positive mass identification on the ARL ion microprobe mass analyser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woods, K.N.; Grant, L.D.V.; Rawsthorne, E.D.; Strydom, H.J.; Gries, W.H.

1984-01-01

The original analogue squarer for mass scale linearisation in the Ion Microprobe Mass Analyser (IMMA) has been replaced by a programmable digital squarer system which permits reliable mass number identification throughout the tested range 1 to 240. The digital squarer provides signals to both a digital direct reading mass number display and to an X-Y recorder where it provides a linear mass scale correct to within 0,3 mass units. An additional output to a computer can provide binary or BCD mass number data

Using NASA`s Airborne Topographic Mapper IV to Quantify Geomorphic Change in Arid Southwestern Stream Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Finnegan, D. C.; Krabill, W.; Lichvar, R. W.; Ericsson, M. P.; Frederick, E.; Manizade, S.; Yungel, J.; Sonntag, J.; Swift, R.

2005-12-01

Understanding how arid stream systems respond to individual climatic events is often difficult given the dynamic and `flashy' nature of most watersheds and the unpredictable nature of individual storm events. Until recently conventional methods for quantifying change dictated the use of stream gauge measurements coupled with periodic cross-section measurements to quantify changes in large-scale channel geometry. Using this approach to quantify change across large areas often proves to be impractical and unattainable given the laborious nature of most surveying techniques including modern GPS systems. Alternately, airborne laser technologies such as NASA's Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) are capable of quantifying small-scale changes (~5-10cm) across large-scale terrain rapidly and accurately. The ATM was developed at the NASA-GSFC Wallops Flight Facility. Its current version, ATM-4, measures topography 5,000 times per second across a 45-degree swath below the aircraft by transmitting a 532nm (green) laser pulse and receiving the backscattered signal in a high-speed waveform digitizer. The laser range measurements are combined with aircraft location from GPS and attitude from an inertial navigation system (INS) to provide a precise XYZ coordinate for each (~1-meter diameter) laser footprint on the ground. Our work focuses on the use of airborne laser altimetry to quantify the nature of individual surfaces and the geomorphic change that occurs within small arid stream systems during significant storm events. In September of 2003 and 2005 acquisition surveys using NASA's ATM-IV were flown over Mission Creek, a small arid stream system in Southern California's Mojave Desert with a relatively long gauging history (>40yrs), allowing us to quantify the geomorphic change occurring within the channel as a result of the record storm events during the winter of 2004-2005. Preliminary results associated with our work are encouraging and lead us to believe that when compared

Airborne microorganisms from waste containers.

Science.gov (United States)

Jedlicka, Sabrina S; Stravitz, David M; Lyman, Charles E

2012-01-01

In physician's offices and biomedical labs, biological waste is handled every day. This waste is disposed of in waste containers designed for holding red autoclave bags. The containers used in these environments are closed hands-free containers, often with a step pedal. While these containers protect the user from surface-borne microorganisms, the containers may allow airborne microorganisms to escape via the open/close mechanism because of the air current produced upon open/close cycles. In this study, the air current was shown to be sufficient to allow airborne escape of microorganisms held in the container, including Aspergillus niger. However, bacterial cultures, such as Escherichia coli and Lactococcus lactis did not escape. This may be due to the choice of bacterial cultures and the absence of solid waste, such as dust or other particulate matter in the waste containers, that such strains of bacteria could travel on during aerosolization. We compared these results to those obtained using a re-designed receptacle, which mimimizes air currents, and detected no escaping microorganisms. This study highlights one potential source of airborne contamination in labs, hospitals, and other environments that dispose of biological waste.

Inactivation of an enterovirus by airborne disinfectants

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background The activity of airborne disinfectants on bacteria, fungi and spores has been reported. However, the issue of the virucidal effect of disinfectants spread by fogging has not been studied thoroughly. Methods A procedure has been developed to determine the virucidal activity of peracetic acid-based airborne disinfectants on a resistant non-enveloped virus poliovirus type 1. This virus was laid on a stainless carrier. The products were spread into the room by hot fogging at 55°C for 30 minutes at a concentration of 7.5 mL.m-3. Poliovirus inoculum, supplemented with 5%, heat inactivated non fat dry organic milk, were applied into the middle of the stainless steel disc and were dried under the air flow of a class II biological safety cabinet at room temperature. The Viral preparations were recovered by using flocked swabs and were titered on Vero cells using the classical Spearman-Kärber CPE reading method, the results were expressed as TCID50.ml-1. Results The infectious titer of dried poliovirus inocula was kept at 105 TCID50.mL-1 up to 150 minutes at room temperature. Dried inocula exposed to airborne peracetic acid containing disinfectants were recovered at 60 and 120 minutes post-exposition and suspended in culture medium again. The cytotoxicity of disinfectant containing medium was eliminated through gel filtration columns. A 4 log reduction of infectious titer of dried poliovirus inocula exposed to peracetic-based airborne disinfectant was obtained. Conclusion This study demonstrates that the virucidal activity of airborne disinfectants can be tested on dried poliovirus. PMID:23587047

Digital acquisition and wavelength control of seed laser for space-based Lidar applications, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This SBIR Phase I proposes to establish the feasibility of using a space qualifiable Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based digital controller to autonomously...

[Development of a microenvironment test chamber for airborne microbe research].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Ningbo; Chen, Feng; Du, Yaohua; Cheng, Zhi; Li, Chenyu; Wu, Jinlong; Wu, Taihu

2017-10-01

One of the most important environmental cleanliness indicators is airborne microbe. However, the particularity of clean operating environment and controlled experimental environment often leads to the limitation of the airborne microbe research. This paper designed and implemented a microenvironment test chamber for airborne microbe research in normal test conditions. Numerical simulation by Fluent showed that airborne microbes were evenly dispersed in the upper part of test chamber, and had a bottom-up concentration growth distribution. According to the simulation results, the verification experiment was carried out by selecting 5 sampling points in different space positions in the test chamber. Experimental results showed that average particle concentrations of all sampling points reached 10 7 counts/m 3 after 5 minutes' distributing of Staphylococcus aureus , and all sampling points showed the accordant mapping of concentration distribution. The concentration of airborne microbe in the upper chamber was slightly higher than that in the middle chamber, and that was also slightly higher than that in the bottom chamber. It is consistent with the results of numerical simulation, and it proves that the system can be well used for airborne microbe research.

Short-range airborne transmission of expiratory droplets between two people

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Li; Li, Yuguo; Nielsen, Peter Vilhelm

2017-01-01

, ventilation, and breathing mode. Under the specific set of conditions studied, we found a substantial increase in airborne exposure to droplet nuclei exhaled by the source manikin when a susceptible manikin is within about 1.5 m of the source manikin, referred to as the proximity effect. The threshold...... distance of about 1.5 m distinguishes the two basic transmission processes of droplets and droplet nuclei, that is, short-range modes and the long-range airborne route. The short-range modes include both the conventional large droplet route and the newly defined short-range airborne transmission. We thus...... reveal that transmission occurring in close proximity to the source patient includes both droplet-borne (large droplet) and short-range airborne routes, in addition to the direct deposition of large droplets on other body surfaces. The mechanisms of the droplet-borne and short-range airborne routes...

Airborne Doppler Wind Lidar Post Data Processing Software DAPS-LV

Science.gov (United States)

Beyon, Jeffrey Y. (Inventor); Koch, Grady J. (Inventor); Kavaya, Michael J. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

Systems, methods, and devices of the present invention enable post processing of airborne Doppler wind LIDAR data. In an embodiment, airborne Doppler wind LIDAR data software written in LabVIEW may be provided and may run two versions of different airborne wind profiling algorithms. A first algorithm may be the Airborne Wind Profiling Algorithm for Doppler Wind LIDAR ("APOLO") using airborne wind LIDAR data from two orthogonal directions to estimate wind parameters, and a second algorithm may be a five direction based method using pseudo inverse functions to estimate wind parameters. The various embodiments may enable wind profiles to be compared using different algorithms, may enable wind profile data for long haul color displays to be generated, may display long haul color displays, and/or may enable archiving of data at user-selectable altitudes over a long observation period for data distribution and population.

Deciphering the Precision of Stereo IKONOS Canopy Height Models for US Forests with G-LiHT Airborne LiDAR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher S. R. Neigh

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Few studies have evaluated the precision of IKONOS stereo data for measuring forest canopy height. The high cost of airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR data collection for large area studies and the present lack of a spaceborne instrument lead to the need to explore other low cost options. The US Government currently has access to a large archive of commercial high-resolution imagery, which could be quite valuable to forest structure studies. At 1 m resolution, we here compared canopy height models (CHMs and height data derived from Goddard’s airborne LiDAR Hyper-spectral and Thermal Imager (G-LiHT with three types of IKONOS stereo derived digital surface models (DSMs that estimate CHMs by subtracting National Elevation Data (NED digital terrain models (DTMs. We found the following in three different forested regions of the US after excluding heterogeneous and disturbed forest samples: (1 G-LiHT DTMs were highly correlated with NED DTMs with R2 > 0.98 and root mean square errors (RMSEs < 2.96 m; (2 when using one visually identifiable ground control point (GCP from NED, G-LiHT DSMs and IKONOS DSMs had R2 > 0.84 and RMSEs of 2.7 to 4.1 m; and (3 one GCP CHMs for two study sites had R2 > 0.7 and RMSEs of 2.6 to 3 m where data were collected less than four years apart. Our results suggest that IKONOS stereo data are a useful LiDAR alternative where high-quality DTMs are available.

Integrated application of the database for airborne geophysical survey achievement information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji Zengxian; Zhang Junwei

2006-01-01

The paper briefly introduces the database of information for airborne geophysical survey achievements. This database was developed on the platform of Microsoft Windows System with the technical methods of Visual C++ 6.0 and MapGIS. It is an information management system concerning airborne geophysical surveying achievements with perfect functions in graphic display, graphic cutting and output, query of data, printing of documents and reports, maintenance of database, etc. All information of airborne geophysical survey achievements in nuclear industry from 1972 to 2003 was embedded in. Based on regional geological map and Meso-Cenozoic basin map, the detailed statistical information of each airborne survey area, each airborne radioactive anomalous point and high field point can be presented visually by combining geological or basin research result. The successful development of this system will provide a fairly good base and platform for management of archives and data of airborne geophysical survey achievements in nuclear industry. (authors)

Impact of the digital divide on information literacy training in a higher education context

OpenAIRE

Segarani Naidoo; Jaya Raju

2012-01-01

This paper reports on a master’s study undertaken to investigate the impact of the digital divide on information literacy(IL) training of Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) students at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). Since1994 the demographics of higher education institutions in South Africa have changed. Today these institutions compriseheterogeneous groups of students, by race, economic background, digital background, etc. and consequently with differentlevels of literacy, infor...

Dual channel airborne hygrometer for climate research

Science.gov (United States)

Tatrai, David; Gulyas, Gabor; Bozoki, Zoltan; Szabo, Gabor

2015-04-01

pressure and humidity ranges possible in in-service aircraft operation (150-950 mbar and 1-15000 ppmV). Furthermore, the system was tested and compared to other instruments in three flight campaigns based on a research aircraft (Learjet 36A). The test results both in the laboratory and both in the field shows that the developed system is a promising tool for further airborne environment research. The developments were funded by EUFAR contract no. 227159, Hungarian Research and Technology Innovation Fund (OTKA), project no. NN109679 andby the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 312311. [1] Szakáll, M.; Huszár, H.; Bozóki, Z.; Szabó, G. On the pressure dependent sensitivity of a photoacoustic water vapor detector using active laser modulation control. Infrared Physics & Technology. 2006. 48, (3) 192-201 [2] Szakáll, M.; Csikós, J.; Bozóki, Z.; Szabó, G. On the temperature dependent characteristics of a photoacoustic water vapor detector for airborne application. Infrared Physics & Technology, 2007. 51, (2) 113-121 [3] Tátrai, D.; Bozóki, Z.; Smit, H.; Rolf, C.; Spelten, N.; Krämer, M; Filges, A.; Gerbig, C.; Gulyás, G.; and Szabó. G. Dual-channel photoacoustic hygrometer for airborne measurements: background, calibration, laboratory and in-flight intercomparison tests Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 33-42, 2015

A Digital Phase Lock Loop for an External Cavity Diode Laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xiao-Long; Tao Tian-Jiong; Cheng Bing; Wu Bin; Xu Yun-Fei; Wang Zhao-Ying; Lin Qiang

2011-01-01

A digital optical phase lock loop (OPLL) is implemented to synchronize the frequency and phase between two external cavity diode lasers (ECDL), generating Raman pulses for atom interferometry. The setup involves all-digital phase detection and a programmable digital proportional-integral-derivative (PID) loop in locking. The lock generates a narrow beat-note linewidth below 1 Hz and low phase-noise of 0.03rad 2 between the master and slave ECDLs. The lock proves to be stable and robust, and all the locking parameters can be set and optimized on a computer interface with convenience, making the lock adaptable to various setups of laser systems. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

Integration of airborne Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS) data and digitized aerial photography via an ISH transformation. [Intensity Saturation Hue

Science.gov (United States)

Ambrosia, Vincent G.; Myers, Jeffrey S.; Ekstrand, Robert E.; Fitzgerald, Michael T.

1991-01-01

A simple method for enhancing the spatial and spectral resolution of disparate data sets is presented. Two data sets, digitized aerial photography at a nominal spatial resolution 3,7 meters and TMS digital data at 24.6 meters, were coregistered through a bilinear interpolation to solve the problem of blocky pixel groups resulting from rectification expansion. The two data sets were then subjected to intensity-saturation-hue (ISH) transformations in order to 'blend' the high-spatial-resolution (3.7 m) digitized RC-10 photography with the high spectral (12-bands) and lower spatial (24.6 m) resolution TMS digital data. The resultant merged products make it possible to perform large-scale mapping, ease photointerpretation, and can be derived for any of the 12 available TMS spectral bands.

A new, high-resolution digital elevation model of Greenland fully validated with airborne laser altimeter data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bamber, J.L.; Ekholm, Simon; Krabill, W.B.

2001-01-01

were corrected for a slope-dependent bias that had been identified in a previous study. The radar altimetry was supplemented with stereophotogrammetric data sets, synthetic aperture radar interferometry, and digitized cartographic maps over regions of bare rock and where gaps in the satellite altimeter...... the bare rock areas the accuracy ranged from 20 to 200 m, dependent on the data source available. The new digital elevation model was used as an input data set for a positive degree day model of ablation. The new elevation model was found to reduce ablation by only 2% compared with using an older, 2.5-km...

A longitudinal multi-bunch feedback system using parallel digital signal processors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sapozhnikov, L.; Fox, J.D.; Olsen, J.J.; Oxoby, G.; Linscott, I.; Drago, A.; Serio, M.

1994-01-01

A programmable longitudinal feedback system based on four AT ampersand T 1610 digital signal processors has been developed as a component of the PEP-II R ampersand D program. This longitudinal quick prototype is a proof of concept for the PEP-II system and implements full-speed bunch-by-bunch signal processing for storage rings with bunch spacings of 4 ns. The design incorporates a phase-detector-based front end that digitizes the oscillation phases of bunches at the 250 MHz crossing rate, four programmable signal processors that compute correction signals, and a 250-MHz hold buffer/kicker driver stage that applies correction signals back on the beam. The design implements a general-purpose, table-driven downsampler that allows the system to be operated at several accelerator facilities. The hardware architecture of the signal processing is described, and the software algorithms used in the feedback signal computation are discussed. The system configuration used for tests at the LBL Advanced Light Source is presented

Airborne lidar-based estimates of tropical forest structure in complex terrain: opportunities and trade-offs for REDD+

Science.gov (United States)

Leitold, Veronika; Keller, Michael; Morton, Douglas C; Cook, Bruce D; Shimabukuro, Yosio E

2015-12-01

Carbon stocks and fluxes in tropical forests remain large sources of uncertainty in the global carbon budget. Airborne lidar remote sensing is a powerful tool for estimating aboveground biomass, provided that lidar measurements penetrate dense forest vegetation to generate accurate estimates of surface topography and canopy heights. Tropical forest areas with complex topography present a challenge for lidar remote sensing. We compared digital terrain models (DTM) derived from airborne lidar data from a mountainous region of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil to 35 ground control points measured with survey grade GNSS receivers. The terrain model generated from full-density (~20 returns m -2 ) data was highly accurate (mean signed error of 0.19 ± 0.97 m), while those derived from reduced-density datasets (8 m -2 , 4 m -2 , 2 m -2 and 1 m -2 ) were increasingly less accurate. Canopy heights calculated from reduced-density lidar data declined as data density decreased due to the inability to accurately model the terrain surface. For lidar return densities below 4 m -2 , the bias in height estimates translated into errors of 80-125 Mg ha -1 in predicted aboveground biomass. Given the growing emphasis on the use of airborne lidar for forest management, carbon monitoring, and conservation efforts, the results of this study highlight the importance of careful survey planning and consistent sampling for accurate quantification of aboveground biomass stocks and dynamics. Approaches that rely primarily on canopy height to estimate aboveground biomass are sensitive to DTM errors from variability in lidar sampling density.

An airborne interferometric SAR system for high-performance 3D mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, Martin; Gill, Paul

2009-05-01

With a vertical accuracy better than 1 m and collection rates up to 7000 km2/h, airborne interferometric synthetic aperture radars (InSAR) bridge the gap between space borne radar sensors and airborne optical LIDARs. This paper presents the latest generation of X-band InSAR sensors, developed by Intermap TechnologiesTM, which are operated on our four aircrafts. The sensors collect data for the NEXTMap(R) program - a digital elevation model (DEM) with 1 m vertical accuracy for the contiguous U.S., Hawaii, and most of Western Europe. For a successful operation, challenges like reduction of multipath reflections, very high interferometric phase stability, and a precise system calibration had to be mastered. Recent advances in sensor design, comprehensive system automation and diagnostics have increased the sensor reliability to a level where no radar operator is required onboard. Advanced flight planning significantly improved aircraft utilization and acquisition throughput, while reducing operational costs. Highly efficient data acquisition with straight flight lines up to 1200 km is daily routine meanwhile. The collected data pass though our automated processing cluster and finally are edited to our terrain model products. Extensive and rigorous quality control at every step of the workflow are key to maintain stable vertical accuracies of 1 m and horizontal accuracies of 2 m for our 3D maps. The combination of technical and operational advances presented in this paper enabled Intermap to survey two continents, producing 11 million km2 of uniform and accurate 3D terrain data.

New approach to airborne monitoring of radioactive pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoeschl, V.; Jurza, P.; Pavlik, B.

1997-01-01

The use of remote sensing methods in the monitoring of an environment is increasing. The best results are obtained when various types of exploration methods are available. This paper presents the use of airborne gamma ray methods, which can be included in a wide scope of works related to environmental problems. It may concern uranium mining areas, areas surrounding various nuclear facilities or areas of Chernobyl fallout. Gamma ray spectrometry data can be combined with airborne magnetic, surface gravity and satellite imagery data to obtain maximum information in data output. Airborne geophysics is able to detect and delineate radioactive contamination and to find important geological trends defining the geological structure of the monitored area. Our company PICODAS Prague Ltd. introduces new sophisticated airborne instrumentation as well as up-to-date data processing and data presentation techniques. In the Czech Cretaceous, a long term project, ''The Structurally-tectonic Survey of the South-West Foreland of the Straz Deposit'' has been undertaken, concerning the ecological load on the environment, especially the pollution of the underground water level horizons due to uranium mining in that area. The major interest is the complicated tectonic structure which interferes heavily with the hydrogeological situation of the region. The paper presents the results of airborne surveys and the interpretation of other geophysical data from the surroundings of Straz pod Ralskem and from Karlovy Vary. (author)

Characteristics of airborne bacteria in Mumbai urban environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Gangamma, S

2014-08-01

Components of biological origin constitute small but a significant proportion of the ambient airborne particulate matter (PM). However, their diversity and role in proinflammatory responses of PM are not well understood. The present study characterizes airborne bacterial species diversity in Mumbai City and elucidates the role of bacterial endotoxin in PM induced proinflammatory response in ex vivo. Airborne bacteria and endotoxin samples were collected during April-May 2010 in Mumbai using six stage microbial impactor and biosampler. The culturable bacterial species concentration was measured and factors influencing the composition were identified by principal component analysis (PCA). The biosampler samples were used to stimulate immune cells in whole blood assay. A total of 28 species belonging to 17 genera were identified. Gram positive and spore forming groups of bacteria dominated the airborne culturable bacterial concentration. The study indicated the dominance of spore forming and human or animal flora derived pathogenic/opportunistic bacteria in the ambient air environment. Pathogenic and opportunistic species of bacteria were also present in the samples. TNF-α induction by PM was reduced (35%) by polymyxin B pretreatment and this result was corroborated with the results of blocking endotoxin receptor cluster differentiation (CD14). The study highlights the importance of airborne biological particles and suggests need of further studies on biological characterization of ambient PM. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tropical Airborne LiDAR for Landslide Assessment in Malaysia: a technical perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Abd Manap, Mohamad; Azhari Razak, Khamarrul; Mohamad, Zakaria; Ahmad, Azhari; Ahmad, Ferdaus; Mohamad Zin, Mazlan; A'zad Rosle, Qalam

2015-04-01

Malaysia has faced a substantial number of landslide events every year. Cameron Highlands, Pahang is one of the badly areas affected by slope failures characterized by extreme climate, rugged topographic and weathered geological structures in a tropical environment. A high frequency of landslide occurrence in the hilly areas is predominantly due to the geological materials, tropical monsoon seasons and uncontrolled agricultural activities. Therefore the Government of Malaysia through the Prime Minister Department has allocated a special budget to conduct national level hazard and risk mapping project through Minerals and Geoscience Department Malaysia, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The primary aim of this project is to provide slope hazard risk information for a better slope management in Malaysia. In addition this project will establish national infrastructure for geospatial information on the geological terrain and slope by emphasizing the disaster risk throughout the country. The areas of interest are located in the three different selected areas i.e. Cameron Highlands (275 square kilometers), Ipoh (200 square kilometers) and Cheras Kajang -- Batang kali (650 square kilometers). These areas are selected based on National Slope Master Plan (2009 -- 2023) that endorsed by Malaysia Government Cabinet. The national hazard and risk mapping project includes six parts of major tasks: (1) desk study and mobilization, (2) airborne LiDAR data acquisition and analysis, (3) field data acquisition and verification, (4) hazard and risk for natural terrain, (5) hazard and risk analysis for man-made slope and (6) Man-made slope mitigation/preventive measures. The project was authorized in September, 2014 and will be ended in March, 2016. In this paper, the main focus is to evaluate the suitability of integrated capability of airborne- and terrestrial LiDAR data acquisition and analysis, and also digital photography for regional landslide assessment. The

A digital pixel cell for address event representation image convolution processing

Science.gov (United States)

Camunas-Mesa, Luis; Acosta-Jimenez, Antonio; Serrano-Gotarredona, Teresa; Linares-Barranco, Bernabe

2005-06-01

Address Event Representation (AER) is an emergent neuromorphic interchip communication protocol that allows for real-time virtual massive connectivity between huge number of neurons located on different chips. By exploiting high speed digital communication circuits (with nano-seconds timings), synaptic neural connections can be time multiplexed, while neural activity signals (with mili-seconds timings) are sampled at low frequencies. Also, neurons generate events according to their information levels. Neurons with more information (activity, derivative of activities, contrast, motion, edges,...) generate more events per unit time, and access the interchip communication channel more frequently, while neurons with low activity consume less communication bandwidth. AER technology has been used and reported for the implementation of various type of image sensors or retinae: luminance with local agc, contrast retinae, motion retinae,... Also, there has been a proposal for realizing programmable kernel image convolution chips. Such convolution chips would contain an array of pixels that perform weighted addition of events. Once a pixel has added sufficient event contributions to reach a fixed threshold, the pixel fires an event, which is then routed out of the chip for further processing. Such convolution chips have been proposed to be implemented using pulsed current mode mixed analog and digital circuit techniques. In this paper we present a fully digital pixel implementation to perform the weighted additions and fire the events. This way, for a given technology, there is a fully digital implementation reference against which compare the mixed signal implementations. We have designed, implemented and tested a fully digital AER convolution pixel. This pixel will be used to implement a full AER convolution chip for programmable kernel image convolution processing.

A digital Front-End and Readout MIcrosystem for calorimetry at LHC

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

% RD-16 A Digital Front-End and Readout Microsystem for Calorimetry at LHC \\\\ \\\\Front-end signal processing for calorimetric detectors is essential in order to achieve adequate selectivity in the trigger function of an LHC experiment, with data identification and compaction before readout being required in the harsh, high rate environment of a high luminosity hadron machine. Other crucial considerations are the extremely wide dynamic range and bandwidth requirements, as well as the volume of data to be transferred to following stages of the trigger and readout system. These requirements are best met by an early digitalization of the detector information, followed by integrated digital signal processing and buffering functions covering the trigger latencies.\\\\ \\\\The FERMI (Front-End Readout MIcrosystem) is a digital implementation of the front-end and readout electronic chain for calorimeters. It is based on dynamic range compression, high speed A to D converters, a fully programmable pipeline/digital filter c...

The design of programme-controlled gain and linear pulse amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guan Xuemei; Chen Chunkai; Northeast Normal Univ., Changchun; Qiao Shuang; Zhou Chuansheng

2006-01-01

The authors have designed a kind of new-style programme-controlled gain and linear pulse amplifier with accurate gausses of CR-RC-CR shaping circuit structure. The use of non-volatile digital electric potential device and accurate operational amplifier makes the circuit structure simple greatly, makes the ability stronger that resists assault. It can realize multistage gain in succession and make the drift of temperature low and make the linearity of pulse well. (authors)

Australian developments in airborne electromagnetics - from minerals to dryland salinity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spies, B.R.

2001-01-01

Electromagnetic (EM) methods are based on the principle of inducing eddy currents in conductive material by varying the magnetic field in a transmitter wire loop. The eddy currents are detected by measuring their associated secondary magnetic fields in an ultra-sensitive induction coil. The author outlines the the early development of electromagnetic prospecting methods, particularly in Australia. In the late 1980s, World Geoscience Corporation, a subsidiary of Aerodata Holdings, tapped into the GIRD grant scheme with collaboration from CSIRO to develop the SALTMAP system, the world's first fully digital broadband airborne EM system. Unfortunately, the promises and expectations exceeded what technology could realistically deliver. Early SALTMAP surveys produced inconclusive, poor quality conductivity maps that sometimes appeared to correlate with known salt stores and sometimes not. Later on, the success story was the TEMPEST system, much better suited to mineral exploration in Australia than previous technologies. The TEMPEST system featured broadband (25 Hz to 37 kHz) multi-component acquisition, and streaming data recording suitable for post-survey digital processing. Using powerful interpretation and imaging software, users were able to quickly and reliably visualise conductivity variations in the subsurface in three dimensions. An interdisciplinary regional survey in the Temora/Gilmore area of western NSW in 1998, which later became known as Project Gilmore, clearly demonstrated the potential of the TEMPEST system for mineral exploration using a 'geological systems' approach for highlighting prospective areas, as well for regolith-based salinity mapping

Analysis of potential debris flow source areas on Mount Shasta, California, by using airborne and satellite remote sensing data

Science.gov (United States)

Crowley, J.K.; Hubbard, B.E.; Mars, J.C.

2003-01-01

Remote sensing data from NASA's Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) and the first spaceborne imaging spectrometer, Hyperion, show hydrothermally altered rocks mainly composed of natroalunite, kaolinite, cristobalite, and gypsum on both the Mount Shasta and Shastina cones. Field observations indicate that much of the visible altered rock consists of talus material derived from fractured rock zones within and adjacent to dacitic domes and nearby lava flows. Digital elevation data were utilized to distinguish steeply sloping altered bedrock from more gently sloping talus materials. Volume modeling based on the imagery and digital elevation data indicate that Mount Shasta drainage systems contain moderate volumes of altered rock, a result that is consistent with Mount Shasta's Holocene record of mostly small to moderate debris flows. Similar modeling for selected areas at Mount Rainier and Mount Adams, Washington, indicates larger altered rock volumes consistent with the occurrence of much larger Holocene debris flows at those volcanoes. The availability of digital elevation and spectral data from spaceborne sensors, such as Hyperion and the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer (ASTER), greatly expands opportunities for studying potential debris flow source characteristics at stratovolcanoes around the world. ?? 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Software V ampersand V methods for digital plant protection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hung-Jun; Han, Jai-Bok; Chun, Chong-Son; Kim, Sung; Kim, Kern-Joong.

1997-01-01

Careful thought must be given to software design in the development of digital based systems that play a critical role in the successful operation of nuclear power plants. To evaluate the software verification and validation methods as well as to verify its system performance capabilities for the upgrade instrumentation and control system in the Korean future nuclear power plants, the prototype Digital Plant, Protection System (DPPS) based on the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) has been constructed. The system design description and features are briefly presented, and the software design and software verification and validation methods are focused. 6 refs., 2 figs

Occupational exposure to beryllium in French enterprises: a survey of airborne exposure and surface levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent, Raymond; Catani, Jacques; Créau, Yvon; Frocaut, Anne-Marie; Good, Andrée; Goutet, Pierre; Hou, Alain; Leray, Fabrice; André-Lesage, Marie-Ange; Soyez, Alain

2009-06-01

An assessment survey of occupational exposure to beryllium (Be) was conducted in France between late 2004 and the end of 2006. Exposure estimates were based on the analytical results of samples collected from workplace air and from work surfaces in 95 facilities belonging to 37 sectors of activity. The results of this study indicated airborne Be concentrations in excess of the occupational exposure limit value of 2 microg m(-3) recommended in France. Metallurgy and electronic component manufacturing represented the activities and occupations where workers had the highest arithmetic mean exposures to Be. Surface contamination levels were also high and frequently exceeded thresholds recommended by different bodies. These results should prompt the development of prevention programmes that include Be substitution, process control and surface decontamination, in conjunction with suitable medical surveillance.

Programmable temperature regulator of VAO-1 furnace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zahalka, F.

1979-01-01

A programmable temperature controller is described for a furnace for high-level waste processing. Furnace temperature is controlled by a program compiled from a combination of 3 parts with different linear increments or decrements of time dependent temperature and 2 parts with isothermal control for over a preset period. The equipment consists essentially of a programming unit, a programmed digital-to-analog converter and a power unit. The design is described in detail and its specifications are given. The maximum operating temperature of 1500 degC may be reached in the furnace charge section. (B.S.)

Diversity and testing requirements of programmable automation systems; Ohjelmoitavan automaation diversiteetti- ja testausvaatimukset

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haapanen, P.; Maskuniitty, M.

1993-04-01

In the report programmable digital operation and safety automation systems for nuclear power plants are discussed. The programmable systems deviate by their properties and behaviour from the conventional non-programmable systems in such extent, that their verification and validation for safety critical applications requires new methods and practices. The safety assessment can not be based on conventional probabilistic methods due to the difficulties in the quantification of the reliability of the software and hardware. A safety critical programmable system shall include diverse redundant parts so that no residual program fault can not cause the failure of the intended function of the system. Although complete testing of a programmable system is impossible, different tests have a central role in the production and validation process of the system. Diversity is important also in confidence building measures for the implemented system. Independent analysis and testing of the system should use different methods and tools from those used in the production and validation process by the system vendor. Use of diversity and testing are concluded to be central issues in producing safe programmable system and in proving them to be safe enough. By combining functional and programming diversity in a suitable way one can produce a system that is safe enough without having a non-programmable back-up system. (48 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.).

Airborne concentrations of radioactive materials in severe accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ross, D.F. Jr.; Denning, R.S.

1989-01-01

Radioactive materials would be released to the containment building of a commercial nuclear reactor during each of the stages of a severe accident. Results of analyses of two accident sequences are used to illustrate the magnitudes of these sources of radioactive materials, the resulting airborne mass concentrations, the characteristics of the airborne aerosols, the potential for vapor forms of radioactive materials, the effectiveness of engineered safety features in reducing airborne concentrations, and the release of radioactive materials to the environment. Ability to predict transport and deposition of radioactive materials is important to assessing the performance of containment safety features in severe accidents and in the development of accident management procedures to reduce the consequences of severe accidents

Validation of programmable industrial automation systems for safety critical applications in NPP's; dynamic testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapanen, P.; Korhonen, J.

1995-01-01

The safety assessment of programmable automation systems cannot be totally be based on conventional probabilistic methods because of the difficulties in quantification of the reliability of the software as well as the hardware. Additional means shall therefore be used to gain more confidence on the system dependability. One central confidence building measure is the independent dynamic testing of the completed system. An automated test harness is needed to run the required large amount of test cases in a restricted time span. This paper describes a prototype dynamic testing harness for programmable digital systems developed at VTT. (author). 12 refs, 2 figs, 2 tabs

An evaluation of onshore digital elevation models for tsunami inundation modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, J.; Latief, H.; Kongko, W.; Harig, S.; Horspool, N.; Hanung, R.; Rojali, A.; Maher, N.; Fountain, L.; Fuchs, A.; Hossen, J.; Upi, S.; Dewanto, S. E.; Cummins, P. R.

2012-12-01

Tsunami inundation models provide fundamental information about coastal areas that may be inundated in the event of a tsunami along with additional parameters such as flow depth and velocity. This can inform disaster management activities including evacuation planning, impact and risk assessment and coastal engineering. A fundamental input to tsunami inundation models is adigital elevation model (DEM). Onshore DEMs vary widely in resolution, accuracy, availability and cost. A proper assessment of how the accuracy and resolution of DEMs translates into uncertainties in modelled inundation is needed to ensure results are appropriately interpreted and used. This assessment can in turn informdata acquisition strategies depending on the purpose of the inundation model. For example, lower accuracy elevation data may give inundation results that are sufficiently accurate to plan a community's evacuation route but not sufficient to inform engineering of a vertical evacuation shelters. A sensitivity study is undertaken to assess the utility of different available onshore digital elevation models for tsunami inundation modelling. We compare airborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR), ASTER and SRTM against high resolution (historical tsunami run-up data. Large vertical errors (> 10 m) and poor resolution of the coastline in the ASTER and SRTM elevation models cause modelled inundation to be much less compared with models using better data and with observations. Therefore we recommend that ASTER and SRTM should not be used for modelling tsunami inundation in order to determine tsunami extent or any other measure of onshore tsunami hazard. We suggest that for certain disaster management applications where the important factor is the extent of inundation, such as evacuation planning, airborne IFSAR provides a good compromise between cost and accuracy; however the representation of flow parameters such as depth and velocity is not sufficient to inform detailed

Land-cover classification with an expert classification algorithm using digital aerial photographs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José L. de la Cruz

2010-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the spectral information of digital aerial sensors in determining land-cover classification using new digital techniques. The land covers that have been evaluated are the following, (1 bare soil, (2 cereals, including maize (Zea mays L., oats (Avena sativa L., rye (Secale cereale L., wheat (Triticum aestivum L. and barley (Hordeun vulgare L., (3 high protein crops, such as peas (Pisum sativum L. and beans (Vicia faba L., (4 alfalfa (Medicago sativa L., (5 woodlands and scrublands, including holly oak (Quercus ilex L. and common retama (Retama sphaerocarpa L., (6 urban soil, (7 olive groves (Olea europaea L. and (8 burnt crop stubble. The best result was obtained using an expert classification algorithm, achieving a reliability rate of 95%. This result showed that the images of digital airborne sensors hold considerable promise for the future in the field of digital classifications because these images contain valuable information that takes advantage of the geometric viewpoint. Moreover, new classification techniques reduce problems encountered using high-resolution images; while reliabilities are achieved that are better than those achieved with traditional methods.

Factors contributing to airborne particle dispersal in the operating room.

Science.gov (United States)

Noguchi, Chieko; Koseki, Hironobu; Horiuchi, Hidehiko; Yonekura, Akihiko; Tomita, Masato; Higuchi, Takashi; Sunagawa, Shinya; Osaki, Makoto

2017-07-06

Surgical-site infections due to intraoperative contamination are chiefly ascribable to airborne particles carrying microorganisms. The purpose of this study is to identify the actions that increase the number of airborne particles in the operating room. Two surgeons and two surgical nurses performed three patterns of physical movements to mimic intraoperative actions, such as preparing the instrument table, gowning and donning/doffing gloves, and preparing for total knee arthroplasty. The generation and behavior of airborne particles were filmed using a fine particle visualization system, and the number of airborne particles in 2.83 m 3 of air was counted using a laser particle counter. Each action was repeated five times, and the particle measurements were evaluated through one-way analysis of variance multiple comparison tests followed by Tukey-Kramer and Bonferroni-Dunn multiple comparison tests for post hoc analysis. Statistical significance was defined as a P value ≤ .01. A large number of airborne particles were observed while unfolding the surgical gown, removing gloves, and putting the arms through the sleeves of the gown. Although numerous airborne particles were observed while applying the stockinet and putting on large drapes for preparation of total knee arthroplasty, fewer particles (0.3-2.0 μm in size) were detected at the level of the operating table under laminar airflow compared to actions performed in a non-ventilated preoperative room (P airborne particles near a sterile area and that laminar airflow has the potential to reduce the incidence of bacterial contamination.

Particle dry-deposition experiment using ambient airborne soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sehmel, G.A.

1979-01-01

Airborne solid concentrations were measured simultaneously at sampling towers upwind and 305-m downwind of a site. When the wind speed and wind direction were identical at each site, isokinetic air samplers on the sampling towers were automatically activated. The fraction of the airborne solid plume remaining after the 305-m fetch ranged from 0.53 to 1.07

Planning fuel-conservative descents in an airline environmental using a small programmable calculator: algorithm development and flight test results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knox, C.E.; Vicroy, D.D.; Simmon, D.A.

1985-05-01

A simple, airborne, flight-management descent algorithm was developed and programmed into a small programmable calculator. The algorithm may be operated in either a time mode or speed mode. The time mode was designed to aid the pilot in planning and executing a fuel-conservative descent to arrive at a metering fix at a time designated by the air traffic control system. The speed model was designed for planning fuel-conservative descents when time is not a consideration. The descent path for both modes was calculated for a constant with considerations given for the descent Mach/airspeed schedule, gross weight, wind, wind gradient, and nonstandard temperature effects. Flight tests, using the algorithm on the programmable calculator, showed that the open-loop guidance could be useful to airline flight crews for planning and executing fuel-conservative descents.

Airborne evaluation/verification of antenna patterns of broadcasting stations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Witvliet, Ben

2006-01-01

This paper describes a method for airborne evaluation and verification of the antenna patterns of broadcasting stations. Although it is intended for governmental institutions and broadcasters it may be also of interest to anyone who wants to evaluate large radiating structures. An airborne

Field-Programmable Logic Devices with Optical Input Output

Science.gov (United States)

Szymanski, Ted H.; Saint-Laurent, Martin; Tyan, Victor; Au, Albert; Supmonchai, Boonchuay

2000-02-01

A field-programmable logic device (FPLD) with optical I O is described. FPLD s with optical I O can have their functionality specified in the field by means of downloading a control-bit stream and can be used in a wide range of applications, such as optical signal processing, optical image processing, and optical interconnects. Our device implements six state-of-the-art dynamically programmable logic arrays (PLA s) on a 2 mm 2 mm die. The devices were fabricated through the Lucent Technologies Advanced Research Projects Agency Consortium for Optical and Optoelectronic Technologies in Computing (Lucent ARPA COOP) workshop by use of 0.5- m complementary metal-oxide semiconductor self-electro-optic device technology and were delivered in 1998. All devices are fully functional: The electronic data paths have been verified at 200 MHz, and optical tests are pending. The device has been programmed to implement a two-stage optical switching network with six 4 4 crossbar switches, which can realize more than 190 10 6 unique programmable input output permutations. The same device scaled to a 2 cm 2 cm substrate could support as many as 4000 optical I O and 1 Tbit s of optical I O bandwidth and offer fully programmable digital functionality with approximately 110,000 programmable logic gates. The proposed optoelectronic FPLD is also ideally suited to realizing dense, statically reconfigurable crossbar switches. We describe an attractive application area for such devices: a rearrangeable three-stage optical switch for a wide-area-network backbone, switching 1000 traffic streams at the OC-48 data rate and supporting several terabits of traffic.

First Study Of HEPA Filter Prototype Performance To Control The Airborne Pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soetomo; Suwarno

2000-01-01

This paper will report the efficiency test result of the filtration tool prototype of High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA filter) for low temperature, to control the airborne pollution of aerosol particle of solid and liquid. The prototype design of HEPA filter was based on the characteristic data of filter material (fibrous diameter, density, filter thickness), flow rate of air and first pressure drop. From the result of laboratory scale test, using DOP/PSL aerosol with 0,3 mum diameter and the flow rate of 3,78 m exp.3/min, was obtained filtration efficiency revolve between 89,90 and 99,94 % for the filter prototype of A, B, C, and D. the efficiency estimation of theory with filtration programme and the experiment was different amount 1 %. The value of the prototype efficiency of D filter was not far different with AAF-USA filter and its price is cheaper 30 % than the price of AAF-USA filter

Airborne Next: Rethinking Airborne Organization and Applying New Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-01

9 Kenneth Macksey, Guderian: Panzer General-revised EDITION (South Yorkshire, England: Greenhill Books, 2003), 1–20. 10 Dr. John Arquilla...Airborne Operations: Field Manual 90=26, 1–5. 14 The 1st Special Forces Regiment has five active Special Forces Groups (1st, 3rd, 5th , 7th, 10th...Oxford University Press, 1981). Headrick, in his book, describes the interplay between technology and imperialism. For the purposes of this research

CAMEX-4 ER-2 MODIS AIRBORNE SIMULATOR (MAS) V1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) is an airborne scanning spectrometer that acquires high spatial resolution imagery of cloud and surface features from its vantage...

EUFAR training opportunities to advance European airborne research

Science.gov (United States)

Reusen, I.; Brenguier, J.-L.; Brown, P.; Wendish, M.

2009-04-01

EUFAR, EUropean Facilities for Airborne Research, is an FP7 project (http://www.eufar.net) funded by the European Commission with 33 partners that aims at providing and improving the access to European airborne facilities (i.e. aircraft, airborne instruments, data processing centres) for researchers in environmental and geo-sciences through Networking Activities, Transnational Access and Joint Research Activities. This paper reports on the training opportunities within EUFAR for European researchers. In EUFAR three types of training opportunities are offered: 1) Participate in training courses (ET-TC) 2) Join an existing field campaign (ET-EC) 3) Participate in the design of a new field campaign (ET-TA), in the frame of EUFAR Transnational Access and tutored by more experienced researchers. During the 4-year EUFAR project (2008-2012), 4 training courses covering the complete chain from acquisition to interpretation of airborne data and images will be organised during spring/summer for early-stage researchers as well as university lecturers (new in FP7 EUFAR) in airborne research. The training courses will have an equal focus on theory and practical training/demonstration and each training course will be accompanied by a "student" airborne field campaign. Participants will be trained by top-class scientists, aircraft and/or instrument operators and each participant will get the opportunity to design his/her own experiment and to participate to that flight experiment. Furthermore, researchers have the opportunity to join an existing field campaign and work with more experienced researchers, aircraft and/or instrument operators. The list of airborne field campaigns open to join and the eligibility criteria, can be consulted at the EUFAR website. Finally, researchers have the opportunity to participate in the design of a new field campaign in the frame of EUFAR Transnational Access (TA). TA provides access to either aircraft or instrumentation that are not otherwise

Multiple constant multiplication optimizations for field programmable gate arrays

CERN Document Server

Kumm, Martin

2016-01-01

This work covers field programmable gate array (FPGA)-specific optimizations of circuits computing the multiplication of a variable by several constants, commonly denoted as multiple constant multiplication (MCM). These optimizations focus on low resource usage but high performance. They comprise the use of fast carry-chains in adder-based constant multiplications including ternary (3-input) adders as well as the integration of look-up table-based constant multipliers and embedded multipliers to get the optimal mapping to modern FPGAs. The proposed methods can be used for the efficient implementation of digital filters, discrete transforms and many other circuits in the domain of digital signal processing, communication and image processing. Contents Heuristic and ILP-Based Optimal Solutions for the Pipelined Multiple Constant Multiplication Problem Methods to Integrate Embedded Multipliers, LUT-Based Constant Multipliers and Ternary (3-Input) Adders An Optimized Multiple Constant Multiplication Architecture ...

Airborne Nanostructured Particles and Occupational Health

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, Andrew D.; Kuempel, Eileen D.

2005-12-01

Nanotechnology is leading to the development in many field, of new materials and devices in many fields that demonstrate nanostructure-dependent properties. However, concern has been expressed that these same properties may present unique challenges to addressing potential health impact. Airborne particles associated with engineered nanomaterials are of particular concern, as they can readily enter the body through inhalation. Research into the potential occupational health risks associated with inhaling engineered nanostructured particles is just beginning. However, there is a large body of data on occupational and environmental aerosols, which is applicable to developing an initial assessment of potential risk and risk reduction strategies. Epidemiological and pathological studies of occupational and environmental exposures to airborne particles and fibers provide information on the aerosol-related lung diseases and conditions that have been observed in humans. Toxicological studies provide information on the specific disease mechanisms, dose-response relationships, and the particle characteristics that influence toxicity, including the size, surface area, chemistry or reactivity, solubility, and shape. Potential health risk will depend on the magnitude and nature of exposures to airborne nanostructured particles, and on the release, dispersion, transformation and control of materials in the workplace. Aerosol control methods have not been well-characterized for nanometer diameter particles, although theory and limited experimental data indicate that conventional ventilation, engineering control and filtration approaches should be applicable in many situations. Current information supports the development of preliminary guiding principles on working with engineered nanomaterials. However critical research questions remain to be answered before the potential health risk of airborne nanostructured particles in the workplace can be fully addressed.

Construction of radioelement and dose rate baseline maps by combining ground and airborne radiometric data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rybach, L.; Medici, F.; Schwarz, G.F.

1997-01-01

For emergency situations like nuclear accidents, lost isotopic sources, debris of reactor-powered satellites etc. well-documented baseline information is indispensable. Maps of cosmic, terrestrial natural and artificial radiation can be constructed by assembling different datasets such as ground and airborne gamma spectrometry, direct dose rate measurements, and soil/rock samples. The in situ measurements were calibrated using the soil samples taken at/around the field measurement sites, the airborne measurements by a combination of in situ, and soil/rock sample data. The radioelement concentrations (Bq/kg) were in turn converted to dose-rate (nSv/h). First, the cosmic radiation map was constructed from a digital terrain model, averaging topographic heights within cells of 2 km X 2 km size. For the terrestrial radiation a total of 1615 ground data points were available, in addition to the airborne data. The artificial radiation map (Chernobyl and earlier fallout) has the smallest data base (184 data points from airborne and ground measurements). The dose rate map was constructed by summing up the above-mentioned contributions. It relies on a data base which corresponds to a density of about 1 point per 25 km 2 . The cosmic radiation map shows elevated dose rates in the high parts of the Swiss Alps. The cosmic dose rate ranges from 40 to 190 nSv/h, depending on altitude. The terrestrial dose rate maps show general agreement with lithology: elevated dose rates (100 to 200 nSv/h) characterize the Central Massifs of the Alps where crystalline rocks give a maximum of 370 nSv/h, whereas the sedimentary northern Alpine Foreland (Jura, Molasse basin) shows consistently lower dose rates (40-100 nSv/h). The artificial radiation map has its maximum value in the southern part of Switzerland (90 nSv/h). The map of total dose rate exhibits values from 55 to 570 nSv/h. These values are considerably higher than reported in the Radiation Atlas (''Natural Sources of Ionising

Toolsets for Airborne Data (TAD): Enhanced Airborne Data Merging Functionality through Spatial and Temporal Subsetting

Science.gov (United States)

Early, A. B.; Chen, G.; Beach, A. L., III; Northup, E. A.

2016-12-01

NASA has conducted airborne tropospheric chemistry studies for over three decades. These field campaigns have generated a great wealth of observations, including a wide range of the trace gases and aerosol properties. The Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton Virginia originally developed the Toolsets for Airborne Data (TAD) web application in September 2013 to meet the user community needs for manipulating aircraft data for scientific research on climate change and air quality relevant issues. The analysis of airborne data typically requires data subsetting, which can be challenging and resource intensive for end users. In an effort to streamline this process, the TAD toolset enhancements will include new data subsetting features and updates to the current database model. These will include two subsetters: temporal and spatial, and vertical profile. The temporal and spatial subsetter will allow users to both focus on data from a specific location and/or time period. The vertical profile subsetter will retrieve data collected during an individual aircraft ascent or descent spiral. This effort will allow for the automation of the typically labor-intensive manual data subsetting process, which will provide users with data tailored to their specific research interests. The development of these enhancements will be discussed in this presentation.

An integrated compact airborne multispectral imaging system using embedded computer

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yuedong; Wang, Li; Zhang, Xuguo

2015-08-01

An integrated compact airborne multispectral imaging system using embedded computer based control system was developed for small aircraft multispectral imaging application. The multispectral imaging system integrates CMOS camera, filter wheel with eight filters, two-axis stabilized platform, miniature POS (position and orientation system) and embedded computer. The embedded computer has excellent universality and expansibility, and has advantages in volume and weight for airborne platform, so it can meet the requirements of control system of the integrated airborne multispectral imaging system. The embedded computer controls the camera parameters setting, filter wheel and stabilized platform working, image and POS data acquisition, and stores the image and data. The airborne multispectral imaging system can connect peripheral device use the ports of the embedded computer, so the system operation and the stored image data management are easy. This airborne multispectral imaging system has advantages of small volume, multi-function, and good expansibility. The imaging experiment results show that this system has potential for multispectral remote sensing in applications such as resource investigation and environmental monitoring.

A high-speed bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy system based on the digital auto-balancing bridge method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Nan; Xu, Hui; Zhou, Zhou; Wang, Wei; Qiao, Guofeng; Li, David D-U

2013-01-01

A novel bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy system based on the digital auto-balancing bridge method improved from the conventional analogue auto-balancing method is presented for bioelectrical impedance measurements. The hardware of the proposed system consists of a reference source, a null detector, a variable source, a field programmable gate array, a clock generator, a flash and a USB controller. Software implemented in the field programmable gate array includes three major blocks: clock management, peripheral control and digital signal processing. The principle and realization of the least-mean-squares-based digital auto-balancing algorithm is introduced in detail. The performances of our system were examined by comparing with a commercial impedance analyzer. The results reveal that the proposed system has high speed (less than 3.5 ms per measurement) and high accuracy in the frequency range of 1 kHz–10 MHz. Compared with the commercial instrument based on the traditional analogue auto-balancing method, our system shows advantages in measurement speed, compactness and flexibility, making it suitable for various bioelectrical impedance measurement applications. (paper)

Experiments to quantify airborne release from packages with dispersible radioactive materials under accident conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martens, R.; Lange, F. [Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH, Schwertnergasse 1, 50667 Koeln (Germany); Koch, W.; Nolte, O. [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin (ITEM), Nikolai-Fuchs-Str.1, 30625 Hannover (Germany)

2005-07-01

For transport or handling accidents involving packages with radioactive materials and the assessment of potential radiological consequences, for the review of current requirements of the IAEA Transport Regulations, and for their possible further development reliable release data following mechanical impact are required. Within this context a research project was carried out which extends the basis for a well-founded examination of the contemporary system of requirements of 'Low Specific Activity' (LSA)-type materials and allows for its further development where appropriate. This project comprises a prior system-analytical examination and an experimental programme aiming at improving the general physical understanding of the release process as well as the quantity and the characteristics of airborne released material for non-fixed dispersible LSA-II material upon mechanical impact. Impaction experiments applying small, medium and real sized specimens of different dispersible materials revealed that the release behaviour of dispersible powders strongly depends upon material properties, e.g. particle size distribution and cohesion forces. The highest experimentally determined release fraction of respirable mass (AED < 10 {mu}m) amounted to about 2 % and was obtained for 2 kg of un-contained easily dispersible pulverized fly ash (PFA). For larger un-contained PFA specimen the release fraction decreases. However, packaging containing powdery material substantially reduces the airborne release fraction. The measured airborne release fractions for a 200 l drum with Type A certificate containing PFA were about a factor of 50 to 100 lower than for un-contained material. For a drop height of 9 m the airborne release fraction amounted to about 4 x 10{sup -5}. This value should be applicable for most of transport and handling accidents with mechanical impact. For a metal container of Type IP-2 or better which contains powder masses of 100 kg or more this release

Keeping Research Data from the Continental Deep Drilling Programme (KTB) Accessible and Taking First Steps Towards Digital Preservation

Science.gov (United States)

Klump, J. F.; Ulbricht, D.; Conze, R.

2014-12-01

The Continental Deep Drilling Programme (KTB) was a scientific drilling project from 1987 to 1995 near Windischeschenbach, Bavaria. The main super-deep borehole reached a depth of 9,101 meters into the Earth's continental crust. The project used the most current equipment for data capture and processing. After the end of the project key data were disseminated through the web portal of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). The scientific reports were published as printed volumes. As similar projects have also experienced, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain a data portal over a long time. Changes in software and underlying hardware make a migration of the entire system inevitable. Around 2009 the data presented on the ICDP web portal were migrated to the Scientific Drilling Database (SDDB) and published through DataCite using Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) as persistent identifiers. The SDDB portal used a relational database with a complex data model to store data and metadata. A PHP-based Content Management System with custom modifications made it possible to navigate and browse datasets using the metadata and then download datasets. The data repository software eSciDoc allows storing self-contained packages consistent with the OAIS reference model. Each package consists of binary data files and XML-metadata. Using a REST-API the packages can be stored in the eSciDoc repository and can be searched using the XML-metadata. During the last maintenance cycle of the SDDB the data and metadata were migrated into the eSciDoc repository. Discovery metadata was generated following the GCMD-DIF, ISO19115 and DataCite schemas. The eSciDoc repository allows to store an arbitrary number of XML-metadata records with each data object. In addition to descriptive metadata each data object may contain pointers to related materials, such as IGSN-metadata to link datasets to physical specimens, or identifiers of literature interpreting the data

Digitální model reliéfu jako podklad pro návrh vodohospodářských opatření v pozemkových úpravách

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Mayer, Z.; Zemek, František

2015-01-01

Roč. 2015, č. 3 (2015), s. 5-10 ISSN 1211-0760 R&D Projects: GA MZe QI111C034 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : digital terrain model * GIS * airborne laser scanning * LiDAR * landscaping projects Subject RIV: DJ - Water Pollution ; Quality

High-resolution digital elevation model of lower Cowlitz and Toutle Rivers, adjacent to Mount St. Helens, Washington, based on an airborne lidar survey of October 2007

Science.gov (United States)

Mosbrucker, Adam

2015-01-01

The lateral blast, debris avalanche, and lahars of the May 18th, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, dramatically altered the surrounding landscape. Lava domes were extruded during the subsequent eruptive periods of 1980–1986 and 2004–2008. More than three decades after the emplacement of the 1980 debris avalanche, high sediment production persists in the Toutle River basin, which drains the northern and western flanks of the volcano. Because this sediment increases the risk of flooding to downstream communities on the Toutle and lower Cowlitz Rivers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), under the direction of Congress to maintain an authorized level of flood protection, continues to monitor and mitigate excess sediment in North and South Fork Toutle River basins to help reduce this risk and to prevent sediment from clogging the shipping channel of the Columbia River. From October 22–27, 2007, Watershed Sciences, Inc., under contract to USACE, collected high-precision airborne lidar (light detection and ranging) data that cover 273 square kilometers (105 square miles) of lower Cowlitz and Toutle River tributaries from the Columbia River at Kelso, Washington, to upper North Fork Toutle River (below the volcano's edifice), including lower South Fork Toutle River. These data provide a digital dataset of the ground surface, including beneath forest cover. Such remotely sensed data can be used to develop sediment budgets and models of sediment erosion, transport, and deposition. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used these lidar data to develop digital elevation models (DEMs) of the study area. DEMs are fundamental to monitoring natural hazards and studying volcanic landforms, fluvial and glacial geomorphology, and surface geology. Watershed Sciences, Inc., provided files in the LASer (LAS) format containing laser returns that had been filtered, classified, and georeferenced. The USGS produced a hydro-flattened DEM from ground-classified points at

Detection in Urban Scenario Using Combined Airborne Imaging Sensors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Renhorn, I.; Axelsson, M.; Benoist, K.W.; Bourghys, D.; Boucher, Y.; Xavier Briottet, X.; Sergio De CeglieD, S. De; Dekker, R.J.; Dimmeler, A.; Dost, R.; Friman, O.; Kåsen, I.; Maerker, J.; Persie, M. van; Resta, S.; Schwering, P.B.W.; Shimoni, M.; Vegard Haavardsholm, T.

2012-01-01

The EDA project “Detection in Urban scenario using Combined Airborne imaging Sensors” (DUCAS) is in progress. The aim of the project is to investigate the potential benefit of combined high spatial and spectral resolution airborne imagery for several defense applications in the urban area. The

Detection in Urban Scenario using Combined Airborne Imaging Sensors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Renhorn, I.; Axelsson, M.; Benoist, K.W.; Bourghys, D.; Boucher, Y.; Xavier Briottet, X.; Sergio De CeglieD, S. De; Dekker, R.J.; Dimmeler, A.; Dost, R.; Friman, O.; Kåsen, I.; Maerker, J.; Persie, M. van; Resta, S.; Schwering, P.B.W.; Shimoni, M.; Vegard Haavardsholm, T.

2012-01-01

The EDA project “Detection in Urban scenario using Combined Airborne imaging Sensors” (DUCAS) is in progress. The aim of the project is to investigate the potential benefit of combined high spatial and spectral resolution airborne imagery for several defense applications in the urban area. The

Digital low level rf control system with four different intermediate frequencies for the International Linear Collider

Science.gov (United States)

Wibowo, Sigit Basuki; Matsumoto, Toshihiro; Michizono, Shinichiro; Miura, Takako; Qiu, Feng; Liu, Na

2017-09-01

A field programmable gate array-based digital low level rf (LLRF) control system will be used in the International Linear Collider (ILC) in order to satisfy the rf stability requirements. The digital LLRF control system with four different intermediate frequencies has been developed to decrease the required number of analog-to-digital converters in this system. The proof of concept of this technique was demonstrated at the Superconducting RF Test Facility in the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Japan. The amplitude and phase stability has fulfilled the ILC requirements.

An overview of review guidelines for HDL programmable devices in nuclear safety systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komanduri, Raghavan; Srivani, L.; Thirugnana Murthy, D.

2013-01-01

HDL programmable devices viz. CPLDs and FPGAs are increasingly being used to implement digital designs in the I and C systems performing safety functions of nuclear power plants. Synthesizable RTL descriptions manually written in HDLs are the first step in developing industry standard large scale digital designs. The reliability of the implementation is determined by the methodologies followed by the designer during development. Very few guidelines on HPD design practices, specific to nuclear industry are available. This paper presents an overview of the existing guidelines such as IEC 62566 and U.S. NRC's 'Review guidelines for FPGAs in nuclear power plant safety systems'. (author)

Planning a radar system for protection from the airborne threat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greneker, E.F.; McGee, M.C.

1986-01-01

A planning methodology for developing a radar system to protect nuclear materials facilities from the airborne threat is presented. Planning for physical security to counter the airborne threat is becoming even more important because hostile acts by terrorists are increasing and airborne platforms that can be used to bypass physical barriers are readily available. The comprehensive system planning process includes threat and facility surveys, defense hardening, analysis of detection and early warning requirements, optimization of sensor mix and placement, and system implementation considerations

Potential airborne release from soil-working operations in a contaminated area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutter, S.L.

1980-08-01

Experiments were performed to provide an indication of how much material could be made airborne during soil-working operations in a contaminated area. Approximately 50 kg of contaminated soil were collected, dried, and mixed, and particle size distribution and 137 Cs content were characterized. In four experiments performed in a 2 ft x 2 ft wind tunnel at the Radioactive Aerosol Release Test Facility, soil was pumped into an airstream moving at 3.2, 10.4, 15.2, and 20 mph. These experiments were designed to maximize airborne releases by fluidizing the soil as it was pumped into the wind tunnel. Thus the airborne releases should represent upper limit values for soil-working operations. Airborne concentration and particle size samples were collected and all of the material deposited downstream was collected to calculate a mass balance. The fraction airborne was calculated using these measurements

Research plan on programmable automation systems in nuclear power plants (OHA) in 1995-1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapanen, P.; Pulkkinen, U.; Korhonen, J.

1995-05-01

The main purpose of nuclear energy research is to ensure the safety and continued development of Finnish nuclear power plants - a task which places high demands on expertise needed to support the work of public authorities and power companies. A factor necessarily influencing the orientation of the research is the Parliament's decision of late 1993 against further nuclear capacity in the country. Therefore the main emphasis of research shall be directed towards the ensuring the safety of existing plants and the continuous development of their safety along the progress of the science and technology. Anyhow, the preparedness for constructing new plants shall also be preserved. The utilization of programmable digital automation technology for the safety critical functions is the most significant change in the new plants, but also in existing plants this technology will be used for replacing and complementing the ageing automation systems. The safety evaluation of programmable digital systems can not be based on methods applied to conventional analog systems but new evaluation methods and tools must be developed for the assessing of their acceptability. (5 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.)

Airborne chemicals cause respiratory symptoms in individuals with contact allergy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elberling, J; Linneberg, A; Mosbech, H

2005-01-01

Exposure to fragrance chemicals causes various eye and airway symptoms. Individuals with perfume contact allergy report these symptoms more frequently than individuals with nickel allergy or no contact allergies. However, the associations between contact allergy and respiratory symptoms elicited...... by airborne chemicals other than perfumes are unclear. The study aimed to investigate the association between eye and airway symptoms elicited by airborne chemicals (other than perfumes) and contact allergy in a population-based sample. A questionnaire on respiratory symptoms was posted, in 2002, to 1189...... individuals who participated in 1997/1998 in a Danish population-based study of allergic diseases. Questions about eye and airway symptoms elicited by different airborne chemicals and airborne proteins were included in the questionnaire. Data from the questionnaire were compared with data on patch testing...

Dispersion model for airborne radioactive particulates inside a process building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perkins, W.C.; Stoddard, D.H.

1984-02-01

An empirical model, predicting the spread of airborne radioactive particles after they are released inside a building, has been developed. The basis for this model is a composite of data for dispersion of airborne activity recorded during 12 case incidents. These incidents occurred at the Savannah River Plant (SRP) during approximately 90 plant-years of experience with the chemical and metallurgical processing of purified neptunium and plutonium. The model illustrates that the multiple-air-zone concept, used in the designs of many nuclear facilities, can be an efficient safety feature to limit the spread of airborne activity from a release. This study also provides some insight into an apparently anomalous behavior of airborne particulates, namely, their migration against the prevailing flow of ventilation air. 2 references, 12 figures, 4 tables

Airborne particulate concentrations and fluxes at an active uranium mill tailings site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sehmel, G.A.

1978-01-01

Direct measurements of airborne particulate concentrations and fluxes of transported mill tailing materials were measured at an active mill tailings site. Experimental measurement equipment consisted of meteorological instrumentation to automatically activate total particulate air samplers as a function of wind speed increments and direction, as well as particle cascade impactors to measure airborne respirable concentrations as a function of particle size. In addition, an inertial impaction device measured nonrespirable fluxes of airborne particles. Caclulated results are presented in terms of the airborne solid concentration in g/m 3 , the horizontal airborne mass flux in g/(m 2 -day) for total collected nonrespirable particles and the radionuclide concentrations in dpm/g as a function of particle diameter for respirable and nonrespirable particles

AIRBORNE LASER BATHYMETRY FOR DOCUMENTATION OF SUBMERGED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN SHALLOW WATER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Doneus

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Knowledge of underwater topography is essential to the understanding of the organisation and distribution of archaeological sites along and in water bodies. Special attention has to be paid to intertidal and inshore zones where, due to sea-level rise, coastlines have changed and many former coastal sites are now submerged in shallow water. Mapping the detailed inshore topography is therefore important to reconstruct former coastlines, identify sunken archaeological structures and locate potential former harbour sites. However, until recently archaeology has lacked suitable methods to provide the required topographical data of shallow underwater bodies. Our research shows that airborne topo-bathymetric laser scanner systems are able to measure surfaces above and below the water table over large areas in high detail using very short and narrow green laser pulses, even revealing sunken archaeological structures in shallow water. Using an airborne laser scanner operating at a wavelength in the green visible spectrum (532 nm two case study areas in different environmental settings (Kolone, Croatia, with clear sea water; Lake Keutschach, Austria, with turbid water were scanned. In both cases, a digital model of the underwater topography with a planimetric resolution of a few decimeters was measured. While in the clear waters of Kolone penetration depth was up to 11 meters, turbid Lake Keutschach allowed only to document the upper 1.6 meters of its underwater topography. Our results demonstrate the potential of this technique to map submerged archaeological structures over large areas in high detail providing the possibility for systematic, large scale archaeological investigation of this environment.

Safety certification of airborne software: An empirical study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dodd, Ian; Habli, Ibrahim

2012-01-01

Many safety-critical aircraft functions are software-enabled. Airborne software must be audited and approved by the aerospace certification authorities prior to deployment. The auditing process is time-consuming, and its outcome is unpredictable, due to the criticality and complex nature of airborne software. To ensure that the engineering of airborne software is systematically regulated and is auditable, certification authorities mandate compliance with safety standards that detail industrial best practice. This paper reviews existing practices in software safety certification. It also explores how software safety audits are performed in the civil aerospace domain. The paper then proposes a statistical method for supporting software safety audits by collecting and analysing data about the software throughout its lifecycle. This method is then empirically evaluated through an industrial case study based on data collected from 9 aerospace projects covering 58 software releases. The results of this case study show that our proposed method can help the certification authorities and the software and safety engineers to gain confidence in the certification readiness of airborne software and predict the likely outcome of the audits. The results also highlight some confidentiality issues concerning the management and retention of sensitive data generated from safety-critical projects.

An Airborne Capability for South Africa from a Special Operations ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

term strategy, and airborne forces form an important component in its envisioned Contingency Brigade. This article examines the utility of contemporary airborne forces despite the decline in major parachute assaults. It also explains the ...

Geoid of Nepal from airborne gravity survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forsberg, René; Olesen, Arne Vestergaard; Einarsson, Indriði

2011-01-01

An airborne gravity survey of Nepal was carried out December 2010 in a cooperation between DTU-Space, Nepal Survey Department, and NGA, USA. The entire country was flown with survey lines spaced 6 nm with a King Air aircraft, with a varying flight altitude from 4 to 10 km. The survey operations...... as well as recent GPS-heights of Mt. Everest. The new airborne data also provide an independent validation of GOCE gravity field results at the local ~100 km resolution scale....

Reconfigurable signal processor designs for advanced digital array radar systems

Science.gov (United States)

Suarez, Hernan; Zhang, Yan (Rockee); Yu, Xining

2017-05-01

The new challenges originated from Digital Array Radar (DAR) demands a new generation of reconfigurable backend processor in the system. The new FPGA devices can support much higher speed, more bandwidth and processing capabilities for the need of digital Line Replaceable Unit (LRU). This study focuses on using the latest Altera and Xilinx devices in an adaptive beamforming processor. The field reprogrammable RF devices from Analog Devices are used as analog front end transceivers. Different from other existing Software-Defined Radio transceivers on the market, this processor is designed for distributed adaptive beamforming in a networked environment. The following aspects of the novel radar processor will be presented: (1) A new system-on-chip architecture based on Altera's devices and adaptive processing module, especially for the adaptive beamforming and pulse compression, will be introduced, (2) Successful implementation of generation 2 serial RapidIO data links on FPGA, which supports VITA-49 radio packet format for large distributed DAR processing. (3) Demonstration of the feasibility and capabilities of the processor in a Micro-TCA based, SRIO switching backplane to support multichannel beamforming in real-time. (4) Application of this processor in ongoing radar system development projects, including OU's dual-polarized digital array radar, the planned new cylindrical array radars, and future airborne radars.

Design improvement of FPGA and CPU based digital circuit cards to solve timing issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Dongil; Lee, Jaeki; Lee, Kwang-Hyun

2016-01-01

The digital circuit cards installed at NPPs (Nuclear Power Plant) are mostly composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a PLD (Programmable Logic Device; these include a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device)). This type of structure is typical and is maintained using digital circuit cards. There are no big problems with this device as a structure. In particular, signal delay causes a lot of problems when various IC (Integrated Circuit) and several circuit cards are connected to the BUS of the backplane in the BUS design. This paper suggests a structure to improve the BUS signal timing problems in a circuit card consisting of CPU and FPGA. Nowadays, as the structure of circuit cards has become complex and mass data at high speed is communicated through the BUS, data integrity is the most important issue. The conventional design does not consider delay and the synchronicity of signal and this causes many problems in data processing. In order to solve these problems, it is important to isolate the BUS controller from the CPU and maintain constancy of the signal delay by using a PLD

Design improvement of FPGA and CPU based digital circuit cards to solve timing issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Dongil; Lee, Jaeki; Lee, Kwang-Hyun [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

The digital circuit cards installed at NPPs (Nuclear Power Plant) are mostly composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a PLD (Programmable Logic Device; these include a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device)). This type of structure is typical and is maintained using digital circuit cards. There are no big problems with this device as a structure. In particular, signal delay causes a lot of problems when various IC (Integrated Circuit) and several circuit cards are connected to the BUS of the backplane in the BUS design. This paper suggests a structure to improve the BUS signal timing problems in a circuit card consisting of CPU and FPGA. Nowadays, as the structure of circuit cards has become complex and mass data at high speed is communicated through the BUS, data integrity is the most important issue. The conventional design does not consider delay and the synchronicity of signal and this causes many problems in data processing. In order to solve these problems, it is important to isolate the BUS controller from the CPU and maintain constancy of the signal delay by using a PLD.

How can the digital library contribute to employability?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harbo, Karen; Jensen, Thomas Skov

2016-01-01

platforms. A partnership is made between the digital library (partner libraries involved) and the virtual learning environment (educational institutions), based on the above definition of employability. This is done within the framework of Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Massive Open Online Courses......The DEFF project, E-learning, Information literacy and Library services, supports the education policy ambition of enhancing links between education and employment. The project consortium includes libraries from all Danish universities, university colleges and one business academy. Timeframe...... for the project is 2014-16. The project understands employability as: In close cooperation with study programmes libraries will strengthen students’ ability to perform independently and critically in a professional context by being able to identify, collect, evaluate, organize and present information via digital...

How can the digital library contribute to employability?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harbo, Karen; Jensen, Thomas Skov

2016-01-01

The DEFF project, E-learning, Information literacy and Library services, supports the education policy ambition of enhancing links between education and employment. The project consortium includes libraries from all Danish universities, university colleges and one business academy. Timeframe...... for the project is 2014-16. The project understands employability as: In close cooperation with study programmes libraries will strengthen students’ ability to perform independently and critically in a professional context by being able to identify, collect, evaluate, organize and present information via digital...... platforms. A partnership is made between the digital library (partner libraries involved) and the virtual learning environment (educational institutions), based on the above definition of employability. This is done within the framework of Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Massive Open Online Courses...

Airborne system for mapping and tracking extended gamma ray sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stuart, T.P.; Hendricks, T.J.; Wallace, G.G.; Cleland, J.R.

1976-01-01

An airborne system was developed for mapping and tracking extended sources of airborne or terrestrially distributed γ-ray emitters. The system records 300 channel γ-ray spectral data every three seconds on magnetic tape. Computer programs have been written to isolate the contribution from the particular radionuclide of interest. Aircraft position as sensed by a microwave ranging system is recorded every second on magnetic tape. Measurements of airborne stack releases of 41 A concentrations versus time or aircraft position agree well with computer code predictions

Identification of invasive and expansive plant species based on airborne hyperspectral and ALS data

Science.gov (United States)

Szporak-Wasilewska, Sylwia; Kuc, Gabriela; Jóźwiak, Jacek; Demarchi, Luca; Chormański, Jarosław; Marcinkowska-Ochtyra, Adriana; Ochtyra, Adrian; Jarocińska, Anna; Sabat, Anita; Zagajewski, Bogdan; Tokarska-Guzik, Barbara; Bzdęga, Katarzyna; Pasierbiński, Andrzej; Fojcik, Barbara; Jędrzejczyk-Korycińska, Monika; Kopeć, Dominik; Wylazłowska, Justyna; Woziwoda, Beata; Michalska-Hejduk, Dorota; Halladin-Dąbrowska, Anna

2017-04-01

. Simultaneously to airborne data acquisitions also botanical surveys were performed covering in total 5680 reference plots for 18 alien invasive and native expansive plant species (1886 in first flight campaign, 1907 in second and 1887 in third). The collected data were used to identify species characteristics such as spectral properties among others (percentage cover, growth stage, discoloration, coexisting species, land use, plant litter). The research includes 10 invasive alien species and 8 native expansive plant species. Amongst plant species selected for the purposes of this study were: Robinia pseudoacacia, Padus serotina, Rumex confertus, Erigeron annuus, Spiraea tomentosa, Solidago spp., Lupinus polyphyllus, Reynoutria spp., Echinocystis lobata and Heracleum spp. as alien invasive species, and Urtica dioica, Filipendula ulmaria, Phragmites australis, Rubus spp, Calamagrostis epigejos, Cirsium arvense, Molinia caerulea, Deschampsia caespitosa as native expansive species. In this study we present the methodology used for identification of invasive alien and expansive native plant species using hyperspectral and airborne laser data with resulting accuracies using different classification methods and exemplary distribution maps. The research within this study will be continued during growing season of the year 2017. Acknowledgements This research has been carried out under the Biostrateg Programme of the Polish National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR), project No.: DZP/BIOSTRATEG-II/390/2015: The innovative approach supporting monitoring of non-forest Natura 2000 habitats, using remote sensing methods (HabitARS).

Outreach programmes to attract girls into computing: how the best laid plans can sometimes fail

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Catherine; Fisher, Julie; Craig, Annemieke; Forgasz, Helen

2015-07-01

This article presents a reflective analysis of an outreach programme called the Digital Divas Club. This curriculum-based programme was delivered in Australian schools with the aim of stimulating junior and middle school girls' interest in computing courses and careers. We believed that we had developed a strong intervention programme based on previous literature and our collective knowledge and experiences. While it was coordinated by university academics, the programme content was jointly created and modified by practicing school teachers. After four years, when the final data were compiled, it showed that our programme produced significant change to student confidence in computing, but the ability to influence a desire to pursue a career path in computing did not fully eventuate. To gain a deeper insight in to why this may be the case, data collected from two of the schools are interrogated in more detail as described in this article. These schools were at the end of the expected programme outcomes. We found that despite designing a programme that delivered a multi-layered positive computing experience, factors beyond our control such as school culture and teacher technical self-efficacy help account for the unanticipated results. Despite our best laid plans, the expectations that this semester long programme would influence students' longer term career outcomes may have been aspirational at best.

Analysis of Alabama Airborne Gravity at Three Altitudes: Expected Accuracy and Spatial Resolution from a Future Tibetan Airborne Gravity Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi-Hsun Huang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In situ airborne gravity data at altitudes of 11, 6.3, and 1.7 km over a smooth area of Alabama are used to assess gravity accuracy and errors in upward and downward continuations. Analysis of the Alabama free-air anomaly gravity data at crossover points at the three altitudes suggests 1 - 2 mgal accuracy for the dataset. Gravity data at each altitude are then expanded into local 3D Fourier series, to prepare for continuation. This Fourier representation results in continuation errors at few-mgal level in Alabama, even in the extreme case of downward continuation from 11 km to sea level. The result in Alabama inspires an airborne gravity survey over the rough, inaccessible terrain of Tibet. Similar investigations as in Alabama are made in Tibet using EGM08-derived airborne gravity data at flight altitudes of 10, 5, and 0 km. Bouguer anomalies at the 10-km altitude preserve the major tectonic features of Tibet. Downward continuation errors increase with terrain roughness, but the survey can enhance local tectonic features. This study highlights the value of a future Tibetan airborne gravity survey and points out the expected gravity accuracy and spatial resolution from this survey.

Space-Wise approach for airborne gravity data modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Sampietro, D.; Capponi, M.; Mansi, A. H.; Gatti, A.; Marchetti, P.; Sansò, F.

2017-05-01

Regional gravity field modelling by means of remove-compute-restore procedure is nowadays widely applied in different contexts: it is the most used technique for regional gravimetric geoid determination, and it is also used in exploration geophysics to predict grids of gravity anomalies (Bouguer, free-air, isostatic, etc.), which are useful to understand and map geological structures in a specific region. Considering this last application, due to the required accuracy and resolution, airborne gravity observations are usually adopted. However, due to the relatively high acquisition velocity, presence of atmospheric turbulence, aircraft vibration, instrumental drift, etc., airborne data are usually contaminated by a very high observation error. For this reason, a proper procedure to filter the raw observations in both the low and high frequencies should be applied to recover valuable information. In this work, a software to filter and grid raw airborne observations is presented: the proposed solution consists in a combination of an along-track Wiener filter and a classical Least Squares Collocation technique. Basically, the proposed procedure is an adaptation to airborne gravimetry of the Space-Wise approach, developed by Politecnico di Milano to process data coming from the ESA satellite mission GOCE. Among the main differences with respect to the satellite application of this approach, there is the fact that, while in processing GOCE data the stochastic characteristics of the observation error can be considered a-priori well known, in airborne gravimetry, due to the complex environment in which the observations are acquired, these characteristics are unknown and should be retrieved from the dataset itself. The presented solution is suited for airborne data analysis in order to be able to quickly filter and grid gravity observations in an easy way. Some innovative theoretical aspects focusing in particular on the theoretical covariance modelling are presented too

Airborne Tactical Intent-Based Conflict Resolution Capability

Science.gov (United States)

Wing, David J.; Vivona, Robert A.; Roscoe, David A.

2009-01-01

Trajectory-based operations with self-separation involve the aircraft taking the primary role in the management of its own trajectory in the presence of other traffic. In this role, the flight crew assumes the responsibility for ensuring that the aircraft remains separated from all other aircraft by at least a minimum separation standard. These operations are enabled by cooperative airborne surveillance and by airborne automation systems that provide essential monitoring and decision support functions for the flight crew. An airborne automation system developed and used by NASA for research investigations of required functionality is the Autonomous Operations Planner. It supports the flight crew in managing their trajectory when responsible for self-separation by providing monitoring and decision support functions for both strategic and tactical flight modes. The paper focuses on the latter of these modes by describing a capability for tactical intent-based conflict resolution and its role in a comprehensive suite of automation functions supporting trajectory-based operations with self-separation.

Computer programmes for the control and data manipulation of a sequential x-ray-fluorescence spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spimpolo, G.F.

1984-01-01

Two computer programmes have been written for use on a fully automated Siemens SRS200 sequential X-ray-fluorescence spectrometer. The first of these is used to control the spectrometer via an LC200 logic controller using a Data General Nova IV minicomputer; the second is used for the on-line evaluation of the intensity results and the printout of the analytical results. This system is an alternative to the systems offered by Siemens Ltd, which consist of a Process PR310 or Digital DEC PDP1103 computer and the Siemens Spectra 310 software package. The multibatch capabilities of the programmes, with the option of measuring one sample or a tray of samples before the results are calculated, give the new programmes a major advantage over the dedicated software and, together with the elimination of human error in calculation, have resulted in increased efficiency and quality in routine analyses. A description is given of the two programmes, as well as instruction and guidelines to the user

Technical self reliance of digital safety systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Kee Choon; Lee, Dong Young [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Kook Hun [Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, Changwon (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Seung Gap [POSCON, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

2009-04-15

This paper summarizes the development results of the Korea Nuclear Instrumentation and Control System (KNICS) project sponsored by the Korean government. In this project, Man Machine Interface System (MMIS) architecture, two digital platforms, and several control systems are developed. One platform is a programmable Logic Controller (PLC) for a safety system and another platform is a Distributed Control System (DCS) for a non safety system. With the POSAFE Q PLC, a Reactor Protection System (RPS) and an Engineered Safety Feature Component Control System (ESF CCS) are developed. A Power Control System (PCS) is developed based on the DCS. The safety grade platform and the digital safety systems obtained approval for the Topical Report from the Korean regulatory body in February of 2009. Also a Korean utility and a vendor company determined KNICS results to apply them to the planned Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in March 2009. This paper introduces the technical self reliance experiences of the safety grade platform and the digital safety systems developed in the KNICS R and D project.

30 CFR 56.5001 - Exposure limits for airborne contaminants.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Exposure limits for airborne contaminants. 56... Quality and Physical Agents Air Quality § 56.5001 Exposure limits for airborne contaminants. Except as... contaminants shall not exceed, on the basis of a time weighted average, the threshold limit values adopted by...

Customizable Digital Receivers for Radar

Science.gov (United States)

Moller, Delwyn; Heavey, Brandon; Sadowy, Gregory

2008-01-01

Compact, highly customizable digital receivers are being developed for the system described in 'Radar Interferometer for Topographic Mapping of Glaciers and Ice Sheets' (NPO-43962), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 31, No. 7 (August 2007), page 72. The receivers are required to operate in unison, sampling radar returns received by the antenna elements in a digital beam-forming (DBF) mode. The design of these receivers could also be adapted to commercial radar systems. At the time of reporting the information for this article, there were no commercially available digital receivers capable of satisfying all of the operational requirements and compact enough to be mounted directly on the antenna elements. A provided figure depicts the overall system of which the digital receivers are parts. Each digital receiver includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a demultiplexer (DMUX), and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The ADC effects 10-bit band-pass sampling of input signals having frequencies up to 3.5 GHz. The input samples are demultiplexed at a user-selectable rate of 1:2 or 1:4, then buffered in part of the FPGA that functions as a first-in/first-out (FIFO) memory. Another part of the FPGA serves as a controller for the ADC, DMUX, and FIFO memory and as an interface between (1) the rest of the receiver and (2) a front-panel data port (FPDP) bus, which is an industry-standard parallel data bus that has a high data-rate capability and multichannel configuration suitable for DBF. Still other parts of the FPGA in each receiver perform signal-processing functions. The digital receivers can be configured to operate in a stand-alone mode, or in a multichannel mode as needed for DBF. The customizability of the receiver makes it applicable to a broad range of system architectures. The capability for operation of receivers in either a stand-alone or a DBF mode enables the use of the receivers in an unprecedentedly wide variety of radar systems.

An Assessment of the Evolving Common Metadata Repository Standards for Airborne Field Campaigns

Science.gov (United States)

Northup, E. A.; Chen, G.; Early, A. B.; Beach, A. L., III; Walter, J.; Conover, H.

2016-12-01

The NASA Earth Venture Program has led to a dramatic increase in airborne observations, requiring updated data management practices with clearly defined data standards and protocols for metadata. While the current data management practices demonstrate some success in serving airborne science team data user needs, existing metadata models and standards such as NASA's Unified Metadata Model (UMM) for Collections (UMM-C) present challenges with respect to accommodating certain features of airborne science metadata. UMM is the model implemented in the Common Metadata Repository (CMR), which catalogs all metadata records for NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). One example of these challenges is with representation of spatial and temporal metadata. In addition, many airborne missions target a particular geophysical event, such as a developing hurricane. In such cases, metadata about the event is also important for understanding the data. While coverage of satellite missions is highly predictable based on orbit characteristics, airborne missions feature complicated flight patterns where measurements can be spatially and temporally discontinuous. Therefore, existing metadata models will need to be expanded for airborne measurements and sampling strategies. An Airborne Metadata Working Group was established under the auspices of NASA's Earth Science Data Systems Working Group (ESDSWG) to identify specific features of airborne metadata that can not be currently represented in the UMM and to develop new recommendations. The group includes representation from airborne data users and providers. This presentation will discuss the challenges and recommendations in an effort to demonstrate how airborne metadata curation/management can be improved to streamline data ingest and discoverability to a broader user community.

Synchronization method of digital pulse power supply for heavy ions accelerator in Lanzhou

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Rongkun; Zhao Jiang; Wu Fengjun; Zhang Huajian; Chen Youxin; Huang Yuzhen; Gao Daqing; Zhou Zhongzu; Yan Huaihai; Yan Hongbin

2013-01-01

The performance of the synchrotron depends on its synchronization. A kind of synchronization method of digital pulse power supply in Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou-Cooler Storage Ring (HIRFL-CSR) was presented in detail, which is a kind of system on a programmable chip (SOPC) based on optical fiber and optical-custom component. The test of the digital power supply was performed and the current wave forms of pulse mode were given. The results show that all targets can meet the design requirements. (authors)

Airborne plutonium transported during southwesterly winds near the Hanford Prosser Barricade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sehmel, G.A.

1980-01-01

Airborne plutonium could result from resuspension of nuclear-weapons-testing stratospheric fallout deposition. To determine this possible resuspension at the Hanford site, two field experiments between April 12 to june 29, 1976 and August 12, 1976 to January 11, 1977 were conducted near the Prosser Barricade in the Hanford area about 19 to 22 km southeast (140 0 to 160 0 ) of the fuel-processing areas. The primary objective of these experimentss was to determine if stratospheric fallout resuspension was reflected by airborne plutonium concentrations increasing with increasing wind speed. A secondary objective was to confirm the source of the airborne plutonium by determining the plutonium-240 isotopic content or the plutonium-240/plutonium-239-mass ratio. Stratospheric fallout can be identified by the ratio of 240 Pu to other plutonium isotopes in surface soils. Plutonium was transported during southwesterly winds during the two study periods at the Prosser Barricade. Airborne 239 240 Pu concentrations varied as powers of wind speed (U):U -0 2 to U 7 8 . The airborne solids content ranged from 6 x 10 -8 to 1.7 x 10 -6 μCi/g. The 240 Pu isotopic content ranged from 5.6 to 8.1 atom percent and the 240 Pu/ 239 Pu mass ratio ranged from 0.065 to 0.089. The estimated fraction of stratospheric fallout plutonium in these samples was less than 0.24. The remaining airborne plutonium was probably of Hanford origin. Airborne plutonium probably represents resuspension of plutonium from undetermined sites by mechanisms and events not clear at present. An increasing airborne plutonium concentration with increasing wind speed might be expected for an upwind resuspension source(s). However, the geographical source(s) location was not investigated in this study

Detection Range of Airborne Magnetometers in Magnetic Anomaly Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chengjing Li

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Airborne magnetometers are utilized for the small-range search, precise positioning, and identification of the ferromagnetic properties of underwater targets. As an important performance parameter of sensors, the detection range of airborne magnetometers is commonly set as a fixed value in references regardless of the influences of environment noise, target magnetic properties, and platform features in a classical model to detect airborne magnetic anomalies. As a consequence, deviation in detection ability analysis is observed. In this study, a novel detection range model is proposed on the basis of classic detection range models of airborne magnetometers. In this model, probability distribution is applied, and the magnetic properties of targets and the environment noise properties of a moving submarine are considered. The detection range model is also constructed by considering the distribution of the moving submarine during detection. A cell-averaging greatest-of-constant false alarm rate test method is also used to calculate the detection range of the model at a desired false alarm rate. The detection range model is then used to establish typical submarine search probabilistic models. Results show that the model can be used to evaluate not only the effects of ambient magnetic noise but also the moving and geomagnetic features of the target and airborne detection platform. The model can also be utilized to display the actual operating range of sensor systems.

Accuracy Assessment of Lidar-Derived Digital Terrain Model (dtm) with Different Slope and Canopy Cover in Tropical Forest Region

Science.gov (United States)

Salleh, M. R. M.; Ismail, Z.; Rahman, M. Z. A.

2015-10-01

Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology has been widely used recent years especially in generating high accuracy of Digital Terrain Model (DTM). High density and good quality of airborne LiDAR data promises a high quality of DTM. This study focussing on the analysing the error associated with the density of vegetation cover (canopy cover) and terrain slope in a LiDAR derived-DTM value in a tropical forest environment in Bentong, State of Pahang, Malaysia. Airborne LiDAR data were collected can be consider as low density captured by Reigl system mounted on an aircraft. The ground filtering procedure use adaptive triangulation irregular network (ATIN) algorithm technique in producing ground points. Next, the ground control points (GCPs) used in generating the reference DTM and these DTM was used for slope classification and the point clouds belong to non-ground are then used in determining the relative percentage of canopy cover. The results show that terrain slope has high correlation for both study area (0.993 and 0.870) with the RMSE of the LiDAR-derived DTM. This is similar to canopy cover where high value of correlation (0.989 and 0.924) obtained. This indicates that the accuracy of airborne LiDAR-derived DTM is significantly affected by terrain slope and canopy caver of study area.

ACCURACY ASSESSMENT OF LIDAR-DERIVED DIGITAL TERRAIN MODEL (DTM WITH DIFFERENT SLOPE AND CANOPY COVER IN TROPICAL FOREST REGION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. R. M. Salleh

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR technology has been widely used recent years especially in generating high accuracy of Digital Terrain Model (DTM. High density and good quality of airborne LiDAR data promises a high quality of DTM. This study focussing on the analysing the error associated with the density of vegetation cover (canopy cover and terrain slope in a LiDAR derived-DTM value in a tropical forest environment in Bentong, State of Pahang, Malaysia. Airborne LiDAR data were collected can be consider as low density captured by Reigl system mounted on an aircraft. The ground filtering procedure use adaptive triangulation irregular network (ATIN algorithm technique in producing ground points. Next, the ground control points (GCPs used in generating the reference DTM and these DTM was used for slope classification and the point clouds belong to non-ground are then used in determining the relative percentage of canopy cover. The results show that terrain slope has high correlation for both study area (0.993 and 0.870 with the RMSE of the LiDAR-derived DTM. This is similar to canopy cover where high value of correlation (0.989 and 0.924 obtained. This indicates that the accuracy of airborne LiDAR-derived DTM is significantly affected by terrain slope and canopy caver of study area.

Validation of programmable industrial automation systems for safety critical applications in NPP's dynamic testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapanen, P.; Korhonen, J.

1995-01-01

The safety assessment of programmable automation systems can not totally be based on conventional probabilistic methods because of the difficulties in quantification of the reliability of the software as well as the hardware. Additional means shall therefore be used to gain more confidence on the system dependability. One central confidence building measure is the independent dynamic testing of the completed system. An automated test harness is needed to run the required large amount of test cases in a restricted time span. The prototype dynamic testing harness for programmable digital systems developed at the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) is described in the presentation. (12 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.)

State-of-the-Art: DTM Generation Using Airborne LIDAR Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ziyue Chen

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Digital terrain model (DTM generation is the fundamental application of airborne Lidar data. In past decades, a large body of studies has been conducted to present and experiment a variety of DTM generation methods. Although great progress has been made, DTM generation, especially DTM generation in specific terrain situations, remains challenging. This research introduces the general principles of DTM generation and reviews diverse mainstream DTM generation methods. In accordance with the filtering strategy, these methods are classified into six categories: surface-based adjustment; morphology-based filtering, triangulated irregular network (TIN-based refinement, segmentation and classification, statistical analysis and multi-scale comparison. Typical methods for each category are briefly introduced and the merits and limitations of each category are discussed accordingly. Despite different categories of filtering strategies, these DTM generation methods present similar difficulties when implemented in sharply changing terrain, areas with dense non-ground features and complicated landscapes. This paper suggests that the fusion of multi-sources and integration of different methods can be effective ways for improving the performance of DTM generation.

State-of-the-Art: DTM Generation Using Airborne LIDAR Data

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ziyue; Gao, Bingbo; Devereux, Bernard

2017-01-01

Digital terrain model (DTM) generation is the fundamental application of airborne Lidar data. In past decades, a large body of studies has been conducted to present and experiment a variety of DTM generation methods. Although great progress has been made, DTM generation, especially DTM generation in specific terrain situations, remains challenging. This research introduces the general principles of DTM generation and reviews diverse mainstream DTM generation methods. In accordance with the filtering strategy, these methods are classified into six categories: surface-based adjustment; morphology-based filtering, triangulated irregular network (TIN)-based refinement, segmentation and classification, statistical analysis and multi-scale comparison. Typical methods for each category are briefly introduced and the merits and limitations of each category are discussed accordingly. Despite different categories of filtering strategies, these DTM generation methods present similar difficulties when implemented in sharply changing terrain, areas with dense non-ground features and complicated landscapes. This paper suggests that the fusion of multi-sources and integration of different methods can be effective ways for improving the performance of DTM generation. PMID:28098810

Linking terrace geomorphology and canopy characteristics in the Peruvian Amazon using high resolution airborne remote sensing (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Chadwick, K.; Asner, G. P.

2013-12-01

The Peruvian Amazon is home to over half a million square kilometers of forest, nearly three quarters of which is supported by terrace landforms with variable histories. Characteristics of these terrace ecosystems have been contrasted with neighboring floodplain systems along riverine transportation corridors, but the ecological complexity within these terrace landscapes has remained largely unexplored. Airborne remote measurements provide an opportunity to consider the relationship between forest canopy characteristics and geomorphic gradients at high resolution over large spatial extents. In 2011 the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) was used to map a large section of intact lowland humid tropical forest in the southwestern Peruvian Amazon, including over nine thousand hectares of terrace forest. The CAO collected high-fidelity imaging spectroscopy data with its Visible-Shortwave Imaging Spectrometer (VSWIR) and digital elevation and canopy structure data with its high-resolution dual waveform LiDAR. These data, supplemented with field data collection, were used to quantify relationships between forest canopy traits and geomorphic gradients. Results suggest that both spectral properties of the canopy with known relationships to canopy chemistry, including pigment and nutrient concentrations, and canopy structural traits, including vegetation height and leaf area, are associated with geomorphic characteristics of this terrace landscape.

Air ICP uses for instantaneous monitoring of airborne pollutants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thouzeau, F.; Birolleau, J.C.; Fieni, J.M.; Bergey, C.

1987-01-01

Recently the development of a pure AIR-ICP which breathes in and excites the analysed air without sample dilution, allowed the application of this technique to the real time analysis of airborne metallic pollutants. First results obtained on airborne Beryllium in a laboratory and a test-site apparatus are presented in this paper

76 FR 50808 - Airborne Supplemental Navigation Equipment Using the Global Positioning System (GPS)

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-16

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Airborne Supplemental Navigation.... ACTION: Notice of intent to cancel Technical Standard Order (TSO)- C129a, Airborne Supplemental... notice announces the FAA's intent to cancel TSO-C129a, Airborne Supplemental Navigation Equipment Using...

EXTRACTING ROOF PARAMETERS AND HEAT BRIDGES OVER THE CITY OF OLDENBURG FROM HYPERSPECTRAL, THERMAL, AND AIRBORNE LASER SCANNING DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Bannehr

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Remote sensing methods are used to obtain different kinds of information about the state of the environment. Within the cooperative research project HiReSens, funded by the German BMBF, a hyperspectral scanner, an airborne laser scanner, a thermal camera, and a RGB-camera are employed on a small aircraft to determine roof material parameters and heat bridges of house tops over the city Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. HiReSens aims to combine various geometrical highly resolved data in order to achieve relevant evidence about the state of the city buildings. Thermal data are used to obtain the energy distribution of single buildings. The use of hyperspectral data yields information about material consistence of roofs. From airborne laser scanning data (ALS digital surface models are inferred. They build the basis to locate the best orientations for solar panels of the city buildings. The combination of the different data sets offers the opportunity to capitalize synergies between differently working systems. Central goals are the development of tools for the collection of heat bridges by means of thermal data, spectral collection of roofs parameters on basis of hyperspectral data as well as 3D-capture of buildings from airborne lasers scanner data. Collecting, analyzing and merging of the data are not trivial especially not when the resolution and accuracy is aimed in the domain of a few decimetre. The results achieved need to be regarded as preliminary. Further investigations are still required to prove the accuracy in detail.

AIRBORNE CONTACT DERMATITIS – CURRENT PERSPECTIVES IN ETIOPATHOGENESIS AND MANAGEMENT

Science.gov (United States)

Handa, Sanjeev; De, Dipankar; Mahajan, Rahul

2011-01-01

The increasing recognition of occupational origin of airborne contact dermatitis has brought the focus on the variety of irritants, which can present with this typical morphological picture. At the same time, airborne allergic contact dermatitis secondary to plant antigens, especially to Compositae family, continues to be rampant in many parts of the world, especially in the Indian subcontinent. The recognition of the contactant may be difficult to ascertain and the treatment may be even more difficult. The present review focuses on the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic issues in airborne contact dermatitis. PMID:22345774

Airborne gravimetry used in precise geoid computations by ring integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kearsley, A.H.W.; Forsberg, René; Olesen, Arne Vestergaard

1998-01-01

Two detailed geoids have been computed in the region of North Jutland. The first computation used marine data in the offshore areas. For the second computation the marine data set was replaced by the sparser airborne gravity data resulting from the AG-MASCO campaign of September 1996. The results...... of comparisons of the geoid heights at on-shore geometric control showed that the geoid heights computed from the airborne gravity data matched in precision those computed using the marine data, supporting the view that airborne techniques have enormous potential for mapping those unsurveyed areas between...

Continuous-tone applications in digital hard-copy output devices

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, Jeffrey C.

1990-11-01

Dye diffusion technology has made a recent entry into the hardcopy printer arena making it now possible to achieve near-photographic quality images from digital raster image data. Whereas the majority of low cost printers utilizing ink-jet, thermal wax, or dotmatrix technologies advertise high resolution printheads, the restrictions which dithering algorithms apply to these inherently binary printing systems force them to sacrifice spatial resolution capability for tone scale reproduction. Dye diffusion technology allows a fully continuous range of density at each pixel location thus preserving the full spatial resolution capability of the printhead; spatial resolution is not sacrificed for tone scale. This results in images whose quality is far superior to the ink-jet or wax-transfer products; image quality so high in fact, to the unaided eye, dye diffusion images are indistinguishable from their silver-halide counterparts. Eastman Kodak Co. offers a highly refined application of dye diffusion technology in the Kodak XL 7700 Digital Continuous Tone Printer and Kodak EKTATHERM media products. The XL . 7700 Printer represents a serious alternative to expensive laser-based film recorders for applications which require high quality image output from digital data files. This paper presents an explanation of dye diffusion printing, what distinguishes it from other technologies, sensitometric control and image quality parameters, and applications within the industry, particularly that of Airborne Reconnaissance and Remote Sensing.

Plutonium concentrations in airborne soil at Rocky Flats and Hanford determined during resuspension experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sehmel, G.A.

1978-01-01

Plutonium resuspension results are summarized for experiments conducted by the author at Rocky Flats, onsite on the Hanford reservation, and for winds blowing from offsite onto the Hanford reservation near the Prosser barricade boundary. In each case, plutonium resuspension was shown by increased airborne plutonium concentrations as a function of either wind speed or as compared to fallout levels. All measured airborne concentrations were far below maximum permissible concentrations (MPC). Both plutonium and cesium concentrations on airborne soil were normalized by the quantity of airborne soil sampled. Airborne radionuclide concentrations in μCi/g were related to published values for radionuclide concentrations on surface soils. For this ratio of radionuclide concentration per gram on airborne soil divided by that for ground surface soil, there are eight orders of magnitude uncertainty from 10 -4 to 10 4 . This uncertainty in the equality between plutonium concentrations per gram on airborne and surface soils is caused by only a fraction of the collected airborne soil being transported from offsite rather than all being resuspended from each study site and also by the great variabilities in surface contamination. Horizontal plutonium fluxes on airborne nonrespirable soils at all three sites were bracketed within the same four orders of magnitude from 10 -7 to 10 -3 μCi/(m 2 day) for 239 Pu and 10 -8 to 10 -5 μCi/(m 2 day) for 238 Pu. Airborne respirable 239 Pu concentrations increased with wind speed for a southwest wind direction coming from offsite near the Hanford reservation Prosser barricade. Airborne plutonium fluxes on nonrespirable particles had isotopic ratios, 240 Pu/ 239 240 Pu, similar to weapons grade plutonium rather than fallout plutonium

Miniaturized digital fluxgate magnetometer for small spacecraft applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forslund, Åke; Ivchenko, Nickolay; Olsson, Göran; Edberg, Terry; Belyayev, Serhiy; Marusenkov, Andriy

2008-01-01

A novel design of an Earth field digital fluxgate magnetometer is presented, the small magnetometer in low-mass experiment (SMILE). The combination of a number of new techniques results in significant miniaturization of both sensor and electronics. The design uses a sensor with volume compensation, combining three dual rod cores in a Macor® cube with the side dimension of 20 mm. Use of volume compensation provides high geometrical stability of the axes and improved performance compared to component compensated sensors. The sensor is operated at an excitation frequency of 8 kHz. Most of the instrument functionality is combined in a digital signal processing core, implemented in a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The pick-up signal is digitized after amplification and filtering, and values of compensation currents for each of the axes are determined by a digital correlation algorithm, equivalent to a matched filter, and are fed to a hybrid pulse-width modulation/delta-sigma digital-to-analogue converter driving the currents through the compensation coils. Using digital design makes the instrument very flexible, reduces power consumption and opens possibilities for the customization of the operation modes. The current implementation of the design is based on commercial off-the-shelf components. A calibration of the SMILE instrument was carried out at the Nurmijärvi Geophysical Observatory, showing high linearity (within 6 nT on the whole ±50 µT scale), good orthogonality (22 arcmin) and very good temperature stability of the axes

Airborne Precursors Predict Maternal Serum Perfluoroalkyl Acid Concentrations.

Science.gov (United States)

Makey, Colleen M; Webster, Thomas F; Martin, Jonathan W; Shoeib, Mahiba; Harner, Tom; Dix-Cooper, Linda; Webster, Glenys M

2017-07-05

Human exposure to persistent perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), can occur directly from contaminated food, water, air, and dust. However, precursors to PFAAs (PreFAAs), such as dipolyfluoroalkyl phosphates (diPAPs), fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), perfluorooctyl sulfonamides (FOSAs), and sulfonamidoethanols (FOSEs), which can be biotransformed to PFAAs, may also be a source of exposure. PFAAs were analyzed in 50 maternal sera samples collected in 2007-2008 from participants in Vancouver, Canada, while PFAAs and PreFAAs were measured in matching samples of residential bedroom air collected by passive sampler and in sieved vacuum dust (<150 μm). Concentrations of PreFAAs were higher than for PFAAs in air and dust. Positive associations were discovered between airborne 10:2 FTOH and serum PFOA and PFNA and between airborne MeFOSE and serum PFOS. On average, serum PFOS concentrations were 2.3 ng/mL (95%CI: 0.40, 4.3) higher in participants with airborne MeFOSE concentrations in the highest tertile relative to the lowest tertile. Among all PFAAs, only PFNA in air and vacuum dust predicted serum PFNA. Results suggest that airborne PFAA precursors were a source of PFOA, PFNA, and PFOS exposure in this population.

Modelling airborne dispersion of coarse particulate material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apsley, D.D.

1989-03-01

Methods of modelling the airborne dispersion and deposition of coarse particulates are presented, with the emphasis on the heavy particles identified as possible constituents of releases from damaged AGR fuel. The first part of this report establishes the physical characteristics of the irradiated particulate in airborne emissions from AGR stations. The second part is less specific and describes procedures for extending current dispersion/deposition models to incorporate a coarse particulate component: the adjustment to plume spread parameters, dispersion from elevated sources and dispersion in conjunction with building effects and plume rise. (author)

Polar gravity fields from GOCE and airborne gravity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forsberg, René; Olesen, Arne Vestergaard; Yidiz, Hasan

2011-01-01

Airborne gravity, together with high-quality surface data and ocean satellite altimetric gravity, may supplement GOCE to make consistent, accurate high resolution global gravity field models. In the polar regions, the special challenge of the GOCE polar gap make the error characteristics...... of combination models especially sensitive to the correct merging of satellite and surface data. We outline comparisons of GOCE to recent airborne gravity surveys in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. The comparison is done to new 8-month GOCE solutions, as well as to a collocation prediction from GOCE gradients...... in Antarctica. It is shown how the enhanced gravity field solutions improve the determination of ocean dynamic topography in both the Arctic and in across the Drake Passage. For the interior of Antarctica, major airborne gravity programs are currently being carried out, and there is an urgent need...

High-resolution digital elevation model of Mount St. Helens crater and upper North Fork Toutle River basin, Washington, based on an airborne lidar survey of September 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Mosbrucker, Adam

2014-01-01

The lateral blast, debris avalanche, and lahars of the May 18th, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, dramatically altered the surrounding landscape. Lava domes were extruded during the subsequent eruptive periods of 1980–1986 and 2004–2008. More than three decades after the emplacement of the 1980 debris avalanche, high sediment production persists in the North Fork Toutle River basin, which drains the northern flank of the volcano. Because this sediment increases the risk of flooding to downstream communities on the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), under the direction of Congress to maintain an authorized level of flood protection, built a sediment retention structure on the North Fork Toutle River in 1989 to help reduce this risk and to prevent sediment from clogging the shipping channel of the Columbia River. From September 16–20, 2009, Watershed Sciences, Inc., under contract to USACE, collected high-precision airborne lidar (light detection and ranging) data that cover 214 square kilometers (83 square miles) of Mount St. Helens and the upper North Fork Toutle River basin from the sediment retention structure to the volcano's crater. These data provide a digital dataset of the ground surface, including beneath forest cover. Such remotely sensed data can be used to develop sediment budgets and models of sediment erosion, transport, and deposition. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used these lidar data to develop digital elevation models (DEMs) of the study area. DEMs are fundamental to monitoring natural hazards and studying volcanic landforms, fluvial and glacial geomorphology, and surface geology. Watershed Sciences, Inc., provided files in the LASer (LAS) format containing laser returns that had been filtered, classified, and georeferenced. The USGS produced a hydro-flattened DEM from ground-classified points at Castle, Coldwater, and Spirit Lakes. Final results averaged about five laser last

Final Report and Documentation for the PLD11 Multipurpose Programmable Logic VME Board Design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutchinson, Robert L.; Pierson, Lyndon G.; Robertson, Perry J.; Tarman, Thomas D.; Witzke, Edward L.

1999-01-01

The PLD11 board is a 9U VME board containing 11 Altera 10K100 Programmable Logic Devices, controlled impedance clock tree, VME interface, programming inteface, 0C3 (155 Mbps) interface and serial port. The 11 Altera 10K100 Programmable Logic Devices arranged to provide four 96 bit wide buses for a total of 384 parallel digital data lines in and out of the board that can operate up to 100 Mhz for a aggrigate throughput of 38.4 Gpbs. The 14.44'' X 15.75'' board has over 1.1 million programmable gates that can be programmed through a serial interace. The board contains a clock reference and 50 ohm clock distribution tree that can drive each of the eleven 10K100 devices with two critically timed clock references. Five external clock references can be used to drive five additional PLD 11 boards for a total of six boards operating all from the same synchronous clock reference. A system of six boards provides just under 7 million programmable gates

A metagenomic framework for the study of airborne microbial communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Yooseph, Shibu; Andrews-Pfannkoch, Cynthia; Tenney, Aaron; McQuaid, Jeff; Williamson, Shannon; Thiagarajan, Mathangi; Brami, Daniel; Zeigler-Allen, Lisa; Hoffman, Jeff; Goll, Johannes B; Fadrosh, Douglas; Glass, John; Adams, Mark D; Friedman, Robert; Venter, J Craig

2013-01-01

Understanding the microbial content of the air has important scientific, health, and economic implications. While studies have primarily characterized the taxonomic content of air samples by sequencing the 16S or 18S ribosomal RNA gene, direct analysis of the genomic content of airborne microorganisms has not been possible due to the extremely low density of biological material in airborne environments. We developed sampling and amplification methods to enable adequate DNA recovery to allow metagenomic profiling of air samples collected from indoor and outdoor environments. Air samples were collected from a large urban building, a medical center, a house, and a pier. Analyses of metagenomic data generated from these samples reveal airborne communities with a high degree of diversity and different genera abundance profiles. The identities of many of the taxonomic groups and protein families also allows for the identification of the likely sources of the sampled airborne bacteria.

South African Airborne Operations

African Journals Online (AJOL)

South Africa carried out numerous airborne operations during the latter part .... It was a lesson the French had learned and were learning in Indo-China and ..... South African government, concerned that the conflict would spill across their northern border, ...... the Super Frelon and it was an outstanding helicopter at sea level.

A Decade of High-Resolution Arctic Sea Ice Measurements from Airborne Altimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, K.; Farrell, S. L.; Connor, L. N.; Jackson, C.; Richter-Menge, J.

2017-12-01

Satellite altimeters carried on board ERS-1,-2, EnviSat, ICESat, CryoSat-2, AltiKa and Sentinel-3 have transformed our ability to map the thickness and volume of the polar sea ice cover, on seasonal and decadal time-scales. The era of polar satellite altimetry has coincided with a rapid decline of the Arctic ice cover, which has thinned, and transitioned from a predominantly multi-year to first-year ice cover. In conjunction with basin-scale satellite altimeter observations, airborne surveys of the Arctic Ocean at the end of winter are now routine. These surveys have been targeted to monitor regions of rapid change, and are designed to obtain the full snow and ice thickness distribution, across a range of ice types. Sensors routinely deployed as part of NASA's Operation IceBridge (OIB) campaigns include the Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) laser altimeter, the frequency-modulated continuous-wave snow radar, and the Digital Mapping System (DMS). Airborne measurements yield high-resolution data products and thus present a unique opportunity to assess the quality and characteristics of the satellite observations. We present a suite of sea ice data products that describe the snow depth and thickness of the Arctic ice cover during the last decade. Fields were derived from OIB measurements collected between 2009-2017, and from reprocessed data collected during ad-hoc sea ice campaigns prior to OIB. Our bespoke algorithms are designed to accommodate the heterogeneous sea ice surface topography, that varies at short spatial scales. We assess regional and inter-annual variability in the sea ice thickness distribution. Results are compared to satellite-derived ice thickness fields to highlight the sensitivities of satellite footprints to the tails of the thickness distribution. We also show changes in the dynamic forcing shaping the ice pack over the last eight years through an analysis of pressure-ridge sail-height distributions and surface roughness conditions

PS BOOSTER BEAM TESTS OF THE NEW DIGITAL BEAM CONTROL SYSTEM FOR LEIR

CERN Document Server

Angoletta, Maria Elena; Bento, J; De Long, J H; Findlay, A; Matuszkiewicz, P; Pedersen, F; Salom-Sarasqueta, A; CERN. Geneva. AB Department

2005-01-01

We have been developing a scaled-down prototype of the new digital beam control and cavity servoing system for CERN’s Low Energy Ion Ring (LEIR) slated for commissioning in 2005. The system’s hardware and software, developed as part of a CERN-BNL collaboration, are based on new all-digital technology already deployed at BNL's AGS Booster. The system relies on VME modules, carrying Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) as well as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and daughter cards. New concepts deployed include software implementation, through DSPs & FPGAs, of functions traditionally executed by analogue hardware, such as reference-functions and timings generation. Additionally, a user-selectable digital data acquisition functionality provides diagnostic and troubleshoot access points, a new feature which is very useful in a digital system. The scaled-down prototype implements frequency program, radial steering, phase and radial loops capabilities and it has been tested in CERN's PS Booster (PSB) dur...

Enhancement of the use of digital mock-ups in the verification and validation process for ITER remote handling systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sibois, R., E-mail: romain.sibois@vtt.fi [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1300, 33101 Tampere (Finland); Salminen, K.; Siuko, M. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1300, 33101 Tampere (Finland); Mattila, J. [Tampere University of Technology, Korkeakoulunkatu 6, 33720 Tampere (Finland); Määttä, T. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1300, 33101 Tampere (Finland)

2013-10-15

Highlights: • Verification and validation process for ITER remote handling system. • Verification and validation framework for complex engineering systems. • Verification and validation roadmap for digital modelling phase. • Importance of the product life-cycle management in the verification and validation framework. -- Abstract: The paper is part of the EFDA's programme of European Goal Oriented Training programme on remote handling (RH) “GOT-RH”. The programme aims to train engineers for activities supporting the ITER project and the long-term fusion programme. This paper is written based on the results of a project “verification and validation (V and V) of ITER RH system using digital mock-ups (DMUs)”. The purpose of this project is to study efficient approach of using DMU for the V and V of the ITER RH system design utilizing a system engineering (SE) framework. This paper reviews the definitions of DMU and virtual prototype and overviews the current trends of using virtual prototyping in the industry during the early design phase. Based on the survey of best industrial practices, this paper proposes ways to improve the V and V process for ITER RH system utilizing DMUs.

Characteristics of airborne plutonium resuspended from near-background aged surface-sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sehmel, G.A.

1982-11-01

Plutonium content in samples of airborne solids collected at five Hanford sites was determined in several experiments directed toward investigating resuspension processes for aged surface sources. Though airborne plutonium concentrations are extremely low, radiochemical technique sensitivities allow plutonium characterization to be considered as a function of host-particle diameter in samples of airborne solids. Plutonium concentrations and activity densities are a function of aerodynamic particle diameter, sampling height, wind speed, wind direction and plutonium isotopic ratios

Variations of airborne and waterborne Rn-222 in houses in Maine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hess, C.T.; Weiffenbach, C.V.; Norton, S.A. (Maine Univ., Orono (USA))

1982-01-01

Concentrations of airborne radon ranging from 0.05 to 135 pCi/L were found in houses in Maine. To investigate the association between elevated radon concentrations in well water and the indoor airborne radon concentrations, the radon in the water supplies of these houses was measured by liquid scintillation. Monitors of airborne radon were used for dynamic studies in 18 houses, determining the component of airborne radon associated with showers, laundry and dishwashing, which liberate radon in bursts. The component of airborne radon associated with water sources was found to vary inversely with ventilation rate and directly with waterborne radon concentration, with 0.8 +- 0.2 pCi Rn/L air per nCi Rn/L water at a ventilation rate of 1.0 air change per hour. The data are pertinent to a study which has revealed significant correlations between county averages, from the National Cancer Institute, or age-adjusted cancer mortality rates in Maine and average values of radon concentrations in water for the counties.

Variations of airborne and waterborne Rn-222 in houses in Maine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hess, C.T.; Weiffenbach, C.V.; Norton, S.A.

1982-01-01

Concentrations of airborne radon ranging from 0.05 to 135 pCi/L were found in houses in Maine. To investigate the association between elevated radon concentrations in well water and the indoor airborne radon concentrations, the radon in the water supplies of these houses was measured by liquid scintillation. Monitors of airborne radon were used for dynamic studies in 18 houses, determining the component of airborne radon associated with showers, laundry and dishwashing, which liberate radon in bursts. The component of airborne radon associated with water sources was found to vary inversely with ventilation rate and directly with waterborne radon concentration, with 0.8 +- 0.2 pCi Rn/L air per nCi Rn/L water at a ventilation rate of 1.0 air change per hour. The data are pertinent to a study which has revealed significant correlations between county averages, from the National Cancer Institute, or age-adjusted cancer mortality rates in Maine and average values of radon concentrations in water for the counties. (author)

Plutonium concentrations in airborne soil at Rocky Flats and Hanford determined during resuspension experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sehmel, G.A.

1978-01-01

Plutonium resuspension results are summarized for experiments conducted by the author at Rocky Flats, onsite on the Hanford reservation, and for winds blowing from offsite onto the Hanford reservation near the Prosser barricade boundary. In each case, plutonium resuspension was shown by increased airborne plutonium concentrations as a function of either wind speed or as compared to fallout levels. All measured airborne concentrations were far below maximum permissible concentrations (MPC). Both plutonium and cesium concentrations on airborne soil were normalized by the quantity of airborne soil sampled. Airborne radionuclide concentrations in ..mu..Ci/g were related to published values for radionuclide concentrations on surface soils. For this ratio of radionuclide concentration per gram on airborne soil divided by that for ground surface soil, there are eight orders of magnitude uncertainty from 10/sup -4/ to 10/sup 4/. This uncertainty in the equality between plutonium concentrations per gram on airborne and surface soils is caused by only a fraction of the collected airborne soil being transported from offsite rather than all being resuspended from each study site and also by the great variabilities in surface contamination. Horizontal plutonium fluxes on airborne nonrespirable soils at all three sites were bracketed within the same four orders of magnitude from 10/sup -7/ to 10/sup -3/ ..mu..Ci/(m/sup 2/ day) for /sup 239/Pu and 10/sup -8/ to 10/sup -5/ ..mu..Ci/(m/sup 2/ day) for /sup 238/Pu. Airborne respirable /sup 239/Pu concentrations increased with wind speed for a southwest wind direction coming from offsite near the Hanford reservation Prosser barricade. Airborne plutonium fluxes on nonrespirable particles had isotopic ratios, /sup 240/Pu//sup 239/ /sup 240/Pu, similar to weapons grade plutonium rather than fallout plutonium.

Influence of Signal Stationarity on Digital Stochastic Measurement Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Župunski

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the influence of signal stationarity on digital stochastic measurement method implementation. The implementation method is based on stochastic voltage generators, analog adders, low resolution A/D converter, and multipliers and accumulators implemented by Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA. The characteristic of first implementations of digital stochastic measurement was the measurement of stationary signal harmonics over the constant measurement period. Later, digital stochastic measurement was extended and used also when it was necessary to measure timeseries of non-stationary signal over the variable measurement time. The result of measurement is the set of harmonics, which is, in the case of non-stationary signals, the input for calculating digital values of signal in time domain. A theoretical approach to determine measurement uncertainty is presented and the accuracy trends with varying signal-to-noise ratio (SNR are analyzed. Noisy brain potentials (spontaneous and nonspontaneous are selected as an example of real non-stationary signal and its digital stochastic measurement is tested by simulations and experiments. Tests were performed without noise and with adding noise with SNR values of 10dB, 0dB and - 10dB. The results of simulations and experiments are compared versus theory calculations, and comparasion confirms the theory.

Local and Remote Laboratory User Experimentation Access using Digital Programmable Logic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ian A Grout

2005-06-01

Full Text Available This paper will discuss the structure and operation of a programmable logic based experimentation arrangement that is suitable for both local and remote teaching and learning scenarios targeting electronic and microelectronic circuit design and test principles. With this experimentation arrangement, the ability to provide both local and Internet based “remote” access for the student and the teacher can provide a number of advantages where physical laboratory accessibility is limited and/or the learning experience must be undertaken with one or more of the parties remotely based. The paper concentrates on the design and example use of a system developed within the University of Limerick.

Latin American image quality survey in digital mammography studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mora, Patricia; Khoury, Helen; Bitelli, Regina; Quintero, Ana Rosa; Garay, Fernando; Garcia Aguilar, Juan; Gamarra, Mirtha; Ubeda, Carlos

2017-01-01

Under International Atomic Energy Agency regional programme TSA3 Radiological Protection of Patients in Medical Exposures, Latin American countries evaluated the image quality and glandular doses for digital mammography equipment with the purpose of seeing the performance and compliance with international recommendations. Totally, 24 institutions participated from Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela. Signal difference noise ratio results showed for CR poor compliance with tolerances; better results were obtained for full-field digital mammography equipment. Mean glandular dose results showed that the majority of units have values below the acceptable dose levels. This joint Latin American project identified common problems: difficulty in working with digital images and lack of specific training by medical physicists from the region. Image quality is a main issue not being satisfied in accordance with international recommendations; optimisation processes in which the doses are increased should be very carefully done in order to improve early detection of any cancer signs. (authors)

Airborne radioactivity in Finland after the Chernobyl accident in 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinkko, K.; Aaltonen, H.; Mustonen, R.; Taipale, T.K.; Juutilainen, J.

1987-06-01

In the air surveillance programme of the Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety concentrations of artificial radionuclides are monitored in the air close to the ground. Airborne dust is collected continuously on a class fibre filter by a high-volume air sampler at Nurmijaervi, 40 km north of Helsinki, and the concentrations of radionuclides are evaluated. Extensive studies on radionuclide composition in air and spatial distribution were performed in Finland after the Chernobyl accident. The fallout situation was followed by temporary air sampling in Helsinki and Rovaniemi, with short sampling periods and also with air dust samples from the upper atmosphere. In Nurmijaervi, air samples were also taken on an activated carbon bed. All samples were measured by gammaspectrometry, but some radiochemical analyses were also performed. Fallout from Chernobyl arrived in Finland on Sunday, April 27. The maximum concentrations in air were measured on Monday evening, April 28, and ranged from a few microbecquerels to two hundred becquerels per cubic metre. At an altitude of about 1500 m the concentrations of radionuclides were even two decades higher. The radionuclide concentrations in air decreased rapidly being under one hundredth part of their maximum values after few days

Airborne and food sensitization patterns in children and adults with eosinophilic esophagitis.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yu Ting; Christos, Paul J; Reisacher, William R

2018-05-01

The pathogenesis of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is currently unknown, but evidence suggests that allergic sensitization to food and airborne allergens may play a key role. This retrospective study examines the rate of sensitization to both food and airborne allergens in EoE patients, and compares their sensitivity patterns to control groups. We identified 103 patients with a diagnosis of EoE via esophageal eosinophilia (≥15 eosinophils/high-power field [hpf]), who had undergone comprehensive food and/or airborne allergen testing through either skin or in vitro methods. Food and airborne allergen sensitization was defined as positive testing in at least 1 food subgroup (milk, peanut, tree nut, seafood/fish, soy, grain, egg) or airborne subgroup (tree, grass, weed, mite/cockroach, animal, mold), respectively. The same sensitization criterion was applied to allergic rhinitis (AR) patients, with and without a clinical suspicion of food allergy (FA), in order to create control groups. Sensitization in the EoE group to at least 1 subgroup of food allergen and airborne allergen was seen in 77.1% (64/83) and 71.7% (38/53), respectively (p = 0.82). There were significant differences in sensitization between EoE and control groups for tree nut, soy, grain, and egg, but no differences noted in any of the other food or airborne allergen subgroups, even after accounting for age and gender. EoE and control groups had similar airborne allergen sensitization patterns, yet dissimilar food allergen sensitization patterns, suggesting that specific allergens may play a more prominent role in the pathogenesis of EoE. The EoE group had a more uniform distribution pattern for food allergens, compared to controls. © 2018 ARS-AAOA, LLC.

Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics

KAUST Repository

Behzad, H.; Gojobori, Takashi; Mineta, K.

2015-01-01

microorganisms. Airborne metagenomic studies could also lead to discoveries of novel genes and metabolic pathways relevant to meteorological and industrial applications, environmental bioremediation, and biogeochemical cycles.

Airborne particulate matter in spacecraft

Science.gov (United States)

1988-01-01

Acceptability limits and sampling and monitoring strategies for airborne particles in spacecraft were considered. Based on instances of eye and respiratory tract irritation reported by Shuttle flight crews, the following acceptability limits for airborne particles were recommended: for flights of 1 week or less duration (1 mg/cu m for particles less than 10 microns in aerodynamic diameter (AD) plus 1 mg/cu m for particles 10 to 100 microns in AD); and for flights greater than 1 week and up to 6 months in duration (0.2 mg/cu m for particles less than 10 microns in AD plus 0.2 mg/cu m for particles 10 to 100 microns in AD. These numerical limits were recommended to aid in spacecraft atmosphere design which should aim at particulate levels that are a low as reasonably achievable. Sampling of spacecraft atmospheres for particles should include size-fractionated samples of 0 to 10, 10 to 100, and greater than 100 micron particles for mass concentration measurement and elementary chemical analysis by nondestructive analysis techniques. Morphological and chemical analyses of single particles should also be made to aid in identifying airborne particulate sources. Air cleaning systems based on inertial collection principles and fine particle collection devices based on electrostatic precipitation and filtration should be considered for incorporation into spacecraft air circulation systems. It was also recommended that research be carried out in space in the areas of health effects and particle characterization.

Automatic analysis of digitized TV-images by a computer-driven optical microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosa, G.; Di Bartolomeo, A.; Grella, G.; Romano, G.

1997-01-01

New methods of image analysis and three-dimensional pattern recognition were developed in order to perform the automatic scan of nuclear emulsion pellicles. An optical microscope, with a motorized stage, was equipped with a CCD camera and an image digitizer, and interfaced to a personal computer. Selected software routines inspired the design of a dedicated hardware processor. Fast operation, high efficiency and accuracy were achieved. First applications to high-energy physics experiments are reported. Further improvements are in progress, based on a high-resolution fast CCD camera and on programmable digital signal processors. Applications to other research fields are envisaged. (orig.)

Airborne pollen trends in the Iberian Peninsula.

Science.gov (United States)

Galán, C; Alcázar, P; Oteros, J; García-Mozo, H; Aira, M J; Belmonte, J; Diaz de la Guardia, C; Fernández-González, D; Gutierrez-Bustillo, M; Moreno-Grau, S; Pérez-Badía, R; Rodríguez-Rajo, J; Ruiz-Valenzuela, L; Tormo, R; Trigo, M M; Domínguez-Vilches, E

2016-04-15

Airborne pollen monitoring is an effective tool for studying the reproductive phenology of anemophilous plants, an important bioindicator of plant behavior. Recent decades have revealed a trend towards rising airborne pollen concentrations in Europe, attributing these trends to an increase in anthropogenic CO2 emissions and temperature. However, the lack of water availability in southern Europe may prompt a trend towards lower flowering intensity, especially in herbaceous plants. Here we show variations in flowering intensity by analyzing the Annual Pollen Index (API) of 12 anemophilous taxa across 12 locations in the Iberian Peninsula, over the last two decades, and detecting the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Results revealed differences in the distribution and flowering intensity of anemophilous species. A negative correlation was observed between airborne pollen concentrations and winter averages of the NAO index. This study confirms that changes in rainfall in the Mediterranean region, attributed to climate change, have an important impact on the phenology of plants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Detection of tropical landslides using airborne lidar data and multi imagery: A case study in genting highland, pahang

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khamsin, I; Zulkarnain, M; Razak, K A; Rizal, S

2014-01-01

The landslide geomorphological system in a tropical region is complex, and its understanding often depends on the completeness and correctness of landslide inventorization. In mountainous regions, landslides pose a significant impact and are known as an important geomorphic process in shaping major landscape in the tropics. A modern remote sensing based approach has revolutionized the landslide investigation in a forested terrain. Optical satellite imagery, aerial photographs and synthetic aperture radar images are less effective to create reliable tropical DTMs for landslide recognition, and even so in the forested equatorial regions. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) data have been used to construct the digital terrain model (DTM) under dense vegetation, but its reliability for landslide recognition in the tropics remains surprisingly unknown. The present study aims at providing better insight into the use of airborne laser scanning (ALS) data. For the bare-earth extraction, several prominent filtering algorithms and surface interpolation methods, i.e. progressive TIN densitification, morphological, and command prompt from Lastool are evaluated in a qualitative analysis, aiming at removing non-ground points while preserving important landslide features. As a result, a large landslide can be detected using OOA. Small landslides remain unrecognized. Three out of five landslides can be detected, with a 60 percent overall accuracy

Implementing digital skills training in care homes: a literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wild, Deidre; Kydd, Angela; Szczepura, Ala

2016-05-01

This article is the first of a two-part series that informs and describes digital skills training using a dedicated console computer provided for staff and residents in a care home setting. This was part of a programme of culture change in a large care home with nursing in Glasgow, Scotland. The literature review shows that over the past decade there has been a gradual increase in the use of digital technology by staff and older people in community settings including care homes. Policy from the European Commission presents a persuasive argument for the advancement of technology-enabled care to counter the future impact of an increased number of people of advanced age on finite health and social care resources. The psychosocial and environmental issues that inhibit or enhance the acquisition of digital skills in care homes are considered and include the identification of exemplar schemes and the support involved.

Use of computers and the Internet by residents in US family medicine programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Richard V; Murphy-Cullen, Cassie L; Mayo, Helen G; Marcee, Alice K; Schneider, Gregory W

2007-06-01

Computers, personal digital assistants (PDA), and the Internet are widely used as resources in medical education and clinical care. Educators who intend to incorporate these resources effectively into residency education programmes can benefit from understanding how residents currently use these tools, their skills, and their preferences. The researchers sent questionnaires to 306 US family medicine residency programmes for all of their residents to complete. Respondents were 1177 residents from 125 (41%) programmes. Access to a computer was reported by 95% of respondents. Of these, 97% of desktop and 89% of laptop computers could access the Internet. Residents accessed various educational and clinical resources. Half felt they had 'intermediate' skills at Web searches, 23% had 'some skills,' and 27% were 'quite skilled.' Those under 30 years of age reported higher skill levels. Those who experienced a Web-based curriculum in medical school reported higher search skills and greater success in finding clinical information. Respondents preferred to use technology to supplement the didactic sessions offered in resident teaching conferences. Favourable conditions exist in family medicine residency programmes to implement a blend of traditional and technology-based learning experiences. These conditions include residents' experience, skills, and preferences.

Methods of sampling airborne fungi in working environments of waste treatment facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Černá, Kristýna; Wittlingerová, Zdeňka; Zimová, Magdaléna; Janovský, Zdeněk

2016-01-01

The objective of the present study was to evaluate and compare the efficiency of a filter based sampling method and a high volume sampling method for sampling airborne culturable fungi present in waste sorting facilities. Membrane filters method was compared with surface air system method. The selected sampling methods were modified and tested in 2 plastic waste sorting facilities. The total number of colony-forming units (CFU)/m3 of airborne fungi was dependent on the type of sampling device, on the time of sampling, which was carried out every hour from the beginning of the work shift, and on the type of cultivation medium (p airborne fungi ranged 2×102-1.7×106 CFU/m3 when using the membrane filters (MF) method, and 3×102-6.4×104 CFU/m3 when using the surface air system (SAS) method. Both methods showed comparable sensitivity to the fluctuations of the concentrations of airborne fungi during the work shifts. The SAS method is adequate for a fast indicative determination of concentration of airborne fungi. The MF method is suitable for thorough assessment of working environment contamination by airborne fungi. Therefore we recommend the MF method for the implementation of a uniform standard methodology of airborne fungi sampling in working environments of waste treatment facilities. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Digital literacy matters. Increasing workforce productivity through blended English language programmes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kshema Jose

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The three Rs, the ability to read, write and do basic arithmetic have traditionally been measured as indicators of knowledge and ability to communicate, and in turn, a predictor of success at workplace. However, survey any place of work today, and we see that the traditionally held literacy skills do not suffice; newer forms of literacies that go beyond the ability to decode print, like the skill to communicate, interact, solve complex problems, analyse, judge, evaluate, collaborate, construct, create, and to use information technology/ digital tools, are now considered essential contributors to enhanced employability opportunities as well as workplace success.

Digital signal processing theory and practice

CERN Document Server

Rao, K Deergha

2018-01-01

The book provides a comprehensive exposition of all major topics in digital signal processing (DSP). With numerous illustrative examples for easy understanding of the topics, it also includes MATLAB-based examples with codes in order to encourage the readers to become more confident of the fundamentals and to gain insights into DSP. Further, it presents real-world signal processing design problems using MATLAB and programmable DSP processors. In addition to problems that require analytical solutions, it discusses problems that require solutions using MATLAB at the end of each chapter. Divided into 13 chapters, it addresses many emerging topics, which are not typically found in advanced texts on DSP. It includes a chapter on adaptive digital filters used in the signal processing problems for faster acceptable results in the presence of changing environments and changing system requirements. Moreover, it offers an overview of wavelets, enabling readers to easily understand the basics and applications of this po...

Characteristics of airborne micro-organisms in a neurological intensive care unit: Results from China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yao; Yin, Sufeng; Kuan, Yi; Xu, Yingjun; Gao, Xuguang

2015-06-01

To describe the characteristics of airborne micro-organisms in the environment in a Chinese neurological intensive care unit (NICU). This prospective study monitored the air environment in two wards (large and small) of an NICU in a tertiary hospital in China for 12 months, using an LWC-1 centrifugal air sampler. Airborne micro-organisms were identified using standard microbiology techniques. The mean ± SD number of airborne bacteria was significantly higher in the large ward than in the small ward (200 ± 51 colony-forming units [CFU]/m(3) versus 110 ± 40 CFU/m(3), respectively). In the large ward only, the mean number of airborne bacteria in the autumn was significantly higher than in any of the other three seasons. A total of 279 airborne micro-organisms were identified (large ward: 195; small ward: 84). There was no significant difference in the type and distribution of airborne micro-organisms between the large and small wards. The majority of airborne micro-organisms were Gram-positive cocci in both wards. These findings suggest that the number of airborne micro-organisms was related to the number of patients on the NICU ward. © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Practical Consideration Factors to Design Array Configuration of Direction Finding System for Airborne Signal Intelligence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jong-Hwan Lee

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Airborne signal intelligence (SIGINT systems must be capable of locating radio signal sources. Direction finding (DF to support this capability is an important factor. There are some practical considerations to be taken when designing the array configuration of a DF system for airborne SIGINT systems. This paper summarizes the practical factors when designing the array configuration of the DF system for airborne SIGINT. In particular, it focuses on four areas: antenna consideration factors when installing the DF system for airborne SIGINT from a practical point of view, array configuration methods for airborne communications intelligence and electronic intelligence, and a numerical analysis to select the optimum antenna position for airborne SIGINT.

Digital implementation of a neural network for imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Richard; McGlashan, Alex; Yatulis, Jay; Mascher, Peter; Bruce, Ian

2012-10-01

This paper outlines the design and testing of a digital imaging system that utilizes an artificial neural network with unsupervised and supervised learning to convert streaming input (real time) image space into parameter space. The primary objective of this work is to investigate the effectiveness of using a neural network to significantly reduce the information density of streaming images so that objects can be readily identified by a limited set of primary parameters and act as an enhanced human machine interface (HMI). Many applications are envisioned including use in biomedical imaging, anomaly detection and as an assistive device for the visually impaired. A digital circuit was designed and tested using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and an off the shelf digital camera. Our results indicate that the networks can be readily trained when subject to limited sets of objects such as the alphabet. We can also separate limited object sets with rotational and positional invariance. The results also show that limited visual fields form with only local connectivity.

Ears and Eyes in the Sky: The Evolution of Manned Airborne ISR

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-25

immeasurably grateful. I would be remiss not to mention Mr. Larry Tart. His work on manned airborne ISR has educated and inspired the latest...comprehensive summary of airborne ISR such as that presented in this thesis. Several prominent works contain significant sections on airborne ISR. Larry ...Historic Cryptographic Collection, RG 457, Box 1369, NARA. 77 William E. Burrows , By Any Means Necessary (New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Experiences in monitoring airborne radioactive contamination in JAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikezawa, Y.; Okamoto, T.; Yabe, A.

1980-01-01

The following results were obtained at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) from experience in air monitoring at the hot cells for handling highly radioactive materials, the glove box containing plutonium and the cell for producing 99 Mo. (1) The ratios of activities of airborne dust to those of whole dust were of the order of 10 -2 for the semi-volatile form of 125 Sb, and 10 -3 to 10 -4 for the particulate form of 137 Cs, 144 Ce and 144 Pr, when irradiated fuels were cut in the hot cells. (2) The activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) of airborne particle size distributions varied from O.4 to 15 μm with changing geometric standard deviation (sigmasub(g)) 1.7 to 7, depending on types of metallurgical treatment of fuels and on kinds of work in the cells. (3) A resuspension factor (the ratio of the concentration of airborne contamination to the surface contamination) was found to be 4x10 -8 to approximately 2x10 -7 cm -1 for plutonium oxide deposited on the floor surface. (4) The collection efficiency of the charcoal-loaded filter paper for airborne radioiodine, consisting of 60% inorganic and 40% organic iodide, was over 95% under conditions of relative humidity 40 to approximately 80% and face velocity 50 cm/sec, during the production of 99 Mo. (H.K.)

'A bridge to the hospice': the impact of a Community Volunteer Programme in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Jack, Barbara A; Kirton, J; Birakurataki, J; Merriman, A

2011-10-01

In Africa, the need for palliative care provision is escalating with an increasing number of people living with HIV/AIDS, coupled with rising cancer and AIDS-related cancer diagnoses. In Uganda there is a shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas. To address this Hospice Africa Uganda developed a Community Volunteer Programme to train volunteers to help by providing support to patients in their own homes. The aim of this qualitative study was to evaluate the impact of the Community Volunteer Programme. Sixty-four interviews, with patients (21), community volunteer workers (CVWs) (32), and the hospice clinical teams (11) were conducted, using semi-structured digitally recorded individual, group and focus group interviews, at the Hospice Africa Uganda sites. The results reported the value of the Community Volunteer Programme, including the impact on patients and families, and how the CVWs acted as a 'bridge to the hospice' in identifying patients. Developing financial challenges that are emerging which could potentially impact on the programme were reported. The Community Volunteer Programme appears to be having a positive impact on patients, families and the hospice team, and is a model worthy of consideration by other developing countries to allow the expansion of palliative care.

[Airborne Fungal Aerosol Concentration and Distribution Characteristics in Air- Conditioned Wards].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hua-ling; Feng, He-hua; Fang, Zi-liang; Wang, Ben-dong; Li, Dan

2015-04-01

The effects of airborne fungus on human health in the hospital environment are related to not only their genera and concentrations, but also their particle sizes and distribution characteristics. Moreover, the mechanisms of aerosols with different particle sizes on human health are different. Fungal samples were obtained in medicine wards of Chongqing using a six-stage sampler. The airborne fungal concentrations, genera and size distributions of all the sampling wards were investigated and identified in detail. Results showed that airborne fungal concentrations were not correlated to the diseases or personnel density, but were related to seasons, temperature, and relative humidity. The size distribution rule had roughly the same for testing wards in winter and summer. The size distributions were not related with diseases and seasons, the percentage of airborne fungal concentrations increased gradually from stage I to stage III, and then decreased dramatically from stage V to stage VI, in general, the size of airborne fungi was a normal distribution. There was no markedly difference for median diameter of airborne fungi which was less 3.19 μm in these wards. There were similar dominant genera in all wards. They were Aspergillus spp, Penicillium spp and Alternaria spp. Therefore, attention should be paid to improve the filtration efficiency of particle size of 1.1-4.7 μm for air conditioning system of wards. It also should be targeted to choose appropriate antibacterial methods and equipment for daily hygiene and air conditioning system operation management.

Real-time monitoring of non-viable airborne particles correlates with airborne colonies and represents an acceptable surrogate for daily assessment of cell-processing cleanroom performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Raval, Jay S; Koch, Eileen; Donnenberg, Albert D

2012-10-01

Airborne particulate monitoring is mandated as a component of good manufacturing practice. We present a procedure developed to monitor and interpret airborne particulates in an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) class 7 cleanroom used for the cell processing of Section 351 and Section 361 products. We collected paired viable and non-viable airborne particle data over a period of 1 year in locations chosen to provide a range of air quality. We used receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis to determine empirically the relationship between non-viable and viable airborne particle counts. Viable and non-viable particles were well-correlated (r(2) = 0.78), with outlier observations at the low end of the scale (non-viable particles without detectable airborne colonies). ROC analysis predicted viable counts ≥ 0.5/feet(3) (a limit set by the United States Pharmacopeia) at an action limit of ≥ 32 000 particles (≥ 0.5 µ)/feet(3), with 95.6% sensitivity and 50% specificity. This limit was exceeded 2.6 times during 18 months of retrospective daily cleanroom data (an expected false alarm rate of 1.3 times/year). After implementing this action limit, we were alerted in real time to an air-handling failure undetected by our hospital facilities management. A rational action limit for non-viable particles was determined based on the correlation with airborne colonies. Reaching or exceeding the action limit of 32 000 non-viable particles/feet(3) triggers suspension of cleanroom cell-processing activities, deep cleaning, investigation of air handling, and a deviation management process. Our full procedure for particle monitoring is available as an online supplement.

75 FR 22674 - Airborne Area Navigation Equipment Using Loran-C Inputs

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-29

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Airborne Area Navigation Equipment Using Loran-C Inputs AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of cancellation... the cancellation of Technical Standard Order (TSO) C-60, Airborne Area Navigation Equipment Using...

75 FR 42819 - Airborne Area Navigation Equipment Using Loran-C Inputs

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-22

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Airborne Area Navigation Equipment Using Loran-C Inputs AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT ACTION: Notice of cancellation... the cancellation of Technical Standard Order (TSO) C-60, Airborne Area Navigation Equipment Using...

Prevalence of food and airborne allergens in allergic patients in Kerman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamed Fouladseresht

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Detection of various environmental allergens is the major challenge in allergic diseases and the only treatment is avoiding these allergens. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of food and airborne allergens in allergic patients using Skin Prick Test (SPT. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on clinically confirmed patients of atopic-dermatitis (n=54, allergenic-rhinitis (n=64 and chronic-urticaria (n=39 who referred to asthma and allergy clinic at Afzali-Pour hospital in Kerman during 2008-2010. Skin prick test was done using allergen extracts to determine the patients' sensitivity to food and airborne antigens. Results: Fifty-nine percent of patients responded to at least one allergen. Allergy to airborne and food allergens was 55.9 % and 21.7%, respectively. Chenopodiaceae (22.9% and egg white (10.2% were most prevalent airborne and food allergens. Allergy to cockroach, egg white, egg yolk and tomato was significantly higher in males than in females (P<0.05. Conclusion: The results indicated that allergy to food and airborne allergens is different depending on the nutrition and environmental conditions.

78 FR 44625 - Proposed Information Collection (Open Burn Pit Registry Airborne Hazard Self-Assessment...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-24

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Proposed Information Collection (Open Burn Pit Registry Airborne... to ``OMB Control No. 2900--NEW, Open Burn Pit Registry Airborne Hazard Self-Assessment Questionnaire... health effects of service members' exposure to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes caused by open burn...

Reliability evaluation programmable logic devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivani, L.; Murali, N.; Thirugnana Murthy, D.; Satya Murty, S.A.V.

2014-01-01

Programmable Logic Devices (PLD) are widely used as basic building modules in high integrity systems, considering their robust features such as gate density, performance, speed etc. PLDs are used to implement digital design such as bus interface logic, control logic, sequencing logic, glue logic etc. Due to semiconductor evolution, new PLDs with state-of-the-art features are arriving to the market. Since these devices are reliable as per the manufacturer's specification, they were used in the design of safety systems. But due to their reduced market life, the availability of performance data is limited. So evaluating the PLD before deploying in a safety system is very important. This paper presents a survey on the use of PLDs in the nuclear domain and the steps involved in the evaluation of PLD using Quantitative Accelerated Life Testing. (author)

Airborne Radar Search for Diesel Submarines

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Pilnick, Steven E; Landa, Jose

2005-01-01

.... In this research, a detection rate model is developed to analyze the effectiveness of airborne radar search for a diesel submarine assumed to be intermittently operating with periscopes or masts...

Design and implementation of a reconfigurable mixed-signal SoC based on field programmable analog arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lintao; Gao, Yuhan; Deng, Jun

2017-11-01

This work presents a reconfigurable mixed-signal system-on-chip (SoC), which integrates switched-capacitor-based field programmable analog arrays (FPAA), analog-to-digital converter (ADC), digital-to-analog converter, digital down converter , digital up converter, 32-bit reduced instruction-set computer central processing unit (CPU) and other digital IPs on a single chip with 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The FPAA intellectual property could be reconfigured as different function circuits, such as gain amplifier, divider, sine generator, and so on. This single-chip integrated mixed-signal system is a complete modern signal processing system, occupying a die area of 7 × 8 mm 2 and consuming 719 mW with a clock frequency of 150 MHz for CPU and 200 MHz for ADC/DAC. This SoC chip can help customers to shorten design cycles, save board area, reduce the system power consumption and depress the system integration risk, which would afford a big prospect of application for wireless communication. Project supported by the National High Technology and Development Program of China (No. 2012AA012303).

Biophysical influence of airborne carbon nanomaterials on natural pulmonary surfactant.

Science.gov (United States)

Valle, Russell P; Wu, Tony; Zuo, Yi Y

2015-05-26

Inhalation of nanoparticles (NP), including lightweight airborne carbonaceous nanomaterials (CNM), poses a direct and systemic health threat to those who handle them. Inhaled NP penetrate deep pulmonary structures in which they first interact with the pulmonary surfactant (PS) lining at the alveolar air-water interface. In spite of many research efforts, there is a gap of knowledge between in vitro biophysical study and in vivo inhalation toxicology since all existing biophysical models handle NP-PS interactions in the liquid phase. This technical limitation, inherent in current in vitro methodologies, makes it impossible to simulate how airborne NP deposit at the PS film and interact with it. Existing in vitro NP-PS studies using liquid-suspended particles have been shown to artificially inflate the no-observed adverse effect level of NP exposure when compared to in vivo inhalation studies and international occupational exposure limits (OELs). Here, we developed an in vitro methodology called the constrained drop surfactometer (CDS) to quantitatively study PS inhibition by airborne CNM. We show that airborne multiwalled carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets induce a concentration-dependent PS inhibition under physiologically relevant conditions. The CNM aerosol concentrations controlled in the CDS are comparable to those defined in international OELs. Development of the CDS has the potential to advance our understanding of how submicron airborne nanomaterials affect the PS lining of the lung.

Airborne systems for emergency radiological monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jupiter, C.; Boyns, P.

1976-01-01

A variety of aerial radiological monitoring systems are available to respond to a radiological accident or incident affecting large areas. These are operated by EG and G, Inc. for ERDA's Division of Operational Safety. A survey system can be airborne within approximately two hours after notification. Both airborne and terrestrial radioactivity can be measured and mapped. Special analysis procedures allow discrimination between radioactivity from most man-made radioelements and naturally occurring radioelements. A position accuracy of +-54 feet can be maintained over a large area survey. Detection sensitivity for gamma sources employing NaI detector arrays on board an airplane flying at 500 feet altitude is better than 2 μR/hr for surface planar contaminants and approximately 10 mCi for a point gamma source

Photon level chemical classification using digital compressive detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilcox, David S.; Buzzard, Gregery T.; Lucier, Bradley J.; Wang Ping; Ben-Amotz, Dor

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A new digital compressive detection strategy is developed. ► Chemical classification demonstrated using as few as ∼10 photons. ► Binary filters are optimal when taking few measurements. - Abstract: A key bottleneck to high-speed chemical analysis, including hyperspectral imaging and monitoring of dynamic chemical processes, is the time required to collect and analyze hyperspectral data. Here we describe, both theoretically and experimentally, a means of greatly speeding up the collection of such data using a new digital compressive detection strategy. Our results demonstrate that detecting as few as ∼10 Raman scattered photons (in as little time as ∼30 μs) can be sufficient to positively distinguish chemical species. This is achieved by measuring the Raman scattered light intensity transmitted through programmable binary optical filters designed to minimize the error in the chemical classification (or concentration) variables of interest. The theoretical results are implemented and validated using a digital compressive detection instrument that incorporates a 785 nm diode excitation laser, digital micromirror spatial light modulator, and photon counting photodiode detector. Samples consisting of pairs of liquids with different degrees of spectral overlap (including benzene/acetone and n-heptane/n-octane) are used to illustrate how the accuracy of the present digital compressive detection method depends on the correlation coefficients of the corresponding spectra. Comparisons of measured and predicted chemical classification score plots, as well as linear and non-linear discriminant analyses, demonstrate that this digital compressive detection strategy is Poisson photon noise limited and outperforms total least squares-based compressive detection with analog filters.

Impacts of a farmers' market incentive programme on fruit and vegetable access, purchase and consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsho, Lauren Ew; Payne, Gayle Holmes; Walker, Deborah Klein; Baronberg, Sabrina; Jernigan, Jan; Abrami, Alyson

2015-10-01

The present study examines the impact of Health Bucks, a farmers' market incentive programme, on awareness of and access to farmers' markets, and fruit and vegetable purchase and consumption in low-income New York City neighbourhoods. The evaluation used two primary data collection methods: (i) an on-site point-of-purchase survey of farmers' market shoppers; and (ii) a random-digit-dial telephone survey of residents in neighbourhoods where the programme operates. Additionally, we conducted a quasi-experimental analysis examining differential time trends in consumption before and after programme introduction using secondary Community Health Survey (CHS) data. New York City farmers' markets and communities. Farmers' market shoppers (n 2287) completing point-of-purchase surveys in a representative sample of New York City farmers' markets in 2010; residents (n 1025) completing random-digit-dial telephone survey interviews in 2010; and respondents (n 35 606) completing CHS interviews in 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2009. Greater Health Bucks exposure was associated with: (i) greater awareness of farmers' markets; (ii) increased frequency and amount of farmers' market purchases; and (iii) greater likelihood of a self-reported year-over-year increase in fruit and vegetable consumption. However, our CHS analysis did not detect impacts on consumption. While our study provides promising evidence that use of farmers' market incentives is associated with increased awareness and use of farmers' markets, additional research is needed to better understand impacts on fruit and vegetable consumption.

Airborne measurements of CO2 column concentrations made with a pulsed IPDA lidar using a multiple-wavelength-locked laser and HgCdTe APD detector

Science.gov (United States)

Abshire, James B.; Ramanathan, Anand K.; Riris, Haris; Allan, Graham R.; Sun, Xiaoli; Hasselbrack, William E.; Mao, Jianping; Wu, Stewart; Chen, Jeffrey; Numata, Kenji; Kawa, Stephan R.; Yang, Mei Ying Melissa; DiGangi, Joshua

2018-04-01

Here we report on measurements made with an improved CO2 Sounder lidar during the ASCENDS 2014 and 2016 airborne campaigns. The changes made to the 2011 version of the lidar included incorporating a rapidly wavelength-tunable, step-locked seed laser in the transmitter, using a much more sensitive HgCdTe APD detector and using an analog digitizer with faster readout time in the receiver. We also improved the lidar's calibration approach and the XCO2 retrieval algorithm. The 2014 and 2016 flights were made over several types of topographic surfaces from 3 to 12 km aircraft altitudes in the continental US. The results are compared to the XCO2 values computed from an airborne in situ sensor during spiral-down maneuvers. The 2014 results show significantly better performance and include measurement of horizontal gradients in XCO2 made over the Midwestern US that agree with chemistry transport models. The results from the 2016 airborne lidar retrievals show precisions of ˜ 0.7 parts per million (ppm) with 1 s averaging over desert surfaces, which is an improvement of about 8 times compared to similar measurements made in 2011. Measurements in 2016 were also made over fresh snow surfaces that have lower surface reflectance at the laser wavelengths. The results from both campaigns showed that the mean values of XCO2 retrieved from the lidar consistently agreed with those based on the in situ sensor to within 1 ppm. The improved precision and accuracy demonstrated in the 2014 and 2016 flights should benefit future airborne science campaigns and advance the technique's readiness for a space-based instrument.

Exposure level and distribution characteristics of airborne bacteria and fungi in Seoul metropolitan subway stations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ki Youn; Kim, Yoon Shin; Kim, Daekeun; Kim, Hyeon Tae

2011-01-01

The exposure level and distribution characteristics of airborne bacteria and fungi were assessed in the workers' activity areas (station office, bedroom, ticket office and driver's seat) and passengers' activity areas (station precinct, inside the passenger carriage, and platform) of the Seoul metropolitan subway. Among investigated areas, the levels of airborne bacteria and fungi in the workers' bedroom and station precincts were relatively high. No significant difference was found in the concentration of airborne bacteria and fungi between the underground and above ground activity areas of the subway. The genera identified in all subway activity areas with a 5% or greater detection rate were Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Bacillus and Corynebacterium for airborne bacteria and Penicillium, Cladosporium, Chrysosporium, Aspergillus for airborne fungi. Staphylococcus and Micrococcus comprised over 50% of the total airborne bacteria and Penicillium and Cladosporium comprised over 60% of the total airborne fungi, thus these four genera are the predominant genera in the subway station.

SOFIA's Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors: An External Evaluation of Cycle 1

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Michelle

2015-01-01

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) represents a partnership between NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The observatory itself is a Boeing 747 SP that has been modified to serve as the world's largest airborne research observatory. The SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAA) program is a component of SOFIA's…

Programmable cellular arrays. Faults testing and correcting in cellular arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cercel, L.

1978-03-01

A review of some recent researches about programmable cellular arrays in computing and digital processing of information systems is presented, and includes both combinational and sequential arrays, with full arbitrary behaviour, or which can realize better implementations of specialized blocks as: arithmetic units, counters, comparators, control systems, memory blocks, etc. Also, the paper presents applications of cellular arrays in microprogramming, in implementing of a specialized computer for matrix operations, in modeling of universal computing systems. The last section deals with problems of fault testing and correcting in cellular arrays. (author)

Assessing Impact of Technology Based Digital Equalizer Programme on Improving Student Learning Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Sarkar, Subrata; Mohapatra, Sanjay; Sundarakrishnan, J.

2017-01-01

The objective of this research was to assess the impact of the Digital Equalizer program (DE Program) in terms of student learning outcomes of students in subjects like science, mathematics and geography after 8 months of implementing the DE program in 283 schools across 30 districts of Odisha, India. This study was a inter group and intra group…

Irish Ice Sheet dynamics during deglaciation of the central Irish Midlands: Evidence of ice streaming and surging from airborne LiDAR

Science.gov (United States)

Delaney, Catherine A.; McCarron, Stephen; Davis, Stephen

2018-04-01

High resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) generated from airborne LiDAR data and supplemented by field evidence are used to map glacial landform assemblages dating from the last glaciation (Midlandian glaciation; OI stages 2-3) in the central Irish Midlands. The DTMs reveal previously unrecognised low-amplitude landforms, including crevasse-squeeze ridges and mega-scale glacial lineations overprinted by conduit fills leading to ice-marginal subaqueous deposits. We interpret this landform assemblage as evidence for surging behaviour during ice recession. The data indicate that two separate phases of accelerated ice flow were followed by ice sheet stagnation during overall deglaciation. The second surge event was followed by a subglacial outburst flood, forming an intricate esker and crevasse-fill network. The data provide the first clear evidence that ice flow direction was eastward along the eastern watershed of the Shannon River basin, at odds with previous models, and raise the possibility that an ice stream existed in this area. Our work demonstrates the potential for airborne LiDAR surveys to produce detailed paleoglaciological reconstructions and to enhance our understanding of complex palaeo-ice sheet dynamics.

Development of a new generation gravity map of Antarctica: ADGRAV Antarctic Digital Gravity Synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. A. Arko

1999-06-01

Full Text Available The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF has agreed to support the development of a new generation gravity map of Antarctica (ADGRAV - Antarctic Digital Gravity Synthesis, funding the development of a web based access tool. The goal of this project is the creation of an on-line Antarctic gravity database which will facilitate access to improved high resolution satellite gravity models, in conjunction with shipboard, airborne, and land based gravity measurements for the continental regions. This database will complement parallel projects underway to develop new continental bedrock (BEDMAP and magnetic (ADMAP maps of Antarctica.

The reactor power control system based on digital control in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Chong; Zhou Jianliang; Tan Ping

2010-01-01

The PLC (Programmable Logical Controller), digital communication and redundant techniques are applied in the rod control and position indication system(namely the reactor power control system) to perform the power control in the 300 MW reactor automatically and integrally in Qinshan Phase I project. This paper introduces the features, digital design methods of hardware of the instrumentation and control system (I and C) in the reactor power control. It is more convenient for the information exchange by human-machine interface (HMI), operation and maintenance, and the system reliability has been greatly improved after the project being reconstructed. (authors)

Airborne campaigns for CryoSat pre-launch calibration and validation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvidegaard, Sine Munk; Forsberg, René; Skourup, Henriette

2010-01-01

From 2003 to 2008 DTU Space together with ESA and several international partners carried out airborne and ground field campaigns in preparation for CryoSat validation; called CryoVEx: CryoSat Validation Experiments covering the main ice caps in Greenland, Canada and Svalbard and sea ice in the Ar......From 2003 to 2008 DTU Space together with ESA and several international partners carried out airborne and ground field campaigns in preparation for CryoSat validation; called CryoVEx: CryoSat Validation Experiments covering the main ice caps in Greenland, Canada and Svalbard and sea ice...... in the Arctic Ocean. The main goal of the airborne surveys was to acquire coincident scanning laser and CryoSat type radar elevation measurements of the surface; either sea ice or land ice. Selected lines have been surveyed along with detailed mapping of validation sites coordinated with insitu field work...... and helicopter electromagnetic surveying. This paper summarises the pre-launch campaigns and presents some of the result from the coincident measurement from airborne and ground observations....

Failure mode taxonomy for assessing the reliability of Field Programmable Gate Array based Instrumentation and Control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McNelles, Phillip; Zeng, Zhao Chang; Renganathan, Guna; Chirila, Marius; Lu, Lixuan

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The use FPGAs in I&C systems in Nuclear Power Plants is an important issue (IAEA). • OECD-NEA published a failure mode taxonomy for software-based digital I&C systems. • This paper extends the OECD-NEA taxonomy to model FPGA-based systems. • FPGA failure modes, failure effects, uncovering methods are categorized/described. • Provides an example of modelling an FPGA-Based RTS/ESFAS using the FPGA taxonomy. - Abstract: Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are a form of programmable digital hardware configured to perform digital logic functions. This configuration (programming) is performed using Hardware Description Language (HDL), making FPGAs a form of HDL Programmed Device (HPD). In the nuclear field, FPGAs have seen use in upgrades and replacements of obsolete Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems. This paper expands upon previous work that resulted in extensive FPGA failure mode data, to allow for the application of the OECD-NEA failure modes taxonomy. The OECD-NEA taxonomy presented a method to model digital (software-based) I&C systems, based on the hardware and software failure modes, failure uncovering effects and levels of abstraction, using a Reactor Trip System/Engineering Safety Feature Actuation System (RTS/ESFAS) as an example system. To create the FPGA taxonomy, this paper presents an additional “sub-component” level of abstraction, to demonstrate the effect of the FPGA failure modes and failure categories on an FPGA-based system. The proposed FPGA taxonomy is based on the FPGA failure modes, failure categories, failure effects and uncovering situations. The FPGA taxonomy is applied to the RTS/ESFAS test system, to demonstrate the effects of the anticipated FPGA failure modes on a digital I&C system, and to provide a modelling example for this proposed taxonomy.

Derivation of Strike and Dip in Sedimentary Terrain Using 3D Image Interpretation Based on Airborne LiDAR Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-Hsiang Yeh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Traditional geological mapping may be hindered by rough terrain and dense vegetation resulting in obscured geological details. The advent of airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR provides a very precise three-dimensional (3D digital terrain model (DTM. However, its full potential in complementing traditional geological mapping remains to be explored using 3D rendering techniques. This study uses two types of 3D images which differ in imaging principles to further explore the finer details of sedimentary terrain. Our purposes are to demonstrate detailed geological mapping with 3D rendering techniques, to generate LiDAR-derived 3D strata boundaries that are advantageous in generating 2D geological maps and cross sections, and to develop a new practice in deriving the strike and dip of bedding with LiDAR data using an example from the north bank of the Keelung River in northern Taiwan. We propose a geological mapping practice that improves efficiency and meets a high-precision mapping standard with up to 2 m resolution using airborne LiDAR data. Through field verification and assessment, LiDAR data manipulation with relevant 3D visualization is shown to be an effective approach in improving the details of existing geological maps, specifically in sedimentary terrain.

Urban Airborne Lead: X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Establishes Soil as Dominant Source

OpenAIRE

Pingitore, Nicholas E.; Clague, Juan W.; Amaya, Maria A.; Maciejewska, Beata; Reynoso, Jes?s J.

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Despite the dramatic decrease in airborne lead over the past three decades, there are calls for regulatory limits on this potent pediatric neurotoxin lower even than the new (2008) US Environmental Protection Agency standard. To achieve further decreases in airborne lead, what sources would need to be decreased and what costs would ensue? Our aim was to identify and, if possible, quantify the major species (compounds) of lead in recent ambient airborne particulate matter collected...

FPGA-Based Real Time, Multichannel Emulated-Digital Retina Model Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zsolt Vörösházi

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The function of the low-level image processing that takes place in the biological retina is to compress only the relevant visual information to a manageable size. The behavior of the layers and different channels of the neuromorphic retina has been successfully modeled by cellular neural/nonlinear networks (CNNs. In this paper, we present an extended, application-specific emulated-digital CNN-universal machine (UM architecture to compute the complex dynamic of this mammalian retina in video real time. The proposed emulated-digital implementation of multichannel retina model is compared to the previously developed models from three key aspects, which are processing speed, number of physical cells, and accuracy. Our primary aim was to build up a simple, real-time test environment with camera input and display output in order to mimic the behavior of retina model implementation on emulated digital CNN by using low-cost, moderate-sized field-programmable gate array (FPGA architectures.

Modelling of critical functions of nuclear reactors using Fild Programmable Gate Array; Modelagem de funcoes criticas de reatores nucleares utilizando Fild Programmable Gate Array

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teixeira, Pamela Iara Nolasco

2016-07-01

This paper proposes the development of a method using FPGA for critical security functions of a nuclear reactor. It was implemented two critical safety functions in VHDL, which is a way to describe, through a program, the behavior of a circuit or digital component. Two critical security functions, FCS Core Cooling, responsible for cooling the reactor core in the charts of the plant and also in the event of accidents involving loss of coolant and FCS Heat Transfer, responsible for cooling the reactor core in the event an accident with loss of coolant were implemented. In this Dissertation it was chosen the use of FPGA, because - due to the effects of aging, obsolescence issues, environmental degradation and mechanical failures - nuclear power plants need to replace their older systems by new ones based on digital technology. The technologies obtained using a system described in hardware language can be implemented in a programmable device, having the advantage of changing the code at any time. (author)

Computer-controlled sampling system for airborne particulates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, C.F.; Anspaugh, L.R.; Koval, J.S.; Phelps, P.L.; Steinhaus, R.J.

1975-01-01

A self-contained, mobile, computer-controlled air-sampling system has been designed and fabricated that also collects and records the data from eight meteorological sensors. The air-samplers are activated automatically when the collected meteorological data meet the criteria specified at the beginning of the data-collection run. The filters from the samplers are intended to collect airborne 239 Pu for later radionuclide analysis and correlation with the meteorological data for the study of resuspended airborne radioactivity and for the development of a predictive model. This paper describes the system hardware, discusses the system and software concepts, and outlines the operational procedures for the system

Attenuation of airborne debris from LMFBR accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morewitz, H.A.; Johnson, R.P.; Nelson, C.T.; Vaughan, E.U.; Guderjahn, C.A.; Hilliard, R.K.; McCormack, J.D.; Postma, A.K.

1978-01-01

Experimental and theoretical studies have been performed to characterize the behavior of airborne particulates (aerosols) expected to be produced by hypothetical core disassembly accidents (HCDA's) in liquid metal fast breeder reactors (LMFBR's). These aerosol studies include work on aerosol transport in a 20-m high, 850-m 3 closed vessel at moderate concentrations; aerosol transport in a small vessel under conditions of high concentration (approximately 1,000 g/m 3 ), high turbulence, and high temperature (approximately 2000 0 C); and aerosol transport through various leak paths. These studies have shown that tittle, if any, airborne debris from LMFBR HCDA's would reach the atmosphere exterior to an intact reactor containment building. (author)

Subcutaneous ICD screening with the Boston Scientific ZOOM programmer versus a 12-lead ECG machine.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Shu C; Patton, Kristen K; Robinson, Melissa R; Poole, Jeanne E; Prutkin, Jordan M

2018-02-24

The subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) requires preimplant screening to ensure appropriate sensing and reduce risk of inappropriate shocks. Screening can be performed using either an ICD programmer or a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) machine. It is unclear whether differences in signal filtering and digital sampling change the screening success rate. Subjects were recruited if they had a transvenous single-lead ICD without pacing requirements or were candidates for a new ICD. Screening was performed using both a Boston Scientific ZOOM programmer (Marlborough, MA, USA) and General Electric MAC 5000 ECG machine (Fairfield, CT, USA). A pass was defined as having at least one lead that fit within the screening template in both supine and sitting positions. A total of 69 subjects were included and 27 sets of ECG leads had differing screening results between the two machines (7%). Of these sets, 22 (81%) passed using the ECG machine but failed using the programmer and five (19%) passed using the ECG machine but failed using the programmer (P machine but failed using the programmer. No subject passed screening with the programmer but failed with the ECG machine. There can be occasional disagreement in S-ICD patient screening between an ICD programmer and ECG machine, all of whom passed with the ECG machine but failed using the programmer. On a per lead basis, the ECG machine passes more subjects. It is unknown what the inappropriate shock rate would be if an S-ICD was implanted. Clinical judgment should be used in borderline cases. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Programme

OpenAIRE

Hobday, E, fl. 1905, artist

2003-01-01

A photograph of an illustrated programme listing dances. The illustration shows a snake charmer playing to a snake while another man watches. Buildings and trees can be seen behind a wall in the distance. In the lower right-hand corner of the programme is the signature 'E. Hobday'. The programme is almost certainly related to the Punjab Ball, Lahore. It is placed next to the Punjab Ball Menu in the album and the Menu is also illustrated by 'E. Hobday'.

Airborne Mission Concept for Coastal Ocean Color and Ecosystems Research